No word yet on whether or not Randy Bernard is pursuing sponsorship from this particular product, but it would seem to fit with Saturday's on-track product.
Everyone was ready to go, the cars were fired, the fans were fired up, the drivers were zoned in. Cars came out of the pits, wound through the back parking lots of the Anhembi convention hall, took their first blast down Chateaubriand Avenue, made the sharp right turn into the Sambadrome, and found themselves on what may as well have been a curling sheet. Grip was not to be found anywhere on the smooth concrete of Sao Paulo's Carnival ground and all of the drivers had to short shift and keep their revs down -- anything to keep from pitching the cars into the surrounding walls.
Given the situation, Brian Barnhart rightly postponed qualifying, as drivers trying to put down a fast lap would surely overdo it and crash. The track is being ground down with diamond grinders (which sounds like a tool Blofeld might invent) as I type and should give the drivers much better grip as they round Turn 11 on Sunday.
Because we will have what amounts to a different track tomorrow morning, it's difficult to make predictions on how things will turn out when the checkered flag falls around 2PM Sunday afternoon, but I will try my best given the times that were set in practice.
Winner: Will Power Power's best time in practice was a half-second clear of Tony Kanaan's which, in spite of barely being able to drive on a crucial stretch of the track, is still fairly indicative of how things might look on Sunday. Power is a very controlled and mature driver and to throw down the top time with things as they were shows a fine level of car control on his part. Kanaan is interesting to see up there as well, but I don't think he'll have the car to match Power's.
Dark Horse: Ryan Hunter-Reay Remember when Ryan, IZOD's poster boy, was plugged into a last-second ride with Vision Racing and nearly pulled off a shock victory in St. Petersburg last year? He now has a much better ride underneath him than Vision's entry from last year and he threw down the third-fastest time in practice, ahead of two Penske Cars, two Ganassi cars, and two of his three teammates (as well as some other established twisty track drivers). RHR is a very competent road racer and I could easily see him knocking on the door as the laps wind down.
Ninja Dark Horse: Alex Tagliani I'm having a hard time explaining this one to myself, but I just liked seeing Tags' name in the top ten of the practice times. He's a good driver, to be sure, but in spite of his team's name (FAZZT), I'm not so sure how quick the car will actually be. Still, if a few cards fall the right way, Tags could crack the top five.
Danica Watch! Danica on a street course with no grip? Yeah, I don't see much good happening for her this time around. Sure, driving stock cars will teach you how to control an out-of-control race car, but she won't have the room for error that NASCAR tracks allow.
Qualifying at 7:30 AM Eastern *Daylight* Time tomorrow (don't forget your clocks!), with the green scheduled to drop around noon. Hopefully the overnight improvements to the start/finish straight will be resolved and the season will kick off smoothly.
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