Monday, May 31, 2010

Review: 94th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race



That's the lovely view of the field diving through Turn 1 on the first restart from Stand B, Box 18, Row F. Unfortunately, that seat was still about 30 yards away from the section I really want: Stand B, Box 25; that's a spot where the catch fence no longer stacks up to block the view of the front stretch and you can watch the cars from the exit of 4, through Turn 1, and into Turn 2. Let's hope for that big upgrade when the tickets come for next year.

One thing that was decidedly noticeable from my post at the entrance to Turn 1 was the fact that this car/engine on this track is not conducive to passing. The strange thing is that, just 4 years ago, Sam Hornish was able to catch a slipstream, follow Marco Andretti through Turns 3 and 4, then slingshot past on the third-mile stretch to the finish. The situation was made a bit better on the flat-out 1.5-milers with some tweaks last year, but something drastic needs to be done to get true slipstreaming back at the Speedway. I don't know if we need as drastic as CART's Handford Device, but there needs to be some sort of draft advantage for the following car.

Another issue this year was the supposed blocking. Generally, I have no issue with Barnhart calling drivers out for their blocks, but there seemed to be quite a bit of inconsistency in the calling of warnings and penalties. Certain drivers were clearly given warnings before the black flag fell, but there were other drivers claiming the warning call was never given. My best example of the inconsistency in penalties, though, has to be Graham Rahal. Graham was called out by Barnhart for something that could be construed as a block, but was kind of borderline. Then, after serving his penalty, Graham proceeded to use some interesting driving to keep from being lapped by Dario. It's one thing to maybe throw a block when you're fighting for position, but to maybe block the leader while being shown the blue flag is another -- to be called for the first, but not the second is ridiculous. Insert angry rhetoric about Brian Barnhart's race-stewarding abilities here.

In the late 1960's, a young sports car racer/team owner named Roger Penske showed up at the Speedway and upset the traditionalist apple cart with his organized and clean garages and similarly organized and clean-cut crews and racers; everyone was always politically correct and the cars always -- always -- looked good. For 40 years, Team Penske has been the epitome of discipline and organization at the Indianapolis "500", turning those traits into 15 "500" victories. Yesterday, Team Penske looked almost human: Will Power's crew made a critical mistake on a pit stop by not getting the fuel hose out of the car, Helio Castroneves stalled on the way out of the pits, and Ryan Briscoe simply put it into the wall coming out of Turn 4. I'm certain that Roger, in his own way, will make sure mistakes like those made yesterday don't happen again. It certainly didn't help to see Penske's main rivals at Ganassi Racing do so well on the day.

Now, let's turn to my predictions for the race...

When I picked Dario Franchitti to win the race, I did it under the assumption that Helio would be up there, fighting for win number four. I certainly did not expect the #10 car to be so much faster than the rest of the field. No matter who lined up in second position on a restart, no one could match Dario. The only time the second-place car was able to catch him was when Dario had to back way off at the white flag to save fuel. It didn't make for an exciting race, but the right car won. Many felicitations to the $2.8-million man, Dario.

My dark horse only got darker as the race moved on, as Alex Tagliani's FAZZT car just wouldn't show the speed it had throughout the Half-Month of May. Not only that, but his teammate, Bruno Junquiera, binned it in the Turn 2 wall. Tough race for that squad.

Tony Kanaan would have been a heavy favorite to win this race had he started near the front of the field. For the majority of the distance, TK had the second-fastest car on the track, and he used that speed to find his way towards the sharp end of the field. One of the most amazing things I ever saw was the green 7-Eleven car being shot like a cannon out of the race start and passing nearly a third of the field in less than half a lap. When the fuel strategists took over towards the end, Kanaan couldn't hold his position behind Dario because he needed to hit the pit lane.

As for the ladies...my goodness, I never predict their finishes correctly. Danica has the fortune of driving for a team that, no matter how they look during practice, are always fast when the green flag falls -- her sixth-place finish was well deserved. Simona de Silvestro was able to keep the car in one piece and even put on some very nice passes on her way to 14th place and Rookie of the Year honors (another prediction I got wrong). Ana Beatriz, who drove well as the day went on, had her day end as part of the incident coming to the white flag; she locked her brakes when all hell broke loose in front of her and she spun. Sarah Fisher is one of those drivers who probably is glad to see the month end, as her rough month ended with a brush with the Turn 4 wall.

And now, from beautiful Bloomington, Indiana, it's the second-annual Yellow Shirt Awards for 500-Mile Race "Excellence"!

The Lloyd Ruby "Tough Luck" Award: Everyone who did not have the good fortune of being in the #10 car. When all of the top crews were making strange mistakes, the #10 crew performed flawlessly. When the field would bunch up before a restart, they still wouldn't be able to catch #10. Heck, even when Dario had to slow down to save fuel, he was saved from the camoflauged goodness of Dan Wheldon by the north end of the track being showered in carbon fiber. Everything just worked for Dario and absolutely nothing that anyone else could do would put a chink in that armor. Tough Luck!

The Salt Walther "Holy @*%$!!!" Award: Mike Conway. Let's let the moving pictures do the talking here:



Luckily, as with many of the vicious wrecks we've seen over the last several years, Mike Conway survived with a busted leg and back and will likely be able to race again in 2011. A couple of fans also ended the day with new holes in their skin thanks to shards of carbon fiber.

Unfortunately, my awards show is a little light on substance this year because I can't think straight while watching the Stanley Cup Finals. If I can think of anything later, I'll write it up.

Finally, much consternation will be (and has been) had about the people who came to the race dressed as aluminum bleachers -- I would say there were about 20-30,000 empties around the track today, with the major problem spots being the North and South Vistas and the north end of the Tower Terrace. Here's the simple reason that those seats weren't filled: they're not that great, but they're about the same price as all the other non-penthouse seats. I've noticed that the pricing scale has changed a bit according to demand for the Brickyard 400, but it's about time to start doing that with the "500". Selling a seat for $50, as opposed to $80 or $90, is a lot better than not selling it at all.

So, that's it for another Month of May. We'll have just enough time to catch our breath before the IndyCar circus makes their way to the speedbowl at Texas. That race is Saturday night; see you then!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Yellow Shirt Preview: 94th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race



It's easy to create a race track -- to lay a ribbon of asphalt, concrete, or dirt in a pre-determined layout and distance and run fast cars on it. What's difficult to create is an event -- a true spectacle.

Consummate showman Carl Fisher was an expert in how to create the latter. As Indianapolis' dealer for the Stoddard-Dayton automobile company, he strung a big S-D sign and an engine-less car to a gas balloon and floated across Indianapolis, then made it seem as though he drove the same car away from the landing site. Needless to say, Stoddard-Dayton received some business in Central Indiana. He also convinced the masses that the strip of sand in the ocean east of the port of Miami, Florida, should be turned into a center of tourism and entertainment -- that dream lives on today in the pastel, art-deco buildings and highly-trafficked sands of Miami Beach.

When attendance was dwindling and companies not showing up to Fisher's massive new automobile testing facility in Indianapolis, Fisher knew he needed an event. On the 30th of May, 1911, Fisher held his event: the first 500-mile sweepstakes race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The novelty of running automobiles for 500 continuous miles, with the winner receiving a massive amount of prize money, brought out a massive crowd. On into the 1910's, '20's, and '30's, the sense of occasion around Fisher's 500-mile race continued to grow.

The man who grew the event the most -- "saved" the event, many would say after fixing the track's disrepair after World War II -- was a man who, in many ways, was the complete opposite of Carl Fisher. Tony Hulman was a wise businessman, but he wasn't particularly outgoing or nearly as eccentric as Fisher. In spite of his reserve, Hulman knew who to surround himself with and knew how to turn their advice into a return on investment. Beginning in 1946, the greatness of Fisher's event turned into something else -- something bigger than the word "event".

When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network began to take off in the '50's, lead announcer Sid Collins needed an out-cue to lead into commercial breaks. A staffer at WIBC coined a phrase for him that, while simple, summed up what the 500-Mile Race had become so well that it became an official tagline: "Now, stay tuned for 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing"

For the 55 years since the term was coined, many races have come and gone, some with more publicity and pomp than others. However, of all the 500-mile races out there, there's only one that is THE 500-Mile Race; of all the speedways that have been built since 1909, there is only one that is THE Speedway; of all the spectacular auto races, there is still only one that is THE "Greatest Spectacle".

It's again time for that tradition like no other. It's time for "On the Banks of the Wabash", "Back Home Again in Indiana", and "(Ladies and) Gentlemen, Start Your Engines". It is time for the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

My predictions:

Winner: Dario Franchitti. When I see that someone is a wild, runaway favorite to win a race like the "500", I tend to think it's too good to be true. Helio Castroneves has indeed had a great month, drives for a great team, and has that pole position run into Turn 1. Remember, though: A.J. Foyt had to endure 10 years of tough luck before his fourth win, Al Unser wasn't even scheduled to drive the year he won his fourth, and Rick Mears had to pull off an unthinkable pass to take his fourth. The main theme in nearly all "500's" is unpredictability; I find Helio to be too much of a favorite and something will go wrong with his bid for four. Dario has been right there on the speed charts all month and is as savvy a driver as anyone out there; Ganassi Racing will have him riding around near the front all day and he'll be in prime position to lead the field across the bricks on Lap 200.

Dark Horse: Alex Tagliani. Yes, I know. There's no reason that Tags should still be considered a "dark horse". However, I still can't put anyone outside of Team Penske and Ganassi Racing into the category of "favorite" at this point, and I still find the speed of Tags' FAZZT team completely mind-boggling. Tags has been quick and competitive the entire season and, should the car remain in one piece, there's no reason Tags shouldn't be sitting in the top 5 with a chance to pull the upset.

Ninja Dark Horse: Tony Kanaan. The highest number of positions gained over the course of an Indianapolis "500" is 32 (33rd to 2nd, Tom Sneva (1980) and Scott Goodyear (1992)). After switching chassis between qualifying and the race, the latest candidate for the worst-to-first honor will be one of the wisest and most patient drivers in the field. A little luck and a lot of good driving -- not to mention avoiding being caught up in someone else's accident -- could very well place Tony Kanaan at the head of the field.

The Ladies: There are a record four lady drivers taking their turn at the "500" this year. Sarah Fisher is a very competent driver, but her own worst enemy may turn out to be herself -- or rather, her self-owned team and it's lack of competitive equipment. Simona de Silvestro will likely held back a bit by HVM's lack of high-quality equipment as well, but she should definitely finish in the top 20 could jump into the top 15. Ana Beatriz should hit the top 15, as Dreyer and Reinbold Racing has looked fairly good this year and she is a very capable driver. Finally, Danica Patrick, regardless of how her team has done this month, is far too good at driving this race to be kept far down the leaderboard; I see a top 10 for Danica and a few more smiles than we've seen earlier in the month.

Rookie of the Year: Ana Beatriz

So there we have it; final preparations are being made to the cars, the drivers are about to go through the 500 Festival Parade before getting rested and focused, and the party has started out in the Coke Lot -- The 500-Mile Race is upon us!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Review: Carb Day 2010

(photo courtesy indycar.com)

Well, it can't be said any longer that the crowds are not finding their way to the Speedway for events prior to the race. After large numbers of people graced the grounds for Pole Day and Bump Day, a giant throng found their way in for the various Carb Day activities.

As such, I actually missed out on Carb Day practice for the first time since 2005 and barely made it in time for the Freedom 100. While it is pretty annoying to have to sit on 16th Street while the Indianapolis Police stumble over how to direct traffic, it's always good to see zillions of people putting money into the Speedway's bank account and enjoying their time on the property.

For once, Helio Castroneves did not find himself atop the leaderboard, as the top of the practice leaderboard was held down by Ganassi Racing, whose drivers were the only two to break 225 m.p.h. on the day.

The big shocker of the practice session was Bruno Junquiera placing himself fourth on the speed chart at 224.898 m.p.h. I guess, since he's teammates with Alex Tagliani with a car prepared by the same team, I shouldn't be too surprised. Still, for only his third day turning laps -- and nearly tripling his total lap count -- Bruno and the FAZZT team are extremely impressive.

In item number 2 of the schedule, the Firestone Indy Lights cars took to the Speedway for the undercard race, the Freedom 100. That race was highlighted by the fact that the pole position, for the first time in 101 years of operation of the Speedway, was held by a woman: England's Pippa Mann.

Unfortunately, Pippa was piloting that white car at the very back of the above picture and there was no way for her to avoid the spinning car of Jeff Simmons. Luckily, this was the only incident of the afternoon, and a great race broke out that was won by Wade Cunningham. This was Wade's third victory in the Freedom 100, and I really think it's about damn time someone gets him a ride in one of the big cars.

So here we are; two days from now, one driver will have drank the milk and earned their place on the Borg-Warner Trophy. I will formulate a preview and have it out tomorrow at some point. Until then, party hard, but party safe!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Review: "What the Hell Just Happened?" Day (or Bump Day)

When your eventual 32nd qualifier started the day looking like this:

and your 33rd qualifier ended the day looking like this:

then you know something very strange was in the air at Indianapolis this afternoon. (Both photos by the AP by way of indystar.com)

The day started with a remarkable display of consistency from Tony Kanaan, who looped his car in exactly the same fashion at exactly the same spot as he did yesterday -- the comparison of the two with the reaction of Danica and the rest of the AA crew was a favorite roll-in for VERSUS as the day rolled on. After his crew rampaged through the team's vast parts bin, Kanaan provided one of the day's great stories by wrestling a hastily-put-together franken-car to a speed that was just fast enough to put him into the field. I wasn't watching on TV, but the sound of the crowd's ovation over the radio brought a tear to my eye.

One of the better stories of the day involved Bruno Junquiera, the 2002 pole-sitter, who took at a look at his total number of laps for the week (22...only 8 of which were in the car in which he was entered), shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, and put up a speed that would have had him easily in the Pole Shootout yesterday and would have put him seventh. Last year, Bruno qualified Conquest Racing's second car, but was pulled in favor of Alex Tagliani (who'd been bumped) for a sponsor's contractual reasons. This year, Tags owns his own team, and he put up the car for Bruno as repayment for what happened last year. Don't look now, but FAZZT Race Team is right there speed-wise with Ganassi and Penske with a couple of wily veterans at the wheel.

Finally, we get to the story of Columbia's Sebastian Saavedra. Normally, the TV cameras will show you the driver and team that is on the bubble to get every bit of emotion they can into the broadcast. Saavedra was nowhere near the cameras, though, because he was at Methodist Hospital making sure his back wasn't broken by an accident at about 4:55. With Tony Kanaan in the qualifying line and Sebastian not around to defend his position, it was almost a given that Saavedra would not be in the field. Indeed, Saavedra was bumped out of the field and held the 35th-fastest speed for a while.

George Phillips, writer of Oilpressure used the old football saying, "Never take points off the board," to accurately describe the last ten minutes of Bump Day -- a ridiculous festival of over-thinking. First, KV Racing rolled the dice in a defensive maneuver, withdrawing Paul Tracy's time (which was in the field of 33) under the assumption that they would improve it. Instead, Paul fought an awful car all the way around the track for four laps and ended up with a speed slower than Saavedra's. In an incredible case of deja vu, Sarah Fisher Racing did exactly the same thing with Jay Howard, whose speed, like Tracy's, fell below that of Saavedra.

So, the last hour of the day went as follows for Saavedra: Crashes his car shaking it down for potential qualifying runs; bumped to 34th by Kanaan; bumped to 35th by Sato; Tracy withdraws and goes slower, putting Saavedra 34th; Howard withdraws and goes slower, putting Saavedra 33rd as the gun sounds to end the day. Are we clear on all of this? Good!

Now that we're done setting the field, all that's left to do is run the cars for a hectic final hour of practice on Friday, then line 'em up in front of 300,000 of the world's greatest fans, and run 500 miles! Full preview coming Saturday!

STARTING GRID: 94TH INDIANAPOLIS 500-MILE RACE
1. #3 Helio Castroneves, 2:37.9154 (227.970)
2. #12 Will Power, 2:38.1876 (227.578)
3. #10T Dario Franchitti, 2:38.5970 (226.990)

4. #6 Ryan Briscoe, 2:38.9027 (226.554)
5. #77 Alex Tagliani, 2:39.0178 (226.390)
6. #9 Scott Dixon, 2:39.1277 (226.233)

7. #30 Graham Rahal, 2:39.6319 (225.519)
8. #20 Ed Carpenter, 2:40.3514 (224.507)
9. #06 Hideki Mutoh, 2:41.0831 (223.487)
_______________________________________________

10. #99 Townsend Bell, 02:39.9313 (225.097)
11. #22 Justin Wilson, 02:39.9647 (225.050)
12. #2 Raphael Matos, 02:39.9798 (225.028)

13. #32 Mario Moraes, 02:40.0794 (224.888)
14. #21 Davey Hamilton, 02:40.1053 (224.852)
15. #24 Mike Conway, 02:40.2969 (224.583)

16. #26 Marco Andretti, 02:40.3030 (224.575)
17. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay, 02:40.3227 (224.547)
18. #4 Dan Wheldon, 02:40.3821 (224.464)

19. #8T E.J. Viso, 02:40.4424 (224.380)
20. #23 Tomas Scheckter, 02:40.5270 (224.261)
21. #25 Ana Beatriz, 02:40.5402 (224.243)

22. #78 Simona de Silvestro, 02:40.5511 (224.228)
23. #7 Danica Patrick, 02:40.5584 (224.217)
24. #36 Bertrand Baguette, 02:40.5785 (224.189)
_______________________________________________

25. #33 Bruno Junqueira, 02:39.5305 (225.662)
26. #19 Alex Lloyd, 02:40.1543 (224.783)
27. #34 Mario Romancini, 02:40.2557 (224.641)

28. #43 John Andretti, 02:40.3438 (224.518)
29. #67 Sarah Fisher, 02:40.4033 (224.434)
30. #14 Vitor Meira, 02:40.4367 (224.388)

31. #5 Takuma Sato, 02:40.5865 (224.178)
32. #11T Tony Kanaan, 02:40.6628 (224.072)
33. #29 Sebastian Saavedra, 02:40.9776 (223.634)

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Review: "500" Pole Day

Wow...what a day! There was all sorts of fun drama both on and off the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, and the best part is that I was there for nearly all of it! I have to say that I really did enjoy the new qualifying format, though it was made far less interesting by the fact that the major gauntlet (which I'll get to in a second) was thrown by the very first driver out. Still, a ton of people showed up on a beautiful day to watch ugly, underpowered cars take individual qualifying runs, and that's a good thing. Also, I learned that Eddie Money has more songs that just "Two Tickets to Paradise"...who knew?! Anyhow, on to the qualifying...

First and foremost, just when everyone and their mothers were convinced that the pole speed would be within the 226-m.p.h. range, Helio Castroneves says, "TO HELL WITH THAT!" and plops a 228 at the top of the scoring pylon. His four laps averaged out to just under 228, but there was still quite a bit of incredulity in the grandstands when he completed his run. The fact that no one could get within half a mile-per-hour of that speed is a testament to just how perfect Helio's laps were.

Joining Helio in the shootout for the top nine were a few surprises -- namely Graham Rahal, Hideki Mutoh, and Ed Carpenter. It was really good to see those guys able to take an extra run as the day wound down. What would have been a surprise had he not been serving notice all week was Alex Tagliani's presence in the top five; He might have been even higher had he been able to catch the magic that he had earlier in the day.

Notable in their absence from anything relevant was Andretti Autosport -- when I say "relevant", I mean "pertaining to the leaderboard". In a day where people like Bertrand Baguette and Townsend Bell ended the day qualified in the field, two of Andretti's cars missed the top 24 and the three that made it weren't exactly impressive. Marco was never that thrilled with his car, but he remained relatively calm about it. Ryan Hunter-Reay certainly could have felt better, but 17th and locked in is fantastic compared to where he was last year around this time (chewing his fingernails on bump day).

Then Danica Patrick made her run. Then Danica opened her mouth before her brain had time to catch up. She got on the PA system, which everyone, including her crew, will hear as it is being broadcast, and said her lack of speed wasn't her fault, and that the car was bad. In fact, she went so far as to say that she knows the car is good, but the setup of the car is bad. Someday, this woman will understand Teamwork 101 and the idea of "constructive criticism".

In case the mood wasn't bad enough at AA, Tony Kanaan's qualifying run ended just as soon as it began. Coming out of the first turn, the car snapped around 180-degrees. Tony let the car roll backwards a bit, then appeared to try and whip the car back around or slam on the brakes. Unfortunately, he was too late to properly slow the car and it did another 180 right into the Turn 2 wall. Apparently, the engine block was split by the impact and Tony's day was over long before it should have been.

Also having major trouble on the day was KV Racing. Their day got off to a rocky start when Takuma Sato found the wall during practice. Then their first driver out, Paul Tracy, was grabbing a gear on his warm-up lap and the gearbox jumped to neutral. Then Mario Moraes slid through Turn 2 on his way to the backstretch wall. Then E.J. Viso was in the middle of his first run when he suddenly cut the engine heading into Turn 1. Moraes and Viso recovered to make the field, but Tracy and Sato need to find their way into the final three rows or miss the show.

This will all make for a rather interesting Bump Day, with names like Tracy, Kanaan, J. Andretti, Fisher, Meira, Foyt IV, and Sato trying to put themselves into the field. I won't be there in person, but I will try my best to provide a report when the time comes. Until then, cheers!

PROVISIONAL GRID: 94TH INDIANAPOLIS 500-MILE RACE
1. #3 Helio Castroneves, 2:37.9154 (227.970)
2. #12 Will Power, 2:38.1876 (227.578)
3. #10T Dario Franchitti, 2:38.5970 (226.990)

4. #6 Ryan Briscoe, 2:38.9027 (226.554)
5. #77 Alex Tagliani, 2:39.0178 (226.390)
6. #9 Scott Dixon, 2:39.1277 (226.233)

7. #30 Graham Rahal, 2:39.6319 (225.519)
8. #20 Ed Carpenter, 2:40.3514 (224.507)
9. #06 Hideki Mutoh, 2:41.0831 (223.487)
___________________________________________

10. #99 Townsend Bell, 2:39.9313 (225.097)
11. #22 Justin Wilson, 2:39.9647 (225.050)
12. #2 Raphael Matos, 2:39.9798 (225.028)

13. #32 Mario Moraes, 2:40.0794 (224.888)
14. #21 Davey Hamilton, 2:40.1053 (224.852)
15. #24 Mike Conway, 2:40.2969 (224.583)

16. #26 Marco Andretti, 2:40.3030 (224.575)
17. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2:40.3227 (224.547)
18. #4 Dan Wheldon, 2:40.3821 (224.464)

19. #8T E.J. Viso, 2:40.4424 (224.380)
20. #23 Tomas Scheckter, 2:40.5270 (224.261)
21. #25 Ana Beatriz, 2:40.5402 (224.243)

22. #78 Simona de Silvestro, 2:40.5511 (224.228)
23. #7 Danica Patrick, 2:40.5584 (224.217)
24. #36 Bertrand Baguette, 2:40.5785 (224.189)

Review: "500" Day 7

I didn't post at all yesterday because I was busy preparing a lovely dish for my words about the weather in my last post so that I could properly eat them. Not only did it barely rain in Indianapolis yesterday, but they nearly got a full six hours of practice in at the track.

From all indications, yesterday's practice was very productive for Team Penske, who found themselves back atop the leaderboard with a 226.558-m.p.h. lap from Helio Castroneves. In addition to that, Will Power found his way to second, just off of Helio's time, and Ryan Briscoe put in the seventh-fastest time. I'm still finding Team Penske's inconsistency this week a bit off-putting, but we shall see what happens when qualifications begin.

Continuing a pattern we've seen all week, Mario Moraes and Alex Tagliani were very fast, putting in the fifth (225.806) and third-fastest (226.153) speeds of the day. One name that was nice to see in the top ten was that of Townsend Bell, who had the tenth-fastest speed (225.177).

Fast-forwarding to this morning's pre-qualifying practice, we have a new fastest speed of the month: Will Power, and 227.646 miles-per-hour. Also, as I've been typing this, Takuma Sato has taken the loveliest car in the field (KV/Lotus #5 in British Racing Green with a gold stripe) and backed it into the Turn 2 wall. Sato appears uninjured, but we'll have to see if KV Racing can get the car back in working order before the weekend is out or if they'll pull the T-car out of the garage.

I'm about to head out to the track...looks like the fans are starting to fill in, so I need to get moving!

FASTEST UNOFFICIAL SPEED OF THE MONTH
#12 Will Power: 39.5351 seconds, 227.646 miles-per-hour

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Review: "500" Day 6

The most notable event of the day -- indeed, what will be the big story right up until Pole Day -- was of the sort that gives me the excuse to put Ernie Triplett and Deacon Litz up one more time:

Yes sir, right around 3:30 this afternoon, after two-and-a-half days of good practice, the skies opened up over the Speedway. A look at the weather report tells us that Friday won't be too much better and is expected to be a total washout.

A glance at what could be the final speed chart before the track opens for qualifications, balanced with the expectations of fans and the media, tells us that we have absolutely no clue what to expect on Saturday. The top five drivers on today's speed chart are quite a headscratcher: Kanaan (226.775 m.p.h), Tracy (!) (226.322), Mutoh (!) (226.230), M. Andretti (226.108), Wheldon (226.106). It's obviously nice to see Tony Kanaan riding atop the chart, and the speeds from Andretti and Wheldon shouldn't be too shocking, but Tracy and Mutoh? It looks like the Chrome Horn found some of that speed that teammate Moraes was exhibiting earlier in the week, and Newman/Haas appears to remember what made them so successful (without winning) in the early '90s.

Wednesday and Thursday were both relatively clean as far as cars finding the wall, which means that, in five days of practice, we've only had two cars make heavy contact with the wall. That's a beautiful statistic for us to see, but it's all going to go straight to hell on Saturday.

Every practice day this week has been relatively cool and quite cloudy, which gave the tires plenty of grip and the engines plenty of horsepower. Saturday, though, is expected to be around 80 degrees and as sunny as the surface of Mercury. Sunday is supposed to be much of the same, but ten degrees hotter. The setups that everyone have done this week will be thrown out the window as the air changes and the oils on the pavement find their way to the surface to cut down the grip. Put that together with the fact that everyone will be trying to run as fast as they possibly can, and there will be a little more black rubber on the walls.

I'll be live and in person, wandering around the facility on Saturday. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the Fast Nine format thing works out.

FASTEST UNOFFICIAL SPEED OF THE MONTH
#3 Helio Castroneves: 39.6395 seconds, 227.046 miles-per-hour

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Review: "500" Day 4


AP Photo

The most notable occurrence of the day ultimately closed the day out ten minutes before the scheduled end of the day. As you can see, the #32 PDVSA KV Racing entry of E.J. Viso met a tough end in that same Turn 1 wall that has claimed so many cars over the years. Luckily, in spite of the fact that his car backed into the wall gearbox-first -- the least amount of collapsible material on the car exists directly behind the driver -- Viso apparently made it out with just a bit of a sore back.

On the speed charts, there was little surprise at the top: Scott Dixon led the charge with a top speed of 226.549 miles-per-hour. What is a little surprising are the other names that round out the top five: Moraes (225.913), M. Andretti (225.751), Tagliani (225.394), Wheldon (225.378). Looking down the list a little bit, I'm also a bit surprised to see Simona de Silvestro leading Tuesday's rookie charge with the tenth-fastest top speed (224.176), A.J. Foyt IV -- part of the greatest union of legendary Indianapolis families that no one knows about; his father-in-law owns the Colts! -- put granddad's second car twelfth (223.874), and John Andretti was right behind in cousin Michael's car (223.775).

Now, I'm starting to learn not to be surprised with Mario Moraes -- as I said yesterday, he was fast last year right up until he nailed the wall with 499.5 miles left in the race. Andretti and Wheldon shouldn't be surprising either, given their pace in the past.

Two things really do surprise me. First, Alex Tagliani, a road course specialist, in a car that once belonged to Marty Roth, sitting fourth on a speed chart ahead of four Andretti drivers, three Penske drivers, and a Ganassi driver -- it boggles the mind how good FAZZT has been in their initial season. Second, those aforementioned Penske drivers, who came eighth (Castroneves), ninth (Power), and nineteenth (Briscoe). Helio and Power shouldn't be an issue come Saturday, but I think Team Penske needs to start being a bit concerned about the #6 car.

The rest of the week is looking good for the most part on the weather front. So, pray to Ra, Sol, Helios, or whatever you believe controls appearances of the local star to keep it nice and bright out through Sunday!

FASTEST UNOFFICIAL SPEED OF THE MONTH
#3 Helio Castroneves: 39.6395 seconds, 227.046 miles-per-hour

Monday, May 17, 2010

Review: "500" Opening Weekend

photo courtesy indy500.com

The green flags have waved, and the new, fortnight-style Month of May is on!

As ended up being the case last year at this time, the big story revolves around Team Penske's #3 car. All of last year's controversy far behind him, Helio Castroneves has returned to his ways of all-out speed, putting up a marker of 227.046-m.p.h. with the help of the slipstream. As of right now, Helio's lap is the strongest of the month, and the only lap over 227 miles-per-hour. What's most notable about Helio's speed, and many other speeds at the top of the leaderboard, is that many cars are already faster than Helio's 2009 pole speed of just under 225-m.p.h. In fairness, though, it was relatively chilly and overcast for a large portion of the weekend, which would have allowed the engines a little more power. The current forecast for Pole Day calls for temperatures in the mid-80's, so we shall see how that affects things.

Of note for the full practices for the veterans was the speed of Mario Moraes, who threw an early gauntlet on Sunday in the 224-m.p.h. range, then hit the top of the leaderboard again later on with the day's first 225-m.p.h. lap. Moraes was fast during May, 2009, but his race day ended after about half a mile when he and Marco Andretti collided. If his car stays in one piece, he could be a factor on May 30.

Also of note was the relative lack of speed from Ryan Briscoe. As I say, this is a relative term, as Briscoe still had a top-10 time on both days of practice. However, being a Penske driver and a rather good oval driver, Briscoe probably should have been closer to Castroneves on the charts. Instead, he ranked behind the likes of Moraes, Wheldon, Kanaan, and Ed Carpenter (!) when he should be with his teammates and the chief rivals at Ganassi Racing at the top.

In the meantime, all of the rookies entered in the field so far have passed their rookie tests, meaning they have proven themselves capable of averaging over 215 miles-per-hour for a sustained period of time. To the surprise of literally no one, I'm assuming, the fastest rookie during the orientation program was Simona de Silvestro, who I think may become a bit of a media sensation as the month goes on (though to nowhere near the extent of Danicamania).

What may have been surprising was the speed of Ana Beatriz, who ended up putting up the fastest overall rookie time during the second full practice. Ana was definitely quick in her Indy Lights starts at the Speedway, but these cars are 30-40-m.p.h. faster than the Lights cars, so it is certainly impressive to see her do so well.

Saturday was incident-free, while Sunday featured two incidents: Ryan Hunter-Reay gave it a little too much gas leaving the pit lane and spun onto the MotoGP course inside of Turn 1, and Dan Wheldon clouted the wall at the exit of Turn 4 (narrowly missing Scott Dixon as he spun).

Finally, the other big story of the weekend and, indeed, the week to come appears to be another of the great Month of May traditions: rain. Both days of practice over the weekend experienced some short delays for sprinkles and there's a large low-pressure system hanging out over northern Kentucky that will dump water on the track today and tomorrow. However, fingers are crossed for a delightful weekend of qualifying.

I'll try to provide updates throughout the fortnight as interesting things happen!

FASTEST UNOFFICIAL SPEED OF THE MONTH
#3 Helio Castroneves: 39.6395 seconds, 227.046 miles-per-hour

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Good Morning, Race Fans!


It's sad not to hear Tom Carnegie put those words out over the Speedway's PA system anymore. What's not sad is that the cars are in the pit lane, a whole mess of Camaros are lapping the track, and in 15 minutes, the green flag will fly for the first time this year over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Live video can be found through IndyCar's website!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The Baltimore Grand Prix is On!


The streets around Oriole Park at Camden Yards (above, foreground) and the Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore are officially going to play host to the "Fastest Racing in the World." Details from the lovely Baltimore Sun can be found HERE.

First off, the promoter (Baltimore Racing Development Corp.) puts up the claim that the cars will reach past 180 miles per hour on this track, and I have to believe that's true. Going off the map from BRD's original proposal, the blast across the harbor on Light Street will easily get 150 mph, and the drive down Pratt Street will likely hit 180 or 190, depending on the smoothness of the track.

Another nice thing about Baltimore is that, like downtown Indianapolis, everything is fairly close to everything else. From east to west, within about 10 city blocks, you have a set of fine hotels and restaurants, the Pier 6 Amphitheater (if this isn't utilized in the weekend, the promoters fail), more restaurants and the ESPNZone, the Baltimore Aquarium, some old ships (including a WWII sub and the Revolution-era Constitution) that give tours, a couple of malls with good restaurants (try the crab cakes at Phillip's), the Convention Center, and Oriole Park/M&T Bank Stadium. At the south end of the track is the splendid Baltimore Science Center.

(As an aside, you've just been given a tour through, essentially, summer weekends of my entire childhood)

The potential exists for this to actually be a very good event. I'm looking forward to it!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Programming Notes

The Month of May has started with the 300-miler from Kansas, and will really kick off in earnest today.

First off, ESPN Classic -- who usually throws a few old "500"'s and a "SportsCentury" about Foyt or Unser at us in the couple of days before the big race -- is going big-time with the classic races this month. (details HERE) Today at 3PM, they throw down with one of the great moments in "500" history: Danny Sullivan's spin-and-win -- a festival of fantastic driving early in Lap 120 by both Sullivan and Mario Andretti. It's worth watching just to hear Jim McKay and Sam Posey react to the big moment...classic commentary from Posey.

Not long after that wraps up, at 6PM, flip the dial to 1070AM Indianapolis (or flip the computer to1070thefan.com) to get your mind blown by history. "Talk of Gasoline Alley" with IMS Historian Donald Davidson returns for the entire month, beginning tonight and going until a two- or three-hour post-race show on May 30. The well-spoken Briton has been wowing folks with his encyclopedic knowledge of the 500-Mile Race ever since he first introduced himself to IMS Radio's Sid Collins in 1964. Definitely a fine program to listen to.

Right after that ends, The Star's Curt Cavin and 1070's Kevin Lee throw down on the Month-of-May-five-night-a-week version of "Trackside".

"Talk" and "Trackside" can both be found via podcast if you're otherwise occupied and, if you don't have ESPN Classic, you can always find great "500" clips on YouTube. Cheers!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Roadrunner Indy 300 Pseudo-Live Blog


It took us some time, but the IZOD IndyCar Series is finally back to making only left turns!

I'm not one hundred percent sure why I'm writing this pseudo-live blog on a Saturday afternoon (though I have some conspiracy theories about that), but it's all okay because today is one of the best days of the year...

MAY 1ST!!!

Yes, that lovliest of months is upon us, and thirty days from now, the eleven rows of three will take the green flag on that little strip of road on the west side of Indianapolis.

Today from Kansas Speedway, however, is IndyCar's tune-up for the 500-Mile Race. Let's not mince words and let's jump straight into the predictions:

Winner: Scott Dixon Dixon has had an interesting season so far, to say the least. However, this is a track at which he excels and few driver/team pairings are as good on the mile-and-a-half ovals as Dixon/Ganassi.

Dark Horse: Alex Tagliani Imagine my surprise when, as I was watching qualifying, the number 77 shot towards the top of the leaderboard. I'm not sure exactly how the ex-Champ Car twisty specialist with the brand new team has had such a good year, but something special could be happening at FAZZT Racing. Tags starts fifth, and could surprise today.

Ninja Dark Horse: Dan Wheldon Wheldon was another surprise in qualifying yesterday, but he and Marco Andretti were shot down by Brian Barnhart for putting a wheel over the white line on the backstretch during their runs. Wheldon is good at these ovals, though, and Panther racing is still one of the better oval teams out there. Watch for Dan to try and scythe his way through the field.

No lady watch today because Marty Reid can't pronounce "Simona De Silvestro". ABC is in pre-race mode. I'll get the live coverage going when the cars are fired.

1:45, pre-race
National Anthem over, and a flyover by four A-10 Warthogs...THE MOST BADASS PLANE OF ALL TIME

1:55, pre-race
A lady who looks rather like a librarian gives a rather enthusiastic command, the engines fire, and we are ready to go!

1:57, pre-race
Scott Goodyear interviews Dan Wheldon via the in-car radio. Distracts Dan with his epic Canadian-ness and Dan stalls the car on the roll-off. As the 'Dog would say: viewing enhanced.

1:59, pre-race
God, that KV/Lotus car looks SOOO GOOD. Can't wait for Pole Day to see that one. Cars cycling around for the final time before the green.

Lap 1
Pace car off and we are...GREEN! Halfway-decent start for once. Briscoe leads the field around and they're going three-wide in the background.

Lap 2
Marco cutting through the field like a swiss army knife already. Briscoe still leads.

Lap 4
Mike Conway driving quite impressively at the moment. He's up to 7th.

Lap 7
Don't look now, but Vitor Meira really making it happen in fifth fighting Helio for fourth.

Lap 11
Ryan Hunter-Reay with the go-fast IZOD paint job cutting through the field early as well. He's up to 10th now.

Lap 13
Unlucky 13 for Dixon as he gets a bit loose and loses second to teammate Dario.

Lap 18
John Andretti putting the workover on Will Power! Cool to see that, though it's kinda far back in the field.

Lap 21
1/10th of the way through the race. Apart from the Ganassis battling each other every once in a while, the top 5 (6, 9, 10, 14, 3) staying in a nice, clean line.

Lap 23
The second five (11, 06, 32, 8, 37) also in a line trying to catch up with the lead pack, which has taken off a bit.

Lap 26
Dixon looking on the outside for the lead, but he can't make it stick.

Lap 28
Dixon has to let off the gas in Turn 4 quite a bit. The wash from Briscoe's car is really playing havoc with Dixon.

Lap 32
Marco and Uncle John are running together in 12th and 13th. Occasionally, I forget John is in this race and the T&S confuses the crap out of me. Oh, we hve a new leader, by the way (Dixon)

Lap 39
Danica's car: not happy. Convenient huge lift as ESPN had the on-board and telemetry on.

Lap 41
Interestingly enough, this does not look like a typical 1.5-miler race. Cars quite strung out...looks like a real oval race as opposed to a Daytona-style clusterf**k

Lap 46
Pass for fourth. Helio around Meira. Sato has pitted.

Lap 48
Briscoe in from second. Kanaan also pits, rest of the crowd on its way in too.

Lap 50
Dixon pits from the lead; everything looks good. Now Dario pits from the lead.

Lap 51
Awful pit stop for Will Power...the team could barely reach the car with the fuel hose. Dixon cycles back into the lead.

Lap 53
Total lack of caution flags here at the moment. It's kind of nice to see a clean race, but Dixon does look a little lonely out there.

Lap 63
9, 10, 6, 3, 14 are your top five. We're nearly a third of the way through this one and Dixon is dominating the crap out of this one.

Lap 74
We are...YELLOW! Viso tags the wall in 4. Pit stops over and everyone back in place. Circling about behind the pace car now. Big WOAH as Sato and Duno exit the pits and make contact.

Lap 84
We are...GREEN! lots of two wide as the flag flies, but Dixon runs off.

Lap 88
RHR flies past Helio to make the top 5.

Lap 94
Now RHR working on Kanaan for fourth now.

Lap 105
Just past halfway now...9, 10, 3, 11, 77 aare your top 5. RHR washed out a bit and let Tags by. Danica really holding up some of the leaders as they try to lap her.

Lap ??
We are...YELLOW! Big hunk of carbon fiber chilling on the apron in Turn 1.

Lap 123
Pit stops! Ganassi guys still running the show. Kanaan, Mutoh (!), Helio round out the top 5 out of the pit stops.

Lap 124
Still under the yellow. Sorry about a lack of updates over the last several laps...I was on the phone and the race was starting to dull up a bit before that caution flew.

While we have a moment, let's look at some of the surprises in the leaderboard: Mutoh in fourth, Tagliani in sixth, Hunter-Reay running through the field to be seventh, and JOHN Andretti in ninth.

Lap 129
and we are...GR-er...YELLOW! False start, try again.

Lap 130
Take two a bit better, we are...GREEN! Back of the field fans out to two and three wide. Hunter-Reay jumps to sixth, now working on Helio.

Lap 133
Huge battle for sixth as Meira, Tagliani, RHR, and others were going two wide all the way around vying for the spot.

Lap 140
60 laps remain. The Ganassi guys still dominating, with Kanaan, Mutoh, and Briscoe following.

Lap 142
Briscoe nails down fourth from Mutoh. The crowd goes...um...wild?

Lap 147
Mutoh and Briscoe actually having quite a fun battle

Lap 149
Don't look now, but Takuma Sato is making those Lotus colors fly, battling Helio for sixth.

Lap 160
We've settled into a bit of a parade here, but green flag pit stops are now starting to happen.

Lap 165
Battle for third! Mutoh trying to work the outside line against Tony Kanaan.

Lap 174
Dixon's car seems to have a bigger fuel tank than everyone else...

Lap 178
We are...YELLOW! Jay Howard heavy into the wall. Dixon was in the pit lane as the yellow came out, so let's see how that will affect him...he should be alright, but we'll see.

Lap 180
Replays show that Howard had a similar incident to E.J. Viso's, though Howard struck much harder.

Lap 181
Of interest: Helio Castroneves is in second place. He had just hit pit lane when the yellow came out, so Dario had to slow down and Helio slotted into place in second.

Lap 182
My eyes are actually watering up a bit as they talk about the Indianapolis 500 coming up...so, so epic.

Lap 185
and we are...GREEN! Lots of lapped cars between Helio and...we are YELLOW! Sato and Mutoh make a Japanese sushi roll up against the wall on the front stretch. What a damn shame...those guys were having such a good race.

Lap 186
There was a lot of congestion as Conway got a little squirrely on the restart and Mutoh just sort of drifted up into Sato....just a tough break for those guys.

Lap 191
Lots of caution laps here towars the end...Dixon has to be loving this and Helio probably can't stand it. Barring disaster, Dixon should take this one easily.

Lap 193
We are...GR-er...yellow. Again, we're going to do a second take on this one.

Lap 194
Better this time, and we are...GREEN! Dixon runs off, much battling towards the back of the field.

Lap 196
Big battle will be for second. Dario working on Helio and clears him!

Lap 199
Two to go! Dixon way clear, Kanaan working on Helio for third now

Lap 200
White flag for Dixon.

Checkered Flag!
Dixon dominates! Dario holds of Kanaan for second. Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Briscoe, Moraes, Tagliani, J. Andretti (!), Meira round out the top ten.

Holy smokes, can you get much more dominant than Scott Dixon was today? Once he got past Briscoe, this race was OVER. Scott almost shows some emotion in celebrating his victory...woah there, buddy!

Dario said he was getting a little nervous when Kanaan suddenly found speed at the end of the race, but he was happy with this lead-in to May.

Kanaan happy with the fact that Andretti Autosport cars are actually functioning this year. Helio his usual bubbly self and can't wait to try and throw down for 500 number four.

All in all, this wasn't a bad race. Sure, Dixon made the sharp end of the field a bit of a snooze, but there were a lot of fun battles further back in the field, capped off by Franchitti and Kanaan putting on a show for second.

One thing that surprised me a bit is that this looked like more of a traditional oval race as opposed to a pack racing extravaganza and I actually kinda liked that. Sure, the packs can be exciting, but they're so unnecessarily dangerous. Today was a lot safer and still held some excitement, so I count that as a win.

As for predictions: Dixon won it running away; Tagliani was strong, but couldn't really break the top 5; Wheldon was not as strong as I thought he'd be, and Ryan Hunter-Reay was the one who made the big run from the back of the field.

The next time the green flag flies, it will be at the biggest single-day sporting event in the world: the one-and-only Indianapolis 500-Mile Race! I can't wait!