We've got Penske and Ganassi holding station at the front of the grid, but a few surprises lurk just behind. Alex Lloyd and Hideki Mutoh were the best of the rest in qualifying, and they've got Danica, Mario Moraes, and Marco Andretti filling out the top ten behind them.
Jon Beekhuis has also mentioned on the Versus pre-race show that, because of today's extreme weather, a lot of cars appear to have dialed in a bunch of downforce. That means the cars will be more planted, but a car running in clean air may experience extra drag. What we like to hope that means is the pack racing will return to Texas after a couple years' absence.
We're getting ready to begin; updates begin when the cars start!
8:45, pre-race
Best "start your engines" command we've had in ages from some guy who is obviously important to someone. All rows have been called "hot" and we're ready to get this party started.
8:47, pre-race
Is it just me, or should we be concerned that Moraes and Marco are starting the race next to each other? I feel like that's never a good situation.
Lap 1
Ryan Briscoe leads them to the line and we are...GR-er...YELLOW! Briscoe jumped the crap out of the start while everyone else stayed in line.
Lap 2
Take two on the start and we are...GREEN! Start was just as bad the second time around, but you get the impression that Barnhart stopped caring. Three and for-wide back in the pack.
Lap 2
Our first near-contact of the night as Kanaan nearly hit someone trying to avoid Marco's jumpy car.
Lap 5
Hey Versus! Quit it with telling us who the leader is but not putting up the lap count! That was annoying a month and a half ago and it's still pretty bad.
Lap 8
Still no lap counter. Dario fighting Briscoe for the lead, nearly touch off of four. Alex Lloyd showin some mojo at the front of the field.
Lap 12
Dixon slips to second, Power falls into the clutches of Helio and they're side-by-side. Look out for Sato, now in the top ten.
Lap 15
Andretti starting to move up the grid a little bit. Kanaan battling epically with Mutoh further back.
Lap 20
The front of the field has settled a bit. Jay Howard in early, looks like it's a problem with the powertrain. Insert sad face here.
Lap 25
A lot of single-file now, but Danica and E.J. Viso are racing pretty hard for 9th.
Lap 28
Will Power has moved around Dixon for third. Patrick and Andretti doing the side-by-side thing for 8th. Danica has found a bit of speed, it seems.
Lap 31
Danica just caught up with and passed Dan Wheldon like he was standing still! Now she's working on Alex Lloyd. Look out, boys!
Lap 34
Will Power finding speed as well. He's into second past Franchitti.
Lap 36
Danica now to sixth past Lloyd, then past Helio as well.
Lap 38
Briscoe now weaving past lapped traffic as Will Power tries to hunt him down.
Lap 40
Wheldon fires the camo-mobile into sixth past Helio. Marco now working on Helio as the #3 goes the wrong way down the charts.
Lap 42
Scott Dixon has a lot of green and black in his mirror...
Lap 44
Danica with a high-side pass on Dixon into fourth! That car is way hooked up!
Lap 46
and we are...YELLOW! Debris on the track, big run on fresh ethanol and rubber upcoming.
Lap 47
Pit stop time! Chaos in Alex Lloyd's pit at the back of the picture. Race off pit road won by...Dario! Power out second, Danica third. That wake-up call she gave her crew back on "500" Pole Day seems to have done its job.
Lap 48
We haven't had a replay on Lloyd yet, but you could see his car parked very sideways at the back of the picture...too bad for him, eh? Briscoe was also apparently a bit crooked in his pit box leading to a drop to 5th.
Lap 53
We are...GREEN! Dario gets the jump on everyone. Danica looking up high on Power, Dixon slots in under her, she stays in third.
Lap 55
Briscoe trying to get past Dixon, lots of cars behind them, Danica trying for second again but she won't have it.
Lap 57
We are...YELLOW! Sato nailed the wall in turn two, then ricocheted back to the inside of the backstretch. Poor guy was really moving up the field. Taku was moving around and has thumbs-upped the safety crew, so that's good. Replay shows something may have broken in Taku's car and he became a passenger.
Lap 59
Versus gives us the "push-to-pass" update on Danica, who appears to be picking off other cars without the extra horsepower. Should we be looking out for the GoDaddy car? I think so.
Lap 62
Eddie Gossage, always looking for new ways to install caution lights, has put some on the front stretch catch fence (crazy bugger!). A couple of drivers are looking to go off-strategy. Jack Arute, meanwhile, is attaching bowling balls to his head...no joke.
Lap 64
Sato being interviewed by Versus. He confirms that something appears to have broken. He was enjoying the side-by-side before the incident took place. He always was aggressive with the side-by-side in F1...it just doesn't work nearly as well there.
Lap 67
and we are...GREEN! Dario gets the jump again. Briscoe tries to get around Danica before the stripe. Kanaan follows them in fifth.
Lap 69
Briscoe moves ahead of Danica. WOOAH! Lots of cars lifting off ans TK had to back off.
Lap 72
The front four are single-file, TK, Dixon, and Wheldon really going at it for fifth, though. Replay shows that big "WOAH" was caused by Dixon nearly taking off TK's wing.
Lap 76
Dixon escapes the chaos. Now it's Kanaan and Wheldon battling for sixth. Other cars are starting to settle a bit, though.
Lap 78
Kanaan escapes Wheldon, now Viso looking for 7th. Dixon moves past Danica into fourth.
Lap 81
Dixon now looking for third from Briscoe. Versus gives some love to Bertrand Baguette, who is doing nicely in his third-ever oval start.
Lap 83
Danica had apparently moved up to fourth, nearly had Briscoe when he backed off, Dixon moves back ahead of her.
Lap 87
Power inside, Briscoe outside for second, Power hangs on. Danica looking for fourth again.
Lap 92
Everything's settled down quite a bit. We're starting to sneak up on that pit window, though...
Lap 96
Front four were holding station for a bit, but Ryan Briscoe has drafted right up to Will...he'll drop back a bit again, though.
Lap 98
We are...YELLOW! Simona de Silvestro's car is heavy into the wall and her car is WAY on fire. We only hope for the best from Simona as that fire rages in her right sidepod. What the hell are these safety people doing?! It took them a year and a day to start squirting the fire, but they finally got Simona out of the car.
Lap 100
Holy hell, Simona's car is very burned up...perhaps oil just sat in the sidepod and just burned into the night. That was really one of the scariest things I've seen in a while in an IndyCar race (Mike Conway's wreck excepted, of course).
Lap 101
Pit stops! Dario, Power, Briscoe, Dixon, Danica your top five at the out line. Ryan Hunter-Reay slotted into the pit box wrong, so he drops way back. Much apologizing on the radio as RHR has to come back in and top the tanks.
Lap 103
Is it too much to ask to see a replay of Simona's wreck here? That was ridiculously spectacular and we have seen no tape of it? REALLY?!
Lap 104
Keith Wiggins puts the smackdown on the safety team on the radio broadcast. Clearly not happy (and who would be, really) about the guys standing around with hoses and not turning on the taps. In their defense, we haven't seen a fire like that in years. I'm not going to defend them a bit, though...it was inexcusable of them.
Lap 106
IndyCar officials have taken over the investigation of the busted car of de Silvestro. Will Power's crew in pit lane, apparently there's some debris stuck under Will's car, so he's coming in to clean it up.
Lap 109
Power in and out, and it looks like a hole of some sort may have been taped up on the bottom of the car. A piece of someone else's suspension (Simona's probably) was removed from the bottom of the car, so it was good to get that fixed.
Lap 110
Wheldon had some issues with handling on that last run. When they took the wheel off his car, it was nearly flat, apparently.
Lap 113
We are...GREEN! Briscoe holds with Dario this time. Lots of side-by-side further back. Marco had to really back off while battling with Scheckter.
Lap 116
Wheldon now working on Kanaan for fifth. Helio and Viso follow them and Viso fires up next to Wheldon for sixth.
Lap 118
Alex Lloyd now tenth, working on Marco Andretti. Some drivers are starting to consider the merits of going three-wide here, but it's a bit early to be doing that...
Lap 120
Get your beer out for the block party!!! Danica nearly put Kanaan into the inside wall on the backstretch and there was nearly contact!
Lap 123
Alex Lloyd now working on Wheldon for seventh. Lloyd's car is doing great since that pit miscue earlier.
Lap 126
Kanaan sneaks under Lloyd, but has to back way off. Viso now putting the work on Danica.
Lap 130
Danica escapes Viso and...we are YELLOW! Big crash on the front stretch. Castroneves, Mario Moraes, Bertrand Baguette. Helio not happy with Moraes at all, and the safety crew has to separate the two.
Lap 131
Helio is more frustrated than I've ever seen him as he walks straight back to his pit box...replay coming...
TWEEET! Blowing my official yellow shirt whistle on Moraes! Brain fade on his part as he just kept drifting up the track off of four and collected Helio. Insert Brazilian swearing.Lap 133
Pit stops! Dario, Dixon, Briscoe, Danica remain your top four. Our millionth pit stop brain fade goes to Marco Andretti, who parked his car sideways on the pit lane. The interview with Helio on Versus gives you the impression that he may not be so happy...
Lap 134
Lucky/awesome drive of the moment goes to Bertrand Baguette, who threaded the needle just between the crashing cars of Helio and Moraes to hold his damage to just a broken suspension. A foot or two either way and we could have a repeat of Paul Dana's fatal accident.
Lap 138
and we are...GR--er...yellow. Alex Tagliani didn't pit, so he leads the field, but race control thought he led the field a bit TOO much.
Lap 139
Take two, we are...GREEN! Tags leads 'em down. Dario looking for second with Wilson's lapped car hanging out on the outside...THREE-WIDE!
Lap 141
Wait...how did Power get back up there?! He's really racing Tags for the lead, but lost a bunch of momentum.
Lap 144
Briscoe up to fourth, now Danica to fifth as Dario loses some momentum. Dixon rides for second with Power.
Lap 147
E.J. Viso now trying to race for the front again. He is really working on Danica for whatever position she's in now (it changes every time I look away...)
Lap 149
Briscoe all over Power for second. Danica trying the move on Dixon now and Viso lurks.
Lap 153
Where the hell did Vitor come from?! He just went three-wide with Kanaan and Lloyd for position....and he's fast!
Lap 158
Viso, Lloyd, Marco, and Vitor are all over each other for sixth. Viso holds it down well as everyone lines back up, though.
Lap 161
Battle for second! Power and Briscoe goin' at it. Danica finally moves past Dixon for fourth.
Lap 164
Marco on the move, and he's dragging teammate Hunter-Reay with him. Andretti Autosport is on the move!
Lap 169
Tagliani into the pits! Power, Briscoe, Patrick your top three now. Still lots of battling behind him...Tags stalled it and the hose man fell over! Everyone looks to be okay, though...
Lap 170
Power pits as well. Briscoe and Danica now fight for the lead!
Lap 172
Marco Andretti fires his car like a cannon into third place behind Briscoe and Danica.
Lap 178
50 to go! Turn up the wick on this one, folks! Briscoe and Danica holding back the field, Andretti and Dixon behind them.
Lap 180
The front three gapping Dixon a bit here. Danica plays follow-the-leader with Briscoe right now and Andretti holds back a bit from her.
Lap 183
Briscoe washes up off of four, Danica now tries to go side-by-side with him now.
Lap 185
Lapped traffic now a factor, Danica had to back way off for some reason and lost some ground on the #6.
Lap 187
Once again, we're sneaking up on that pit window...it's going to be time for the crews to shine here in a little bit.
Lap 190
#7 hits pit lane...this is her big moment! really good looking pit stop and she's away!
Lap 192
Briscoe now in as Danica circles the track looking to catch him. He has a good stop as well, Danica on the front stretch.....and Danica is right behind Briscoe and she has him!
Lap 193
Briscoe goes high trying to pass Danica. This is great right now!
Lap 195
Danica's car works so much better in the draft than in clean air. She's been so good in traffic all day, but can't seem to hold that lead.
Lap 200
This has been a pretty interesting race so far, but Briscoe definitely has the advantage now. If there's a caution, though, there are a lot of fast cars lurking back in the distance...
Lap 203
Big battle for third between Power, Marco, and Dixon. These are those fast cars I was talking about...
Lap 206
Don't look now, but that second pack is really moving. The issue here is that Will Power might run out of fuel...
Lap 208
20 to go! Briscoe now running off a bit, but you never know...
Lap 213
Now 15 to go. Briscoe now up over a second on Danica. This looks like it's going to be one of those airstrike situations...
Lap 218
The gap now 1.1 seconds from first to second. It's looking like Will Power may not make it on fuel...
Lap 223
Five to go. Briscoe firmly in control now...his car is amazingly hooked up. Attention now turns to Will Power who is being followed by Marco...and there goes Will!
Lap 228
White flag for Briscoe as he looks to cap off a dominating performance.
Checkered Flag!
Briscoe redeems himself for his wreck last week with a win at Texas! Patrick, Andretti, Dixon, Franchitti, Kanaan, Hunter-Reay, Lloyd, Wheldon, Meira round out the top ten. It was shaping up to be a great race as Danica's pit crew put her in prime position for a win, but Briscoe's car was just too much on that last stretch. Well-deserved win for Ryan.
Danica is happy...obviously lightly frustrated with not being able to catch Briscoe, but she's definitely happy. Dario's car seemed to have fallen apart once it got caught in traffic, but he leaves Texas with the points lead. Marco Andretti feeling the love down at Andretti Autosport after an excellent race for third.
Briscoe now pops out of his car and the Firehawk and Carmen, IZOD Trophy Girl, take their spots in the background of the shot. Briscoe says the car was amazing, but he had to put that push-to-pass button on to make the big pass on Danica with about 35 to go. After that, the car just drove itself right into victory lane.
So, let's look back at this year's edition of the Texas race. One thing I can definitely say is this race was A LOT better than last year's. Last year, this was the point where people started realizing the aero package on the Dallaras was completely wrong and cars simply could not pass each other. This year there was a lot more draft-and-pass and cars drafting so much that they had to back out of the throttle. What was nice was the fact that, even though we had a lot of drafting, the race was decided by green flag pit stops followed by the fastest car on the track making an on-track pass for the league. That's the way racing is supposed to look, folks.
Finally, we have to put a big "What-If" stamp on Alex Lloyd. Alex's car was obviously good, as he was able to pick his way back up to the top 10 after a catastrophic mistake in the pits. How would his race have turned out if he hadn't locked up and missed his pit box? Well, who knows?
My predictions...well, I got the winner fairly wrong. That one is down to a lack of spotter and driver thinking from the #32 team (a troubling theme with that group). My dark horses were both strong, but fell victim to a little bad luck in pit lane; Marco definitely would have had a shot if there had been a caution, though.
I seem to have gotten my prediction on the ladies right too...first time I've done that in a while. It's worth noting that Simona was having a heck of a run until her car found the turn two wall and turned her right hand into a s'more. Milka and Sarah had no shot. Danica...well, I was writing her name down quite a bit tonight, so good for her.
The circus rolls to Iowa for the only short track on this year's schedule. It's always an interesting track and it should be fun to watch. See you then!
(Post-script: Roger Penske looks AWESOME in a 10-gallon hat. I think he should make that a permanent look...)
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