Saturday, July 3, 2010

Yellow Shirt Preview: Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen



Is there anything better than spending the Fourth of July at the home of American road racing? If I had the financial wherewithal to do so, I'd probably say no.

Sports cars first took to the streets and country roads of Watkins Glen, NY, in 1948. Formula One found their only successful U.S. venue on the town's new permanent road course in 1961. Can Am, Trans Am, and F5000 were regulars on these hills in the '60s and '70s. One of NASCAR's more successful road races has been held here since the France family and the Corning Glass Company saved the track in the mid-'80s. CART held three races here in its infancy, with the names Unser and Mears gracing the winner's circle. Finally, IndyCar has done a pretty decent job of bringing open-wheel cars back to this track with an annual race at The Glen since 2005. History fills the air from The Esses to Seneca Lodge like soup, and every spot on the grounds probably has a great story behind it.

Unfortunately, when the tracks in danger of being excluded from the 2011 schedule are listed, Watkins Glen finds a way of making that list. That can be attributed, like problems with all tracks owned by a certain group that also owns NASCAR, to a seeming lack of promotion of the event. I have to imagine the citizens of Watkins Glen are aware of the race, but you have to hit Corning, Ithaca, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, and New York City because there are millions of people in those cities. If you cast a line into a pond with 3 million fish, you stand a pretty good chance of catching a few.

Anyway, as far as the on-track product goes, there's been a decent amount of action in the five races the IndyCar Series has run here. After the first three years, it was questionable as to whether anyone other than Scott Dixon would ever win an IndyCar race there. Luckily, Dixon had a...um..."small" brain fade in 2008 that resulted in he and Ryan Briscoe having broken cars, giving Ryan Hunter-Reay the win over Darren Manning. Next time out, Briscoe was having his way with things until Justin Wilson and lowly Dale Coyne Racing found the magic touch that gave Wilson the fastest car by leaps and bounds.

This time around, things are looking good for Team Penske, as they've swept the front row. However, there are a few newcomers lurking in the background that could have an effect on the results.

Winner: Will Power. I don't think any of those newcomers will cross the line first, though. This is a road course, and that means my immediate favorite will likely be Power until the series hits Chicago at the end of August. He's a killer on the twisty tracks and he drives for the best IndyCar team in existence, so why wouldn't I pick him?

Dark Horse: Takuma Sato. Taku has clearly become comfortable with his KV Racing/Lotus IndyCar, with good showings at Kansas and Iowa. The only problem is that both of those efforts ended with a mangled race car. There are a few spots where the walls and aramco barriers run up close to the track, but most of The Glen is bordered by wide asphalt runoff areas that will allow Sato a mistake or two. However, if Sato keeps his nose completely clean, he could very well be near the front.

Ninja Dark Horse -- so dark you can't see him!: Paul Tracy. Okay, maybe you can see him, especially with that bleached dome he's got. He's in the #24 car that was pitched into the fence at Indianapolis, and his teammate just so happens to be the guy who won here last year -- along with the chief engineer who built that car. There's knowledge of the track on this team with a driver who, though natural-terrain road courses aren't his forte, is pretty damn good at what he does. Paul could challenge before all is said and done.

The Ladies: Hey look: Milka Duno didn't qualify last! Sure, E.J. Viso didn't post a time, but don't be troubling me with your technicalities. We only have three ladies in this one, as Sarah Fisher prefers tracks with only left turns, and I think the only one with any sort of legitimate shot is Simona de Silvestro. Danica is way down in the starting order and Milka will probably have a terrible crash with one of the leaders by lap 15. I don't see any of the three sniffing above the top five though.

The GP at The Glen rolls off at 3:30 tomorrow. Grill some burgers and dogs and grab yourself a good ol' American beer and let's celebrate America with a great IndyCar show. Cheers!

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