The Yellow Shirt

Wrapup: Last Weekend in August

2010-08-29T22:23:00.002-04:00

As with the end of July, there was plenty of amazing action going on at racetracks across North America and beyond this past weekend. ALMS put on an interesting show at Mosport that flagged when a Porsche nearly vaulted into the forests of Ontario. Grand Am experienced more of the historical domination of Ganassi Racing and the team of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas. NASCAR's Nationwide Series was turned over to the twisty specialists as Boris Said pipped Max Papis by inches at the line in Montréal. None of that matters, though, because IndyCars took over Joliet, IL, for a fantastic show in what looked to be their final run there, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was open for business for the final time in 2010 with two-wheeled action.

Wrapup: MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix

Honestly, there are few things in the world that can be more exciting that motorcycle road racing. Two guys (or girls) dueling wheel-to-wheel with real danger of serious injury (more on that in a moment) is the thing that made motor racing so interesting to spectators in the first place. IndyCar commentators -- myself included -- like to tout how amazing it can be to watch a couple of open-wheel cars bump in the turns at 200 m.p.h., but to have guys go side-by-side at 200 m.p.h. with nothing but a leather suit and some body armor protecting them is just crazy. "Woah" moments in an IndyCar race become "Woah"-followed by a pile of swear words when these bikes get too close for comfort.

One level of MotoGP's championships has got it completely right: Moto2, with 40 entrants riding absolutely identical bikes looking for a spot in the ultra-exclusive upper tier. It's a recipe for pure chaos and plenty of "holy crap" moments, and to watch in person is absurdly thrilling. After eight bikes managed to find themselves occupying the same space on the side of the track in the second turn of this afternoon's Moto2 race, the race got underway and never stopped thrilling. The top three bikes broke away from the rest of the pack and diced for several laps before former MotoGP rider Toni Elias channeled his inner '91 Andretti/Mears and decided to make an outside pass in the road course's sweeping first turn for the winning move. In the meantime, riders behind them were going three-wide and pushing their bikes over the edge; the most notable incident involved one rider being pitched into a high-side accident, followed by the bike's fuel tank splitting and unused fuel turning the infield road course into a brief firestorm.

Unfortunately, though it certainly has the potential to be extremely exciting, the MotoGP World Championship race got strung out a bit early and never did bunch back up. More unfortunately, the only rider in the entire series that I truly dislike, Dani Pedrosa, was the only one who found his way past surprise polesitter Ben Spies (born in Tenessee, raised in Texas) for the victory. Again, Pedrosa and the Repsol Honda Team bosses seemed to do their best to ruin Nicky Hayden's chances for success, even during Hayden's world championship run in 2006, and they eventually got their way as Nicky left on awful terms and had to spend a year trying to figure out the completely different Ducati. Pedrosa used the Honda's brilliant straight-line speed and superior race-craft to beat Spies down the main straight on Lap 8 and he never looked back. Nicky Hayden had a rough start from the third spot, then got a touch too deep into a corner, catching one of his knee sliders (vital equipment for the on-edge cornering these guys do) on a curb and separating it from his suit; he hung on to take 6th. Other notables were were runaway points leader Jorge Lorenzo (3rd), Valentino Rossi (4th), and third American Colin Edwards (DNF, tire issues).

On a low note, condolences go out from everyone in the racing world to the family and friends of Peter Lenz, 13-year-old U.S. Grand Prix Riders' Union rider, who low-sided on the slippery track on that race's warm-up lap and was then struck by another bike, receiving fatal injuries. It's not clear what the exact nature of the injuries were or when he officially passed, but the incident was not pretty -- it was immediately clear that, even had Lenz survived, his life would have been irrevocably changed for the worse. Again, the safety of motor racing will be brought into question, especially with so young a rider taken away; however, it was clear by their reactions that these riders all understand the danger of the profession they've chosen and, most telling, Lenz' parents indicated their understanding and acknowledgement of the dangers in their own statement. It was, by far, the Speedway's youngest fatality, and its first since Tony Renna's 2003 IRL tire test incident in the northeast turn. Rest in peace, Pete...

Now, from the heavy-hearted to the heart-stopping...

Wrapup: Peak Antifreeze Indy 300

It became abundantly clear when NASCAR released the schedules for their top three series that 28 August 2010 would be the final time for a long while that IndyCars would take to Joliet's 1.5-mile superspeedway. I understand that the IndyCar/International Speedway Corp. war has quietly festered in the background as Randy Bernard re-evaluated the series' schedule and began to speak out on the races at Kansas and Homestead for lack of promotion and excitement. The promotion aspect reared its head again last night as maybe 20,000 people showed up for the race, and ISC has essentially scheduled the IndyCar Series out of one of its best events.

From the drop of the green flag, the action only stopped three times: Alex Lloyd brain fart #1 (punted Tomas Scheckter into both the wall and Rafa Matos), a wall brush by Ana Beatriz and several hundred brain farts under the caution, and Alex Lloyd brain fart #2 (oversteered out of turn 4 and mowed the lawn a bit in the tri-oval). On the final caution period, Dario Franchitti's crew did something marginally ridiculous and didn't give Dario fresh tires, putting him out of the pits in first place. When the drivers behind him decided to go two-wide for a while, Dario took his car off the white line and drove between the first and second grooves, which made it essentially impossible for the guys behind him to get by. Bang, Zoom, Victory for Dario.

In the meantime, I'd almost forgotten what the pee-your-pants ovals look like, and Chicagoland Speedway's IndyCar swansong provided a healthy reminder of how it is. There were always cars going two-wide, one of the more thrilling moments was a three-wide battle with Dan Wheldon on the bottom, Marco Andretti on the top, and Will Power fighting desperately to keep his car between the two, and even a four-wide moment or two. Cars were cutting across the track, looking for places to get past, they were doing the inches-apart thing several times per lap, and they all again somehow managed to keep everyone going in a straight line. One's heart almost never beats for the entire two hours and the end makes you realize just how long you've been holding your breath. It's absolutely thrilling...to a point.

The major problem is that, while these guys and gals run side-by-side for what seems like hours, they have trouble passing each other. The issue stems mostly from the fact that the engines are de-tuned, so when a driver catches a draft, there are no extra revs in the motor to really propel the car into the draft. Think on it: the last time we had real draft-and-pass battles at Indianapolis was when Hondas, Toyotas, and Chevys were sharing space on the track and Honda hadn't yet tuned the engines down as a PR stunt. However, if Honda insists on falsely creating reliability, there is still a solution: pop a one-inch-thick piece of metal perpendicular to the ground on the end of the rear wing. CART did this for a couple of years, though to a much greater extent than what I described, and the results were clear: the drag on the lead car mixed with the massive hole in the air created insane amounts of passing on every oval track. CART's strip of metal (the Handford Device) was so big that it became almost ridiculous, but a scaled down version of the same concept might just give the following car just enough advantage to turn some of this two-wide into actual passes.

As it is, we continue on with another insane oval that promises much of the same action as Chicagoland this coming Saturday. Labor Day weekend will kick off in Sparta, KY, and kick the final stretch of three races off in style. Until then, many happy returns!

Wrapup: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

2010-08-09T11:15:00.002-04:00

Well, circumstance has put me in the entirely awkward position of having to try and do a wrapup of a race based on nothing but what I've read from other writers across the interwebs. I have no Versus and I have no DVR, plus I was at work during the entire race. However, as someone with nothing better to do, I'll go ahead and try to make this train wreck happen.

First off, we've heard plenty of criticism of just about everything as we go through this doldrums of three relatively boring twisty tracks during a part of the year where all sports seem to struggle to hold the interest of fans. We've had two weeks to go over The Block, which is the only thing that made Edmonton noteworthy, and I'm frankly tired of it and I've even gotten tired of Barnhart-bashing. Somehow, people are still asking questions about why Milka Duno continues to drive even though she's supposedly on probation (hint: the name "Citgo" on her sidepods helps quite a bit); that's a situation that should resolve itself in October. Everyone still seems to be piling on the fine folks at Dallara, though the teams seem to have a legitimate gripe on that front (they're apparently getting no information on how this "safety cell" is supposed to actually look and behave). Finally, we look at the schedule and see Mid-Ohio and Sonoma next to each other and I think most of us want to take a nap just thinking about that.

Certainly, as Mike King and Bob Jenkins will drill into your skull, Mid-Ohio is a lovely facility. A neat ribbon of asphalt laced over a set of rolling hills in northern Ohio sounds like a fine place to spend a weekend and listen to noisy engines go by. The trouble, as with all facilities of this pedigree, is that passing is at a premium, and that doesn't translate to TV at all. Driver skill is rewarded through the winding back section of the track, but the aero-dependency and lack of power in these cars means that, once you've caught the guy/girl ahead of you, you'll have a devil of a time getting past. As I said, I never did watch the race in full, but I've seen highlights of the last lap, ad it seems like Will Power (who I think is a superior road racer to Dario Franchitti) just could not get close enough to make a serious passing attempt.

Thus, Dario, through the superior work of his pit crew, managed to beat Power to the checkered flag by a cool half-a-second. I think it's almost safe to say that, somehow, Dario has been quiet in lurking around in second place in the championship. He's now only won twice and, although it was the Indianapolis 500, that first win was entirely overshadowed by Mike Conway's massive accident that ended the race. However, while people seem to dwell on the job security of the Penske drivers (save Power) or how much money KV Racing has wasted on broken cars this year or the dramas involving other drivers running into each other, then tweeting about it, that #10 car has been consistently lurking in the background, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

With only one road course (Sonoma), two bleed-out-your-ears-fast ovals (Kentucky and Chicagoland), and two "driver's ovals" (Motegi and Homestead) remaining on the schedule, that 41-point cushion that Will has over Dario in the points standings seems a lot smaller than it did after Will took the win at Toronto.

In other news at Mid-Ohio, some drivers that seemed to have their luck run out in June and July made some waves, and there was one name floating around the top ten most of the day that might make some people sit up and say "who?" Simona de Silvestro, who started her post-Indianapolis run literally on fire at Texas, watched the results slip away from her as the "J" months went on, capped by getting speared out of sixth place at Edmonton; at Mid-O, she drove solidly and safely to a nice eighth place result. Alex Tagliani had been opening eyes with his brand new team through the early parts of the season, including a massive qualifying day at Indianapolis, but the copper-wheeled FAZZT car was nowhere to be seen for the last couple of months; he led a good portion of the race through pit strategy and finished a solid fourth. Finally, Bertrand Baguette, who came into the league as a complete unknown, spent a good portion of the race in tenth, holding off Ryan Hunter-Reay (who, admittedly, had a bad car after pit lane contact with Helio Castroneves), before succumbing to RHR and finishing eleventh.

Finally, Kevin Kalkhoven would be bashing his head against a wall, but he probably had to sell the wall to finance yet another set of broken cars. Takuma Sato would be in fantastic shape points-wise if he'd just stop running into stuff; he tried a bonzai pass on Dario early on and the car just sort of kept going until the tire wall stopped him. E.J. Viso put a cap on Justin Wilson's awful weekend by being a little too optimistic on one of his pass attempts, sending both cars back to the haulers.

The teams will be making the big cross-country trip to wine country for the Indy GP of Sonoma on August 22. Much fermented grape juice will be consumed to wipe our memories clean of how dull that race is likely to be.

The Bermuda Pennsylvania Triangle

2010-07-28T11:16:00.003-04:00

Jimmy Spencer, notable for being a fat, loudmouthed buffoon of a NASCAR driver who became a fat, loudmouthed buffoon of a Speed Channel commentator, has decided in this week's leadup to NASCAR's Pensylvania 500 to call out the Mattioli Family, owners of Pocono Raceway, on their lack of safety improvements to the facility.

Text of Spencer's column may be found HERE.

Certainly, I'd like all racetracks to be as safe as humanly possible so that we can have incidents such as Mike Conway's at Indianapolis, which could've easily killed a driver about 20 years ago, and the driver still has their life and their career. Spencer cites the efforts of Speedway Motorsports, Inc, and International Speedway Corp. -- admittedly a good deal richer than the Mattiolis -- in improving their tracks after complaints come up about safety or fan amenities.

The Mattiolis, perhaps because they don't have the vast resources of these larger companies, have put in SAFER Barriers in the turns, but that's about it. The inside of every piece of the track, save the pit area, is lined with an old-style Armco barrier. Apart from spectator areas and the area that crosses the infield access tunnel, there is no catch fencing on the outside of the track. Case-in-point: Kasey Kahne's car rode the top of the wall on the final lap of the Pocono 500 and, had physics not been so kind, could have fallen off the track and into a forest. Just for some reference, deaths such as Jim Clark's were caused by a car going into a forest.

Now, since this is a NASCAR track and Spencer is a NASCAR commentator, this is all very taxicab-centric for the moment. HOWEVER!! Pocono Raceway used to be a staple of the IndyCar championship with both USAC and CART. It was one of three tracks in the Triple Crown of 500-mile races back in the "good ol' days". The list of IndyCar Pocono 500 winners reads like a hall of fame of American open-wheelers (and Teo Fabi).

Plus, it's easily the single coolest oval track in the nation. Whereas most tracks are based on old horse racing ovals, clones of Charlotte, or smaller versions of Daytona, Pocono is one of the lone holdouts from an era of entirely unique oval tracks. It has three wildly different turns, one based on Trenton's first turn, one based on any of Indianapolis' four corners, and one based on Milwaukee's flat sweepers. Engineers acclimated to the cookie-cutters that essentially have two identical corners glued to each other by straightaways or tri-ovals are given fits over the design lunacy of Pocono. You have to be a heck of a driver to take on the challenge of Pocono and survive.

Tying this all back together, one of the chief reasons IndyCars can't drive at Pocono is the fact that, should there be a crash, someone will probably have their career end. A few other details, like rough pavement are not quite as bad and easier to fix, but that safety issue is something that needs fixing. Do that and Pocono is suddenly opened back up to the world of open-wheel. Randy Bernard seems to be on a push for unique short ovals to really challenge the drivers, but he should really consider the world's most unique superspeedway if the management ever finds the time to make the improvements that their property so desperately needs.

Über-Wrapup: The Last Sunday in July

2010-07-26T21:05:00.007-04:00

To be honest, this past Sunday, the final day of rest of this seventh month of 2010, was hardly a day of rest for those of us who like to watch motorized things move quickly. Above, you see the three tracks on this half of the globe that saw major action this past season: Laguna Seca, Edmonton City Centre Airport, and The Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This, of course, is usually an IndyCar blog, so the inclusion of the Edmonton race is vital. I'm going to write up MotoGP because, frankly, I think it's one of the greatest shows on a racetrack, they come to Indianapolis in a month, and this was their other trip to the States. I'm going to write up the Brickyard 400 because it was at the Speedway, and because I was there.

Wrapup: MotoGP United States Grand Prix

Here's the order in which I rank the top of my list of great American auto racing tracks: 1) Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2) Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. To watch cars climb up and fall down the sudden hills of earthquake-tumbled north-central California is absolutely mesmerizing. The thought of guys on two-wheeled, 200-m.p.h. rocketships navigating these hills seems absolutely insane.

What makes MotoGP races interesting, especially in this 2010 season, is that the riders behind the leader will generally keep up until something drastic happens. Several times, someone has pulled off an exciting late pass or someone at the top of the field will crack under the pressure and fall from their bike. In past 2010 rounds, the beneficiary of others' mistakes has generally been young Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo.

At this year's U.S. Grand Prix, he drove a fantastic race and forced yet another mistake from the rider in front. This time around, it was Dani Pedrosa -- who I will never forgive for essentially forcing former champ Nicky Hayden from his ride at Honda -- who fell into a low-side accident in turn 5, just before the run up the hill to the Corkscrew. Lorenzo drove off for the rest of the race and, as he is wont to do, celebrated in unique fashion. In other races, he's taken a flag bearing his personal logo and planted it in the sandtrap; since it was the U.S. Grand Prix, Lorenzo put on a moon landing outfit and did a slow astronaut walk to his flag planting.

For the home team, Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies, and Colin Edwards finished 5th, 6th, and 7th, respectively. Nicky's brother Roger Lee Hayden came eleventh in his first race replacing Randy de Puniet, who broke a leg in a nasty wreck last week.

MotoGP takes a quick trip to Brno in the Czech Republic before returning to the States and racing around the Indianapolis road course. You know I'll be there.

Wrapup: Brickyard 400

One of the beautiful things about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is that, even when the place is about three-fifths full, it still draws one of the biggest crowds of NASCAR's season. I've heard many excuses from people as to why the crowds of 250-300,000 no longer make an appearance at the Brickyard, but I have two reasons that I can name off the top of my head: 1) Like F1, a ridiculous tire controversy had a very negative effect on fan perception, and 2) When the choice is given to pay $85 to sit in the first 10 rows in the heat and barely see anything or sit in the AC and watch on TV for free, it's no contest. The same problem is starting to take hold at the Indianapolis 500 as well, so it's high time Jeff Belskus and Co. start to have a look at the dynamics of supply and demand when it comes to bad seats at The Speedway.

Anyway, as far as the race itself was concerned, it has become fairly clear that Chip Ganassi and his crew have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on lockdown. Dario Franchitti's car in The 500 was absolutely perfect, and Juan Montoya's car was damn near perfect for most of the 400. Then, when Montoya's car went completely wrong after a new set of tires was put on, Ganassi's other driver, Jamie McMurray was there to pick up the pieces. If the Chipster were to start a bike team and show up at the MotoGP race, he'd probably win that too; he's starting to achieve Penske-like status at the top of The Speedway's great owners.

Also of note, for the first time since NASCAR changed over to their new car design, the racing was pretty darn good. A lot of IndyCar fans will look at the Brickyard and say, "Psh...those cars can't pass each other; they go around in a single-file line". Well, I went to both races this year, and I might go so far as to say the NASCAR race provided more passing than IndyCar has in the last two years. The reason is that the management took the stupid, ugly wing, which made the cars very aero-dependent, off the back of the car and replaced it with a giant, flat piece of metal that gives the cars the aerodynamics of a brick. The new spoiler provides a massive hole in the air and, if you can catch the slipstream, it's game-on.

Finally -- and take note, IndyCar -- these heavy, un-aerodynamic cars have to have their throttle feathered through the turns, meaning the driver that gets the power down better off the corner WILL pass the car in front. Case in point: Check out this here poorly-focused photo of Kevin Harvick passing Jamie McMurray for the lead before the halfway point of the straightaway after getting the power down sooner off of Turn 4. Robin Miller can be a dolt sometimes, but he has a penchant for being correct about a lot of things; when he says the IndyCars need to be more powerful and less stuck, things like this are the reasons he is absolutely right.

And one more thing: even though you can't see the turns so well, the south end of the Tower Terrace is a pretty neat place to watch a race. You get a great view of the start and finish and you can run to Section 37 to watch the victory celebration, you can watch pit stops (which is a bunch of coreographed chaos in NASCAR), and you can watch drivers set up their passes. I have my good ol' B-Stand seats for the 2011 500, but I might move to the Terrace for 2012.

Wrapup: Honda Edmonton Indy

Refer back to my photo of the WTF orangutan from Sunday for my reaction to this one.

I figured, when the IndyCar race was getting ready to start on the radio as I drove home from the Speedway, that it would be normal Edmonton fare, with Will Power grabbing P1 by the scruff of the neck (hold that metaphor in your mind for a bit...) and running off with things. For the first three-quarters of the race, that prediction was absolutely correct. Power lapped the field up to 11th place before a late string of yellow flags saved other drivers from the #12 car.

Then, for reasons I don't entirely understand, Team Penske decided to throw the low-grip black tires on Power's car and set up what was the most controversial moment in recent IndyCar memory.

Some simple tire physics for you: a harder-compound tire has less grip. Power was obviously struggling with the tires compared to teammate Helio Castroneves and his red tires, and Helio caught and passed him relatively quickly. Then a caution came out when Alex Lloyd's car broke and came to a stop in one of the tight "infield" turns on the Edmonton circuit. On the restart, everyone and their mothers knew what was coming: Power needed a good start to get past Helio quickly on his inferior tires, but Helio was going to defend that position come hell or high water.

All of that is exactly what happened, except that Helio didn't swerve across the road or anything; he simply drove down the inside of the front stretch so Will could not. Will would have had the position if he'd been able to get the power down because he had a line that allowed better acceleration out of the corner; instead, he spun his wheels a bit, allowing Helio to escape and Scott Dixon to slide into second. When it initially happened, it looked for all the world like an exciting bit of three-lap-to-go racing. But, as we all know, exciting racing isn't what the Great Iron Hand of Justice is all about...

Seriously, what kind of egomaniacal, ignorant fool does it take to make a rule that says you're not allowed to cleanly defend your position on the inside line if you're in the lead of a race with three laps to go and the best driver in the field on your tail?! Likewise, what sort of moron would create such a rule, then never actually enforce it until the only exciting thing to ever happen at an Edmonton race actually happens?! Really, drivers are prohibited, by rule, from driving down the inside of the track to prevent other cars from diving in to make a pass? Has Brian Barnhart ever actually watched an IndyCar oval race? Everyone drives down the inside of the straightaways because the cars are so stuck to the ground that they can! The preferred line at Texas is to go halfway down the backstretch, then glue your car to the solid white line on the inside to prevent the driver behind from passing! At Indianapolis, if you have a fast car behind you, you drive down the inside of the straightaway to prevent them from getting by! One of the most exciting finishes in the history of The 500 was in 1989, where Al Unser, Jr, tried his damndest to put Emerson Fittipaldi into the grass so that Emmo wouldn't pass him!

Here's a neat definition of "blocking": slicing in front of someone who is trying to make a pass in such a way that it could cause an accident. If you'd like to see this sometime, watch an F1 race and you'll see it about 9,000 times. What Helio did was simply prevent -- in a completely safe fashion -- Will from gaining the inside line. When Will cut to the outside, Helio stayed where he was and dared Will to try what would have been an absolutely thrilling pass.

Therefore, with all the fire and brimstone that I can muster from the deep, dark, most rotten depths of my soul, I blow my Yellow Shirt Whistle at Brian Barnhart, the single worst chief steward/commissioner in the history of professional sports. I wish nothing but the swiftest and most painful of firings upon this clueless mound of worthlessness. We've sat through 15 years of his officiating, micro-managing, and awful decisions, and he's finally dropped the final straw onto the camel's back. Get him out of here...NOW!

Oh, by the way, Scott Dixon was gifted the win when the IRL stopped scoring Castroneves. Simona de Silvestro was the star of the show, with a great qualifying effort and some good racing keeping her in the top ten most of the day; she got punted by E.J. Viso to knock her out of the race.

IndyCar is in Mid-Ohio in two weeks. MotoGP takes over The Speedway in four weeks. NASCAR can leave these pages once again now that their annual trip to Indianapolis is over. It's getting to be driver, team, and schedule silly season, so I'll try to keep you updated. Until next time, cheers!

InstaReview: Honda Edmonton Indy

2010-07-25T19:53:00.002-04:00

A Week From Hell

2010-07-21T20:13:00.002-04:00

Okay...I have a feeling I might be dead by bedtime on Sunday.

See, I've purchased myself $90 worth of Tower Terrace seat for this Sunday's running of the Brickyard 400. I figured if The Speedway is going to pay the sanctioning fee for events like the Brickyard and the MotoGP race, I might as well put some discretionary income into their bank account; few things are worth the money more than a day at The Speedway, in my opinion. I like watching motorized objects move fast (even if it's 50 m.p.h. slower than an IndyCar), and I love the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so these are easy decisions to make.

Slight problem: Sunday may be the busiest racing day of the entire year. 8AM: F1 in Deutschland, 1PM: Brickyard 400, 5PM: MotoGP U.S. Grand Prix, 6 PM: Honda Edmonton Indy. Simply, there's no way in hell I will be able to watch all of the racing this weekend, even though I desperately want to. At this point, I'm just hoping to get home from the Brickyard in time to watch the Edmonton race.

On top of all of this, I'm moving out of my current apartment in Bloomington, the lease for which ends on Saturday. On top of that, after three weeks of pretty much nothing going on, the work piles on in epic fashion this week. I'll be lucky to rattle out an Edmonton/USGP/Brickyard preview on Saturday night, and there's no way in hell I'll be able to liveblog Edmonton.

Just thought I'd share all that with you because I felt the need to describe this hellish weekend to the masses.

Pseudo-Live Blog: Honda Indy Toronto

2010-07-18T12:28:00.050-04:00

The IndyCar circus rolls onto the lovely shores of Lake Ontario for a street race around Toronto's Exhibition Place. A tight track which is both technical and fast at varying times with a very tight turn 3 that will produce most of the day's action.

Last year was the IndyCar Series' first visit to the famous Champ Car, and they put on a pretty good show in spite of the slower and wider cars. Hometown boy Paul Tracy scythed his way through the field and was fighting for the lead with Helio Castroneves when the two drove a bit...aggressively into and out of turn 3, resulting in heavy contact for both drivers. Paul will have a chance to make it exciting again today, starting in the 24th position.

The major story of the weekend so far is the speed of Justin Wilson, who put down some scorching laps during the qualifying session on the supposedly less-grippy "black" tires. Those scorching laps allowed him to use only one set of the sticky "red" tires and conserve a couple of sets of reds for the race. All that mumbo jumbo about tires means this: Justin Wilson will be a force on the streets of Exhibition Place. However...

Winner: Will Power Will starts on the outside of the front row. He's the boss on twisty tracks this year, so I'm not going to stop backing him to win these races.

Dark Horse: Rafael Matos I'm having a hard time picking my dark horses today because of the way the field is laid out; all the drivers who can be considered favorites are at the front of the grid. After last race's neat fourth-place finish, we'll see if Rafa can keep up the momentum.

Ninja Dark Horse: Paul Tracy I just want to see him kill the field from his 24th starting spot...it should make the viewing interesting. He's always good in front of the home crowd too.

The engines have been fired (on a command from Greg Kinnear no less), and we're about ready to roll! Live blogging on the way...

12:58, pre-race
Fireworks go off as the field completes its first parade lap. Killer awesome weather on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario...no excuse not to be outside for the citizens of Toronto today.

Lap 1
We are....GREEN! Wilson fires away into the lead, Power follows, RHR into third. Back further in the field, Danica making some moves.

Lap 2
Power closing the gap a bit...Wheldon in for a new wing. As Pressdog might say, the reason is...oh, it IS our business! Wheldon locked 'em up and nailed a KV car, according to replay.

Lap 4
Hunter-Reay had dropped back at some point and was caught in a battle for fourth with Dixon. RHR made a nice move into turn 3.

Lap 5
Reports of Will Power being in second were greatly exaggerated...he's in sixth, while Helio is in second. An honest mistake, as the cars look pretty similar.

Lap 7
No clue what happened to Power on the first lap, apart from dropping back four spots.

Lap 10
Wilson, Helio, Dario, RHR Dixon, Power, Kanaan, Tags, Briscoe, and Patrick are your top 10. If you had Lap 10 as the lap Milka gets lapped in your betting pool, you win!

Lap 13
Most of the field has settled a bit. If interest: Paul Tracy is up to 18th position, but he's been caught behind Tomas Scheckter for a while.

Lap 17
Blowin' my Yellow Shirt whistle on Mario Moraes, who hip-checks his teammate Sato into the wall on the entrance to turn 3...Moraes really moved over too far on the setup for the turn. Marco Andretti says "I TOLD YOU SO" ..and we are...YELLOW!

Lap 19
Pit Stops! Everyone and their mothers in for fresh ethanol and Firestones...except Paul Tracy and Vitor Meira. Helio, Dario, Power, Wilson your first four off the pit lane. DUN DUN DUNNN! Paul Tracy could be in great shape if he gets a nice caution in 15 or 20 laps.

Lap 22
We are...GREEN! Sato gives a very happy-go-lucky assessment of teammate Moraes just before the flag...KV Racing is a happy place. WOAH WOAH WOAAAA! Helio goes way too hot into turn 3 and nails the back of Meira. Helio's car is buried deep into the turn 3 tire barrier....who knows how well the driver is feeling...

Lap 23
Oh thank God...Helio climbs out of the car and appears to be relatively okay. Replay shows that Helio pulled out right as Vitor was on his brakes; Helio didn't have enough time to get alongside and he clipped Meira. Without any traction, Helio couldn't do anything but smash hard into the tires.

Lap 24
For those of you who complain about Dallara getting the contract to build the base chassis for 2012, I present this incident as a reason: Helio and his car look pretty darn good considering they barreled into a tire barrier at a good 100 miles per hour.

Lap 25
Helio says the new tires and push-to-pass had him moving a lot faster than Meira into the braking zone and it is what it is...tough break.

Lap 26
We are...GREEN! Tracy like a cannon into turn 1. Again, the field stacks up behind Meira. Trouble! Turn 1; Alex Lloyd busted into the turn 1 tires. Near contact amongst the leaders as Franchitti and Power try to get past Meira. We are...(again) YELLOW!

Lap 31
By the way, we've essentially been yellow for about 13 laps, and Paul Tracy is just saaaavin' fuel. He may even do a 1-stop race at this point.

Lap 32
We are...GREEN! Dario makes the move on Tracy into turn 3. Meira getting passed left and right. Aaaaaand we're yellow again. Whistle blows again on Mario Moraes, who tried to outbrake the entire field going into three and takes out Romancini. Moraes is a complete menace on the track today; two incidents of "avoidable contact" taking out two other cars means he should be sidelined.

Lap 34
Paul Tracy decides he's bored with running under yellow, decides to pit in order to liven things up. Fuel and tires for Paul on a hellishly long pit stop. He'll be at the back of the field. Moraes given a slap on the wrist for his dumbass driving.

Lap 36
We are...GREEN! Dixon all over Kanaan for fifth, but no dice. Danica takes ninth from Tags. Oh my god, we have...COMPLETED A LAP!!!

Lap 38
Sike...Tags back in front of Danica. She's getting a lot of pressure from Rafa Matos. Dixon was OHSOCLOSE to passing Dixon; nearly contact, but they gave each other the space.

Lap 39
Dixon takes Kanaan for fifth. A good, clean fight by both drivers.

Lap 41
ABC has some really neat camera angles that they only use in the side-by-side...oh well. By the way, Marco really wants seventh from Ryan Briscoe.

Lap 42
There seems to be less and less asphalt between Dario and Will Power with every lap. Romancini gets in line to sing the praises of Mario Moraes to Jamie Little.

Lap 44
Hey, we're past halfway. Dario, Power, Wilson, RHR, Dixon, Kanaan, Briscoe, Marco, Tags, and Danica your top ten. We've finally settled into some green flag racing, which is a kinda nice change.

Lap 45
Side note: Dario changed engines this morning, but there's no penalty from the league? Somebody explain how that works please.

Lap 50
Much of the same as five laps ago. Matos hits the pit lane as the window opens for our next round of stops.

Lap 52
Briscoe, Tagliani, and Viso in; everything looking good with those stops. Watching Power and Wilson chase Dario and waiting for them to peel off the track.

Lap 54
Top three coming up on lapped traffic as Dario and Power have slowed a bit to allow Wilson to catch up as they try to save fuel. Dario dives off to pit.

Lap 56
Power and Wilson both pit. They were really caught in traffic on the last lap, so Dario might be in the hot seat here. Wilson beats Power off pit lane and they both beat Dario! Wilson in the lead!

Lap 57
Bertrand Baguette in the tires. Still a local yellow at this point. Radio says Scheckter had a part in the incident. No replays on TV yet as we're in the middle of pit stops.

Lap 58
Marco and Rahal battle each other hard for position, Rahal takes him in turn 3, then uses the wall as a pick to make Marco get in line.

Lap 60
Power and Dario get caught in traffic (looked like Moraes), and Wilson runs off with the lead.

Lap 61
Trouble! Briscoe around in circles with no front wing! A local yellow and some brave corner worker work later, Briscoe is out of the way. Replay shows Rahal looking to outbrake, but the two cars stayed in line and Rahal put Briscoe around.

Lap 63
Briscoe in and out with a fresh schnozz. At least a lap down now, though...tough break for him.

Lap 65
We are...YELLOW! Matos' and Viso's cars have become attached to each other. Paul Tracy also around behind that. Replay shows Danica was passing Marco, then Marco sort of held up Matos and Viso and no one had anywhere to go; Matos and Viso lose out. Tracy's spin was from locking his brakes trying to pass Simona de Silvestro. Tracy back up and running.

Lap 71
Hey guess what...no fuel saving today, folks! Everyone's good to race.

Lap 72
We are...GREEN! Wilson loose on acceleration of the last turn and Power...TAKES THE LEAD! Hunter-Reay is divebombing the planet and puts Dixon into the outside wall in turn 3. OH! Justin Wilson end-around as well. Chaos in Toronto!

Lap 74
Dixon's day is clearly through, as his left front is pointed entirely the wrong way. We are...YELLOW: Scheckter and Tags in the turn one tires. Scheckter a bit optimistic trying to pass, Tags cuts him off and that is that.

Lap 75
Okay...let's all breathe for a moment. Your current top o' the order: Power, Dario, RHR, Kanaan, Rahal (WOOHOO!), Danica (way to stay out of trouble somehow), Andretti, de Silvestro (!!!), Meira (how'd he get back up there?), Wheldon.

Lap 77
We are...GREEN! Dario and RHR realy taking the fight to Power at the head of the field. Now Kanaan trying his luck with this battle.

Lap 78
A hellish gaggle of cars behind the lapped car of Ryan Briscoe (don't say that too often) Lots of brake-locking and wing-to-gearbox contact and WOOOOAHs from the viewing audience.

Lap 80
Wilson gets 8th from de Silvestro in the middle of that insane battle. All of those cars bunch up into turn 3, then somehow don't hit each other...it's kinda fun to watch.

Lap 82
Oh by the way, Will Power is just over a second up on Dario. RHR and Kanaan follow them. Things have settled a bit further back as the fast cars get in front of the slowpokes.

Lap 84
Wilson has gotten by Marco. NOT SEEN HERE, says ABC.

Lap 85
White flag for Will Power. This is a sniper situation for the guys behind him...nobodys catching Will.

Checkered Flag!
Power takes advantage of everyone else's mistakes and takes the win! Dario, RHR, Kanaan, Rahal, Danica, Wilson, Marco, de Silvestro, and Wheldon round out your top ten. This one was quite the crashfest at the beginning and near the end, but the last ten laps went off without a hitch. Lots of fun racing here and there.

Thanks to Marty Reid for letting us know that this is the 52nd anniversary of Richard Petty's first win (drink some bleach, Marty).

Will Power kisses his car that brought him to victory and receives the plaudits of his team members. Will, always thinking ahead, loves extending the points lead. We find out that Briscoe said Power has to do a rap if he wins...no rap here, but maybe we'll see one later.

Justin Wilson says he went a bit too hard into turn 8 and had to hit the brakes, which caused his spin. Says the D&R guys deserve better than what he gave them.

Hunter-Reay says his car a junk, which makes his third place even more interesting. No comments on his hip check on Scott Dixon...DeBruhl probably should've pushed him a bit on that.

Scott Goodyear says the series is getting competitive now...even though Will Power is wrecking the points battle. His point is fair, though; lots of teams were represented towards the sharp end of the field all day.

Anyway, my predictions worked out decently enough. Will Power, of course, can make any gambler look like a genius. Rafa Matos was doing decently until he was caught up in a traffic jam and made contact with Viso. Paul Tracy might've had a better shot if his fuel hose had worked better on his first pit stop.

The show hits the Edmonton City Centre Airport next week for what should be another runaway show by Will Power....it sure was last time around. Until then, cheers!

The Ghosts of Christmas (in July) Future...

2010-07-15T22:51:00.002-04:00

The very first thought I will give you in this post: I totally dig the new concept that the ICONIC Committee voted for on their totally awesome Droid X's, and I completely buy the fact that they came up with a ridiculously contrived pile of faux-showmanship to reveal this concept to the world. Remember: "Spectacle" is the word used to describe our favorite motor race, so lets not be afraid of spectacles (however silly they can seem).

Like many, I heard the word "Dallara" and my ears came close to refusing to listen to the rest of the announcement. That's all well and good, even if most criticisms against Dallara are somewhat unfair -- I don't like the fact that they priced a ton of teams out of contention through the 2000s, but it's not their fault Panoz made a lesser chassis then pulled out of the series, or that Brian Barnhart over-managed the development of the car to make it fairly useless.

As I listened, though, things started to make a little sense to me. The idea of having the base chassis be a spec piece is just fine by me; designing a full chassis costs money that lots of people don't have right now, but Dallara has the financial wherewithal to back the manufacturing process. The idea of setting it up so that, theoretically, anybody who can be bothered can build their own wings, sidepods, and engine covers is pretty brilliant in my opinion; the first in line, I think, to be their own car designer might just be Team Penske.

I REALLY like the fact that the manufacturing plant will be right where many Indianapolis cars were made in the teens and twenties: Main Street, Speedway, IN. One of the key points to the proposed redevelopment of the Town of Speedway was hoping that all the nice buildings they were putting up would be occupied by someone. Up until now, it seemed like the only businesses to commit to the new buildings were the ones that already owned real estate on Main Street. Now, an 80-employee, motorsports manufacturing facility will be planting itself in what hasn't been the prettiest part of town and spilling those employees out to Charlie Brown's and Dawson's and Mug N Bun. With some of the incentives that the series is giving out to invite teams to come to Indianapolis, perhaps we'll see even more development in Speedway.

The one single thing that I don't like about this concept is the fact that, apparently, the engine is supposed to be a stressed member of the car. The idea of the engine block as part of the chassis was fine when Cosworth built their DFV for Lotus in the spend-money-win-championships world of 1967 F1. In 2012 IndyCar, engine manufacturers might not want to spend money to develop an engine block to withstand the stresses of IndyCar cornering. The right way to go would be to have the ability to drop a 2-liter Ford Zetec or whatever (Global Racing Engine, anyone?) with some go-fast pieces on it and see how fast it can go. Instead, we'll only see engines that are specifically designed to fit to an IndyCar.

Overall: I'm calling it good.

Overall, other people aren't, and I think I'm going to try and explain it because that's what I've been trying to do in my head the past few days. I think the base thing that sort of scares people or is at least unfamiliar to them is the fact that, until May, 2012, we won't actually know what all 33 cars in the Indianapolis 500 are going to look like. In 1996, we knew it would be year-old Reynards and Lolas; from 1997 to 2005, we knew it would be an offering from Dallara or Panoz/G-Force; since 2006, we could be pretty sure everyone who mattered would be driving a Dallara.

Now there's uncertainty. Some team could look through the rulebook, set the wheels in motion, and make a modern-day Penske PC-23 (see: Indianapolis 500, 1994). Maybe someone else will have a modern-day Crawford-Buick that goes like stink until it destroys itself on lap 15. Perhaps some guy on some small team will have a brainwave and build a modern-day, giant-killing Belond Special (The 500, 1957-58). No, there wont be a full-on chassis competition, but there WILL be a competition to see who can make the IndyCar (because that's what it's called...not a "Dallara") go the fastest within a reasonable amount of cost.

And I love that thought.

If you don't, too bad; you'd better get used to it.

By the way, if this were the previous IRL administration, this idea would be doomed to failure. With Randy Bernard in charge, it's a lot easier to be optimistic about all of this.

The Proper Reaction When NASCAR Commentators Write About IndyCar...

2010-07-15T00:48:00.002-04:00

Just go ahead and laugh your ass off. Seriously, there's no better weight loss program than rolling on the floor when the unholy duo of Hinton and Blount decide to try an article on "them open-wheeled fellers".

For your reading pleasure: Blount's column and Hinton's blog post.

Here's the gist of both of these lovely op-ed columns: IndyCar didn't unveil an actual car; they unveiled a rolling chassis, and we still don't know exactly what it's going to look like.

Let's hit the rewind button, shall we? I think we'll stop in the late 1960s on the near-westside of Indianapolis. See, earlier that decade, fans thought they knew what Indianapolis cars were supposed to look like: gigantic, front-engined things with narrow tires and some poor guy with more cajones than brains desperately hanging onto a giant steering wheel in an effort to drag that monster to the checkered flag. By the end of the decade, the idea of an "Indy Car" was so distorted by the crazy designs that showed up in the '60s that fans wouldn't have been surprised if a rocket-powered hover car had shown up and put down a 200-m.p.h. lap. The point is that, throughout history (until 1997, at least), NOBODY knew what an IndyCar was going to actually look like until it hit the track.

Be it the '60s or 2012, I can tell you what an IndyCar is NOT: a completely spec chassis and body with some stickers thrown on the front that desperately try to convince people that this spaceframe-chassis, aluminum-bodied coupe with a carbureted, pushrod V8 at the front of it is a Toyota Camry. However, I know that may be a little difficult for these NASCAR commentators to comprehend.

Rant over (special thanks to Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka, proud sponsor of Ed Carpenter's #20 car, for helping fuel it). Clear, concise analysis of IndyCar's new strategy probably coming sometime tomorrow...er...later today.

It's D(ecision) Day!

2010-07-14T08:30:00.003-04:00

Not to speak in overly fatalistic terms (but I'm going to)...Also known as: the single most important day in the history of American Open Wheel Racing. This is the day that could make or break open-wheeling in this part of the world, and I think it's all pretty damn exciting. This July 14, we break down the walls of the Bastille and unleash a revolution upon the old guard of King Dallara XIV and Marie Honda-nette.

(Fortunately for our kind monarchs, there should be a place for them in our new order...nobody's head is being chopped off today)

Now, most people seem to think that this is a straight, put-'em-in-the-corners-and-fight competition between the five chassis manufacturers for the right to build everybody's car for five or so years -- much in the way Dallara has done for the past several. On the surface, that seems like a fair assessment, as a single supplier would theoretically create a healthy, wallet-friendly environment for IndyCar's cash-strapped teams.

However, there are two people who seem to believe we might be headed towards chassis "competition". (Competition is in quotes because I think it means competition on the track, and not open competition to outspend each other into oblivion.) Those two people happen to be the go-to sources on all things IndyCar: Curt Cavin and Robin Miller.

Cavin has said explicitly on his radio show that he believes Lola and Dallara, having the financial wherewithal and past experience that the others don't have, will be put against each other.

Miller has been a tougher nut to crack. First of all, if you listen to Miller's interviews (especially those with old buddy JMV on 1070 The Fan), I think it's pretty clear that he is well aware of the direction in which the series is going. Unfortunately, whereas Miller would blatantly out news of the old administration to the world because he obviously didn't like them, he's been keeping quotes from his good, sprint car-watchin' buddy Randy Bernard very close to the chest. His assessment on Monday's JMV show was, in essence, "The next IndyCar will be cheap, and I think a lot of people are going to like it." He also made mention of the possibility of ginormous European engine manufacturers having their ears turned towards Mr. Bernard -- exciting stuff!

I tend to believe the idea that there will be competition, a) because of what's been said by Cavin and Miller, and b) because this poster says "Future Car Strategy Anouncement"...that seems like something a little more than just a chassis being unveiled to me.

An initial round of photographs (including the entirely awesome stage setup...props to whoever designed that) can be found HERE. Announcement runs live on the always...er...reliable IndyCar live feed from IndyCar.com, and probably on some local Indianapolis news stations as well. Fallout forthcoming in four hours...

UPDATE!
The announcement has come and gone; Dallara "safety tubs" (or some such thing) with whatever body paneling, within cost and reason, that you'd like. I'm going to process some more info and reaction, then write a post. My initial reaction: totally dig it.

...Wherein Marshall Pruett is the Only Person Paying Attention to Things

2010-07-13T00:12:00.003-04:00

Lola Group, being one of Britain's foremost motorsport manufacturers, tends to find its way into the happenings of the Motorsport Industry Association over in the Kingdom. In their stand at the MIA's exhibition at the House of Lord's, you'd expect to find prototype sports cars and junior formula racers amongst things detailing the storied history of Lola.

What you might not be expecting to find is the beauty pictured at the top of this article by Marshall Pruett. That's right...that'd be a wind tunnel model of the Lola B12/00 IndyCar that, should it have the honor, would be introduced to the world in 2012.

What does it all mean? I suppose we'll find out Wednesday at noon.

By the way, Robin Miller got on the phone with JMV on 1070 in Indianapolis today...had some interesting things to say about Wednesday's announcement. Go HERE and scroll down a bit (and try not to be distracted by the girl on the right).

An Addendum...
Upon further review, I stand by my use of the word "beauty" in describing this wind tunnel model...assuming that bleeding fin comes off the back of it. I didn't notice it initially because of the lighting, but holy hell that fin looks ridiculous. Okay...resume positivity.

And Now, A Dignified Chuckle For...

2010-07-08T12:52:00.002-04:00

Panther Racing, who, in spite of their best efforts, have failed to lure LeBron James to their squad. The winning pedigree of Panther, who took two series titles from Team Penske with the help of Sam Hornish, Jr, failed to attract the NBA's reigning MVP and (arguably) best player since #23 retired from the game.

I for one am quite shocked. If LeBron's standards are too high to accept an offer from a stand-up organization such as Panther, located in the beautiful Ameriplex business park off of State Road 67 near the airport, then who knows if anyone would be able to sign him.

Unfortunately, Dallara, who it was rumored has been developing a special long-wheelbase chassis for the sizable forward, appears to have seen all its hard work go to waste.

In the meantime, my money is on LeBron pulling a fast one on everybody and signing to play English Premier League football for Manchester United.

Tuesday Ramblings

2010-07-06T11:03:00.002-04:00

Randy B. with JMV

Randall Bernard, no matter what your opinion of him is, certainly tries to get things done. He put on a fine 15-minute interview on The Ride with JMV on 1070 The Fan yesterday (Go HERE and scroll down -- and feel free to stop on the Vince Welch interview while you're at it). Mr. Bernard drops that four-letter word that starts with "F" that used to be taboo at the IRL offices ("fans") on more occasions in 15 minutes than people named Barnhart and George seemingly did the entire time they've been involved. The new fearless leader seems to be of the mind that, if you cast enough lines, you'll eventually catch something.

Of note from this interview:

-The ICONIC committee does not have a final decision on chassis, but will take their final vote just before the July 14 press conference. The committee has apparently pared down the choices a bit; but that committee is tighter-lipped than the North Korean government, so we probably won't hear a darn thing until General Looney and Mr. Bernard step up to the mic.

-ABC's people have given the a-OK on an 11AM start for the Indianapolis 500, opening up the door for the $20 million-dollar, 1,100-mile double-dip. He also mentioned he's got commitments from some NASCAR guys, assuming sponsor issues can be worked around. Jeff Belskus, CEO of The Speedway, gets the final call on moving the start.

-Versus' IndyCar ratings are up a cool 35% from last season -- yes, 35% of next-to-nothing isn't much, but we'll take progress where we can get it. Unfortunately, ABC seems to be down a bit; you can go to any blog on the planet for comments on ABC's TV coverage.

-On that note, Mr. Bernard seems committed to honoring his current TV contracts: ABC through 2011 (I think) and Versus through 2018. He seems to want to work with Versus and some cable providers to get that network on more screens. He's also very interested in Versus parent company Comcast's purchase of 51% of NBC (good good good for the IRL).

Randy B. with Planet-IRL

Planet-IRL scored some quotes from Mr. Bernard during the Watkins Glen weekend. The major score was that Mr. B does not want to end the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and that he confirmed he is in talks with Las Vegas about that season-ending date. I can definitely see this deal going through, as Las Vegas is one of those unique tracks with only one Sprint Cup date (in March), so it only has a bunch of little drag racing events and short oval races for the rest of the year while a beautiful 1.5-mile oval sits there, doing nothing. I think LVMS and (let's drop this name again) Bruton Smith should be more than happy to bring in a big-time autumn race.

On a Personal Note...

The Pressdog put out a post sometime last month about supporting your favorite track, and it's a damn good message for the folks out there. I mentioned something along these lines sometime last year in regards to your local track, be it a quarter-mile of packed clay or a four-mile ribbon draped over picturesque hills.

My favorite local track happens to be home of the biggest single-day sporting event in the entire world, but it still needs all the help it can get to keep itself running for three major-league racing weekends. Therefore, as much as it may annoy some purists and IndyCar fans, I plopped $90 on the counter at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office (and my buddy and his mom did as well) for a Tower Terrace ticket to the Brickyard 400. Yes, it's NASCAR, and I'm more than aware of the sort of crap that the France family has pulled on open-wheel racing throughout the years, but that's not the point.

The point is that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gets more money to keep itself running. Even though they drive ugly cars full of 1960's technology, the NASCAR drivers understand what it means to drive and win at 16th and Georgetown and, behind the Daytona 500, any of these guys will tell you this is the race they most want to win. I'll gladly put down the cash to watch 43 guys who want it bad race on my favorite track in the world.

Pseudo-Live Blog: Camping World GP at The Glen

2010-07-04T15:20:00.048-04:00

Hi-ho, and happy birthday to this fine nation of ours; she might be 236, but she doesn't look a day over 207. There are few better ways to celebrate the holiday than by cooking up some hamburgers and hot dogs, cracking a few beers, setting off some commercially-available colorful explosives, and watching some auto racing.

(By the way, to steal a thing from Pressdog, beer of the race is Sam Adams Summer Ale; a startup business from the crucible of the Revolution that makes fantastic beer...can't get much more American than that!)

The race is on ABC today, so no lengthy Lindy-tastic pre-race show and no Jack Arute doing something ridiculous. The masses weep for the lack of such entertainment.

The cars are gridded in the pit lane and the big stage is set up for driver intros on the front stretch. The weather is entirely beyond amazing, with sunshine reflecting off of Seneca Lake and the lovely green hills surrounding it. The helicopter shot on the online feed showed a decent contingent of campers and general admission types, with a decent smattering of folks in the grandstand.

Everything looks set for a full day of great racing -- we just wait for the command to get moving!

3:50, pre-race
Mr. Camping World Man gives the command and the engines are fired. ABC's audio board operator has the engine noise up massively loud and we can barely hear the "Row (blank), hot!" calls. Doesn't matter, because ABC needs to throw down on commercials. Race time when we come back to live pictures.

3:55, pre-race
One to go before the green flag. Everything looks nice, including the crowd. Once more around through the pit lane reporters and we'll get going.

Lap 1
Pace car off, rows form off of turn 11, and we are...GREEN! Slight contact at the rear of the field. Power to the lead in the Bus Stop and the two Ganassis are really pushing the Penskes. Justin Wilson past Dixon in the boot. Power runs off a bit to lead lap 1.

Lap 2
Franchitti and Wilson all over Helio for third. Dario nearly had it in the Bus Stop, but had to be careful because of that #22 car behind him.

Lap 3
Dixon back to fifth past Wilson. Power, Briscoe, Helio, Dario, Dixon, Wilson, Sato, Marco your top eight after three circuits.

Lap 4
Three-wide! Helio, Dario, Dixon go Indianapolis-style down the backstretch. Everyone jumps back in line as they hit the Bus Stop, though.

Lap 6
Paul Tracy and Adam Carroll getting some decent airtime as they battle for ninth...good for ESPN to cover those guys. Dario past Helio for third. Replays show some ridiculousness with the slow cars of Baguette and Tagliani being passed by Danica.

Lap 7
Dixon waits too long to pull out and pass on Helio. Scott has a busted wing, Helio has a flat tire. Completely Dixon's fault as far as I can tell.

Lap 8
Replays show Helio was running slow through the esses and Dixon tried an outside pass instead of backing off. Perhaps backing off would have sent Dixon spinning, but it's something he should've tried.

Lap 10
Big gaggle of cars further down the order. Ryan Hunter-Reay makes his new group of sponsors happy by putting the moves on Paul Tracy for ninth.

Lap 12
Takuma Sato puts the moves on Justin Wilson for fourth. Unfortunately, the top three cars are a big distance away from Taku...let's see how that F1 experience works for him here.

Lap 15
Station-keeping formation at the front of the front of the field. Big battle is (again) between Adam Carroll and Paul Tracy. Tracy just nearly pulled the Eddie Cheever move across Carroll's nose coming out of the boot.

Lap 16
Tracy's car is not happy as he's locking the brakes everywhere. and we are...YELLOW! Wheldon spins in turn 8 with a little help from Alex Lloyd. Many WOAH! moments as cars avoid Wheldon. Wheldon's car stalled in a bad spot, so the full-course is fully warranted (the cars need DP01 on-board starters...).

Lap 19
Pit stops! Everyone hits the pit lane except Helio and Dario (they pitted earlier). Penskes and Dario out first. Matos and Moraes out 4th and 5th in the pit order. Tagliani and Viso also stayed out with Helio and Dario, so that pit order starts with fifth position.

Lap 20
We are...GREEN! Field mostly clean through the first few turns. Dixon, Viso, Tags, Helio, Briscoe, Power, Dario are the first seven.

Lap 21
E.J. thinking about first position as they head for the first turn. Baguette puts the pass on Danica into the Bus Stop; also looked like Taku was trying a similar move on Marco Andretti. Romancini spun in the boot -- many WOAH!'s as cars dodge. Still green.

Lap 25
Mostly in station-keeping mode again, though Power just took fourth from Tagliani. We're essentially circling and waiting for some fuel strategy shoes to drop -- as I type that, Viso hits the pit lane from second.

Lap 27
Marco gets a good run on Tony Kanaan, but doesn't really have the momentum to get past. Also, Franchitti all over Matos for fifth, but Rafa is defending well.

Lap 28
Chrome Horn vs. Princess Danica back in the field...that #24 is NOT happy. Scott Dixon finally hits pit lane with Helio right behind.

Lap 31
30 down, 30 to go. Power, Briscoe, Matos, Dario, and Moraes holding down the sharp end of the field. Paul Tracy, clearly in the "struggling" category, changes up strategy a bit and pits early.

Lap 33
I've started the cookout here, since the race is in parade mode. I'll jump in when interesting things happen.

Lap 36
We're looking at pit stops coming up soon. The fun battle is for 5th through 10th: Moraes, Kanaan, Andretti, Wilson, and Carroll.

Lap 37
Marco's bringing the beer for the 4th of July block party. There is no chance he's letting Wilson by, and he seems willing to wreck both cars rather than surrender the spot. Carroll first of the top 10 to say hi to his pit crew. Car dropped off the jack before the left rear was secure! Tsk-Tsk, Andretti Autosport.

Lap 38
Briscoe and Power pit, Briscoe beats him out! Everyone and their mothers hits pit lane, Kanaan races Matos out, but Matos is out first. Dario Franchitti still making laps, as he's the fuel-saving expert. He'll be in at the end of the lap.

Lap 39
and we are...YELLOW! Simona de Silvestro got loose coming out of turn 7 and she fought the car all the way to the outside barriers. Full-course caution to clean up the car.

Lap 41
Briscoe, Power, Dixon, Helio, Viso, Dario, Matos, Wheldon, Moraes, Kanaan are your top 10 under caution. Much discussion on the radio of (dun dun duunnnnn!) fuel strategy, which has been completely thrown to the wind by this yellow.

Lap 42
Speaking of fuel strategy, several cars head for the pit lane with 19 laps left on the board. Dixon, Helio, Viso, Wilson, Patrick, Tagliani, Carroll, Sato, and a couple others hit the pits.

Lap 44
and we are...GREEN! Everyone lined up nicely down the front stretch. Briscoe and Power looking to run off with this one aaaaaaand Power has him at the Bus Stop!

Lap 46
Stepped out for some cookout-related stuff. RHR past Kanaan for eighth. Front of the field holding pretty durned steady at the moment, though Dario has Briscoe in his sights.

Lap 47
Dario has second from Briscoe and puts Power firmly in his sights.

Lap 49
The de facto battle for the lead may be the battle for 10th between Helio and Dixon, as those two are on the slightly-off strategy, pitting two laps later than everyone else.

Lap 51
With 10 to go, we're starting to hear those magical fuel mileage numbers from the pit reporters as the leaders wonder whether or not their fuel tanks will survive the distance.

Lap 53
Helio is really all over Dixon for what could be the magic spot. Dixon puts Marco Andretti in the middle of that battle, though, and Dixon starts to run off a bit.

Lap 54
Dixon getting past Marco may have bee the move of the race. Helio can't pass Marco and now Wilson is all over Helio. Meanwhile, Matos, Wheldon, and Moraes are going at it in the middle of the top ten.

Lap 55
Helio and Wilson dispatch of Andretti and are setting off after Dixon.

Lap 56
Radio boys seem to think Will Power is good to go to the finish. It's sounding like some of those other front-running cars are good to go as well. Seems like Briscoe is catching up Dario for second.

Lap 58
Three to go. Still Power running off a bit. Dario and Briscoe are battling for second, though Dario drives off a bit in the last few turns each lap.

Lap 59
Two to go, everything's holding steady, though Briscoe is certainly trying. Push-to pass graphic lighting up like a Christmas tree for those guys.

Lap 60
White flag, and Briscoe takes second as they pass under the flag! Kanaan is the first fuel victim, and he stalls his car in the pits...big issue for him. Dario doesn't seem like he can challenge for second.

Checkered Flag!
We return to the roads and Power is back in victory lane! Briscoe, Franchitti, Matos, Moraes, Wheldon, Hunter-Reay, Dixon, Castroneves, and Wilson round out the top ten. Great stuff by the Penske cars, as usual. Huge result for Rafa Matos and De Ferran-Dragon Racing. Massive result for KV Racing -- all three cars finished the race! Cars here and there running out of fuel on the cool-down lap, but Will Power has enough to find that winner's circle.

Will Power's pleasantly satisfied with his relatively easy win; once he was past Briscoe, it was game over. Rafa Matos is madly happy to get his result because his team really needed it -- especially when their telemetry stopped working on that final stretch. Dario a little peeved at someone on that last restart; he said he had worn something out a little bit because of that issue. Briscoe also happy even though he didn't quite make it back to the pits after the flag. Tony Kanaan, who stalled on the splash and go near the end, sped through pit lane on a scooter, obviously not wanting to chat about that very tough break. Dixon talks about the contact he made with Helio early on; says he thought Helio would do one thing, he did a different thing, and the closing rate was a bit too much for Dixon to handle. Helio says Dixon should've held off a second and gone for the inside into the Bus Stop.

So, a relatively safe race, some pretty good battles here and there as the afternoon went on, and fuel strategy ended up not counting towards the result. Good work by Will Power and the Penske contingent, and many thanks for proving my fearless(ly bad) prediction correct. Sato looked racy early on, but didn't really do much on the way to the checkered flag. Paul Tracy seemed to be let down by his car as he dropped down in the order throughout the day; he managed to jump back up a bit, but there was never a challenge. The ladies barely existed today, except for de Silvestro's unfortunate accident.

We have a two week break until the cars hit the streets of Toronto, Ontario, to try and relive the excitement of last year's race there. In the meantime, blow some stuff up in honor of America (it's what the founding fathers would have wanted), but don't hurt yourselves. Chassis announcement comes in 10 days, so that should be the next big story of 2010 for the IndyCars. Until then, cheers!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen

2010-07-03T15:38:00.002-04:00

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!

Let Them Eat Cake!

2010-06-30T13:21:00.004-04:00

(above: members of IndyCar media storm IRL offices, W 16th St, Indianapolis, in anticipation of chassis announcement.)

Mark the date: July 14, 2010 (as reported by Curt Cavin), is quite possibly the most important date ever in American Open Wheel Racing. There's still no indication as to whether an actual decision has been made by Randy Bernard's ICONIC committee, but we at least have a concrete date.

As you can see from the article, Cavin (or someone he's in contact with) considers Lola and Dallara the favorites for the big contract, but who knows what's being siad behind the closed doors.

Remember: July 14. Oh, and I'm sure there will be cake. Vive la (chassis) Révolution!

Ovalicious Off-Weekend Report

2010-06-25T10:46:00.009-04:00

There have been several stories of interest to come out of the world of IndyCar this week, and the majority of them seem to center around the 2011 schedule.

A little while ago, I put together a post about the fact that six of the eight oval tracks on the schedule this season are 1.5 miles in length and four of those are roughly the same shape. BO-RING! It seems someone has been in one Randall Bernard, CEO, Indy Racing League's ears on this subject (or, indeed, he's come to the conclusion himself) and he's possibly looking to instigate a little change. He's said flat-out that the series should be half-oval and half-not-oval -- and not this one-third oval, road, and street thing that Tony George used to somehow differentiate roads and streets...I know the differences, but I'm not buying that.

Anyway, apart from the new street twisty in Bawlmer (Baltimore), all of the schedule talk seems to center around tracks of the all-left-turn variety:

First on the list is the one that seems to be confirmed: the Magic Mile at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The key thing with this track is that track president Jerry Gappens wants the IndyCar Series to be there, and has for the last couple of years. For reasons that are completely beyond comprehension, the league saw NHMS' advances to appear on the 2010 schedule and said, "ehh...no thanks". You have fans complaining about ovals disappearing, you have your only mile oval getting shut down because its finances are handled by drunk orangutans or something, and you have a beautiful track in an untapped market actually trying to get you to come to their track. We weren't sure what would happen when mighty Tony stepped down from his post, but it turns out that it would make room for someone with the sense to make halfway decent business decisions. I'm sure the NHMS people weren't feeling too happy this time last year, but Mr. Bernard has sewn up the wound and placed the Magic Mile on the schedule for 2011. By the way, Sunday, 1PM eastern, TNT is the place to be to get a glimpse of NHMS in action with the "stock" cars.

Another track that's been mentioned is the 1.5-miler at Las Vegas. This is one of those tracks that, by all acounts, Mr. Bernard is in the "talking stages" with at the moment. However, given the fact that Homestead barely draws the flies that buzz around its floodlights, which is more pathetic when the race becomes your championship conclusion, the last race of the season needs moving. The reason IndyCar has tried the Homestead experiment for their championship conclusion in '09 and '10 is that they can have their big championship banquet at Miami Beach. Well, one of the few places that's more interesting than Miami and has more banquet space than just about any city on the planet is Las Vegas. Put the cars under the lights on Las Vegas' oval, which is more akin to Chicago's side-by-side excitement than Homestead's endless drudgery, crown a champion, then hand out checks somewhere on The Strip the next night. I'm not saying Las Vegas would draw a better crowd than Homestead for a finale, but with SMI ownership and a much better location, it stands a much better chance.

The Milwaukee Mile has been relegated to the status of constant wild card. There's still no official operator of the facility, and I have a sneaking suspicion that, should the calendar flip over to January before an operator is found, the Milwaukee Mile won't see its 108th year of existence. HOWEVER! If an operator is found in the next month or two (and I'm pretty sure the Wisconsin Fair Board would like the money the Mile is capable of bringing), the first call will probably be to West 16th Street in Indianapolis. As much as some purists would probably like a date the week after Indianapolis, I think a better draw would be a night date during the Wisconsin State Fair in August; there will already be people on the grounds eating brats and drinking beer, so they can just wander over to the track, pay $20, and watch the race. An IndyCar series without Milwaukee almost doesn't feel complete -- get this one back on the schedule!

Another track that an IndyCar championship feels somewhat incomplete without is the Diamond in the Desert just southwest of Phoenix. The main issue the IndyCars have had with this track is a mess of lame-duck promotion and an operation group that seemed hell-bent on driving open-wheel cars off the schedule. I think that occurred because, four years ago, NASCAR sold out all of their races and a Sprint Cup race was like winning the lottery for promoters. Times have changed, and even Bristol is struggling with ticket sales; perhaps PIR will be a little more receptive to bringing in IndyCar now that this is the case. Still, I don't see this one as being terribly likely until the tide really turns for IndyCar because of that International Speedway Corp. connection and the rough divorce this facility had with open-wheel.

And then we come to one of the stranger names I've heard in the rumor mill: Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Sure, the IndyCar Series probably needs one of those 2-mile D-shaped tracks on the schedule. But is this the right one? Sure, Auto Club is a nice facility, was built right across the road from what used to be Ontario Motor Speedway, and it serves the biggest metropolitan area in the country, but nobody in that metropolitan area seems to care that the facility exists. The NASCAR races there, in spite of the fact that two of NASCAR's best drivers are Californians, had trouble drawing fans even when there was no such thing as an empty seat at a Sprint Cup race. IndyCar races there drew even fewer fans and somehow were nowhere near as exciting as the races on ACS' sister track in Michigan. Really, the only notable open-wheel events at this track were Gil de Ferran's brilliant qualifying lap in 2000 with CART (still a closed-course average speed record), and Greg Moore's fatal accident in 1999. Oh, and IndyCar already has a pretty big event you may have heard of in the L.A. metro area. I really don't see Fontana happening; if IndyCar wants a 2-miler, check out that track up in the Irish Hills.

So, one of these ovals is already set for 2011, and I could definitely see a situation where two more of them find their way onto the calendar (Las Vegas and Milwaukee). I certainly understand why Randy Bernard is chatting with the ISC tracks, and I think those guys might be finally coming to the realization that "the rising tide raises all boats," but I'm still not sure if they're willing to play ball. Let's add to the equation the fact that there are two ISC tracks that could well find themselves off the calendar for 2011: Kansas and Homestead. Kansas seems to be poorly promoted and that track is doing the same thing Phoenix did: pushing for a second Cup date while seemingly brushing off IndyCar. Homestead, as I've stated, can't bring fans due to lack of promotion and its poor location relative to Miami.

If we lose those two ovals, add Loudon, Las Vegas, and Milwaukee, and toss the Baltimore race in there, and that's a 19-race schedule with 10 twisties and 9 circles. Like I mentioned, I have a hard time seeing either of those possible ISC tracks playing ball and making it a 10/10 split, but you never know. What I do know is that it looks like the League may be giving the oval lineup a much-needed shakeup.

Oh by the way...

The #24 car, which has had two different drivers in the two races since Mike Conway was pitched into the North Chute catch fence, will have its third different driver at Watkins Glen -- a driver that the Canadian contingent will be pretty happy with. Paul Tracy will pilot the rolling advertisement for the Toronto race in upstate New York for Dreyer & Reinbold. Now, I'm going to get a little convoluted here, but stay with me: Paul, a perfectly competent road racer, had a terrible race there last year because he was given a terrible car; Paul moves to a team that, while not spectacular, has had decent results; throw into the teammate mix the guy that won this race last year and his engineer. Might the #24 Honda Indy Toronto car be a challenger next week? It wouldn't surprise me.

and I almost forgot...

One of the biggest announcements in the history of open-wheel racing in the United States is supposed to happen either the 30th of June or, more likely (in my opinion), the 2nd of July when everyone's arrived at Watkins Glen. The presentations to the ICONIC committee have been made by the different potential chassis manufacturers, the final deliberations are being made, and the deadline is arriving next week. The next IndyCar should be known to the world by the time the current cars hit the track at Watkins Glen.

That race goes off on the Fourth of July, and I should be somewhere near a TV when it happens. Until then, cheers!

Wrapup: Iowa Corn Indy 250

2010-06-20T21:24:00.003-04:00

I hate to say I told you so...but I really did tell you so! In fairness, so did Oilpressure and, I'm sure, a few other word butchers and perhaps some actual journalists as well.

The fact that Kanaan started way back in fifteenth did seem like it might end up being a bit of trouble, and he very nearly ended up a part of Justin Wilson's first lap spin. However, a lightning-fast pit stop during the first round of stops had Kanaan firing past a surprised Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon (who ended up hitting each other) to take second. TK sat and watched Dario and Dixon go at it for a while, then had his own run at Dario when Dixon's tires went off a bit. When Dario had his own issues later on, it was Helio's turn to battle with Kanaan -- a battle that was joined by E.J. Viso for a while. Eventually, Tony took the lead and took it for good with about 8 laps to go, racing off into the distance while making Helio look like he was standing still. It was a well-deserved and well-driven victory for both TK and Andretti Autosport.

It's also finally a victory for those who had been the have-nots in this series. The "haves" (cars that, until recently, were red and white) had used their superior engineering and monetary powers to dominate everything in sight for almost exactly two years. Andretti Autosport was always one of those teams with the potential to step back up and knock off the red cars; after all, it used to be the "big three", with Andretti-Green being the third.

Say what you will about Danica Patrick over-stepping her bounds in publicly calling out her team several times at Indianapolis for giving the entire team some really bad cars, but I think we can look at that moment as the turning point of Andretti Autosport's season. Sure, Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race at Long Beach, but that team had looked lost since early 2008. Who's to know what happened behind closed doors between Pole Day and Race Day at Indianapolis, but those cars have suddenly worked like a charm the last three times out.

One other thing about this race: it was really, really fun to watch. There was drafting and passing, side-by-side racing, and actual driving determining the order of finish, all on a 7/8-mile bullring. Iowa was the only race last year before Kentucky that was any good, and the aerodynamic tweaks to the cars and Honda's horsepower boost have only made it better. I could've done without the lapped cars (namely Milka Duno, of course) causing the amount of near-calamity that they did, but that's an integral part of the sport and the driver who does the best job dealing with it often turns out the winner. The racing at Iowa is good, the crowds at Iowa are good, and IndyCar would do well to keep tack owner Rusty Wallace as happy as possible and keep coming back to this track.

We know I got the winner right (for once), but let's have a look at my other picks...

Alex Tagliani's car would be really strong if this were a rally. That FAZZT car is good in both practice and qualifying at just about every track, but turns to complete rubbish when the air is taken off the front wing. One of these times, though, they'll get that setup right and really challenge on the ovals.

Takuma Sato is, perhaps, the second-unluckiest guy in this entire series (with the first being teammate Mario Moraes). For the second time this year, Sato was right up there at the sharp end of the field before the wall inconveniently smashed his car to bits. At Kansas, he crashed out of sixth when he and Mutoh got together on a restart. Today, his inexperience with short ovals proved costly as he got caught up in the wash from a lapped car, understeered into the marbles, and was along for the ride into the wall. Today's crash was particularly tough because, I would say, Sato was absolutely going to challenge for the lead down the stretch. Who's to know how that would've turned out, but we never got the chance to see.

The ladies...barely existed today. Danica was given a mandatory camera shot while she tooled around in 12th-ish, but that was it. Simona's car had all sorts of trouble, including an air-jack hose that got caught and put her left-rear tire changer in the path of her wheel as she jerked the car forward; later on, something simply didn't work and her race was over. Sarah Fisher had some trouble with that evil "grey stuff" off the racing line and, in spite of her best efforts, sat helplessly while her car skidded into the wall. Milka Duno, after nearly wrecking every other car on the track at some point in the first 30 laps, was mercifully black flagged.

The heart rates are down and everyone's breathing again. One weekend off, then we celebrate a little good old American freedom with a 4th of July weekend race at American road racing's ancestral home, Watkins Glen. Incidentally, some signs are pointing to this being IndyCar's last visit to the Glen, as ISC stinks out loud with promotion and sponsors don't like hosting parties on a holiday weekend; it'll be interesting to see what happens there. Until then, I'll try to keep up with the chassis announcements and 2011 schedule updates. Cheers!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Iowa Corn Indy 250

2010-06-20T07:57:00.002-04:00

"If you build it, they will come," says the film Field of Dreams, and Iowa's racing jewel in the cornfields has never had trouble bringing the fans through the gates.

Unfortunately, it looks like the fans' diligence and dedication may be getting no reward but a rainstorm today. The chances of rain, according to the weather types, are fairly high beginning at 1PM in central Iowa. A quick gander at IndyCar's schedule for the day puts the green flag at 1:30PM. Hopefully the clouds can hold their drink from a couple of hours this afternoon and we can get this show in.

Another story will undoubtedly be "The Bump". Every year, the soil around that infield tunnel in the lower center of that photo above seems to settle just a little bit more and the asphalt of the track settles right with it. That puts a nice big bump in the track right at the apex of turns 1 & 2. Last year, the bump claimed its fair share of victims, and its bitten drivers in three of the Indy Racing classes so far: Charlie Kimball in the Indy Lights race, one of the Star Mazda cars in their race, and IndyCar's Milka Duno in qualifying. With the cloud cover today, the engines will be strong and the tires may not be as sticky, so the bump could be important.

Today's race is going to be an interesting one for predictions across the board because this is our one short oval of the day. Much in the way that road courses can highlight the talents of a great driver over the talents of great engineers, short tracks are generally the territory of the strong driver. The width and speed of this track do require some engineering prowess, but the drivers will still have to use their right foot to steer the cars. Therefore, today might be the day that the red cars are dethroned from the list of oval winners.

Winner: Tony Kanaan. Yes, I think TK might be the one to do it. After all, he was the last non-red driver to take the checkered flag on an IndyCar oval and that was at the similarly wide and short d-shaped oval in Richmond. Few drivers have shown the sheer ability to drive a car like Kanaan has over the last few races. His drive from 33rd to 2nd at Indianapolis was truly a sight to behold, and I don't think his relatively low starting position will be a problem today.

Dark Horse: Alex Tagliani. Tags is becoming sort of my permanent dark horse. The FAZZT Racing car has speed in it and Tags is a very capable driver. It helps quite a bit that few non-red drivers have had the qualifying consistency of the #77 car. Will that striking black, white, and copper car be able to operate in traffic and stay near the front? I think so.

Ninja Dark Horse: Takuma Sato. This pick is contingent entirely on one thing: the #5 KV Racing/Lotus car being on the track at the end of the race. KV Racing has been single-handedly keeping the carbon fiber industry in business this year with all the broken cars they've finished races with. However, Taku has only gotten better as the year has gone on and, should he see the checkered flag, there's no reason he shouldn't be in the top ten or even top five.

The Ladies: Much to the chagrin of the anti-hype haters, the one lady of the hour will likely be Danica Patrick. Andretti Autosport has suddenly found consistency after having the gauntlet thrown on their car-preparig abilities by their feisty young lady. After strong days in Indianapolis and Texas, I fully expect Danica to challenge the top five and easily be a top ten car. Simona de Silvestro, despite her clear talent, is way too far down the field for the start and a driver's oval like this is definitely not something she's got a lot of experience with. Sarah Fisher will be popular with the midwesterners, but that doesn't necessarily translate to speed; maybe top 20 for her. I'm putting my over/under on Milka Duno being pitted with "handling problems" at lap 20 -- place your bets now!

Unfortunately, I will not be anywhere near my TV during the race, as the bossman has called me into the office today. However, the DVR is set and ready to roll, so a review will be upcoming later tonight or tomorrow. Cheers!

Wrapup: 24 Heures du Mans

2010-06-13T11:51:00.003-04:00

(photo: ACO/LeMans.org)

The old motor racing adage goes as such: "To finish first, first you must finish." I am fairly certain that no one understands that more now than Olivier Quesnel and the rest of the Peugeot Sport clan.

It had been clear the entire week that the Peugeot 908s were, like last year, consistently faster than their chief competition from Audi's R15-pluses. Any time the two teams were out on the track together, the Peugeots' lap times were about two seconds-per-lap faster; the same held true once the race opened up. Every once in a while, a Peugeot driver would turn an incredibly fast lap before being told by his crew to slow it down and help preserve the cars a bit. It was thought by most that this was just Peugeot being conservative and improving their already good chances to with the race.

Instead, as we began to find out just after sunrise, it turned out to be a matter of the engines being a little too strong for their own good. First, it was the #2 car whose exhaust began spitting flame in the early daylight, relinquishing the lead of the race to the Audis. Then, as the #1 Peugeot was trying to chase down the Audis (and doing a fine job of it, to be sure), smoke began emanating from it's right-side exhaust as well. Finally, with about an hour and fifteen minutes remaining, the privately-entered ORECA-Matmut Peugeot began spitting it's own flames from that right bank of exhaust pipes. With car #3 having had a suspension failure before nightfall, all four Peugeot 908s were in the garage, watching the rival Audis cross the line in formation when the clock hit zero.

Audi, while their rivals down the pit lane were falling away, continued to be the model of consistency and professionalism that they had been since their first victory in 2000. Apart from a rare moment of emotion from team boss Wolfgang Ullrich when the #7 spun to avoid the stricken BMW Art Car, everything was calm, cool, and collected from the four rings as they endured Le Mans once again.

In the LMP2 class, it was all about the Strakka HPD/Acura, who kept out of trouble while their closest competitors from Highcroft began developing issues after daybreak. Many other LMP2 cars found themselves having accidents as they had to get past slower GT cars while watching their mirrors for quicker LMP1 cars.

GT1 was the class of major attrition this time around, as seemingly none of the cars survived without some sort of problem. The Ford GTs were all quick in the early going, but fiery mechanical failures and crashes ended up taking them out. The Aston Martin DBR9 started out the race quickly, but it too could not stay in one piece. Both of the Luc Alphond Corvettes had their share of issues during the night. The Japanese Lamborghini Owners' Club Murcielago spent significant time in the garage during the darkness before being retired for good. All of this left the Larbre Competition Saleen S7R to waltz home with, in its final of 10 years at Le Mans, the Saleen's first GT1 class victory.

GT2, while not as brutal as GT1, had its fair share of cars fall out of the race. It was clearly a battle between the factory Corvette C6.R ZR1s and Risi Competizione's Ferraris as the race began. Risi Ferrari #82 had to start at the back after a failed tech inspection, but it immediately shot up the order in the early laps. The Risi had made it to the top of the field when it started developing transmission issues and was forced to drop out. As day broke over the circut, Risi's other car began showing smoke from its exhaust and, after a quick once-over from the crew, it was retired.

That left the Corvettes to circle around in the top two spots, but they ran into issues as well. First, the #63 was caught off the racing line as Peugeot #1 was charging past and lost control into the barriers, tearing the back end of the car apart. Not too much later, Corvette #64 developed a mechanical issue that, once the car came to the garage, was clearly not going to be fixed. That left Felbemayr Proton Porsche #77 to take the lead and hold it to the end of the race.

As far as my predictions went, you'll notice that I listed all of my predicted class winners as cars that fell out of the race. As I mentioned in my preview, this is not an easy race to predict. Certainly, there are only two teams with a realistic shot to take the overall victory these days, but you never know what might happen to those two teams. There was never any indication going into the weekend that the Peugeots might be over-stretching their engines and the Audis would be so much more reliable. It's unpredictability like that which makes the 24 Hours of Le Mans such an interesting race.

Now we can look for advertisements proclaiming the superiority of Audi's TDI technology, and assurances from Peugeot that whatever problem they had will be learned from, and the lessons learned will improve their future products. Next year, many of the rules will be changed, so it will be interesting to see what the various automakers present us with next time the teams descend on Le Mans.

We return to your normally-scheduled IndyCar programming this week as that circus pulls into Newton, Iowa. See you later!

24 Heures du Mans: Single Most Important Event of the Race

2010-06-13T01:07:00.003-04:00

Just having come out of the pit lane after a refueling stop, the #2 Peugeot, who had easily been leading the race, burst into flame as it passed under the Dunlop Bridge. Franck Montagny has exited the car and, while he hasn't stepped away from it yet, he and the world know that Peugeot has lost its second car of the race.

Timo Berhard in Audi #9 has now flashed into the lead, with the sister car #8 a minute behind him. Peugeot still has one bullet left to fire in its #1 car, which is a couple of laps down, but has 7 hours, 45 minutes to put the pedal down and chase the Audis. Again, I'll report on the final result after 9AM. Cheers!

Update! Twitpic by beakdal24hours, whose website provides many resources for following the race, of TV's view of the flames coming out of the Peugeot.

24 Heures du Mans: Sunrise

2010-06-12T23:24:00.003-04:00

It's one of those surreal, visceral moments. After the sounds of the cars, from the whoosh of the diesels to the beastly scream of Aston Martin's V12 and everything in between, accompanied by seemingly-disembodied headlights floating down the roads of Le Mans were the only things marking the passage of the cars, the fire of the sun fills the sky and reveals the scars of the battle through the night. The campers stir to awakening, fire up their grills for breakfast, and prepare to cheer the winning cars home.

On this night, things actually stayed fairly civilized, with most of the cars that were running when sun fell still in the race after the sun circled back to the eastern horizon. The only major casualty of the night was the defending GT2 champions from Risi Competizione, who tried their best to keep their transmission going after a hellish charge from the back to the front of the GT2 standings, but could not.

The other major happening occurred to yet another of the Peugeots; this time it was the ORECA/Matmut Peugeot 908 suffering a driveshaft issue and requiring a stop for repairs. What this did was remove all but one obstacle from the path of Audi Sport's three entries, with the only Peugeot not experiencing excitement being the #2 car. It's been about three hours since ORECA's issues, but with over a third of the race still to go and the other three Peugeots all having mechanical difficulty, the folks at Audi have to be just sitting and waiting for something to go wrong with the leader so they can strike.

Speaking of Audi, the winningest driver in the history of this race, Tom Kristensen, hopped into the #7 car at about 12:50AM and drove on and on into the night until, by rule, he had to get out at 4:40. That's a grand total of three hours, fifty minutes, with four seperate stops for fuel during that run. Very impressive stuff by Audi's veteran champion.

Due to the considerable haze and humidity in the air for this year's 24-hour race, the sky has turned a fantastic set of oranges, pinks, and purples over the eastern horizon beyond Tertre Rouge. Just about nine-and-a-quarter hours remain in the race; my next update will be my wrapup at the end of the race. Being six hours behind France, sunrise at Le Mans coincides with bedtime in Indiana. Good Morning!

Leaders
LMP1: #2 Peugeot; Nicolas Minassian, Stephan Serrazin, Franck Montagny
LMP2: #42 Strakka HPD/Acura; Jonny Kane, Danny Watts, Nick Leventis
LMGT1: #50 Larbre Saleen S7R; Gabriele Gardel, Roland Berville, Julien Canal
LMGT2: #64 Corvette; Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, Emmanuel Collard

24 Heures du Mans: Into the Night...

2010-06-12T17:33:00.003-04:00

(photo: dindocapello.com)

At 3PM, everything started off innocuously enough; the field came through the Ford Chicane, the flag of France waved and the four entries from Peugeot started running away from the field, with Audi trying their best to keep up.

Several laps in, though, a former world driving champion started the chaos. Nigel Mansell, who was entered on a team with his two sons as co-drivers, apparently suffered a flat tire that pitched him hard into the barrier on one of the fastest parts of the course. This gave us an early chance to experience the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's asinine new safety car rules.

This year, three safety cars are deployed at various points on the track to get the field bunched up and slowed down quicker. That's all well and good, except that one of the safety cars slotted in between the four Peugeots and the three Audis, which immediately set the Audis back by roughly one-third of a lap whether they liked it or not. Then, we found out that when a car pits under the safety car, they will not be allowed to leave the pits until the next safety car hits the front straightaway -- cars had to sit on the pit lane for up to three minutes while waiting to lose position for no reason. Much noise was made about this on both the Radio Le Mans broadcast and on Speed Channel's coverage.

Things continued on after Mansell's wreck was cleared up, and several cars had their share of issues. The all-lady Matech Ford GT of Natacha Gachnang (with Cyndie Allemann and Rahel Frey as co-drivers) burst into flames on the Mulsanne Straight, forcing Natacha to pull the car over and dive out of it. One of Matech's other GT's found itself sideways just after the Dunlop Bridge and clouted the barriers. The BMW Art Car, which looked fantastic, had a fantastically short race with several issues, first of which being a flat tire and broken suspension piece that set its downward spiral into motion.

The three events that got the most attention so far, though, affected three of the top cars in the race. First, as Peugeot #3 (Pedro Lamy at the wheel) streaked down the Mulsanne, a tire appeared to start rubbing and a lot of smoke started coming from the right-front of the car. The Peugeot mechanics took one look at the car and it was apparent there was no going on -- the right front suspension had physically separated from the chassis of the car. A few hours later, Audi R15 #7 (Tom Kristensen in at the time) came up on the BMW Art Car, which had suffered another flat tire. The BMW had trouble making the initial left-hander of the Porsche Curves and drifted wide, forcing the Audi to run onto the grass to avoid it; the Audi crashed and had to have its rear bodywork replaced, sending it down the leaderboard. Finally, just after night fell, Peugeot #1 came into the pit and was immediately taken into the garage, where the mechanics descended on the electrical system.

Other cars have come and gone. We've had the safety cars take to the track for the third time after one of the LMP2 cars had some sort of catastrophe on its left-front, leaving debris all over the track. During the safety car period, the #13 Rebellion Racing Lola, with Jean-Christian Boullion at the wheel spun off the track, wrecking the back end of the car.

Perhaps I'll pass on another update when the sun rises over Le Mans. Cheers!

Yellow Shirt Preview: 24 Heures du Mans

2010-06-11T19:50:00.003-04:00

Yes, I know that I aspire to be a blogger of things of the IndyCar persuasion. However, certain events are just to important to overlook.

Certainly, many interesting and important innovations have come out of the garages of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but those pale in comparison to the relevance of what car makers do every June on the public roads just south of Le Mans, France. As strong and smart as the folks behind Offenhauser, Cosworth, Ilmor, Watson, March, and many others were, chances are you've rarely run into a component that one company developed at Indianapolis (after the mid-'50s, at least) to put exclusively into their own cars.

But have you ever seen an Audi (or Volkswagen, for that matter) flying about the highways in your hometown wearing a badge reading "TDI"? A lot of the technology in those vehicles was perfected by the runs made by these guys and their V12 diesel monster. Likewise, in Europe, many Peugeots and Citroens share the "HDi" badge and particulate filter technology with this stealth-bomber-looking thing. Heck, those swoopy beauties flying down the hill towards the old esses at the top of the post were the first of Porsche's many successful efforts from the late '60s and on through the '90s to show how good their sports car technology was. These days, Corvettes, Porsche 911s, Ferrari 430s, and many others are also souped up and run against each other at top speed in an effort to show the world whose product works best.

What sets this race apart, though, is that it's a true test of endurance. While increases in speed have made races like the "500" shorter by elapsed time, Le Mans doesn't finish until the clock crosses 4PM on Sunday. Races now regularly go longer than three thousand miles, with many thousands of gear changes, foot-to-the-floor accelerations, stomps on the brakes (about 205 m.p.h. down to 30 or 40 at the track's slowest point), and cranks of the steering wheel testing the vehicle's build quality every minute of it. The men and women behind the various efforts are also tested as the clock ticks away through the darkness, and sleeping co-drivers and mechanics are one of the more popular sights around the garages. When it's their time to go, they have to be absolutely on their game -- be it a driver having to go out into the night at 200 m.p.h. or a mechanic being rudely awakened when a complex repair has to be made.

One last thing: the majority of this, including the fastest parts, is on public roads. The D338 and the Route de Mulsanne are closed off to allow for the race, but only for the week the cars are in town; the rest of the time, these roads are a lot like the two-lane highways you might find in your own hometown: full of leaked motor oil and other fluids and very, very bumpy by modern racing standards. The bumps have had their effect on the results in the past as cars that were considered to be nearly perfect by their makers were sent airborne by a bump putting some wind under the car. The cars are generally more planted these days, but there are still occasions where a car gets light and becomes nearly uncontrollable.

This is a difficult race to predict, but I think it's my duty as a word hack to give it a try (by car class)...

LMP1/Overall Winner: Peugeot #3. Pedro Lamy is an ex-F1 driver, Simon Pagenaud consistently rocked the ALMS with Acura, and Sebastian Bourdais used to pretty much own Champ Car. The Peugeot was the car to beat last year, and I'm not sure that Audi will have been able to develop their R15 to keep up with the French. Really, you could pick any of the Peugeots here, but I like this group of drivers because of their skill and their drive to win. France might be a bit down after a poor showing on day 1 of the World Cup, but I think they'll be flying the flag proudly again on Sunday.

LMP2 Winner: Highcroft Racing Acura #26. They might be minus their sponsorship from Tequila Patron, but they've still got the drive that has won them several races in the States. Acura's pitched battles with Porsche in America gave them quite an edge that will serve them well in France. David Brabham, Marino Franchitti, and Marco Werner are some top-notch drivers as well, and they'll be more than capable of wheeling their green and black car to the podium.

GT1 Winner: Aston Martin Racing #52. This class is awkwardly tiny this season because of realignments in various international sports car series. General Motors has moved their official program down to GT2, leaving the C6.R effort to privateers. The only factory team left is Aston Martin Racing's one DBR9, and they've put star driver Tomas Enge back in the car. Barring trouble, I see this crew taking the win.

GT2 Winner: Corvette Racing #64. I could never bet against Oliver Gavin, Olivier Baretta, and Emmanuel Collard when they were wheeling the C6.R around, and they've shown up in GT2 to help fly the General Motors flag against the dominant Porsche 911s and Ferrari 430s. While American teams like Flying Lizard and Risi Competizione (from Houston, in spite of their very Italian name) are the dominant squads in this class, Corvette Racing is the only one with an American car. Sure, it's good to take an objective look every once in a while, but I say, "To hell with that!" U.S.A. all the way! The cars with the engines up front take the GT2 crown.

That's what I'm thinking about the single greatest sports car race on the planet and one of the best sporting events that exists, period. The French flag signals the start of the race at 3PM local time, which translates to 9AM in the east of the U.S. There's a plethora of coverage as the race drags on, but your best bets will be Speed.com's live video and RadioLeMans.com's live audio. I'll try to throw a few updates in when I'm not watching the World Cup or taking a nap or some such thing. See you later!

This Just In...

2010-06-06T21:02:00.001-04:00

Tony Kanaan is a funny guy. Make sure to tune into Wind Tunnel for some of his hilarity (and fake bandages). As a bonus, Robin Miller is chief host-man tonight as Dave Despain is on vacation.

Firestone 550k Pseudo-Live Blog

2010-06-05T20:32:00.096-04:00

The fans are filling in and the drivers have descended the steps to the front stretch at the Texas Motor Speedway. It looks like it's going to be an interesting hot and breezy night north of Fort Worth.

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...)

Yellow Shirt Preview: Firestone Indy 550k

2010-06-04T17:49:00.003-04:00

Wait...is that the right picture? It's either the front stretch at Texas Motor Speedway, or Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano...the temperatures will be roughly the same, at any rate. The latest predictions for Fort Worth, Texas, have three digits underneath the word "temperature", so look out for that.

The major trick as the cars zoom around the Texas bullring tomorrow evening will be the fact that, while everything will start out hot as blazes, shadows will creep from the entrance of turn 1 and across the track as the race goes on. Once the bright sunshine is removed from the surface, every possible aspect of the race will change. The track temperature will have gone from something in the 130-to-140-degree range to about 90 degrees, and the air temperature could drop as much as 15 degrees; a race car that was ideal during practice and qualifying today may very well drive like a brick dragging an aircraft carrier across an ice sheet by lap 228 tomorrow.

Unfortunately for those who might be looking for a little parity in the world of IndyCar racing, the teams that are best-suited to deal with such vast changes in the track conditions are those two with all of the resources and prize money -- I think you know who I'm talking about. To make an upset even more unlikely, one of those teams has all the momentum, while the other is looking to bounce back from an uncharacteristically awful Indianapolis "500".

Therefore...

Winner: Helio Castroneves. There's no real rhyme or reason to why I picked Helio; you could have thrown all five Penske and Ganassi drivers' names into a hat and picked one. The only things that I think will help Helio this week are a) that awful "500" his team is more than capable of bouncing back from, and b) he won here last year.

Dark Horse: Marco Andretti. I'm not a hundred percent sure why I put Marco's name here, but something draws me to Marco at this track. In past races here, he's been more than comfortable running up in Sam Hornish's old territory on the way-outside line and making it stick. With the cars as planted as they are, the guys (or girls) leading the charge can run the white line all the way around the track. That makes the outside line the possible winning line.

Ninja Dark Horse: Alex Lloyd. After qualifying, I had a hard time picking this one. On one hand, you had Alex Lloyd, who was coming off a huge (albeit gained more by fuel strategy than anything) fourth place at Indianapolis and used that momentum to pick up sixth on the Texas grid. On the other, you have Hideki Mutoh, who drives for a team that still has a few trips to victory lane left in it and wrangled his car to seventh on the grid. As much as I like Newman/Haas and young Hideki-san, I gotta go with the momentum that Lloyd is taking into this weekend as a possible catalyst for a good finish.

The Ladies: Like last week, there are four of them in the field. Unlike last week, one of them is Milka Duno. Before you groan too hard, though, I direct your attention to the sixth name on the list of practice times from the afternoon session at Texas: Duno, Milka; 214.727 m.p.h. She didn't have a terrible qualifying session, either, putting herself 17th on the grid with some pretty good names behind her. Of course, I still think she'll finish outside the top 20. Simona didn't seem entirely comfortable on the track and she's starting way back in the field -- I expect her to stay there in her first race at this track. Sarah had a decent qualifying run and she's had top-10 runs at this track before, but I don't see her car being too helpful and she'll probably sit back in the top-20. Danica Patrick is the only lady I really have confidence in at this track; she's done well here before and I think she could pull in a top-5 finish when all is said and done.

One final note: Tony Kanaan, winner of the fans' hearts as he charged from 33rd to 2nd at Indianapolis before a late fuel stop, will head to Rossburg, OH, on Wednesday for perhaps the coolest non-"500" event in racing: The Prelude to the Dream. Tony Stewart's big charity event at his Eldora Speedway attracts many NASCAR drivers and a couple of moto-crossers to drive late-model dirt stock cars on the half-mile, high-banked oval. Kanaan will be the first driver to fly the IndyCar flag at the Prelude, and it'll be a big crock o' fun to watch a Brazilian open-wheel star wrestle a big dirt car. The race is live on HBO Pay-Per-View ($25), but will be replayed later in the summer on the Speed Channel.

The engines fire at Texas in about 26 hours. I'll see you then!

Review: 94th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

2010-05-31T20:09:00.004-04:00

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!

Yellow Shirt Preview: 94th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

2010-05-29T10:59:00.002-04:00

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!

Review: Carb Day 2010

2010-05-28T17:58:00.003-04:00

(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!

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

2010-05-23T22:50:00.007-04:00

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)

Review: "500" Pole Day

2010-05-22T22:26:00.002-04:00

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

2010-05-22T08:42:00.002-04:00

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

Review: "500" Day 6

2010-05-20T21:18:00.003-04:00

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

Review: "500" Day 4

2010-05-18T23:14:00.003-04:00

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

Review: "500" Opening Weekend

2010-05-17T15:18:00.006-04:00

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

Good Morning, Race Fans!

2010-05-15T11:40:00.002-04:00

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!

The Baltimore Grand Prix is On!

2010-05-05T18:35:00.003-04:00

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!

Programming Notes

2010-05-03T11:34:00.005-04:00

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!

Roadrunner Indy 300 Pseudo-Live Blog

2010-05-01T13:22:00.059-04:00

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!

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore...

2010-04-27T12:07:00.002-04:00

...but we will be in a couple of days! The opening round of the IZOD IndyCar Series Oval Championship (details HERE) takes the green flag on Saturday afternoon on ABC as the grand lead-in to the Fortnight of May. Here's what the expert CG folks at VERSUS have to say about the facility:

Kansas is a usually fairly standard IndyCar 1.5-mile oval race -- which is to say it's freakin' ridiculous! Apart from last year, when an awful aero package mixed with even worse weather to create a somewhat less interesting race, Kansas has provided the usual 2-wide stuff the IRL became famous for.

Full preview coming Friday after qualifying, and I should be here live on Saturday. Cheers!

Pseudo-Live Blog: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

2010-04-18T15:32:00.046-04:00

The crown jewel of American street course racing is back once again!

First laid out for Formula One's second yearly American race, the Long Beach circuit has gained fame throughout the world for putting on enjoyable events with both F1 and CART/Champ Car, and passed the test of time that so many street courses fail.

The most crucial turn on this course is the hairpin that launches the cars onto the frontstretch. The lead-in to this turn is a sort of slippery funnel where the cars stack up when they slow to make the hard right. When they put the power down to blast down Shoreline Drive, it is very easy to generate wheelspin or understeer into the outside wall; they need a good launch, though, in order to create a passing opportunity at the most action-packed turn on the track, turn 1. Generally, if the race is decided on the track, turn 1 is the spot.

How do I think this edition of the Long Beach GP will end up?

Winner: Will Power Stop me if you've heard this story before...On the pole on a twisty track in his Penske machine. Yeah, that makes him the favorite.

Dark Horse: Ryan Hunter-Reay He's only my dark horse because he hasn't won in a couple years and his team hasn't tasted victory in a while. He's got the talent and he's got the equipment. Starting second on the grid certainly doesn't hurt Ryan's chances here, either.

Ninja Dark Horse: Alex Tagliani Tags has been amazingly strong this year considering the fact that he's with a brand new team. A few things go his way here and he could be near the front at the end.

Danica and Simona Watch! Danica will be starting back in 20th today, so she has quite a test ahead of her today; a top 10 is certainly possible for her. This track is interesting for Simona because this is a track where she's actually had past success, winning the Formula Atlantic race here in 2008; she starts 13th and could find her way to the sharp end of the field.

VERSUS has done their pre-race show, I'll be back in just a bit to bring it to you in words!

4:14, pre-race
Cars are on course, warming the tires. VERSUS giving us the grid and the in-car cameras as we get the one-to-go signal. BIIIGGGG crowd around the track today -- very cool.

Lap 1
Out of the hairpin, we are...GREEN GREEN GREEN! Power with a HUGE jump on the field. Wilson and RHR battling for second, RHR holds on. Kanaan to fourth off the start, no calamities so far.

Lap 2
Replays show Marco giving Tags a love tap in the hairpin. OOH's and AHH's from the booth; emphasis on the fact that Barnhart said not to pass there in the drivers meeting.

Lap ??
There is definitely something wrong with timing and scoring (again). No leaderboard or lap count on the side-by-side. Also no lap count on the rundown scroll at the top.

Lap 9
We've settled into a bit of a parade mode here. Dixon giving some pressure to Briscoe, though.

Lap 11
The ad for Brazilian coffee is a good one here...I could use some of that coffee right now, as the lack of excitement is not mixing well with my hangover...

Lap 12
Professor B giving us a rundown on how to save fuel in these V8 beasts. Very informative, not just as a race-watching tool, but in the real world as well.

Lap 16
The lack of passing at the moment is allowing me to appreciate just how nice that part of Long Beach really is. I need to get back there at some point.

Lap 19
Holy puttin the power down! Will Power has no drive for a second off of the hairpin and RHR to the lead!

Lap 21
Danica going with an off strategy. Makes the early pit stop for some Red ~~Stripes~~ tires.

Lap 24
Simona hits the pit lane for some fresh rubber. Hunter-Reay is taking on some lapped traffic right now; though Matos and working on Danica. Franchitti hits the pit lane.

Lap 27
Justin Wilson dives for the pits from second. Pressure's on D&R for a good stop...looked decent on TV.

Lap 28
RHR in the pits...let's see where he comes out of the pit lane....looks to be way ahead of Wilson. Takuma Sato goes ass-around, and Dixon gets by Castroneves when Helio locks up. Sato's spin appears to be because of contact with Alex Lloyd.

Lap 29
Vitor leading a little train of cars for 14th place. Penske cars hit the pit lane.

Lap 30
Kanaan and Power trading spots a couple times, Helio past Tagliani, Wheldon all over Marco.

Lap 34
Mike King on the radio feed goes ALL CAPS VOICE describing Scott Dixon sliding his car around trying to chase down Briscoe.

Lap 36
VERSUS interviewing Paul Tracy, who is unfortunately in civvies, presumably as a guest of good buddy Jimmy Vasser.

Lap 39
Mario Moraes has been really moving through the field. Up to ninth at the moment from his starting spot of 15th.

Lap 46
If a spontaneous passing festival is going to break out, I think it will involve Ryan Briscoe; Dixon's all over him, Kanaan's not too far ahead. Alex Tagliani pits.

Lap 47
Takuma Sato is all over Graham Rahal for 21st. Scratch that...Rahal around Tagliani, Sato now fighting Tags. Bertrand Baguette appears to have a suspension issue of some sort.

Lap 52
Don't look now, but Justin Wilson has really caught up to Ryan Hunter-Reay. Might we have a real, live battle for the lead?

Lap 53
Calamity! RHR gets through the lapped traffic, but Wilson loses a front wing trying to match him. Not much comment from Robbie Buhl...

Lap 55
Instead of an interesting battle, we get lapped traffic causing problems. Wilson's crew had trouble getting the wing off and everyone at DRR is having words with IndyCar officials.

Lap 56
RHR hits the pit lane; good clean stop there.

Lap 57
Kanaan in the pits, RHR nearly collected Graham Rahal as Graham was exiting the pits.

Lap 59
Dixon hits the pits, and RHR gets the lead back. Will Power a good way behind him.

Lap 61
Calamity! We are YELLOW for the first time today. Mario Romancini made an opportunistic move into turn 1 and Rahal was not expecting it. Rahal not happy, Sarah Fisher probably even less enthusiastic than Graham.

Lap 65
Big winner from all of this yellow flag business: Justin Wilson. Ended up third after all was said and done and now he's right behind the leaders...getting ready for green.

Lap 66
We are...GREEN! RHR blasts down the main straight, Power following some lapped traffic, nearly hits Sato in Turn 1. Wilson definitely wants a piece of Will here.

Lap 67
Wilson wants second and...HAS IT in turn 1! Tagliani parks his car with some sort of mechanical issue.

Lap 68
If I were inclined to do so right now, I would take a drink every time Jack Arute talks up the Overtake Button. Replay shows Mike Conway making the pass on Dario for 10th; good on ya, Mike!

Lap 72
Graham Rahal, unhappily in the pit box, not too thrilled with the way Romancini took him out of the race. Still no official word on whether or not this is his final race for a while.

Lap 75
Bob Jenkins: "It doesn't get much better than watching racing on the weekends and hockey on the weeknights." I raise my glass to that statement, Mr. Jenkins.

Lap 78
The in-car shots on RHR's play like a scene from "I Am Legend"...he is ALL ALONE

Lap 81
Five laps to run, RHR just needs to keep it off the wall for a while. Battle for 6th betwee Helio and Moraes. Helio going crazy trying to make the pass.

Lap 83
Okay...time to make the obligatory mention that we have an American driver from a team not named Penske or Ganassi looking for the win. USA USA USA!!!

Lap 84
Two to go! Our man Ryan cruisin' away with it.

Lap 85
White flag flies for RHR! Beccy Gordon, Ryan's fiancée they engaged exactly one year ago, gets some air.

Checkered Flag
Ryan Hunter-Reay put Andretti Autosport back in victory lane! Wilson, Power, Dixon, Kanaan, Moraes, Castroneves, Briscoe, Wheldon, Conway round out the top ten. Future Mrs. Hyphen gives the post-race interviews, though not as eloquently as Ashley Judd would have, of course. Crowd is diggin' Ryan's slow victory lap. Justin Wilson runs out of fuel on the cool-down lap...now THAT'S fuel calculating right there.

Hunter-Reay lovin' the car, dedicating the race to his recently passed mother. He was completely baffled when Will Power slowed down to give him the lead, but never could let up because of the pressure from Wilson and Power before the second pit stops.

Justin Wilson not happy about Lloyd cuttin his nose off and gives some completely undeserved harsh words (even though he wasn't alongside Lloyd at all and tried a sort of divebomb move to get by).

Will Power says the car got stuck in first coming off the hairpin at that one point and it never happened again. Very strange moment there. Will says all the stuff that fans love about getting points and stuff like that.

Well, let's look at how I did on predicting here:

My winner pick was doing great until his transmission decided to stop functioning for half a second, but third place ain't bad. My dark horse pick was actually correct for once with Hunter-Reay putting on a great drive. Tags was doing decently enough, floating around in 7th or 8th until "something broke". The ladies were pretty much entirely a non-factor in this one, barely cracking the top 20.

The bad news: the race is over. The good news: we go OVAL RACING in two weeks. The 1.5-miler in Kansas City hosts what we'll hope is as ridiculous a race as tracks like that tend to host. Until then, cheers!

Virtually On The Beach

2010-04-14T10:01:00.003-04:00

I haven't been to Long Beach, CA, in 15 years now, and upon glancing at my bank account, it doesn't look like I'll be going there again anytime soon. So, we'll fly there through the magic of computer-generated animation thanks to VERSUS!

(because there's no vid on youtube and because VERSUS' video player autoplays, we're going link-style today)

The Virtual Lap: Long Beach

What to expect this Sunday? It should be standard Long Beach fare: lots of passes coming off of the Shoreline Dr. frontstretch, lots of passes coming off of the Seaside Way backstretch, some ill-conceived passes at the other 90° turns, and cars getting squirrely trying to get the power down off of the hairpin.

Also this week: make sure to help VERSUS out by tuning in for their coverage of one of the most exciting postseasons in all of sports: the NHL playoffs! (Let's Go Caps!!!)

Going in Circles

2010-04-13T13:16:00.006-04:00

One common thread amongst some fans of IndyCar racing -- especially some of the older fans -- is the encroachment of a large number of road and street courses into the IndyCar Series' schedule.

Certainly, IndyCar racing was built on the oval tracks found throughout the United States, from the massive oval at Indianapolis down to the old half- and quarter-mile tracks frequented by the United States Auto Club. However, twisty tracks have found their way into America's open-wheel lore, with former Formula 1 hosts Watkins Glen and Long Beach, scenic Road America, Laguna Seca, and the old Riverside course. Certainly, some of the right-left events are ill-conceived and probably don't belong on the schedule. But great events at places like The Glen, Long Beach, St. Petersburg, Toronto, and Barber Motorsports Park have more-than-earned their spot on the calendar.

Perusing the schedule on IndyCar.com brought me to a realization far more troubling to me than the fact that there are more road courses than ovals being raced on this year. When I look at the oval tracks on which the IndyCar Series will race this season, the one glaring issue I see is that almost all of the oval tracks are very similar to each other. Here's a little diagram I threw together to illustrate:

Of the eight oval tracks on the schedule this season, only two have a lap distance that isn't 1.5 miles (Indianapolis and Iowa). Of the six 1.5-mile tracks, four of them are laid out in a nearly identical fashion: Kansas, Texas, Chicagoland, and Kentucky -- the chief difference among them being Texas' quad-oval and 24° banking. Motegi and Homestead are both 1.5 miles with traditional oval layouts (two turns and two straights, though Motegi is asymmetrical), but Motegi is the only one of the 1.5-milers with an appreciably different banking configuration from the other five.

So, what has happened to bring us to the point where there is so little diversity in open-wheel's ovals?

• First of all, there was a point where someone plugged some stuff into a computer and figured out what they thought was an ideal layout for an oval track for both the fans and the drivers: a 1.5-mile tri-oval with banking between 15° and 20°. The first track to be laid out in this fashion was Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by Kansas, Kentucky, and Chicagoland. Three of those four appear on the current IndyCar schedule, and Las Vegas actually opened with an IndyCar race in 1996.

• Those four tracks were loosely based on the layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway. CMS' owner, Speedway Motorsports, Inc, decided to establish a sort of company identity by having their properties in Atlanta and Texas match Charlotte's steeply-banked, quad-oval layout. Atlanta and Charlotte appeared on past IndyCar schedules (Atlanta dropped for poor attendance, Charlotte dropped after promoter Humpy Wheeler refused to bring IndyCar back after a loose wheel killed a spectator). Texas is still raced on and is an important staple of the IndyCar schedule.

• There has been a ton of attrition for some of IndyCar's more unique tracks: International Speedway corporation has gutted the fantastic oval at Nazareth, PA, and turned Pikes Peak into a tiny track day facility; ISC also took away a traditional spring date at Phoenix by adding a second NASCAR Sprint Cup date, then essentially kicking the IndyCars to the curb; California (which can hardly sell tickets to its NASCAR race) and Michigan were wrecked by a lack of promotion by track management and lack of interest from ISC; Richmond was killed by a lack of interesting racing and local company Phillip Morris reducing its involvement in the series; Nashville's unique 1.33-mile concrete oval was plagued by attendance issues and scrapped from the calendar; the mile oval at Walt Disney World, in spite of holding the inaugural IRL race and boasting decent early-spring crowds, was turned into a racing school; finally, America's oldest permanent racetrack, Milwaukee, has been wrecked by poor management and a desire for the State of Wisconsin to re-purpose the expensive facility.

Many of the old-schoolers will tell you that American Open-Wheel Racing needs to have a schedule of at least half-ovals. What they fail to mention is that part of the deal is to have a diverse set of ovals. For comparison, take a look at a diagram of the oval tracks from the final season before the original 1979 "Split":

Of nine oval tracks raced on that season, there were seven unique configurations. Three tracks were 2.5 miles (Ontario, Indianapolis, Pocono), two were 2 miles (Texas World, Michigan), and two were 1 mile (Phoenix, Milwaukee). The only two tracks at the supposedly ideal length of 1.5 miles were Atlanta (pre-renovation) and Trenton, but you can see in the diagram the wild difference between the two: Trenton's right-hand dogleg on the backstretch.

Obviously, we can't return IndyCars to that exact set of racetracks; Phoenix, Michigan, and Milwaukee appear closed to the IRL, Texas World has been essentially replaced by SMI's bigger facility, and Trenton and Ontario no longer exist. There is a small chance that Pocono could someday host an IndyCar race, but it needs to be repaved and the first turn would prove somewhat dangerous to IndyCars. What we need, though, is a new approach with new tracks.

(Disclaimer: this is all an "in an ideal world" scenario...obviously there are some economic considerations to think of here)

My IndyCar oval schedule would ideally have no two ovals that fit into the footprint of each other. My only exceptions would likely be Kentucky and Chicago, which serve good areas and provide fine racing. For the rest of the schedule, diversity must be re-introduced.

So are my tracks with reasons for being on the schedule:

• Indianapolis: well...duh!
• Texas: IndyCar's best oval outside of Indianapolis from a promotion and racing standpoint.
• Chicagoland: Another fine facility with great racing serving a major metro area.
• Kentucky: From all accounts, a fantastic facility. The racing is pretty darn good, too.
• Michigan: I don't care what ISC wants as far as MIS is concerned, this is a track that must be on the schedule, especially if American manufacturers find their way back in.
• Homestead: Another major metro area, good weather, decent enough racing. Needs better promotion, though.
• Iowa: Neat little facility with good crowds and a very outside-the-box lap distance (7/8 of a mile)
• Phoenix: Like Michigan, needs to be on an IndyCar schedule. Run IndyCars with a USAC Silver Crown undercard.
• Loudon: This is the one track that's actually shown interest in the IRL recently; why the league hasn't jumped at it is beyond me.
• Nashville: Never the most exciting race (though a new car could help that), but this track is undeniably unique; also home base for Firestone.
• Rockingham (NC): A really unique track that just isn't used for anything right now, but is very much ready to go.
• Rockingham (UK): IndyCar has been making money off of Brits since Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon hit the scene, and this would make a neat flyaway race on another unique oval.
• Motegi: If Honda is still a major supplier, you gotta keep 'em happy.

Wish list: Nazareth, Pocono, Milwaukee.

So there you have it. It really is time to get some tracks that are a little different into this series and bring back the spirit of diversity that IndyCar schedulers used to show. Is my solution ideal? Probably not. However, I think we'll find by the end of the season that the oval portion was sorely lacking because of the sameness of the tracks.

Long Beach is coming! See you then!

Review: Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

2010-04-12T15:01:00.003-04:00

Well, I've just woken up from the coma induced by watching the race at Barber Motorsports Park. Seriously...I was definitely dozing off between runs to the fridge for beer because there was so little to get excited about during this race. Randy Bernard and George Barber: the ball is in your court.

Don't get me wrong, George Barber has built one of the most beautiful racing facilities in the nation in the hills outside of Birmingham. I would absolutely love to take a road trip down there for an AMA Superbike race and a trip to Barber's fantastic museum; it has the potential to unseat Laguna Seca as the most scenic racetrack I've ever been to.

Unfortunately, scenery is not something you get to see much on TV. Viewers tune in to watch the on-track excitement -- if they wanted scenery, they'd pop in a blu-ray of "Planet Earth". It's not like I'm asking them to ~~tear down Yankee Stadium~~ erm...put a roof on Wrigley Field here; I'm looking for something more like a Lambeau Field situation: improve the quality of an already beautiful facility in order to (gasp) keep the fans happy. Like I said, the ball is in the court of the powers-that-be.

Luckily, we all sort of understood what the deal was going into the weekend. We've seen a few Grand-Am events at Barber where prototypes had problems getting around slower GTs. The drivers who participated at tests in Birmingham the last two years also expressed their concerns over the lack of passing opportunities. So, when we had exactly ONE on-track pass for the lead on Sunday (by someone claiming to be Marco Andretti...I think it's Mario in disguise), everyone sort of understood why.

While it's not as exciting for the fans, this race was put into the hands of the crew chief/chief engineer/race strategist types. When the first yellow flag flew (which I'll get into in a moment), the guys on top of the pit boxes made their move: about half the field came into the pits while the other half stayed out. As the field spread out over the very long green flag run between laps 14 and 85, those teams who stayed out ended up looking like geniuses, managing to get through the race on (sort-of) two stops.

Among those who stayed out were Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and Marco Andretti (or whoever that great driver is wearing Marco's helmet). Marco ended up leading a huge portion of the race after passing Helio soon after the first re-start, but he ended up driving it a little too hard and not getting the mileage he needed for a two-stop race. Helio took the lead after that and, after a quick restart battle with Scott Dixon on the penultimate lap, ran off with it. Following him to the podium were Dixon and Dario, while Andretti took fifth.

Notably missing from my writeup so far are the drivers involved in my predictions...

Will Power had the race in the bag from turn 1. Even though he bobbled a bit on the run down to the start, he still got the jump on Mike Conway at the green flag. Everything was looking good for Will until a huge stint of green flag racing broke out after the initial yellow flag. Power was caught behind several cars and, while he could make some passes, he lost touch with Marco and Helio and could never recover.

Mike Conway went through much of the same story as Power. Though he had trouble sticking with Will initially, he almost beat Power off pit lane and hounded him for a long time after the restart. Something must have happened to Conway's car, though, because he started losing touch with the cars ahead; eventually, Justin Wilson picked up the flag for Dreyer & Reinbold, taking seventh place from Conway with a dicey pass that had VERSUS booth man/DRR co-owner Robbie Buhl hyperventilating a bit.

That yellow flag I've mentioned about a hundred times without actually telling what happened came out because of Takuma Sato. I really thought Barber would suit Sato's driving ability and KV had been showing signs of being quick this year. Sato looked great until something in his accelerator system failed early on (hey, I thought Toyota pulled out of the series in 2006!) and brought the car to a halt next to the giant metal spider in turn 5. The problem was fixed, but not until Sato had lost 21 laps to the leaders.

As for the ladies...well, Danica finished the race right where she started in 19th. Notable in this third race of the season is that Danica has been getting FAR less press than usual this season, while people are starting to take notice of Simona De Silvestro. The Swiss Miss was going well, having been part of that group that stayed out during the first caution, and was looking to take a top ten spot until she bumped the gearshift one two many times going into turn 5 and spun the car. Simona ended up in 21st when all was said and done.

In less than a week, the IndyCars drop onto Shoreline Drive in beautiful Long Beach, California for America's premier street race, the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. Until then, take it easy!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Honda Grand Prix of Alabama

2010-04-10T20:29:00.003-04:00

Well, this week the IndyCar circus rolls into -- HOLY CRAP DAN WHELDON, THERE'S A GIANT MECHANICAL SPIDER ABOUT TO ATTACK YOU!!!

Anyway, the common household pests rendered many times larger and out of metal (and not mechanical...thank god those things don't actually move) are one of the neat little quirks at what looks like a pretty quirky ribbon of racetrack outside of Birmingham, Alabama.

Apart from the lawn art and the (by all accounts) fabulous on-site automotive history museum, one of Barber Motorsports Park's most important quirks is the elevation change through the lap. If you watch the video from my last post, it looks pretty intense. Heck, if you look at the above picture, that brow that hides the bottom 15 feet or so of the museum building also hides a piece of the track that is even further downhill than the building.

The hills and long, sweeping turns seem to combine to make a nightmare of g-forces on the drivers. Luckily, it doesn't look to be TOO hot in the Birmingham area this weekend. If it were hot out, we could have a situation where drivers' health is negatively affected; as it is, everyone's neck and arms will be pretty sore and that's about it.

Another quirk of this track that I think the management at the track would rather you not notice is that, if your vehicle is larger than a motorcycle (last I checked, the Dallara is), it is VERY hard to pass on this track. there are only two turns that are 90 degrees and only one real hairpin, and all of those turns either have poor lead-ins or are two fast to provide a proper out-braking opportunity. It is yet to be seen if that will provide big problems for the IndyCars in an actual race situation, but I'm not holding out too much hope....All of which leads me to my predictions.

Winner: Will Power If there were any reasons to bet against Will here, they were thrown out the window when he put Penske's Verizon machine on the pole in qualifying. If Will can beat the field into Turn 1, barring disaster, he should run away with the race Edmonton-'09-style.

Dark Horse: Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold has been some strong moves so far this season, with the most impressive result being Justin Wilson's second place at St. Pete. Mike Conway's chief advantage at this race is that he is one of two drivers who will take the green flag with no cars in front of him. If he can get a good start off the outside of row 1, beat Will Power to turn 1, and get some good pit work from his crew without throwing the car into the sand traps, we could see DRR back on the podium and me buying a Dad's Root Beer in celebration.

Ninja Dark Horse: Takuma Sato (appropriately enough) This comes under the assumption, of course, that Sato keeps the car on the track and pointed in the right direction. He is a very capable driver, as he showed as certain points in his Formula 1 career, but he's also inconsistent. In Brazil, he was out before turning his steering wheel from braking to late, and he overcooked a pass at St. Pete, putting him into a tire wall. KV Racing is perfectly capable of making a fast car, Takuma is a fast driver, and, as everyone knows, a good-looking car is a fast car. Once that car showed up in British Racing Green with the Lotus gold stripe down the middle, it's looked like a winner.

Lady Watch! Move over, Danica Watch! There's a new kid on the block! The Swiss Miss, Simona Di Silvestro, has shown up and made sure everyone knows she can whip that HVM car around a track. Therefore, the Watch will look out for both the racers of the fairer gender. Danica has been proving me wrong of late, but I won't let her persuade me! Starting 19th on a track with few passing opportunities behind slower cars? Not good for her. As for Simona, I don't think she'll be knocking onto the top 5 like she has been, but a top 10 is well within her reach.

No live blog for me, as I'll be pointing cameras at stuff all day tomorrow. The DVR will be fired up and I'll be ready to rock when I get home. See you later!

Sweet (Virtual) Home Alabama

2010-04-06T21:39:00.003-04:00

Time to ship the IndyCar circus off to the good ol' southland for the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama -- the first IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park. That means it's also time for VERSUS' CG department to drop the knowledge yet again:

Here's what I'm thinking: this could be the dullest race the IndyCar series has ever run. There are exactly zero ideal passing zones on this track. Therefore, anyone who tries to make a pass will either not make the pass, or try it in such a crazy spot that it's doomed to failure. What will be interesting is qualifying; if some oddball team (not Penske or Ganassi) takes pole or second, it could give us a new team atop the podium.

Preview forthcoming...

Review: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

2010-03-30T21:49:00.002-04:00

Well, now that I've finished hyperventilating over yet another exciting street race and compared notes with my coworker Mike, it's time to share some thoughts on the race between the (temporary, thunderstorm-caused) lakes that was St. Pete.

First off -- and this is special, because it's not something I say a lot -- all credit to Brian Barnhart for getting something right TWO races in a row. In spite of all of his shortcomings, he does a good job dealing with rainstorms.

I think back to Indianapolis in 2007, which was honestly one of the most unpleasant experiences I've ever had. Not long after the halfway point, there was an absolutely awful storm that turned the track into a swimming pool. Some of the older fans who had seen this situation play out in the past decided it wasn't worth it to stick around and went home. Barnhart, on the other hand, decided to wait it out; he was rewarded by some fortuitous sunshine and the fact that the pavement that was put down in '05 dries like no road I've ever seen. Seeing the cars come back out of the garage and hearing Dave Calabro make the call to restart the engines was just as exciting as the start of the race. About 60 more laps were run before it clouded over again and the skies opened around 7PM, leaving the remaining fans drenched, but fairly satisfied.

Two weeks ago in Sao Paulo, Barnhart saw a massive storm hit the track, tried to keep the race going, but decided to throw the red when it became unreasonable and make the track safe again. In St. Pete, though it may not have been the popular decision, he again made the right decision to send everyone home for the day on Sunday when the weather and track condition became unreasonable with little end in sight.

Instead of a festival of rain-induced spinning (like we occasionally have in Formula 1) we had a pretty exciting race on a drying track that emphasized car control and rewarded some of the best twisty drivers in the series...which brings me to my predictions.

What can you say about Will Power's ability on street courses? I feel as though there aren't any suitable superlatives to apply to the man -- he simply wins these races. The final, IRL-sanctioned Champ Car race from Long Beach in 2008 was won by Will, last year's race on the Edmonton airport circuit was flat dominated by Will, and he's taken the first two street races of 2010. It stands to reason that he'll be the runaway favorite for Long Beach, Toronto, Edmonton, and perhaps some of the natural-terrain races. At one point in the St. Pete race, it seemed like Justin Wilson might reel Power in, but Will suddenly found his accelerator pedal and shot off into the distance -- game, set, match.

My Dark Horse (simply because of where he started the race; nothing to do with a lack of ability or team strength) may have had the fastest car on the racetrack. When Dario Franchitti had his car pointed in the right direction and with all four tires pumped up, he was, true to his Italian ancestry, a Forza Azzuri. The blue Cottonelle/Target car, after stopping to replace a flat tire in the second half of the race, shot from tenth to fifth within about twelve laps. If the Grand Prix of St. Pete were 110 laps or 115 laps, who's to say where Dario might have ended up.

Ninja Dark Horse Graham Rahal did not disappoint either, especially given the fact that his temporary team, Sarah Fisher Racing, is lucky to even be in the series at this point. Sarah has a fighting spirit, and she loves driving a race car, but she also wants that team to succeed; Sarah Fisher can only turn a wheel to the right when holding a slide on a dirt oval, so she rightfully decided to throw the most talented person who didn't have a ride behind the wheel. If Sarah had driven, she would've been lucky to be the last car running; with Graham at the wheel, they picked up a well-deserved and much-needed top ten. Who knows what this team will be able to do in Alabama, but it will only be beneficial for Sarah and her small, scrappy, barely-meeting-budget team.

Danica Patrick...the girl always finds ways to surprise me. However, I may have to retire the Danica Watch because the only way she's gotten ahead of Simona de Silvestro these first two races was when Simona's car broke (either internally or from...er...outside influences). Even Marty Reid, noted lover of all things Danica (figuratively, of course), acknowledged the talent that is Simona and even showed signs of thinking the Swiss Miss might be *hushed whisper* better than Danica. The next few races shall tell the truth of the matter.

Thankfully, the IZOD IndyCar Series will skip Easter/Final Four weekend, because I will be far too distracted by Butler University's awesomeness to devote time to racing. IndyCar returns to the track the following weekend for its inaugural event at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama. See you then, folks!

Yellow Shirt Preview/Live Blog: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

2010-03-28T13:44:00.004-04:00

Well, unlike last year, the above picture will not be an accurate representation of how the weather will be in St. Pete today. If you click the "Is It May Yet?" link over there, you'll see resident weatherman Will's assessment of how things are going to look.

While I can't give you an accurate judgment on the chances of rain, I can give you an accurate judgment of the chances of a first-turn incident as the field comes off the runway in the wet: 110%. The runway at Albert Whitted Airport is approximately 30 miles wide (give or take a few) and there's plenty of runoff on the inside of the turn. Therefore, nearly every year, cars go about 4-wide into the funnel that is turn 1, then the carbon fiber starts flying.

The rest of the course is fairly typical street circuit fare: narrow, 90-degree turns with very little room for error. There is one nice blast along the harbor that can create some passing opportunities, but the turn at the end of the blast is fairly quick and preceded by a couple of kinks, making the setup for the following car difficult. Some drivers will try to pass in other spots, but as Rafa Matos and Danica Patrick found out last year, the results can be disastrous.

As far as the outcome of the race is concerned, the rain will make things quite interesting. If the weather dies off, the track will start drying and the dry-versus-wet tire strategies will start affecting things. One of the smaller teams with nothing to lose could pull a crazy strategy out of their pocket and benefit big time.

Also, any incident at the first corner, depending on where it occurs within the field, could put a driver who qualified low back towards the front.

Winner: Will Power The kid is good, as we saw down the stretch at Sao Paulo. He's on the pole at St. Pete, putting him clear of most first-lap incidents, and out ahead of the spray from the rain tires. Driving a Penske car doesn't hurt him either.

Dark Horse: Dario Franchitti Odd to see Mr. Dario as a dark horse, but I attribute it to his difficult qualifying that placed him 13th on the starting grid. As his wife will tell you, though, he's one of the best and one of the classiest on the grid, and he is well capable of keeping the car pointed in the right direction in the rain. If he avoids other people's problems, the light-blue-for-this-week Target car could be at the front at the finish.

Ninja Dark Horse: Graham Rahal He won in his first ever IndyCar start at St. Pete with a team that had just joined the League. Now he's paired with everyone's favorite underdog team in Sarah Fisher Racing and coming back to one of his better tracks for his first race of 2010. Some pit strategy calls and a bit of luck could get Graham up near the head of the field.

Danica Watch! Street course, rain, so on and so forth. She's starting really low in the field too, so the possibility of being hit by another car is high. Danica will be a non-factor today.

I'm watching a little basketball right now, but the TV flips over at 3:30 for IndyCar action. I'll be back on here to do some live coverage then.

*UPDATE*
St. Pete is being freight trained by thunderstorms, which means there's lighting in the air and they can't have spectators or participants out in that kind of weather. The race will be at 10 in the morning Monday on ESPN2. No live blog from me, since I'll be at work, but I'll have the DVR fired up and ready to go. Cheers.

Well, Not Much Is Going On, Really...

2010-03-22T16:34:00.003-04:00

Of course, I say these words before I have had a chance to sit down with my DVR and throw down on some of Sunday's Wind Tunnel With ~~Dave Despain~~ Robin Miller.

See, It's always a momentous event, in my opinion, when Dave Despain -- who really is one of the best racing commentators out there when reporting track-side at a USAC or AMA event -- vacates his chair for whatever reason and is replaced by someone whose knowledge of NASCAR is akin to my knowledge of why the Large Hadron Collider keeps breaking. For once, we can get a break from, "Brad Keselowski this," and, "Carl Edwards that," and comments on the sexual orientation of Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon and we can bring fans of those other race series into the discussion.

It was so momentous, in fact, that I went to sleep right before the show started last night. What are you gonna do -- my boss wanted me in at 6 AM today.

Anyway, since the media didn't explode this morning, I'm assuming there were no announcements that the IndyCar Series was going to use a twin-turbo V16 Silver Crown car for 2012 or that Randy Bernard has already balanced the budget or whatever. I suppose it IS notable that Bernard announced a new committee to debate over the merits of new chassis and engines...which is slightly better than what we had before (Barnhart sitting around, not doing anything, while fans tried to storm his castle).

As far as IndyCar was concerned this past week, one thing of any importance that happened was this: Graham Rahal has plopped himself in an IndyCar for the first time in 2010, testing the #67 Dollar General/Sarah Fisher Racing Dallara at Barber Motorsports Park. Apparently, we are not privy to his test times or anything, but the fact that he is at least in a car is uplifting.

Oh, and there was something about 25% of households that used to have access to the VERSUS network, who lost it due to a petty dispute over money during an economic recession, once again being given access to VERSUS once more. Good work, lawyers. Hopefully we see a bump from that in the ratings when the Barber race rolls around.

Oh, and Jack Arute apparently has a blog. I believe the proper response is this (just replace the lyric "white man" with "artfully bronzed gentleman-extraordinaire").

Cheers.

Pseudo-Live Blog: Sao Paulo Indy 300

2010-03-14T11:56:00.062-04:00

The fans are in place, the Sambadrome has been ground down for grip, and...nothing's happening. The sprinkles have started falling in central Sao Paulo which, this being a road course race, it's not really a problem. The league officials need to figure out how wet the track is and whether or not they need to mandate use of rain tires, then we'll light up the Honda's and get rolling. At least the Brazilian fans are having fun...

12:02, pre-race
Pace car has done its rounds, some Brazilian fellow gave a very dull engine start command, and we're ready to roll!

12:05, pre-race
The grinding and the quick shower seem to have made a bit of a dusty situation on the Sambadrome section...we'll see how that affects things.

Lap 1
Pace car off, we are...GREEN! Tons of dust on the concrete....and...we are YELLOW! Lots of cars falling apart and running into each other. Mario Moraes parked on Marco Andretti's head, one of the KV cars (Sato?) and Scott Dixon spun. Castroneves involved as well. Sato appeared to lose control under braking to nail Dixon, similar thing happened to Moraes. Let's hope everyone's okay...

Lap 2
Andretti calls his crew, says he's a-okay. To celebrate, we get our first GoDaddy commercial of the day!

Lap 3
Ryan Briscoe also appeared to lose bits of his nose as cars came around after the wreck...we're not seeing much about that. Marco Andretti finally able to get out of his car to a chorus of cat-calls from the Brazilians.

Lap 5
Alex Lloyd in the pits with an apparent engine issue. We're still yellow, trying to get Marco's car out of the way.

Lap 6
The pace car is moving impossibly slowly, and yet we've still taken five laps of caution without Andretti's car being cleared...The safety team is clearly out of practice.

Lap 7
Okay, this is getting a bit ridiculous. Now we're checking for bits of carbon fiber around the rest of the track. I would dearly like to see some racing here, guys.

Lap 8
FINALLY, we're given the one-to-go signal. I've nearly gone back into nap mode watching this.

Lap 9
And we are...GREEN! Most drivers staying single file...and we're still green! Franchitti leads, Tagliani follows, Hunter-Reay holding on behind those two. Interview with Marco, and Marco being himself finds a way to blame Moraes for the wreck...what a joke.

Lap 12
Justin Wilson apparently having some issues with all of the bumps and banging his tall frame around inside the cockpit.

Lap 14
Franchitti still leads, but Alex Tagliani's simply not going away.

Lap 15
Replays showing that Castroneves has a problem with his front wing. He was still able to get past Simona de Silvestro, though.

Lap 16
Tags must've made a mistake because he has lost contact with Franchitti and is being hounded by RHR...pass for second! We got Tony Kanaan's view of the proceedings on the in-car.

Lap 18
We've settled into parade mode a bit here. (flips TV to check Caps vs. Blackhawks...no score there)

Lap 19
Totally gonna watch Junior Seau be a tire changer with Scott Dixon...oughta be fun. Pass for second! RHR takes Tagliani and sets his sights on Dario.

Lap 20
Kanaan trying to take third from Tagliani. Replay shows a banner has come off the wall and into Justin Wilson's face.

Lap 22
In the most surprising development of the day, Milka Duno spins unassisted in turn 3...*facepalm*

Lap 24
Pit stops? Yes I do believe so...these guys really zing down the entrance to pit lane. Franchitti out first, RHR out second, Kanaan third, Tagliani fourth. Simona de Silvestro stayed out and will lead a few laps.

Lap 25
Hellish thunderstorm looming to the west of the track. We're told that Simona had pitted just before Milka brought out the yellow...therefore, she is on the lead lap and on the same pit cycle as everyone else. Simona, ftw!

Lap 26
The longer we stay yellow, the better chance we have of being caught out by the rain. Lights finally out on the pace car.

Lap 27
We are...GREEN! Simona got the jump on Dario as Dario skidded a bit out of the final corner. Clean start through the first couple corners. Hunter-Reay looks for second into turn 11 and has it.

Lap 28
Hunter-Reay takes the lead supercross-style into turn 5, and he is...RUNNING AWAAAYYY!

Lap 29
Crash crash crash! Tony Kanaan and...Tagliani perhaps? Haven't seen a shot of the other car yet. Ryan Briscoe, using his awesome ESP powers, ducked into the pits for wet tires. Looks like the wreck was caused by Wheldon shoving Tagliani into Kanaan...fallout to come. Still green.

Lap 30
Rain clearly beginning to fall...We're still green, but expect to see some cars in the pits here in a moment...

Lap 31
Pit stops for rain tires. De Silvestro clearly against the concept of pit lane as she stays out again, as does Hunter-Reay. Ana Beatriz goes ass-around before getting to pit lane.

Lap 32
It starts getting really insane on the course as many cars start going ass-around in turn 1. we FINALLY have a full-course yellow.

Lap something-or-other
The thunderstorm has knocked out some of the communications between race control and the rest of the world. No rundown at the top of the screen. Still under full-course yellow.

Lap whatever
The drivers are taking a break so the standing water can get cleaned up. Therefore, I'm taking a lunch break. BRB!

I have no idea what lap this is...
I'm back from cooking just as the drivers are back on the track. We're now in a timed race situation, so there's no more lap counter apparently. Right now, the drivers are movin' around behind the pace car.

37 mins to go
We are...GREEN! Dario jumps away Dixon follows, Conway behind them. Everyone clean through the first few corners.

Lap 40
Simona de Silvestro has an issue on the course...pity for her. The Ganassi cars have flown away. Cars on slick tires have been driving well so far.

Lap 42
Many many pit sstops for slick tires as the grip levels change on the course.

Lap 43
Near disaster as cars battle in the top 5...well played by everyone in the line there to keep from bashing each other to pieces. Craziness continues as the drivers try to lap Danica.

Lap 44
Danica clearly holding everone back in this crew...everyone finally through as they go down the long straight.

Lap 47
Mario Romancini clearly having an issue. Judging by the direction the wheels are pointing, I'm going to say there was some contact somewhere.

Lap 48
Looks like Romancini overcooked it coming out of turn 10. Classic understeer, hits the wall, breaks the left-rear. Still under green as Mario gets back to pit lane.

Lap 50
Much speculation on how the fuel game is going to play out over the last 20 minutes of this race. Hunter-Reay and Briscoe in lock-step...er, no Briscoe takes the lead in Turn 11. Oughta be interesting.

Lap 51
RHR goes for the lead back, but looks to have cut the second corner...iiiiiinteresting scenario coming here....

Lap 52
In the meantime, Will Power has caught up to this battle for the lead. Might be VEEERRRRY interesting.

Lap 53
Briscoe clearly trying to push the pace, locking up the breaks. Remember the fuel situation here...

Lap 54
Jack Arute busts out the computer and...Briscoe crashes!!! RHR takes the lead! Full-course yellow!

Lap 55
As I was saying, Arute breaks out the computer and shows us what looks like Satan's hemorrhoid on the radar screen. Interesting to see how the weather situation plays out now...Ten minutes on the clock as we get ready to shoot for the finish.

Lap 57
We are...GREEN!!! Shootout for the finish! RHR and Power get the jump on the rest of the field. Everyone clean through the opening complex. Meira gives the wall a slap coming onto the pit stretch, everyone keeps rolling. Vitor unaffected as he goes to third in the final turn!

Lap 58
RHR, Will Power, Vitor is the top three. Matos warned for blocking by Barnhart. Battle for the lead heating up! Power has it in turn 11!

Lap 59
Three minutes on the clock. Power in the lead, RHR in second, Vitor in third. Wheldon working Matos for fourth.

Lap 60
Under two minutes on the clock. No white flag in the air, so we have to assume two to go. Order remains unchanged so far, but the Target guys nearly got together. No shots of the leaders at the moment, but they are faaaaaar away from third place.

Lap 61
White flag! Power really gapping RHR here. Barring a disaster, he should take the win.

(Green) Checkered Flag!
Power wins it! Hunter-Reay, Vitor, Matos, Wheldon, Dixon, Franchitti, Conway, Castroneves, Kanaan round out your top 10. Great race for guys who got injured last year, as Power had the back injury at Sonoma and Meira had the scary back injury at Indianapolis.

The three podium drivers taking their ceremonial lap of awesomeness as they head for the podium at the Sambadrome.

Jack Arute attempting to conduct the interview through a kazoo...VERSUS shuts that off and says let's sort this noise out before we let you speak again.

In other news, I decided to check on how my Capitals are doing against Chicago....AND WE CAME BACK TO TIE IT AT THREE! That's AFTER the officials decided that they didn't want Ovechkin in the game after an admittedly rough hit...but not enough to warrant an ejection.

Back to Sao Paulo, and Jack Arute is in full interruption mode with our winner. "Yeah it's really great to have a full season and --" "WHAT ABOUT YOUR HANDS!? WHAT ABOUT MY SUPPLE BRONZED HANDS?!?!"

Hunter-Reay looks decidedly happy and sounds decidedly happy. The car was apparently slow on the straights compared to everyone else. Feeling the pressure of having IZOD ride the side of his car and it would've been nice to get them in victory lane. Comments that it's good to see A.J. celebrating on the podium with his team...couldn't agree more with that.

Vitor Meira: happy man. The last time I saw him in a car, I was looking at the underside of his car as it slid along the wall at Indianapolis. Says he tried his damndest not to cry because A.J. would give him crap for it! Bwahahahaa, I love it!

Okay, so let's recap: The beginning of the weekend was awful, with the ridiculously slippery start/finish straight. The middle was bad with a ridiculous wreck and a torrential rainstorm. The finish turned out pretty well, with Hunter-Reay forcing Briscoe into a key error to take the lead, then Power simply dominating the restart to ride off with victory. Meira also did a fantastic job on Rafa Matos in order to pick up a podium finish in his first race back from injury.

Checking my predictions, I'm looking pretty smart right now, eh? Will Power won, Ryan Hunter-Reay came second, and Alex Tagliani was in the hunt until being punted by Dan Wheldon. Danica was never a factor, especially once the rain came out.

Again, I interrupt regularly scheduled programming for this: THE CAPITALS BEAT THE BLACKHAWKS!!! Four unanswered goals, capped by Nick Backstrom's unassisted OT score to be the first team this year to triple digit points! Here's to my boys on the ice!

As for IndyCars, they'll be in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida, in two weeks' time. See ya later, race fans!

Yellow Shirt Preview: Sao Paulo Indy 300

2010-03-13T20:57:00.003-05:00

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.

Yellow Shirt Preview: 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series

2010-03-12T09:19:00.002-05:00

And so it begins...The cars are in the paddock, the drivers are going over their final offseason notes, and the fans is Sao Paulo are ready to head to the parade grounds to get the 2010 season rolling.

Say what you will about the financial state of the series or the current IRL formula or the lack of American drivers (and then feel free to go over to Robin Miller's mailbag to read a lot of opinions that agree with yours); I feel as though there is a marked improvement in this offseason over last year, and I am genuinely excited to see the first race this weekend.

There are new teams and drivers that weren't there before, some of whom are fully deserving of the rides they now have (Simona de Silvestro, anyone?). The ride-buyers are still out there, but there's not much that can really be done about that until the sponsorship dollars begin flooding in again.

There is a new face at the top of the leadership ladder in the IndyCar Series with the installment of new CEO Randy Bernard who, by all accounts, hit the ground running a week and a half ago and has impressed members of the media (including Miller, which is tough) and did damn-all to get Graham Rahal a two-race ride with Sarah Fisher Racing -- a partnership that could end up being good for Rahal, but spectacular for SFR, who is always in desperate need of a good result. Bernard took a niche sport in rodeo/bull-riding and, while not exactly making it mainstream, made its niche a good bit bigger and brought money into the sport. Let's see if he can do the same with the IndyCars.

Finally, the media, blogosphere and the participants are abuzz over what the field will look like two years from now. Five different companies have put designs forth for the new generation of car, from the familiar look of the Lola and Dallara designs to the wild and futuristic DeltaWing. For a series that, if you believe some of the louder voices out there, is dying, it seems like there are quite a few people who are interested in keeping it alive. Hopefully the buzz can remain alive for the next two years.

As for the on-track product in 2010, I see it being similar to 2009, but slightly more interesting. Yes, the red cars will dominate -- er, the red cars and the black cars now. Yes, that's not necessarily a good thing, even though having Dixon, Franchitti, Castroneves, Briscoe and Power are pretty good people to have battling it out for the title. I do think we'll see some fresh faces in victory lane on a couple of occasions, though. I'm not sure exactly who, but I feel as though the Andretti Autosport cars, in spite of how weak they look in testing and how disorganized they sometimes look; Tony Kanaan should find his way back into victory lane at least once this season. I also expect to see a yellow car carrying #67 find its way towards the sharp end of the field at St. Petersburg and Barber -- again, Rahal being in the car will only be good for Sarah Fisher Racing.

My picks for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series:

Champion: Will Power Power showed us what he is capable of last year at Edmonton: flat out domination. He's a very good driver in a very good car, and I see no reason that he will not come out of the gate swinging. If he isn't involved in a wreck or slowed by bad fortune, Will Power should be a top five finisher at just about every race. Consistency like that wins championships.

Championship Dark Horse: Helio Castroneves Always a little strange to put Helio's name in a "dark horse" category, but he certainly did not have a very strong season in 2009 (apart from Indianapolis, of course). Teammate Briscoe slid past Helio last year in every measurable aspect and became top dog on that team. Helio is starting to get up there in age and has to be looking at his job security with Team Penske. He'll want to get the results in his home country this weekend, in his home state races at St. Petersburg and Homestead, and in a quest to join the open-wheel elite with a fourth Indianapolis win.

Ninja Dark Horse (so dark, you can't even see him/her): Tony Kanaan To see Tony Kanaan have no victories last season was very tough and very disheartening. Sometimes he was on fire (like...literally on fire), sometimes the car simply wasn't good, and sometimes the rear suspension would break halfway down the back straight at Indy and pitch him into the wall. Tony should be a man on a mission this year with a hopefully re-focused team and a little help from his teammates -- especially new teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Danica Watch! Oh, she's that stock car driver, isn't she? Kidding aside, I must do my obligation as an unofficial member of the media and keep track of the series' golden egg. Mrs. Hospenthal will be as fast and aggressive as she always was, but it's hard to know where her team will end up. She was quite slow at the Barber Motorsports Park test. However, there is one place that Danica is always fast: Indianapolis. Here's Danica's Indianapolis record: fourth, eighth, eighth, DNF (crash that wasn't her fault), third. Give her two weeks at a track and she can knock it dead. She'll be fast on some other roundy-round tracks too. Will she repeat her Motegi triumph of 2008? Probably not, but that bright green and black car may see quite a bit of the sharper end of the field this year. Remember, she was the first driver behind the red cars in the points last year.

Practice and qualifying from Sao Paulo begin in just about 24 hours! Quite frankly...I'm pretty stoked for the drop of the green flag on Sunday and I hope you are as well.

This Just In...

2010-03-10T17:24:00.002-05:00

Sarah Fisher is officially the coolest person in the history of auto racing. Period.

Robin Miller reports here

Other coverage on the blog list along the side there -->

Looking forward to Sao Paulo that much more now.

It's That Time Again!

2010-03-09T23:43:00.005-05:00

The one and only IZOD IndyCar Series begins blowing your mind via cathode ray tubes (or LCD's, LED's, or plasma cells) from Sao Paulo, Brazil, starting at 1 PM Saturday with the "fast six" qualifying shootout and finishing on Sunday with a Noon green flag.

What that means is that it's time for the CG types at VERSUS to drop some beautifully-rendered knowledge on us:

There are many predictions and observations that can be made about this brand new course, but I will make just one: there will be an extremely important accident at Turn 11, and it may very well decide who wins the race. Expect to see Honda's magic button light up on the mile-long blast to the final turn.

Classy Chassis

2010-02-17T11:57:00.006-05:00

Unfortunately, this post does NOT pertain to the establishment-of-questionable-repute on S. Harding St. in Indianapolis. Too bad, right?

Instead, now that we have all pertinent information (read: photos) of the four chassis concepts that are to be considered by Messers. Barnhart, Bernard and Angstadt, it's time for me to throw my small and insignificant hat into the ring for my favorite design.

First, let's consider some pros and cons of the various designs.

Dallara
Pros: Dallara has been supplying cars to the IRL since Day 1 (or Day 366, as the IRL used old Reynards and Lolas for its inaugural season) and Dallara has an established supply connection with the league; The car (that's my fave of the three pictured right there) is a nice evolution of the current car with a much sleeker and attractive look, but elements that still say "Dallara!"; Dallara wants to set up shop in soon-to-be-redeveloped Speedway, IN, bringing jobs and money to a piece of the world that could use it.

Cons: All of that stuff about Dallara being a chassis supplier from the beginning is one of the reasons people don't like them: the current car, introduced in 2003, was considered ugly from the start, in spite of working much better than the prettier Panoz/G-Force; the '97-'02 Dallara was not the safest thing on the planet and there were some driver injuries that were based on the aerodynamics and chassis structure; Dallara chassis have nearly bankrupted the IRL recently, as Gian Paolo & Co. have been charging exorbitant money to build and ship an eight-year-old design of which they've sold hundreds of copies.

DeltaWing
Pros: Being designed by Ben Bowlby and endorsed by Chip Ganassi -- two guys who I'm pretty sure know a thing or two about racing -- gives this car a big leg up on both conceptual and political merit; the "wingless car" idea is very ideal from a racing standpoint: cars are planted, but won't create the "aero push" for the following car that a big wing does; having the engine as a non-stressed piece of the car (meaning the engine block is not physically part of the chassis) means that essentially any engine that will fit in the engine bay can be installed with little additional development.

Cons: The much-ballyhooed look of the car ("phallic" seems to be the consensus on that one); An impossibly narrow front track, which makes those of us who aren't intimately involved with the project wonder how the thing will go around turns such as the Long Beach Hairpin; what we've seen is apparently nothing more than a foam block and may not actually resemble the final product -- not good when we're only two years out from the supposed debut of the car; wingless downforce has been tried before and did not work -- Bowlby is a smart guy, but is he smarter than Colin Chapman?; conspiracy theories that actually seem somewhat sensible make me think the DeltaWing is some sort of power play by the owners (who are largely behind the project) to demand input into IndyCar's 2012 design.

Swift
Pros: My word, look at that thing! It's beautiful!; Swift is an established name in open-wheel circles, producing highly competitive cars for Formula Nippon and the Cooper Tires Atlantic Series; the SwiftLight concept (see previous post), which has many possibilities from providing fans information to allowing for tons of sponsor and livery possibilities is a rather innovative package; the engine sticking out of the back looks like an early 70's F1 car, and that is NOT a bad thing; did I mention the look of the thing?

Cons: As far as I know, Swift has never built a car for the high speeds and hard impacts of oval racing, which calls into question their safety; Swift is based in California and hasn't given any indication of setting up shop in a more convenient spot, which could hurt car cost; speaking of car cost, how much would it cost to make some of those uber-complicated shapes out of carbon fiber?

Lola
Pros: Apart from Dallara, Lola is the most established name of the four choices and has the most history with Indy-style race cars of anyone here -- also apart from Dallara, Lola's '02-'06 Champ Car was considered a resounding success; the shape is not nearly as complicated as some of the others, which holds back production costs; chassis commonality between the IndyCar Series and Indy Lights cars (bottom and top, respectively, in photo), which would allow FIL teams like Sam Schmidt Motorsports to take at least one of their cars and stick it in an IndyCar race without having to spend the money to buy an entirely new tub.

Cons: There is very little evolution of the common IndyCar "look", which is a major part of the criteria for the IRL's top brass; wings, turning vanes, and fins are all bad things when it comes to trying to get cars to follow each other on a track (especially on a road course) -- it's not exactly a 2008 F1 car, but there's a lot of extra jewelry on this design.

My Choice
Were I in charge of the IRL (which, thank the heavens, I'm not), my choice would be Lola. There is a practicality about the Lola, with its simple design and chassis commonality, that really draws me to it. Ideally, I'd like a new car to be based on the Lola, with SwiftLight position indicators and the non-stressed engine of the DeltaWing concept. However, if there is no mashing of the concepts, give me the Lola.

Ugly old Dallaras are getting ready to be tested at various locales in the southeast, and race one from Sao Paulo goes off in less than four weeks...get pumped, IndyCar fans!

Light My Fire

2010-02-08T16:56:00.003-05:00

Well, I've perused the lengthy PDF from the good people at Swift Engineering and looked at the photographs therein. After my deep analysis (or brief glance) of the release, two things stand out to me.

First, the half-covered engine gives all concepts a totally awesome throwback look and, in the words of Swift, shows off "the engine and some of the 'jewelry'". Plus, the name of the engine manufacturer can go...ON THE ENGINE! What a truly novel concept that is.

Second, the SwiftLights (patent pending) are something that has been long been missing from major motorsport and would be a great tool for the fans. I grant you, I'm fairly certain the lights for the accelerator and brake traces will be fairly useless, especially at the pedal-to-the-metal ovals. I'm also pretty sure the fuel level trace won't be too popular with teams trying to strategize and it would actually decrease what excitement there is in the fuel mileage races because the drama of waiting for someone's car to sputter to a halt will be lessened.

HOWEVER, the position light on the roll hoop is something that absolutely must be implemented -- tomorrow, if at all possible. This is the part of the SwiftLight concept that could be a game-changer in the world of major auto racing. It's too bad that no one has ever thought of something like this as a service to the fans before...

...OH WAIT!

ALMS beats everyone to the punch yet again! Not only do those lights signify first, second, and third places, but they are also different colors for each class. Great help in the chaos of sports car racing, and would be especially fantastic on the IICS twisty races.

Analysis of Nelson Piquet Jr's ARCA Debut

2010-02-06T21:16:00.003-05:00

Not shown in this photo is the instigator of this spin, instigator of another large wreck, he who steals candy from small children, and he who eats the cute baby animals from all of those online photo galleries -- not to mention former Formula 1 driver: Nelson Piquet Jr.

This exact sentence came out of my mouth not long after the eye-searingly green car of some rookie lady driver named Dan...er...Dani...er...Danica-something flying across the infield of the Daytona tri-oval: "The only thing Nelson Piquet Jr. has ever done right in a race car is crash it when his boss told him to."

The kid kept his F1 job for an extra six months because of his ability to follow a team order to throw a multi-million-dollar machine into a wall...AND THAT'S IT. Tonight, his incompetence nearly derailed the aforementioned "rookie" Danica's attempt to make a little history in her first-ever stock car race.

Coming through Daytona's fourth turn, Nelson and some other guy had to check up for some reason or another, opening the door for many cars to pass. Nelson, having not been trained in English as his first language, obviously didn't understand the concept of "car low" as relayed by his spotter. He cut back down to the inside where a certain Ms. Danica happened to be driving and sent her careening sideways around the tri-oval. (by the way, if you can find the in-car video of Danica as she goes through this spin, it's quite a lesson in how to work through a spin)

However, not to be perturbed, and with a fresh set of tires, Danica found her way into fifth position in the closing laps before dropping back into a bump-and-grind fight with supercross legend Ricky Carmichael to finish sixth. Impressive, and possibly good for open-wheelers who have to take crap from pro-NASCAR media all the time for not being able to drive a car or something.

Of note to this blogger were Leilani Münter and Milka Duno, drivers of open-wheelers in Indy Lights and IndyCar, respectively, who were moving up through the field when all hell broke loose in front of them. Two cars wrecked, then two more cars wrecked, then spotters apparently took a union break because nobody slowed down and a lot of drivers went the wrong way, making the wreck larger and more dangerous by the second. Leilani and Milka both found their cars bashed to bits when the smoke cleared.

Also of note was the frankly terrifying wrecks of Barry Fitzgerald and Jill George (no relation to Citizen Tony). Fitzgerald lost control coming off of the second turn and the car immediately came off its wheels, rolling five times before coming to a rest. Jill George's accident looked similar to Fitzgerald's in that, after going low to avoid a car with a flat tire and losing control herself, her car simply left its wheels. George's car was pointed towards the wall when it left the ground and the front end caught the catch fence, causing a lengthy repair.

Also notable was the drive of Allison Owens, who ran third for a good chunk of the race before getting a shove out of the way and losing ground. The attention will remain on Danica, but I think Owens might beat her to the punch on putting a lady in a stock car victory lane.

Oh, and some old-timer named Bobby Gerhardt won the race. Congrats.

Verdict Forthcoming...

2010-02-05T21:49:00.002-05:00

The Dallara concepts are covered in very great detail at the links to the right of these words. Between the three, I'm partial to the crimson car (I think it's because it shares a primary color with my favoritest of universities). However, I won't pass full judgment until the mysterious enigma that is the Delta Wing makes an appearance at McCormick Place.

I will be sure to take many many photos if the Delta Wing does indeed show up in Chicago.

Sunrise Over Daytona

2010-01-31T09:14:00.004-05:00

Okay, perhaps that title doesn't have quite the ring of "Sunrise Over Le Mans", but it's still pretty cool that the various stars and guest stars of the Grand Am series storm the beach for two full circuits around the clock to open the American racing season.

As I'm watching this long, long race with near-empty stands while there's snow on the ground outside my window, I find myself wondering, "Why do I like this race?"

It's a fair question. At Le Mans, you have ultra-sleek, ultra-advanced, realevant-to-the-real-world prototypes from Audi, Peugeot, and Aston Martin slugging it out at the head of the field with a bevvy of fantastic international drivers holding what amounts to a day-long touring car race in Ferraris, BMWs, and Porsches. You have the 108-year racing history of the city of Le Mans, the great European racing fans, and fast cars racing down public roads while thousands of people grill up their breakfasts just on the other side of the catch fence.

Daytona just doesn't come across the same on TV. There's never that classic camera shot of some guy wrapped in blankets laying across three seats in the grandstand, there are no quaint French villages and cafés along the backstretch at Daytona -- just a big, ugly grandstand, some parking lots, and an airport. Most importantly, instead of those sleek prototypes, Grand Am's Daytona Prototypes look like warts on TV and can barely corner faster than the GT cars.

Yet I still enjoy watching this race.

One thing I like is that the nature of this Daytona road course, which uses the entire length of the NASCAR oval, lends to some great racing. It easily offers as much close racing as the much more popular NASCAR races, but with some tight right turns thrown in. The slipstreaming one sees for all three hours of the Daytona 500 is in play during the 24, but the drivers also have to know how to properly use their brakes and drive through a corner. Oh, and the prototypers have to do that while trying to get past the 20-mph-slower GT cars.

Yes, the prototypes are not the prettiest things on the planet, but here's what they definitely are: cheap and tough. This lends to a lot of entries in the prototype class with a lot of celebrity drivers from NASCAR and IndyCar getting a ride. When someone like Juan Pablo Montoya stuffs their car into a tire barrier, there isn't some corporate bean counter facepalming over the expense that went into the car as there might be with a broken Le Mans car; there's just a team of regular guys with new parts ready to go in the pit lane. Plus, as I've said, the racing can be very close and there's no giving up if a team gets down by two laps, because your car is just as fast as the other guy's.

As with Le Mans, though, the main reason I enjoy this race is simple: it's a 24-hour race. People talk about how tough it is to get through the Indianapolis 500 or NASCAR's 600-miler, but those races are 3-4 (maybe 5) hours long. At Le Mans and Daytona, the cars and teams have to last a full day. It doesn't matter how ugly or slow a car might be; if it can constantly go around 180 m.p.h. for 24 hours, I'm impressed.

The Dish Comes Down!

2010-01-12T13:48:00.002-05:00

One reason that I sort of stopped caring about IndyCar racing as the season wore down was that I have a big, grey, round, concave thing on my deck, pointing at the sky, with the word "DirecTV" printed on it. Instead of the final races, my TV showed details of the high school-level catfight that DirecTV and Comcast over the broadcasting fees for the VERSUS network.

Don't get me wrong, I was decently happy with DirecTV the whole time I had it (lack of VERSUS notwithstanding). Picture quality was pretty good, channel lineup was good, and the thing that everyone points at as the chief disadvantage of satellite television -- signal going out with the slightest wisp of cloud -- was only a problem in the absolute worst weather. Most importantly, DirecTV was not Comcast: a compay I absolutely refuse to give my money to.

For some time, Comcast and the dishes were my only options for getting a TV signal to my house, and since Comcast stinks and didn't carry the Big Ten Network, my choice was pretty simple. At one point, though, some fellows in an AT&T truck rolled by and threw some nice fiber-optic cable into the lines around my building, which meant I suddenly had another option.

Looking over the available packages for AT&T U-Verse, I saw one that was similarly-priced to the DirecTV package I have, and had nearly the exact same channel lineup but for one key channel: AT&T has VERSUS.

It's fitting that, as i write this, I am wearing a Washington Capitals jersey, because hockey is big reason #2 that I wanted VERSUS so badly. Big reason #1: On March 14, 2010, I will be firmly parked in front of my TV to watch the IndyCars take to the streets of Sao Paulo.

See you there, folke!

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-09T00:06:00.003-05:00

photo: www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com

#1: Write on these pages again, maybe continuing past August 31 this time.

#2: Punch the person that designed these

Cheers to 2010. Opinions and baseless "facts" this way come!

Lorenzo Outlasts the Competition at Indianapolis

2009-08-30T22:19:00.004-04:00

photo courtesy of motogp.com

...While he was at it, he perfected what shall forever be known as the "Lorenzo Leap".

There's a certain amount of ridiculous available to the world of racing each weekend. The level of ridiculous is directly proportional to the number of races happening in said weekend. With the large number of big-time races happening this weekend, there was plenty to go around.

Unfortunately, the IRL and Formula 1 did not use their full allotment of ridiculous -- otherwise a non-big-two would've won Chicagoland and Giancarlo Fisichella would've passed Raîkkönen's Ferrari to win Belgium -- so the leftovers were released into the public domain. Since the MotoGP race at Indianapolis was the last major event of the weekend, it got its pick of the remains.

As such, the following happened. Dani Pedrosa, far and away fastest on the straightaways, made it down the main straight (quite quickly) three times as the leader before his bike slid out from under him in the final corner of lap 4. That left Yamaha buddies Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to duke it out until lap 9, when the single most ridiculous racing-related incident of the weekend took place:

Valentino Rossi CRASHED!

Check it out, here's the proof!

So that left Jorge Lorenzo to, for the first time since the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, have a race all to himself.

Scoring one for the home team, for Ducati, and for his future employment, was Nicky Hayden. Hayden survived the race, passed Colin Edwards, and held off Andrea Dovizioso to land on the right side of that picture at the top, in third place. Of note: this was Ducati Corse's FIRST top-flight MotoGP podium by someone other than Casey Stoner -- impressive.

One thing Lorenzo understands fully is that victory at Indianapolis means you get to do this:

The final result:

1 J. LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 47'13.592
2 A. DE ANGELIS San Carlo Honda Gresini + 9.435
3 N. HAYDEN Ducati Team + 12.947
4 A. DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team + 13.478
5 C. EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 26.254
6 J. TOSELAND Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 32.408
7 L. CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 34.400
8 M. KALLIO Ducati Team + 34.856
9 T. ELIAS San Carlo Honda Gresini + 45.005
10 D. PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team + 45.377
11 C. VERMEULEN Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 45.478
12 R. DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP + 52.294
13 A. ESPARGARO Pramac Racing + 1'03.552
14 G. TALMACSI Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 1'15.086

Not classified
M. MELANDRI Hayate Racing Team 3 Lap
N. CANEPA Pramac Racing 5 Lap
V. ROSSI Fiat Yamaha Team 16 Lap

Preview: Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix

2009-08-30T09:22:00.003-04:00

photo courtesy of indianapolismotorspeedway.com

A wonderful weekend of racing is woefully incomplete if the Greatest Racecourse in the World is not included. Luckily, grand prix motorcycle racing makes its second-ever visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its second visit to the U.S. this year.

One thing about this event compared to, say, that other big international event the Speedway used to hold (F1's U.S.G.P.), is that this track suits bikes very well and makes for a very interesting race. Last year, the remnants of Hurricane Ike, still in low tropical storm guise, played havoc on the event with scads of wind and rain. The 125 cc race was wet and wild, the 250 cc race was canceled outright, and the MotoGP race was contested is some of the worst wind and rain conditions I've ever had the pleasure of sitting in.

And you know what? That race was still fantastic, with Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi going at it for a large portion of the race.

Fast-forward to this year's race: not only are we blessed with fantastic weather today, but this season has included the best intra-team battle in recent memory. Nearly every race has featured a wild battle between FIAT-Yamaha teammates Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The best moment of the entire season can be re-lived HERE (insert manly Italian weeping...those guys put Spanish soccer announcers to shame). At the most recent contest in Brno, Czech Republic, Lorenzo was putting the charge on Rossi again, but the wily veteran forced the kid into a mistake and Lorenzo low-sided out of the lead.

Another wrinkle in today's race is the presence on the pole position of the man who won the first U.S. event of 2009, Honda's Dani Pedrosa. The Honda is far and away the fastest bike in a straight line, and there's a half-mile's worth of straight line every lap as the cars come through the aluminum canyon that is IMS' front straight. Pedrosa will be a challenger for sure in this race.

The final wrinkle will be how the Americans perform in their home event. Nicky Hayden figures to have a lot of support in the stands, being just under 200 miles from his hometown of Owensboro, KY, and he starts on the outside of the second row in sixth. Personable Texan Colin Edwards starts next to Hayden in fifth and rides what could be the third- or fourth-best bike on the grid: the Tech3 Yamaha. I expect both of these guys to be past fourth-place starter Alex de Angelis pretty quickly and perhaps challenging for a podium slot.

The front of the field, I expect, will be all about the Yamahas. Pedrosa will be strong, but the technical nature of a large portion of the Indianapolis track will put him behind the blue and white bikes. Lorenzo will be challenging hard for the lead as he has all season, but when you've got an eight-time world champion riding the same equipment as you, it's hard to come out on top. Put Rossi down for a second victory at Indianapolis.

Race is at 3PM on FOX...be there! Recap from me later tonight or tomorrow.

Pseudo-Live Blog: Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300

2009-08-29T20:44:00.101-04:00

It's time for one of the most exciting races on the IndyCar schedule! How do you make one of the most exciting races better, you ask? Well, you run it under the lights on a Saturday night!

Believe you me, if the Indy Lights race is any indication, we are in for some sort of show when the big cars take to the track. The only drivers in the entire FIL field that weren't consistently side-by-side were Daniel Herrington and Wade Cunningham -- and that's probably because they had gotten their fill of that earlier in the race. There was three-wide racing, and even some FOUR-wide racing in that event, and it held me captive for the entire hour.

As far as the big cars, here are my picks:

Winner: A Penske Car. Just pick one. They start on the front row, they're fast, and as long as Ryan Briscoe is ahead of the Target cars, he'll keep his championship lead. He knows that, and he'll follow Helio to the line if that's what it takes.

Dark Horse: Graham Rahal. I would really like to see this guy win the race. He's been strong at a lot of the other oval tracks, and it's entirely possible that he'll be near the front when the race begins to wind down.

Ninja Dark Horse: Ed Carpenter. After Kentucky, do you really have to question this pick?

Danica Watch: top five, probably. If she's not in the wall at some point, she should be strong here.

Let's repeat that thrilling FIL race; VERSUS' coverage is about to start up!

9:02, pre-race
I was all pumped up, and then they put that stupid "VERSUS and DirecTV are breaking up" crawl at the bottom of the screen. I really don't care right now, thanks. Sonoma carbon-fiber-fest being recapped currently.

9:04, pre-race
Killer Bee Dario talking up Chicagoland with Lindy Thackston, who is now a noted member of the blogoshpere. Recommended reading there, folks!

9:06, pre-race
Fans are huddled about Jack Arute to see if they can get radiative warmth off his fantastically bronzed skin.

9:07, pre-race
Dan Wheldon is the only repeat Chicago winner in the field? How about that for a little-known fact. Recap of how racy this track is....video of Dan Wheldon...THREADING THE NEEDLE in practice.

9:09, pre-race
Scott Dixon: "It's cold out? I hadn't noticed because I have semi-frozen boring running through my veins and have no feelings."

9:14, pre-race
A deep look with Robbie Buhl and Ed Carpenter on how it feels to be that awesome guy who nearly beat Team Penske.

Side note: it's not really a beer of the race, because my selection is nowhere near as classy as those of the pressdog, but I will be consuming a fair amount of Miller High Life tonight. Expect belligerent ranting by lap 150. Also, enjoy this.

9:18, pre-race
If you had RIGHT NOW picked for first mention of the Rookie-of-the-Year battle (which is good, by the way), you win....A CHINESE IPHONE!

9:20, pre-race
Tony Kanaan rips Jack Arute for not being on Twitter...also explains the spat of tweets between himself and Helio over the wreck at Infineon.

9:22, pre-race
Mad shout-out by Lindy to the FIL race today...which was 100% fantastic. Also, a quick note on the fact that Alex Tagliani will be driving....FAZZT next year!

9:27, pre-race
Professor Jon takes us through how ridiculously awesome the Delphi Safety Team is. Lots of computers, procedures, and tests involved.

9:29, pre-race
Mandatory re-living of Briscoe's ridiculous 2005 wreck at Chicago. Today's fun fact: Ryan Briscoe played rugby in Australia, could probably knock me OUT.

9:32, pre-race
Dang...I nearly passed out listening to Floyd's interview of Ryan Briscoe before driver intros. Why does the boring Penske driver have to be the one who's kicking ass this year?

9:35, pre-race
Danica really looks like one of those X Games female snowboarders with her giant Alpinestars beanie and petite self. Being native to these exact weather conditions, she's probably wondering what all the fuss is about.

9:37, pre-race
Jack Arute film noir interrogation of Danica Patrick. Will she spill the beans on next season? Probably not any more than she already has...and Jack Arute refers to her as a "commodity", which is obviously something she does not want to be called...

9:41, pre-race
Still doing the Danica black & white video...she seriously stares lasers at Arute every time the word "commodity" comes up...I gotta give her a lot of credit for being able to take the media attention in stride and still remain at least somewhat sane.

9:43, pre-race
I really should've checked the official schedule before watching...I probably could've napped for a while. SARAH FISHER! is on my TV right now, which wakes me up a bit because she is probably the coolest person in all of racing.

9:46, pre-race
Hideki Mutoh, still painfully single (from all indications), graces the VERSUS broadcast, and TK shows up to talk up the "Find Hideki A Date" campaign. Kanaan is going to pick some lucky girl to go to Homestead and the awards banquet as Hideki's date...and E.J. Viso is apparently Hideki's wingman, which may or may not be a good thing.

9:51, pre-race
Willy T. Ribbs moment! It really was cool when he stuck that bright yellow car on the 500 grid...shot of Silent Pagoda's trash can fire at their happy, beautiful campground.

9:54, pre-race
Video of how TCGR wins mondo races. The secret: be very very boring over the radio. Robbie informs us here that the aero tweaks "are going to work." God help him if he's wrong...

9:56, pre-race
NEWS FLASH! It's chilly and windy in Chicago! As opposed to the winter, when it's downright unreasonable and windy...

9:59, pre-race
What really makes the new ApexBrasil ad legit is that it's voiced by Indianapolis radio personality Laura Steele, who lends that sultry voice to stuff like the Bob & Tom Show, many local advertisements and Q95...oh, and the IMS PA system...and that's a good thing

10:01, pre-race
Time for the command! Well done, boring boring man with long corporate title from Advance Auto Parts!

10:02, pre-race
In order to maximize pre-race boredom, the league is keeping the cars on the grid longer and giving them an extra warm-up lap to get the cars nice and toasty for maximum performance.

10:04, pre-race
Starting grid: Briscoe, Castroneves, Franchitti, Kanaan, Rahal, Dixon, Andretti, Moraes, Servia, Patrick, Wheldon, Carpenter, Mutoh, Scheckter, Wilson, Conway, Matos, Hunter-Reay, Fisher, Viso, Duno, Doornbos, Lazier

Lap 1
GREEN GREEN GREEN! Sort of decent start. Lots of side-by-side-by-side already...Briscoe leads the first lap.

Lap 3
We're already watching Danica zing around the back...near pass for the lead through Turn 4.

Lap 5
Ed Carpenter, with killer ownage around a huge group of cars....bright yellow = fast.

Lap 8
Dixon had been relatively slow...suddenly not so much as he goes after Briscoe for the lead.

Lap 10
Too much excitement! Must have ad break! What with the floodlights and the various flourescent-colored cars at the front, the side-by-side is a blur of brightness.

Lap 17
Back from commercials. Steady Eddie blew by Helio and is FOURTH now.

Lap 20
Apparently, AGR re-geared all of their cars this morning. from what we've seen so far, that may not have been the best idea. Their drivers are grabbing gears mid-corner and losing position.

Lap 24
Here's something that's probably not a surprise: Tomas Scheckter is wildly fast right now...SCYTHING through the field (yes! I got to use that word!)

Lap 27
Rahal and Servia are 6th and 7th. Good on ya, N/H/L!

Lap 29
Let's do a quick top ten update: Briscoe, Dixon, Fran-fisher (it's the yellow car), Carpenter, Helio, Rahal, Servia, Moraes, Scheckter, Wilson. Kanaan just lost a TON of spots.

Lap 34
OMG moment in the VERSUS booth as Rahal nearly pops the front wing off Moraes' car. Good evasion by Moraes; warning to Rahal from IHJ.

Lap 38
Good job by the VERSUS behind-the-scenes people, working with prof. Jon to explain aero differences between various cars...definite Steve Matchett moment there.

Lap 43
Nothing gets the blood going quite like watching T&S during a full-screen ad break!

Lap 45
RHR, about to set the pick and cause some silliness, and we cut away as fast as possible for pit stops.

Lap 48
LOTSA pit stops. Briscoe, Carpenter, and someone else in and out. Briscoe makin' it happen FAST!

Lap 50
At the quarter post! Battle for the lead coming...who exits the pits first? Scott Dixon may be the big winner here, but the Penske cars are stalking him.

Lap 52
Trafficus Maximus behind Ed Carpenter. He appears to be single-handedly making the race interesting right now.

Lap 55
Marco Andretti trying the REALLY outside line, looking to go three wide in the back of Trafficus Maximus.

Lap 57
Battle for the lead! Dixon and Briscoe...SIDE-BY-SIDE! Neither man giving an inch here as their respective posses catch up behind them.

Lap 60
What if all four of these guys crashed right now? Wouldn't that just be ridiculous?

Lap 62
On my list of "Things That Would Make This Battle Better", the IZOD music is pretty low. Briscoe snatches the position, finally. Helio looking to follow.

Lap 65
Marco is HOOKED UP. He's the only guy consistently running the waaaay outside line and making it work.

Lap 68
The current situation: big two are running together, then five second back to a MASSIVE CLUSTERBOMB! That led by Carpenter, still.

Lap 70
A "debris caution" would really spruce things up here...not to say that the racing isn't exciting, but i'd like to see it be exciting for the lead.

Lap 72
Marco in the pits?! Oh man, he didn't get a full tank on his first pit stop...his totally awesome race: OVER...probably.

Lap 75
MASSIVE gaggle of lapped cars causing issues with the leaders. Briscoe goes THREE WIDE to get by all of them.

Lap 79
Dario looks to challenge Dixon in the traffic for second? Helio catching back up to the Target guys.

Lap 83
I've been calling the wrong leader and fourth place for some time now. Maybe it's because the Penske cars look...EXACTLY THE F**KING SAME.

Lap 88
Gap from 4th to 5th now over 8 seconds...the leaders caught traffic and GAINED ground.

Lap 92
YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW! Painfully single Hideki Mutoh catches the wall with the back of the car. If you just pitted, you're screwed. If you haven't pitted, you're gravy. If you're Marco Andretti, you wonder why your tank was half-filled back on lap 40-something.

Lap 95
No conclusive replays on the Mutoh wreck...judging by where it happened and the past reputation of the team, I'd say something broke on the backstretch.

Lap 96
PIT STOPS! It's Dixon, Helio, Dario, Carpenter, Scheckter (!) out on the top. Briscoe had a fuel fill problem..caused by him missing the mark in his box. Wheldon looks to be blowed up...looks like in the half-shaft region.

Lap 100
Halfway through, we are! Still under yellow. Briscoe's mishap puts Fran-fisher in the championship lead by all of a point.

Lap 101
We are...GREEN! Carpenter with an immediate challenge for third. Dixon rockets off. Moraes and Scheckter goin' at it for fifth.

Lap 104
Dixon and Helio doin' it for the lead right now...the field is starting to catch up and make this one FUUUUUUN. Moraes for fourth!

Lap 106
Moraes for THIRD! Side by side, three rows deep, now THREE WIDE in the third row!

Lap 109
Scheckter and Moraes battling for THIRD! YELLOW YELLOW! Marco's very high line takes him a touch TOO high...white-walled the tires, but the suspension is all straight from what I can see.

Lap 111
OOOH! DirecTV is upping the ante on Comcast, callin' those greedy jerks (who own VERSUS) for making "unreasonable demands". This is some real, high school-level drama here.

Lap 112
RHR hit pit lane with the unreasonable thought that the pits would be open after three laps of yellow for what amounted to nothing. Those sorts of thoughts are dangerous, boy!

Lap 113
PIT STOPS...? Lotsa guys in, but not Scheckter. Moraes beat EVERYONE. Matos did well too. Carpenter the big loser on this round.

Lap 115
Order when the restart finally rolls around: Scheckter (!), Kanaan, Moraes (!), Fran-fisher, Matos, Dixon, Helio, Carpenter, Rahal, Patrick

Lap 117
GREEN GREEN GREEN! Kanaan looking for the lead. Fran-fisher jumps on Scheckter for second, Matos tryin' THREE WIDE!

Lap 118
Eddie under Moraes for fourth. BIG FIGHT FOR POSITION!

Lap 122
Carpenter, Moraes, Dixon THREE WIDE for fourth. This...this is good stuff.

Lap 125
This would be the perfect time to not go to an ad break, thanks. Seriously...is VERSUS that poor?

Lap 130
The Target guys have hooked up for the top spot and Moraes is chasing them down...fourth on back is a massive CLUSTERBOMB!

Lap 132
The Penske cars have, miraculously, fallen prey to Danica, who is in 12th.

Lap 135
We've gone to....ANOTHER AD BREAK! And this one's a fullscreen! HUZZAHHH!

Lap 138
In spite of all the dumb crap that's happened to him so far, Marco is up to 13th, on the lead lap...that's just crazy.

Lap 140
Dixon, Fran-fisher, Moraes....fourth on back still ridiculous.

lap 143
I really wish DirecTV and Comcast would stop posturing via my TV screen...I'M TRYING TO WATCH SOMETHING HERE.

Lap 147
Things have calmed down a bit...we still have one pit stop before things go nutty...another ad break!

Lap 150
At the three-quarter pole, it's Fran-fisher, Dixon, Moraes, Briscoe, Kanaan, Servia, Carpenter, Rahal, Wilson, Andretti.

Lap 152
Remember the '06 500, when Hornish had a catastrophic pit stop, then came back to win? Yeah, Briscoe is on pace to easily do that.

Lap 153
Scheckter, who didn't pit on the last yellow, does so now. Kanaan follows.

Lap 159
Fran-fisher pits! Briscoe took second while I was spaced out. No one else looking to pit just yet...

Lap 162
N/H/L teammies side by side for what is now third...Servia dives for the pits, though.

Lap 164
Dixon has an alternate identity...which is an oil refinery. Seriously, nobody "makes fuel" like Scott Dixon.

Lap 166
Dixon and Helio in! Dixon out ahead of Helio...will he have the lead? Looks like he's got it by miles and miles. Briscoe was in lapped traffic while trying to catch Dixon.

Lap 170
30 to go! Will anything ridiculous happen?

Lap 173
We could totally use a "debris caution" here....the boredom is intense now.

Lap 175
Marco Andretti trying his damndest to make this race interesting. Still has the waaaay outside line owned. Currently in seventh, is he.

Lap 180
Moraes, Eddie, and Marco, three wide for fifth...MUCH better than the lead pack (or lack thereof...)

Lap 185
15 to go...YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW! Helio crashes out of third! We were watching the battle for fifth, looking for the wreck. Instead, Helio's suspension very obviously broke and shoved the car into the wall.

Lap 186
The last stretch of this race...will be interesting, to say the least. Obviously, Helio was target of the IRL snipers, out in force to make this race interesting.

Lap 188
They are running an ungodly slow pace under yellow here. Under 70 MPH. I applaud this, as it will give us more awesome at the end.

Lap 192
Nine laps of racing to go, and we are...GREEN GREEN GREEN! Front three in line, Rahal holding up the rest of the pack in fourth.

Lap 194
Rahal now catching back up to Fran-fisher...now trying for third!

Lap 196
Rahal really takin' the battle to the big guys with FIVE to go!

Lap 197
Briscoe, trying for the leeeead!

Lap 198
THREE WIDE FOR THE LEAD! RAHAL RAHAL RAHAL!

Lap 200
Rahal fell back, Briscoe and Dixon for the lead!

Checkered Flag!
BRISCOE AT THE LINE! Dixon (+.0077), Moraes (!), Fran-fisher, Rahal (!), Carpenter, Servia, Scheckter, Matos, Wilson, Andretti, Patrick, Kanaan, Fisher, Hunter-Reay, Conway, Viso, Doornbos, Lazier, Castroneves, Duno, Wheldon, Mutoh.

We'll count that as the fourth-closest finish in league history, and what a finish it was. I really thought Grahamburglar would have the run off the way high line towards the end, but he wiggled a bit and fell back. Moraes was real strong on that very last lap and might've had another shot if the race were 201 laps long. History will show the big teams took the top spots, but once again, it was all about who was coming along behind them. Fantastic racing for little guys KV and N/H/L.

My predictions were actually not too shabby: a Penske car won and Rahal made a really strong late run before finishing fifth. Carpenter was decently strong, but couldn't break top five in the end...still, not too bad. Danica Watch was waaaaay off, with Lady Danica finishing outside the top ten.

All in all, a pretty damn good race. The circus has a couple weeks off before it hits the big oval in Japan, Twin Ring Motegi. Of course, channel 603 may be going dark for me on Tuesday, but whatever...I don't know that I'll even be awake for Motegi, so I won't concern over it too much.

Midnight is upon us (on eastern time, at least), and the weekend's racing has just begun! F1's most excellent event (Belgium) early in the morning (Speed), ALMS from Mosport out in Ontario (Speed), MotoGP from Indianapolis (FOX). All great, world class events, and highly-recommended viewing. Ciao!

Support Your Local Speedway

2009-08-27T12:04:00.003-04:00

Every once in a while, assuming it makes sense with my schedule and my pocketbook, I'll take a Friday night and make a journey to Bloomington Speedway to take in some real, live short-trackin'. Chiefly, I do this because I really love to watch motorized vehicles go fast and because the sound of giant, stock-block V8s rumbling around a 1/4-mile oval is just fantastic.

I also like to go there because, at its heart, Bloomington Speedway is yet another locally-owned business -- just like Nick's Bar or Mother Bear's Pizza (both highly recommended if you're in Bloomington, by the way). A good way to keep the economy of a town going is to put money into the coffers of a local business, especially if that business presents a fantastic product. This holds true from the eastern tip of Maine to the islands of Hawai'i and in every country on the planet.

Since I'm a resident of Central Indiana, I also like to pour some money into the economy of Indianapolis. I go to Pacers games, Colts games, the State Fair, Shapiro's Deli, Dawson's on Main in Speedway, Union Jack Pub, shops in Broad Ripple, some places in Carmel and Westfield...so on and so forth. The one local business in Indianapolis gets more of my business than just about any place on the planet is the local speedway -- you know, that place out on 16th Street.

Sure, it's a corporation, and sure, it's run in a rather questionable way sometimes. However, the fact remains: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway started as a local, privately-owned business, and it remains as such to this day. In this slowly recovering economy, where locally-owned businesses were hit harder than just about anyone, places like the Speedway need as much support as they can get.

Many fans of auto racing in America have this us-versus-them attitude when it comes to who they pull for. There's this idea that you can support NASCAR or you can support the IRL, but you can't support both. When the Brickyard 400 rolls around, IRL fans will point to the vast swaths of bare aluminum at the Speedway and claim victory for their favorite form of motorsport. Likewise, NASCAR folks will point to empty seats at Chicagoland, Homestead or Kansas and claim a victory for themselves.

What people don't realize sometimes is this: if an IRL race at an ISC track bombs, it ultimately hurts their partner, NASCAR; if the Brickyard 400 bombs, the IRL's parent company loses out on money.

With the Speedway's "other" event starting up tomorrow, I put this simple plea out to people within and without Central Indiana: support your Speedway. If you can, go to the MotoGP race. Even if you've never seen a motorcycle race in your life and think it's probably a waste of time since it's not your favorite motorsport, quit prejudging and go to the race.

While you're at it, apply for tickets to next year's Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500. Maybe you don't like MotoGP, NASCAR or the IRL, but that money, whether its $20, $45 or $150, goes into keeping a locally-owned business open and bringing your preferred product to you every year.

Who knows, maybe you'll even discover that you like the other races...I certainly follow MotoGP a lot more now than I did before last year.

MotoGP preview and IRL pseudo-live blog forthcoming. See you then!

Updates on Various Drivers

2009-08-24T23:23:00.002-04:00

-Sarah Fisher, recent recipient of a shiny new Dallara, will be painting her new car pink for the Homestead-Miami race way off in the distant future known as October. Her pink-ness will have some sort of tie-in to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, one of those charities that sticks out above the rest for simply how prolific and awesome they are. Details forthcoming on how Sarah fans can get involved in the charitable giving...or you can just give through the above link. Either way, many will appreciate it.

-From future pink car drivers to past pink car drivers, Alex "Pink" Lloyd seems to be inching closer to a return to the track. According to 16th & Georgetown, Alex says it's better than 50/50 that he'll have a ride by year's end. James speculates N/H/L's #06, currently piloted by Oriol Servia, and I don't see much reason to disagree with that speculation. If that's the case, we'll need to come up with a new, McDonald's-themed nickname for "Pink".

-Some driver named Danica Patrick is apparently getting a new contract with whatever AGR is named next year. Nothing's done yet, according to team honcho Michael Andretti, but when both Curt Cavin and Robin Miller say it's a done deal, I'm going to just mark that down as a done deal.

-Nelson Philippe, following his awful crash during practice at Sonoma, has got to be done for 2009. He has the open fracture on his foot, a compound fracture of his ankle, a broken leg, and a concussion; no doctor in their right mind would clear him to get up and make breakfast for at least a month.

-Also featured in aforementioned accident was Will Power. Deep-voiced hair product endorser Dave Calabro from Channel 13 just informed be that Will may be moved to Indianapolis (presumably to Methodist Hospital) soon. Some are speculating that Will may find his way back into a car by the end of '09, but who knows what El Capitan will go for in that situation.

-In Indy Lights news, the gal with the coolest name ever given to someone from Minnesota, Leilani Münter, is returning to the track this weekend in Joliet. Her car is sponsored by the ladies' version of Extenze, which is not suitable for discussion amongst children. That aside, it's fantastic to see Leilani, a champion of carbon-neutrality and a fine person to be around from all accounts, back on the IndyCar scene. If you've got money to throw around after your donation to the Komen Foundation, buy some recycled-material Leilani swag.

It's past midnight, so my brain has shut down and I can't think of any more driver news at this point...more to come as 2010 starts to loom on the horizon.

Pseudo-Live Blog: Indy Grand Prix of Snore-noma

2009-08-23T16:27:00.059-04:00

Oh yes, the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived. Now that ovals are apparently interesting again, we celebrate today as the final non-circular race of the year.

Draped over the side of a hill in one of the nicest bits of the world (Sonoma County, California) is one of the most boring race tracks in the history of the world (The Artist Formerly Known As Sears Point Raceway). Sure, the track is picturesque and quite technical, but there is only one passing zone in the entire place, and one of the only redeeming bits (the esses) is broken up for IndyCar by a stupid chicane in the interest of safety.

Interestingly enough, the most dangerous part of the track seems to be not the big wall at the bottom of the esses, but the blind brow at the exit of Turn 4. As this video will show you, Nelson Philippe got loose out of the turn and ended up parked on the racing line on the other side of the hill. E.J. Viso managed to put on the brakes and nipped the nose off of Philippe's car. Will Power was slightly less lucky, made full contact with the front half of Philippe's car, and came out with two busted vertebrae and a concussion for it. In the "I Drive Green" car, Philippe had an open fracture in one of his feet and his own concussion. Luckily, this didn't happen on an oval, or we'd have a Paul Dana or Alex Zanardi situation on our hands.

As for my predictions on the race itself...:

Winner: Dario Franchitti. Brian Barnhart, Iron Hand of Justice, has been quoted as saying he who takes pole position has the right to lead the field into the first turn. Sears Point is an impossible track on which to pass. Dario Franchitti, being the polesitter, is therefore a shoe-in to win this race.

Dark Horse: Marco Andretti. Before he became the first name in post-race complaining, Marco Andretti was a race winner at this track (2006). Marco will need to make some solid moves to find the lead, then hope Hideki Mutoh or someone magically spins their car at a place where cars generally don't spin while Marco is desperately trying to save fuel, and he'll win again.

Ninja Dark Horse: Franck Montagny. Sure, Andretti-Green Racing has competed in the IRL for many years now, but longtime Indy Lights team AFS/Andretti-Green has never been listed as an entrant in the top tier...UNTIL TODAY! Franck "The Tank" qualified a solid sixth on the grid and certainly has the road racing experience to put himself near the top.

Danica Watch: This is an interesting one for Danica: she has apparently made her decision for next year and appears to be all-but-signed with Mike Andretti for a few years. Will she turn the wick down on this season, or will she drive harder now that her future has apparently been determined? I say she's lucky to come out with a top ten.

VERSUS broadcast has begun...HERE WE GO...to sleep!

5:05, pre-race
Bob Jenkins has informed us that part of this pre-race show will be a big snake with Jack Arute...which sounds like the name of the worst adult film anyone could imagine.

5:07, pre-race
Requisite interviews with the uninteresting, accented guys who will probably be in contention to win...I really payed no attention to what was being said.

5:09, pre-race
Injury update! Willy P. is apparently doing okay for someone whose car got slaughtered yesterday. Nelson Philippe has a busted foot and busted leg, but should be fine in time. Will has job security, of course, but Nelson might have a tough go getting off of this injury and back into these cars, in my opinion.

5:13, pre-race
Jack Arute and Michael Andretti, on top of a scenic mountain somewhere, talk up the deal with Danica. Mike says nothing done yet, but he sounds optimistic. Also of note: AGR has five cars in the top 11 on today's grid...that's pretty solid.

5:15, pre-race
Danica, being coy as usual. She happens to be that 11th-place AGR car.

5:19, pre-race
Lindy Thackston goes deep into the behind-the-scenes of IndyCar ownership: owners with wineries. Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven are teaming up to get Lindy drunk off the wines they grow. Apparently, Jimmy's is better according to some testers at the winery. As an aside, if you are out in Sonoma sometime, do take a trip to Andretti Winery; it's a fantastic little place and they actually make some pretty solid grape juice there.

5:22, pre-race
Apparently, the driver intros are done with trolley cars instead of the usual pickup truck. You know...that's actually kinda cool.

5:31, pre-race
Apparently, Helio and Mario Moraes ran afoul of each other in pre-race warmups today. By the way, a warm welcome back to Mario, who's back from Brazil and his father's funeral.

5:33, pre-race
FINALLY! An exposé on how ridiculous E.J. Viso is. Jack Arute gets some valuable time with E.J.'s pet snake while E.J. laughs his ass off. I've never seen Arute so completely flummoxed as when he was wrapped in a boa constrictor.

5:36, pre-race
I am completely offended right now...Robbie called the second-grandest event in all of classic automobilia the "Concourse de Elegance" with the lamest American accent that anyone could possibly put on. Robbie Buhl now talking up the Historic GP, which is actually something that is entirely cool...nothing like the Monterey Historics, though.

5:41, pre-race
Wait...Scott Dixon had a problem in qualifying? I've seriously been so out of it for the past couple days that it's silly...

5:45, pre-race
Some women's basketball player just called the command -- much better than the librarian or whoever last race -- and we are ready and rarin' to go.

5:49, pre-race
One more trip through the hills before we light this candle. Buckle up and get your pot of coffee going, kids!

Lap 1
GREEN GREEN GREEN! Briscoe nearly crashed on the start. Montagny is off-course, Patrick followed, and Scott Dixon is parked dead-center on the racetrack. Graham Rahal has also had issues...as has Viso, and finally we are...YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW!

Lap 2
I can't even begin to tell you exactly what happened there...a lot of cars ran up each others' asses in Turn 1. Micheal Andretti is welcomed to the new era of being sole operator of his team by having (I think) FOUR of his five cars involved in the calamity. Oops.

Lap 3
Judging by who hit the pits on timing & scoring, here's who I think was involved: Kanaan Dixon, Andretti, Duno, Conway, Montagny, Rahal, Patrick, and Viso. There may have been more. Rahal is out due to a busted driveshaft.

Lap 5
We are GREEN! Much cleaner running this time as Dario, Briscoe, and Helio try to run off from the field.

Lap 6
Justin Wilson took a pit stop before the start, started from the back, and got to simply drive past the calamity at the second turn. He has picked up all of ELEVEN positions. He's now coming in to get red tires (he has three sets) and into clear track. Iiiiinteresting strategy.

Lap 9
Some sick side-by-side on the side-by-side by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Bobby D. Bobby nearly put it off the track in Turn 7 under pressure from the Foyt Racing car.

Lap 10
Naturally, we only watch that totally interesting battle during side-by-side and switch back to a bunch of nothing when the broadcast is back on full. Smooth move, Herr Direktor.

Lap 12
The field appears to have paired off into little battles. Dario/Briscoe up front, Helio/Mutoh next, Wheldon/Moraes, then BobbyD/RHR.

Lap 14
Mario Moraes is fast...if he doesn't run into anyone, watch out.

Lap 16
There's less than a second between the leaders and we JUST NOW switched back to them...after watching Moraes do nothing for a while.

Lap 18
Wow...Homestead and the IRL are apparently PROMOTING A RACE. Apart from their dubious use of the word "celebrity" over a shot of Tara Reid, I'd say that's a good thing.

Lap 22
Ryan Hunter-Reay has used 7 of his overtake button pushes and still hasn't gotten around Bobby D. Proof that, no matter what you do to the car, technology cannot defeat a poor track.

Lap 25
A third of the way into the race, and pit stops for something other than busted front wings begin. Dixon and Andretti in and out, Dixon gets by Andretti as Marco exits the pit lane.

Lap 26
Graham Rahal strapping back in, hoping every other car on track spontaneously combusts.

Lap 27
Lotsa guys in...except for Dario...and Mike Conway...and there was a near pit fire in Moraes' pit.

Lap 28
Franchitti in...pass for the lead coming....? Wow, no. Dario out miles ahead of Briscoe. Meantime, RHR knocked his wing off on the back of Oriol Servia's car...racing incident, judging by the replays.

Lap 30
Justin Wilson nearly punted Dixon off the road on his out lap. Wilson's ridiculous pit strategy is causing problems for him right now.

Lap 31
Some ridiculous bottlenecking going on...the big loser of the group was one Danica Patrick. In the meantime, the entire field is in pretty much the same order it was before the pit stops.

Lap 35
I didn't recognize Mike Conway's car because he's picked up some new sponsor-ness. Mikey is puttin' the heat on Danny Wheldon while Oriol Servia lurks in the background.

Lap 36
This otherwise boring track has been made much more interesting by the fact that Scott Dixon dropped way back at the start and is now punching his way through the field.

Lap 40
Moving Chicane puts some interest into the massive battle for 12th. J. Willy was all up in Bobby D's business, other cars were going three wide behind them...it was kinda ridiculous.

Lap 41
As I watch my television, the battle for the lead gets steadily more interesting. Helio has now caught up to Briscoe and Dario...possible team orders? Probably. Also, Will Power is providing live commentary via text message from the hospital.

Lap 44
If you voted right now for first Rafa Matos mention of the day, you win...A NEW CAR! Unfortunately, we got your car from the "clunker" lot at the dealer down the street. Franck The Tank stuck in the pits, not going anywhere anytime soon.

Lap 45
yo HOOO! It appears Montagny was put out by a somewhat optimistic move on Richie Antinucci's part. The Ant appears to not be damaged...but we'll find out when recess (ad break) is over.

Lap 48
Helio nearly provided a fun twist to things by trying the inside line/Briscoe's right sidepod through Turn 2

Lap 49
Briscoe nearly took himself out that time...replay shows him locking up about five inches off Helio's nose...there will be a day-glo and white mess at the side of the road soon, methinks.

Lap 52
This race toggles between absolute nothingness and intense interest on a regular basis. It's nearly tolerable.

Lap 53
It turns out that the pit-in is really fun if you're a foot behind your teammate...the car in front brakes for the turn, and you don't, and the VERSUS crew FREAKS OUT!

Lap 54
Who are these f**king TV directors! The whole commentating crew begins to have an OMG moment, and you f**king CUT AWAY!?!? For a f**king PIT STOP?!?!?! And then we go to the replay and it turns out Kanaan nearly flipped Helio the f**k over?! You, sir, are an IDIOT of EPIC PROPORTIONS.

Lap 57
Lap 57 of 75...I like that. I was nearly enjoying this race when I got pissy at the director. It's like when you go to a bar with friends, are having fun, you step up to the bar, and the bartender acts a damn fool to you. Night ruined. That's about where I am right now.

Lap 59
VERSUS shows college football, which is awesome. DirecTV is about to drop VERSUS, which is completely lame. TV execs are on the level of sports agents as far as their conniving and greed.

Lap 60
Okay, I'll stop my commentary on the TV industry by mentioning that Helio had some sort of issue due to his contact with Kanaan. Mutoh has chewed and swallowed Helio for third, as some aerodynamic bit has come off of Helio's car.

Lap 62
In the "Brian Barnhart is an Idiot" files, Paul Bunyan's switchblade appears to be lying open on the inside of Turn 1...and there's no yellow? We throw yellows for bits of origami falling on the track at ovals, and there isn't even a local here? Insanity.

Lap 64
Oh...Briscoe has caught back up to Dario. Can he actually pass him this time? I doubt it. We'll find out after the recess.

Lap 66
10 to go! Dario and Briscoe holding station...and will probably stay that way. Roger Penske said so himself. This is why I hate points.

Lap 67
Here's my thought: Winning the points championship should win you a $100 VISA gift card -- we interrupt this rant to bring you Helio spinning and RHR parked at the side of the road. YELLOW!

Lap 68
Helio has had a really fun day so far. He got bumped off by Kanaan earlier and got airborne, then he got a broke suspension and flew the car sideways over the brow of a hill...FUN!

My earlier rant: The points championship should win you a $100 VISA gift card and each race should pay $1m to win. That way you won't have these dull fellows from the red-and-white teams talking about how they might stay back and gather points for the championship. You know...the people at Sonoma aren't going to see the hoisting of that big silver cup...neither are the people at Chicago or Motegi. Go out there and give the paying customer a damn good show!

Lap 71
This is a really long yellow so they can figure out how to remove a car from a completely ridiculous spot. Here's a thought: push it behind the wall and let's get this race over with.

Lap 72
GREEN! Dario keeps things interesting by...rocketing away. Big gaggle of cars following each other around behind him. J. Willy trying his durndest to get around Servia. Dixon puts the mighty pass on Marco. Back to Wilson as they head for the stripe.

Lap 73
This battle for 6th sure is swell. In the meantime, Conway is in ~~FOURTH~~....er, THIRD!

Lap 74
Wilson just four-wheel-drifted through the hairpin and only lost one spot. That was some serious driving by a lot of guys there.

Lap 75
White flag out! Dario running away from the field...lots of interesting stuff going on behind him, though. Dixon has moved into the top 10, amazingly enough.

Checkered Flag!
Dario goes...WIRE TO WIRE! Not bad behind him, though...MIKE CONWAY IS THIRD! Briscoe second. Moraes, Mutoh, Servia, Wilson, Kanaan, Matos, Doornbos, Andretti, Carpenter, Wheldon, Dixon (spun out of 10th to 14th), Antinucci, Patrick, Duno, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Montagny, Rahal, Viso.

Dixon was punted out of the way by -- guess who! -- Marco Andretti. I would be surprised if the Sheet Aluminum Hand of Faffing About (that'd be Barnhart) called him into the office for a chat.

I'm knocking on every piece of wood in my apartment right now because VERSUS has yet to interview...or even SHOW Ashley Judd. Lindy Thackston's mic is barely working anyway...someone should really consider charging everyone's battery before the race.

Three words that I despise: "Consistency Wins Championships". Ryan Briscoe mildly interested in the fact he now holds the points lead. Needs to go to the motorhome for some intense post-race chamomile tea and some chicken broth...the most EXTREME food on Earth.

Easy peazy, Conweezy gettin' the interview action for a spectacular third place. Good race for the youngster and a well-deserved shoutout to his boss-in-the-booth, Robbie Buhl. Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause we're goin' oval racing for the rest of the year.

Scott Dixon made quite a few passes on quite a lot of people. My my, Scott, how scandalous. Unfortunately, he's not ROYALLY PISSED at Marco, who could have killed his championship race...we'll find out in several weeks.

My predictions were pretty easy, because this is Sonoma. Sure, this was a slightly more interesting edition of Sonoma, but you can't change how ridiculous this track is. Dario was the natural pick to win and that's that. Mutoh looked good until he got straight duped by Conway and Moraes on the penultimate lap. Fifth ain't too shabby, though. Montagny...man, what an unlucky debut for him. Lots of broken car around him today.

Thank the heavens, it's ovals from here on out. Next is the wild-n-crazy oval at Chicagoland which, for the first time, is being lit up and run on a Saturday night. If there's anything that could make the wild race that is usually Chicagoland better, it's lights. See you then, folks!

Grand-Am to Test at IMS

2009-08-14T11:46:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure if this is akin to the infamous NASCAR "tire test" in 1993 that opened the door for stock car racing at the Brickyard, but it is certainly pretty interesting.

Daytona Prototypes and Grand Touring cars from the other series that calls Daytona home will take advantage of the Speedway being in road course configuration for 8/30's MotoGP Indianapolis Grand Prix. Unlike that infamous day back in '93, neither side is being coy about this test: this is a feasibility study, through and through.

Several teams from both classes of Grand-Am racing will be involved, representing each car/engine combination that I can think of from that series. Notable in his absence, though, is the winningest person ever to grace the hallowed grounds, Roger Penske. IndyCar owner and dominator of most-things-Grand-Am Chip Ganassi will be there with his Lexus/Riley.

Of course I have an opinion on this, but it's hardly worth it to go over the benefits and drawbacks of Grand-Am over ALMS. After all, the series I love and follow most is a spec series with little technology itself.

Full details on the test HERE.

F1 Just Got Slightly Less Interesting

2009-08-11T11:23:00.002-04:00

One of the cooler story lines going into the European Grand Prix at Valencia just got shut down: Michael Schumacher will not be driving Ferrari's F60 at that race or any other this season.

From what Mr. Schu has told us, he has a bit of a crick in his neck that, when he's standing around in the Ferrari garage accruing money or thrashing a superbike around, doesn't pose a problem. Unfortunately, things like 4Gs in the turns and 0-60 in .00056 seconds compound on the problem a bit and the man who is, statistically, the most successful driver in grand prix racing will keep the helmet on the shelf.

There is a good outcome from this and a bad outcome from this:

First, the bad: the organizers of the Valencia race cannot be happy right now. The possibility of seeing Schumi drive a Ferrari again sold tickets on a massive scale for them. Now, that sales boost is gone and all of those people who spent copious amounts of money to see Schumi race are going to be unhappy. Add that to the people who are going to be pissy depending on the result of Renault's appeal of their one-race ban, and to say there might be some vitriol in Valencia would be a huge understatement.

Second, the good: Luca Badoer, faithful employee of the Scuderia for years, will finally get his shot to race in a red car. Luca has raced before with Scuderia Italia/Minardi and Forti, with his best result being a 7th at San Marino in his rookie season of 1993. Ten years ago, he took a spot as Ferrari's permanent test driver and has logged more laps in Ferraris than just about any of the drivers who have driven the Grands Prix in that same span. As Rick Mears or Will Power might tell you, it can be better to be a simple employee of a top-flight race team than the top dog on many other teams. Luca has put in his time as a grunt, and now he gets his big chance in the spotlight. Watch out for the reaction from the Tifosi at Monza when the dedicated Italian in the Italian car takes to the grid.

One thing that is good for the Scuderia in this situation: while other teams didn't want to allow Schumi to test the F60, Luca has been in the car for just about every stage of its preseason development. Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- knows this car better than Luca Badoer.

Cars on course at Valencia next Friday. For those of you who like the parade nature of the IRL's roadies and streeties, you will absolutely love the Valencia round of the F1 championship. See ya.