It used to be the most anticipated race outside of Indianapolis. It was the one race apart from the Indianapolis 500 that made me say, "Holy crap, I need to be watching the IRL!" It was all about 2-wide, pack-style racing for two of the most hair-raising, white-knuckle hours of the year.
In recent times, the race has lost a bit of its luster. Certainly, this is due in part to safety concerns -- well-founded safety concerns, at that. Just ask Davey Hamilton or Kenny Bräck how dangerous this track can be. Brian Barnhart, above all else, wants his drivers to come out of the race alive and in one piece.
Of course, in a commercial, attendance, and viewer-driven sport, there is definitely such as two much of a good thing. The current IndyCar package started out as one that was relatively safe, but could still draft and pass pretty darn well. Unfortunately, Mr. Barnhart, the Iron Hand of Not Knowing What Fans Want, added enough aerodynamic bits to the bodies and took away enough mechanical grip from the chassis and tires that the IndyCar Series has turned into an F1 race with only left turns -- minus the limited innovation F1 still employs. The cars can't get near each other without the front end of the following car washing out, so drafting into corners has become a near-impossibility.
Fortunately, it looks like the aero package may have been tweaked a bit to return the "show" back to the show. There was some fun two-wide action between Danica Patrick, Helio Castroneves, and Dan Wheldon during the opening practice and there was some actual...passing?! The race may not be the bonanza that it was in the early part of the decade, but it could be more entertaining this year than it has been in a while.
The beauty of the IndyCar race at Texas is that it is fabulously fast for the track it's on. Texas is a virtual copy of the artist formerly known as Charlotte Motor Speedway, which makes it somewhat ideal for NASCAR racing. The track has high banks, relatively tight turns, and it's pretty damn bumpy. The cars might've gone faster at places like Michigan or California, but the tight layout and tight racing of Texas makes it seem so much faster than anything the IndyCars race on -- even Indianapolis. The racing can get pretty intense, and there have been many cases where a late accident has had an influence in the final result.
My picks for the Bombardier Learjet 550k:
Winner: Scott Dixon. It's pretty hard to argue with Dixon in a Ganassi car at a track like Texas. There have been three oval races this season so far, and Dixon won two of them -- including Kansas, which is a 1.5-mile tri-oval where drafting is a key element. Dixon won here last year, he's starting near the front, and I have every reason in the world to expect him at the front when all is said and done.
Dark Horse: Danica Patrick. Oh yes, I'm finally going to give some love to bunnies-and-rainbows Danica...in a purely metaphorical sense, of course. Quick, name the only driver to finish in the top 5 in each of the last four races. That's right: Danica has been quietly putting up consistent finishes and moving her way up in the points. She qualified pretty close to the front, ahead of such luminaries as Wheldon, Andretti, Rahal, and Kanaan. As long as she isn't caught in someone else's problem, Danica could challenge for the win for sure.
Ninja Dark Horse: Tony Kanaan. Tony only gets this nod because he's starting so far back in the field, and because he's still fighting the really tough injury he sustained at Indianapolis. Kanaan had a fine start at Milwaukee before everything fell apart, then caught fire. Like Danica, he needs to keep out of the issues of some of the more inexperienced drivers around him. If he does so (and his car doesn't inexplicably fall apart) he will be near the front at the end -- something Tony's accustomed to doing at Texas.
Danica Watch: see above.
There you have it. Currently watching the NASCAR trucks at Texas and, considering the kind of two-wide racing they've been able to pull off, I'm optimistic about tomorrow night's IndyCar circus. 9PM, VERSUS, be there!
No comments:
Post a Comment