Whichever way you see it as I previously stated I was away from society during the Richmond race, however from all the reviews, recaps, articles and comments I've seen so far seems like that may have been a good thing.
So while I've been caught up by indy.com's recap video and all the news stories I could read I don't think it's really enough to make a full set of notes but is plenty however enough to reiterate the big need for the IRL to fix its start/restart procedures; as now the drivers are openly criticizing Brian Barnhart, and the lack of calls made, publicly and even on the live telecast now and it can only escalate from here.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
IndyCar to Return to New Hampshire AND Vegas!?
Few people believed Smith at the time. Many still don't. But sources at SMI close to the situation say a move isn't likely for next year. In fact, New Hampshire may gain a race instead of losing one.
The track is part of a five-facility deal SMI is offering the IRL to stage IndyCar Series events next season. The other tracks involved are Texas, Kentucky, the Infineon road course (all of which have IndyCar events now) and Las Vegas. New Hampshire and Vegas have staged IRL events in the past.
link ESPN
I say
The track is part of a five-facility deal SMI is offering the IRL to stage IndyCar Series events next season. The other tracks involved are Texas, Kentucky, the Infineon road course (all of which have IndyCar events now) and Las Vegas. New Hampshire and Vegas have staged IRL events in the past.
link ESPN
I say
Monday, June 23, 2008
Want to wave the green flag?
And just after I said I may lack mid-week news.. here's some mid-week awesome news.Have you ever wanted to wave the green flag atop the starter's stand for an IndyCar Race, well Firestone is Auctioning off the chance to wave the green for the Nashville 200 on E-bay with the entire proceeds to go to its local United Way chapter in one of the coolest ideas ever.
FYI: hopefully I'll remember to take pictures
I know I've been missing a lot of mid-week news recently but not without cause as you see Mrs. Wedge & I are being transfered to the D.C./Virginia area.I'll make every effort to keep getting all the post-race notes done for sure but may be lacking in mid-week updates as my schedule for the next 6 weeks contains:
-fly to Idaho visit family; likely miss Richmond race then proclaimed as the best race ever; fly back, 4 days later leave B.R. in car to D.C./Va - tour for 4 days hopefully find a new home... no pressure there. Leave for Nashville, spend weekend at Nashville IRL weekend; drive back to B.R. family in town for grandparents 65th Anniv., likely watch Mid-Ohio delayed... then a farewell barbeque with Edmonton on TV; pack up life into a PODS container, get in cars and move to Northern Virginia...
It leaves roughly 11-12 'free' days in the next 6 weeks...so If I miss some blogs or two, hopefully you could be so kind as to let it slide...
I'll make it up to you with full reports and pictures from Nashville!
Notes from a great race-day in Iowa
Though its not a race-action related note I did want to applaud the Indy Racing League and Iowa Speedway for continuing to put on the two races this weekend instead of listening to the countless antagonists who aren’t from Iowa that want to tell Iowans what they should feel and not do. This comes from a person with very direct experience being from New Orleans (though now Baton Rouge) and our recent tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. I can say from personal experience that after a year of helping my parents gut their own house and sort through everything destroyed and starting new when they were so close to retirement that the re-opening of the Superdome on that Monday Night Saints’ game was a very much welcomed event in the city of New Orleans and especially the citizens of the gulf coast even if not everyone out of the area understood how welcome it was to this area.
I applaud the IRL and Iowa Speedway and the sellout crowd with 4a.m. tailgaters was just proof that it was the right thing to do; not to mention the ability to bring attention and help to what has happened and help raise money and help for the ravaged areas.
-As to the weekend of racing.. I’ll just say you WILL NOT find a sadder person after this weekend in the race world than Arie Luyendyk Jr., screwed by some hard lapped traffic in James Davison, the man outright dominated the Indy Lights race and while yes traffic is part of the race, the block-parties thrown to Luyendyk were especially harsh.
-On the other hand it looks as if Panther Racing has found its now 5th or 6th next big thing in Dillon Battistini who I personally look immensely forward to seeing in the IndyCar Series hopefully soon.
Now for some kudos, props and critique notes.
-HUGE PROPS to ABC/ESPN for having a 30 minute pre-race show that gave us some great interviews news and information; and I among probably everyone else watching hope continues…
-Kudos to the IRL for finding someone that made a lot of sense to call the start of engines. I’m still baffled at Chip Ganassi at Texas but having someone from Iowa’s Corn Growers was perfect and his call was great.-Racewise, firstly kudos to racing competition. What a great moment around lap 170 or so we were literally looking at a top 5 of drivers who had yet to win this year.
-A call to all the non-big three teams to practice pit stops until you have those things iced down because its doing a disservice to the great driving, and also great engineering being done by at this point Vision, Roth, Rahal/Letterman racing and if N-H-L, KV or Panther can just put together a complete race those guys are easy top 5s.-Major kudos to the field for not having a single on-track incident.
-Someone needs to remind the IRL that the cars do not need to be up to speed by the 4th corner on a restart, in fact they shouldn’t hit the gas till just before the line, that’s the general idea on going green on that lap, not the half lap before bring back the pace car for that final yellow lap obviously the drivers can’t handle the responsibility.
-Major kudos to TV-production for starting a field run through an “up to speed” segment but major non-kudos for stopping half-way through it and actually drowning out whoever was talking about John Andretti. And though she sounded fine talking non-kudos to the headset, production or Brienne herself for never catching her cues.
-WTF happened with Darren Manning, we are told he “fell out of the seat” and then also that it was a steering rack issue, the same that later took out Buddy Rice.
-A note not many noticed but major kudos to Hideki Mutoh holder of now the highest finish for a Japanese driver and surely only a sign of things to come; and for those who don’t know give that man a HUGE applause for being able to handle interviews so well, many may not realize but Hideki just started learning English barely 2 years ago.-Can it be any more apparent that John Andretti needs to stay if at least at Roth Racing but most surely back in the IndyCar Series; and at the same time that Marty really needs to put Jay Howard in his car and only run himself in the 500 in a 3rd car.
-Whatever the opposite of kudos is to the IRL for FOUR 6+ lap cautions for non-damage/non-debris cautions.
-Lastly I’d pose this to everyone out there…is Iowa easily replacing or a very close 2nd to Texas as the most dangerous race on the circuit? Easily the highest constant G forces of the season today something more than Texas can say; Iowa is taking a serious toll on the cars themselves. Vitor lost 3 suspensions last year and Dixon had a steering rack issue then Carpenter, Roth, Bruno, Marco and possibly Kanaan all had parts break on the cars simply due to high stress on them…Do we have a new hardest track on the circuit?
And as a p.s. here is a nudge to Rahal Letterman Racing or Luczo Dragon Racing to make a courtesy call to Casey and/or Uncle Rick to find out how they can get Casey Mears, who looks like he is soon to be out of a job in NASCAR, back where he belongs in IndyCar racing…
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The everlong search for a scapegoat
I thought society was crazy when people were leaving get well cards for Barbaro, but it has actually managed to be even crazier now. We're getting massively flooded with stories and analysis of people wondering "what was wrong" with Big Brown that he suddenly wasn't the same horse or didn't give his all to win the Belmont Stakes and I just can't believe that none of these people care to admit to the fact that: BIG BROWN IS A HORSE AND THERE'S PROBABLY A VERY GOOD CHANCE THAT HE DOESN'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT A STUPID RACE OR SOMETHING LIKE THE TRIPLE CROWN; NOT TO MENTION PROBABLY DOESN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF A RACE.
But lets fire the jockey because he didn't whip the horse enough and lets try and find so many reason's why Big Brown lost because there's no way in hell a horse can make a decision to just not run faster because it didn't feel like it...
(and to add to lost faith in mankind, you'll never guess what google turned back to me when I image searched 'Big Brown')
Monday, June 9, 2008
Notes from the Lone-Star Weekend
Firstly, I apologize for never getting notes from Milwakee, by the time I finally caught the replay of the race on classic it felt a little too late to do the notes I'll make it up with some extensive notes for Texas...
WOW, what a bi-polar weekend of racing we had from the IndyCar Series. This weekend was so far away from the middle, we either had some of the closest racing of the year or 30 laps of yellow for a piece of debris… good to even great announcing from Goodyear and Marty only to be partnered with some of the worst producing/editing possible, some great calls from race control actually penalizing speeding in the pits and also letting everyone race it out, and then some of the worst with two phantom yellows as well as 10 lap yellows when there were no debris on the course just someone spinning…. small teams making moves up high or those same teams suddenly having the hands of fate knock them to the back of the field, one of the best finishes in the making only to end under 6 laps of yellow. So without further procrastination and buildup, here are your notes from the weekend:
-Quick note: How many celebrities do you think live and were in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? Why.. seriously... why was Chip Ganassi calling the start of engines at Texas? Shit Robbie Knievel was right there and would have been perfect.
-The two most obvious good note from the weekend were close racing and close racing from outside the big three. It was great to see Ryan Hunter-Reay up there duking it out but to also see Vitor work his way up and to lead for as long as he did to only get screwed by an overly aggressive Enrique Bernoldi.
-For those who missed it Bernoldi got caught within the leaders and was trying to race with them when he lost it bringing out the second to last yellow. It stinks for Bernoldi who was having a good night but man talk about Murphy’s Law for Vitor Meira. Vitor had broken out a 4 second lead over Scott Dixon and Marco Andretti when he went in for his final pit, band yes while he may have lost seconds in neutral Vitor had a full tank and could run full rich while EVERYONE else was conserving and in fact Dixon was the only one remotely close to trying to finish on fumes. Had the race gone green to the end I truly believe Vitor would have gotten his first win.
-Now a bad note for the guys in the cars… someone needs to take the 28 drivers and sit them down on this off week and have a weeklong seminar on how to do a restart. The restarts were embarrassing as I’ve ever seen this weekend and at least give props to race control for calling these guys on it, however a huge thumbs down to race control for continuing to perpetuate the stupidest idea ever in having the pace car leave 1 lap before green. There is absolutely no reason the pace car shouldn’t be leading the field and pulling off at the pit entrance.
-And while we’re on the subject of stupid rules and poor calls by race control I honestly can’t say it any better than pressdog:
“Good thing these flag people weren't running the show when Danny Sullivan pulled his Spin and Win at Indy. Never would have happened. ‘Wait, someone was loose in turn three, better have a 12-lap yellow!’ And yet, when Viso clearly brushes the wall at Milwaukee, a noticeable hit that I saw personally and slowed him considerably, no yellow.” "Mario (I strongly believe Moraes) goes gets into Scheckter, goes around, saves it. OK, you throw the yellow for sure, of course, but why not go back to green in, say, TWO laps if there is nothing to clean up instead of six? Anyone? Bueller? A seven-lap yellow for no apparent reason just so everyone can pit under yellow is ridiculous. Better to give the fans more green-flag racing than make sure all the teams have time for yellow stops, OK? Who pays the bills around here? Ultimately it's the fans through ticket buys and buying sponsor products. “
Well said pressdog, I don’t think you will find a soul who disagrees…
-And while we’re into bad notes lets continue with what was the most disparaging thing from the race. Has ESPN/IMS Productions forgotten how to produce a race? I have been so ready starting with last week and then following up this week ready to commend Goodyear, Marty, Brienne, Arute, and Welch on some really great commentary and heck some things we not only have never heard before but have really added to the broadcasts, especially how they are now talking about all the cars in the race that are putting on any kind of good show. Seriously we’ve gotten EJ Viso updates 2 races in a row, if they start throing in the sponsors of the cars when they mention them it’ll go to, my wife and I also liked the notes about Goodyear's wife and how the wives are much more than spectators... A+
-However on the completely opposite side of it ESPN had the benefit of tape delaying the race yet I’m almost certain we watched more yellow laps than green, never had a single field run-though in all that yellow, and on top of it never should tape delay in the first place but if you do, how in the world do you put the live audio on by accident for more than a few minutes? How do you show driver interviews and go to commercial every time we go to green, and most importantly when you are on tape delay HOW DO YOU MISS IMPORTANT ACTION OVER A COMMERCIAL?
I’ve been hard on ESPN a lot but the booth has really picked up the their end and gone into a really good place while the production has gotten horrible, Chris Estrada really puts the whole thing into perspective:
Small note: Does anyone ever notice how ego driven-hypocritical Danica can be. A week before Indy she says she’s above getting angry and then storms down pit lane then complains about Brisoce in pit lane and then does the same thing to Vitor at Texas only to have Vitor be quick enough to dodge her, and then she’s throwing serious block parties throughout the race and you know if she were on the other end of that we’d be hearing about it…
- I’m fine with fuel knob setting because fuel games make a race intriguing, however maybe there should only be 3 settings instead of 6-7…
-and Finally, I used to say there isn’t a racer in the series I really root against but Marco Andretti is making it very easy to do it right now. The most apparently thing right now is that Marco NEEDS to race for another team to gain some humility because he sure doesn’t have any. He started this season so humble and saying all the right things and now he just seems like a spoiled ego. Think whatever you want about the RHR-Marco incident, its more a racing incident, maybe RHR didn’t need to go to the line but Marco also didn’t need to pinch after establishing that he was running high for the first 98% of the race especially when the incident with RHR was identical to Dixon’s pass only with Marco causing a unnecessary pinch/block. No matter what this quote should never leave any drivers mouth after what was so easily a racing incident.
“there's some guys you can race close with, and some you can't"
(you'll notice in the picture to our left that Dan Wheldon sure made it work)
Especially coming from a guy who had just caused wrecks two weeks/races prior. Ryan Hunter-Reay has won more races than Marco and didn’t need team tactics to win them, he hasn’t caused a single driver to complain up until this point and raced perfectly fine the first 98% of the race so how was he suddenly this horrible driver to be around is puzzling, basically every person on the planet will see this as a racing incident at the end of the day and even more costly as is looked like RHR had the speed to pass Dixon as well…
That quote may be one of the stupidest things to ever leave Marco’s mouth, at least for the manner of a serious case of pot calling the kettle black, he needs to start turning this season around, and quickly.
And now for one note outside of the race itself. Someone needs to explain to Robin Miller that no one cares who gets the news to them first if its only accurate some of the time. People just want news thats reliable. Yet he continues to be bitter in his articles towards other journalists, drivers, and the series and is possibly the most bi-polar writer you will see; one week we need Americans, the next we need diversity, then we need good ovals, then we need road courses... dude seriously just hang it up and become just a fan at this point and let the real reporters do the reporting.
Homestead and Nashville may be gone next year but you sure don't cite a single source for that claim, and even if it happens, wow you guessed right, I'm sure thats what readers are looking for, someone who guesses correctly on occasion; then on to you opinion being put off as a representation of the fans....how in the hell is a 13 road course 6 oval course schedule even close to what the fans want, especially when Track forum just polled its fans and barely 93% of the people polled want the series at least 50/50 and 73% want the majority to be ovals... try citing a source or statistic sometime...
WOW, what a bi-polar weekend of racing we had from the IndyCar Series. This weekend was so far away from the middle, we either had some of the closest racing of the year or 30 laps of yellow for a piece of debris… good to even great announcing from Goodyear and Marty only to be partnered with some of the worst producing/editing possible, some great calls from race control actually penalizing speeding in the pits and also letting everyone race it out, and then some of the worst with two phantom yellows as well as 10 lap yellows when there were no debris on the course just someone spinning…. small teams making moves up high or those same teams suddenly having the hands of fate knock them to the back of the field, one of the best finishes in the making only to end under 6 laps of yellow. So without further procrastination and buildup, here are your notes from the weekend:
-Quick note: How many celebrities do you think live and were in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? Why.. seriously... why was Chip Ganassi calling the start of engines at Texas? Shit Robbie Knievel was right there and would have been perfect.-The two most obvious good note from the weekend were close racing and close racing from outside the big three. It was great to see Ryan Hunter-Reay up there duking it out but to also see Vitor work his way up and to lead for as long as he did to only get screwed by an overly aggressive Enrique Bernoldi.
-For those who missed it Bernoldi got caught within the leaders and was trying to race with them when he lost it bringing out the second to last yellow. It stinks for Bernoldi who was having a good night but man talk about Murphy’s Law for Vitor Meira. Vitor had broken out a 4 second lead over Scott Dixon and Marco Andretti when he went in for his final pit, band yes while he may have lost seconds in neutral Vitor had a full tank and could run full rich while EVERYONE else was conserving and in fact Dixon was the only one remotely close to trying to finish on fumes. Had the race gone green to the end I truly believe Vitor would have gotten his first win.-Now a bad note for the guys in the cars… someone needs to take the 28 drivers and sit them down on this off week and have a weeklong seminar on how to do a restart. The restarts were embarrassing as I’ve ever seen this weekend and at least give props to race control for calling these guys on it, however a huge thumbs down to race control for continuing to perpetuate the stupidest idea ever in having the pace car leave 1 lap before green. There is absolutely no reason the pace car shouldn’t be leading the field and pulling off at the pit entrance.
-And while we’re on the subject of stupid rules and poor calls by race control I honestly can’t say it any better than pressdog:
“Good thing these flag people weren't running the show when Danny Sullivan pulled his Spin and Win at Indy. Never would have happened. ‘Wait, someone was loose in turn three, better have a 12-lap yellow!’ And yet, when Viso clearly brushes the wall at Milwaukee, a noticeable hit that I saw personally and slowed him considerably, no yellow.” "Mario (I strongly believe Moraes) goes gets into Scheckter, goes around, saves it. OK, you throw the yellow for sure, of course, but why not go back to green in, say, TWO laps if there is nothing to clean up instead of six? Anyone? Bueller? A seven-lap yellow for no apparent reason just so everyone can pit under yellow is ridiculous. Better to give the fans more green-flag racing than make sure all the teams have time for yellow stops, OK? Who pays the bills around here? Ultimately it's the fans through ticket buys and buying sponsor products. “Well said pressdog, I don’t think you will find a soul who disagrees…
-And while we’re into bad notes lets continue with what was the most disparaging thing from the race. Has ESPN/IMS Productions forgotten how to produce a race? I have been so ready starting with last week and then following up this week ready to commend Goodyear, Marty, Brienne, Arute, and Welch on some really great commentary and heck some things we not only have never heard before but have really added to the broadcasts, especially how they are now talking about all the cars in the race that are putting on any kind of good show. Seriously we’ve gotten EJ Viso updates 2 races in a row, if they start throing in the sponsors of the cars when they mention them it’ll go to, my wife and I also liked the notes about Goodyear's wife and how the wives are much more than spectators... A+
-However on the completely opposite side of it ESPN had the benefit of tape delaying the race yet I’m almost certain we watched more yellow laps than green, never had a single field run-though in all that yellow, and on top of it never should tape delay in the first place but if you do, how in the world do you put the live audio on by accident for more than a few minutes? How do you show driver interviews and go to commercial every time we go to green, and most importantly when you are on tape delay HOW DO YOU MISS IMPORTANT ACTION OVER A COMMERCIAL?
I’ve been hard on ESPN a lot but the booth has really picked up the their end and gone into a really good place while the production has gotten horrible, Chris Estrada really puts the whole thing into perspective:
Small note: Does anyone ever notice how ego driven-hypocritical Danica can be. A week before Indy she says she’s above getting angry and then storms down pit lane then complains about Brisoce in pit lane and then does the same thing to Vitor at Texas only to have Vitor be quick enough to dodge her, and then she’s throwing serious block parties throughout the race and you know if she were on the other end of that we’d be hearing about it…
- I’m fine with fuel knob setting because fuel games make a race intriguing, however maybe there should only be 3 settings instead of 6-7…
-and Finally, I used to say there isn’t a racer in the series I really root against but Marco Andretti is making it very easy to do it right now. The most apparently thing right now is that Marco NEEDS to race for another team to gain some humility because he sure doesn’t have any. He started this season so humble and saying all the right things and now he just seems like a spoiled ego. Think whatever you want about the RHR-Marco incident, its more a racing incident, maybe RHR didn’t need to go to the line but Marco also didn’t need to pinch after establishing that he was running high for the first 98% of the race especially when the incident with RHR was identical to Dixon’s pass only with Marco causing a unnecessary pinch/block. No matter what this quote should never leave any drivers mouth after what was so easily a racing incident.
“there's some guys you can race close with, and some you can't"
(you'll notice in the picture to our left that Dan Wheldon sure made it work)
Especially coming from a guy who had just caused wrecks two weeks/races prior. Ryan Hunter-Reay has won more races than Marco and didn’t need team tactics to win them, he hasn’t caused a single driver to complain up until this point and raced perfectly fine the first 98% of the race so how was he suddenly this horrible driver to be around is puzzling, basically every person on the planet will see this as a racing incident at the end of the day and even more costly as is looked like RHR had the speed to pass Dixon as well…
That quote may be one of the stupidest things to ever leave Marco’s mouth, at least for the manner of a serious case of pot calling the kettle black, he needs to start turning this season around, and quickly.
--------------------------
And now for one note outside of the race itself. Someone needs to explain to Robin Miller that no one cares who gets the news to them first if its only accurate some of the time. People just want news thats reliable. Yet he continues to be bitter in his articles towards other journalists, drivers, and the series and is possibly the most bi-polar writer you will see; one week we need Americans, the next we need diversity, then we need good ovals, then we need road courses... dude seriously just hang it up and become just a fan at this point and let the real reporters do the reporting.Homestead and Nashville may be gone next year but you sure don't cite a single source for that claim, and even if it happens, wow you guessed right, I'm sure thats what readers are looking for, someone who guesses correctly on occasion; then on to you opinion being put off as a representation of the fans....how in the hell is a 13 road course 6 oval course schedule even close to what the fans want, especially when Track forum just polled its fans and barely 93% of the people polled want the series at least 50/50 and 73% want the majority to be ovals... try citing a source or statistic sometime...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Milwakee... wait what?
Guys I wish I was joking, but I have absolutely NO analysis for the Milwaukee ABC 225 run today. Why, because I didn't see the race... because of my own choice you ask...? Nope, and here's the part where I wish I was kidding.... our local ABC affiliate didn't run the race and put in its place a telethon.
Thats right, I couldn't see the race even if I wanted... so hopefully after I catch the replay on ESPN Classic I might have some thoughts, from what I've read it seemed like a good race and Briscoe Inferno won shutting up all his detractors you'd think, (but instead causing them to just make excuses and further doubt him), and it also seems as though Vitor may have had a scary moment...
I couldn't tell you though...
One thing I can tell you is that makes 6 winners in 7 races and at the moment neither Kanaan nor Helio have wins...
Thursday, May 29, 2008
It's more than just a locker...
Hello, welcome to Lambeau Field. I'm your tour guide, Joe. We'll begin our tour here in the home team's locker room.
First I will point out the disgusting locker to your left which has not been touched in months. See, it's more than just a locker. It's Brett Favre's locker. We've made it a point to preserve as much of Favre's presence as we could to both inspire our younger players and to allow people like you to witness history.
Another example is this jock strap right here. Don't touch it! It's pretty nasty, actually. But it's Brett Favre's and we're going to leave it right there.Now, watch your step over here. That's more than just a puke stain. Brett Favre threw up right there one time. Isn't it amazing?
These painkillers? That's right. Brett actually left a few of these behind. As much as Aaron Rodgers will need these next year, we've once again decided to leave them untouched.
And now... if you'll follow me into the restroom, you'll find we have perfectly preserved the last time Brett Favre used... where are you going?? This is more than just a restroom, people!!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Indy 500 Notes
Sorry I don't have a ton of post race coverage for the 500. I've always felt (and especially this year) that you can find recaps for the 500 just about anywhere, and since I'm not a paid columnist I didn't necessarily need to contribute another bit of repeat out there for the recapping/ but how about some side-notes.
Firstly, mad props for Vitor Meira and Panther Racing; I actually had Scott Dixon in our barbeque's Indy 500 pool but was still rooting for Meira. Ever since meeting the guy, I'll always be rooting for him and unfortunately I think the one note that hasn't been reported on yet is how Meira actually had the race in hand until Buddy Lazier pinched Milka into a spin.
Not may people noticed it but Meira had built up a nice lead on Dixon by that point and since he had clean air in front of him, had the race stayed green through the rest of the race, would have won it.
He basically lost the race on qualifications day and the team has even mentioned it. How you ask? Going into the last pitstop the team knew they were screwed cause Dixon had the final (easiest) pit box, and even with their awesome 7 second final pitstop, they couldn't make up for Dixon's pit stall location leaving Dixon the room to floor it forward without a car in front of him to watch for and less angle.
Had it come to green flag pitstops this kind of positioning wouldn't have mattered and Meira more than likely could have gone to win, but alas we're talking about a huge "if"
so with that said Congrats to Scott Dixon for winning me $55.
the other side note that needs mentioning.
COME ON ESPN/ABC!! The Danica show got seriously annoying, and I know this because of the wives/girlfriends at our barbeque who had never seen a race before were making jokes about it. On top of that, feel free to ever explain why EJ Viso left the race after running in the top 10 anytime.
The way you guys cover a race its a wonder anyone out of the big three even manages to get sponsorship.
I'm not asking them to go 5000 extra miles here.... just do at least one if not two run downs of the field during a race to get these guys some screen time, its common sense for a sport that revolves around sponsorship.
I don't think we saw the bottom half of the field all day and thats pathetic for a race of this importance and length, heck you almost wonder if some of those guys crashed simply because it got their car on the screen. This has more to do with the producers than the 3 guys in the booth who actually did very well and personally would like to see Cheever go full time.
In addition to working fairly well they gave us two very entertaining moments: Marty's freaking out over Oriol Servia's passing near the grass had our entire barbeque in tears laughing and rolling... and then Cheever's yelling at the cars on the final 5 laps was simply entertaining and definitely unexpected... if you gave Cheever a season to wotk out the feel of the booth and he had time to learn to loosen up even more that could be a real great crew.
Firstly, mad props for Vitor Meira and Panther Racing; I actually had Scott Dixon in our barbeque's Indy 500 pool but was still rooting for Meira. Ever since meeting the guy, I'll always be rooting for him and unfortunately I think the one note that hasn't been reported on yet is how Meira actually had the race in hand until Buddy Lazier pinched Milka into a spin.
Not may people noticed it but Meira had built up a nice lead on Dixon by that point and since he had clean air in front of him, had the race stayed green through the rest of the race, would have won it.
He basically lost the race on qualifications day and the team has even mentioned it. How you ask? Going into the last pitstop the team knew they were screwed cause Dixon had the final (easiest) pit box, and even with their awesome 7 second final pitstop, they couldn't make up for Dixon's pit stall location leaving Dixon the room to floor it forward without a car in front of him to watch for and less angle.
Had it come to green flag pitstops this kind of positioning wouldn't have mattered and Meira more than likely could have gone to win, but alas we're talking about a huge "if"
so with that said Congrats to Scott Dixon for winning me $55.
the other side note that needs mentioning.
COME ON ESPN/ABC!! The Danica show got seriously annoying, and I know this because of the wives/girlfriends at our barbeque who had never seen a race before were making jokes about it. On top of that, feel free to ever explain why EJ Viso left the race after running in the top 10 anytime.
The way you guys cover a race its a wonder anyone out of the big three even manages to get sponsorship.
I'm not asking them to go 5000 extra miles here.... just do at least one if not two run downs of the field during a race to get these guys some screen time, its common sense for a sport that revolves around sponsorship.
I don't think we saw the bottom half of the field all day and thats pathetic for a race of this importance and length, heck you almost wonder if some of those guys crashed simply because it got their car on the screen. This has more to do with the producers than the 3 guys in the booth who actually did very well and personally would like to see Cheever go full time.
In addition to working fairly well they gave us two very entertaining moments: Marty's freaking out over Oriol Servia's passing near the grass had our entire barbeque in tears laughing and rolling... and then Cheever's yelling at the cars on the final 5 laps was simply entertaining and definitely unexpected... if you gave Cheever a season to wotk out the feel of the booth and he had time to learn to loosen up even more that could be a real great crew.
Friday, May 23, 2008
2 Legs of Canada for IRL?
With Toronto's purchase being completed for AGR/AGT, we looked to have one solid Canadian leg of the IndyCar Series/Indy Lights Series... and now it looks as though Edmonton has been locked up as well for 5 years. From TSN:
While I am always weary of adding too many road and street course because I believe road and street courses to be the same thing and therefore rule the 6/6/6 "concept" stupid because it would actually be 12/6.
However, I am excited about adding any circuit such as Edmonton (or Cleveland hopefully) that is wide and big and encourages a ton of action. Here's hoping New Hampshire and maybe WDW are actually added to give us balance and a great 11/11 or or something of that nature closer to 40/60-50/50.
Officials from the Edmonton Grand Prix are expected to sign a long-term deal on Friday to become a fixture on the IndyCar schedule.
"We'll get it signed," Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division of the IRL, tells Sun Media. "The intention is to be there long-term."
The deal is expected to be for five years, which would be in line with an agreement signed Thursday with officials from the Long Beach Grand Prix.
While I am always weary of adding too many road and street course because I believe road and street courses to be the same thing and therefore rule the 6/6/6 "concept" stupid because it would actually be 12/6.
However, I am excited about adding any circuit such as Edmonton (or Cleveland hopefully) that is wide and big and encourages a ton of action. Here's hoping New Hampshire and maybe WDW are actually added to give us balance and a great 11/11 or or something of that nature closer to 40/60-50/50.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Another reason to love Memorial Weekend
I know this has basically become a IndyCar blog since Furious hasn't posted in like 6 months but for those of you who have read this thing for a while may already love the end of May but another reason I love Memorial weekend is because its conference tournament time in collegiate baseball. and then next week starts what is easily my favorite playoff format of all sports.
but what makes it fun are upsets of course and you can't get any better than today's 8-2 shellacking of #7 Rice by a 24-33 UAB team, but even more for things like this as reported by Baseball America:
"What a finish in Baton Rouge. Texas Southern, which went just 7-17 in the Southwestern Conference during the regular season, scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth to steal a 12-11 win over two-time defending champion Prairie View A&M in the SWAC title game Monday. So the Tigers will head to regionals with a 16-32 overall record. "
and then if thats not big enough they followup with our potential for next week....
"If Texas Southern can somehow stun Rice in the first game of the (potential) Houston regional (maybe I’m going out on a limb here, but I don’t think so), that will have to qualify as one of the greatest upsets in college baseball history."
Happy May everyone!
but what makes it fun are upsets of course and you can't get any better than today's 8-2 shellacking of #7 Rice by a 24-33 UAB team, but even more for things like this as reported by Baseball America:
"What a finish in Baton Rouge. Texas Southern, which went just 7-17 in the Southwestern Conference during the regular season, scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth to steal a 12-11 win over two-time defending champion Prairie View A&M in the SWAC title game Monday. So the Tigers will head to regionals with a 16-32 overall record. "
and then if thats not big enough they followup with our potential for next week....
"If Texas Southern can somehow stun Rice in the first game of the (potential) Houston regional (maybe I’m going out on a limb here, but I don’t think so), that will have to qualify as one of the greatest upsets in college baseball history."
Happy May everyone!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Toronto Confirmed for 2009?
I have a question mark on that title because this announcement hasn't formally come from the Indy Racing League just yet, but today Andretti Green Racing announced their official purchase of the Grand Prix of Toronto, that the race will happen as part of the IndyCar Series in 2009 and also a new spur off company Andretti Green Toronto, who will most likely be the Toronto race's version of Andretti Green Promotions who run the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race.
Official Press Release
Official Press Release
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Qualifying Idea
I've thought about this for some time now and here's a possible solution that can satisfy new system and old system qualifying fans:
Plan the "11-11-11-bump day" schedule just as it is with the 2 weekends sat,sun,sat,sun.
BUT the difference being that on all 3 of the days the field can qualify as many cars as possible, and at the end of the first day the top 11 are locked and can no longer be challenged, but unlike the current system the 12-33 qual times will carry over to the 2nd day.
At the end of the 2nd day the 12-22 quals are locked and so forth... this way Davey, Graham, RHR don't need to run more qualifying runs later just to be in the race when they already should be... It will still give people a chance to withdraw and re-qualify if they want so we can retain that possible drama, but will allow guys who just want to stick with their time to do so until they are in danger of being bumped.
Basically for this year it'd mean that while the 12-33 qual spots would still be up for grabs this Saturday; Davey, Graham etc would already be in the field come Saturday and wouldn't have to initially go back out unless they wanted to better their time from this past Saturday...
what do you guys think?
Plan the "11-11-11-bump day" schedule just as it is with the 2 weekends sat,sun,sat,sun.
BUT the difference being that on all 3 of the days the field can qualify as many cars as possible, and at the end of the first day the top 11 are locked and can no longer be challenged, but unlike the current system the 12-33 qual times will carry over to the 2nd day.
At the end of the 2nd day the 12-22 quals are locked and so forth... this way Davey, Graham, RHR don't need to run more qualifying runs later just to be in the race when they already should be... It will still give people a chance to withdraw and re-qualify if they want so we can retain that possible drama, but will allow guys who just want to stick with their time to do so until they are in danger of being bumped.
Basically for this year it'd mean that while the 12-33 qual spots would still be up for grabs this Saturday; Davey, Graham etc would already be in the field come Saturday and wouldn't have to initially go back out unless they wanted to better their time from this past Saturday...
what do you guys think?
Monday, May 12, 2008
Somewhere Kosuke is f'n dissappointed
Jeff Simmons, (formerly of knocking Kosuke Matsuura out of races by way of Rahal Letterman Racing and most recently formerly of knocking Rafael Matos out of races via the Indy Lights Series) has officially been announced to replace Larry Foyt in an actually run #41 entry from Foyt Racing.I'm a believer in second chances (especially to someone who wasn't terrible) but after seeing his recent run ins with Matos, I'm sure this may be one last shot at resurrecting any kind of impression he has with current IndyCar Series teams...
the good news is he does have a good relationship with A.J. as he used to drive for him, so thats a good start:
INDIANAPOLIS (May 12, 2008) - A.J. Foyt has hired Jeff
Simmons to drive the second A.J. Foyt Racing entry in the Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to Darren Manning, driver of the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda-powered Dallara. Simmons will get in the No. 41 ABC Supply car for the first time on Wednesday when the track re-opens for practice. "It's great to be back with A.J.'s team," said Simmons. "I'm looking forward to working with A.J. and Darren and the whole Foyt team. Darren can help me get up to speed quickly and hopefully I can contribute something to the team as we get ready for qualifying next weekend. "A.J. is taking it on himself to put me in this car so I just want to do the best job I can for his team." "I'm glad to be working with Jeff again," said Foyt. "I like the way he drives and the way he hustles the car pretty hard which is what I look for in young drivers." Simmons, 31, drove for Foyt in the Indy Pro Series in May, 2004 when he finished second in the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was that same month that Foyt gave Simmons an Indy car to do his rookie test at the Speedway which allowed him to compete in that year's Indy 500 driving for Mo Nunn. He finished 16th in his debut after starting 29th as a 2nd weekend qualifier. Simmons drove for Team Rahal in 2006 and 2007 before being replaced by Ryan Hunter-Reay in July. In 25 starts in the IndyCar Series he has posted 11 top-10 finishes and has led eight laps, including a lap in last years' Indy 500. His best finish is sixth, which came last year at Texas Motor Speedway where he led twice. Last year at Indy, he qualified 13th and finished 11th for his best finish to date in the 500. Rain on Sunday washed out Second Day Qualifying and practice at the Brickyard, setting up next Saturday as the day when teams will attempt to qualify for the remaining 22 positions, including Manning, whose qualifying attempt on Pole Day was aborted. Once the field is set next Saturday, the bumping will begin on Sunday as non-qualifiers will try to bump their way into the field by qualifying faster t
han the slowest car already in the field. The Indianapolis 500 will be broadcast live on ABC-TV starting with the pre-race show at 12 noon, Sunday May 25th. The race is set to start at 1 p.m.And yes that KOOL car is in fact Jeff Simmons at Laguna Seca via the Lights series in 2000...
The good news overall is that we already have 37 entries for 33 spots (or 26 for the remaining 22 spots) including the Beck entry which has yet to name a driver, and here are the suspects remaining:
1 - American Dream (formerly Playa Del) says they will field a 2nd car but is TBA to date
2 - The big rumor that the #77 Penske entry may be a loan out car to Walker Racing/Paul Tracy
3 - Will Panther Racing actually attempt a 2nd car in now that Vitor's already in?
4 - If anyone else decides to turn a T-car into an entry.
As the next day of practice approaches this Wednesday expect official news to come for all of these.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Two Great Notes From Day 1 of Full Practice
1) There we no crashes. In fact I think there were only 1-2 yellow flags, both times for debris/inspection.
2) There were 25 cars within 1 second behind the leader (Marco Andretti 39.717seconds) with 26th (Enrique Bernoldi 40.7280) being off only one tenth more than a second down.
Side Note.... One of these things is not like the others...
Dreyer and Reinbold's Cars
Buddy Rice - 224.170mph
Townsend Bell - 222.583mph
Milka Duno - 217.412mph
2) There were 25 cars within 1 second behind the leader (Marco Andretti 39.717seconds) with 26th (Enrique Bernoldi 40.7280) being off only one tenth more than a second down.
Side Note.... One of these things is not like the others...
Dreyer and Reinbold's Cars
Buddy Rice - 224.170mph
Townsend Bell - 222.583mph
Milka Duno - 217.412mph
Bohlander hits a homerun.
Finally Lauren Bohlander hits exactly what Up To Speed should be (and what made Indy Insider so great)... behind the scenes and fun with drivers!
Candid fun stuff with drivers is the best because they losen up once they aren't talking about the specifics of racing (much like her interview with J.R. Hildebrand was great when they started talking about his acceptance to MIT). Walking around the welcome driver's party, its probably the best bit they've put up this season for 3 quick things among others: drivers wondering how many a's are in Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon saying Shake-n-Bake, and Giebler's blue steel.
Video
if anyone knows how to embed this thing, feel free to let me know...
Candid fun stuff with drivers is the best because they losen up once they aren't talking about the specifics of racing (much like her interview with J.R. Hildebrand was great when they started talking about his acceptance to MIT). Walking around the welcome driver's party, its probably the best bit they've put up this season for 3 quick things among others: drivers wondering how many a's are in Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon saying Shake-n-Bake, and Giebler's blue steel.
Video
if anyone knows how to embed this thing, feel free to let me know...
Monday, May 5, 2008
Rookies ready, bring on the vets
So as day 2 of the Rookie Orientation Program is done along with some refresher for some time-off veterans (Hamilton, Papis, Junqieria) the times are looking promising so far.
Notes from the two days:
-Jamie Camara will be needing some ibproufen in the morning. On only his first few laps of the day the rear of the car got out from behind Camara and he slid very hard backing into the wall heavily damaging the rear and right front of the car. The bigger thing of note however is that he took some time to finally get out of his car on his own power and while all the x-rays came back negative, he was complaining of back pain and will be reevaluated in the morning before being given the go to head back out to the track.
-So obviously Camara should be fine in the long run, but isn't this a situation where Conquest Racing should be working on a backup plan, say like the scenario they themselves laid out in saying Frank Perarra would fill in if needed during the year, yet that can't happen if Perarra never passes through ROP. which bring up...
-WHY, oh WHY do teams who need the most work always wait till the last second... We ALL knew before Sunday that Mario Moraes and Mario Dominguez especially and any other new drivers would need as much time as possible to get acclimated to the track, and to get through their ROP 4 stages in the first two days. While there may be other outside team factors concerning Frank Perarra's non-running, Moraes got only 3 leak checking laps in the first day while Dominguez and Pacific Coast Motorsports, not only skipped the first day (trying to get the car through tech) but didn't really get out until a good hour or so had passed in today's session.
If you need to get acclimated to a new car and new track, take as much time as possible given to you, but remember it is limited.
- Indy 500 rookies, yes; rookies no. Though some of these guys are actual top level rookies (Viso, Perarra, Camara, Bernoldi, Moraes, Lloyd, Howard) it doesn't mean all these guys aren't good drivers as was evidenced by the speeds put up today. Keep in mind the 225,ph was the high mark for last year and that last years rookies struggled to hit the 220 mark. Today not only did we have 9 drivers over 220mph, Times that would qualify you on the first day/weekend for sure last year! we had Power and Lloyd actually having fun and one-upping each other at the end of the day.
One things for sure, if the weather holds up, this week should be very interesting and a lot of fun.
Notes from the two days:
-Jamie Camara will be needing some ibproufen in the morning. On only his first few laps of the day the rear of the car got out from behind Camara and he slid very hard backing into the wall heavily damaging the rear and right front of the car. The bigger thing of note however is that he took some time to finally get out of his car on his own power and while all the x-rays came back negative, he was complaining of back pain and will be reevaluated in the morning before being given the go to head back out to the track.-So obviously Camara should be fine in the long run, but isn't this a situation where Conquest Racing should be working on a backup plan, say like the scenario they themselves laid out in saying Frank Perarra would fill in if needed during the year, yet that can't happen if Perarra never passes through ROP. which bring up...
-WHY, oh WHY do teams who need the most work always wait till the last second... We ALL knew before Sunday that Mario Moraes and Mario Dominguez especially and any other new drivers would need as much time as possible to get acclimated to the track, and to get through their ROP 4 stages in the first two days. While there may be other outside team factors concerning Frank Perarra's non-running, Moraes got only 3 leak checking laps in the first day while Dominguez and Pacific Coast Motorsports, not only skipped the first day (trying to get the car through tech) but didn't really get out until a good hour or so had passed in today's session.
If you need to get acclimated to a new car and new track, take as much time as possible given to you, but remember it is limited.
- Indy 500 rookies, yes; rookies no. Though some of these guys are actual top level rookies (Viso, Perarra, Camara, Bernoldi, Moraes, Lloyd, Howard) it doesn't mean all these guys aren't good drivers as was evidenced by the speeds put up today. Keep in mind the 225,ph was the high mark for last year and that last years rookies struggled to hit the 220 mark. Today not only did we have 9 drivers over 220mph, Times that would qualify you on the first day/weekend for sure last year! we had Power and Lloyd actually having fun and one-upping each other at the end of the day.One things for sure, if the weather holds up, this week should be very interesting and a lot of fun.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Indy 500 Field Rundown
Sunday is opening day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and while I still have yet to ever be there in person (though plans are being set for '09), I can say I just like many out there I am pretty excited about the start of the "greatest spectacle in racing". I'll be mostly glued to live timing and scoring and live video through the awesomeness of indycar.com through the month as usual.
For those who are needing it however, I offer a quick rundown of the entrants for this years Indy 500 pointing out the things I think people are generally most interested in; Where all these guys are coming from, as THE biggest race in the world attracts people from all points on the globe, and what are their chances (as of today before any practicing has commenced).
Car # - Driver - Hometown -Win/Threat expectancy
5 = no surprise if they win
4 = not a total surprise just not heavily favored
3 = can win with the right things going their way
2 = would surprise & would warrant crazy excitement and awe
1 = a surprise so unexpected half the field must have been black flagged for going too fast?
#2 - A.J. Foyt IV - Hockley, Texas - 4
A.J. IV is starting to really mesh with his team and the car is getting stronger and qualifying/running better in each showing. However remembering how long this race is and that A.J. may be doing a good deal of mid-pack racing there's the added chance of getting collected in an incident.
#3 - Helio Castroneves - Sao Paulo, Brazil - 5
Helio has won this thing twice before and is usually a lock for at least the front two rows if not front row. Now add up that 2 of his new friends Julianne Hough and Floyd Mayweather will be there, he'll be wanting to show off. The only thing of caution so far is that it seems like Helio is strongly pushing for the one thing he doesn't have on the resume yet (IndyCar Season Championship) however don't forget Helio has long stated his desire to be in the 500's 4-win club.
#4 - Vitor Meira - Brasilia, Brazil - 3
I'm a huge Vitor fan but the '3' seems to fit better at this point as the team has thus far run into a lot of bad luck; and its not the luck but the nature that which most people get down with bad luck I'm worried about. Panther Racing having yet to capture the elusive 500 win, and Vitor yet to capture the elusive win... look for everyone in the speedway and media center to be applauding if it happens.
#5 Oriol Servia - Pals, Spain - 3
Oriol and KV Racing Technology have shown thus far to be a little ahead of the curve on getting to know oval track racing. Add that to having a full month to prepare for Indy and you have a legit threat from the lone entry from Spain; plus his helmet is simply badass.
#6 Ryan Briscoe - Sydney, Australia - 4
One of the two Aussies this year and of the two has better team for this win. Briscoe himself has shown a lot of promise in his return to the ICS but I'm not sure yet if that adds up to a win so much as it may just add up to a Top 7. Theres no doubt he has the drive to win, but I just wouldn't consider him a favorite right now.
#7 Danica Patrick - Roscoe, Illinois - 4
If this race were 200 or 300 miles I'd knock that down to a 3 but being 500 miles long actually plays to Danica's advantage. She will start the race with heavy understeer and will need to make adjustments but with the longer race will have the time to really benefit the changes.
#8 Will Power - Toowoomba, Australia - 2
Like his teammate Oriol; he and KV Racing have shown they can get their cars up to speed, unfortunately this year twice now has Will had a bit of bad luck on the two ovals thus far. Indy is different though, I look at Will as currently the most driven young rookie-ish driver in the field, with the talent to reinforce that drive. If Will can get out of traffic his chances of winning almost double.
#9 Scott Dixon - Auckland, New Zealand - 5
I would think that most are pegging Dixon as the favorite going into May and why not, he should have won Kansas if not for bad luck in pit-timing, and was only beat in Motegi by better strategy. The Target cars are running great so far so its really just a matter of the circumstances of avoiding bad luck (incidents, car parts and pit timing) for Dixon.
#10 Dan Wheldon - Emberton, England - 5
I think 2007 was actually good for Dan because it probably humbled him some and showed that being overly focused/closed is a possibility. I put his chances slightly lower than Dixon for simply that he's a more aggressive/less patient driver which can get you into an incident especially with a longer race; but I think fresh off Kansas, Dan is having fun again and not only is that is great to see but its when Dan is at his best.
#11 - Tony Kanaan - Salvador, Bahia, Brazil - 5
Tony right now is my favorite. He not only has the car, but probably has the most Indy motivation right now. Lets take a look: 2002 led 23 laps got taken out in accident, 3rd in 2003, 2004 leads 28 laps but rain ends race before he gets chance to really run at Rice, 2006 led 12 laps but finished 6th & the worst probably in 2007 leads 83 laps, and should have won until he spun to avoid another crashing car.
#12 - Tomas Scheckter - Capetown, South Africa - 4
The worst part of 2007's 500 was wondering what could have been had Hornish not overly aggressively tried to block Tomas ruining both of their races in the process. Tomas was running a mad pace and most likely had a car to contend for the win. Add that to Tomas's other disappointing list of 500s and the fact that his only real schedule this year is the 500 and add that the car was performing great in Kansas before he had his day ruined twice and it looks good for Tomas in May.
#14 - Darren Manning - North Yorkshire, England - 3
Very funny man who needs more camera time; I'm not sure what to think yet about Darren's chances. One day they have the car feeling great, the next day its being pulled out the race cause it won't handle. when its handling fine though Darren is right in the mix of things. However if Foyt Racing does run the second car then I'd actually downgrade the car's chances to a 2 because of the spread resources.
#15 - Buddy Rice - Phoenix, Arizona - 3
While theres nothing more than many of us would like to see than Buddy winning again and being able to do well (after what has been arguably the worst treatment to a 500 winner ever) his team just doesn't have it; and its further hampered that the team will most likely be spreading all its resources on the 2nd and 3rd cars one of which which will not likely be contributing any valuable information back to Buddy.
#16 Alex Lloyd - Manchester, England - 3
Lloyd was dominating in Indy Lights, but I'm really starting to wonder if it has more to do with Sam Schmidt Motorsports or the drivers they choose because everyone who seems to come through SSM is a contender automatically. The car for the 500 will be ok to good and Lloyd should be a great driver on the track but we honestly don't have much until practice to judge him on.
#17 Ryan Hunter-Reay - Boca Raton, Florida - 4
RHR has looked good so far in this season on the most important thing, making improvements. This is the most important thing for Indy because of the length of the month, and also the length of the race it yields plenty of time for a unit like RHR-RLR to operate best in.
#18 Bruno Junqueira - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - 2
Dale Coyne Racing just hasn't had it yet this year, and for this former 500 pole-sitter that's a real shame because we know he has the talent to run up front, just doesn't seem to have the equipment to get him there... YET. The team has spanking new Dallaras for Indy so we'll have to wait and see if it makes some kind of difference.
#19 Mario Moraes - Sao Paulo, Brazil - 1
A true rookie, on a team just getting thrown into a new car setup, in the biggest race. I'd look for Moraes to be gunning for a finish more than anything in this race, and that's assuming he makes the field. He's had a couple run-ins with the wall so far and the speeds haven't been all that high and that doesn't look good going into sure bumping this year.
#20 Ed Carpenter - Indianapolis, Indiana - 4
Ed's new Menards' Yellow car has been running very well thus far only being brought down by some bad luck here and there. The one thing that I'm worried about for Ed is that it seems the setup they are running right now is burning much more fuel than everyone else, which is fine if the race has plenty cautions in the right spots, but plays very against him should the race run very green.
*#21 - Jaques Lazier/Playa Del Racing? - 2
There are high doubts about whether this car will even make it into practice, but if it does with this driver combination I'd at least warrant it a 2 possible 3 with this combination working so well last year, and thats something considering they are running the "old" Panoz.
*#22 Davey Hamilton - Nampa, Idaho - 3
Davey hasn't yet been confirmed for this car but it looks like he's going to run for Vision for the 2nd year, and with vision showing strong it brings a normally low one-off score up to a 3. While he will be missed on IMS Radio for this race, I'm surely looking forward to seeing him on the track again as there are many reasons to love and root for Davey from being true comeback story 20+ surgeries later after his horrible crash, not to mention a very nice guy, and one who simply loves racing. (Plus Mrs. Wedge used to carpool with the Hamilton family growing up in Idaho)
#23 Milka Duno - Caracas, Venezuela - 1
Some people want to put her in the possible DNQ category but are failing to note Milka has definitely acquired (probably as a result of being with D&R) the ability to at least qualify decently. However that is really only good enough to put it in the field and unfortunately most of us are just crossing our fingers that she doesn't get squirrelly in traffic.
#24 Jay Howard - Basildon, England - 2
Jay hasn't had the qualifying time and car setup since putting the car into the wall at Homestead so the rating isn't as much due to Howard not being talented as it is simply just the team and Jay getting acquainted and getting experience. With a good May they could surely put on a great race, but it has yet to be seen from them to complete a race well from qualifying to finish.
#25 Marty Roth - Toronto, Canada - 2
A lot of people want to bang on Marty but they forget that while he's been around for years, that he is actually a rookie. Before this season he had all of 9 races under his belt with basically all of them being one-off attempts. One thing is for sure though, Marty loves racing and loves Indy and will in time have one of the big teams in the ICS, much like some other current owner attempted drivers.
#26 Marco Andretti - Nazareth, Pennsylvania - 5
Marco right now is my pick for the race. He's flying under the radar but the equipment is there with the rest of them; most have forgotten that he actually should have won Homestead and most missed his great driving in Kansas... so long as he can cut the absent minded rookie mistakes with the half shafts and if he actually can execute the 'Kanaan cold tire passes' that he was trying in Motegi look for him to shock a lot of people, but not me.
#27 Hideki Mutoh - Tokyo, Japan - 3
Hideki has talent for sure, and unlike all the former Japanese races, has a top tier team behind him; he doesn't have yet however the experience and comfort with his new ride needed for the aggressiveness we all know he has. For any of you girls out there that think Hideki is a cutey, it looks like Kanaan is trying to setup Hideki with a girl to help him with learning English.
#33 E.J. Viso - Caracas, Venezueala - 3
Rookie Ernesto reminds me very much of rookie Tomas Scheckter. Both had very hot careers coming into the IndyCar Series, and both so far had rookie seasons flooded with over-aggressiveness. EJ was all over the track blocking and trying to make moves in Kansas, but his aggressiveness showed it could pay dividends in St. Petersburg. This kind of thing doesn't usually work out well for a rookie 500 campaign though because of the lenght of time to contain that aggressiveness... just ask Scheckter...
#34 Jaime Camara - Goiania, Brazil - 2
Jaime has finally gotten to the big leagues, and he has plenty experience under his belt that makes him a good driver to have racing out there on an oval. The lack of experience in the big boy cars but moreso Conquest Racing's so far lack of good aero package on the ovals will hold him back.
#35 Enrique Bernoldi - Curitiba, Brazil - 2
Enrique like many of the drivers in the race this year have plenty experience and background that you know come time and experience they will be contenders in the future, but right now that time and experience just isn't there with him or the team to be a true contender for this race.
#41 Larry Foyt - Houston, Texas - 1
Larry hasn't exactly had the most historic runs at the Speedway, but bringing this entry down even more is the doubt that it may even happen. I think some are actually hoping it doesn't because it will only serve to spread Darren Manning's chances thinner with the crew. I'd like to see Larry on the track because he's been a guy who one would like to see do well but he just doesn't have the driving chops to really even contend in the top two thirds of the field.
#44 Max Papis - Como, Italy - 3
I'm willing to take this entry to a 2 or 4 just depending on the first days of practice...as it looks almost as well prepared as the Luczo/Dragon/Tomas Scheckter. Rubicon Race Team is essentially comprised of a lot of the best parts from Sam Schmidt Motorsports and some of the guys formerly of Kelley racing. These guys know how to race, and so does Papis.
#67 Sarah Fisher - Commercial Point, Ohio - 2
It really would have been nice to see this team run Kansas to get a head start on the program but obviously sponsorship most likely took that in another direction. We'd all love to see Sarah do well but I'm just not sure how it will go as the team is running its first ever race, though the driver and engineers are veterans, there are just certain things that need time to develop.
#77 TBA/Penske/Walker - ??? - 2
Its doubtful this car will see the track, its best chance is to be farmed out to another team. If that team gets assistance from Penske then it shoots to a 3 or 4, but otherwise is just an also ran.
#83 PJ Chesson/John Andretti/Someone Else/Panther Racing - 2
There's a big chance this car won't see the track. If it sees the track with Chesson, I worry about the aggressiveness much like you do with Viso, Panther doesn't put "only good enough to qualify" cars in the field so with the right driver you can at least look at middle contention.
#91 Buddy Lazier - Vail, Colorado - 2
This can quickly change depending on Hemelgarn Racing's car and preparation but theres no doubt Buddy will get this car in the show. He's too good a driver and too smart a good to not be able to make the adjustments to get the car running well. Getting it to run up to speed with the front runners will need to be seen before the threat level is upgraded though.
#96 Mario Dominquez - Mexico City, Mexico - 2
Pacific Coast Motorsports is a good enough team to get this car in the show, but with it being their and Mario's first race with the chassis even the month of May is most likely not an adequate amount of time to make it a contender.
#98 Roger Yasukawa/Alex Barron - Los Angeles or San Diego, California - 3
Can someone please step up and get Greg Beck the sponsorship he needs to run both of these guys? Both drivers are quite exceptional behind the wheel, Roger took Sarah's backup and made it faster than Sarah could in just a day last year, Alex hasn't finished lower than 15th in the 500 and has won in ICS before, both guys deserve the ride, Beck deserves to be full time and shows nothing but commitment, just has a lack of money. Whichever driver gets the ride, expect it to put a decent showing in both qualifying and the race.
#99 Townsend Bell - San Fransisco, California - 3
Townsend dong very well is one thing Buddy Rice is hoping for. Townsend is the teammate Buddy needs full season and the one D&R needs to have in that car to get the setups and to be able to effectively experiment and try out thingsa with the cars. Many forget Townsend may have actually won Motegi had he not got caught by the yellow flags on two different occasions. He got the car running well once and should be able to do it again.
#02 Justin Wilson - Sheffield, England - 3
All you need to know is the radio chatter from last week when the team asked him how the car was Justin replied something to the effect of "The car is great, it just doesn;t have the speed" Now give N/H/L Racing a month to figure out thew speed part and Justin becomes a quick contender.
#06 - Graham Rahal - New Albany, Ohio - 2
While Graham shares the same team as Wilson and is feeling good from the win at St. Petersburg, he's too completely new to ovals to really do the aggressive moves and chances that will be required to win the 500. I expect him to do very well and be consistent, just don't see him chugging the milk at the end of the day.
Look for all predictions to look horribly wrong by pole day... Happy May everyone!
For those who are needing it however, I offer a quick rundown of the entrants for this years Indy 500 pointing out the things I think people are generally most interested in; Where all these guys are coming from, as THE biggest race in the world attracts people from all points on the globe, and what are their chances (as of today before any practicing has commenced).
Car # - Driver - Hometown -Win/Threat expectancy
5 = no surprise if they win
4 = not a total surprise just not heavily favored
3 = can win with the right things going their way
2 = would surprise & would warrant crazy excitement and awe
1 = a surprise so unexpected half the field must have been black flagged for going too fast?
#2 - A.J. Foyt IV - Hockley, Texas - 4
A.J. IV is starting to really mesh with his team and the car is getting stronger and qualifying/running better in each showing. However remembering how long this race is and that A.J. may be doing a good deal of mid-pack racing there's the added chance of getting collected in an incident.
#3 - Helio Castroneves - Sao Paulo, Brazil - 5
Helio has won this thing twice before and is usually a lock for at least the front two rows if not front row. Now add up that 2 of his new friends Julianne Hough and Floyd Mayweather will be there, he'll be wanting to show off. The only thing of caution so far is that it seems like Helio is strongly pushing for the one thing he doesn't have on the resume yet (IndyCar Season Championship) however don't forget Helio has long stated his desire to be in the 500's 4-win club.
#4 - Vitor Meira - Brasilia, Brazil - 3
I'm a huge Vitor fan but the '3' seems to fit better at this point as the team has thus far run into a lot of bad luck; and its not the luck but the nature that which most people get down with bad luck I'm worried about. Panther Racing having yet to capture the elusive 500 win, and Vitor yet to capture the elusive win... look for everyone in the speedway and media center to be applauding if it happens.
#5 Oriol Servia - Pals, Spain - 3
Oriol and KV Racing Technology have shown thus far to be a little ahead of the curve on getting to know oval track racing. Add that to having a full month to prepare for Indy and you have a legit threat from the lone entry from Spain; plus his helmet is simply badass.
#6 Ryan Briscoe - Sydney, Australia - 4
One of the two Aussies this year and of the two has better team for this win. Briscoe himself has shown a lot of promise in his return to the ICS but I'm not sure yet if that adds up to a win so much as it may just add up to a Top 7. Theres no doubt he has the drive to win, but I just wouldn't consider him a favorite right now.
#7 Danica Patrick - Roscoe, Illinois - 4
If this race were 200 or 300 miles I'd knock that down to a 3 but being 500 miles long actually plays to Danica's advantage. She will start the race with heavy understeer and will need to make adjustments but with the longer race will have the time to really benefit the changes.
#8 Will Power - Toowoomba, Australia - 2
Like his teammate Oriol; he and KV Racing have shown they can get their cars up to speed, unfortunately this year twice now has Will had a bit of bad luck on the two ovals thus far. Indy is different though, I look at Will as currently the most driven young rookie-ish driver in the field, with the talent to reinforce that drive. If Will can get out of traffic his chances of winning almost double.
#9 Scott Dixon - Auckland, New Zealand - 5
I would think that most are pegging Dixon as the favorite going into May and why not, he should have won Kansas if not for bad luck in pit-timing, and was only beat in Motegi by better strategy. The Target cars are running great so far so its really just a matter of the circumstances of avoiding bad luck (incidents, car parts and pit timing) for Dixon.
#10 Dan Wheldon - Emberton, England - 5
I think 2007 was actually good for Dan because it probably humbled him some and showed that being overly focused/closed is a possibility. I put his chances slightly lower than Dixon for simply that he's a more aggressive/less patient driver which can get you into an incident especially with a longer race; but I think fresh off Kansas, Dan is having fun again and not only is that is great to see but its when Dan is at his best.
#11 - Tony Kanaan - Salvador, Bahia, Brazil - 5
Tony right now is my favorite. He not only has the car, but probably has the most Indy motivation right now. Lets take a look: 2002 led 23 laps got taken out in accident, 3rd in 2003, 2004 leads 28 laps but rain ends race before he gets chance to really run at Rice, 2006 led 12 laps but finished 6th & the worst probably in 2007 leads 83 laps, and should have won until he spun to avoid another crashing car.
#12 - Tomas Scheckter - Capetown, South Africa - 4
The worst part of 2007's 500 was wondering what could have been had Hornish not overly aggressively tried to block Tomas ruining both of their races in the process. Tomas was running a mad pace and most likely had a car to contend for the win. Add that to Tomas's other disappointing list of 500s and the fact that his only real schedule this year is the 500 and add that the car was performing great in Kansas before he had his day ruined twice and it looks good for Tomas in May.
#14 - Darren Manning - North Yorkshire, England - 3
Very funny man who needs more camera time; I'm not sure what to think yet about Darren's chances. One day they have the car feeling great, the next day its being pulled out the race cause it won't handle. when its handling fine though Darren is right in the mix of things. However if Foyt Racing does run the second car then I'd actually downgrade the car's chances to a 2 because of the spread resources.
#15 - Buddy Rice - Phoenix, Arizona - 3
While theres nothing more than many of us would like to see than Buddy winning again and being able to do well (after what has been arguably the worst treatment to a 500 winner ever) his team just doesn't have it; and its further hampered that the team will most likely be spreading all its resources on the 2nd and 3rd cars one of which which will not likely be contributing any valuable information back to Buddy.
#16 Alex Lloyd - Manchester, England - 3
Lloyd was dominating in Indy Lights, but I'm really starting to wonder if it has more to do with Sam Schmidt Motorsports or the drivers they choose because everyone who seems to come through SSM is a contender automatically. The car for the 500 will be ok to good and Lloyd should be a great driver on the track but we honestly don't have much until practice to judge him on.
#17 Ryan Hunter-Reay - Boca Raton, Florida - 4
RHR has looked good so far in this season on the most important thing, making improvements. This is the most important thing for Indy because of the length of the month, and also the length of the race it yields plenty of time for a unit like RHR-RLR to operate best in.
#18 Bruno Junqueira - Belo Horizonte, Brazil - 2
Dale Coyne Racing just hasn't had it yet this year, and for this former 500 pole-sitter that's a real shame because we know he has the talent to run up front, just doesn't seem to have the equipment to get him there... YET. The team has spanking new Dallaras for Indy so we'll have to wait and see if it makes some kind of difference.
#19 Mario Moraes - Sao Paulo, Brazil - 1
A true rookie, on a team just getting thrown into a new car setup, in the biggest race. I'd look for Moraes to be gunning for a finish more than anything in this race, and that's assuming he makes the field. He's had a couple run-ins with the wall so far and the speeds haven't been all that high and that doesn't look good going into sure bumping this year.
#20 Ed Carpenter - Indianapolis, Indiana - 4
Ed's new Menards' Yellow car has been running very well thus far only being brought down by some bad luck here and there. The one thing that I'm worried about for Ed is that it seems the setup they are running right now is burning much more fuel than everyone else, which is fine if the race has plenty cautions in the right spots, but plays very against him should the race run very green.
*#21 - Jaques Lazier/Playa Del Racing? - 2
There are high doubts about whether this car will even make it into practice, but if it does with this driver combination I'd at least warrant it a 2 possible 3 with this combination working so well last year, and thats something considering they are running the "old" Panoz.
*#22 Davey Hamilton - Nampa, Idaho - 3
Davey hasn't yet been confirmed for this car but it looks like he's going to run for Vision for the 2nd year, and with vision showing strong it brings a normally low one-off score up to a 3. While he will be missed on IMS Radio for this race, I'm surely looking forward to seeing him on the track again as there are many reasons to love and root for Davey from being true comeback story 20+ surgeries later after his horrible crash, not to mention a very nice guy, and one who simply loves racing. (Plus Mrs. Wedge used to carpool with the Hamilton family growing up in Idaho)
#23 Milka Duno - Caracas, Venezuela - 1
Some people want to put her in the possible DNQ category but are failing to note Milka has definitely acquired (probably as a result of being with D&R) the ability to at least qualify decently. However that is really only good enough to put it in the field and unfortunately most of us are just crossing our fingers that she doesn't get squirrelly in traffic.
#24 Jay Howard - Basildon, England - 2
Jay hasn't had the qualifying time and car setup since putting the car into the wall at Homestead so the rating isn't as much due to Howard not being talented as it is simply just the team and Jay getting acquainted and getting experience. With a good May they could surely put on a great race, but it has yet to be seen from them to complete a race well from qualifying to finish.
#25 Marty Roth - Toronto, Canada - 2
A lot of people want to bang on Marty but they forget that while he's been around for years, that he is actually a rookie. Before this season he had all of 9 races under his belt with basically all of them being one-off attempts. One thing is for sure though, Marty loves racing and loves Indy and will in time have one of the big teams in the ICS, much like some other current owner attempted drivers.
#26 Marco Andretti - Nazareth, Pennsylvania - 5
Marco right now is my pick for the race. He's flying under the radar but the equipment is there with the rest of them; most have forgotten that he actually should have won Homestead and most missed his great driving in Kansas... so long as he can cut the absent minded rookie mistakes with the half shafts and if he actually can execute the 'Kanaan cold tire passes' that he was trying in Motegi look for him to shock a lot of people, but not me.
#27 Hideki Mutoh - Tokyo, Japan - 3
Hideki has talent for sure, and unlike all the former Japanese races, has a top tier team behind him; he doesn't have yet however the experience and comfort with his new ride needed for the aggressiveness we all know he has. For any of you girls out there that think Hideki is a cutey, it looks like Kanaan is trying to setup Hideki with a girl to help him with learning English.
#33 E.J. Viso - Caracas, Venezueala - 3
Rookie Ernesto reminds me very much of rookie Tomas Scheckter. Both had very hot careers coming into the IndyCar Series, and both so far had rookie seasons flooded with over-aggressiveness. EJ was all over the track blocking and trying to make moves in Kansas, but his aggressiveness showed it could pay dividends in St. Petersburg. This kind of thing doesn't usually work out well for a rookie 500 campaign though because of the lenght of time to contain that aggressiveness... just ask Scheckter...
#34 Jaime Camara - Goiania, Brazil - 2
Jaime has finally gotten to the big leagues, and he has plenty experience under his belt that makes him a good driver to have racing out there on an oval. The lack of experience in the big boy cars but moreso Conquest Racing's so far lack of good aero package on the ovals will hold him back.
#35 Enrique Bernoldi - Curitiba, Brazil - 2
Enrique like many of the drivers in the race this year have plenty experience and background that you know come time and experience they will be contenders in the future, but right now that time and experience just isn't there with him or the team to be a true contender for this race.
#41 Larry Foyt - Houston, Texas - 1
Larry hasn't exactly had the most historic runs at the Speedway, but bringing this entry down even more is the doubt that it may even happen. I think some are actually hoping it doesn't because it will only serve to spread Darren Manning's chances thinner with the crew. I'd like to see Larry on the track because he's been a guy who one would like to see do well but he just doesn't have the driving chops to really even contend in the top two thirds of the field.
#44 Max Papis - Como, Italy - 3
I'm willing to take this entry to a 2 or 4 just depending on the first days of practice...as it looks almost as well prepared as the Luczo/Dragon/Tomas Scheckter. Rubicon Race Team is essentially comprised of a lot of the best parts from Sam Schmidt Motorsports and some of the guys formerly of Kelley racing. These guys know how to race, and so does Papis.
#67 Sarah Fisher - Commercial Point, Ohio - 2
It really would have been nice to see this team run Kansas to get a head start on the program but obviously sponsorship most likely took that in another direction. We'd all love to see Sarah do well but I'm just not sure how it will go as the team is running its first ever race, though the driver and engineers are veterans, there are just certain things that need time to develop.
#77 TBA/Penske/Walker - ??? - 2
Its doubtful this car will see the track, its best chance is to be farmed out to another team. If that team gets assistance from Penske then it shoots to a 3 or 4, but otherwise is just an also ran.
#83 PJ Chesson/John Andretti/Someone Else/Panther Racing - 2
There's a big chance this car won't see the track. If it sees the track with Chesson, I worry about the aggressiveness much like you do with Viso, Panther doesn't put "only good enough to qualify" cars in the field so with the right driver you can at least look at middle contention.
#91 Buddy Lazier - Vail, Colorado - 2
This can quickly change depending on Hemelgarn Racing's car and preparation but theres no doubt Buddy will get this car in the show. He's too good a driver and too smart a good to not be able to make the adjustments to get the car running well. Getting it to run up to speed with the front runners will need to be seen before the threat level is upgraded though.
#96 Mario Dominquez - Mexico City, Mexico - 2
Pacific Coast Motorsports is a good enough team to get this car in the show, but with it being their and Mario's first race with the chassis even the month of May is most likely not an adequate amount of time to make it a contender.
#98 Roger Yasukawa/Alex Barron - Los Angeles or San Diego, California - 3
Can someone please step up and get Greg Beck the sponsorship he needs to run both of these guys? Both drivers are quite exceptional behind the wheel, Roger took Sarah's backup and made it faster than Sarah could in just a day last year, Alex hasn't finished lower than 15th in the 500 and has won in ICS before, both guys deserve the ride, Beck deserves to be full time and shows nothing but commitment, just has a lack of money. Whichever driver gets the ride, expect it to put a decent showing in both qualifying and the race.
#99 Townsend Bell - San Fransisco, California - 3
Townsend dong very well is one thing Buddy Rice is hoping for. Townsend is the teammate Buddy needs full season and the one D&R needs to have in that car to get the setups and to be able to effectively experiment and try out thingsa with the cars. Many forget Townsend may have actually won Motegi had he not got caught by the yellow flags on two different occasions. He got the car running well once and should be able to do it again.
#02 Justin Wilson - Sheffield, England - 3
All you need to know is the radio chatter from last week when the team asked him how the car was Justin replied something to the effect of "The car is great, it just doesn;t have the speed" Now give N/H/L Racing a month to figure out thew speed part and Justin becomes a quick contender.
#06 - Graham Rahal - New Albany, Ohio - 2
While Graham shares the same team as Wilson and is feeling good from the win at St. Petersburg, he's too completely new to ovals to really do the aggressive moves and chances that will be required to win the 500. I expect him to do very well and be consistent, just don't see him chugging the milk at the end of the day.
Look for all predictions to look horribly wrong by pole day... Happy May everyone!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A concise statement the IRL must listen to
To basically everyone who even reads this blog, most if not all of what Jason Peters says will not be new, but it is easily the most concise, collected, informed group of observations about the current state that the IndyCar Series is in. He sums up what the IRL MUST take note of to take the IndyCar Series to the level it is easily capable of: the best and highest level well rounded racing series in the world.
IndyCar Unification Was Great, But Will Anything Change?
IndyCar Unification Was Great, But Will Anything Change?
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