Sunday, July 2, 2023

Morning Warmup at Mid-Ohio

 



(Photo credit: Joe Skibinski, Penske Entertainment)

Hello again!

I haven't updated anything here in a while, but I hope you have been following me on Frontstretch, where I have been providing a lot of IndyCar content.

It's raceday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex, where the NTT IndyCar Series has 80 laps of racing in front of it later this afternoon. Here are a couple of storylines I'm keeping an eye on.

Graham Rahal. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan cars have come to life this weekend, with Rahal and teammate Christian Lundgaard made the Fast 6, and Rahal making his first front-row start in over four years. He will start next to polesitter Colton Herta on the front row, and was quickest in the morning session. Rahal hasn't won an IndyCar race since 2015, is today the day?

The Weather. Rain has been in the area all weekend, although all of the IndyCar sessions have been run in dry conditions. With the race schedule to go green at 1:53 p.m. EDT and rain expected a couple of hours later, it will be interesting to see what might happen if rain falls in the closing laps of the race. 

Conor Daly. Daly is stepping in for Simon Pagenaud this weekend after the Frenchman wasn't cleared to race after a massive shunt on Saturday morning. While he starts from the back of the field in the 27th position, he was 12th-quick in the warmup and seemed really happy with the car. Daly is looking for a job after parting ways with Ed Carpenter Racing last month, and this is a good opportunity for him to show what he's got. Daly has a lot of experience jumping into rides on short notice, so it's no surprise to see him get up to speed so quickly.

The podium;

Winner: Graham Rahal. Yeah, I'm going there. Momentum is everything on a race weekend, and he has lots of it going right now. I'm not sure how he's gonna do it, but I think he's gonna do it.

2nd: Alex Palou. The points leader is one of the hottest drivers in the world at the moment. With three wins in his last four races, Palou has finished on the podium each of the last two years. 

3rd: Colton Herta. Herta has won back-to-back poles but is still in search of his first podium of the year. Today is his day.

Have a great race!

Thursday, June 1, 2023

About Last Sunday...

Welcome to June!

It's a little crazy to think that the Month of May has ended for another year. Speaking of crazy, I had a month. I was in Indy every weekend, spent seven nights in four different hotels, and was in the stands for my 25th Indianapolis 500.

Oh yeah, I also found time to run the Indy Mini Marathon for the first time in seven years.

It was a wild month, which culminated with one of the wildest finishes we've ever seen.

I've had a few days to think about what transpired over the race's final 50 miles, and here's where I am at with it.

I hated the way the race finished, but I'm happy with the guy who won.

Let's start with the latter. There is no question that Josef Newgarden both earned and deserved that win. He drove a brilliant race from the 17th starting position and when he found himself in a spot where he could go after the win, he took it.

That's what champions do. It took him 12 tries to get there, but Newgarden finally found his way to Victory Lane, and sent his career into a whole new stratosphere.

As I said in an article I wrote for Frontstretch: this win adds more significance to his wins and championships, and is a good place to start thinking about the fact he is already an all-time great, and where he will be on various lists when his career ends. He's still only 32 and has a 500 win, two championships, and is tied for 14th all-time in wins, leaving him five victories away from cracking the top 10 wins list.

For context, here's who he passes to get there: Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears, Helio Castroneves, Paul Tracy, and Dario Franchitti. Pretty heady stuff.

So the coronation of Newgarden is complete, so let's talk about the end of the race. Simply put: the last red flag should never have happened. I know, I know, that changes the race winner, and would've made Marcus Ericsson a back-to-back champion.

But the idea that race control decided to put the Greatest Race in The World on the line for a one-lap shootout was misguided, not to mention, dangerous. When the decision was made, I really feared for the driver's safety.

That's not being dramatic, either. The shorter you make a race, the more drivers are going to risk in order to win. Just look at the Cup Series on a weekly basis, and the crazy decisions that drivers make during overtime periods. 

On that side it's different. Cup cars are almost bulletproof, and if drivers want to bang each other around, it doesn't scare me all that much. Except on plate tracks...yeah, that's a little too insane.

I get the idea of a green flag finish. But if you aren't going past the race distance, sometimes that's not always going to happen. And, for the record, I have no interest in overtime periods or going past the race distance in IndyCar. Given the number of times races end under yellow, it's unnecessary.

Not to mention it can get expensive, and given IndyCar doesn't have a money-printing machine, tearing up cars just to finish under green isn't what is in the series' best interests.

I had no problem with the first two reds. They were in windows that gave race control the ability to restart the race under the rules and protocols. The last one didn't, and therein lies the problem.

I get that there is risk, and I know that the drivers accept them. But to put 21 drivers, 21 human beings, might I add, at additional risk to satisfy a small percentage of people is just not right. As I've said before, I've met or interviewed almost all of the drivers in the paddock. They are people to me, and I care about them. 

I get it: race control is made up of human beings too. I know they had their reasons for the final red, and that the decision had to be made quickly. I just think standards need to be put into place so that it doesn't happen again.

There were 350,000 people at the race. Most of us have traditions that started long before this year, and finishing under a yellow wouldn't change those. Would people have gone home a bit disappointed? Sure. Would they have walked away saying "screw this, we aren't coming back next year"? I highly doubt it.

The decision to end the race would've left people disappointed. There's no doubt in that. But the number of people at the race and watching on television or listening to the radio who would've kicked IndyCar to the curb over a yellow flag finish would've been miniscule. Those people aren't fans and probably never would be, if that's what it took to push them away from one of the most competitive and exciting racing series on the planet.

In terms of media, social media, and all media in between, a hit was going to come with whichever decision race control made. If you aren't going to make everyone happy -- which never happens -- why not make the decision that 1) stays true to the concept of competition and 2) what is best for all of the participants involved?

It's a competition. I went to a Cubs game against the Mets last week. The Cubs fell behind early and eventually lost by a score of 10-1. Was I disappointed? Absolutely, and do not get me started about the disappointment that has been this entire season.

(Editor's note: I take the Chicago Cubs very seriously.)

Still, it's how the game is sometimes. And the fact is, you can't make everyone happy. I'm still a Cubs fan, and I'm still going to watch games on TV and go to more games this season. My Cubs fandom isn't based on one random game on a Thursday night. If it were, I would've chucked them into Lake Michigan long ago.

Racing's the same way to me. Take Alex Palou's win at the Indy GP. Palou won by more than 15 seconds, and there were gripes that the race was "boring" because it didn't have an exciting finish. That's a problem, because we've kind of reached the mode in racing where the quality of the race is defined by its finish.

What got lost in thinking the race was boring was not appreciating a driver who was so on top of his game that he dominated a field of very good racers in what amounts to a spec car. That's the story! That kind of drive is to be appreciated because it takes a special kind of circumstance for someone to pull that off. 

Races are races, just like baseball games are baseball games. The NBA Finals start tonight, if Denver leads by 30 after three quarters and the fourth quarter is just 12 minutes of glorified garbage time, that's just what it is, just like a hotly-contested and very exciting race that featured 52 lead changes among almost half of the drivers in the field finishing five miles short of completion is what it would've been as well.

If the race had ended under yellow with Ericsson the winner, he would've earned it just the way Newgarden did. The body of the race as a whole was exciting in its own right, it didn't need a Game Seven moment to make it memorable As a fan, and a media member, that would've been an acceptable outcome as well. 

There is a level of integrity to competition. If you want to argue that if that is the case the red should never fall under any circumstances, I can see your point, and it's valid. I think there is still integrity in taking steps to try to finish under green, but there has to be a point reached where everyone agrees that for the sake of the competition and the competitors involved, a green finish can't happen.

To the drivers' credit, I think the final lap went as best as it could've. Everyone took care of each other and came home in one piece, which is what we expect out of IndyCar drivers. 

In the future, it shouldn't come down to that. I think going forward that strict, transparent protocols need to be put into place as to what circumstances lead to a red flag, and at what point that should be abandoned.

That needs to happen now, because for a lot of reasons, it matters.




Saturday, May 13, 2023

Morning Warm-Up at the GMR Indy Grand Prix


Welcome to May!

Today is the 44th anniversary of my first-ever trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While back then it was for Pole Day, today it is for the GMR Grand Prix. It's great to be back in the media center for the first time in four years as I'm covering the event for Frontstretch.com.

There were a lot of surprises in qualifying, most notably Rahal Letterman Lanigan putting two drivers in the Firestone Fast 6, with Christian Lundgaard capturing his first career pole and Jack Harvey notching a much-needed P4 starting spot.

A lot of the usual suspects didn't have such good luck in qualifying, meaning the race could be pretty exciting as drivers hope to use on-track passing and pit strategies to make their way up front. 

Here are a few drivers and storylines I'm keeping my eye on:

Romain Grosjean. After running up front at Texas and posting runner-up finishes the last two races at Long Beach and Barber, the Andretti Autosport driver has shown it's only a matter of time before he finds his way to Victory Lane. While he finished second in his first effort on the road course in 2021, he hasn't performed well since, and today he starts 18th. After only managing the 22nd-fastest lap in morning warm-up, he's got some work to do.

Felix Rosenqvist. The Swede has sat on the pole twice here, so he knows the fast way around, and after a dreadful first two races at St. Pete and Texas, he's rebounded with top 10 finishes the last two races. With Alex Palou (allegedly) moving to Arrow McLaren next season, Rosenqvist is the driver on the spot when it comes to any Silly Season discussions. Sealing the deal and starting a run of good results is much-needed.

(Editor's note: I don't think Palou leaving Ganassi is a done deal. Palou is a generational driver, a "winner" in Chip Ganassi vernacular, and given Ganassi's rivalry with McLaren's Zak Brown, he would love to stick it to him by keeping him. Chip didn't fight so hard last fall to make Palou honor the last year of his contract, he did it to try and show him why he needs to stay.)

Team Penske. All three cars missed the setup big-time in qualifying, with Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin qualifying 12th, 13th, and 16th respectively. Pit strategy at Barber gave the win to McLaughlin and put Power on the podium in third, and they will need to do more of the same today.

Colton Herta. Last year Herta started P14 and went on to win the race with a brilliant drive in the wet. He starts 14th again today, but was third-quick in warmup. His career at IMS on both the road course and the oval has always been hit-or-miss, which one is it going to be today?

First-time winner. Nine of the top 11 starters haven't won a race on the Indy Road Course, so there's a good chance we can see a first-time winner. The darkhorse might just be Graham Rahal, who hasn't won in 93 races dating back to when he swept the weekend at Detroit in 2017.

Predictions!

Winner -- Alex Palou

Runner-up -- Marcus Ericsson

Third -- Christian Lundgaard

Enjoy the race!

Photo: Penske Entertainment, Paul Hurley


Sunday, April 30, 2023

Morning Warm-Up at Barber


 It's race day in Alabama! The weather is beautiful here and we are set for a great day of racing.

A couple of housekeeping items:

First, congrats to IndyCar, ZOOM Motorsports and Barber Motorsports Park on announcing an extention through 2027. As Mark Miles said, if it's spring, we are going to be racing in Alabama.

I'm happy. I first came to this track with John Cummiskey Racing in the fall of 2016 and absolutely love the place. It's great to be here this weekend for the first time since 2019.

Also, I'm covering the race this weekend for Frontstretch. I've already written a couple of articles for them, check them out!

My first story was about Rinus Veekay posting his best qualifying effort of the season.

The other is about Agustin Canapino. He was so great to talk to and it was a fun story to write. He's definitely a guy who is easy to root for. 

Alright, alright, alright. On with the rest.

Here are three things I'm looking forward to seeing today.

Romain Grosjean is on pole, will he get his first win today? Last year was absolutely awful for the former F1 pilot, but he has rebounded in a big way in 2023. He captured his second pole of the season in Saturday's qualifying and is coming off a runner-up finish to teammate Kyle Kirkwood at Long Beach two weeks ago. He was only 23rd-fastest in this morning's warmup, but it's hard to gauge anything from that. After qualifying yesterday he and Alex Palou -- who will start next to Grosjean on the front row -- remarked how much they like this track as it reminds them of tracks they grew up racing on in Europe. If a driver likes a racetrack, chances are they will race well there.

Track position matters. In the 12 previous races here, the winner has come from one of the first three starting positions nine times. That means the teams a little further back in the field may try to go with a three-stop strategy in hopes of catching some breaks with yellow flags, not to mention to get off of the red alternate tires as quickly as possible. 

Moving up. As far as who can come from the back, I have two drivers in mind. Alexander Rossi had the fourth-quickest time in Round 1 of qualifying but then lost a second in the Round 2 and will start 10th on the grid. He posted the best lap in warmups this morning, so we'll see what he has in the race.

Another driver is former teammate at Andretti Autosport, Colton Herta. Surprisingly, Herta only has one top 10 finish here in IndyCar (10th in 2022) and starts 14th today. That said, he has been among the top 5 in the two practice sessions and warmup, so the car is good, but he will need a lot of help to move forward.

Predictions!

Winner -- Romain Grosjean

Runner-up -- Alexander Rossi

Third -- Alex Palou

Enjoy the race, and remember, when we wake up tomorrow, it's gonna be May!

Photo: Romain Grosjean

Photo Credit: Me!



Wednesday, April 5, 2023

And Heeere We Go Again

 


If you were at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday, or watched the PPG 375 on television, no doubt you watched a crazy thrilling race that checked off all of the boxes.

The race had it all: hundreds of on-track passes, close, intense racing, and three of the best drivers on the planet (Josef Newgarden, Pato O'Ward and Alex Palou) getting it on at the front of the field for the win, with lots of other drivers right behind them racing just as hard to try and join the party. Some are calling it the race of the year, and I can't say I disagree.

Yep, the race had everything.

With one exception -- a green flag finish.

Despite everything else that happened Sunday as IndyCar put on it's best race at Texas in years, lots of fixation is involved with the yellow brought out by Romain Grosjean's crash with about 2 1/2 miles left in the race.

And, as usually happens when a race ends under yellow -- which doesn't happen often, mind you -- the conversation comes up about taking the NASCAR approach and going with green/white/checker finishes.

As I spent the almost 14 hours driving back from Texas yesterday, I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to write about this, because it's a tired conversation. How tired? I discussed this topic in January, as in, January of 2011.

Plus, it's never gonna happen, for a couple of reasons:

* IndyCar doesn't have to do everything NASCAR does.

* It's never gonna happen.

I'll admit it, I'm a purist. If a race is 500 miles, it's 500 miles. If it is 375 miles -- as was the race distance on Sunday -- it's 375 miles. That said, whatever happens inside that race distance is fair game, such as dropping a red flag after a late caution, within reason.

I've been a race fan since I was nine years old, but I also grew up playing and passionately following stick-and-ball sports, so I am kind of a purist. Sports are supposed to be entertaining, but at their core they are competitions. Sometimes that leads to great games, sometimes it doesn't.

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the NCAA men's basketball championship in Houston Monday night between UConn and San Diego State. I've been watching college basketball for longer than I've been watching racing, and I definitely checked off a bucket list item by going to the game.

In the end, UConn won the game by 17 points (76-59) and even when SDSU pulled close in the second half, they were in control for the final 36 minutes of the game. I don't see anyone complaining.

Last year, the first two NBA games I went to (Suns-Heat, Bucks-Warriors), had halftime scores of 71-40 and 77-38. Again, no hand-wringing from basketball fans, because that happens sometimes. It's sports.

But we have this thing in racing where everything, especially the finish, has to be on-the-edge-of-your-seat, heart-in-your-throat shootouts to the checkered flag. For the life of me, I don't know how we got here. It seems like the idea of "that happens sometimes, it's sports", doesn't really apply to racing any longer.

What also makes the conversation tired is that it completely dismisses the last two restarts, which had some of the best racing I've seen in a while. What those guys did down the stretch was inhuman. In the post-race press conference, Jenna Fryer from the Associated Press asked this question:

What wires you guys to do something that stupid?

Here were the replies:

Pato: To win.

Palou: Yeah, but, I mean, you have no other option, so... You just put your right foot there and close a little bit one eye (smiling). You hold everything tight, that's it.

Josef: This was a real race today, which was fantastic. But I think in this sport you definitely can't think about the potential. It's just you got to go pretty flat out if you want to drive the cars at a high level. It's impossible to drive these things at the level you need to without blocking everything else out. I think that's what you get from a lot of drivers here.

That's the point here: instead of harping on missing out on what would have been about 35 seconds of racing, maybe we should focus on what did happen. These guys did some absolutely crazy things out there. Having another 35 seconds of racing wouldn't change that.

When it comes down to it, here's the biggest reason I'm against it.

It's personal to me.

Over the last few years I've met a lot of drivers. Of the 34 drivers shown on the IndyCar website, I've had one-on-one interviews with 18 of them. Seven of them I've had on my podcast, The Rumble Strip. I'm not close friends with any of them by any means, but I've gotten to know them as people and I care about them.

I understand it's dangerous, but where do we draw the line? We draw it at the G/W/C because in open wheel cars, it's unsafe. Drivers going after the win within the confines of the race distance is fine. But if you watched the movie Rush, Niki Lauda makes several references to the fact that he can deal with 20 percent of risk.

Racing within the confines of how IndyCar does it is in my own personal comfort zone of 20 percent, and I think the drivers feel that way too. But setting things up for an "exciting finish" goes beyond that to me. If you watch enough NASCAR, you know the crapshoot of G/W/C finishes. Lots of cars have been torn up during "overtime" as drivers make crazy moves to try and win the race or improve on their finish.

Guys lose their heads at the most critical part of the race. You'd love to say that IndyCar drivers wouldn't do that, but they are extremely competitive humans. Anyone who competes in anything at the professional level has a competitive fire that we can't comprehend. 

And with open wheels, what is a pretty spectacular crash in NASCAR turns into an unsafe and possibly serious accident in IndyCar. So we're going to go past the scheduled distance of the race and take that risk?

Screw. That.

Like I said, these guys are real, actual people to me, and I couldn't talk to them, interview them, or cover them with the thought in the back of my mind that, "I need to be entertained, and you must do everything you can to entertain met, whether you like it or not!".

Nope. That isn't how it works for me.

Thankfully, the powers-that-be in IndyCar feel the same way.



Sunday, April 2, 2023

Three Things: PPG 375 Edition

 Good morning from Texas Motor Speedway!

It's cloudy and a bit windy, but the rain is expected to hold off until after the race finishes, so we seem good to go for the PPG 375. Here are a few things I'm thinking about from the media center.

1) The High Line. As I discussed in my Frontstretch article a few days ago, there was a time when TMS was a two-groove racetrack, which provided plenty of action. But because of the resin solution NASCAR has applied to the second lane to help stock cars get better grip, that second line has gone away and there has been a lot less passing than in previous races. IndyCar has tried to address the situation by adding a "high-line" practice to give drivers an opportunity to rubber-in the second lane. Most of the drivers said after practice Saturday that it seems to work better in Turns 1&2, but not so much in 3&4. I'm not sure if we will get a lot of side-by-side racing -- except down the stretch when someone my take a chance -- but it will help in traffic and passing slower cars.

2) Penske vs. Ganassi vs. McLaren. Yes, it will be a clash of the titans up front, as these three teams swept eight of the top 10 starting positions and then put 10 of the 11 cars between the three stables in the top 13 in final practice. 

3) Experience matters. One thing I also mentioned in my above-mentioned story is that since 2008, the race has been won all but twice by a driver with at least one of these criteria on their resume: an IndyCar championship, an Indy 500 win, or 100 career starts at the time of their TMS victory. The only two exceptions to that rule are the late Justin Wilson (2012) and Pato O'Ward (2021). Wilson, of course, fulfills the experience criteria given everything he ever drove, and O'Ward will more than likely will meet those criteria in the future. In Saturday's final practice, five-time TMS winner Scott Dixon was fastest and two-time winner Josef Newgarden was second. The guy in third? Just two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato, who will definitely be a factor in a Chip Ganassi Racing machine.

Predictions!

Winner -- Felix Rosenqvist. When it comes to TMS, you can call the 31-year-old Swede "Fast Felix". Rosenqvist captured his second straight TMS pole Saturday, and nearly won the race in his first try in 2019. Oh yeah, he also finished fourth at Indianapolis last year. If he stays out of trouble career win No. 2 is in his sights. He's also motivated -- with his future still a bit up in the air, a win here would be a big help towards an extension with Arrow McLaren.

Runner-up -- Scott Dixon. Remember the criteria I mentioned above? Nobody touches Dixon. Six championships, five wins at TMS and an Indy 500 win. Since 2018, Dixon has three wins and last year finished fifth despite not having a stellar car. Another experience item? Dixon has led more laps at TMS than 16 drivers have completed in total. Dude's the king here.

Third place -- Alexander Rossi. The newly-minted Arrow McLaren driver finished fourth at St. Pete and qualified third for today's race. Rossi races well when he's happy (most drivers do) and he has a good car underneath him. Like Rosenqvist, he's motivated...or at least should be. Remember when we thought Rossi was the next big IndyCar driver? We don't talk about him all that much anymore, and I think he has a lot to prove this year.

Follow me on social and Frontstretch

I'm so excited to be covering IndyCar this year for the website Frontstretch. I'm also happy that they are gracious enough for me to continue blogging as well. Make sure you check me out!

I'm also on social! Follow me on both Twitter and Instagram @15daysinmay.

Enjoy the race!

Saturday, April 1, 2023

PPG 375 Preview

 After a four-week break, we're back racing!

No April Fool's here, as IndyCar is back at Texas Motor Speedway today for Sunday's PPG 375. The first practice just finished, and I'll have some more content as the weekend goes on, both here and on Frontstretch, who I am working with this weekend.

Click here to read my Frontstretch article, where I talk about IndyCar's history at TMS.

Here are a few drivers and teams I am keeping my eye on this weekend:

Scott Dixon. The 42-year-old Kiwi is the winningest IndyCar driver at Texas with five victories, and has won three of the last six races there. While Dixon is a perennial contender for the IndyCar championship, a win at Texas has usually been a harbinger of things to come, as he has won at TMS and gone on to win the championship on four occasions.

Josef Newgarden. Since joining Team Penske in 2017, Newgarden had 10 oval wins, and since 2019 he has notched two wins and four total podiums at Texas. In 2022, Newgarden only led three laps, but led the one that counted as he squeaked by teammate Scott McLauglin at the stripe to pick up the first of his season-leading five victories. After finishing a disappointing 17th at St. Pete earlier this month, he needs a bounce-back performance to get back into the title fight.

Andretti Autosport. Between its four entries, Andretti destroyed a lot of equipment at St. Pete in what was a disappointing weekend. But sometimes the result and the execution are two different things, as the team was fast off of the truck and swept the front row with Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta. Herta, who turns 23 on Thursday, is seeking his first oval win, as so far his seven IndyCar wins have come on road and street courses.

Arrow McLaren. Pato O’Ward won here in 2021, Felix Rosenqvist nearly won the race in 2020 and sat on pole last year, and Alexander Rossi has two podiums to his credit at TMS. In other words, don’t be too surprised to see the papaya triumvirate at or near the front on race day. O’Ward, who finished second at St. Pete, is on a bit of an oval hot streak. After a mid-race penalty at Texas put him a lap down and led to a 15th-place finish at TMS a year ago, he finished second at Indianapolis, had a win and a runner-up finish at Iowa, then was fourth at Gateway.

The Rookies. Between simulator work and time given for testing last week, first-year drivers have a feel for TMS, but for all three rookies this year, next Sunday will mark the first large-oval race of their careers, if not their first oval ever. While Sting Ray Robb had a start at Iowa in IndyNXT last season, for Benjamin Pedersen and Agustin Canapino, this will be the first times in their lives that they have only turned left in a race. While getting an oval race in is a good thing with the Indianapolis 500 looming on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how they fare against such a talented and experienced feel.

IndyCar is on a condensed schedule next weekend, with practice, qualifying and final warmup all happening on Saturday, with the race scheduled to start just after 11 a.m. CDT Sunday.