Quick Thoughts- Milwaukee Race 2

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Pato O’Ward le the race comeback to him after a pit stop bobble and won the Milwaukee Snap-On 250. This race was the one scheduled for today. At 5pm Central Time the conclusion of yesterday’s race will begin. O’Ward was leading when the red flagged.

It was a very entertaining race which featured a lot of passing-333 passes for position out of 728 total, including several for the lead. Several drivers had a shot at the win.

“This is the first time I ever won a race while leading another one at the same time,” Pato joked in the media availability after the race.

Who says Christian Lundgaard isn’t good on ovals? he was a threat all day and worked through traffic very well. I still wonder why McLaren thinks they could not win an Indianapolis 500 with Lundgaard.

Will Power’s frustration continues. He played the pit strategy correctly and was the effective leader waiting for Scott McLaughlin and Scott Dixon to pit. Unfortunately, his chances suffered a fatal blow when Race control caught =him speeding on pit lane. The drive through penalty put Power in 14th at the end of the race.

Kyle Kirkwood looked to n=be in good shape for a run near the end, but his car was not as good after his last stop. he finished sixth, and Kirkwood is now 97 points behind Alex Palou-one point short of the title being out nof reach.

Great run- Rinus VeeKay arguably had the fastest car in nthe first stint. He blasted to the front from the 12th starting spot and passed Palou on lap 100, but a slow pit stop took him out of the fight for the win. His seventh place finish puts him back into the top 10 after not finishing lkast weekend.

Scott McLaughlin drove a very long stint,but ended up finishing second. He made one less pit stop, but it didn’t work out. McLaughlin is in good shape for the next race as he pitted just before the red flag.

This will do it for me. I need to start the drive home in a few minutes. Thanks for following along this weekend. I will have more thoughts on the weekend and a review of the completed race 1 tomorrow.

Results

Race Day Times 2

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Today’s schedule: Times are Eastern.

Note that the running of Race 1 will end at 10:25 Eastern to prepare for the IndyNXT race. The field should easily get past the 126 lap mark to make the race official. However, according to information I received last night, IndyCar will not be satisfied with just an official race. Three hours after race 2, the series will run any remaining laps of race 1

I don’t understand the insistence of running every lap in a suspended race. If they’re doing it for the fans, I doubt many will be left by 5:39 local time to watch. They are certainly not doing the teams who need to leave for California any favors.

The IndyNXT race should be moved to after Race 2, and race 1 run to its conclusion. Push Rac 2 back a bit.

Saturday tickets are valid today. If the ticket is Saturday only for a reserved seat, the ticket is good for a general admission seat for Race 2.

There was a rainstorm overnight, but the forecast shows only slight chances for the rest of the day.

I will post updates as the schedule evolves. Let’s get theses rtaces in.

See You in the Morning

thepitwindowLeave a comment

IndyCar tried, but the track did not get dry in time. Today’s race will run to its conclusion Sunday morning at 8 am Central time on FS1.

Race 2 will start at its scheduled time, 12:30 Central time on FOX.

Today has been exhausting, with all the false hope of restarting followed by disappointment. It’s a shame, because there was quite a good race going on and it was about to get even better. There is some intriguing strategy that I hope continues to play out.

Pato O’Ward leads after 91 laps.

Thanks for following along today. see you in the morning.

Mclaughlin, Palou Earn Poles

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Scott McLaughlin won the pole for Race 1 at Milwaukee and Alex Palou willstart on the point in tomorrow’s race. For race 1 McLaughlin, second place Palou, and third place David Malukas will serve nine place grid penalties.

Qualifying started under overcast skies, but as the session went on skies got a bit brighter although never sunny.

Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden will star on the front row in today’s 250 mile race.

Dennis Hauger held the pole for a long time. He finished seventh and he will start fourth.

In Sunday’s race. Palou will start on pole alongside O’Ward. Newgarden will start third and Mick Schumacher fourth. Like Hauger for race 1, Schumacher hung onto the pole for race 2 for quite a bit of time.

The speed differentials for both contests is huge. The leaders should encounter slower traffic very quickly.

Kyle Kirkwood, second in the standings, qualified 22nd and 24th, the slowest of the Andretti cars. It might be difficult for him to prevent Palou from clinching t5he title today.

I will post the official starting lineup when it is available..

Race Day at Milwaukee- But First, Qualifying

thepitwindowLeave a comment

Good morning from a cloudy Milwaukee Mile.

IndyCar qualifies for toda’s race at 10 am Central time on FS1.

The Snap-On Makers and Fixers 250 green flag us at 1:50 pm Central on FOX. The race title just barely meets the requirement that the race distance is longer than the race title.

After Friday’s collision with Kyle Koirkwood, Christian Rasmussen will go to a backup car today . I have no idea why they were were running so close together in PRACTICE.

I could under4stand teammates doing some drafting work, but two cars from different teams racing each other like that before qualifying is a head scratcher. I think Kirkwood is a bit more at fault. It appeared he didn’t turn in.

Screen grab just before contact.

This weekend’s schedule does not make sense to me. If the series wanted a three-day program, Friday has to be more than single practice late on Friday afternoon. A late morning practice followed by midafternoon qualifying makes more sense.

I’ll be back after qualifying with the results and the official starting lineup. Five cars as of now will drop nine spots.