Author: thepitwindow
I'm a retired educator and lifelong racing fan. I hope to return to fostering greyhounds in the near future. Living mainly in Indy and wintering in Florida. I attend about 10 Indycar races a year as well as some sports car events
Dixon Goes for Sweep and History
Good morning from Road America as we prepare for race 2 of the GMR Grand Prix weekend. I hope for another race as entertaining as yesterday’s was.
Today’s schedule: (All times Eastern)
Scott Dixon could become the third driver in Indycar history to win 50 races. He now is within three of tying Mario Andretti for second place on the all time list. Dixon is also looking to win the first four races of the year. Today could also be just the third time that a driver has swept a doubleheader weekend. Dixon did that in Toronto in 2013 and Graham Rahal won both days in Detroit in 2017.
Another three on the line today is whether Jack Harvey can get his third consecutive front row start. Harvey has started second for the last two races, but his fortunes in the races themselves have turned out well. He is in the second qualifying group today, which increases his chances for the pole.
Questions for the day- Will Conor Daly’s car be ready for qualifying? It was severely damaged in his contact with Pato O’Ward yesterday. Will Josef Newgarden bounce back from the pit bobble that cost him the win yesterday? Will Team Penske win their fourth pole of the season.
Some fans yesterday respected the social distancing guidelines while many others didn’t seem to care. Road America would have been wise to perhaps sell fewer tickets to this event. Masks are hit and miss. I did see more people wearing them yesterday. I will talk about this more tomorrow.
Enjoy the race, wash your hands, and wear your mask in public.
Quick Thoughts- GMR Grand Prix Race 1
We could see history tomorrow. Scott Dixon could win his 50th race. Only two other drivers have reached and surpassed that number.
The second half of the race was quite interesting. Newgarden’ s stall in the pits began to turn the race around. The yellows really made for an exciting finish.
What is going on with Team Penske pit stops? They have had problems e every race this year. They aren’t the only team with pit issues, but the bar is much higher for them. I wonder if the compressed event schedules are contributing to the pit errors.
Drive of the day goes to Alex Palou. The rookie’s podium finish came after starting 14th, having a long pit stop, and making a nice pass on Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Colton Herta are not being mentioned much, but they are quietly having very good seasons. Herta is third in points and Hunter-Reay is sixth.
Today pretty much ends Alexander Rossi’s title hopes. It was his second straight finish in the twenties.
Conor Daly’s crew has a long night ahead of them repairing his car for tomorrow. Daly may skip qualifying and start last. His accident is the bad part of double headers. My concern is a car getting badly damaged next Friday in the first Iowa race. Would that team be done for the weekend?
After no cautions for two years, today’s race tried to make up for all that lost time. The three cautions came within seven laps of each other.
Turn five saw lots of passing and attempted passing, lots of tire smoke from locked brakes, and several near collisions.
I hoe tomorrow’s race, on NBC, is just as entertaining as today’s race was.
I will have just post tomorrow, in the morning. I will be driving back to Indianapolis as soon as tomorrow’s race is over. Thanks for following along this weekend.
Quick Thoughts- GMR Grand Prix Race 1
We could see history tomorrow. Scott Dixon could win his 50th race. Only two other drivers have reached and surpassed that number.
The second half of the race was quite interesting. Newgarden’ s stall in the pits began to turn the race around. The yellows really made for an exciting finish.
What is going on with Team Penske pit stops? They have had problems e every race this year. They aren’t the only team with pit issues, but the bar is much higher for them.
Drive of the day goes to Alex Palou. A rookie recovering from a long pit stop to finish on the podium is quite a frat. He had a great pass of Ryan Hunter-Reay to get the position.
Power’s Strong Last Lap Nips Harvey for P1in Practice
With Power did a Will Power thing, laying down his quickest lap on the final lap of practice
He nipped Jack Harvey who looked to lead the session until the final seconds.
Power will lead Group 2 I qualifying this afternoon and Harvey will lead Group 1.
AlexaThe nder Rossi finished eighth in the session.
The top 5-
Power
Harvey
Rosenqvist
Hunter-Reay
Scott Dixon was near the bottom of the charts the entire session.
Notes
Much larger crowd today. Still not an abundance of masks or distancing.
I am having issues uploading photos and data. I apologise for the lack of information.
Still very few vendors on site.
Fuel and tire management will be crucial in today’s race. This is a tough track to undercut on pit strategy.
Back after qualifying.
Race Day 1 at Road America
Good morning from the remote Road America media center, located five miles from the track in Plymouth. Talk about distancing.
The NTT Indycar Series begins a four races in nine days stretch toiday with the first of two races at Road America. The REV Group Grand Prix begins at 5:15 Eastern time. NBCSN begins their broadcast at 5 pm Eastern.
Today’s schedule: (All Times Eastern)
Indycar will use the double header qualifying format that is used at Detroit. Practice divides the field into two groups. Each group gets 12 minutes on track. The fastest driver in each group gets a point. The faster of the group leaders is on the pole. On Sunday the order of the groups is reversed.
The 55 laps will require three pit stops. This race will be difficult to run with just two. There have not been any caution laps the last two years.
Spotter’s Guides for today and tomorrow:
Back later with practice results.
The Day at Road America- New Things, Reunions, A Different Atmosphere
First, it was great to back at a race track. Watching cars speed by was good therapy. What I found even better was getting to see friends I would have seen months ago under normal circumstances. The world was right again for a day. In addition to the changes Road America has made for the fans’ health, there are also physical improvements to the facility.
The main photo is the new viewing terrace on the inside of Canada Corner. This four tier area should relieve some of the congestion on the trail. I tried it for a bit. It presents a nice view of a great corner.
The biggest structural improvement is to the concession stand near the paddock. The area had been a crowded jumble of people, picnic tables, and golf cart parking confusion. Now, the entrance is elevated, the building remodeled, and carts can’t park right up to the dining area.
The paddock had a different feel to it. It sat empty until about 4 pm when the transporters began arriving. Seeing the trucks pull in and lineup was exciting. It meant there will be racing tomorrow. The Honda teams are toward turn 14 and the Chevy teams are toward turn 1. Until the transporters arrived, it was sad seeing an empty expanse of concrete that normally is buzzing with activity.
The crowd was small enough that fans could keep distance from each other. I expect a few more people the next two days. It was a smaller crowd than most days at Road America. Masks seemed to more prevalent this afternoon. I talked to some people who arrived later in the day. They did receive a mask and hand sanitizer. I think I enter a different gate tomorrow.
New Spotter Guides
Indycar has released a spotter’s guide for each race this weekend. The only car changing liveries is the 15 of Graham Rahal. I will have those posted no later than tomorrow morning.
Jury Still Out on Crowd Safety
Signs of the times at Road America.. Except for the gift shop not many masks in evidence. Fans entering the track had temperature taken. Did not receive mask or hand sanitizer. I talked to some friends who are camping andIand arrived yesterday. They received a mask and sanitizer upon entry. There are sanitizer stations at various points. Seems as if there are fewer vendor tents. Maybe more will set up tomorrow
Road America First IndyCar Track to Welcome Fans
Good morning from Elkhart Lake. Due to social distancing my seat in the media center is five miles from the track. I can barely see the cars.
Today’s Schedule: All times Central
It will be a pleasant day at the track with a high of 81 predicted for mid afternoon. Rain chances drop to 20% at 8 am then are 15% or less the rest of the day. Last night we had some storms. Milwaukee was under a tornado warning early in the evening. The weekend still looks good.
I’m looking forward to seeing cars on track again. I will also be observing track practices to see how Road America’s plans have worked out in real time. Look for my thoughts this evening.
Today is the day for the Road to Indy to have the track all to themselves. It’s nice when they get a full day on an Indycar weekend.
I will post short bulletins but look for updates on The Pit Window on Facebook and @PitWindowToo on Twitter.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 