Category: Auto Racing

A Word of Thanks

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I have  a few words of thanks to those who made 2019 such an amazing year.  While writing this column annually seems like a trite exercise, I enjoy expressing my appreciation for those who helped the sport and also those who helped me get through the season.

Thank you to:

The Hulman-George family for their 74 years of stewardship and building the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the great event and facility it is today. Thanks also for handing the track to someone intent on preserving the traditions of the place.

Roger Penske for buying IMS, The NTT Indycar Series, and IMS Productions. If the track had to be sold, I’m glad it was to someone who understands what this is all about

Fellow media members for their help and advice. In particular, Eric Smith of Race Review Online, George Phillips of Oilpressure, and Mike Joachim of Pit Lane Parley.

The communications staff at Indycar and IMS.

Track PR and communications directors for their assistance in facilitating onsite coverage.

Everyone on “Team Silver” headquartered in G Stand on Race Day.

The wonderful people in my writing class at the Life Enrichment Center in Tampa. They continue to be a huge inspiration in writing this humble column.

Finally, certainly not least, each one of you who take the time to read The Pit Window. I am humbled by your loyalty and very much appreciate it.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

 

Bourdais Leaves Coyne; Signs with IMSA Team

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Editor’s note: I just arrived at Winter Headquarters and saw the news. Here are some brief thoughts. I will follow up in a day or two.

Photo: Kyle McInnes

The NTT Indycar  Series November of change added another shock today with the announcement of an amicable separation of Sebastien Bourdais and Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan. The news follows the November 4 sale of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the series to Roger Penske and the release of Spencer Pigot from Ed Carpenter Racing. The 2020 grid will look very different from the 2019 grid. Bourdais will race for JDC -Miller in the number 5 Cadillac prototype with Jaoao Barbosa, who drove the same car last year fro Action Express.

The opening raises several questions. Is this where James Hinchcliffe will land? I’ve seen different answers from different sources. Since Honda pulled its support from Bourdais, is that money available for Hinchcliffe? Could Conor Daly take the seat? I’m not sure his Air Force money is enough for a full season. Will we see another driver from Europe driving for Coyne next year?

The 2020 grid is now missing three full time drivers from 2019- Hinchcliffe, Pigot, and Bourdais. I’m still not sure Tony Kanaan will be full time next season.

Meanwhile, the rookie battle for 2020 is set with Oliver Askew at AMSP and Rinus VeeKay at Ed Carpenter Racing. It could be close as both are on teams with fairly similar results in 2019. The outcome may depend on which team improves. AMSP with its new influx of resources or ECR, which is still looking for funding.

Goodbye to a Champion

Bourdais, who will 41 years old by the time the season begins, likely will not return to Indycar. His deal with JDC-Miller is for the next two seasons. Bourdais had a great career in Indycar. He is a four time season champion in ChampCar (2004,2005,2006,2007), has 37 wins, which ranks fourth all time, and  earned 34 poles.

In late 2016 he returned to race in the last couple if races in that season after his horrible crash in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. In 2017 Bourdais won the season opener at his hometown of St. Pete and repeated the victory the following year.

I was fortunate to see several of his wins. My favorite was at Milwaukee in 2015 when Bourdais took the lead halfway through the race and ran away from the rest of the field.

 

 

 

VeeKay Signs with ECR

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From Ed Carpenter Racing this morning. more this evening.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RINUS VEEKAY SELECTED BY ED CARPENTER RACING TO CONTEST FULL 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SEASON
19-Year-Old Dutch Driver Joins ECR Full-Time in the No. 21 Chevrolet
(INDIANAPOLIS) November 20, 2019 – Ed Carpenter Racing announced today it will welcome Rinus VeeKay as the full-time driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season. The 19-year-old joins ECR after a meteoric rise through the Road to Indy ranks and a second-place finish in this year’s Indy Lights championship. As VeeKay begins his Indy car career, he will benefit from the guidance of team owner Ed Carpenter, who will be driving in his 18th season.
Born in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Rinus van Kalmthout began karting in 2009 at the age of 8. With sights set firmly on the NTT IndyCar Series, he transitioned to the Road to Indy in 2017 and launched his U.S. career driving as Rinus VeeKay. He found immediate success, following up a second-place finish in the 2017 USF2000 standings with the 2018 Indy Pro 2000 title. His championship season included seven wins, 10 podium finishes and the Road to Indy career advancement scholarship, which placed him just one step below his ultimate goal. For the 2019 Indy Lights season, VeeKay claimed six race wins and finished on the podium 14 of 18 times en route to a runner-up finish in the standings. In all, the Dutch teenager earned 16 Road to Indy victories and 36 podium finishes in just 48 races.
The newest addition to ECR is ecstatic to have reached the pinnacle of North American open-wheel racing. “I’m so happy!” exclaimed VeeKay. “It’s a dream come true and something we have worked extremely hard for over the last couple of years. To step up from USF2000 to the NTT IndyCar Series in three years is really special.”
VeeKay got his first taste of an NTT IndyCar Series car in August when Carpenter selected him for an evaluation test at Portland International Raceway. A second successful test followed at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in October, confirming VeeKay’s compatibility with the Indianapolis-based team. Days later, he stepped back into an Indy Lights car at the Chris Griffis Memorial Road to Indy Test and set the fastest time in all six sessions. VeeKay will now focus solely on the NTT IndyCar Series, competing with ECR as a true Indy car rookie throughout the 2020 season.
“I have been following Rinus’s path through the Road to Indy, especially the past two years,” commented Carpenter. “It was clear to me that he deserves to be in an Indy car. After his first day in a car at Portland this past season, that feeling became even more apparent. His pace, feedback and demeanor inside the car was very impressive for such a young driver.”
Since ECR’s inception in 2012, the No. 21 Chevrolet has always featured an Indy Lights graduate, a trend that will continue with VeeKay. ECR has shown versatility by earning seven wins on each style of track the series competes on – street and road courses, short ovals and speedways. The team currently boasts 28 Top 5 finishes, 20 of which have been podiums. ECR Chevrolets have started on the front row of the Indianapolis 500 six of the past seven years, including Carpenter’s three pole positions. In 2019, ECR was the only multi-car team to have their entire lineup make a run for the coveted first starting position and would ultimately start second, third and fourth.
“I would like to thank Ed Carpenter and his partners for this great opportunity and trust,” continued VeeKay. “The number of available seats in the NTT IndyCar Series is very limited, so it’s a great honor that they have chosen me to join their team. I would like to thank Jumbo, La Place, KNAF TeamNL, my new partner Basic-Fit, all my other partners, my manager Charles Crews, but most all my family who made this all happen. I’m really looking forward to the start of the season.”
Carpenter echoed VeeKay’s enthusiasm for the upcoming year. “We’re very excited for the 2020 season to get here and have an ECR car return to Victory Lane!”
The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series will see ECR continue to compete with two full-time entries, the No. 20 and No. 21. While the No. 21 will feature VeeKay for the full season, Carpenter will continue as oval driver of the No. 20 in his 18th season of Indy car competition. The road and street course seat for the No. 20 is still under consideration and will be announced at a later date. VeeKay will make his NTT IndyCar Series debut with the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 15, 2020.
After a meteoric rise through the Road to Indy ranks, Rinus VeeKay has joined Ed Carpenter Racing as driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet. VeeKay, a native of the Netherlands, will be the team’s full-time driver for the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series season. The 19-year-old will make his Indy car debut on March 15, 2020 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
With his sights set firmly on the NTT IndyCar Series, Rinus VeeKay transitioned to the Road to Indy. In only three years, VeeKay finished second in the 2017 USF2000 points, won the 2018 Indy Pro 2000 championship and was runner-up in the 2019 Indy Lights standings. VeeKay will now focus solely on the NTT IndyCar Series as driver of Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 21, a car that has always featured an Indy Lights graduate.
About Ed Carpenter Racing
Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) first entered the NTT IndyCar Series in 2012. The Indianapolis-based race team has proven its versatility by collecting seven wins on each type of track the series competes on – street and road courses, short ovals and speedways. ECR is led by IndyCar’s only team owner/driver, Ed Carpenter, three-time pole winner for the Indianapolis 500 (2013, 2014 and 2018). The 2020 season will see Dutch teenager Rinus VeeKay make his Indy car debut as full-time driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet. Carpenter will compete in his 18th season, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet in all oval events. More information on Ed Carpenter Racing may be found at http://www.edcarpenterracing.com/.
About Rinus VeeKay
19-year-old Dutch phenom, Rinus VeeKay, will achieve his dream of becoming a full-time IndyCar driver, piloting the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season. The Hoofddorp, Netherlands native arrives on the grid as the youngest competitor in the field and with high honor after a successful career in the Road to Indy development series. After finishing runner up in the 2017 USF2000 Championship, VeeKay graduated to the Indy Pro 2000 championship, where he dominated the 2018 season and won the Road to Indy scholarship to compete in Indy Lights in 2019. After six impressive victories leading to a runner-up result in the Indy Lights championship, VeeKay tallied an impressive 16 race wins and 36 podium finishes in just 48 races in his Road to Indy career. You can follow the Dutch rookie via his website RinusVeeKay.com as well as his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

iRacing: Constantini Wins Open-Wheels .com 500

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Michele Constantini saved enough fuel on Sunday to win the inaugural open-Wheels.com 500 Presented by Mitchell transmissions. In contrast to Saturday’s Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, when he ran out of fuel on the last lap, Constantini began saving fuel after the first caution at the midway point of the race. The final caution with four laps to go erased any doubt that he had enough to complete the distance.

Constantini led a race high 63 laps, first taking the lead on lap 29 and assuming the point for the last time on lap 190. “I was good to go even without the caution,” he said after the race.

“I began saving fuel after the first caution. Yesterday really helped me.”

The win was Constantini’s first in a major event. “The car was amazing,” he said.

Runner-up Liam Quinn admitted he could’nt have caught the winner. Third place Henry Bennett lurked in second place while trying to save fuel and hoping Constantini would need to get a splash of fuel at the end. Quinn passed him as he was going slow. bennett admitted afterwards that the race ending caution saved his third place.

Pole sitter Yang Ou had issues from the start and was never a factor in the race. He finished 24th, three laps down.

The top five:

Michele Constantin

Liam Quinn

Henry Bennett

Simon Briant

Adam Blocker

Notes

The race was extremely clean with just two cautions for seven laps. The first yellow came on lap 98 and the second one on lap 196 efffctively ended the race.

There were 52 lead changes among 12 drivers.

24 cars were running at the finish. Dylan Freckelton did not start and was awarded 33rd place.

despitre his lap 196 incident, Jeff Drake still came home in 10th on the lead lap.

17 cars finished on the lead lap.

 

iRacing: It’s Open-Wheels 500 Race Day

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Race day has arrived for the inaugural   Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions. Yang Ou, who came out of retirement for this race will lead the field to the green flag at 11:45EST this morning. Anyone in the first three rows could win the race, which features seven former winners of past iterations of this event.

Pre race activities begin soon. Race  Director Tanner J. Watkins shares today’s viewing opportunities:

Pre-race airing of Today at the 500 presented by Thru Kaiser’s Visor begins at 9:00 AM ET, and we think you will enjoy not only the into theme, but the rest of the pre-race ceremonies. You can listen along by going to http://open-wheels.com/Today500 Then at 11:15 AM ET, hop on over to https://iracing.com/Live for the worldwide broadcast of the race via RaceSpot TV. Finally, live timing and scoring (provided by JRT) can be found at http://open-wheels.com/timing. See you all soon!

Wild Action on the Day Before the 500

yesterday’s two events provided some wild on track action.  In the Veterans 100, Lluc Ibanez won after 40 laps of lead swapping with several other drivers. cars were thre and four wide at the stripe for much of the race.  Jeff Drake led much of the race from the pole, but faded toward the end.

In the Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window, Michele Constantini gambled pitting a lap earlier than the rest of the field. It cost him at the end as he ran out of fuel on the last lap. Brad Lichtenberg went on to take the victory.  Constantini had built a 2.8 second lead following his final stop, but the margin was quickly erased as he tried to save fuel to get to the finish.

Congratulations to Tanner Watkins

Tanner John Watkins has worked tirelessly to put this event together from organizing, finding sponsors, creating peripheral items, and running the races and qualifying. He has got to be one tired guy today.

I want to thank him for all his hard work. it has been fun following along this month, in spite of that small distraction on November 4.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the race program, go to

Click to access 2019-Open-Wheels-500-Digital-Program-compressed.pdf

This program is extremely well done.  back with a race recap this evening.

iRacing Update: Open Wheels 500 Weekend Veterans 100, Pit Stop Competition on Tap Today

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Today’s schedule:

“Day Before the 500”

9:00 to 10:00 AM | Today at the 500 streaming show airing
11:00 AM | Optional Drivers Meeting
12:30 to 1:30 PM | Final 500 Mile Race Practice Session (1 hour)
2:00 PM | Veterans 100 Race presented by Goke (40 Laps, 100 Miles)
3:30 PM | Pit Stop Competition presented by The Pit Window (30 Laps, 75 Miles)

Qualifying results for the Veterans 100:

Click to access 2019-Veterans-100-Qualifications-Results.pdf

The Pit Stop Competition is different from the one at the Indianapolis 500.  I actually like this idea better.

Round One- Four heats of 12 laps with the top four in each heat advancing to the final round.

Round Two- The top 16 drivers participate in a 20 lap race.

In each heat and the final, cars have only 17% of full fuel load, necessitating pit stops. When they pit, the car can only be filled to the 17% level, just a bit more than three gallons. According to Race Director Tanner John Watkins, drivers will need to pit every three  or four laps. Stops will be crucial to winning the race.

Action can be viewed on twitchtv. https//twitch.tv/openwheels

Tomorrow the Open-Wheels 500 presented by Mitchell Transmissions begins at 11:45 am EST. The race can be seen on RaceSpot TV. Go to

https.//iRacing.com/live

 

Movie Review : Ford vs. Ferrari

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I’m not sure Ford vs. Ferrari is the appropriate title for this film. Shelby vs. Ford, Miles vs. Beebe, or The Ken Miles Story might have more aptly described the content. Ferrari plays just a small part in the overall plot. The good news is this is a very entertaining film, well acted by Matt Damon and Christian Bale. It features some decent racing sequences of LeMans, including some shots at night. I found those especially good.

The first two thirds of the film focuses on Henry Ford II’s plan to pull his company out of its sales slump. In the early sixties, sales had dropped as the baby boomers sought sleeker, faster cars. He decides on the quick fix of buying financially strapped Ferrari. On the verge of the sale, Enzo Ferrari rejects the offer because  he would lose of the control of the racing program. Ferrari then accepts an offer from Fiat for the same price.

Ford soon introduces the Mustang under Lee Iacocca’s direction and plans to build a LeMans car to beat Ferrari. They reach an agreement with Carroll Shelby to build what became the Ford GT40.  Shelby and his friend and test driver Ken Miles don’t exactly see eye to eye with the Ford executives. Miles and Leo Beebe in particular don’t care for each other. Shelby and Miles are abrasive characters who have issues following the company line.  However, when they win the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, Ford grudgingly gives them some respect.

After Ford’s disastrous showing in the 1965 24 Hours of LeMans, Shelby’s team continues to develop the car with the aid of a larger 427 engine. Miles, who was not allowed to drive in the 1965 race, starts the 1966 event and charges from a lap down at the start to a commanding lead. The controversial finish of that year’s race, dictated by Leo Beebe, is still contentious.

If you go expecting lots of racing, you will be disappointed. Almost all the racing footage takes place in the last third of the movie. I was expecting more racing. There are lots of shots of the speedometer(?) and the tachometer hitting 7,000 rpm. And of course some crash scenes, a few of which seemed gratuitous.

A subplot involves Miles, his supportive wife, and his son Peter, who adores his father. Theses scenes help round out Miles’ character and give him a sympathetic touch. Shelby races vicariously through Miles after Shelby’s career was cut short by a heart condition.

As a film Ford vs Ferrari is entertaining. I liked the depictions of the characters, especially since last week I read Go Like Hell. I found their screen portrayal true to the book. I was a bit disappointed that most of the other stars of the era were not depicted, even in a cameo. Several were mentioned, but not portrayed.

My book review: https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/90591962/posts/2484338576

If you want to see a racing movie with lots of racing, I recommend Rush or Grand Prix. I recommend Ford vs Ferrari as a study of the era when the business model of racing began to change as Ferrari’s dominance begins to fade from the sports car scene.