Category: Auto Racing

Auto Racing in the Olympics?

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The Olympics head towards their conclusion this coming weekend, and the NBC forced auto racing moratorium will mercifully end. As I stated in my post on Monday, IMSA showed that Peacock could show a race during the international games festival. I have seen several posts on social media suggesting that auto racing should be an Olympic sport.

I disagree for many reasons. First, the Olympics games are about what can be achieved by using the human body to run, jump, throw, flex, lift, or push. Racing involves motorized assistance which is not in the Olympic spirit. While there are some events I don’t think belong in the Olympics, I get why they are there.

Auto racing as an Olympic sport would have several major hurdles. Races are not inexpensive to stage, a location needs to be secured, a neutral type of car would be required, and how many teams would be willing to allow their drivers to participate?

Racing as an Olympic sport would require an IROC type car, identically prepared spec machines, which would likely favor sports car or NASCAR drivers. The track would need to be one that could provide decent competition, and not one that creates a track position contest.

I am sure drivers would be eager to participate in a series of races in the Olympics, but would their team owners be as enthusiastic? I can’t see Red Bull allowing Max Verstappen to take two weeks off for the Olympics, or Chip Ganassi letting Scott Dixon drive for New Zealand at an Olympic racing event.

Who would finance the racing events? Would national Olympic committees want to take on the added and not small expenses of racing? Would current team sponsors be willing to contribute even more funds to the team for this effort?

If racing occurs during the Olympics, I would rather see each series conduct their own regular season events. I don’t see Olympic auto racing as a viable option for an exhibition all-star series. Let’s leave that type of thing for the off season.

So It Can Be Done

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I knew the IMSA Weather Tech Schedule, but the Road America date didn’t register with me as falling during the Olympics. Why? because NBC had made a huge point to Indycar and NASCAR that they needed to put all their resources and personnel into the Olympics. Neither series would have a race on the network for three weeks. Yet, on the second week of the international quadrennial sports festival, here we have an IMSA race exclusively on Peacock.

Is IMSA can have a race exclusively on peacock, why couldn’t Indycar of Nascar have put on an event during this time? None of the Indycar or NASCAR talent outside of Leigh Diffey is in Paris. Georgia Henneberry, who usually works the pits for Indycar, was at road America doing her usual excellent job.

Apparently IMSA isn’t worried about ratings as much Indycar or NASCAR is, but the bar of expectations is not high for a peacock only event anyway. So, an Indycar race this weekend was possible.

I was grateful to have a race to watch this weekend, but allowing this race during the Olympics shoots down NBC’s argument that racing was not possible during this time.

As a result, Indycar will cram five races into a four week period, somewhat neutralizing the welcome break from a packed summer schedule. I jus think NBC wasn’t upfront about why the three week break was necessary. It’s obvious from yesterday that the network had the capacity to show races from Indycar and NASCAR.

Another Penske Win

Team Penske is having quite the season across all series. A 1-2 finish yesterday added to its Indianapolis 500 front row lockout and race win, its podium sweep at Road America, pole at Le Mans, and WEC victories.

The race itself was a disjointed affair with a plethora of caution periods interrupting periods of really good racing in the GTP and GT classes.

The pit reporting was outstanding. Georgia Henneberry and Chris Willner had timely interviews with drivers which provided context to the on track action.

I felt commercial breaks were way too frequent and much too long, especially with minimal side by side breaks. There were enough caution periods that all the advertising obligations could have been met before the final segment of the race. The three minute full screen break with 11 minutes to go and the outcome in doubt was a disservice to viewers.

Jamie Chadwick Indycar Test Set

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It was just a matter of time.

Indy NXT driver Jamie Chadwick will have her first Indycar test September 30 at Barber Motorsports Park September 30. The test with Andretti Global, her current team, comes in her second year in Indy NXT and is seen as a step toward an Indycar ride.

Chadwick, 26, is a two time champion of the European W Series, and she won her first Indy NXT race at Road America on June 9. She has shown steady improvement.

On her X account, Chadwick posted,

“Incredibly excited and a massive thank you to the team for the opportunity.”

Mahoney to Test at IMS Road Course

F2 driver Zane Mahoney will test today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Mahoney is fourth in the F2 standings.

RLL has an opening for next year as Christian Lundgaard will move to Arrow Mclaren.

The State Fair Century-A Forgotten Gem of a Race

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Photo: Paul Goldsmith, inaugural winner of the State Fair Century

The Indiana State Fair opens Friday, and once again the only racing will be one horsepower competitors. From 1962 until 1977, The State Fair Century, a USAC stock car race, was part of the state fair or held just after its conclusion.

Paul Goldsmith won the inaugural race, and A. J. Foyt won the next three races. Foyt would win two more times. Don White, however, later won the six times at the fairgrounds He won four in a row beginning in August,1966, a sweep of the two 1977 races, and the June race in 1968. White won 52 races in his ISAC stock career, a record that will stand forever

The 1963 program featured the first winner on the cover

.USAC had a stock car division, which began in 1956, USAC’s first year of operation. NASCAR qat the time was a competitor, but still trying to find its way onto the national stage. Several drivers raced in both series. My favorite State Fair century was 1964. One could say Foyt was having a pretty good year. he won the Indianapolis 500, won seven Indycar races in a row on his way to 10 victories, and he also dabbled in sprints and stock cars

The September 9 event at the fairgrounds began with A. J losing the engine in his car before qualifying. For the race he took over teammate Len Sutton’s car and started last in the 30 car field. I watched as he went outside on the backstretch on lap one and passed four rows of cars. On laps he picked off five more cars. Foyt took the lead with 39 laps to go and won from last place. The 1964 win was the middle of his three consecutive victories in this race.

Foyt after winning his third Sate fair Century in a row in 1965. He took the with less than five laps to go when leader Paul Goldsmith ran out of fuel.

In 1966, a mid summer stock car race was added, the first year in July, The early race did not have a long history. and then in June. No summer race took place in 1971. The race returned in 1972 but ran for just three years.

The race associated with state fair ran through 1977, with the exception of 1976. The final time on the mile dirt oval 1977 in May, just nine days before the Indianapolis 500.

23 stock car races ran at the fairgrounds. The Hoosier Hundred, once the world’s richest dirt track race for Indycar, has also taken its place history’s trophy case.

The decision to remove auto racing from the track was in response to the horse owners, who wanted the track solely for the use of their trotters.

To this day i find it odd that the Indiana State Fair does not include an auto race on their program. Indiana had more than 100 car manufacturers at one time. And there’s that race in May on the other side of town which is kind of a big deal.

The Fair is not a complete showcase of the state without racing. I hope one day there is a path for cars to return. This is Indiana.

Stock Car Winners at the Indiana State Fairgrounds

Summer Break Musings

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Just one week into Indycar’s summer break and I am ready for more racing. The forced Olympic break allows the mind to drift into weird territory. Thus, today’s post is born.

First, some positive news. Alexander Rossi underwent successful surgery on his broken thumb suffered in a practice crash in Toronto. he should be back for the next race at World Wide Technology Raceway the weekend of August 16-17.

Attrition and Cautions

After the Toronto race, it seemed to me that Indycar has had more cars drop out of races this year than is usually the case. I also thought there were more caution periods and laps under yellow than in previous years.

I compared 2024 and 2023 through 12 races. To my surprise, the numbers are pretty much the same with one exception. the number of caution periods.

In the dozen races so far this season, there have been 52 caution periods compared to just 38 in 2023. However, the number of laps under yellow are not significantly different. the field has trailed the pace car for 239 laps this season. Last year after 12 races, 231 laps were run under yellow.

In spite of the ferocity of some of the crashes, injuries to drivers have been minimal, thanks to the safety built into the cars and the outstanding work of the AMR Safety Team

While there have been more full course yellow flags in the current season, 30 of the 53 caution periods have lasted five laps or less.

While it appears that fewer cars are finishing races this season, 53 cars have been sidelined before the finish in 2024. In 2023, 54 cars did not see the checkered flag. This total does not include cars involved in accidents that returned to the races. The damage bills have been significant, and we are just two thirds of the way through the year with four ovals remaining. Buy Dallara stock now.

Not So Quick Toronto Thoughts

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Toronto was arguably the most entertaining race since the Indianapolis 500. We had a driver out front all day while chaos reigned behind him. Neither numerous cautions nr a late red flag deterred Herta from a long overdue victory.

Total dominance by a driver and his team. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood were the class of the field at Toronto today. While Herta won, Kirkwood did an equally fine job running interference for his teammate.

We have seen drivers lead several sessions during a race weekend, but they did not win the race. I don’t recall a driver leading every session plus winning the pole and the race. What dominance by Colton Herta and Andretti Global.

Herta ended his 41 race winless streak. He has been so close all year. Today the breaks fell his way.

Herta has won two of the last three poles.

Why Palou Won’t be Caught for the Title

The opportunity for Alex Palou’s three closest pursuers was ripe for the taking. Palou started 18th due to a questionable qualifying penalty. Will Power started ninth, Scott Dixon rolled off 15th, and Pato O’Ward lined up 14th. All looked to make big gains on the points leader.

We have seen this movie before. Power had the best opportunity to slice into Palou’s lead, but a penalty for avoidable contact on lap 81 dropped him to 12th.

Palou finished fourth and increased his lead to 49 points. Days like this strengthen my belief that Palou will win the title, but it will be close and may come down the final pit stop at Nashville.

Bad Day for Team Penske

In addition to Power’s troubles, Josef Newgarden started seventh and had worked his way up to third. An issue on his second stop put him deep in the field. Newgarden had worked back into the top 10, but overshoot a corner. He rejoined the race, but could only get back to 11th.

Scott Mclaughlin had the fastest Chevy all weekend, and he aqppeared to be the one car that could challenge Herta. Going side by side with Will power on lap 77, Power moved into his teammate, putting the New Zealander into the wall.

Safety

For the second week in a row, praise must go to the aeroscreen and the AMR Safety Crew.

Santino Ferrucci got airborne and into the fence, and he landed upside down like his teammate Sting Ray Robb did at Iowa. Ferrucci was unhurt. Nolan Siegel also got airborne but landed on all fours.

The safety fencing held up during Ferrucci;’s contact. It bent but flexed right back into position.

Notes

Recognition needs to go to Theo Pourchaire and Toby Sowery. Pourchaire started 26th after flying from France yesterday and driving on a track he had never seen. He finished 14th.

Sowery drove in just his second Indycar race. He started 21st, avoided the carnage, and finished 15th.

Rinus VeeKay has three consecutive top 10s. he was eighth today, fifth in race 1 at Iowa, and ninth race 2.

Juncos Hollinger racing has improved their qualifying results and are starting to show some good race results. Bothe Romain Grosjean and Agustin Canapino made the second round in qualifying. Grosjean finished ninth today.

Indycar is on an NBC imposed break for the Olympics. Then series returns August 16 and 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Herta Stays Ahead of the Pack

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Colton Herta has just one more session to lead as he turned the quickest time in this morning’s 30 minute warmup session.

The tune-up was interrupted about halfway through when Toby Sowery spun and stalled facing the wrong way off of turn 10. Even if he had been able to restart the car on his own, it would have been difficult know when it would have been safe to move because he was in a blind spot.

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