Qualifying for the ABC Supply 500 has been cancelled. The field will line up according to entrant points. There will be a two hour practice once the helicopter arrives. Time of the practice is TBA at the moment.
Josef Newgarden will start on the pole with Alexander Rossi beside him.
I will keep you updated as to when the practice session is scheduled. .
Heavy rain has begun falling at Pocono Raceway. Today’s activities are on an indefinite hold. Indycar made the correct call in time to get the cars back to the paddock.
Any track activity today will be mid to late afternoon.
Practice 1 at Pocono has been delayed but not cancelled yet according to a source at the track. A storm cell approaching the track and a low ceiling all morning has prevented the medical helicopter from getting to the track.
Qualifying could be delayed or cancelled and the grid set by points. If that occurs, there will be a practice session later in the day. It’s possible if Indycar decides to conduct qualfying that there will be an abbreviated practice before it. There are several possibilities. It depends on when or if rain arrives, track drying time, and getting the helicopter to the track.
No word yet on how the schedule will be adjusted. I will post an update when I get information.
Good morning. It’s practice and qualifying day at Pocono Raceway for the ABC Supply 500.
Today’s schedule: All Times Eastern
Practice 1- 9:30-10:30
Qualifying 12:30-1:45
Practice 2 4:00-5:00
All sessions are streamed on NBC Gold. Qualifying will be shown delayed on NBCSN at 2:30. My Quick Thoughts will post after the television broadcast.
The race is the first of the last four races of the season and the first of three consecutive weekends of racing. After all the wild nes of the past ten days, it will be great to re-focus on the championship. After tomorrow we should have a clearer picture of how many drivers will still be in contention. I still thin k going into Portland we will be down to a two man battle between Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden.
I will be back after the first practice with a summary and some thoughts on the latest news.
Saturday All Times Eastern
Practice 1- 9:30-10:30 NBC Gold
Qualifications 12:30-1:45 NBC Gold
2:30-4:00 NBCSN delayed broadcast
Practice 2 4:00-5:00 NBC Gold
Sunday
Race coverage 2:00-6:00 NBCSN
Green flag scheduled for about 2:45
The NTT Indycar Series returns to on track action after a break that saw lots of offtrack action. In the week ahead of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway Indycar announced a plan to implement a hybrid component to the new engine in 2022, and McLaren joined the series as part of the former Arrow Schmidt Peterson team. The shock waves from the McLaren announcement are still being felt.
Like the recent announcements, this year’s Pocono race has more questions than answers. Will the race be on the 2020 schedule? Is Pocono going to be on the schedule every three years, as I have heard? Will Richmond replace this event next year?
Having a race at a track every three years destroys date equity. Attendance has been an issue for Pocono since it returned to the schedule. I have heard reports of an uptick in ticket sales for this year. How do you keep fans interested for the next two years with no race? If the series races at one track every three years, do they race somewhere else for two years then take a break from that track? That leaves two tracks without date equity and a struggle to build a fan base. I don’t think returning to tracks every two or three years is in Indycar’s best interests. End of rant, back to the race.
Getting back on track will be a welcome relief to many. There is still a close championship to decide. Josef Newgarden leads Alexander Rossi by just 16 points, Simon Pagenaud is 47 points off the lead, and Scott Dixon has pulled to within 62 points. With four races left, the title is too close to call.
The 2019 race will be the 26th Indycar race at Pocono. The series first raced at the triangular track from 1971-1989, but then didn’t return until 2013. Juan Pablo Montoya drove the fastest 500 mile race in history in 2014, averaging 202.402 miles an hour. he is the only driver to win at this track from the pole since the series returned. Be4tween 1971 and 1989 the pole winner won the race 6 times. A. J. Foyt and Rick Mears each won twice from the pole.
Will Power won two in a row in 2016 and 2017. He finished second last year. There have been five different winners the last six years. Rossi dominated last year’s race after the red flag for Robert Wickens’s accident. Rossi finished third in 2017.
There have been some tragic incidents at the track the last four years. In addition to Wickens’s crash last year, Justin Wilson lost his life in a freak accident in 2015. A piece from another car flew the air and struck Wilson in the head. I hope NBCSN doesn’t show either of theses incidents during the race coverage. In the oepening of the Toronto race the network showed one still of Wickens just before his car left the track. I felt that was tasteful enough. Let’s leave it at that.
This will be an intriguing weekend. Power has been the best driver at Pocono for the last three years, and he is still looking for his first win of the season. Should he get back to the top of the podium, he takes points away from his teammates Newgarden and Pagenaud. Chevrolet should have a power advantage this weekend, although the six races since 2013 are evenly split between Honda and Chevy.
I look for Alexander Rossi to win his second straight ABC Supply 500 and close the gap on Newgarden. He could possibly take the points lead, but probably not by a lot. Power will again be strong and likely grab a podium spot.
Open-Wheels Staff
August 12, 2019 | 2:00 PM
The “Day Before the 500” has its first presenting sponsor as The Pit Window will become the official sponsor of the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition. The fun event will be held Saturday, November 16 following the final one-hour Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race practice session and the Veterans 100.
“To partner with Mike Silver and his website, The Pit Window, is an exciting venture and I am happy he jumped on-board to help sponsor our pit stop competition,” said Tanner Watkins, owner and editor of Open-Wheels.com and the president of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race.
“Mike’s passion for IndyCar racing and this history of racing at Indianapolis is evident in his coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series on The Pit Window, and I am thankful that his passion has spilled over into sim racing! Mike is a worthy partner and I look forward to working with him throughout the month of November.”
The Pit Stop Competition will be a 40-lap race in the Dallara IR-18 Indy car with reduced fuel tank capacity and no yellow flags. The emphasis will be placed on drivers who can not only be quick on-track, but speedy and efficient coming in and out of the pit lane. The winner of the race will take home a cash prize as well.
“The Pit Window is proud to sponsor the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition in conjunction with the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race,” said Mike Silver, the owner of The Pit Window. “This event fits perfectly with The Pit Window‘s goal of engaging fans of open-wheel racing with IndyCar racing and related activities.”
The Pit Window is a helpful and insightful website that Silver uses to document the Indianapolis 500, the history of IndyCar, and even the latest current-day news around American open-wheel racing.
“Since I began The Pit Window in 2016 I have taken a look at the history of IndyCar in general, with a focus on the Indianapolis 500,” adds Silver. “Many times, my posts are from my personal experiences at the Indianapolis 500. I have been fortunate enough to meet many past winners.
“The Pit Window also provides coverage every race weekend with commentary and keeps fans up to date on the latest news. You can find The Pit Window at thepitwindow.blog, @PitWindow on Twitter, and on Facebook at by searching “The Pit Window.”
Drivers can register for the Open-Wheels Pit Stop Competition when they submit their entry to the 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race. The entry form will go live on Tuesday, October 1 and will be accessible via Open-Wheels.com, the iRacing forums and Open-Wheels’ social media outlets.
The 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions will go green on Sunday, November 17, broadcast live by RaceSpot TV.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 