From Last Night Opening Day- Reunions, Bumps, Thumps, and Brakes

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It was a great opening day for Indycar. Fans reunited after a long winter, cars ran two very active sessions, and there was also some good news regarding major partners.  Let’s start with the good news first.

Chevrolet and Honda signed multi-year extensions with the series, joining extensions already in place with Firestone and Dallara. Added to the date equity established with the long range schedule, the series continues to gain stability.  One thought I have is did Chevy and Honda sign these extensions because a third engine manufacturer is close to coming on board?  That may or may not be a factor.  We shall see.

I was at the track only 5 minutes before I began seeing familiar faces. It was great catching up with so many people today. I will get to meet up with others tomorrow.  This the greatest thing about the first race of the year.

The practice sessions were very busy. The new tire allotment seemed to accomplish one of its goals, to have cars on track most of a session. No one ran the reds in the morning. I didn’t expect they would, since the afternoon round was about the time qualifying will be tomorrow. In the afternoon, some cars ran reds most of the time, some started on blacks and switched. I think there a few who ran blacks the entire time.  Marco Andretti and Scott Dixon led the morning and afternoon, respectively.  Both drive Hondas. Honda cars dominated the top ten in both sessions.  Could tomorrow be a different story? What was different about today was the number of Hondas in the top ten.  They have led practice rounds,  but usually did not have many others in the top ten.

Parts of the track were repaved, but drivers still complain about how bumpy it is. This has always been a bumpy track, and probably always will be.  There are still issues with brake heating. Spencer Pigot ran just a few laps before he was called in because his brakes were overheating. Indycar approved duct work modifications to help cool the brakes, but it looks like there is still some work to do.  This could have an effect on the outcome of the race Sunday. Sato’s crash in the afternoon may have been brake related.

Will Power had a crash in turn 10 in the morning practice. There was damage to the rear wing assembly. He rebounded to finish second in the afternoon. This accident was mild compared to his shunt last year on opening day.

Qualifying tomorrow will answer the question, is Honda better this year? A pole would be a definite answer, though three cars in the Fast 6 would also show progress.  As Scott Dixon said after the final practice today, “It’s Friday. It means nothing.”

A sad note to end on. John Surtees, former motorcycle and F1 champion, and championship car builder died today at the age of 83. He is the only person to win world championships in two forms of motorsport.   The car he drove to the world title, and a car he built are on display at the Barber Vintage Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. If you’re going to the race at Barber, visit the museum. It is well worth your time.

ICYMI: St. Pete Preview- Penske Party on the Beach

Opening Race Weekend is finally here. Gosh, it seems like it’s been a long time.  The Firestone Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – green flag Sunday at 12:30 on ABC -again begins the season. This is my fifth time at this race.  I have seen this event grow a lot since my first trip […]

thepitwindow

Opening Race Weekend is finally here. Gosh, it seems like it’s been a long time.  The Firestone Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – green flag Sunday at 12:30 on ABC -again begins the season. This is my fifth time at this race.  I have seen this event grow a lot since my first trip here, especially the last two years.

Friday’s practices may tell us how much the Hondas have improved. We will also get to see how Ganassi and Foyt cars are adjusting to their new engines and aero packages. Honda believes they will be better since the same package as last year is mandated for this year. Of course, Chevy has likely made some gains as well. Qualifying will be the main indicator of where Honda stands.

As far as the race, Penske dominates this race. The team has won eight of the twelve races here, including the last two and three of the last four.  I don’t see a change in this trend. One Penske driver is particularly motivated to win this race.  Will Power won the pole last year but missed the race due to what was believed to be a concussion.  Sitting out probably cost him the season title. Look for Will in Victory Lane Sunday. He easily could be joined by two teammates on the podium, though I would not rule out a Honda driver sneaking in there.

I am eager to see how the new push to pass format plays out.  Drivers have 150 seconds total to use as they wish. each push can last up to 15 seconds if they wish. It cannot be used at the start of the race or on restarts except for a restart with 2 laps or fewer left. I hope there isn’t ever a restart that late.  Will starts be more bunched up? I’m glad I’m sitting in Turn 1.

Things that may take a while to adjust to:

Scott Dixon in a blue car

J R Hildebrand in the 21

Josef Newgarden in the 2

A number 4 Foyt car

Bourdais in the 18

 

Great Idea:

Just before I began writing this piece on Wednesday, I saw a tweet from Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports called “Our Starting Lineup”.  It listed the race pit crew by position, their faces placed around a car outline. These guys work hard and it’s great that their team is recognizing them in this way. I hope other teams follow this example.

I will send out reports from the track Friday and Saturday. Let me know if there is any information you’d like me to get and I’ll do my best to get it to you. If you’re going to the race, I hope to meet you if I haven’t yet.

 

ICYMI: St. Pete Preview- Penske Party on the Beach

thepitwindow1 Comment

Opening Race Weekend is finally here. Gosh, it seems like it’s been a long time.  The Firestone Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – green flag Sunday at 12:30 on ABC -again begins the season. This is my fifth time at this race.  I have seen this event grow a lot since my first trip here, especially the last two years.

Friday’s practices may tell us how much the Hondas have improved. We will also get to see how Ganassi and Foyt cars are adjusting to their new engines and aero packages. Honda believes they will be better since the same package as last year is mandated for this year. Of course, Chevy has likely made some gains as well. Qualifying will be the main indicator of where Honda stands.

As far as the race, Penske dominates this race. The team has won eight of the twelve races here, including the last two and three of the last four.  I don’t see a change in this trend. One Penske driver is particularly motivated to win this race.  Will Power won the pole last year but missed the race due to what was believed to be a concussion.  Sitting out probably cost him the season title. Look for Will in Victory Lane Sunday. He easily could be joined by two teammates on the podium, though I would not rule out a Honda driver sneaking in there.

I am eager to see how the new push to pass format plays out.  Drivers have 150 seconds total to use as they wish. each push can last up to 15 seconds if they wish. It cannot be used at the start of the race or on restarts except for a restart with 2 laps or fewer left. I hope there isn’t ever a restart that late.  Will starts be more bunched up? I’m glad I’m sitting in Turn 1.

Things that may take a while to adjust to:

Scott Dixon in a blue car

J R Hildebrand in the 21

Josef Newgarden in the 2

A number 4 Foyt car

Bourdais in the 18

 

Great Idea:

Just before I began writing this piece on Wednesday, I saw a tweet from Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports called “Our Starting Lineup”.  It listed the race pit crew by position, their faces placed around a car outline. These guys work hard and it’s great that their team is recognizing them in this way. I hope other teams follow this example.

I will send out reports from the track Friday and Saturday. Let me know if there is any information you’d like me to get and I’ll do my best to get it to you. If you’re going to the race, I hope to meet you if I haven’t yet.

 

Indycar Season Preview- Racing in Place While Waiting for 2018

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Some news updates this morning:

Jay Howard will be in the No. 77 car, the one Tony Stewart’s Foundation is running under Sam Schmidt’s team, for the Indianapolis 500. This will be Howard’s second 500. His first was in 2011, where he started 20th and finished 30th.

Scott Dixon’s car will be sponsored by GE LED light bulbs at St. Pete this weekend. The team is still looking for a season long sponsor and hopes to have something in place by Long Beach..

 

This will be a year of waiting. We are waiting for the new look car in 2018; waiting to see if a third engine manufacturer is on the horizon. Meanwhile, we should see a year similar to last year. Aerokit development was frozen for this year, meaning Chevy cars will win most of the races, and a Honda will win Indy and likely Pocono and Texas. A Penske driver will win the championship after a tough battle with a teammate.

No season is entirely predictable.  There are some wild cards out there. First, there were  some significant driver moves. The largest move is Josef Newgarden  going to Penske.  Carlos Munoz moves to Foyt, joining Conor Daly. Sebastien Bourdais moves into what was  Dal y’s ride at Coyne last year.  Takuma Sato goes to Andretti replacing Munoz.

The second wild card is teams that switched engines. Chip Ganassi Racing returns to Honda power, and Foyt now is a Chevy team.  At the Phoenix test both teams seemed to be still learning their new aero kits and engines. Will Ganassi be the team that makes Honda more competitive the entire season?

J. R. Hildebrand returns to the Verizon Indy Car Series full time with Ed Carpenter Racing, replacing Newgarden.  Spencer Pigot will drive the No. 20 on road and street courses.

Will Andretti Autosport have a better year?  Marco Andretti seems more focused. Having Bryan Herta call strategy for him is a good move. Herta is a great race strategist. Exhibit A- last year’s Indy 500. Will Alexander Rossi be hurt by having a new strategist? Time will tell. I think there won’t be much of an effect.  Ryan Hunter-Reay was in position to win both 500 mile races last year, but some strange things happened. His pit road collision at Indianapolis took him out of contention, and a brief power hiccup late in the race at Pocono cost him the victory there. I think he will win a race this year.

Schmidt Peterson retains James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin. Both drivers were on the verge of winning last year. I look for Aleshin to get his first victory this season. Hinchcliffe should also have a good chance as well. This is one of my sleeper teams.

My other sleeper team is Dale Coyne Racing.  They have upgraded the team off the track and Bourdais is a big addition on the track.  Coyne is tactical. he knows what his cars need to do to qualify well, and he knows how to get them to the front on race day. If pit strategy falls their way, there could be some good results this year for them. Rookie Ed Jones joins the team. He had two great years in Indy Lights, winning last year’s title.  He will need to have patience as he learns to race in IndyCar.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has been the top finishing Honda the last two years. They could very well keep that distinction with a strong start to the year. Graham Rahal will keep his streak of winning races in consecutive years alive.

Ganassi may have a slow start as they figure out the Honda package, but Scott Dixon will likely have a better year than he had last year, when early issues pushed him down the standings. Ganassi will finish the year strong.  It will be another solid year for Tony Kanaan. Max Chilton should show some improvement in his second year. Charlie Kimball will continue to be steady.

Team Penske will again lead the pack most if not all the way.  It will be another battle between Will Power and defending champ Simon Pagenaud all season, with Power prevailing this time.  Helio Castroneves will have another consistent year with several podiums.  Josef Newgarden appears to be adjusting well to his new team. Moving Tim Cindric to his car from Power’s car shows that Penske is putting Josef on an accelerated path to success. He may not win a race, but he should have a better season than Pagenaud did his first year at Penske.

It should be an interesting season. There are enough X-factors to provide some intrigue. Enjoy the first race next Sunday from beautiful St. Pete.

Here are my pre-season predictions, with apologies to all my picks. You don’t have a prayer now. These picks   are subject to change as the year goes on.

Season Championship-  Will Power

Indianapolis 500- Scott Dixon

First time winner- Mikhail Aleshin

Different race winners- 8

 

 

Who Will Make the Cut?

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Thanks to all who nominated drivers for the Greatest 33 Non Winners project. I have learned a lot from doing this. First, Indycar fans not only are passionate, but they are knowledgeable and respect the sport’s past. I always thought that, but in discussions with some people, including some I do not know well, this came through loud and clear. Second, some drivers I thought would look great statistically did come out so well in comparison. I was quite surprised by some drivers’ overall records, both good and bad. In any case, this has been a lot of fun so far.

I am looking to cut my 58 nominees down to 50. After the race at St. Pete next week, I will announce the 50 finalists for you to choose and grid. I am using a statistical formula based on poles, front row starts, laps led, top 5 and top 10 finishes. I have not been surprised by who the top 10 are, although the order was not quite what I though it would be. A couple current drivers fared very well.

Part of the grid will be chosen with my head and part of it with my heart. That is just natural.  Keep in mind this is all for fun. I hope this helps fill the gap between St. Pete and Long Beach.

Here are the drivers with the most nominations:

Michael Andretti     8

Rex Mays                     5

Scott Goodyear           5

Lloyd Ruby                    5

Harry Hartz                  4

Ted Horn                       4

Vito Meira                     4

Robby Gordon               4

I’ll be back Monday with the dreaded season preview and some Indycar news.

Update- Greatest 33 Non-Winners; 57 Drivers Nominated to Date; Nominations Close Wednesday Night

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So far,57 drivers have received at least one nomination. Michael Andretti is the clear runaway leader with 7.  Five drivers, Rex Mays, Vitor Meira, Scott Goodyear,  Lloyd Ruby, and Robby Gordon, have 4 nominations.

Nominations close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time Wednesday. Not a minute later, because that would be Thursday. I will narrow the list down to 50 and then ask each of you to choose the final 33 in gridded positions.  Friday I will announce the finalists and present some race statistics for each driver.

I haven’t decided on a grid deadline yet. It will most likely be after the St. Pete race.

Thanks to all who have participated so far.

Greatest 33 Non-Winners Update-What a Response!

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Wow! Thank you all for your contributions to date.  So far, 55 drivers have been named. I will accept names through March1, next Wednesday, then narrow the list to 50 for the final round. If you have drivers in mind, share them anyway, since the top 50 vote getters will get to the final round for you to make your grid from.

As of 5 pm today, Michael Andretti leads with 5 votes, Rex Mays, Scott Goodyear, and Robby Gordon have 4; and eight drivers have 3 votes.  Please only vote once for each driver.

Special thanks to Kyle Lakatos, who submitted a gridded list of 32 drivers. He had a great mix of drivers from different eras.  Again, gridding is not necessary at this stage.

Also thanks to Don Caldwell, who submitted 33 names, many of them who were not listed yet.

Keep them coming!

Indycar News ; The Greatest 33 Non-Winners, A Reader Particicpation Event

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The long offseason enters its final fortnight in just two days.  I thought this was a much more tolerable one than most because of what seemed like nearly constant news.

The big news this week is Juncos racing, a pillar of the Mazda Road to Indy,  purchased cars and equipment from KV Racing, and will enter at least one car,  likely two, in the Indianapolis 500.  Juncos’s   long range plan was to move up to Indycar in a couple of years. The sad demise of KV allowed them to move up their plans. Additional races this year don’t look likely, but eventually, possibly by 2019, they will be full time.

Other announcements- Lear Corp, which had sponsored the outstanding volunteer staff at the Detroit GP, is now the presenting sponsor of the race… Andretti Autosport. confirmed they will run a fifth car at Indianapolis. The driver has not been named. Last year Townsend Bell drove their fifth car.

 

In 2011, The Indianapolis Star and IMS invited fans to participate in finding the Greatest 33 drivers of the 500.  The majority of the drivers who made the final list were race winners, of course.  I would like to do another Greatest 33 for the non-winners.  These are the guys who consistently came close but never got their face on the Borg-Warner Trophy. I invite those of you who read this blog (both of you) to submit your suggestions and how you would grid them, Indy style. I would like to find fifty, then have you vote on gridding them.  You do not have to name 33, just as many as you feel like. Criteria is up to you.

Drivers that come to mind for me are Rex Mays, Ted Horn, Harry Hartz, Michael Andretti, Lloyd Ruby.  I look at laps led, top five finishes, and qualifying results.  Who else can you add to this list?  Let me know.

 

Next week will be my long awaited (dreaded?) season preview.  Hope to hear from you soon.