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Off Season Thoughts- Driver Musical Chairs, Rules, and Points

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Today is the day. Josef Newgarden’s deadline to act on the offer from Ed Carpenter Racing is today.  What he decides determines many things. Where will Juan Pablo Montoya be next year?  Will he bump Tony Kanaan out of Ganssi? I have heard he has talked to Carpenter. I honestly don’t see that as a fit at all. I would think Fuzzy’s would want a more personable driver for their car.

Another factor is Carlin.Will they make the jump to IndyCar? Will they partner with KV/KVSH or just buy them outright? Will Max Chilton go there creating an opening at Ganassi?

A.J. Foyt Racing will have at least one opening. It could be Kanaan, if he leaves Ganassi.

Coyne apparently has signed Sebastian Bourdais. Conor Daly is rumored to be under contract for next year as well.

My suggestion- If you’re not going to the season opener at St. Pete, have a friend who is mail you a spotter’s guide. That will give you plenty of time to learn names and car numbers before the 101st Indianapolis 500.

Rules

The aerokit packages are frozen for next year and a new universal kit will be on the cars for 2018.  This means that unless Honda can develop a stronger engine package, Chevrolet will again dominate in 2017. I’m all for the new universal kit, but for next year I think the teams should be given leeway to work on the kits themselves.

I hope the 2018 aero package makes Indycars look more like Indy cars and less like single seat sportscars.

Points

Double points, like interleague play in baseball, is played out and needs to be eliminated.  Yes the 500 is the most important race, but it still counts as one race in the standings.  The final race of the season should not count as double points, especially on a road course. Let the championship be decided as it happens. if someone clinches the title with two races to go, so be it. Very few World series have ended with a game-winning home run. Not every series goes seven games.

Qualifying points at Indy- There are way too many points awarded for qualifying.  I can understand the need to award points in the current format, which I wrote about in May, but I don’t think the pole winner should get more than 25 points.  Then each position after that receives one less point. Positions 25-33 get one point each.

Race points- I still mainly like the point system, but I don’t believe every driver in a race should get points. I liked the old CART/USAC system of awarding points to the top twelve spots only. I also would like to do away with a bonus point for leading a lap. This would tighten up the points battle and eliminate the need for double points races.

I think I’ve fixed Indycar enough for one day.  I need to take the rest of the day off. I’m going to the Red Bull Air Races Sunday. I’ll have a report on that next week.  Have a great weekend.

 

 

Indycar Season Review- A Penske Walk in the Park

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Dominance returned to Indycar this season. Chevrolet dominated the engine battle. Drivers dominated races. Penske cars dominated the standings. Simon Pagenaud dominated the championship. Pagenaud had an early run of three straight wins and a couple second places. Will Power had a mid-season run of four wins and two second places. The difference? Power had to sit out the first race of the year due to medical issues.

While Chevrolet won more races and fourteen poles, Honda did show slight gains with two poles and more Fast Six qualifying rounds this year than last.Their two victories were well short of the six wins of 2015. With the aero-kit freeze in place for next year, Honda will focus on engine development to offset the aero disadvantage. It would be nice if the teams could work on the aerokits themselves next year.

There were several dominating drives this year. Pagenaud was clearly the class of the field at Long Beach, the Indy Grand Prix, and Sonoma. Josef Newgarden beat up on the field at Iowa. It appeared James Hinchcliffe had everyone covered at Texas, but he was nosed out at the line by Graham Rahal.  Will Powqer led virtually the entire way at road America.

Team Penske won ten of the sixteen races.  Pagenaud won half of those. His late season wins at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma were something we hadn’t seen from a series champion in a while. The last few years, the points leader won races early then hung on desperately to either win the title in the last race or lose it there.

Three classic venues returned to the schedule this year- Phoenix, Road America, and Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen was a mid-season replacement for the cancelled Boston race. It was a great upgrade from a street race. I was fortunate to be at all three. It was very exciting to have these three tracks back.

Opinion section

The best races this year, always subjective were Barber, the Indianapolis 500, Pocono, and Texas.  There is also something beautiful in the way Newgarden crushed Iowa.

The worst races- Phoenix and Sonoma.

Worst luck driver- Helio Castroneves.  He “earns” this honor with the following resume:

Indianapolis- Hit exiting the pits by Townsend Bell, then rear-ended by JR Hildebrand while he had the strongest contending car. Detroit- leading  Race 2 but waited too long to pit and was caught by a yellow. Twice at Iowa a yellow came out while he was in the pits for his scheduled stop.  At Pocono he was an innocent bystander in the Rossi/Kimball pit incident.  In spite of all this, Castroneves still managed to finish third in the standings, but not without a fight from Newgarden.

Runner-up for this category- Scott Dixon.

What broken clavicle? Josef Newgarden somehow escaped a horrific crash at Texas in the first attempt to race, ending up with a hand and clavicle fracture. He was expected to miss at least one race. Amazingly, he was back int he car at the next event at Road America. Two weeks after that came his perfect game at Iowa. The points he lost by crashing at Texas probably cost him third place. He finished two points behind in fourth.

On Wednesday, I hope to have some silly season updates and more thoughts on next year. Overall, it was a great year for Indycar’s image.

 

Simonized-Simon Waxes the Field

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Simon Pagenaud cruised to another dominating victory Sunday afternoon in Sonoma to earn his first IndyCar series championship. The title had pretty much been a foregone conclusion for weeks despite a little closing of the gap by Will Power at Pocono. All doubt was erased after qualifying Saturday when Pagenaud took the pole on his last lap.

Will Power’s last hope ended on lap 36 with a clutch issue.  He stalled on the backstretch causing the day’s only yellow.  He finished eight laps behind.  Power did not  have a bad season. Four victories and two second place finishes will usually win a title. Missing the St. Pete race cost him this Astor Cup.

The interesting part of the race was the battle for third place in the standings between Helios Castroneves and Josef Newgarden.  Newgarden finished sixth Sunday and Castroneves was seventh. Helio ended the season third by two points.

Roger Penske celebrated his fiftieth year in motorsports capturing the top three spots in the championship.

Notes:

We now enter Silly Season. According to all sources every driver seems headed for a new seat next year.  A slight exaggeration perhaps, but there will be a lot of movement.   The number of Indy Lights drivers able to move up is another unknown.

Will there be fewer teams? Team consolidation is possible. Has Ed Jones winning the Lights title accelerated Carlin’s jump to IndyCar?

Josef Newgarden has eight days to respond to his offer from Ed Carpenter Racing.

The event. The staff at Sonoma Raceway did a great job this weekend. You could tell they had done their homework. Saturday and Sunday had the biggest crowds I’ve seen here in the three years I’ve gone.  It ok s also a fan friendly track. After parking, fans receive a card with the lot number and shuttle color to take when they leave. Sunday as we stood in line,  workers passed out water bottles.

Next  Monday I will have my season review and more about next season. I will also  have some Sonoma photos.

 

Update: It appears Newgarden and Rossi are now off the table. Josef moving on to Penske and Rossi staying with Andretti/Herta.

King of the Mountain- Dixon Rules at Watkins Glen- Part 1

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After a frustrating stretch of races, Scott Dixon returned to form this weekend with a completely dominating performance. He led all but one practice/qualifying session, sat on the pole, and controlled the race from start to finish. Dixon’s lead grew to the point that he was exiting turn 11 as Max Chilton, in second at the time, was entering turn 9. The win is a bit of a consolation prize for him. Dixon is tied with Helio Castroneves for third in points, but cannot catch leader Simon Pagenaud  for the title.

The entire weekend was better than I expected it to be.  So much was against this event.  Indycar did not announce it until May when the Boston street race was cancelled leaving a huge hole in the schedule. Thanks to the efforts of Jay Frye and Watkins Glen president Michael Printup,  a deal came together rather quickly.  Would any fans show up? Would the race be any good? Fans were excited to have Watkins Glen back on the schedule, but it was Labor Day weekend. Many people probably had some type of plan already moving forward.

Attendance both Saturday and Sunday exceeded my expectations.  Granted, it was still a small crowd, but given the circumstances, a very respectable turnout both days. It is a good baseline to grow the event from. Some  grandstands had quite a few people in them. I heard 600 campsites were sold. There were plenty left. I did notice as I left the track that the parking are behind the Argetsinger Grandstand, outside the esses, was full.

The race was better than anticipated as well. I thought we might see two full course cautions widely spaced.  There were two very close together and another one near but not close enough to the final pit window. This made the end a fuel saving race. No one is better at winning that game than Scott Dixon. As for the fuel gamblers, Conor Daly just made it to the finish for fourth place,  James Hinchcliffe could not finish the final lap, dropping from second to eighteenth. What a rough ten days it’s been for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

The Track and Its Surroundings

Watkins Glen International sits atop a mountain. The views are stunning.  Mountains dressed in greenery are visible for miles.  The track itself has deep drop-offs and and tree lined sections. Somehow, Indycar has managed to add the two most beautiful tracks, Road America and Watkins Glen, to the schedule in the same year.

Getting around the track was fairly simple.The infield is mostly flat. Roads are clearly marked and they all have names. I either walked or drove my car to a new spot if my destination was a really far walk. Some campers brought their bicycles to use. The track provided golf cart shuttles, some for fans with mobility challenges.  Several times as I was walking to the paddock, a golf cart  driver would stop and ask if I would like a ride.

Food choices were fairly standard track fare.  I thought the prices were reasonable.  There seemed to be enough stands open to accommodate the crowd.

I visited with a friend who was camping for the weekend.  I had heard from some other people that the camping prices were a bit high. I have never camped at a track, so, I have no way to compare. One person said $480, another said $600.  The camp sites are clearly marked in several ways.  There are street signs with a range of sites along the road, E200-220, example. There is a laminate placard with the site number at the spot. Some site had the number burned out of the grass. My friend told me the number of her campsite. I found it easily. Each campsite had a small firepit available.

The Season Finale

After a week off, Indycar goes to Sonoma for The GoPro GRAND Prix to end the season.  it will take a full catastrophe for Pagenaud to lose the title. There is now the uncertainty of Will Power’s ability to race.  He has another concussion evaluation this week. He might miss this week’s test at Sonoma. If he can’t race,  the championship goes to Simon before the race.

I will end with some more photos from the weekend. The shots of the cars going through turn 5 does not do justice to the speed they carried through here. The other pictures are of the view from the track.

 

Watkins Glen Day Two-More Exploring, Messy Qualifying, and a Hot Lap Ride

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A. chilly foggy morning slowly became a warm sunny day. I arrived at the track in time for Indy Lights qualifying.  I watched from the Jackie Stewart stand, which is becoming my viewing spot of choice. When IndyCar practice began, I ventured to some other spots. I started at the bus stop then walked to the Carousel, turn 5. This is a very fast corner. The cars scream around it and head to the descent to turn 6.  I decided to watch the Indy Lights race from the Argestener stand outside the track at the beginning of the esses. It gives a view of turn 1 and turns 2 and 3, but that is all. Very limited viewing. I went back to the Stewart stand for IndyCar qualifying.

What a messy situation. There were four penalties called, changing those who advanced.  The penalty on Mikhail Aleshin seemed a bit marginal to be generous. Both Schmidt cars were penalized. Schmidt’s Indy Lights entry was also penalized in qualifying earlier in the day.  Scott Di x on won the pole, obliterating the track record.

Then it was time for my hot lap ride. My two favorite rides to date have been Sonoma and Road America. Add this one to that list. The elevation changes were steeper and deeper than I expected.  I felt a pull in my stomach climbing the hill in the esses. I felt the car write the letter S.  The drop from turn 5 to 6 was a huge descent. The corners of the boot had us straining our seat belts. It was a great ride.

Tomorrow I think the winner comes from the first row. I see the field getting strung out quickly. I think there will w two full course cautions that will make things interesting.

As an added service, I’ll be tweeting out points as they run every lap and a half.  I’m kidding of course. Tuesday morning will be my weekend wrap up. Have a great evening.

 

 

Watkins Glen First Day Thoughts

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Come on, IndyCar, be fair. First I fall in love with Road America-madly, deeply, in love. Then you put Watkins Glen, on the schedule. Now that do I do? Can I be this in love with two tracks at the same time? Those of you who went to Road America for the first time this year, beware. The Glen is every bit as great.

Of course, it’s different. It sits on top of a hill instead of in a forest. There are still tree lined portions, but not as many elevation changes. It is an incredibly fast track. The views looking out from the the track magnificent. You can see for miles.

I am still exploring viewing positions. So far May favorite is the inside esses grandstand.. It offers a great view of turns 2-4. From the top row you can as l so catch a glimpse of turn 1 and also follow the cars as they approach turn 5. The Stewart grandstand gives a great view of turns 9, 1,  and 11. You can also see the cars enter the boot and catch glimpses as they head back to 9.

The gift shop is very nice. They have a great clothing selection with many different and unique designs. It is centrally located.

I have a pace car ride tomorrow afternoon. It will p provide a better look at the track and allow a fairer comparison with Road America.  I will share my findings tomorrow.  Still dazed at all the home runs IndyCar has hit this year

Rocketships, Redemption, Retention-Texas 2016

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What a great race at Texas!  The last lap became a battle of the rocketships. A driver who lost a late lead here four years ago won. The points leader stayed on top and also extended his lead. It was a wild night at Texas Motor Speedway.  The second great oval race in as many weeks produced the fifth closest finish in Indycar history.  Here are some musings from this semi-authoritative source:

Rocketships-

During his ten minute practice, Graham Rahal referred to his car as a “(Not safe for TV) rocketship.”  After the race, James Hinchcliffe called his car a rocketship.  The two rocketships crossed the line virutally together.  Rahal may have had a bigger margin if he hadn’t raised his arm in celebration before the stripe. He made a great over/under move to get to the bottom of the track to get ahead of Hinchcliffe.

Redemption-

Toward the end of the 2012 race at Texas, Rahal had a 10 second lead over Justin Wilson when he brushed the wall in Turn 4.  He continued, but the car had lost its handling. Wilson swept by him to win the race.  Saturday night, he slipped by the leader on the last lap to win. Some tracks seem forgiving in that regard.

Retention-

Simon Pagenaud just might have sewn up the title in this race.  Even though he only added eight points to his lead, and the outcome is still very much in doubt, his decision to drop back from the four wide fight for the lead was a champion’s move.  It was a very different form of points racing.  Still, I admire his desire to fight for a win he didn’t really need until he decided it was best to settle for fourth.

More Thoughts on Texas-

Track president Eddie Gossage went all out in efforts to draw a crowd Saturday. He offered deeply discounted tickets and refreshments, free admission to first responders.  It was great to see a track president tell fans he was sorry about the rainout and the delay in restarting the race, and then do what he could to make it up to them.

Kevin Lee did an outstanding job filling in for Leigh Diffey as the broadcast booth anchor. I hope he gets more opportunities in the future.  It was another great broadcast by NBCSN. I really liked the camera on the wall that showed the cars flashing by. My only issue with the tv crew was talking about points as they run. That is by far my least favorite part of a race telecast. It is a totally irrelevant statistic that means nothing. The only points that matter are the points when they finish.

Was this Ed Carpenter’s last drive? After his accident he said he is excited to be back next year, but we will see.  I think Ed will be a great owner, and that is where his focus should be.

Four of the five ovals on this year’s schedule had great racing. Phoenix was the lone exception. No one could pass, not even to get by to lap a car. I’m glad the other ovals worked out so well.

Points-

Pagenaud leads Will Power by- twenty-eight points now with two natural terrain courses left.  Pagenaud and Power both excel on this type of track, so the battle for the title is still very much on.

Tony Kanaan is now third in the standings. Surprisingly,  Josef Newgarden is only ten points behind Kanaan in fifth despite his last place finish at Texas and top ten runs by both Kanaan and Helio Castroneves, now fourth in points.

 

 

 

Tied for 33rd- Bump Day 1963

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From 2016 Indianapolis 500 starting lineup sheet

First-As we all are, I am still stunned and saddened by Bryan Clauson’s death. I only spoke to him once, when he was kind enough to give me an autograph while at a charity event in 2012. I admired his talent mainly from afar. I was planning to go watch him race later this summer. Sadly, the three 500’s I watched him drive in will be my only memory of his racing. My condolences to his family, fiancee, and dogs.

Bump day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway meant a driver needed to be one of the fastest thirty-three drivers or go home. Your car did not get multiple attempts- one four lap run and you lived with it. While the car was done after that, a driver could find a different car if he were to be bumped. After a usually furious Pole Day, action on the other three days followed a more laid back pattern. A couple of cars would make attempts early in the day. Everyone else then waited for  the five o’clock shadow to cover the front straight before going out for their run. Things were running as usual in 1963 on Bump Day.  The shadow appeared at its appointed time. Then things got strange.

As the magic hour approached, some stars were in danger of not making the field. Troy Ruttman, winner of the 1952 race,  qualified just before 5 to bump Ebb Rose. Len Sutton, runner up  the previous year, had also been bumped. He was trying to find a new car to drive, as was Rose.  The last hour congestion began in pit lane, with thirteen or so cars lining up to get a try.

Ralph Liquori then bumped Masten Gregory, who had qualified one of Mickey Thompson’s cars.. Thompson had entered five cars, but only two would make the race. Liguori getting in was good news and bad news. He had a faster speed than Gregory, but he was now the slowest in the field. Sutton found a new car and took to the track. His qualifying run started well, but at the finish, he and Liguori were tied at 147.620. Thirty- four cars had the thirty- three fastest speeds.  In these pre-computer days, the officials had to do some hand figuring to carry the speeds to next decimal place. All they really had to do was wait until Ebb Rose went out again in A. J. Foyt’s spare car.

Rose, owner of a trucking company in Houston, had entered his own car, which Ruttman had bumped. In Foyt’s car, with about ten minutes to go, he comfortably beat Liguori’s and Sutton’s time. In effect, he bumped two cars at once. A new track record! It turned out that Sutton had a better time than Liguori after the time was figured to the ten-thousandth place. Sutton would be first alternate.

This was not the only tie in speed that weekend. The day before, Bob Christie and Lloyd Ruby also had the same average speed. Christie started eighteenth and Ruby nineteenth, based on the tie -breaking fourth decimal place. They were separated by six ten-thousandths of a second.

The race was dominated by Parnelli Jones from the pole. Jim Clark in second began closing in late in the race when oil on the track became an issue. Many thought Jones’ oil tank was leaking. Colin Chapman, Clark’s car owner, pleaded with officials to black flag Jones. They didn’t, and Jones won easily as Clark decided to back off on the slippery track.

Ruttman finished twelfth and Rose came home fourteenth. They both completed all 200 laps. Al Miller, the fastest last day qualifier, finished ninth.  It was a pretty good day for some starting at the back of the field. Three rookies in the field, Jim Clark, Bobby Unser, and Johnny Rutherford, would go on to win the race in subsequent years.

In 1963 sixty-six cars were entered. Today it is a struggle to get to thirty-three.  Granted, we don’t need two qualifying weekends, and cars do need limited multiple attempts. Indycar is still struggling to find the correct qualifying format for the race. I miss the old format, but I realize it doesn’t work with as few cars as there are now. 1963 provided the drama we all seek out of qualifying.

 

Top photo: Parnelli Jones (L) passes Ebb Rose, the last driver to qualify,  during the 1963 500. (Photo from 1964 500 Mile Race program)