Tag: Detroit GP

Watkins Glen- The Semi Final

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Hard to believe there are just two races left in the Indycar season.  This weekend’s race at Watkins Glen will tell us what might happen in two weeks at Sonoma. It’s great that IndyCar can race at another historic track this late in the season and that it has meaning in the title pursuit.

The return to Watkins Glen last year as an emergency replacement for the failed Boston Grand Prix was a hit with the fans.  The picturesque setting rivals Road America in natural beauty. The track is fast and provides great viewing spots. Unlike last year, when Simon Pagenaud pretty much had the championship in hand, this year will set the stage for a possible title showdown at Sonoma.

This should be another strong track for Chevy, although Honda will not be at the disadvantage they were at Gateway last week. I think we will have as  good a race here as we did at Road America. Penske cars could dominate qualifying with the Hondas of Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal rounding out the Fast Six.

If Scott Dixon wins this race, as he did last year, the series goes to Sonoma with a major points battle to decide the champion. If Josef Newgarden finishes ahead of Dixon, he will be in very good shape barring a significantly bad finish in California to win his first Indycar title. Just 43 points separate the top four in the standings. Will Power is 83 points behind in fifth. Realistically, this race is between Newgarden and Dixon assuming both finish well this weekend.

Other things to watch this weekend- Will A. J. Foyt racing continue the momentum they gained at Gateway? Will Ganassi park another car? Can Ryan Hunter-Reay get one more good result? Alexander Rossi might be in for a very good weekend. He has shown great growth in driving Indycars and is becoming a fan favorite off the track as well.

How will the swirling rumors surrounding Andretti Autosport affect them this weekend? News reported yesterday I’m leaving in the unconfirmed column for the moment.. I think the only solid part as of now is that Takuma Sato is going to Rahal-Letterman -Lanigan Racing as a teammate to Graham Rahal.

Who shows up in Victory Circle? Scott Dixon will win and  tighten up the points race. The series will go to Sonoma with the championship very much up in the air.

I will be at Watkins Glen this weekend beginning Thursday. I plan to drive the original course on the public roads and will share my experience next week. I’m also planning on going to Ithaca for dinner one night. Hope it’s not too much of an odyssey to get there.

Notes

The Mazda Road to Indy season concludes this weekend. Kyle Kaiser wins the Indy Lights title simply by qualifying. Oliver Askew should win the USF 2000 crown. He has a 13 point lead over Rinus Veekay. The Pro Mazda champion  will be either Victor Franzoni or Anthony Martin. Franzoni leads Martin by just 2 points.

Final attendance figures for Gateway have yet to be announced, but it appears the total will exceed 40, 000.  Gateway is my nomination to host the Indycar season finale in the future. More on this next week.

I’m hopeful Andretti Autosport puts an end to all the speculation this weekend and declares which engine they will use this weekend. Manufacture testing starts soon after the end of the season, and they need to get a handle on the new package quickly.

Jack Harvey will drive the SPM number 7 car this weekend and at Sonoma. The two time Indy lights runner-up is the second driver in the car since Mikhail Aleshin left the program before Pocono. This could be part two of an audition for this car for 2018.

Josef Newgarden has three wins and a second place in the last four races.

 

Teammates Become Arch Rivals- Gateway Recap

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First, congratulations to Curtis Francois and Bommarito Automotive Group for bringing Indycar back to Gateway Motorsports Park and for drawing the biggest oval crowd outside of Indianapolis in many years.  As with any new event, there were issues. My group encountered a couple of issues, but I heard from other fans and media members of significant issues that need to be improved.

Parking was poorly marked and there seemed to be no overall plan for entry or exit. It looks like the track could use a second entry.  Exiting the track we didn’t see anyone directing traffic until we got the exit drive. cars were pointed both east and west waiting to leave.

The track seemed understaffed. On Friday only one person was handling pit/paddock pass redemption. The line wasn’t too long, but it took a while. Two of my friends in the media told me only one person was distributing credentials and it took them nearly an hour to get their cards. Much of the staff didn’t seem to know where things were or what areas fans were or were not allowed into.

I also heard concession stands ran out of bottled water Saturday early evening.  A friend told me she couldn’t find any water Friday afternoon. She was told it wouldn’t be available until 4 pm, two hours after the gates opened, and only certain stands had water available.

These issues can all be fixed with planning, training, and additional staffing. I know the track will be hearing from fans about these and other problems.  I plan to be back next year. I just hope many who came decide not to because of their experience this time.

My first impression of the track was it reminded me of the Milwaukee Mile. It has the look and feel of a traditional short track. I liked it immediately.  This is the type of track Indycar needs to race on a couple more times a year. Two more ovals like this, for a total of five short tracks and the three larger ovals of Indy, Pocono, and Texas would be great.

On my pace car ride Saturday, I noticed turn one is downhill on the approach and the track sweeps uphill into turn two, making the track more like a road course. After riding around the track, the downhill became very noticeable from the stands. Oh yes. There was a race Saturday night. Let’s talk about it.

A rather ordinary race got very interesting the last 50 laps Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park. Helio Castroneves had an extended pit stop, dropping him to fourth place after leading with a car good enough to win. Josef Newgarden lost the last pit stop round to teammate Simon Pagenaud, setting up The Pass.

With 30 laps to go Newgarden saw an opening low in turn one and squeezed into it. The slight contact with Pagenaud caused the defending champion to slide up the track, allowing Scott Dixon to grab second place.  Pagenaud was not happy with the move, talking after the race about losing trust and respect for Newgarden. My seat was in turn one, and Ihadve no problem with the move or the pass. It wasn’t a nascar-like move as some have suggested. He didn’t bump him from behind to push him out of the way.  It was a clean move from my vantage point.

The race got off to an awkward start with Tony Kanaan spinning on the pace lap then Will Power spinning on the first attempt to go green following another great pass by Newgarden.  It was his second great pass of Power in three weeks. Ed Carpenter and Takuma Sato also spun, with Carpenter’s landing on top of Power’s.

The race officially went green on lap 18. As I feared, it was a Phoenix type affair for the most part, with passing extremely difficult. The leaders had a tough time getting past the end of the field. Friday’s night practice had given me hope that passing would be easier, but we didn’t see that in the race.

Conor Daly had the best drive of the night, finishing fifth after starting 11th. He challenged Castroneves for fourth but could not get past him. The Foyt team was encouraged after testing here, and their optimism held to a great result.   Carlos Munoz finished tenth giving ABC Supply cars their best finish as a team this year.

Notes

The three wide fan salute on the parade lap was a great gesture for the fans.

Newgarden solidified his lead in the points with two races to go, but Scott Dixon continues to lurk in the shadows. Dixon though this would be a throw  away race with a poor result, but his runner-up finish keeps him within striking distance of the lead with the series finishing on two of his best tracks.

It appears Sato is headed for Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing next year as graham Rahal’s teammate. If true, it likely means Andretti Autosport is switching to Chevy.

What is happening at Ganassi? Saturday was the second consecutive race they parked a car that was capable of continuing. Could Ganassi be a one car team next year?

Gateway Preview- Racing by the River

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Indycar returns to Gateway Motorsports Park after a 14 year absence.  CART ran here from 1997-1999 the day before the Indianapolis 500 then moved to a September date in 200. The IRL raced at Gateway from 2001-2003.  The 2017 date corresponds to the date when the IRl raced here.  This weekend’s weather is going to be unusually pleasant for St. Louis at this time of year. It’s the last oval race of the year and the newest event on the Indycar schedule.

St. Louis is a market I’ve always wondered why Indycar in any of its iterations never paid more attention to. I remember on Pole Day at Indy in the 60s and 70s a large group sitting in the upper paddock just north of the start/finish line. They displayed a banner, “St. Louis Auto Race Fans”. There were a lot of fans in this area. I hope there still are. Seeing that group was a Pole Day tradition for me.

Indications are this will be a triumphant return. The track has gone all out promoting the race, getting lots of community involvement, including the St. Louis Cardinals. Ed Carpenter threw out the first pitch before Tuesday night’s game, and tonight there is an Indycar FanFest at Ballpark Village, a gathering place across the street from Busch stadium.This past week has had several community activities leading up to the race. Word is ticket sales are going very well.

After an initial Indycar test, the track was completely repaved after drivers were concerned about the surface. Another test on the newly paved track brought rave reviews from the drivers. The drivers think passing will be possible. I hope that’s the case. The series doesn’t need another Phoenix-like parade this season.

Honda drivers are pretty much conceding Chevy has a huge advantage one the 1.25 mile oval. The track probably works more like a road course than an oval due to the odd configuration of turns 1 and 2.  The shape of the track should produce better racing than Phoenix.

Who will win? Helio Castroneves won the 2003 race  and Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan are the only other active drivers who have raced at Gateway. Dixon does not expect to have a car capable of a top 3 finish. I’m looking for a penske sweep of the podium, with Will Power getting his second straight win in his march toward the title.  Josef Newgarden will retain his points lead, but there will be some shuffling behind him.  This  race will be decided by when the yellows fall and as a result, fuel saving could play a part in the final result.

Notes:

In a surprise announcement last evening,   Sebastien Bourdais will return to the number 18 for the last three races of the season starting this weekend at Gateway.  This is just 14 weeks after his horrific 118 g crash at Indy. It never ceases to amaze me how resilient Indycar drivers are after crashes like that.  There will not be a third car for Esteban Gutierrez . Just when I learned how to spell his last name.

Sebastien Saavedra likely needs a strong showing to make up for his crash at Pocono if he wants any consideration for a job at Schmidt next year.

Gabby Chaves and Harding Racing did very well in their 3 races this year. Two top 10s and strong qualifying effort at Pococno is a fine debut for the team looking to go full time next year. They also completed every lap in the three races.

This will be another baseball/racing weekend. I’m going to the Cardinals-Padres game Thursday night and possibly the Cardinals-Rays game Sunday.

Team Silver, my Indy 500 group will be well represented at Gateway.

 

Pocono Quick Recap; News

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As expected, Pocono was the best race of the year. Minimal yellows, no fuel saving, lots passing, battles for the lead made for great racing. The drivers were the stars of the show.

Highlights:

James Hinchcliffe’s dirt track save was an incredible display of hand and arm work.

Ryan Hunter-Reay’s resiliency in racing after his hard crash Saturday and coming from the back of the grid to lead the race.

The duel for the lead between Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal mid race.  That was probably the most fun part of the day for me.

Will Power-what can I say? Roaring back from a lap down and changing both front and rear wings to pull away for the win was arguably the best drive of his career. I think he can still win the championship.  His move going into turn 3 to protect the inside line was brilliant.

News

Only 42 points separate the top 5 in the standings. Graham Rahal has a mathematical chance in 6th, but proabably is too far behind to win.

Jack Harvey will drive the number 7 SPM entry at Watkins Glen and Sonoma.

There is a rumor going around that has Kanaan going to Schmidt next year. Not sure how much stock to put in it.

Is this the week we learn Andretti’s engine plans for next year? Inquiring Spaniards may want to know.

Back tomorrow with a Gateway preview.

 

True Racer- McLaren Movie Review

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Just one more lap before lunch. Bruce McLaren, always looking for more from himself and his car, wanted to try a different downforce level.. He left the pits but didn’t return that day in June 1970, ending a meteoric rise from champion driver to successful car builder. A view of the accident scene comes at the end of the documentary, McLaren, a film making sporadic appearances in the United States. I had the good fortune to see it Thursday night.

The film chronicles McLaren’s life in chronological order from his humble beginnings in New Zealand. Bruce knew he wanted to be a race car driver by the time he was 5 years old. When he was nine, he developed Perthes disease, a disease that causes the head of the femur to lose blood flow and die. As a result his left leg was shorter than his right one. McLaren was bedridden for nearly 2 years as doctors tried to strengthen the hip and lengthen his left  leg.  While the hip got stronger, his leg did not get longer. Mclaren walked with a permanent limp.

He went to Europe to drive F2 in 1958 and won his first Formula 1 race the following year, the U.S. GP at Sebring. At the time McLaren was the youngest F1 winner in history, a distinction he held for 44 years. He drove as a teammate to Jack Brabham for Cooper.  Brabham won the World Championship the following year and McLaren finished second.   Both drivers  left Cooper and eventually each built their own Formula 1 cars.

McLaren’s greatest success came in the Can Am series.  In 1969, McLaren-built cars won every race on the Can Am schedule. The three McLaren  cars swept the podium twice that year.  Dennnis Hulme and Mark Donohue were McLaren’s teammates that year.

The movie contains interviews with many racing greats including Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, and Chris Amon. McLaren’s family also appears, lending a personal view of the man. We also hear from several engineers and mechanics, mainly Robin Heard, who came to work for McLaren after helping design the Concorde supersonic airplane.  Many of the airplane’s aerodynamic principles, and some of the same materials, were applied to the cars.

My favorite segments were the vintage racing footage. The race films contain shots of Graham Hill, James Hunt, Jack Brabham, and many other drivers of that era.  We see Le Mans in 1966, Monaco in 1958, Sebring in 1959, and Spa in 1968.  Several things in the films stood out. Grand prix races used to start 3 wide and both F1 and F2  raced at the same time just as sports cars race today. It was great to see the traditional Le Mans start again, with drivers sprinting across the track to their cars. How would that work today?

Several McLaren home movies brought a personal touch to McLaren’s life. He would send film of his European races home and the family and their friends gathered to watch. I also enjoyed the movies of Bruce with his wife and young daughter.

McLaren is one of the best documentaries I have seen on any subject. It is a new, important contribution to preserving racing history. I’m hoping the movie returns in general release. Had there been a second showing last night, I might have stayed for it.  Look for its return, and go see it.

Pocono Preview: Honda’s Last Stand?

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The last super speedway of the year, Pocono usually produces one of the best races of the Indycar season.  There is no reason to believe this year’s version will be any different. At least one of the six drivers still in contention for the championship could be eliminated from the title race Sunday. The rest will still be tightly bunched heading to Gateway next weekend.

Like Indianapolis, this is a track where Honda should have a huge advantage. Hondas were very strong here last year only to be taken out by mechanical issues and a pit road incident. Will Power in a Chevy for Team Penske won the 2016 event with some brilliant pit work.  A particular track’s supposed advantage for one engine or the other hasn’t followed form at times this year.  The remaining tracks should favor Chevrolet. This is Honda’s last best chance for a race win in 2017.

Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal are the two Honda drivers in the points battle. Both should be very strong this weekend. Dixon has had some annoying bad luck at times this season, but a second  win this season is not out of the question. Rahal has had a consistent run of top 5 finishes. While he may not win, he will likely finish well enough to keep his title hopes alive.

This is the type of track Andretti Autosport lives for.  The team has won abck to back Indianapolis 500’s and Ryan Hunter-Reay won the race here in 2015. Hunter-Reay appeared to have the race in hand last year until an engine hiccup cut the power for a few seconds.

Of the six title contenders, four are the Team Penske drivers. Josef Newgarden is the only driver to have three wins this year and just one of two drivers to have back to back wins.  A good run Sunday could stretch his points lead.  Teammate Helio Castroneves trails by Newgarden by just seven points, but he is only one ahead of Dixon and ten ahead of Simon Pagenaud. Castroneves has to look both ahead and behind  Rahal and Power, on the other hand, just need to finish as high as they can and ahead of as many of the top four as possible.

I think a Honda car will prevail here and it won’t be someone in the title hunt in Victory Circle. Look for Ryan Hunter-Reay to get his first win since this event in 2015. The fun part of his winning would be an even tighter points battle among the leaders.  Then we look for Gateway to sort things out.

My Pocono recap will be out Tuesday as I am hunting the great eclipse Monday going south and west. I will likely not see the race until Monday night. I will also have  a review of the McLaren documentary, which I saw last night. When it comes to your area, run, don’t walk to see it.

 

News and Notes

Sebastian Saavedra will be in the number7 car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports this weekend and at Gateway. It sounds like these races may be an audition for 2018.  No word on who will drive the car for Watkins Glen or Sonoma. Robert Wickens is thought to be a strong candidate.

Sebastien Bourdais has been cleared to drive by medical personnel. Bourdais tested at mid-Ohio the day after the Indycar race and reached Fast six speeds. He will probably be back for Sonoma. Watkins Glen is a slim possibility as well.

That is all the Seb news I have.

Gabby Chaves returns to Pocono in the 88 Harding Racing car. Look for him to have another strong finish and possibly steal some points from one or two of the top six.  Chaves has top 10s in both his starts this year.

Your favorite driver is likely in a blue and white car this weekend.  There are 8 cars carrying that color scheme and the AJ Foyt cars also have blue and white with red thrown in.  I pity the media announcers.

It looks like another low attendance weekend for Pocono.  Will 2018 be the last race here?

 

 

Racing and Baseball- Finding the Balance

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One sport is fast and furious. The other is leisurely with quick short bursts of action.  I really enjoy weekends when I can combine a baseball game with a race. While the sports are different in presentation, they have some similarities. The strategists have to think ahead to the end and decide what changes to make and when.  Bringing in a certain relief pitcher is akin to deciding whether the next stint will be on black or red tires; or scuffed or sticker tires for an oval. A pinch hitter or runner  is like adjusting downforce.

The best recent example of the similarity of racing and baseball is the 2016 Indianapolis 500. The strategy calls by Bryan Herta were the same thought process a baseball manager would use. A friend told me the day after the race he didn’t like the 500. I replied if you didn’t like that race, you must not like baseball.  He confirmed that he did not.

I seek balance in life, and a baseball/racing weekend is a way to find that equilibrium. I get the same thrill from a well played ball game as I do from a race won with a great strategy call. It’s really the same thing. In baseball the fan has a lot of time to think ahead. At a race, it’s more difficult to do, unless there is a late yellow.  I like the challenge of trying to figure out race strategy as a race goes on. I really like when a road or street race has some rain and the teams have to decide how soon to switch tires. I think watching baseball most of my life has helped me learn strategy which I have applied to racing.

When a race is near a city with a major league team, I always check their schedule to see if there is a home game that weekend. I usually go to a race weekend the day before the track opens, usually a Thursday. I can usually catch the final game of a home stand.

I highly recommend doing this on your next race weekend. It may give you a new perspective on the race you see that weekend. At the very least you should go into the weekend a bit more relaxed and enjoy your track time more.

 

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Parnelli Jones (L) passes Ebb Rose during the 1963 500. (Photo from 1964 500 Mile Race program)

 

 

 

Book Review- Kiss the Bricks by Tammy Kaehler

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Kate Reilly- full time race driver, part time sleuth, hopes for a drama free May as she prepares for her second Indianapolis 500. As usual, drama finds her. She sets fast time on the first day of practice, duplicating the accomplishment of another female driver thirty years ago.  That driver, P.J Rodriguez, died before Pole Day in a mysterious fall from the roof of her downtown hotel. Rodrigueaz’s family asks Kate to help them  find out if her death was  suicide or  murder?

Kiss the Bricks is the fifth book in Tammy Kaehler’s Kate Reilly Racing Mystery series. Usually Reilly drives sports cars, but moves to the Indycar series for this adventure.

The first third of the book alternates between the present day and May of 1987. We learn of the events that lead to P. J.’s death and how Kate gets involved in attempting to find out what happened.  P. J.’s family tells Kate their suspicions and asks for Kate’s help. Her reputation as an amateur sleuth precedes her.

With the help of her grandfather and her PR rep, Kate sets about identifying suspects and motives. They come to the chilling conclusion the culprit may be someone very close to her own race team. The answer becomes clear after the race as activity at the track slowly winds down.

Another complication for Kate is an envelope her grandfather gives her early in the month. He explains it makes clear some family issues that Kate needs to know. He requests she not open it until after the race, so she can focus on the most important event of the year. She resists the temptation to open a few times.

I found this book fun to read. It presents a great look at what a driver’s May is like off the track as well as on it. May seems incredibly busy with media appearances, sponsor meet and greets, and oh yeah, prepping for the 500. I was most impressed by the author’s portrayal of how isolated the drivers are while in the car. Each driver is focused on his/her  car and his/her performance, and only mentions others when they do something that might interfere with the team’s plan.  Drivers rely on their spotters and crew chiefs to know what is happening in the race.

This is only the second Kate Reilly book I’ve read, and I will be reading the others. Kaehler writes great racing stories with a murder mystery thrown in. Her books are available on Amazon.

Mid Ohio Musings- Title Scramble, New Looks, Silliest Season

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There was a dramatic pass for the lead by Josef Newgarden to get by Will Power. There was a good battle for third between Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal in which Rahal prevailed. That was the race. The bad news, it was only lap 16. The field pretty much stayed single file with little change in order the last 74 laps. The only caution for Ed Jones came after the last pit stops, so we lost the opportunity for a position scramble.

Qualifying results landed the top seven in points in the first seven spots, which held promise for a great race. It didn’t materialize for several reasons. The lack of cautions was one. Newgarden had a clearly superior car. Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves, first and second in points coming into the race, had cars that weren’t very strong. Dixon’s problems were compounded by an issue on his last pit stop.

The most dramatic thing about the race was how the championship standings shuffled. Newgarden now leads Castroneves by seven and Dixon by eight. Power and Rahal are closer to first than they were before the race. Simon Pagenaud is still lurking in fourth. he has had a quietly good season. They still have a shot.  Sato, 72 points behind now, may have dropped from contention.

Newgarden is the first driver to win 3 times this year and only the second to win two straight.  Rahal won both races at Belle Isle. We could see a series champion with fewer wins than another driver this year.

Notes

The crowd was the largest I have seen at Mid-Ohio. I understand there was a huge Sunday walk up crowd.

It was great to Sebastien Bourdais walking through the paddock on race morning. It’s amazing that he actually got back in a race car on Monday, just 72 days after his crash during 500 qualifying.

Saturday morning there was a lot of excitement among the fans who go to most events at the track when IMSA announced it was returning next year the first weekend in May.  That event will be well attended. I really enjoyed the sportscar race at Mid-Ohio and wish they were still paired with with Indycar here and at a couple other tracks.

The new road course aerokit received lots of positive attention throughout the weekend. It was great PR for the series to have the cars in garages where fans could watch them being put together for the test today. Here is the completed kit on the Honda powered car:

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I went to the speedway aerokit test at IMS last week, so I  have seen both kits on the cars.  I really like the sleek look.  On the other hand, when the cars hit the track for the first practice Friday, I was astounded by how big and bulky the current package looks.

Was Sunday Mikhail Aleshin’s last ride at Schmidt? He didn’t help his case over the weekend with a crash and starting last. Marotti Racing will be in charge of the car for three of the last four races.  Will they bring their own driver?

I understand Coyne’s intent on keeping Esteban Guttierez behind Newgarden and wanting to get their lap back. I didn’t understand why they kept at it when it was obvious he wasn’t able to get past him. He should have let Power and Rahal by to fight for the lead. His finishing position wasn’t going to change.

I heard many Silly Season rumors swirling this weekend, some very much out there, some that are realistic, and some that would be great to see. Here’s the home version of the Silly Season game. Put team names in a bowl and driver names in another bowl then draw a team name. Decide how many cars the team drawn will have next year. Draw that number of driver names from the driver bowl. Put the team and driver names in a stack. Feel free to add some drivers not in the series right now to the driver bowl. Maybe a couple teams to the team bowl too. You might turn out to be more accurate than you could imagine.