Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Page 67 – The Pit Window by Mike Silver

Johnson, Grosjean Take Next Step in Indycar Careers

October 6, 2021 thepitwindow

Photo: Romain Grosjean set for his new team.

Jimmie Johnson and Romain Grosjean hope to complete Rookie Oientation tests at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today in preparation for their Indianapolis 500 debuts next May.

Jimmie Johnson. Indycar photo by Chris Jones

Johnson did not run any ovals in 2021, while Grosjean ran one, At World Wide Technology Raceway. Grosjean did a great job on his initial oval run.

Today’s activity begins at 10:30 am. ROP was originally scheduled to begin at noon, but was moved up because of a chance of rain this afternoon. The Turn 2 viewing mounds are open. There is no streaming of the tests.

Each car gets three sets of tires for the three phase test.

Phase 1- 10 laps 205-210 mph

Phase 2- 15 laps at 210-215 mph

Phase 3- 15 laps at at 215 + mph.

It will be hard to get used to seeing the 28 car with someone other than Ryan Hunter-Reay in it.

Grosjean, Johnson Take IMS Rookie Tests Wednesday

October 4, 2021 thepitwindow

From Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Note

I understand that fans may view the tests from the turn 2 viewing mounds.

Book Review- Indy Split

September 7, 2021 thepitwindow

Marti update: Marti is getting treatment for a bone infection which was just identified over the weekend. She is recovering as we still search for an answer to her orthostatic issue. The best news- no cancer was detected in the MRI last week.

Pride. Ego. Stubbornness. There ay be other apt descriptors, but these three sum up the behavior of many of the main figures in Indy Split by John Oreovicz. Oreovicz , a former writer for ESPN and other racing publications, has been hooked on Indycar racing since he was ten years old and living with his parents in West Lafayette.

Oreovicz writes in a crisp, concise, easy to follow style which allows event he most casual fan to take in the history of the politics in racing through the years. I remember much of what happened, but I learned some details I was not aware of, especially in the early years of CART. The author presents a nice refresher study for those of us who were around then, and it is also a good accounting for newer fans.

From Dan Gurney’s White Paper, which leads to the formation of CART in 1978, to Tony George’s formation of the Indy Racing League in 1996, Oreovicz presents the tale of the battle for control of the soul of the sport in great detail. While everyone claims to have the best interests of the sport in mind, the splits are a matter of money and control. Should Indycar racing revolve around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or should IMMS simply be a part of the overall series?

The question remains unresolved. I think it is a miracle the sport survived at all, as the two rival series presented a confusing picture of racing to fans and sponsors.

Oreovicz maintains a somewhat neutral tone as far as the protagonists are concerned, but Tony George does not come out looking good. The 25/8 rule he institutes for the 1996 Indianapolis 500 is a shot that set the split in motion and probably prolongs the feud for several more years.

After twelve years and many talks that come close to ending the split, , the sides agree to unify in 2008. The story of the split could have ended here, but Oreovicz goes on to chronicle each year after unification. I think his narrative bogs down here. it may just be due to my familiarity with the series, and perhaps a younger fan will find this part of interest.

The book ends with Roger Penske buying the Indycar Series and IMS. The purchase receives nearly universal praise. In my opinion, it is one of the few things over the years Indycar has done correctly.

Perspectives from seven key figures in racing follow the text. Essays from Mario Andretti, Chip Ganassi, and Dario Franchitti, among others give different viewpoints of the split and the state of open wheel racing. There is unanimous praise for Penske’s purchase of the track and the series.

As far as the split goes, Dario Franchitti sums it up best.

“When people get so entrenched in their positions, it’s difficult…Th split hit a lot of people hard. It hurt them, and some people still can’t get over it. That’s a shame, but we have to move on.”

Indy Split is available through Octane Press.

Remembering Robin Miller

August 25, 2021 thepitwindow

IMS Photo

Late to the party, and less eloquent than much of what I have read today, but please indulge me my thoughts regarding Robin Miller, Indycar’s voice in print and broadcasting. I find it ironic that during one of the best Indycar seasons in years we have lost two great voices of the sport within less than 20 days.

I knew Robin Miller for years before I met him. I may have read every story he put in the Indianapolis Star when it was a real newspaper. he covered racing, high school sports, and the pacers included. I liked his frank, forthright style. Euphemisms were for the other writers to use.

I’m not sure where Indycar would be today without Robin Miller. He helped drivers get rides in the series, he has pushed for races to get on the schedule, most recently Gateway, and his tireless touting of the series and the Indianapolis 500 have contibuted to the staus the series enjoys now.

We have lost a fierce Indycar advocate, a man who would help a struggling driver or team owner whenever and however he could, and someone who made the paddock and the media center come alive. I remember the first race for which I had media credentials at St. Pete how Miller’s charisma gave an energy to the compact crowded room. When Miller left, the stillness in the room was palpable.

I first actually met him in the IMS media center that year. I happened to be wearing one of the shirts I had purchased from one of his numerous fund raisers. We rode the elevator up to the fourth floor together.

“Nice shirt,” he said. I thanked him and introduced myself. After that he always greeted me with a smile. I felt comfortable going to him with questions which he always took time to answer. he didn’t seem to care what out let you wrote for, if you were in the media center, you were a comrade.

My best memories of Miller come from Portland. In 2018, the year the venue returned to the series, his fist comments upon entering the media center were about how little money had been spent on the place in 11 years.

The next year, I sat near him in the Portland media center as he took a call from A. J. Foyt. It was a cordial conversation about when Robin would release a story. He wouldn’t share the news with me at the time, but when it broke, I asked for a clarification and he calmly explained it to me.

Please don’t ask who will replace Robin Miller at Racer magazine. The answer is no one. Someone might take over the mailbag (I hope not), and someone might step into his reporting role. But replace? No way.

BC39 Returns Tonight; 74 Entries

August 18, 2021 thepitwindow

IMS Photo

Indianapolis Motor Speedway continues a busy week of racing tonight with the two day BC39 USAC midget race. The event returns after a oe year absence due to COVID-19. 74 entries will try to make tomorrow night’s feature race.

Conor Daly is the lone Indycar representative, while NASCAR drivers Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Newman will also attempt to make the feature.

Today’s Schedule:

4:00PM -10:00PM Gates Open

5:00PM Hot Lap Sessions (12 Groups)

7:15PM Heat Races (12 Races) 10 laps each

8:00PM Stoops Pursuit 25 laps run in 5 lap segments; cars that have lost positions in each segment exit the track.

24 cars- the heat winners plus the car gaining the most passing points in their heat- make up the field for the Stoops Pursuit.

In 2019 the Stoops pursuit ended with the three cars remaining in the last segment all flipping on the last lap. Kyle Larson was declared the winner.

Indycar Notes

Indycar will have a press conference tomorrow at 11 am with Bobby Rahal, Roger Penske, and Randy Edeker, CEO of HyVee. The rumor is that Iowa Speedway will return to the Indycar schedule in 2022. I truly missed Iowa this year. It is a great track for Indycar, which is sorely lacking oval races.

Bob Jenkins Memorial Streamed at 10 AM Today

August 16, 2021 thepitwindow2 Comments

From the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Robert F. Jenkins
September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021
A memorial service will be held virtually at 10:00am EST, Monday, August 16^th. The service will be streamed globally at https://bobjenkinsmemorial.com
Memorial contributions may be made in Bob’s name to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Bob was a true friend of the IMS Museum and he will be missed.
Click here to donate now or via mail to:
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’
4750 West 16th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46222
In his own humble words: “A race fan that got lucky” ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Final Thoughts- Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix and the Shared Weekend

August 15, 2021 thepitwindow

First, a few more thoughts on the race:

Romain Grosjean will win a race on the IMS road course next year. His 2021 statistics show he figured this track out very quickly- a pole, two second place finishes, and a third place starting spot. He is just seven points behind Scott McLaughlin for Rookie of the Year despite missing three races. I think Grosjean will end up winning the honor. He has performed better than McLaughlin most of the year.

Alexander Rossi’s fourth place finish was his best of the year. he was heading for a top five last eek in Nashville when he tangled with Pato O’Ward. Rossi finished fifth at Mid Ohio before the break, so he could have had three top fives in a row. I look for him to finish the season strong and maybe win one of the last four races.

O’Ward’s inconsistency will cost him the title. he seems to be good one race and bad the next. It will take a strong consistent run to win the title. We have yet to see that from him or the AMSP team.

How long has it been since the season champion won just twice? We may see that this year. There have been nine different winners in 12 races with just four races to go, and no one has won more than twice. I have a feeling we will at least tie the season record of 11 different winners, which leaves little margin for a third win by Palou or anyone else.

Sharing the Track

The Indycar/NASCAR shared weekend is a fine idea on paper, and IMS is one of less than a handful of tracks where it would work. But a new mindset needs to come into play on the scheduling.

Currently, this is NASCAR’s weekend at IMS. This weekend should be treated like baseball’s All Star Game, where both series get equal billing, and the home alternates each year.. I felt Indycar was treated as the lowest ranked series yesterday, going first before the minor league XFinity Series.

I think XFinity needs to return to Lucas Oil Raceway for a Friday night race and leave IMS to the two major series. NASCAR and Indycar should take turns being the Sunday feature race. It won’t be NASCAR’s weekend and it won’t be Indycar’s weekend. It will be a truly shared weekend. Obviously, both races would be on the road course.

It appears Roger Penske wants the Indianapolis 500 to be the only oval event at IMS. I applaud him for this appropriate stance.

The NTT Indycar Series moves to World Wide Technology Raceway next weekend for the final oval of 2021. It will also be the last race I cover in person this year.

The King Reclaims His Throne

August 14, 2021 thepitwindow

Photo by Kyle McInnes

Will Power in victory lane at the IMS road course. It’s a step back toward normalcy. Power won the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix today, his first win in ten months. Gis 40th career win puts him two wins behind Michael Andretti on the all time career list. Power won for the fifth time at the IMS road course.

Tire strategy was key today. Power took the lead after the first round of opit stops. Pole sitter Pato O’Ward started on reds while most everyone else began the race on the primary tires. O’Ward switched to blacks on the first stop and power took on the faster red tires. He passed O’Ward and ran away from the field, building a lead of more than eight seconds over O’Ward and then Colton Herta.

The race was a mostly processional affair, with a couple of interesting battles in the field. Passing seemed difficult. After a caution filled race last Sunday, today saw the yellow flag come out just twice, the first time on lap 67. Alex Palou brought ourt the first caution when his engine let go. The DNF tightened the points race significantly. he now leads O’Ward by just 21 points. Rinus Veekay spun with assistance a few laps later and stalled, forcing another yellow.

Power is the ninth different winner in 2021. The series is just two different winners shy of the record 11 different winners with four races left.

Notes

Alex Palou had everything going his way. He was ahead of his three closest pursuers in the championship and he was less than twenty laps away from padding his lead. Then it was all gone in a puff of smoke.

Christian Lundgaard impressed this weekend. The 20 year old drove a good race, even getting the lead during a pit stop cycle. he finished 12th. I hope we see him again before the season ends.

Top Gun Racing and R C Enerson completed just 16 laps today, but the team did get to race for the first time. They have obtained some sponsorship, and plan to be at Gateway next weekend. I thought it was quite an accomplishment for them to get to do a qualifying run for the 500. they have come a long way.

Scott Dixon matched his worst finish of the year, 17th. Ironically both have been at IMS.

Palou’s poor finish hurt some, but with the days his closest competitors had, it didn’t hurt as much as it could have. His advantage is that O’Ward and Dixon keep swapping second and third, while Newgarden makes only minimal gains and has three drivers to overtake.

The crowd was decent today, although the place didn’t have a true race day vibe.

IMS had a beautiful tribute to Bob Jenkins on the video boards before the race.

I will be back tomorrow with some more thoughts on this weekend’s format tomorrow. Thanks for following along these past two days.

Race Day- Firsts on the Line

August 14, 2021 thepitwindow

Photo: Pato O’Ward on his way to the pole. Photo by Kyle McInnes

Today’s NTT Series Indycar Race at the IMS road course, the Big machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix, could set many firsts. Pato O’Ward looks to be 2021’s first three time winner. To do that he will have to win from the pole for the first time in his career. Will Power seeks his first win of the season from the outside of the first row.

This track generally produces the winner from the first two rows, although I am not giving Chrisyian Lungaard much of a chance in his first Indycar start. Romain Grosjean won the pole and finished second in May could also get his first career win today.

From Last night:

O’Ward Nip Power in Tight, Frantic Qualifying

https://thepitwindow.blog/2021/08/13/oward-nips-power-for-pole-in-frantic-tight-qualifying/

Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon start 20th and 26th, respectively. They will need some luck and some alternate strategy to get to the front.

Today’s Schedule- Eastern Time:

8:45-9:15 Warmup on Peacock

1:00 Green Flag on NBCSN

The top 12: