Have tissues handy
Yesterday Indycar introduced a new safety device which will debut at the Indianapolis 500. It is a small deflector in front of the cockpit between the rearview mirrors. The device, called the Advanced Frontal Protection Device (AFP), is supposed to deflect low flying small debris. The three inch high, 0.75 inch wide titanium piece is built b Dallara. The windscreen still needs more development, which is continuing. It might surprise you, but probably doesn’t , that I have some thoughts about this device.
In fairness, the AFP has not appeared out of the blue. It has bee discussed and studied for a few years. I’m positive the series would not put something on the car that has not been researched.
First, I have to trust Jay Frye and his team on this one. The never ending quest to make the cars safer is always at the front of his mind. I applaud his effort to implement some sort of safety deflector as an alternative to the windscreen. The screen had some issues. It added heat to the cockpits. Drivers who tested it complained of distortion and limited vision. I like that they are still working on it. The AFP does not appear to affect the driver’s sightline.
“Safety is a never-ending pursuit, and this is INDYCAR’s latest step in the evolution,” IndyCar president Jay Frye said. “There are more details to come about the phases to follow.”
I’m glad that the NTT Indycar Seeries is not proceeding with the windscreen because they don’t feel it is ready.
My concern is the AFP appears to be limited in what it can prevent from entering the cockpit and striking the driver. I’m not an engineer, but it appears that debris must come at a specific angle on a low trajectory for it to be effective. The device seems designed to stop smaller objects.
Before commenting further, I would like to see a view of this from the front of the car.
I hope this is a stopgap feature leading to the windscreen. The AFP looks like it is a transitional device which will give way to a more comprehensive cockpit protector.
While the 500 will be the first race for the cars to use the AFP, it will be on all cars for the April 24 test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Like many safety devices, I hope it is never tested in a race. Sadly, needing it is the only to know if it works as intended.
A close-up of the deflector highlighted in green:
Image by Indycar
Again, I need to see this in person and learn more about what it is designed to do before I pass a definite judgment.
You can read the complete release at Indycar.com
Today, at last, is the official opening day of the 2019 NTT Indycar Series season. Spring training begins at 11 am ET at Circuit of the Americas, the newest track on the schedule. Cars have 5 hours of track time available today and 6 hours tomorrow. Today’s action will be streamed on Indycar’s Facebook page, Twitter, and YouTube.
With Monday’s news about the change in plans at Harding Steinbrenner Racing, Colton Herta will test the lone car for the team. Kyle Kaiser will likely test for Juncos. The team announced yesterday that Kaiser will drive the number 32 at COTA in the March 24 race.
IndyCar sessions are scheduled from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET on the 12th, and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2:00-6:00 p.m. ET on the 13th.
Expected to test :
A.J. Foyt Racing Chevy (2): Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist
Andretti Autosport Honda (4): Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, Zach Veach
Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda (2): James Hinchcliffe, Marcus Ericsson
Carlin Racing Chevy (2): Max Chilton, RC Enerson
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (2): Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist
Dale Coyne Racing Honda (2): Sebastien Bourdais, Santino Ferrucci
Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy (2): Spencer Pigot, Ed Jones
Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda (1): Colton Herta/Patricio O’Ward
Juncos Racing Chevy (1): TBA
Meyer Shank Racing Honda (1): Jack Harvey
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda (2): Graham Rahal, Takuma Sato
Team Penske Chevy (4): Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Helio Castroneves
Tickets for Spring Training can be purchased at http://www.circuitoftheamericas.com/indycar-spring-training.
Above: Pato O’Ward speaks to the media at Sonoma last September
In a statement released this morning Harding Steinbrenner Racing announced that the team and driver Pato O’Ward have agreed to part company. O’Ward’s statement:
“The Harding Steinbrenner Racing team supported my decision to seek a new opportunity by releasing me from my contract and allowing me the opportunity to find a new team before the start of the 2019 season,” said O’Ward, the 2018 Indy Lights champion who strongly impressed in his IndyCar debut with HSR late last season. “Now, I am fully focused on finding the right opportunity and how I will use my scholarship from Indy Lights for 2019.”
O’ Ward raced for then Harding Racing in the 2018 Indycar finale at Sonoma. He qualified fifth and finished ninth in a spectacular debut. O’Ward was projected to team with Colton Herta in a two car effort for the merged Harding Steinbrenner Racing this upcoming season. Herta will be the sole full time entry for the team, which switched to Honda power in December.
The 2018 Indy lights champion has $1 million in scholarship money to put toward a ride. Rumors about financial woes at Harding Steinbrenner have been circulating for a while. This close to the beginning of the season it may be difficult to find a ride. There are some part time possibilities, however. I’m pretty confident a seat for the Indianapolis 500 will be available to him. O’Ward was projected as one of the top candidates for Rookie of the Year this season.
Possible landing spots- This is strictly conjecture on my part. I have no idea what talks are going on, but I am looking at what little is available right now.
Juncos?- As of now, Kyle Kaiser will drive in the 500, but nothing else is confirmed. The team is looking for a driver with funding.
Carlin 2nd car?- Charlie Kimball has just 5 races set and R. C. Enerson has been testing with the team. There is speculation that he will fill in when Kimball isn’t driving, but I’m not sure he can run all 12 of the other races.
Coyne 3rd car?- Dale Coyne has brought out a third car from time to time. This may not be the best option for O’Ward to showcase his talent.
6th Andretti car for Indy?- O’Ward won the Indy Lights title in 2018 driving for Andretti and Andretti was giving some assistance to Harding Steinbrenner. Michael said at the Conor Daly announcement that a 6th car didn’t look good, but the cash infusion might change things.
Additional track time for Dragonspeed- Ben Hanley has a 5 race schedule planned as the team dips its toe in the Indycar pool this year. O’Ward could allow them more time to develop.
Meyer Shank more races? Jack Harvey will be in 10 races as the team expands a bit from last year. Could O’ Ward get them closer to a full time schedule?
It would be a pity if O’Ward doesn’t race this season. He is a great talent whom I was looking to seeing on track.
NBC announced pricing for the Indycar Pass on NBC Sports Gold app. Until March 10, the cost is $49.95. After March 10, the price increases to $54.95. Indycar Nation Premiere members can get a $10 discount off the $54.95 price. More than 200 hours of coverage includes 50 plus hours of the 103rd running the Indianapolis 500.
Coverage includes livestreams of NTT practice and qualifying sessions, full broadcast, same day replays of NTT Indycar Series races, and livestreams of Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires races. Also available will be edited cutdowns of Indycar and Indy Lights races, plus additional content.
May coverage will include Miller Lite Carb Day, the 500 festival parade, and the Victory Celebration.\Indycar pass will also house Indycar archival and library content.
I like this package. Fans at an event might find it a good way to keep track of the action, especially on road or street courses, especially the ones with areas where scoring pylons or video boards are not in easy view. The schedule for Indycar Pass on NBC Sports Gold:
The NTT Indycar Series added two experienced people to aid in marketing the series.
SJ Luedtke was a Nike sports marketing executive for the past 10 years. She is now Indycar’s Vic e President, Marketing. Prior to working at Nike, Luedtke led client services at Team Green and Andretti Green Racing , and also headed Goodyear;s agency team leveraging strategic partnerships across NASCAR, NHRA, and off-road racing. She spent 14 years in motorsports.
Mike Zizzo has been retained as a communications consultant. He was Vice President of communications for Texas Motor Speedway the past 13 years. Before that, Zizzo was Vice President of Competition Public Relations for Championship Auto Racing Teams and also Senior Public Relations Manager for NASCAR.
The series has hired two quality people with a wealth of experience in motorsports.
I never think of Indycar without envisioning a car with Firestone tires. Firestone tires have been synonymous with Indycar it seems like forever. The tire has been on the winning car at the Indianapolis 500 69 times, including the first race in 1911. That relationship remains with today’s news.
Firestone will continue as the sole tire supplier to the NTT Indycar Series through 2025. The announcement of the new deal came at the Dallara Factory in Speedway this morning. In addition, Firestone is building a new state of the art manufacturing facility for Indycar tires in Akron. The building, the Advanced Tire Production Center (ATPC) should produce its first tire in late 2020.
“Champions have relied on Firestone tires for more than a century, and racing has always been the ideal proving ground for new technologies that help us evolve and advance our company’s passenger tire offerings,” said Philip Dobbs, chief marketing officer, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. “As the NTT IndyCar Series continues gaining momentum, we are introducing new fans to the Firestone brand and strengthening our relationship with the drivers who use our durable, dependable Firestone tires.”
Hubbard and his brother-in-law, Jim Downing, created the device in an effort to save drivers’ lives by protecting their heads and necks from the violent jolting in accidents. Their research began in the early 80’s. Indycar was the first series to adopt the device and Formula 1 made it compulsory in 2003. The HANS Device was optional in NASCAR, but after Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500, it soon became mandatory.
Drivers and fans are thankful to Dr. Hubbard for work and inventing what is now taken for granted as a part of a driver’s equipment. Many lives have been saved with this attachment.
The Pit Window has learned that an official announcement about the qualifying format for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 will come either at the end of this week or early next week. Some tweaks to the current format are expected. I will share my thoughts on the new procedures next week. I hope more changes may be on the way for 2020.
Weather Tech Raceway hosts the first Indycar test of 2019 Friday. Most of the projected grid will be there. Official Spring training begins Tuesday at COTA. The Tuesday session will be live streamed on Indycar,com.
The entry list for Weather Tech Raceway:
Today Acura became the official title sponsor of the Long Beach Grand Prix, Indycar’s second longest running event behind the Indianapolis 500. The Honda brand replaces Toyota, which had sponsored the race for 44 years. Toyota’s tenure was the longest event entitlement in history. The race will be called the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Racing in Long Beach began with a Formula 5000 race in 1975. From 1976-1983 Formula 1 took to the streets. Beginning in 1984, CART began racing. The event has been an Indycar race since then.
Per Adam Stern, this is a multi year deal in the low seven figures annually. It is Acura’s single largest motorsports marketing expenditure
The Honda name serves as sponsor of races at barber Motorsports Park, Toronto, and Mid Ohio.
Iowa is the only race which had a title sponsor last year still seeking a replacement. The Indycar Grand Prix at IMS lost its sponsor two years ago and has not yet found a new one.
The full press release below. I will return tomorrow with thoughts on today’s Indy 500 qualifying schedule release and a few other tidbits.
The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach announced today that it has reached a multi-year agreement with Acura to become title sponsor of the Grand Prix of Long Beach starting in 2019.
The 45th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will take place April 12-14, 2019.
Launched in 1986 as the first Japanese luxury automotive brand, Acura is a leading nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to evocative styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. Both Acura and its American Honda parent have their U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California.
Last year, Acura made a successful return to the top level of sports car racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, fielding two entries in the Prototype class with Team Penske. The driver combinations of Juan Pablo Montoya/Dane Cameron and Helio Castroneves/Ricky Taylor finished fifth and seventh overall in the championship, with Montoya recording the first pole for the new Acura ARX-05 at Long Beach. Acura also continues to have entries in the series’ GTD class with the NSX GT3 Evo, and has accomplishments at all levels of sports car racing.
Honda has a long, winning history with Indy cars at Long Beach. Honda-powered drivers have won six of the last 10 Grands Prix – and 13 times in 19 appearances – including last year with Alexander Rossi. Native Californian Jimmy Vasser scored Honda’s first Long Beach victory in 1996, with other Honda-powered winners including Alex Zanardi (1997-98), Michael Andretti (2002), Dario Franchitti (2009), Takuma Sato (2013) and James Hinchcliffe (2017).
“With our U.S. headquarters nearby in Torrance, this is a true ‘home’ event for the Acura brand,” said Jon Ikeda, Acura vice president and general manager. “The Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of North America’s premier motorsports events, and an institution in Southern California. Acura is delighted and proud to be associated with the Grand Prix of Long Beach, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
“This is truly the start of a new era in the history of the Grand Prix,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “As we enter our 45th year of conducting America’s #1 street race, we are looking forward with great enthusiasm to this new partnership with a premium luxury brand like Acura. Together we will explore new ways to elevate the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to greater heights in the coming years.”
Featuring a wide variety of on- and off-track activities for the entire family, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be headlined by the NTT IndyCar Series, as well as the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix, featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In addition, the weekend will feature the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights, Robby Gordon’s Stadium SUPER Trucks, the powerful sports cars of the Pirelli GT4 America series and the Historic IMSA GTO Challenge.
Fans can select and pay for their Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach tickets, parking and paddock passes online at gplb.com, or place orders by calling the toll-free ticket hotline, (888) 827-7333. A printed ticket brochure that includes a circuit map, ticket prices, order form and other information is also available.
Fans can also follow the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook at GrandPrixLB, Twitter @GPLongBeach and Instagram at GPLongBeach.
About Acura
Acura is a leading automotive luxury nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to evocative styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. The Acura lineup features six distinctive models – the RLX premium luxury sedan, the TLX performance luxury sedan, the ILX sport sedan, the five-passenger RDX luxury crossover SUV, the seven-passenger Acura MDX, America’s all-time best-selling three-row luxury SUV, and the next-generation, electrified NSX supercar.
Five of the six models in the Acura lineup are made in central Ohio, using domestic and globally-sourced parts, including the ILX and TLX luxury sports sedans (Marysville Auto Plant), the RDX and MDX luxury SUVs (East Liberty Auto Plant) and the Acura NSX supercar, which is built to order at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio.
Additional media information including pricing, features & specifications and high-resolution photography is available at AcuraNews.com. Consumer information is available at Acura.com. Follow Acura on social media at Acura.us/SocialChannels.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway shared an extended version of the ad run only in Indiana on their website. The longer spot runs 1:17 rather than the 30 second version shown during the Super Bowl. The extended ad can be viewed at IMS.com/May. Scroll down the page a ways to find it. I will try to get it on this page tomorrow and update
Indianapolis Motor Speedway shared an extended version of the ad run only in Indiana on their website. The longer spot runs 1:17 rather than the 30 second version shown during the Super Bowl. The extended ad can be viewed at IMS.com/May. Scroll down the page a ways to find it. I will try to get it on this page tomorrow and update
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 