Indycar makes a bittersweet return to Pocono this weekend. Many are still feeling the sting of Justin Wilson’s fatal accident last year, compounded with last week’s loss of Bryan Clauson. This is the first race since Mid-Ohio three weeks ago, so it’s great to be racing again. Pocono begins the season’s final stretch of 3.7 races.
This week and next week at the resumption of the Texas race are Honda’s last two best opportunities to get victories this year. The ABC Supply 500 will also determine if Will Power has any chance at catching Simon Pagenaud for the series title. Simon struggles on ovals, while Will usually finishes well. Last year at Pocono Graham Rahal’s title hopes were crushed when he was involved in a crash.
Rain is in the forecast for Sunday afternoon. Will some teams have a half race strategy? This race really needs to get in officially this weekend, Monday at the latest. With the Texas postponement to next weekend, there is really no place to resume this race within the season. Would a resumption at a future date end up being the actual season finale? Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
I was as surprised as everyone else that Pocono has renewed for two more years. Attendance has not been great since its return to the schedule. I’m glad it happened though. Keeping Pocono and adding Gateway next year means there will likely be two consecutive ovals on the schedule in August. I can definitely live with that.
Next Wednesday I plan to go to Kokomo Speedway for the Bryan Clauson Celebration of Life and stay for the racing program that evening. If you’re going, Chevy Clauson is asking that you bring towels and blankets to donate to the humane society in Kokomo. I will report on the events later next week. I’ll be back Monday with a race review. Enjoy the race.
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)
Mid-Ohio is all about what happens in the pits. Timing is everything. Execution is crucial. In 2014, Josef Newgarden had the race in hand until a botched last pit stop handed the race to Scott Dixon. Dixon started last and pitted during a yellow at the start to get to the front. Even then, he ran out of fuel just after getting the checkered flag. Last year Graham Rahal won by pitting just before a caution that caught out the leaders trying to stretch their pit window. Charlie Kimball used a stop on lap 10 in 2013 to take the checkered. This year, the pits were unkind to Mikhail Aleshin. He had cycled to the lead after the second round of stops and was maintaining a healthy lead. When the yellow came out for Jack Hawksworth’s accident, everybody pitted for the final time. The vrew released him into the path of Newgarden. Aleshin hit Newgarden’s car and bumped a crew member from Juan Pablo Montoya’s team. Conor Daly had the lead and the pace, but not enough fuel. He salvaged a sixth place finish after stopping late. The race then returned to the usual suspects.
Simon Pagenaud made a great move on Will Power coming out of the carousel to get into position to win. It has been several years since a driver has won more than three times in a season. Pagenaud slightly slowed Power’s momentum, increasing his lead to fifty-eight points, although Power has three wins and two seconds over the last five races. I wouldn’t count him out yet. Power is stronger than Pagenaud on ovals. There are still 3.7 races left, two of which are ovals.
Overall, it was a better than average Mid Ohio race. There was plenty of drama, and different pit strategies to keep the outcome in doubt for most of the race. Scott Dixon’s early retirement was an atypical error on his part, maybe showing a little impatience. That is not the best place to attempt a move like that. I thought Race Control made a good decision not to go full course yellow with three laps to go after Bourdais ended up in the sand. I do, however, wonder why the start of the race wasn’t waved off. Simon had a Helio-esque jump coming to the line
A New Fan’s Hot Lap Ride-From Boredom to Let’s Go Again in Two Minutes
My girlfriend Marti had her first hot lap ride Sunday. This was just her second Indycar race. She began the ride with no expectations. In fact, Marti thought it would be boring. By the keyhole she began to appreciate the track. When she had to grab the passenger assist bar, she understood why she had to sign a waiver. Her excitement suddenly began to build. The lap helped her understand how drivers race- the acceleration, braking, and the approach to each turn. She tried to imagine how she would take each section. Her favorite part was the esses. As the car pulled into the pits, Marti was ready to do a few more. Overall, the hot lap allowed her to briefly see the track from a driver’s perspective. She now has a better understanding of racing. Marti is eager to take a 2-seater ride now. Amazing how someone’s attitude can change in just a couple of minutes.
Sebastian Bourdais collides with Takuma Sato and ends up stuck in the sand
Notes:
Mid Ohio continues to have one of the best crowds of the season. The esses area seemed fuller than last year.
I noticed several new concessions areas this year, including a bar at the foot of the bridge just before Turn 1.
Conor Daly got very lucky after missing Turn 4. he drove across the grass and nearly collided with Charlie Kimball on re-entry.
The start of this race, when all 22 cars are packed together in the space between Turns 4 and 5, is one of the most thrilling parts of the season. Amazing that they usually all get through most years.
R. C. Enerson had an impressive debut weekend. He was competitive in practice and was running well in the race until botched fuel strategy put him well back in the field.
This weekend Indycar begins the start of its final stretch of races. And by stretch, I mean really stretched out. After this race, only three races plus the completion of Texas remain. Pocono, the next race, is three weeks away. The season ends seven weeks from this weekend.
Mid-Ohio was my first road course race in 2008. This will be my seventh race here, the most at any track outside IMS. I really like this track for a lot of reasons. It is in a beautiful rural settting. There is constant on track action. The tram system makes it easy to get around. I even enjoy that it is still lacks some of the newer things that other tracks have installed for fan comfort.
Race day crowds are consistently large as you can see from the photo above of last year’s race. I feared a steep decline in attendance when IMSA left, but I haven’t really noticed much difference. I enjoy watching from the esses (above). Turn 4 is actually the first racing turn as they start on the backstretch.
Last year was my first trip to Mid-Ohio that was totally rain free. It doesn’t appear we’ll be that lucky again. At my first race, it rained just before the race. The rooster tails on the first few laps were spectatcular. The spray hung in the air for several seconds. I hope it does rain a bit during or right before the race starts. Tire strategy becomes more interesting in that situation.
Indy Lights has a weird history in my time here. In 2008, two drivers collided and ended up near the inside fence at turn 5. They got out of their cars and punches were thrown. Never heard from either of them much after that. I’m not sure which year, but the leader pulled into the pits on the last lap before taking the checkered flag, handing the victory to the very surprised second place driver. Last year in Race 1, the leaders decided to play a game late in the race to see who could make the most mistakes. R C Enerson won the race after riding around fourth or fifth all day.
This race could help determine if Scott Dixon has a legitimate shot at catching Simon Pagenaud for the championship. This has been a good track for Dixon. I don’t expect that to change. this weekend. Qualifying has been important here in the past, although the last two years pit strategy has determined the outcome. Dixon won from starting last in2014; Rahal won from thirteenth last year.
Enjoy the race. Remember for those of you playing at home, it’s on CNBC at 2pm Sunday with a re-air on NBCSN at 5.
I am as stunned as everyone else at the news of Target leaving the series at the end of the season. This should not be a surprise. I felt this day would come, but the suddenness and reality of it really hit hard. twenty-seven seasons as a sponsor with one team is an amazing record. I doubt we’ll ever see that again. So, I thank Target for their sponsorship of Indycar.
I am very sponsor loyal. When Dollar General sponsored Sara Fisher’s cars, I shopped there. When they ended the relationship, I stopped shopping there. When Verizon came on board as the series’ sponsor, I switched to Verizon.My car rides on Firestone tires. I will now be looking for a new place to do my shopping after September 18. Silly? Definitely. Petty? You bet.
There is an other issue with Indycar sponsors. Many are things not readily available to the average consumer. NTT Data, ABC Supply, and Gallagher don’t have products a regular person like me can purchase. Notice I didn’t say normal person.
Realistically, sponsors come and go. We fans can show our gratitude with our dollars. We can show our disappointment the same way. I’m not urging a boycott of Target. That is an individual choice.
I will miss the beautiful red cars, and especially the lightning bolts that returned to the livery this season. Apparently, Chip knew this was coming and appears to have a plan in place. My concern is Tony Kanaan may be the odd man out.
Notes:
I am heading to Mid-Ohio tomorrow. It is one of my favorite venues and the one I have been to the most outside of IMS. It sounds like many people I haven’t seen in a long time will be there. I’m very excited to reunite with them. More on Mid-Ohio tomorrow before I leave.
I was heading home after a long time away. The first race I ever saw was a dirt track race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The short tracks hooked me on racing. I had focused so much on attending Indycar races lately that there was little time for other racing. Thursday night, I at last had the opportunity to finally go to a short track for the Rich Vogler Classic, a USAC Silver Crown race, at Lucas Oil Raceway.
The program had constant on-track action. The Silver crown cars practiced, the thunder roadsters had qualifying heats, then ARCA had a brief practice for their Friday race. Silver Crown qualifying followed, then the thunder roadster race. After that race, vintage sprint cars took laps. The prelude to the feature race concluded with the USAC Hall of Fame induction. While Tony Stewart was the most prominent inductee, Pat O’Connor, Tommy Hinnerschitz, and Dick King also were a part of this year’s class.
Thunder roadsters are old 60s era Indy roadsters with modified bodywork. They somewhat resemble sports cars. The back end of one had the appearance of a Corvette. Some were still open wheel, while most had full fenders. It is an interesting concept.
Three of the thunder roadsters in line for qualifying. The number 18 won the race.
The Silver Crown race, 100 laps around the 5/8 mile oval, included NASCAR driver Ryan Newman in the 19 car field.I have heard of the other drivers in the field. I saw some of them race at Iowa Speedway when Indycar had a program with them in 2012. I wish they would come back there. It would be better than the current preliminary at Iowa. These guys love to race. They race several times a week. for little reward. Many know this is as high as they’re going. in their careers. They do it because they love what they do.
Kody Swanson led all the way and edged his brother Tanner at the finish in a two lap shootout after a late caution. While Swanson led by large margins throughout the race, there was plenty of action deep in the field. I learned after the race that it was the first time Kody had beaten his brother in a Silver Crown race.
Kody Swanson (left) talks to the crowd after winning the Rich Vogler Classic Thursday night.
I really enjoyed the evening’s program. There was minimal down time. Hearing some of the great names from the past called out during the Hall of Fame induction brought back some great memories. I need to become more familiar with the drivers in this series so that I can have an easier time tacking who is in which car.
This evening whetted my appetite for more short tracks. I hope to get to one next month. The last time I saw a race on dirt was probably the 1969 Hoosier 100. It’s been awhile, but I’m coming back to where I started.
I have always enjoyed reading about the great races in Europe- Monaco, Le Mans, Monza, the Mille Miglia, a thousand mile road race through Italy. Another race that fascinated me was the Targa Florio in Sicily. It did not get the attention of the other European races. Until today, I knew less about it than any other race. Today I saw A Sicilian Dream, a documentary about the Targa Florio, at the Indy Film Fest. Another screening will be Saturday afternoon at 3:15 pm at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
The story has former driver Alain de Cadenet, who nearly lost his life in a horrific fiery crash during the 1970 race, driving the 44 mile, 710 turn course with Francesco Motosco, who remembers watching the race as a boy. They drive a 1931 Alfa Romeo, rumored to be the car driven by Tazio Nuvolari in the race. The film interviews people who watched the race, last held in 1977, and still have fond memories of the event and what it meant to Sicily. We also hear from a relative of the race founder, Vincenzo Florio, whose husband was the promoter in its final years. Vincenzo was a dreamer and impulsive. The youngest son of a shipping magnate, he was not involved with the family business and had time to pursue his ideas.
The first race was in 1906. During the previous year, Florio mapped out a course through the towns in the la Mondie mountains (only 92 miles long), built grandstands and a timing stand. The race distance was 276 miles- 3 laps. The course changed several times. For a few years it ran the perimeter of the island. Its last iteration was a 44 mile circuit with a distance of 484 miles- 11 laps. In the early days there were no pit stops. Drivers would tour the course before the race and hide cans of fuel in the woods at points where they thought they would need to refill. In later years, drivers marked areas of the track that they thought would give them the most trouble. They spray painted walls and rocks as a warning. Each driver did this individually. One of the most striking scenes was one of these trouble spots. each driver not only marked their trouble spots, but they each used a different color and a different symbol. Some of the rocks seemed to have hieroglyphs on them from the various markings.
The story of de Cadenet’s 1970 crash was told from a point of view I didn’t expect. The son of the spectator who watched his father pull de Cadenet from his burning car and drag the unconscious driver across the road reenacted his dad’s actions at the spot where the crash occurred. Brian Redman also had a fiery crash in that year’s race. One charred piece of Redman’s car remains on display in Sicily. There is a touching scene where he sees the piece and picks it up. You can just imagine what he’s feeling at the time.
After 1977, the race stopped. There were many factors.in its demise. First, finances. There was never any admission fee for spectators. Early on, the whole operation was funded by Florio. Second, safety. There never guardrails nor spectator protection.Crowds had grown to more than 500,00. The streets had become too narrow for the cars. Third, the cars themselves. Manufacturers began building special machines just for this race, reaching speeds up to 150 miles an hour on the long straight. The cars simply outgrew the track. The race continues as a rally now.
The film contains a lot of vintage footage of races gone by. The passion shown by the citizens talking about watching the race was touching. You can feel the passion in their voices. It was fan ownership of the event. At the end, a British vintage auto club is set to tour the course in their own cars, many of which are relatives of the cars that once drove the great road race.
For more information about the film, visit the website, siciliandreammovie.com
Photo above- Stirling Moss driving the 1955 Mercedes he drove to victory in the Targa Florio. Photo by Lothar Spurzem
This is Toronto. There will be caution periods. They will come at or near pit windows. Do you pit early and know that will give you track position, or do you wait until your window opens? Team Penske played the yellows the right way. Cautions at the wrong times in Detroit and Iowa cost Helio Castroneves a victory in Detroit and a possible top three in Iowa. Will Power won the race by pitting early, and Castroneves finished second playing the same strategy. Scott Dixon waited for his pit window to open and lost a race he was controlling when a caution fell just before his scheduled stop. The result was a setback for Dixon’s title hopes. I don’t think it is a major setback, but he has to now chase down Power as well as points leader Simon Pagenaud.
The race itself featured some great racing. Battles for position were everywhere. For the most part it was as clean as possible on a narrow track. One driver I did not think drove cleanly was Juan Pablo Montoya. He was reckless and rough. A couple times as he made a pass, he seemed to turn the wheel toward the car he was passing in a bullying fashion. Montoya was driving today like someone desperately fighting to keep his job. The past few races he drove as if he didn’t care.
I’m not sure what to think of race control. Taking no action on the Montoya/Newgarden incident was consistent with their ruling at Indianapolis with Hildebrand/Castroneves. Other rulings today? Did Pagenaud violate the blend line? Was he or was he not given a warning? The television booth at first said he was warned, then said he wasn’t. That was the last we heard about it. Jack Hawksworth complained that his accident was caused by Pagenaud running into the back of him. race Control said they had no video of it. I thought the entire track was covered by video. I’m not sure how something like that could be missed.
I hope to get back to Toronto in the next two years. It is a great event with a wonderful, exciting atmosphere. The fans are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It has a lot of the electricity you feel at the Indianapolis 500.
Notes-
Nice stories –
James Hinchcliffe finishing third at his hometown race after missing last year was arguably the best story of the day.. He has struggled here mightily in the past. Great pit strategy put him in third and the last two yellows came at the right time.
Takuma Sato earned a top 5 for his best finish this year. Until Hawksworth’s crash, it appeared two Foyt cars would be in the top 10.
A tenth place for Marco Andretti is his best finish of the year also. He was racy all day.
Rough days-
Josef Newgarden struggled with his broken hand all weekend. He admitted it was a factor in the crash. He will be reevaluated tomorrow. Fortunately,there are two weeks before Mid-Ohio, another course that could be rough on his injury. Today I think ended any title hopes he had.
Ryan Hunter-Reay continues his lost season. The pit stops and the way the yellows fell gave him his finishing spot. He struggled to get by anyone today. The entire Andretti Autosport team continues to struggle with setup.
The curb in turn 5 broke up during the race causing a yellow. I hope they find a better solution for next year.
This week I’m planning to watch a documentary on the Targa Florio, the Sicilian road race, and attend the USAC Silver Crown race at Lucas Oil Raceway. Look for posts about these two events later this week.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 