Tag: NBC Gold
Saturday Morning at Road America
It’s a very busy day today. On track action begins at 9 ET and is continuous throughout the day. The Road toi Indy has a full slate with race 2 qualifying for Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. Following the Indycar practice at noon ET all three RTI series hold their first races of the weekend. USF 2000 at 1, followed by Indy Pro 2000 and then Indy Lights.
Indycar qualifying for the REV Group Grand Grand Prix starts at 4 ET. There is little threat of rain today, but Sunday still looks iffy.
I’m looking at the combined practice results from yesterday. Four drivers had their fastest lap in Practice 1, including Ryan Hunter-Reay, who led that session. Hunter-Reay is sixth on the combined chart. Jack Harvey, Marcus Ericsson, and Max Chilton were at the bottom of the charts in both sessions. Harvey had a couple of incidents in Practice 1.
Will Power and Josef Newgarden are the only Chevys in the combined top 10 at second and third.
Back with an update after Practice 3.
Hunter-Reay Quickest in Practice 1
Ryan Hunter-Reay led the first practice for the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America this morning. The first session for the NTT Indycar Series was dominated by Honda cars with six drivers in the top ten. The three Chevy machiunes from Team Penske were all n the top along with Spencer Pigot of Ed Carpenter racing. Will Power was the fastest Chevy in fourth.
The top 5- Hunter-Reay 1:43.755; Takuma Sato 1:43.824; Scott Dixon 1:43.984; Power 1:444.039; and Newgarden 1:44.070. Alexander Rossi was sixth, still behind Newgarden.
The practice was stopped twice for incidents involving Jack Harvey. The second issue saw Harvey miss turn 12 and slide into the runoff area on the driver’s left. Harvey is okay.
I spent some time during practice exploring various parts of the back part of the track from turns 13 and working down the backstretch to turns 10 and 11. The speed the cars have heading to Canada Corner is amazing. I drove back to the front stretch through the campgrounds. This track never ceases to amaze me with the skill set a driver needs to do a lap here.
Graham Rahal’s car sure looks Bobby’s MGD car when at speed. Very cool to see that look again.
Welcome to Road America
Just arrived at Road America. Today looks like the best day weather wise. There are chances of rain both tomorrow and Sunday. Sunday’s rain may affect the race.
Today’s Indycar schedule:
Practice 1 12:05 ET
Practice 2 4:00 ET
Pit Stop Practice 5:00 ET
All sessions are on NBC Gold.
Remember to set your DVR for Sunday to NBC. If you have the series set to record on NBCSN, it will not transfer over. Back with an update after Practice 1..
Texas Preview- Tires and Timing Keys to Winning
The NTT Indycar series reaches the halfway point of the season with Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600k at Texas Motor Speedway. The race also ends a grueling five week stretch for the teams and drivers that started May 10 with the Indycar Grand Prix. There is a test at Road America next week, and the race there is June 22-24.
Texas over the years has had horrific crashes and controversy. In 1997, Billy Boat won the race driving for A. J. Foyt. Arie Luyenduyk confronted Foyt in Victory Lane claiming he had won. Foyt slapped Luyendyk. A review showed that Luyendyk had indeed won. Foyt stil has the trophy. It was the last Indycar race that USAC officiated. Simona de Silvestro was involved in a horrible crash in 2010 and her car came to rest on fire. It took several minutes for the rescue team to reach her car. In 2017, a multi-car wreck which caused a red flag resulted in lots of finger pointing among drivers and teams.
The weekend really began last night with a night practice. The practice also served as test to decide which of two tire compounds cars will use in the race.
Last night’s practice was cut short by rain at about 8:50 EDT. The drivers got about 35 minutes actual practice. the first few minutes were spent practicing pit exit with the two stage limiter in effect for this race.
Scott Dixon was fastest in the short practice session with a lap at 219.3 mph. Today’s schedule: All times Eastern
Pit Stop Practice and Practice 2 2:30-4:00 NBC Gold
Qualifying 6:45-7:45 NBC Sports and NBC Gold
This weekend’s race could either help drivers close in on points leader Josef Newgarden or put someone too far back to contend the rest of the year.
Since 2011, only three drivers who have won this race went on to win the championship the same season. Scott Dixon has done it three times, last year, 2015, and 2008. Dario Franchitti won the race and the title in 2011. Helio Castroneves has won four times, and Dixon has three victories.
Winning the pole at Texas doesn’t mean race success, either. In the 30 previous races, only five drivers won from the pole- Sam Hornish, Jr. in 20001, Gil de Ferran in 2003, Helio Castroneves in 2004, and Tomas Scheckter in 2005; Scott Dixon is the last driver to win from pole in 2008. Power has won the pole three times in three straight years- 2013-2015.
Daly’s Second Start
Conor Daly makes his second start of the season, driving for Carlin Racing. he replaces Max Chilton, who has decided not to drive on the remaining ovals this year. Daly finished 10th in the Indianapolis 500 driving for Andretti Autosport. He drove for Carlin ‘s GP 3 program in 2011.
In 2016 at Texas Daly was involved in crash with Josef Newgarden. Newgarden was injured but still was able to race at road America two weeks later. The 2016 race was later halted by rain after 78 laps and finished in August.
Strong Track for Penske
Four of the last six poles at TMS have been won by a Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden won the pole last year. Power, as previously stated, won the pole from 2013-15. Race results for Penske have been mixed, with only two wins in the last six years. The most recent win was by Power in 2017.
With all three Penske drivers fighting for the title,and possibly the win, the drivers will be taking points from each other, leaving an opening for Dixon or Alexander Rossi to gain ground.
How the Yellows Fall
The outcome of the race usually comes down to when the last yellow flag falls and who survives the attrition this track seems to produce. A caution with less than ten laps to go will result in cars behind the leader going to the pits for fresh tires. The leader is stuck maintaining his position. His only hope is for a yellow with three laps left.
Tires
The rain shortened practice may make tires more of a question mark. this was the only practice that was at the same time of day as the race. At that, just a few minutes after the green flag time, the rain began.
Firestone brought a different right front in case their first choice blistered. The hope is that tire wear will be more of a factor this year. it may be another race where the last driver to get fresh tires wins.
Inaccurate Predicitions
At the season’s halfway point, I have a choice. i can get a prediction right or run the table and continue to get them all wrong. I will try to get at least one right.
Pole: Hunter-Reay
Race: Dixon
Like Detroit last week, this race could be another good day for Dallara. I just hope it is a safe race.
Look for Quick Thoughts after qualifying and the race here and a full race report on Sunday on Wildfire Sports.
Texas Starts with Practice 1 Tonight
The first practice at Texas Motor Speedway is this evening from 8-10 EDT. The practice is live streamed on NBC Gold.
Cars will test two tire compounds this evening to determine which tire will be used in the race.
My full preview will get up tomorrow. Here us the spotter’s guide for Texas.
Dixon Leads Practice 1
Scott Dixon had the fastest lap in the opening practice session for the Detroit Grand Prix. His best lap was 1:16.7418, a speed of 110.240 mph. Four Hondas and two Chevrolets occupied the top six spots. Will Power was second, 0,3464 seconds behind Dixon.
The rest of the top six – Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, and Colton Herta. Spencer Pigot was the only other Chevy driver in the top 10, in ninth place. Alexander Rossi, one of this weekend’s favorites, was eighth quickest.
The session was green until Sebastien Bourdais found the runoff area in turn seven with about eight minutes left. He tried to spin the car around and continue, but the car stalled. The session resumed with about five minutes left. Felix Rosenqvist spun into a runoff area, but the session continued.
The next practice is at 2:50 and the results will determine tomorrow’s qualifying groups. Pit stop practice follows the practice session.
More later.
Welcome to the Detroit Grand Prix
Here at the Detroit Grand Prix. The first practice begins in about 20 minutes. Most of my coverage will be on Wildfire Sports this weekend, but I will still have posts here, including qualifying and race quick thoughts.
One change I noticed is the food court has moved to the drive just before the bridge leading to the paddock. Picnic tables are in the grassy area near the bridge. This arrangement makes the food court less crowded.
Practices today will be on NBC Gold. I’ll be back after practice.
Quick, Well, Day After, Thoughts- Day 2 Qualifying
The format did provide drama. James Hinchcliffe and Fernando Alonso had to wait until the final two qualifiers ran to see if they made the race.
Some of the old Bump Day flavor was back with rumors swirling about deals and shared parts and information. the rain delay may have had something to do with it, but it was a fun atmosphere.
Every 100 years, a driver from France wins the pole. That’s not good news for Sebastien Bourdais.
Qualifying Weekend Tweaks
For next year I would like to see Bump Day be a timed period, say 90 minutes, for cars not in the race to make a maximum of three attempts to make the field.
As far as the Fast Nine, it is a dinosaur concept intended to be filler when there were only 33 cars. It may be good for television, but I think an extended Bump Day as I proposed would be a better use of that brief network TV window. Let the pole winner be the fastest qualifier on Saturday. That’s your Saturday TV drama.
Limit cars to three attempts per day. Several cars went out to use runs as practice time. If teams have exclusive use of the track, it should be for a serious run.
Other Thoughts
I was surprised that the track didn’t open for practice in the middle of Saturday afternoon.
Even in defeat, Fernando Alonso was gracious enough to come to the media center with Gil DeFerran to discuss their week.
Yesterday I think was the first time I nave ever seen Sage Karam smile. He was more at ease in interviews than I’ve seen him after his run. His best comment, referring to Hinchcliffe and the stress of the last two days, “I’m surprised James hasn’t had a heart attack yet going through this two years in a row.”
The new sealant seems to help dry the track quicker, which would be a good thing on Race Day. I just hope we never have to find out on that day.
I’ve seen some people say this year’s qualifying was a good argument for guaranteed spots. I think it was a better argument against it. Would have great stories like Dragonspeed and Juncos with guaranteed spots? It would be hard if more full time teams join the series.
I have never seen so little attention paid to who wins the pole. I didn’t mind it. I think the pole should be decided first, like on Saturday. The true story of qualifying is in the smaller teams who make the field, sometimes at the expense of a bigger team or champion driver.
Today’s Schedule
Practice -12-2
Bronze badge holders have pit access today.
I will have a summary of the session later today.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 