Tag: NBC Sports

Indycar’s Last Oval Weekend of the Year Begins

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Good morning . Today begins a bittersweet weekend. Practice and qualifying for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is today.  The event produces mixed feelings. It’s exciting because this race is a great event and it is an oval race. It’s sad because it is the final oval of the year and one of the final three races of the season.

Today’s schedule- All times CDT:

1-2 Practice. NBC Gold

5:15 Qualifying NBCSN

8:15-9:15 Final Practice NBC Gold

Last night at Busch Stadium Josef Newgarden started the Indycar weekend by throwing out the first pitch before the St. Louis Cardinals- Colorado Rockies game.IMG_20190822_190713

Watch for session up dates here throughout the day.

 

Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Preview- Trio Chasing Newgarden Needs to Gain More Ground

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Photo: The first two rows on the pace lap at last year’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500

The clock is ticking. Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud, and Scott Dixon are running out of time to catch Josef Newgarden. They are closing, but Newgarden has done well enough, other than his misstep at Mid Ohio, to keep the group at slightly more than arm’s length. Dixon has been gaining ground steadily. He has won once and finished second three times over the last four races. He needs to maintain that level of performance to have a chance of catching Newgarden

Rossi has crept close and then fallen back. His first lap incident Sunday could have hurt worse than it did. His last four races showed a fifth, a third, a sixth, and the 18th at Pocono. He needs another win to close the gap. Pagenaud has been steady

also. He has a win in the last four races to go along with  third,  sixth, and  fourth place finishes.

Saturday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is the third NTT Indycar Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside St. Louis since Indycar returned in 2017. The racing has been fun and attendance has been the best at an oval outside of Indianapolis.  Chris Blair, executive vice president and general manager and track president Curtis Francois, understand how to promote a race. Saturday night’s crowd should again be in the 30,000-40,000 range.

The first race involving Indycar machines was in 1997 under CART sanction during the split. The first three races were the day before the Indianapolis 500. They were scheduled to prevent the CART drivers from participating in the 500. The race moved to September in 2000. In 2001-2003 the IRL held races at the track. Indycar returned in 2017.

Team Penske has dominated the past two years. Will Power won the pole in 2017 and Newgarden and Pagenaud battled for the win. Newgarden won with a pass going into turn one late in the race. There may have been some contact between them.

In 2018 the grid was set by entrant points after rain washed out qualifying.  Will Power won the race, taking the lead for good with eight laps left. What will this year bring? No driver has won this event more than once. Who has the best finishing average of the two races? Scott Dixon.

Dixon finished second in 2017 and third last year. If his trend of the last four races continues, he has to be a favorite for at least a podium spot.  Power, comes into the weekend not only as the defending winner at this track, but also with the momentum of his first victory of the season last Sunday at Pocono. can Power get on one his patented winning streaks?

Rossi and Newgarden I think are under the most pressure. Newgarden has seen his lead over fourth place Dixon dwindle to 52 points. He leads Dixon by 98 going into Mid Ohio. Newgarden is 35 ahead of Rossi and 43 in front of Pagenaud. I think the winner will come from the top four in the points or Power.

Rossi is unde pressure because he can’t afford another bad race. He has two wins this year while Newgarden has four. he need to win two of the last three races to possibly take the title to the second tie breaker. Rossi holds that edge.

Breaking the First Lap Curse

Both races this track have had a first lap, second turn incident. This is a tradition that needs to end in 2019. In 2017 Tony Kanaan spun and Ed Carpenter hit the wall. Last year Sebastien Bourdais hit the turn 2 wall just after the green flag. We’ll see if Sunday’s accident has any influence on how the field drives on the first lap.

A Closer Points Battle

i think the points battle gets even closer after Saturday night.  My prediction is Dixon will win, and Rossi and Pagenaud also close their gaps to Newgarden. I’m not wishing or predicting anything bad for Newgarden. All four drivers should finish in the top ten.

The race  coverage begins at 8 pm Eastern on NBCSN with the green flag around 8:30.

Friday look for my Quick Thoughts after qualifying as well as practice session reports. Saturday morning I will have a pre race post followed by  post race Quick thoughts Saturday night.

 

 

 

 

Rosenqvist Cleared to Drive; Reveals New Livery for Saturday

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Felix Rosenqvist has been cleared to drive in the Bommariot Automotive Group 500 Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway. Rosenqvist was involved inn the first lap crash Sunday at Pocono. The nose of this car lifted into the fence, but returned to the track. he was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation and released later Sunday evening. Yesterday he received the final okay from NTT Indycar Series doctors to drive in this weekend’s event.

Today Chip Ganasssi Racing revealed Rosenqvist’s car for Saturday with Monster Energy sponsorship.

This livery should look great in a night race. I’m wondering if this is the start of Monster Energy’s interest in sponsoring a car on a more regular basis. I hope so.

World Wide Technology Raceway Adds Fan Enhancements

The track  will have three large video boards at the race Saturday.  It will sure be an improvement over the tiny screens from the past two years.

The Stanley Cup, the NHL’s trophy won by the St. louis Blues in June, will be on display at some point Saturday on the fan midway stage. Colton Parayko of the Blues will be the Grand  Marshal  for the race. Blues team captain Alex Pietrangelo will also be at the track.  I am very excited to at last get to see the Cup in person. After the Borg-Warner trophy, I think the Stanley Cup is the coolest trophy in North America.

Back later with some more on the race Saturday.  Look for my race preview tomorrow.

Pocono Postscript-A Final Word on Pocono

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It has been 24 hours since the ABC Supply 500 began, and many words and thoughts have been shared by many people about the NTT Indycar Series racing at Pocono.  I think the series should still race there. Every track goes through a period where a few races in consecutive years have awful things happen.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has had several such periods. There have been calls to stop racing there as well.  I recall in 1964 and 1973 in particular, some people questioned whether it was safe to race there. Yet, the race has gone on. The series has constantly worked to improve the safety of the drivers so that the sport can continue.

Pocono should continue to have an Indycar race. Changes need to happen, though. I’m not an engineer, but there must be some modifications in downforce or engine horsepower that can allow more separation going into turn 2. The SAFER barrier and fencing in that section of the track needs to be looked at. Is it possible to prevent cars from climbing the wall?

One argument I’ve heard is that Indycars have outgrown the track. I heard the same thing in 1962 when Panelli Jones recorded the first 150 mph lap. Can racing technology outgrow tracks?  I’m sure it can happen, but I would think it might be more likely on an older road or street  course.  Pocono was built specifically for Indycar racing. The track is just one factor in making the race safer. It is probably the easiest part to fix.

More difficult to alter is the mindset of 22 drivers when the green flag drops. A 500 mile race is long and patience is a virtue. Drivers look for any opportunity to get ahead of an opponent, and go for any opening they believe to be there. One or two drivers will not exercise the caution needed at the start. It’s just how racing is.

If the series leaves Pocono behind, I understand if it’s for financial or scheduling reasons. Dropping a track because there have been too many accidents in a short period of time is not a good reason. There are ways to fix that problem.

Quick Thoughts- ABC Supply 500

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A weather shortened official race is like only getting to eat half of your lunch. You’re somewhat filled, but want to get to the end.

I had a scary deja vu feeling when the first lap accident began. Thank goodness Rosenqvist’s car didn’t launch into the fence.

The AFP did its job, keeping a piece of carbon fiber and a tire from hitting Hinchcliffe.

I don’t know when the NTT Indycar Series’  post-race review of Sato’s part in the incident will take place, but there needs to be a penalty stronger than a fine or having points docked.

I’m not sure what has happened to Sato, but he had a great season going until he came into the pits too fast at Texas. since then, he has taken cars out of two consecutive races and may have affected the championship.

Have we seen the last 500 mile race outside of Indianapolis? From fans I communicated with who were there, it sounded as if the race was better attended than t last year’s race. The first lap accident on the heels of last year’s crash, may have sealed the track’s fate.

I have seen on social media that Pocono, which was built for Indycar, is not suited for the cars today. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway wasn’t built for today’s cars either, but no one is talking about leaving IMS. Cars can be modified to be safe for different tracks.

Dixon’s decision to add front wing may have cost him 10 valuable points.

Rossi is fortunate that he only lost 19 points to Newgarden. Newgarden didn’t have a great car today.

Ferrucci turned in another outstanding performance. He was in the lead group the entire race and improved nine spots.

Power’s Pocono line the last four years: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st. With his win at Indianapolis last year, of the last  five 500 mile races, Power has won four and finished second in the one he didn’t win.

The racing was good for the brief time we saw it. I thought the battle for the lead between Power and Pagenaud was great.

Tony Kanaan’s eighth place result is the second oval top ten for A. J. Foyt Racing in the last two ovals.

Ed Carpenter tied his best finish of the season with his sixth place finish. He also finished sixth at the 500.

That’s all for tonight. Back with a full race report tomorrow afternoon.

 

 

 

Race Day at Pocono- Eye on the Weather

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Photo: Tony Kanaan was fastest in yesterday’s only practice. He was 5th on the No Tow list. Photo: Kyle McInnes

Good morning. It’s race day at Pocono Raceway. The ABC Supply 500 has a scheduled green flag of around 2:45, weather permitting. The last forecast I heard was for a mid morning shower with the race starting on time. Rain is possible between 4 and 5 pm. We may get a shortened race which would not be good for the championship contenders.

Check in with @Indycar_Wxman on Twitter for the latest weather. I will provide updates with links to his account as I receive them.  I will also be in contact with fans at the track for on site real time information.

I’m not sure what to expect this afternoon, but from yesterday’s practice session it looks like pit strategy and track position may be key. I anticipate no more than three yellow flags. Fuel mileage will be critical. Hondas should have the advantage there.

Coverage begins on NBCSN at 2pm Eastern. No word yet on possibly moving up the start time.

Notes

Curious information that Pocono wants the race to return, but Indycar has not responded. I don’t think the series is in a position yet to turn away a track that wants them. It wasn’t too long that when a potential track was mentioned, the line was the track has to want Indycar first. Here’s a track that wants a race. I would like to know why Indycar doesn’t want to return.

Indications are strong that Richmond will be on the schedule next year. I don’t see why it can’t be an addition instead of a replacement.

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Interesting article by Chris De Harde in @Indystar about Colton Herta receiving multiple offers from different series. I hope he remains in Indycar. I thought it was pretty much a given that he would move to a fifth Andretti car.

I will be back with a weather update when I have one. i hope I don’t need to be. Look for my Quick thoughts after the race and a full race report here tomorrow.

Kanaan Leads Practice Session; ECR Struggles

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Photo: Kyle McInnes

Tony Kanaan led this afternoon’s only track practice for tomorrow’s ABC Supply 500. Kanaan’s top lap of 216.354 was the only lap in the 216 range. Scott Dixon had the second best time with a 215. 761. Dixon’s lap came late  in the session. Simon Pagenaud in 5th and Charlie Kimball in eighth were the other Chevys  in the top ten. Alexander Rossi was fourth.

Rookie Santino Ferrucci led the session for a few minutes before settling for third quickest. Ferrucci was one of the few drivers who seemed to be able to pass cars  at will.

Ed Carpenter Racing struggled during the session. Spencer Pigot was 21st and Ed Carpenter was last. ECR usually does very well on super speedways. Points leader Josef Newgarden also had trouble finding speed, finishing 17th. Teammate Will Power ended 20th.

The Top Ten:

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Notes:

NBCSN did a nice job pointing out the different wickers teams were using. I’m glad the teams have options. Even thought the wickers configurations are difficult to see, it does give the cars some differentiation.

Rossi seemed to have the setup to be able to pull away from cars behind him.

Passing will be difficult tomorrow. Some of the attempted passes looked like what you see on a road course when a driver can get his nose up to the car but has to drop back. It looks like track position, fuel mileage, and good restarts will be keys to success Sunday.

I’ll be back to morrow with a quick morning preview and then post race coverage.

Race coverage begins at 2 pm on NBCSN. green flag around 2:45. Thanks for following along on this crazy, jumbled day.