Tag: NBC

Quick Thoughts- Indycar Grand Prix

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What a great race. It was one of the two best of the year.

Jack Harvey had a great weekend. As I said yesterday, the secret’s out.  This was his third top 10 of the year. Hard to remember this is a part time team.

A great drive today from Matheus Leist was overshadowed by Harvey and Simon Pagenaud.

Ed Carpenter Racing had two cars in the top 10. On a road course.

Attendance was pretty good considering the forecast.

Pagenaud made two incredible passes in the last 6 laps to get by Harvey and Dixon. He said they weren’t planned.

This was a lost weekend for Andretti Autosport. Zach Veach in 12th was the highest finisher for the team. Today followed a poor qualifying yesterday.

Jack Harvey was a delight in the post race press conference. He could barely contain his excitement.

Colton Herta has had a tough go of it since his victory at COTA. Two last place finishes and next to last today. I hope the 500 will be where his luck changes.

A more detailed report will be out tomorrow. Thanks for following along this weekend.

 

Herta Continues Rookies’ Great Weekend; Weather Update

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Colton Herta led the morning warm-up session. The Andretti cars seemed to have found some speed. Marco Andretti was 6th, Zach Veach 10th, Alexander Rossi 10th, and Ryan Hunter-Reay 12th.

Pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist finished 9th in the session. Defending race winner Will Power was 13th. Max Chilton was the fastest Chevy in 7th. I can’t remember a weekend when Team Penske cars weren’t the fastest Chevys.  Josef Newgarden led the team in 8th.

Pato O’ Ward didn’t turn a lap and his car went back to the garage during the session.

Weather

A brief rain shower is expected in the area in a few minutes.  I have received reports of moisture in turns 6A and 7.

The latest radar has rain coming after 5:30.

Back with another update when tire choices come out.

 

 

Welcome to Race Day

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It’s race day for the Indycar Grand Prix, the first event of the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This race has the potential to be the best of the Grand Prixs for several reasons.  A rookie is on the pole, three championship contenders start mid pack, and weather could come into play.

Felix Rosenqvist showed at St. Pete that he can take charge of a race. How he handles the start with 5 time champion Scott Dixon alongside him will determine how his race goes. Dixon hasn’t won a race yet this season, but in 2018 he didn’t win or lead a lap until the first Belle Isle race. He has led laps already this year, so he is ahead of last year’s pace. The only other contender in the first three rows is Will Power, starting sixth. Power admitted last night that his car lacks speed on the long straights. This is odd for a Chevrolet here.  Power has fallen behind the other points leaders a bit with his last place finish at COTA.

Power and Dixon are in great position to gain on Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi, the top two in points.  Neither driver showed much speed yesterday in any session. Newgarden starts 13th and Rossi starts 17th.  Rossi will need to use his masterful passing skills to move up, but he needs to do so quickly. Newgarden will likely rely on a different pit strategy to gain positions.

Ryan Hunter-Reay starts 16th. He has not had the best luck in this event. Last year an engine misfire slowed him to a low finish. He had a chance to win the inaugural race, but fuel strategy cost him at the end.

Weather and Tires

It will be cool, with air temperatures below 60 degrees and track temperatures maybe reaching 80. It is sunny right now with a few scattered clouds. Rain is still a possibility during the race.  The later in the race it comes, the more interesting the finish could be.

Dixon thinks the alternate reds will be the tire of choice today because they seem to last longer here. I will update this post when tire choices come out after the warmup at 11:15.

A Different Channel

The race is on NBC, not NBCSN. If like me you have your recording set to record all Indycar programs on NBCSN, remember to go to your NBC channel and set up the recording. It does not transfer, trust me.

Before the race coverage begins at 3, watch the documentary Drive Like Andretti at 2 pm on NBC.

Back later with an update on tire choices and weather.

 

Rosenqvist Wins Pole in a Different Fast Six

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Photo:  Felix Rosenqvist on his way to his first career Indycar pole. Photo: Kyle McInnes

 

Scott Dixon and Will Power looked at their Fast Six competition and had to ask, “Who are these guys?”  Two  rookie drivers, Felix Rosenqvist and Colton Herta, had each made one Fast Six appearance this season. For Jack Harvey and Ed Jones, this was new ground.

Each round of NTT Indycar Series  qualifying for the Indycar Grand Prix had twists and turns, with many favorites, including points leader Josef Newgarden and other usual final round residents like Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay not advancing out of Round 1.  Yet things didn’t\;t seem totally amiss. Takuma Sato led Group 1, which was not a surprise this season. Power advanced, but no one thought anything of his fourth place. There was more focus on who didn’t advance than who did. Alexander Rossi and Josef Newgarden watched the rest of qualifying and will start 17th and 13th respectively. Group 2 knocked out Ryan Hunter-Reay and Patricio O’Ward, who faded late in the session after showing early speed.

Probably the shock of Round 2 was Sato not advancing. Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud looked like they had a chance, especially given the inexperience of the rest of the group.

Then the Fast Six gave us a rookie pole winner with his veteran five time teammate starting next to him’

Rosenqvist said, ” It was the first time I felt relaxed in the car and didn’t feel I had to push 120%.”

The polesitter has won four of the five Indycar Grand Prix. Weather may be a factor in who wins tomorrow. It is likely the string of winners whose last name starts with P is about to end.

Qualifying Results by Round. Starting Lineup will be up tomorrow with the latest weather update.

Round -1-1

Sato

Bourdais

Rosenqvist

Harvey

Jones

Power

Round 1-2

Herta

Dixon

Ericsson

Rahal

Pagenaud

Pigot

Round 2

Herta

Rosenqvist

Harvey

Power

Dixon

Jones

Fast Six

Rosneqvist

Dixon

Harvey

Herta

Jones

Power

 

Quick Thoughts- Indycar Grand Prix Qualifying

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Nice to see so many different drivers in the second round.

Even nicer to see new faces in the Fast Six.

Scott Dixon and Will Power have a big chance to move up in the point standings tomorrow.

I can’t remember the last Ganassi front row lockout. It might have been when Dario Franchitti and Dixon were together.

Jack Harvey was having an under the radar good season. It’s not under the radar now. When you remember Harvey is not full time, this makes a Fast Six appearance even more impressive.

The Fast Six had two rookies, three drivers making their first appearance in the final round, and two drivers who make regular appearances.  The changing of the guard is getting closer.

Weather could play a huge role in tomorrow’s race.

Full qualifying story up later tonight. Thanks for following along today.

 

 

Power Leads Practice One

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Will Power led the just completed first practice with a lap of 1:09.2 seconds.  He edged Spencer Pigot who led the session until a red flag for Helio Castroneves halted the session with just over two minutes left.  Castroneves’ car stopped in turn 10.  After his car was cleared, the field was allowed to take one more hot lap. Power once again showed who owns this road course.

Results:

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It’s Opening Day at IMS!

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At last the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is open for racing. Today is practice and qualifying for the Indycar Grand Prix. The sixth running of this race begins the NBC network television era. Fans are looking forward to how the network will cover this race and the 500.

While some fans don’t care for this event, it has served its stated purpose, which is to attract a bigger crowd than the opening day of practice or even qualifying would have. Four days of qualifying is no longer necessary, which leaves an open weekend that needed to be filled.

It is cool and cloudy as Indycar’s first practice begins in 15 minutes. It will be interesting to see how much running happens in this session.  Back after practice with results.