Tag: NTT Indycar Series

Indycar Oval Season- Veterans Rule, Passing at a Premium

thepitwindow

The NTT Indycar Series completed the oval portion of their abbreviated schedule Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. It was quite a feat to get in six races of any kind in a season that was delayed until June. Some positive things came from the abbreviated, revised schedule. The double header qualifying format, the competitiveness of Carlin Racing with Conor Daly driving, and that fans were allowed to attend Iowa and Gateway. Sunday’s attendance at gateway is thought to be around 7,500, which would make it the largest oval crowd of the year.

Qualifying Format for Double Headers

The double header qualifying format in which the first lap set the Race 1 grid and the second lap set the Race 2 grid was fascinating and did scramble the lineup a bit for the second race. I was surprised no one swept both poles at an event. Four different drivers won poles at the doubleheaders- Conor Daly, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Takuma Sato.

If there are more double headers next season, I hope this format stays. This year it was put in to save time and expense on an improvised program, but it was fun to watch.

Oval Points

It seemed as if Scott Dixon dominated the ovals, but Newgarden was not far behind. Dixon’s 95 point margin is largely based on the road course races. Dixon accumulated 256 points on the ovals while Newgarden has 251. Takuma Sato and Pato O’Ward each have 205 points on the ovals. Sato’s win at the Indianapolis 500 made up for his missing the race at Texas.

Passing

The aeroscreen may be a factor. Less tire degradation might also be a culprit. It seems as if passing is more difficult this year than last year. This past weekend passing was non existent except for a few bold moves, especially Sunday.

The aero package works  very well on road courses. Adjustments need to be made for the oval package. I hope that after a season with the new aeroscreen, the series and teams can figure something out.

Yellows

 The seventeen caution periods this season on ovals is I think, about average. Seven were in the Indianapolis 500. While the timing of the yellows can’t be predicted, several drivers have been caught out by the yellow flags just after their pit stops.

 Conor Daly had just pitted in Iowa race 2 when the yellow flew for Ryan Hunter-Reay’s accident. The rain yellow at Gateway this past Saturday pushed Josef Newgarden back in the field.

Two races have ended under yellow because of accidents with four laps to go. I don’t have a problem with races finishing under yellow. A race has a scheduled distance and that’s when it should end. Baseball doesn’t add an inning when a game ends on a strikeout instead of a home run.

Carlin and Daly

Carlin Racing and Conor Daly have been a great match. Daly has made Carlin competitive on the ovals. His average finish with Carlin is 8.8 with four top tens and a pole. The one top ten he didn’t get was because he was caught by a yellow in Iowa Race 2.

I hope Daly continues his arrangement with Carlin next season.

Rookies

The rookies have looked great on the road courses, but have struggled some on the ovals. Rinus VeeKay, who had a disastrous start at Texas,  does appear to be improving. He had a 6th and a 4th this past weekend. Oliver Askew Had a 3rd and a 6th at Iowa, but hasn’t shown consistency at the other ovals. Alex Palou has a best oval finish of 11th.

VeeKay leads the rookie standings overal with 181 points, while Askew has the most oval points, 126.

I’m sad to see the oval portion end. there are five road or street courses left on the schedule. We are still waiting for final word about Mid Ohio and whether fans will be allowed. There is no word yet about fans viewing the Harvest classic races at IMS. St. Pete I still think is iffy to run and definitely sketchy for fans.

Quick Thoughts- Gateway Race 2

thepitwindow2 Comments

Photo: The race on the pit road exit lane decided the race.

Passing has always been difficult at World wide Technology Raceway, and yesterday was an extreme example of it. When leader Takuma Sato couldn’t lap Ed Carpenter or even get close to him, it set the tome for a very processional race. It was definitely a race that could ahve been helped by a yellow flag or two.

While pit work is very much appreciated, I would rather see races won on the track. The pit crews were on their game this weekend, but on track action is what the series needs to showcase.

Sato showed no signs of an Indy hangover this weekend with a second, a pole, and an eight place finish. He is still fourth in points.

Points for the weekend– Dixon 81, O’Ward 79, Newgarden 69, Sato 67

Congratulations to Rinus VeeKay for his career best fourth place finish Sunday. VeeKay finished sixth on Saturday. He has improved a lot this year after a shaky start at Texas. The rookie is carrying Ed Carpenter Racing this season.

Conor Daly and Carlin is a great pairing. This weekend he earned his third and fourth top tens from his five oval races with the team.

Last year at Gateway vintage cars dropped oil on the track just before qualifying. This year the first responders parade, which was great, also left some fluid on the track. I understand the need for prerace presentations, but Indycar might want to begin the festivities a little earlier to allow for these issues to be resolved.

Was yesterday the last race of 2020 where fans will be allowed? Jay Frye said he is 80-90% certain Mid Ohio will take place, but he said nothing about fans being able to attend.  The Harvest Classic is iffy for fans. and I am stoill skeptical about St. Pete running or running with fans.

The first through fourth finish for Chevy powered cars Sunday was a bit of redemption for their showing at Indianapolis.

I thought Indycar threw the yellow awfully fast when Sato hit the wall. He kept going and maybe should have been black flagged. I don’t think O’Ward would have caught or passed newgarden in any case.

I’m glad that Tony Kanaan had one top ten finish this weekend in what may have been his final Indycar race outside of the Indianapolis 500. He has been a great driver and very popular with the fans. I know many fans who became interestd in Indycar because of him. Sponsorship may prevent him from running more races. If that is the case, I want to say thank you, Tony. You have been a great ambassador for the sport.

History Made – Quick Thoughts on Race 1

thepitwindow

Photo: James Black, Indycar

We were going to see history today. We just didn’t know what it would be. Was it going to be O’Ward’s first victory, Dixon’s 50th, or a repeat winner at this track?

50 Indycar wins for Scott Dixon. Nothing else to say. The way his season is going, he could catch and pass Mario Andretti this season for second place on the all time win list.

Asking for a friend- Is someone really old if they have seen all three Indycar drivers who have won 50 or more races drive and win?

Pato O’Ward will sometime soon get the last stint right and stand atop the podium. Maybe tomorrow.

What Indy 500 hangover? Takuma Sato finished a strong second today, starts on pole tomorrow, and moved up to fourth in points. This ranks as one the best next races after winning the 500 I remember.

Andretti Autosport has a lot of work to do tonight. Losing three cars before they even reach the starting line typifies the type of season the team is having.

I still need to see the replay of the start, but from what I have seen it looks like Power brought the field to the line too slow and drivers in the back got anxious. I’m not sure what Alex Palou was thinking being that far out of line.

Starts and restarts have been a problem this year. Road America race 2 also had a slow start. Colton Herta had the restart problem at Iowa.

Conor Daly earned another top ten finish for Carlin Racing. Daly has really helped that team. Sad that tomorrow is his final race with them this season.

Runus VeeKay’s sixth place finish is his best oval result this year. After a rough start at Texas, VeeKay has worked hard to improve on ovals.

Tony Kanaan’ s ninth place is a nice finish as he closes his season Sunday.

Herta had a quiet fourth place finish.

The points race is all but over. Dixon holds a 117 point lead over Newgarden, and O’Ward is another 13 behind. It has been a while since the pints leader has had such control of the championship. It’s been a long time since someone had won half of the races this deep into the year.

O’Ward Leads Practice

thepitwindow

Photo: Indycar, James Black

Pato O’Ward lead the field in the only practice session for the Bommarito Autuomotive Group 500 this afternoon. O’Ward turned in a 181.532 mph lap on the 66th lap of his 75 circuits.  Qualifying is at noon Eastern time tomorrow, followed by Race 1 at 3:40 Eastern Sunday’s race is also at 3:40 eastern. Both races will be on NBCSN.

Santino Ferrucci lost the drive in his car and sat out most of the session, turning just 40 laps. Ryan Hunter-Reay also had issues and ran a session low 32 laps. Points leader Scott Dixon was third quickest. The entire field was within 1.1 seconds of the leader.

I will be traveling to Gateway very early tomorrow morning and should arrive in time for qualifying. Look for a brief qualifying report. my Quick Thoughts on Race 1 will post late Saturday evening.

The time sheet:

wp-15986581722515407797608774793488.png

Bommarito 500 Preview-A More Traditional Schedule

thepitwindow

An oval the weekend after the Indianapolis 500 hasn’t happened for at least seven years. Milwaukee traditionally followed Indianapolis  on the schedule. One good thing all the schedule changes did was bring this bit of nostalgia. It’s not Milwaukee, but world Wide Technology Raceway, still called Gateway by many, has a double header this weekend.

It will be a different Gateway weekend in keeping with the adjustments 2020 has forced upon everyone. Both races will run in the daytime instead of at night as they have the last three years. The scheduled distance is 200 laps per race. The single race was 248 laps. Like Iowa, the racing should be different in the daytime from what it was like at night.

Gateway has hosted Indycar races since 1997, when CART ran a race the day before the Indianapolis 500 for three years. The last CART race was  September of 2000, as CART teams decided they wanted to go back to Indianapolis. The IRL raced at Gateway from 2001-2003. Indycar returned in 2017.

There are some oddities in the history of the track and the series. Tony Kanaan is the only driver participating this weekend who has driven in every race here, regardless of which series sanctioned the event. No driver has won the race at Gateway more than once. The only times the pole winner won were in 2002, when Gil de Ferran took the checkered flag, and 2003, when Helio Castroneves pulled the double.

Six active drivers have finished in the top ten twice- Conor Daly, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi, and Takuma Sato. Pagenaud has the best average finish of fourth.

The weekend schedule can be found here:

https://thepitwindow.blog/2020/08/25/world-wide-technology-schedule/

500 Hangover?

The winner of the Indianapolis 500 goes on a whirlwind media tour after the race and sometimes struggles the following weekend.  Sato is the defending winner of this race. I look for him to be better on Sunday than he is on Saturday. It has been a while since the winner of the 500 won the next race.

More Success for Daly and Carlin?

This weekend marks the last two races for Conor Daly and Carlin Racing on the ovals. The results to date have been pretty decent. Daly won the pole for Race 1 at Iowa. He has scored  a sixth at Texas, and an eighth  in Iowa race 1. 72 of Daly’s 121 points have come in the Carlin entry.  Daly also has earned a fifth place at gateway driving for Foyt Racing.  I see daly as having another good weekend. in the St. Louis area.

Chevy Comeback?

After Honda’s domination at Indianapolis, Chevrolet looks to rebound. This is a strong track for the bow tie. Chevy powered cars had won three races in a row before Honda’s win last year.  Chevy did win the pole in 2019 and Ed Carpenter came within 0,03 seconds of winning.  Chevy should again have a strong performance at a track that has seemed to favor their engines.

Clean Start?

Since Indycar’s return to Gateway, clean starts have been an issue. Last year there was an incident on lap 2 involving Marcus Ericsson. The previous two years, issues at the start caused yellows just after the green flag. Will a daytime race fix the problem?

Dixon’s Title March

Scott Dixon’s runner up finish last weekend in the Indianapolis 500 gives him an 84 point lead over Josef Newgarden. No one else is within 100 points of Dixon. A pair of good finishes this weekend could put the title virtually out of reach. Dixon won the first three races of the season and has two seconds and a fifth place as well. The second race at road america is his only finish outside the top ten this season.I don’t see Dixon losing ground here. he is having one of the strongest seasons we have seen from a driver in a while.

Notes

Kody Swanson, five time USAC Midget champion, will again drive for Legacy motorsport in the Indy Pro 2000 race at 1 pm Central time on Saturday. Swanson drove the car to victory in his debut at Lucas oil raceway on Carb Night. The deal was put together at the last minute, and the crew worked without pay to get the car ready. Sw2anson drove a great race after starting second. Once he got the lead he pulled away from the field. He is a driver that i hope gets a shot at Indycar in the next couple of years.

Mid Ohio will rune September 11-13 pending government approval. The track plans to allow 10,000 fans. The doubleheader was postponed from August 8 and 9. it will stay as a double header. I wonder if they have already sold more than 10,000 tickets. if so, how will they resolve the excess tickets?

Some Final Thoughts on the 104th Indianapolis 500

thepitwindow

Photo; Indycar, Chris Jones

Takuma Sato becomes the 20th multiple winner of the Indianapolis 500. The two time club includes Tommy Milton, Bill Vukovich, Rodger Ward, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Since 2013 Alexander Rossi is the only driver under the age of 30 to win the 500. There may be a youth movement in the series, but the veterans own this race.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan is the first team other than Team Penske or Andretti Autosport to win the 500 since 2013.

Sunday was a rough day for Ed Carpenter Racing. Conor Daly crashed. Rimus Veekay ran well early until he came into the pits too hard and hit a crewman.Ed Carpenter needed a front wing replaced early and finished 13 laps behind the winner.

The aeroscreen once again helped keep the drivers safe. James Davison said it protected from the fire and fumes after his brake caught fire. It appeared that the screen kept debris out of the cockpit on some other incidents. I’m sure Indycar officials will have a look at spencer pigot’s car. it appears a suspension piece mat have poked through the screen. The aeroscreen was definitely scratched up.

Very glad that Pigot is okay after that hit.

The purse of $7,500,000 was the lowest since 1991. Sato’s take was $1,350,000.

The Finish

The NTT Indycar Series made the right call in finishing the race under yellow. A red flag would have meant a 60-90 minute delay for repairs. That’s too long to wait for just one green flag lap. When you watch a race, there no  guarantee that there will be a dramatic ending just as there is not guarantee that a basketball game will always end on a three pointer at the buzzer or a baseball game will end with a walk off home run. The majority of contests end rather routinely.

While finishes under yellow are disappointing, I don’t have a problem with them. Life doesn’t always work out how we want it to.

Moving On

The series moves to World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis for a double header this coming weekend. I will post the weekend schedule in a bit.

Scott Dixon now leads Josef Newgarden by 84 points, and looks to be in good shape for his sixth title. I’m not going to crown him yet, but with the schedule in danger of shrinking some more, Dixon is in good shape.

We are still waiting to confirm a date for Mid Ohio, and find out whether fans will be allowed. This weekend the track is allowing 20% capacity. This could possibly be the last Indycar weekend with fans this year.