Indycar & Misc Racing 2019 Thread
 

Simon is on a roll!! Dayam.... first in Indy GP last week and now owner of the Indy pole. Yowza!

Yes- the coverage of the Indy 500 has been much improved in recent years. NBC Sports and HD TV really made pole day come alive! IndyCar has been a rapidly improving show with full fields, international competition and close racing.

Amen to that! Friend of mine asked me what the attraction of Indy racing was - thinking its all oval. Close racing where driver talent still means something, race strategy that actually is a part of the racing formula for success, pit strategies that add to the action (and sometimes the misfortune of teams caught out of their pit stops strategies.)

Even he - whose company is a principal sponsor of the Mercedes F1 team - says F1 is BORING. Who cares when the same team wins EVERY race. Zzzzzzz....

Oh, and yeah, Indycar finale comes back to Laguna Seca this year!!

So, any speculation on the outcome of this year's 500?

I can't really say I have picks for Win-Place-Show. All of the strong contenders from last year, e,g,, Power, Newgarden, Rossi etc. are a couple of rows from start with Carpenter's team up in Rows 1-2. But who's to say.... long race, possible attrition and just plain dumb luck.

I've got a love hate for the rookies in the field. (Or is it just jealousy that I didn't pursue my dream of becoming a 500 champion? Laff!!) But yeah, it is jealousy. Just like Newgarden from when he came out of Lights into the full on Indy field, I marvel at the talent and the high ability to adapt to the press/media coverage by the "rookies". (Which they are actually NOT.... with many many years of competition, and a defined path to the big time, these racers are already well trained!) But yes, unlike earlier competitors in ChampCar, USAC, IRL and all the other predecessors to the modern IndyCar, today's drivers are not only talented drivers but are also groomed from the start to be able to not only handle the 4th Estate (media/press); but to leverage it to further their and their team's goals.

In a way, the "corporate nature" of the sport is kind of a drag but at the same time, it's like any other big time sport - NBA, MLB, etc - its evolved to the point of being a little "too smooth" but at least the quality of competition - at least in my eyes - has gotten much better. To the point that its anyone's call as to who's going to win!

I must add that I hope to see Robby Wickens behind the wheel again SOON! Talented driver and a seemingly good guy. Gotta be OK, his best friend in the series is Hinch! Haha!

=================================

Speaking of IndyCar.... anyone on the West Coast (or anywhere FTM!) thinking/planning on going to the IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca!?? We are definitely going to be there. (My wife made me make reservations a month ago!) I *THOUGHT* I saw that ZONC (Z Owners of Nor Cal) was having a corral there but not sure.... might be confusing that with the Historics race in August - which I'm planning on being at as well. Anyhow, will be posting in NorCal section about this. PM me with any interest in a run down. I probably won't be in my Z since we're renting a house and need supplies for a bunch of us


#getwellwickens

Was going to commend NBC on their coverage of the 500. BZZZZZZZTTTTT! I've abandoned live watching..... WAAAAAAAYYYYY messed up commercial-to-coverage ratio. No thanks. I wasn't going to be able to finish watching the race since I have theater tickets so guess I'll watch the recording.

And..... what I consider a lame call on Castroneves when it was the other guy who was out of place when Helio whacked him on pit lane. And.... sloppy pit work by Tako's crew. Ehhhhh.......

Came back on lap 134.... to commercials.

And then , more pit errors. Ericcson (F1 washout) crash into pit wall followed immediately by Rossi’s (race leader) fuel rig fiasco. Oh lawdy. Good thing I’m headed to a Broadway play shortly. Heh heh.

Waiting for last 20 laps to start after big ol crash but was thinking exact same thing Mic. WAY too many commercials. Like 3 mins of racing and then 4-5 mins of commercials. It’s ridiculous. Usually I record this but today wanted to not have to avoid looking at news websites all day like I usually do. Got up this morning and watched commercial free F1 Monaco.... So much more enjoyable.

Wow. That’s all I can say.

Just finished watching the last 70 laps. Freakin’ amazing finish! Happy with Win-place-show. Simon completes a hat trick, Rossi coming back to second after the fuel snafu and Tako coming from mid-pack start to take a podium spot....yes!

Been saying it for years... Formula 1 doesn’t hold a candle to the competition in Indycar. I mean, really, Lewis who?

Mic- that was an excellent race on replay. Marveled at how well Neugarden, Rossi and Sato could keep their Dallaras on the track during the last few laps. It shows how successful the IndyCar rules and aero package were in terms of allowing cars to run and race in close quarters. It's a package F1 just hasn't been able to accomplish.

Eggsactly! Competition between the Dallara base chassis with different power plants and aero. I mean, top 4 - Chevy, Honda, Honda, Chevy. Three different teams and there's no runaway winner week over week. One week Penske, next race Andretti, then Ganassi or Rahal-Letterman, and so on swapping the podium. Then there's the pit cycle outs.... Rossi lost 15-20 seconds on the fueling rig snafu.... yet he came in second? Fantastic!

Unlike F1 where it Mercedes, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull/Renault, almost every week. Zzzzzzzzzzzz...... Psh, too bad Verstappen couldn't win no matter what due to the 5 second penalty,

But enough F1 bashing, It's still better to me to watch than, say, golf or tennis. (No diss, just not my thing.) Hahahahahahaha.

Vettel was robbed. F1 wonders why their viewership is down? Bullsh*t call.

That is all.

My first night back in my own house... and what do I do? Watch yesterday's IndyCar race of course! (I actually watched NASCAR yesterday live-as-it-happened at my mother-in-law's place.)

What I found amusing about watching the IndyCar race was how I don't watch Formula 1 anymore because, well, it's downright boring. (Last night I actually looked up the results and finding out Hamilton cruised to victory, just erased the French GP from my DVR without even watching the start. :icon17:) So predictable and margins of victory so big that they don't even show the eventual winner in the last few laps, ehhhh. BUT, in much the same fashion but converse to my thinking, watching Indycar and Rossi's TOTAL DOMINATION of the race was awesome!! Nearly 30 seconds?!? Whew!

Watching the Indycars slice, dice, get ugly, going true W2W (literally) and actually passing each other; and watching where pit strategies and mistakes actually make monumental differences, IndyCar is leaps and bounds more fun and exciting to watch, even on ovals! Real racing, IMO.

Congrats, Alexander Rossi! That was a win well worth waiting through the entire race to see!

Can't wait for the finale at Laguna Seca!!

I couldn't agree more. Although I made it probably 30 laps before I shut off the F1 race and deleted it. I guess I'll probably watch COTA, but I think I am done with F1. I can't remember not watching so little F1. It's so disappointing.