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IndyCar

It’s a Real Shame When Drama Overshadows The Racing

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We should be talking about the great racing we’ve seen this season. We should be talking about the championship and whether Will Power will finally bring it home or whether one of the other three drivers still in contention can mount a comeback. We should be talking about keeping the momentum going and having an even better 2013. Instead, the story that just refuses to die this summer is the alleged effort of some unhappy team owners to put together funding to buy INDYCAR and oust current CEO Randy Bernard.

IndyCar Race Recap: Penske Power Dominates in Sonoma

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*Key Moment:* The dust-up between Sebastian Bourdais and Josef Newgarden proved to be the difference maker in the race. The collision, which sent a skidding Newgarden head-first into the restraining tires, allowed Briscoe to take the top spot. Bourdais commented that he was unable to steer his car in interviews, and Newgarden was the unfortunate beneficiary of being in the way. Bourdais walked away OK, but Newgarden was reported to have injured his left index finger and will be evaluated upon returning home to Indianapolis.

IndyCar In-Depth: GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Preview

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*Whats News?*

The IZOD IndyCar Series returns in full force this week after a three week hiatus. The teams and drivers are heading out to Sonoma this week for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, and as we inch closer to the end of the season, championship contenders such as Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay know they have to make every week count in order to win the title. The big news going into the race this week is the track configuration change that was ordered by INDYCAR. Turns 7, 9, and 11 of the Sonoma course were all reconfigured to make the event racier and to promote more passing.

IndyCar Round Table: Momentum Killers, Track Changes, and Silly Season

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*With the cancellation of the China race this past weekend, consensus is still that trying to throw together a replacement was a bad idea, but it left the IZOD IndyCar Series with no presence at all for essentially three weeks in the prime of racing season. What does this do to the momentum of the series and how can they get folks back and interested for the run to the championship?*

Huston: Prime of racing season? I didn’t know there was such a thing.
Toni: I think there is. You can maybe get away to a gradual start of the season, and Indy traditionally only has the one race in May, but when it’s summer and you are gearing up for a championship battle, it seems like a huge momentum killer to me. I have to confess to me it feels like the IndyCar Series has been out of sight forever, maybe because everyone else has been in full swing.

Start Times, Consistent Schedule Keys to INDYCAR Success

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Prior to the Mid-Ohio IZOD IndyCar Series race on August 5, Randy Bernard, the CEO of the series, stated that more races are needed for the series to be successful. He intimated that 15, the number on the schedule this year, is not enough and that he’d feel better if the number of races totaled about 20.

Fair enough. That seems like a smart, if not obvious, comment. To keep fan interest up, there must be enough of a product to, in essence, keep them reminded that it’s still out there. That only 15 races grace the schedule this year is problematic, and the swift reaction to reconsider fast oval tracks due to Dan Wheldon’s on-track death last year is a large factor. But it also seems that INDYCAR was caught without contingency plans, and that’s when an organization gives a sense, whether it’s true or not, that it is floundering.

IndyCar Mid-Ohio Recap: Caution Free Once Again

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*In a nutshell:* Scott Dixon and the No. 9 team won their fourth career race at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, this time by snookering early leader Will Power on pit road. The race, which went caution-free, was the second straight caution free race of the season. Will Power led much of the early portion of the race but a slow pit stop relegated Power to a second place finish. Simon Pagenaud, Sebastian Bourdais, and James Hinchcliffe rounded out the top 5.

*Key Moment:* Will Power had the field covered for the first 56 laps of the race, but Power’s No. 12 team had a slow pit stop on lap 57 and subsequently were beat off of pit road by Dixon and the No. 9 team. Dixon made it look easy from there on out, and cruised home by leading the rest of the way en route to his second win of the year.

IndyCar In-Depth: A Preview Of Sunday’s Race At Mid-Ohio

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*What’s News?*

It’s been a quiet couple of weeks in the world of the IZOD IndyCar Series since the circuit departed from Edmonton. But the news cycle hasn’t been a total snoozer. The biggest change heading into the race in Mid-Ohio is a rules adjustment being applied to the recently reintroduced “Push-to-Pass” system. According to technical bulletins released by series officials, there will now be a five-second delay from the time the Push-to-Pass button is depressed to the time that the boost is actually deployed. This ought to have all sorts of implications on strategy as teams scramble to figure out the best way to utilize the updated boost.

Open Wheel Wednesday: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

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The IndyCar series had this past weekend off. And with that break, a couple of questions come to mind: Did anyone really notice? Was it even missed? The Olympic Games have attracted much of the sporting media’s coverage, but that didn’t stop other motorsports. Formula 1 continued as they would, and NASCAR held one of the bigger races of the season, and with coverage of that series switching to ESPN, the race was a showcase event for the network.

Heck, even the NBC Sports channel, home of some of the Olympics coverage, took time out to show Major League Soccer – so yes, the show must go on.

IndyCar Round Table: Push to Pass, More Ovals, and Ending Under Yellow

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*The push to pass feature has returned. What are your thoughts on it–happy to see it, didn’t miss it? And also do you like the way they have been doing it this time around, giving a total number of seconds a driver can use?*

Toni: I actually got on my soap box on this a few weeks ago. I don’t like it. I think it’s too gimmicky and didn’t really miss it when we didn’t have it. It also particularly annoyed me when I was watching the end of the Edmonton race and it came down to who had more push to pass left, Castroneves or Sato. I also thought it was kind of pointless; so they would both lay on the button and it renders itself useless.
Huston: Ha. You used my word, gimmicky. I thought it was too much like a video-game feature. Kind of like getting added powers or the like, but I’ve changed my stance on this one. After watching the F1 races, and their DRS (drag reduction system), I think it adds a different element of strategy.

IndyCar Edmonton Race Recap

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*In a nutshell:* Helio Castroneves’ #3 team delivered a brilliant pit stop with 23 laps to go to snooker the lead away from Canadian driver Alex Tagliani. From there, Castroneves never looked back, and despite second-place finisher Takuma Sato’s best efforts to wrestle the lead away from Castroneves, Castroneves held firm for the final stint of the race to grab his second win of the season. Will Power delivered a valiant drive to grab the final spot on the podium in 3rd, and Dario Franchitti and Alex Tagliani rounded out the top 5.