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| I swear I had something for this |
Nashville got off to a very uneven start after an unusual summer break because of the Olympics and the new street circuit. I feel gutted for Colton Herta, but he just ran out of luck. I think the track has promise, but there are some places that need a few less bumps and a little more room. The drivers are giving feedback on some things that will help. Sometimes you just don’t know until you know. This also shook up the points. Dixon is edging closer and closer to his 7th Title. 1 Alex Palou 410 2 Scott Dixon 368 3 Pato O'Ward 362 4 Josef Newgarden 335 5 Marcus Ericsson 331 6 Graham Rahal 286 7 Simon Pagenaud 280 8 Colton Herta 275 9 Rinus VeeKay 263 10 Takuma Sato 231 | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
Seems to have lots of potential and a great crowd but the track itself needs some major changes. With the limitations of running in a downtown area, I don't know how much can be changed easily. The issues they had in the race were not all that unexpected. Jimmy Johnson looked almost relieved to be disqualified so he could get out of the car and just be a spectator. Clearly the participants have been muzzled and instructed to only talk nice about the place or there would have been a lot of complaining. The race itself was pretty wild. I know those cars are overbuilt to take abuse but how Ericcson's car survived that backflip attempt with no real damage beyond the nosebox is amazing. Will Power-I don't know what to say but would like to be a fly on the wall when Roger Penske had a talk with him. This was a race most of the points leaders would like to forget but most of them had similar bad luck except Dixon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFnwQJugn0E ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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Member |
Kind of embarrassing, a flustercuck. Hats off to most of the crowd sticking around for three hours in 90 degree heat. I set up the DVR to record an hour past schedule and still missed the last fifteen laps.   Hated to see Herta dominate the weekend and not finish on top, Newgardenesque. Trivial note, part timer Ferucci has finished in the top ten in every race except Nashville -- 11th.Set the controls for the heart of the Sun. | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
The Turn 1/2 chicane that let Herta pit and almost jump the pace car back into 1st could go away, and there’s quite a bit of resurfacing to do to get the bumps to a Belle Isle level where you don’t lose the car on breaking. The Start Line might also have to be the restart line as well as most of the accidents were accordion starts that caught people like (like Ericcson). | |||
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| Thank you Very little  |
First indy race I've watched in a long long time. The track does need some work, but if you race on the streets it's not going to be a perfect flat route, it was good to see them on the streets, JMO Indy car is better to watch on street courses, outside of Indy, drop all the circle tracks unless they do them like the 24 Hours of Daytona and combine some high banks with a technical portion in the infield.. | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
Nope, you need more than just Indy for an oval. This year was just Texas, Indy, and Gateway, and Texas might be leaving if that NASCRAP compound on the outside stays. Unlike NASCAR, Indy doesn’t make every oval a 4 hour race. | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
Pretty exciting Weekend at the Brickyard. Dixon spins out during qualifying, Palou blows and engine, and Will Power gets his first win of the year. I know a lot of people think Will Power is a bit of a prick, but it's also bits like this that makes me love the guy: Even NASCAR had two great races. I'm hoping they can do another crossover at an oval like Michigan. We need another 2 mile oval and a short track on the schedule. | |||
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| Member |
Except the Cup race which was good until it wasn't. Cars were ripping off splitters and undertrays on the steel, "temporary" curbing at the end, causing a parade of yellow and red flags. I felt so bad for Roger Penske, this weekend was his three race baby. After acquiring the IMS and IndyCar, covid hit and killed his first year at the helm. This weekend ended on a real sour note. They'll get things squared away but yeah, not good for Penske/IMS. Set the controls for the heart of the Sun. | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
Just announced this week that Iowa is coming back: IndyCar confirms Iowa return with 2022 doubleheader Marshall Pruett August 19, 2021 11:31 AM ET The NTT IndyCar Series and Midwestern grocery chain Hy-Vee have united to bring the Iowa bullring oval back to the calendar in a new multi-year agreement. The 2022 doubleheader will feature the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 that will take place on Saturday, July 23, and the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 will follow on Sunday, July 24, which marks a return after the series last visited the 0.875-mile oval in 2020. “We’re extremely pleased to return Iowa Speedway to the NTT IndyCar Series calendar,” said series owner Roger Penske. “Over the years, Iowa has proven to be a fitting showcase for North America’s premier open-wheel series. A key oval and a hallmark on our schedule, we deeply missed seeing our fans in Iowa this year and look forward to what’s ahead.” With a home state sponsor driving IndyCar’s return to Iowa, plans are in place to expand the event’s scope beyond the open-wheel action. “With our strong connection to local communities and involvement in the state, we plan to host an event that will receive national attention and make Newton an annual destination for racing fans,” said Randy Edeker, CEO of West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee. “The weekend will be filled with multiple attractions and events that celebrate everything that is great about Iowa and NTT IndyCar Series racing.” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds lent her full support of the development between the track, series, and sponsor. “The state of Iowa made a commitment to the sport of racing when the Iowa Speedway was built, and today’s exciting announcement of Hy-Vee’s partnership with the NTT IndyCar Series reaffirms that,” she said. “Iowa is well suited to be an IndyCar destination for racing fans nationwide, and I encourage Iowa businesses and organizations to support the success of this event in whatever way they can.” “The state is rich with racing history and has a strong appreciation for IndyCar and its terrific drivers and teams,” Penske said. “The fantastic addition of Hy-Vee and their commitment to our sport underscores the added value. Thanks to Hy-Vee and the State of Iowa for welcoming the return of IndyCar racing to Iowa Speedway.” Hopefully HyVee will be to Iowa what Bommarito Autogroup is to Gateway. I’ve already seen an IndyCar display at my HvYee with cardboard cutouts of Graham Rahal and Santino Ferrouchi (probably life size since Santino was only 4 feet tall). | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
Took a while to get going and wasn't the greatest race but it did reshuffle things somewhat. Pato drove a well measured race to do what he needed to do. Lot's of people still in with a shot with 3 races to go. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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Member |
IndyCar has been the most competitive form of open wheel racing there is in the last few years. I'm glad to see it growing and even the smaller teams seem like they have a chance at winning on any given weekend. Full disclosure... my son is an engineer w/Penske and works with all the series they race in, but the Indy part of their business is where he spends most of his time. | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
It’s not been a great year. First we lost Bob Jenkins who was one of the pioneers of motorsports commentary, and two days ago, we lost Robin Miller. I never met the man in person, but I have talked to him by email several times. He was an encyclopedia of IndyCar and USAC knowledge, helped keep IndyCar in the conversation during the split on Speed network, and helped out NBC’s coverage as well. There’s way too much to post on this, so I’m leaving links to an obituary and the giants of the sport paying tribute. https://racer.com/2021/08/25/robin-miller-1949-2021/ https://racer.com/2021/08/25/p...y-like-robin-miller/ https://racer.com/2021/08/25/d...bin-miller-mattered/ https://racer.com/2021/08/25/t...writer-robin-miller/ Hopefully Paul Page can squeak out a few more years. | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
Millers Mailbox, his weekly question & answer, was always interesting and he was never shy about sharing his opinion. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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I’ll never forget all the times Robin Miller called Milka Duno milk and donuts. He was a character.  ——————————————— The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 14:1 | |||
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| Member |
GREAT race at Laguna Seca. Highly entertaining, just one early yellow, one race to go and the championship still undecided. Sorta. Driver of the day Grosjean, well-earned although Jimmy Johnson might have questions. JJ tasked with aiding his teammate so he can carp only so much and, in fact, did his job. Set the controls for the heart of the Sun. | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
Both father and son Herta have some serious mojo at Laguna Seca. I also like how people were saying before IndyCar’s return that Laguna was too narrow or too worn out to get any passing, and we’ve gotten 2 exciting races. Something cool I read from Racer.com is how much he’s loving IndyCar: Grosjean savors "freedom" of IndyCar racing after Laguna charge https://racer.com/2021/09/20/g...after-laguna-charge/
We’ve also got the 2022 schedule this weekend. [img] https://racer.com/wp-content/u...ew-Crask-Outlook.png [/img] I kinda like having Long Beach as the season finale, but I understand leaving it in it’s traditional spot in the spring. Also love that the season stars in February so we’re only off for 4-5 months instead of 6-7 months. We’re getting 14 races on regular NBC, 2 races on USA, and Toronto will probably be cancelled before Peacock can show it since Canada’s perfect healthcare system seems to be doing a worse job with CoVID than the horrible US system  .With luck, 2022 will be the last year with the 2.2L V6. Hopefully, we’ll have 3 engine manufacturers when the new car and the 900 hp powertrain comes online. | |||
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| Save an Elephant Kill a Poacher  |
I have watched Indy races and been to several race tracks in my time. Needless to say, I love Indy car racing. I am noticing this current group of drivers has a lot of up and coming, fast, maybe fearless young drivers. This shows in how they are finishing way better than the 'old' timers like, Dixon, Kanan, Helio, etc. I have seen it before, it is cyclic. New drivers come in and cycle out the old timers. Great sport. 'I am the danger'...Hiesenberg NRA Certified Pistol Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Life Member | |||
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| I swear I had something for this |
While we’re stuck in a drought for a while, there were two really good books that came out this year. The one that just came out was Al Unser Jr’s autobiography “A Checkered Past.” This is one hell of a flameout from one of the best drivers of his generation before the pressure and alcohol got the best of him. The book was written with Jade Gurss who wrote “Beast,” an excellent book on the development of the Penske Mercedes-Benz 500I Pushrod V8 that took advantage of a loophole in the Indy 500 rule book that saw the best team on the grid legally run a 1000 hp Turbo V8 at a time where everyone else was at the 750-800 hp level. The book also has a foreword from the Captain himself Roger Penske on one of his more successful drivers. https://www.amazon.com/Al-Unse...TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
The 2nd one is called “Indy Split: The Big Money Battle that Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing” by John Oreovicz, with a foreword from the dearly departed Robin Miller, covers the depressing history of “The Split.” It goes over the original white papers written by Dan Gurney on the series’ problems in the 70’s, the fight between USAC vs Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and Tony George’s rise to power. The fact that this book has a 3 star rating from a Tony George nuthugger as the first review followed up by multiple 5 star reviews saying it’s 60/40 CART makes it a book worth reading. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1642...&ref_=bd_tags_dp_rec | |||
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| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
A good reminder, Indycar has really had two splits. The USAC/CART first in the 70's, then the CART/IRL in the mid-90's that was really part two of the first one. Tony George and the old USAC crowd, never got over the first one and thought time didn't move on and butted heads with the CART owners, insisting oval racing would be able to support an Indy based series. Due to owning the Speedway along with his family based corporation initially supporting his fantasy and both sides unwilling to back down both went into an ego based grudge match and both lost big. Thing are just now recovering but who knows what cooler heads may have been able to do if it hadn't happened. Al Jr. is a sad story. Hard to say if it's really over yet as he seems to still have setbacks, and he's way beyond his driving days or even being able to leverage his name to make a buck now. Another, what could have been story. I think he's basically a good guy that had the talent, he just went off the rails for too long. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
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| Save an Elephant Kill a Poacher |
Years ago at Long Beach GP, my son tried for an autograph from a well known but retired racer who was at the track with his current racing family. He said to my son, "go away kid." Son found Al Unser Jr. who signed his T-shirt took photos with him and was overall a very nice person. Always enjoyed when Al Jr. raced. 'I am the danger'...Hiesenberg NRA Certified Pistol Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Life Member | |||
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