IndyCar 2019

[René]

I kinda liked Paul Tracy. Not the most sophisticated person I agree but as a driver he could be awesome to watch.

Testing the Benetton in 1994

[Carl]

There have been many great Canadian drivers. By far the greatest, of course, was Gilles Villeneuve. Peter Ryan was a great young talent and at 21 the winner of the inaugural non-championship Canadian Grand Prix for sports cars held at Mosport in 1961, beating both Rodriguez brothers and Stirling Moss.

Paul Tracy was a sensation in Indy Lights, winning just about every race in 1990, and super fast throughout his career. Greg Moore was another Indy Lights sensation, equally dominant as Tracy was a few years earlier. The crucial difference is that Moore, had he lived, was certain to have become world champion while Tracy was always limited by mistakes.

[charleselan]

Jul 30, 2019 16:37:26 GMT Carl said:

John Charles,

                      Paul Tracy always had more natural speed than smarts, curiously not the only Penske driver over the years with that imbalance. When Tracy drove for Team Kool Green in CART alongside Dario Franchitti, his childish need to pass his teammate would often spin both cars in synchronized harmony. He's still a buffoon, but often can describe what's happening without hitting anything.

                      Al Unser Jr. was a great driver, although never as great or as personally composed as his father, and, as you say, a troubled man. The Unser family through the generations are a strange group you wouldn't necessarily want as neighbors.

-Carl

That last para is priceless Carl. The Unser's as next door neighbours conjure up all sorts of thoughts. I think Big Al would be OK but Uncle Bobby would be a total pain in the a*se; just imagine him leaning over the fence telling us all about how great he was. Every time I see the guy interviewed he has such an overpowering self opinionated personna; modesty not one of his main attributes.

[chrisb]

it is interesting the contrast between the brothers, and of course there was an elder brother as well wasn't there, tragically killed? but Al senior was one class act and I remember he was making a speech about 1960's racing and his praise of a quite Scot was something special, the other brother was a dyed in the wool type who I would cross the road to avoid, Little Al was such a bright prospect until he burned it far too much, but his early days fighting Michael were days of brilliance and he was a great driver, sadly what happened subsequently has forever tarred him, but when he was there he was there,

[Carl]

The Indy race scheduled at Pocono today was replaced by a Demolition Derby and later a contest of weather prediction. When five cars came together [ on lap 1!! ] approaching the dangerous Turn 2, I knew even before replay clarification that Takuma Sato had caused the mayhem. The other prominent idiot, Will Power, was ahead of the accident. It had to be Sato.

Sato had momentum in his favor on the back straight and used the draft to come alongside Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi. At that point, three wide and on the outside, he had no room ahead to maneuver and had no choice but to back off. Instead Sato closed his eyes and turned into Rossi.  Felix Rosenqvist was dangerously elevated nose-first along the wall and could have been lifted higher. Only good fortune kept his car away from the catch fencing that caused Robert Wicken's injuries last year.

Pocono always seems haunted by the tragic death of Justin Wilson in 2015 when debris struck his helmet as he did everything right to avoid what killed him. One of the nicest guys in racing deserved far better.

Thanks only to the highly intelligent Roger Penske's guidance, Power was in front when the race was called as lightning approached.  Sato needs to be suspended and IndyCar needs to rethink its return to Pocono.

[charleselan]

I missed the beginning live but saw the replays and it was a scary accident. There was a lot of finger pointing and counter point, but it is hard not to think of Sato as the culprit. Felix was immensely lucky not to end up like Rob Wickens in the ensuing crash.

For me I find it hard to sustain interest in watching an oval race, particularly at a place like Pocono so therefore walked away from the computer stream just before the rain came in. The place really doesn't do it for me with its three lane freeway straights etc, it just doesn't look like a race track .

[Carl]

I prefer short ovals, the dirt half-mile being ideal. In the past, part of every season was on dirt ovals, which teach great control for cars and bikes. The revolution of design brought mid-engine cars lower to the ground and unsuited to the ruts and bumps of dirt track racing, so Indy found its way to road courses.

Sprint and Midgets now rule the dirt-tracks and there is no more advancement to Indy for the drivers, now specialists on dirt and damp clay, although some graduate into stock cars.

Pocono is extremely fast and, as John Charles points out, its width invites side-by-side congestion, risky at 230 mph. IndyCar had returned to a former track to honor tradition and may be smart to leave for the better reason of safety.

[chrisb]

that was one scary accident. fortunate no one appeared to get hurt but ovals I think are something to witness 'live' - it was sheer mind-boggling the speeds they attain and it is a constant worry of an accident , but what was Sato doing?

[Carl]

Sebastien Bourdais has joined Team Penske's fast boys at the front for today's race in Madison, Illinois. Final qualifier Josef Newgarden took pole away by about .15 seconds at 186.5 mph, a relatively scary speed on a 1.25 mile short oval.  The closeness of Bourdais speaks volumes about his skill.  His team, Dale Coyne Racing, has nowhere near the resources of Penske.  The equivalent in Formula One would be to have Daniel Ricciardo qualify second at Spa.  

Third and fourth are the other Penske drivers. Fifth, and starting right behind Will Power, is Takuma Sato, hopefully sober-minded after Pocono. The close proximity of these two extremely fast, sometimes reckless drivers could mean trouble early, but I hope for good behavior and a great race.

[chrisb]

and last I looked one Marco Andretti was at the rear, i must admit to being confused about Marco and have no idea why he lags so far behind,

[charleselan]

Sebastien Bourdais is a class act of that there can be no dispute. Another who effectively had his F1 ambitions ruined by being part of the brutal Fizzy Drinks empire, however he regrouped in the USA and made an impressive career for himself there. My admiration for Sebastien made even more so following his recovery from those terrible injuries sustained during practice at the Indy 500.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if he could put one over the Penske squad in this race.

[Carl]

Aug 25, 2019 17:27:29 GMT charleselan said:

Sebastien Bourdais is a class act of that there can be no dispute. Another who effectively had his F1 ambitions ruined by being part of the brutal Fizzy Drinks empire, however he regrouped in the USA and made an impressive career for himself there. My admiration for Sebastien made even more so following his recovery from those terrible injuries sustained during practice at the Indy 500.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if he could put one over the Penske squad in this race.

I completely agree. Bourdais is a great talent and class act but sadly crashed while running a close second to his rookie teammate, both Dale Coyne cars being dialed in beautifully. Firestone had produced a softer compound that gave good grip but also sent more marbles spinning onto the higher racing line. Many were caught out, including Sebastien.

The podium had the oldest drivers since the golden days of A J Foyt, Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford at Indianapolis, and they were there mostly by happenstance. Takuma Sato drove hard and fast and was a deserving winner but, along with Ed Carpenter and Tony Kanaan, benefited from alternate pit strategy and the random nature of caution periods. All went to the front when the faster cars had to pit for fuel, and stayed there. An honest roulette wheel, if one exists, could deliver the same luck.

Will Power was another caught out by the marbles and sent into the wall. Several others managed to avoid contact by slowing dramatically until their tyres cleared off, in the meantime being rudely passed by other drivers.

Conor Daly drove impressively into a well-deserved sixth place and was passing others at will into Turn 3, having learned a secret approach. If the roulette wheel had had a slightly different momentum, he might have won. Simon Pagenaud was fifth and Josef Newgarden seventh, both positions hard fought. Wheels were banged and sidepods sideswiped all night.

Alexander Rossi endured a tide of undeserved bad luck and Scott Dixon's radiator was holed by debris early. It looks like Josef Newgarden will be champion, although Pagenaud, Rossi and Dixon are all in with a chance.

Chris, I don't know why Marco Andretti was so slow in qualifying compared to his teammates. Ryan Hunter-Reay started ninth, while Rossi and Colton Herta qualified midfield despite problems finding a balanced set-up. Sometimes I wonder if Marco continues to race mainly to please his grandfather.

[chrisb]

I have watched the highlights on utub, I do love American racing, although seem to keep forgetting to watch Nascar these days, do try and atch up with Imsa though,

the race was strange, and seemed a bit surreal really but wholly entertaining and a good result for Sato after what happened last time out,

[Carl]

Aug 26, 2019 7:19:17 GMT chrisb said:

I have watched the highlights on utub, I do love American racing, although seem to keep forgetting to watch Nascar these days, do try and atch up with Imsa though,

the race was strange, and seemed a bit surreal really but wholly entertaining and a good result for Sato after what happened last time out,

Forgetting NASCAR is a virtue

[charleselan]

Aug 26, 2019 16:18:23 GMT Carl said:

Aug 26, 2019 7:19:17 GMT chrisb said:

I have watched the highlights on utub, I do love American racing, although seem to keep forgetting to watch Nascar these days, do try and atch up with Imsa though,

the race was strange, and seemed a bit surreal really but wholly entertaining and a good result for Sato after what happened last time out,

Forgetting NASCAR is a virtue

Around 15 - 20 years ago (where does the time go!) I used to really enjoy the recorded races shown on late night UK TV, the cars were much better than the formulaic crap of current times. I really liked Jeff Gordon at the time, and before that Ole Iron Head (I think I have that right but am open for correction). they then brought in the "Car Of Tomorrow" which was the beginning of the slide downward; and to quote James Whitham "In my opinion".

Of course it all pales when compared with the likes of Petty; Yarborough and Pearson etc etc. The sound track of those V8 motors is just pure magic, as were the original Australian Touring Cars.