GP of Houston

Well, I saw that one coming. Japanese driver with a Honda engine -- you knew they weren't going to let him stay out there.

That must have been ten laps they were waving blue flags at Marco.
He only moved over when they black flagged him.
(A black flag gets a slap on the wrist drive-thru?)

And then what was with the lapped car sticking his nose where it didn't belong?

Mugged by two back markers?

What a joke this series is becoming.

So when are they going to park the field to let Power catch up?

Why bother to have a race, if they're going to set the results off track?

 

It's one thing to bang into a car you're racing with.
But to take out a car a lap ahead?

That's taking advantage of the tracks being shortened to support TV coverage.
(Nobody could cover the classic tracks like Nurburgring.)

The whole point to blue flags is to keep the lapped cars out of the way.


Taco got mugged by a couple of back markers a race or two back, too.

If they're going to let them race like that, why not add oil slick spreaders, machine guns, and ejection seats, too?

Racing used to be a gentlemen's sport.

Now it's just a dumbo-lition derby.

(Look at the crud Power has been pulling, since midway through last season.)

 

I stopped watching. I already know they'll move the "Chevy" engines to the front.

Pity Andretti switched to Hondas.
Otherwise they could have a black flagged driver as "winner".
If you're going to flush your credibility, why stop at half measures?

It was bad enough when FIA chased all the Japanese cars out of WRC.


Remember that film with the joke about "Full Contact America's Cup", with stock footage from films about Napoleonic era naval battles?


I'm waiting to see what coverage they have of the Susquehannock Trail rallye.
I probably won't recognize any of it. (We couldn't even get the papers to cover rallye, back in '79. )

 

It is time for NBCS to give Leigh Diffey the hook.

Just let Paul Tracy and Steve Matchett do the commentary.

Diffey is simply exhausting.

BHW

 

The next time Diffey goes into one of his rambling raps where he's mysteriously quoting
one of the drivers I'm going to pull an Elvis and shoot the TV.

BHW

 

Just as three Colombians crossed the line to finish first, second and (officially) third, the Colombian soccer team was finishing up their victorious World Cup game - at virtually the exact same moment!

 

LOL!

You got it!

BHW

 

I'll be really surprised if this event is on the calendar next year. Very small crowd. Not even sure why I got grand stand seats you can walk into any stand you want. Pirelli series would have made it a lot better. Mazda pro series is good but young guys deserve a better crowd. Cars still sound good though lol. Indy just really really needs to work on its marketing.

 

Don't suppose it's any too warm and humid in Houston this time of year either.

This is the conundrum that Indy Car has had to bear, coming from the strength of its
blue ribband event and translating that to completely other sorts of courses across the
country for the remainder of the year.

BHW

 

Heat really isn't the issue. Plenty of ac areas to go into. It's just kind of boring now. My fav years for Houston are 1998-2002.

Helio just rode by me with his daughter though. Still cool to see some of the old faces.

 

I'm not a fan of street circuits, but this might be the ugliest and most boring street circuit I've ever seen. gray, dingy, boring layout, and on TV you get background shots of parking lots full of semi trailers and the highway next to the track. just awful.

 

Do the younger Andrettis have a bug up their butts about Euro-series racers?

After ignoring blue flags yesterday, in front of Sato, Indycar gave Andretti a three race "probation" and a joke of a $2500 fine.

Today, despite the "probation", Andretti punted Wilson into the tires and cut the chicane on Montoya (and refused to give up the position).
Even though they already forced other drivers to yield spots after cutting the chicane.

They didn't show any detail, but I notice than when Sato bounced from the curbing to the wall today, who was in front of him but Marco.
And, while they didn't show it at all, Filippi wound up in wall right after passing Andretti.

The younger Andretti needs a time out.

If Indycar doesn't take any action against the Andretti name, I'm going to lose all interest in the series.

F1 has degraded enough by putting "the show" before racing.
But if Indycar is too worried about name recognition to bother to enforce the racing rules, then Andretti is going to be a loose cannon and a danger to everyone on the track.

We've already seen the results of poor stewarding. Yesterday was bad enough, but today was a brawl.
Open wheel auto racing isn't supposed to be a contact sport.

You'd think at least Mario would have a word with the brat.

 

Still sound good.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuZ77TIvhBM&sns=em]Houston GP 2014 Start - YouTube[/ame]

 

I was contrasting the two courses myself, having been out running on the first course, downtown.
It took far more grinding and asphault work than the new track, although they say they spent $1M since last year, repaving Turn 1

The first track at least used the full width of the street, so four lanes wide on the back straights, and front.
Plenty of room for wheel to wheel racing.

The new course feels tight just looking at it, I stood about where we were last year, the curved portion around the old Astrodome, but now with an additional buffer zone of fencing!

Tough two days, for Foyt Racing....

Pretty warm out there today!!!
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Its not all bad......
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