Well, to prove us punters wrong, Indy Car went and did a deal with Watkins Glen. Good on 'em! Finally, something panned out. BHW
So, watched this Indy Car Grand Prix event yesterday where Pagenaud won pretty convincingly. It was an interesting race, some drama at the pointy end of the field (unlike what we see in F-1 the past decade or so) and like that Pagenaud is dominating the season thus far as he's a former ALMS driver. However, whenever they'd cut to Pagenaud's onboard camera, it was clearly visible that the front wings on his car were flexing under aero loads. Not sure what the rules for this are in Indy Car but this is (and has been) an ongoing no-no in F-1 for quite a while now. What was even more surprising was that whenever the aero flex was clearly visible, none of the commentators even noticed it, or if they did, they certainly didn't mention it. Anyone else notice this and know what the rules are for aero flex in Indy Car? PS: Great that Connor Daly got a taste of the lead in the middle stages. No matter how he achieved it, he passed Helio for the lead and pulled away but unfortunately had used practically all of his "Push to Pass" allotments to do it and faded at the end. A lot of talented rookies in Indy Car this year. Pagenaud ?living a dream? but now focused on Indy 500 BHW
Dunno, definitely a rare occurrence. Usually, the Indy Car live streaming is either A) Not working at all and viewers are told that weather conditions at the event have stopped the race, or B) Working at first but the picture goes away a quarter of the way though the event but audio remains. Somehow on Saturday, the stream (video and audio) lasted the entire event. BHW
Come on Firestone, enough with the annoying Firehawk mascot that photo bombs all of the shots on live TV already. The Firehawk isn't an adverting icon like Michelin's Bibendum and, frankly, its just kind of creepy. Take a page from Pirelli or Martini & Rossi and get some Firestone girls to replace this obtuse advertising at the Indy Car races. Jeez! BHW Image Unavailable, Please Login
Has the brain trust at 16th and Georgetown finally come out of their coma??? Lets hope so......My life may just have a happy ending!!!! Indycar Racing News | Racer.com - INDY 500: An end to spec racing in 2017?
Unlikely, perhaps they just (got) what alcoholics call a moment of clarity. They'll whine and moan about costs involved. In my lifetime, I've seen many eras of racing (F-1, Indy Cars and sports cars) come and go. And, with the passing of each era, the justification for changes are "cost cutting". And, in each case, the costs continue to escalate as teams and manufactures find ways around the rules. It's all nonsense as these teams and their sponsors throw away enough food from their hospitality tents to feed a medium sized city for half a year each season. Further, when posed with questions about any sort of rules changes the past several years, Indy Car officialdom usually kicks the can down the road to 2019, 2021, I even saw something about 2025 (in other words, far enough away so whomever is being quoted is sure not to be part of it) recently. So, with this in mind, why all of a sudden are they ready to make this sort of move as soon as next year? Indy Car's moment of clarity has finally arrived. They realize this spec formula crap isn't working, as we've known for years now, and the handwriting is clearly on the wall. BHW
Would be a huge step forward. I miss the days of Buick V6s, pushrod-Ilmors, and Smokey Yunick types with a "run what ya brung" attitude. Indy Car - to me - was always F1 with a NASCAR attitude. Right now, that's gone.
This is really the point. It's like this with every organization, whether your local Elks club or the geopolitics. Regulation creeps in more and more until you've deviated so far from the original mission. CLEARLY, IndyCar is nowhere near what it used to be. I've been a little nostalgic and looking back at some of the oldies, man what a line up of drivers and cars. Where has it gone? Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while!!
I think I love you !!!!! I have been waiting for this for exactly those reasons. My hope is to return to Indy with my own car and some exciting little tidbits people like yourself would enjoy. I have sponsors at the ready and hopes this will come about and we can begin life again. Since 1995 I have been in a personal hell because of this nonsense. Maybe now the clouds will pass and the sun will return. My goal in life has always been one thing......returning to Indy with my own car and team. 20+ years has been far to long a wait.
I'm rooting for you!! I read the article on Jalopnik about how Indy has degraded - only 33 cars. Of course the Indy zombies said "33 cars is nothing to sneeze at"...boy do they lack perspective. 1982 had 45 cars NOT MAKE THE FIELD! That excludes Desire Wilson and Gordon Smiley (RIP). Smiley infamously was killed while crashing during qualifying and Wilson, his teammate, withdrew. So with 33 + 47 cars - that's 80 cars attempting to qualify!!! No wonder bump day was exciting in the day! Only 33 cars today is despicable.
Gordon was a friend of mine. I was behind his pit when the accident occured. I will never forget that sound when it happened. It takes a piece of you when things like that happen. As I look at Indy today I am sickened by it. It is nothing more than a private country club where a few get to play if you have the coin. Far different from when a good driver showed up with his suit and helmet looking for a ride. Bubble day was when all the older cars owned by guys like myself looking to fill the field.It was the best of times! Parts borrowed, people helped and teams worked together. Even if you didn't make the show, you still rooted for the guys who did. Was a far greater sport then than it is today. One of the best meals I ever had was KFC on the back of a rear wing of a car. The food was given to us by a lady that simply wanted to see her favorite driver make the show. I don't see that happening today. People truly loved Indy and it was a place for everyone.
I remember the news coverage after the accident, Jackie Stewart reporting. Very sad - sorry for your loss, having known him. He was married, I believe - any children?
I believe his wife's name was Barbara and I think he had two kids. Our brief time together was about the business of racing and I don't get too close to people on a personal level. I was working on a project that he had interest in and I also was looking for a driver, if I could put it all together at the time. Had it happened, it would have been quite the ticket for Indy. But it wasn't to be. As the saying goes....that's life !
I don't like the Belle Isle course in Detroit, as I don't like most street/park circuits - too restrictive and, in the case of this one, far too bumpy. But I must admit, they get very unpredictable races there! Invariably the guy who wins is nowhere at half distance, and it happened again with Sebastien Bourdais yesterday. I wonder if they'll have another surprise winner today?
Was at the Indy museum today, brought back some memories. Some great history there. I was told by the locals that this 500 was the first sell out in some time, and the first time in awhile it was broadcast live (I guess because of the sell out). There was a 2-person car giving rides around the track - a private party was doing it, so I wasn't able to participate. Interesting that across from the track is a strip mall, and that's where the IMS / IndyCar main offices are. It's a weird city - almost looks rural (I'm used to New York, Newark, and Philly), but they sure do love the 500. Glad I got to see it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I thought the IMS/IndyCar offices were in a 3-4 story office building at the edge of the property? but yes, despite being somewhat urban (only a few miles from downtown Indianapolis), Speedway somehow has always had a somewhat rural/industrial vibe to it. nice pics!
There are offices on property I am sure, but as we exited, I saw the strip mall sign listing IMS and IndyCar offices as the tenants. Probably satellites for the overflow staff.
interesting. maybe temporary employees/ticket office for the 500? can't imagine they've permanently outgrown that office building already.
Had a chance to look at some engines, including the venerable turbo Cosworth, the Alfa, the Buick "stock block", and Porsche Indy engines at the Indy Motor Speedway museum. The different sizes were apparent - the Alfa was wide / big. The Buick tall, but not wide. The Cosworth a model of efficient design, compact width and height. Being there made me nostalgic - I found some old home videos of the Indy 500, posted to YouTube by fans. The 80's were a magical time for CART / IndyCar and the 500. Looking at the Chapparal 2J really hit home for me - a cross-bred innovative ground effects car that just took IndyCar by storm...I suppose the pushrod Merc engine was similar in impact, but those days of innovation are gone. Spec racing is for SCCA, not Indy. Bummer...but fun reminiscing there.
