Brisco's on the pole and Danica starts 7th. That's all we need to know :) :)
From NBC Sports: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/31490565/ns/sports-fan_zone/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1&beginChapter=1&beginTab=1 and the Fans Top 5 most overrated athletes (even though it has the wrong header) http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/31490566/ns/sports-fan_zone/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1&beginChapter=1&beginTab=1 Looks like Justin Wilson may win this one after leading for a long time in the beginning. Just when he increases his lead Mutoh spins - those workers are as slow as Christmas getting things cleaned up. At least Penske did better than last time. Glad to see Justin win it. Carol dp#11; Milka#17
Most of the stick & ball athletes on that list are people who are media circuses first, athletes second. Favre and Owens are great athletes but the media has made too big of a deal about them and overshadowed their ability. Interesting to see Dale Jr. on that list. I'm starting to agree. Not only is he the worst of the Hendrick teams, the Hendrick satellite teams are eating his lunch too. not good. good for Justin and Dale Coyne! I only caught the 2nd half of the race, but what a snoozer. Can't wait for the new cars.
Doesn't IRL have blue flags, or is Andretti color-blind? I thought letting cars unlap during the SC was to compensate for telling slower cars to get out of the way. Too much chance for a shuffle in the SC periods and pits, IMO. Aside from the Bus Stop being a tad narrow, it looks like the Glen is still quite a track, even for supercars. But it doesn't look like there are enough seats for an F1 crowd -- at least, not for enough of a crowd to pay the rates Bernie would want. It's interesting to see Justin's comments (on his site) comparing F1 and IRL. Nice pass by Justin early on. The TV coverage is a bit weak on covering action further back in the field. Good race by Justin. (Those last six laps, he was just showing off. )
Bravo for Dale Coyne - he's a good guy, and a long time supporter of open wheel (especially CART and Champ Car)...nice to see him win one - FINALLY!
I was surprised to hear that Dayle Coyne had never won a race. After all those years. Said he was on the podium at the Glen in a Formula Vee race back when F1 was there. Operating out of the back of a van. Good for him.
I look at statistics. Statistically, Danica Patrick does much better than 95% of her male counterparts. At Watkins Glen, she out qualified her own teammates, of which I do take Tony Kanaan seriously. So why slam her?? On a friggin road course, she outqualified Dan, Helio, and Paul. Again, why slam her?? Couldn't care less about some fan poll, if the typical stupid comments on FChat are any indication of the typical sports fan, you would have to be really shallow to buy into these polls. Give me a poll of the insiders of the sport, I want to know what they think. As far Danica Patrick is concerned, yes she probably is a little overrated, but then statistically, she deserves the praise she gets. I do not understand any of the slams, she is marketing herself the same as any of us if we were in her position. No, she is not another Foyt, Andretti (not Marco), Earnhardt, Schumacher, Senna, but at the same time, she is good enough to be more consistent than most all of her competitors. I give her credit for that. Only some form of jealousy prevents one from seeing that. Pos Driver Team Time 1. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m28.5970s 2. Justin Wilson Coyne 1m29.3106s 3. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m29.7279s 4. Mario Moraes KV 1m29.8003s 5. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1m29.9526s 6. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 7. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold 1m29.1715s 8. Danica Patrick Andretti Green 1m29.2076s 9. Marco Andretti Andretti Green 1m29.3539s 10. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 1m29.4131s 11. EJ Viso HVM 1m29.5661s 12. Dan Wheldon Panther 1m29.9137s 13. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 1m29.7943s 14. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m29.8662s 15. Paul Tracy KV 1m30.6167s 16. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt 1m30.4001s 17. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1m30.6266s 18. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon 1m30.4981s 19. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold 1m33.6824s 20. Richard Antinucci 3G 1m31.1910s 21. Ed Carpenter Vision 1m31.6852s
WTF???? Race finish: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Justin Wilson Coyne 1h48m24.1947s 2. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 4.9906s 3. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 5.1632s 4. Helio Castroneves Penske + 7.0755s 5. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 8.5595s 6. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold + 9.3646s 7. EJ Viso HVM + 11.3804s 8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 13.0020s 9. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 13.2633s 10. Dan Wheldon Panther + 18.0412s 11. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 18.5656s 12. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon + 18.9342s 13. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 23.0413s 14. Mario Moraes KV + 23.3821s 15. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 1 lap 16. Ed Carpenter Vision + 1 lap 17. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold + 2 laps 18. Richard Antinucci 3G + 13 laps Retirements: Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green 51 laps Paul Tracy KV 29 laps Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt 0 laps Carol
Ron listed qualifying times. What happened with Helio in qualifying? I didn't realize Richard Antinucci (Eddie Cheever's nephew, I believe) was in the race. Was this his first IRL start? He showed some promise in Indy Lights a while back but hadn't heard anything about him for a while.
I never cared much for Dale Coyne as a driver -- he always seemed to be a rolling roadblock -- but I have been a fan of him as a car-owner and I'm glad to see him finally break into victory lane and end the Penske/Ganassi monopoly. (So much for Andretti-Green and Newman-Haas-Lanigan being the likely ones to do that!) (It helps that I frequent one of his sponsors -- Sonny's Bar-B-Q -- quite regularly!)
Justin Wilson did, going away from everyone else. Nice win for him. I don't normally watch IRL (snooze) but the race was interesting on the old road course. I might consider watching regularly if they would drop the darn ovals!
It's gotten to the point where I think I'm actually beginning to understand the oval races. I don't know about the "snooze" factor. I don't recognize many drivers by their helmets or car numbers yet, so I'm not hanging on the edge of the action. But there seems to be more on-track passing than we've seen in F1 for a while. They just don't have as much TV camera coverage behind the leaders. (Although you don't miss as much during commercials -- they run most commercials side-by-side with the racing.) I did doze off during the St. Pete race ... but that's because that race was run during my sunday afternoon "nap time" instead of in the morning. They say that statistics are most often used the way drunks use lampposts: for support, rather than illumination. I'm no expert: I've only been watching the IndyCar series this year, and missed a couple of oval races. But Danica surprised me at the Glen --- she actually passed somebody on-track, instead of in the pits. I have been watching long enough to know that qualifying doesn't mean nearly as much in IndyCars as it does in F1. There tend to be more pit stops, and far more safety car periods, and a lot more interaction between SC periods and pit stops. Consequently, there's a lot more position shuffling going on during a race. (SPOILER) Look at the race at the Glen: Marco got tangled up early and went a lap down, but still wound up finishing fifth, ahead of Conway, who was running near the front for the first half of the race. AGR tends to do impressive pit work: frequently gaining their drivers positions at each pit stop. But Danica seems to lose them again. She also seems to lose positions faster, the closer to the front she gets. In Richmond, pit strategy got Mutoh and Danica to first and second. Mutoh held first for 74 laps. Danica held second for not quite a full (green) lap. Even Danica doesn't seem to take Danica seriously. But I'd love to see F1 return to the Glen. Maybe if Bernie manages to talk himself out of F1, ....
Great finish as I have been wanting to see Coyne get his first win for some time now. I loved the emotion from the crew and Coyne himself on the pitwall. The race was incredibly boring but at least it had a good result. Funny how Andretti gets to hold up everyone however, he's the first to complain about being held up, not sure where league officials were looking when he was holding up the leaders. As for Danica being overrated, yes, she is quite overrated. Just look at how her fellow competitors really feel about her to get the final word. She should have good statistics, she is on one of the top teams. Wheldon's finishes with Panther this year are much more impressive, imo.
I didn't get to see the race (thanks VS!), so I'm really happy to hear Dale Coyne's Team won! I remember stopping by their shop when it was in Naperville, IL back in the early 90's. It was, literally, about the size of a 3 or 4 car residential garage. The guys were breaking down a car after a race when I drove up. I'm expecting to be told to get lost as I walk up. Instead the guys asked me if I could help them lift the car up onto jackstands!! It was like walking into a buddy's garage! It's kind of sad that those days are gone but great to see a small team make good!!
+1....She has been running in Top 5 for the Series Championship this year. Something consistent in years past too. I believe so. Personally, everytime I see that all black 98, I just can't get Marty Roth out of my mind. I was starting to wonder if another team had a chance. I don't see it in AGR this year. What has happened to TK this year? I get the feeling that back at the AGR camp it is more a Soap Opera than a race team. If true, that would have to tear a team apart internally. Makes me wonder if TK is regretting resigning with AGR??? I really wanted to be a Marco fan. I tried so very hard, but I am soooo tired of him whining about everyone else. He was clearly blocking/racing for position when he was a lap down! Sorry Charlie, that's not cool. After his bump and grind early that sent him a lap down, I told my wife, "Looks like we get to hear Marco mouth off about someone else today." Heck, you listen to Michael and he is always siding with his son. There have been numerous comments out of him aobut having to have talks with Danica. For the most part, I see it as Marco being overly aggressive...no, make that entitled...when it comes to his racing. He's not earning it, he's trying to take it. That just doesn't sit well with me. Panther needed another quality driver since Hornish left them. I miss Hornish. He could run high, low or something in the middle when others wouldn't/couldn't. The tire compounds they are using are just throwing too many marbles and creating a single line race. That is NOT good for us fans or for the racers. I do wonder if Hornish was here, how well he'd be handling these conditions. I think he would be making race lines where others couldn't find them. That just might force the others to step up their game a notch or two.
many of us respect ron's racing knowledge but to put it in simple terms that ron will appreciate...danica is overrated to the point that she could not even carry massa's helmet bag. lol pcb
Ok, here's the thing on Danica. All her supportors says "Oh, she should be in USF1! With all the PR, she'll get all this sponsorship money so the team can get the best equipment!". Tell me, where is the big pay off in the IRL? If she's so valuable to sponsors, why isn't she leading the IRL in money, equipment, support, and therefore--- points? She's not bad. She's a middle of the roader that we wouldn't pay any attention to if she had a schlong or didn't look so good in a bikini. Overrated? Danica is more like overexposed.
It was on ABC. VS and ABC split the Indycar races the way Speed and Fox split the F1 events. At least the ABC coverage is live rather than delayed. Either way, if the local affiliate preempts the network feed with something else, you're out of luck. --- T'was a time you could point the antenna at a neighboring market affiliate, if it had enough gain. For a while, in the past, I could get PBS stations from Boston MA, Concord NH, and Providence RI. I could watch Dr. Who three times on a Saturday. (Plus "Tripods" and "Blake's 7".) But free broadcast is passe. The feds need the revenue from leasing air to cell phone providers.
+2, as usual I find myself agreeing with ZUL8TR. I very much doubt if Marco would be anywhere without his last name. His grandfather is a hero of mine, didn't care much for his dad's attitude but at least he could drive, this one seems to have the most attitude and the least amount of skill. I'm sure AGR is missing those glory days of Kanaan, Franchitti, Wheldon and Herta (as well as being the Honda factory team)! I also wonder if Hornish regrets his move to NASCAR. Sure it was very financially beneficial but I have to think at some point these guys miss winning. I'm glad to see Panther getting some good results again, I've always been a Penske fan so they were kind of the enemy there for a bit, but they are a solid team that seems to be run by good, decent people. Like Dale Coyne, it's good to see good people get good results.
Reported in the Indy Star: "I just wish to let you know that Richard Antinucci actually went straight at Watkins Glen into Turn 1 on Lap 19 due to a front upright failure. Team 3G have thought well enough of his July 4 weekend, and his ninth outright fastest lap, that Richard is now confirmed for the Canadian rounds."
+1....Look at AJ finally recogonizing that Anthony was not wired the same way to fight tooth and nail for every mile and turn. Those two, despite being family, have no business on the same team. IMHO, the only true driver that could satisfy AJ would be AJ, but that's a whole different discussion. When will Kim Green step in and tell Micheal he needs to seriously consider letting Marco out of the family stable? I don't think USF1 is the way to go for him, although he has the entitled attitude to fit in. Franchitti, Wheldon, Herta are all gone from AGR. As I have said many times, I think TK made a huge mistake staying. If that contract was up at the end of this year, I bet there would be a different decision that he would make. Additionally, with the comments made by Michael and Marco about Danica, I would be floored over if she is still there after the end of her contract this year. Odd that Michael tosses out there that he wants her to stay too. As for Wheldon, I rarely dislike a driver, but he was actually on that list for awhile. Hated his attitude. Good news, marriage seems to have agreed with him. He's loosened up, still performs, and the bad attitude is a thing of the past. I find myself pulling for him now. Still, get a chuckle every on camera interview....speak, take a drink of sponsor's beverage, speak, take a sip of sponsor's beverage, lather, rinse repeat. I don't know how he can sit in a race car for a couple of hours after all that drinking. I'd be looking for a rest stop! LOL!
Not sure if Kim Green will ever tell Michael that, the thing is, as long as there is an Andretti racing they get publicity and sponsor money. TK did make a huge mistake staying there and being made to set-up everyone else's car, I also think he's hurt a lot worse than what they have let on given his performances as of late. I can see Danica going to Ganassi, supposedly Dixon will be driving DeFerran's Indy Car next year and the Ganassi ride gives her a top notch Indy Car seat and a shot at NASCAR if she wants it. I have heard bad things about Wheldon from people along the pits (pretty boy, huge attitude, etc, etc) but that was some time ago and he certainly can still race a car.
