Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (Montreal, Turkey, IRL to RACE Daytona?!?)

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Thoughts from today ...

F1 at Indy
*-How screwed up is the fact that the first American F1 driver in 13 years finally runs on his home soil ... and is wiped out in the first turn.
*-Nick Heidfeld went for a scary ride, but is apparently OK. Raikkonen and Montoya were both taken out in the pileup that looked like a Champ Car-at-Cleveland melee. (WIBC in Indy said the Red Bull media notes said "Thanks Juan", blaming Montoya for the wreck).
*-Ed Hinton's latest column basically said Ecclestone was going to screw up the F1-Indy relationship, but WTF does Bernie think is going to be a better USGP venue than Indy? Phoenix, Detroit, Long Beach, Dallas ... nothing has been very successful since F1 left Watkins Glen 30+ years ago, and Indy is one of the best-attended races on the circuit, even despite all of the "issues" that have come (Schumacher pulling over on the last lap to let Barrichello win a few years back, tyregate last year). If F1 wants to add another U.S. race -- say, at Vegas -- it should consider doing what it does to stay at both Nurburgring and Hockenheim, and designate a second race as a North American GP, which could be coupled on a trip with one of the South American GPs.
*-Where the heck did Ferrari find that kind of speed? Schumacher was a full second ahead of the rest of the field, and he had a 13-second lead late in the race over Massa, who himself had a 13-second lead. "Deutschland Uber Alles" is a more familiar sound around Indy at F1 time than Mike King saying "stay tuned for the greatest spectacle in racing" in May. However, Turn 1 took out several of the top contenders.
*-Thanks to attrition, only nine cars finished -- three more than finished last year's race.

IRL at Kansas
*-Hornish was again the class of the field. He's been running away with just about everything since Indy, his pit mishap at Texas excepted. He could start pulling away in the championship race if he keeps his recent streak going at Nashville & Milwaukee.
*-Heck of a run for Castroneves, to back his car into the wall, lose the rear wing and manage to not only stay on the lead lap, but finish sixth. He was as high as fourth at one point late in the race. He loses the points lead, but is still second.
*-Someone get something on Vitor Meira's sidepods. He and the Panther team are becoming the best story in the IRL this year -- outperforming several of the high-dollar teams, including AGR -- and they've got a completely empty racecar. Another good finish (third) today for Meira, who *will* win a race someday. Another indictment for ride-buyeing ... Meira was pushed out of the RLR car for Paul Dana (who was killed in an accident that appeared to be a rather obvious driver error) and later Jeff Simmons, who finally saw what the checkered flag looks like from the cockpit in his 7th start. Meanwhile, Meira continues to post top-fives with an underfunded team.
*-Another good finish with Hornish just ahead of Wheldon, but as soon as the late yellow came out after the Rice wreck, it was pretty much obvious that Hornish was going to overtake Wheldon and win the race. Dan could use the draft to catch up to Hornish, but couldn't make it stick, while Sam could pretty much drive past anybody. A 0.079-second win for Hornish in a close finish, but Wheldon never could use any kind of a draft to make a move in the last lap.
*-8 of 14 races down: Penske 6 (Hornish 3, Helio 3), Ganassi 2 (Wheldon 1, Dixon 1).

(and an aside ... Indy historian Donald Davidson's postrace radio show flat-out rules).

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Crimson, Steve Matchett might have made the best point at the end of the F1 broadcast today -- Michelin wasn't about to eff up again and thus ran a really conservative tire at Indy. And with Ferrari being Bridgestone's flagship team ... you do the math.

Alas, you gotta love the underdog American sprint car drivers like Vitor Meira doing something with nothing. </robinmilleresquesarcasm> Seriously, Hornish is the only top-notch American driver the IRL has groomed and kept. It'd be nice if there were one or two others out there, too.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

I was explaining that point to others in the office last night. There is nowhere else in the U.S. for F-1 to go (and nowhere else that wants them). As much as Ecclestone might say it in the media, I think he knows this. As some of the manufacturers have been saying, the U.S. market is too important for them to abandon, especially now that there is finally an American racing every week.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Anyone who thinks Toronto wouldn't be part of any merged CCWS/IRL schedule didn't see a packed house this weekend. Heavy media coverage, both print and TV, all weekend which I am sure the CCWS doesn't get everywhere.

I was a regular at the race until 2001, before the mass defection to IRL. When I was going the grid was full of big names like Andretti, Rahal, Montoya, Vasser, Moore (RIP), Franchitti (Hey it's Ashley Judd!), Fittipaldi and plenty of others but I have no idea how the Toronto race people managed to sell this out given the largely anonymous group of racers involved. Yeah, I know they're flogging the event these days over the racing which is a primo example of selling the sizzle over the steak.

(How does this circuit surive? There sure looked to be a severe shortage of quality sponsors on the cars. No Targets, no breweries, no Shell or Valvoline etc.)

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

I think Hinton got caught out a little bit on that column. It was written pre-race, and I think he was counting on crowds to be down at the USGP.

If anything, crowds were up. I think both the Speedway and FOM were very surprised at the weekend turnout.

Of course next year, all of those flag-waving Colombians will be at the Brickyard.

Weird.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Probably the same way the IRL survived in 1996-2001 ... like Tony George, Kevin Kalkhoven has an @$$load of money.

Not to mention, the teams run really old Lolas and Cosworth engines made by Kalkhoven's company and they've also cut costs in a lot of ways. There is a new Panoz chassis set for next season, which will be a lot lighter and cheaper.

I didn't think CCWS would last a year after CART's bankruptcy. I've been more than mildly surprised -- Kalkhoven's business plan has been good, although the on-track product has been less than spectacular (then again, a series that relies on street parades isn't going to yield very much good racing). They've survived long enough to make an impending merger a likelihood, rather than simply allowing one side to win the war of attrition.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

"I bring my hammer to work with me every day."
-- Tony George

Well, Tony, we see how well that worked for ya ...

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

What the hell, wicked? He DID work that hammer everyday.

Hammering nails in the coffin of domestic open-wheel racing.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Ah, quite a personal distinction -- I saw JPM's final F1 drive in person.  He's done, replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.

http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=123802

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

I've seen four USGP's. Montoya still made the best pass (2001, Schumacher, I think) I saw there.

Of course nearly every other race he had some calamity, many self-inflicted.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

So Danica's dad was a guest of Jack Roush at Chicagoland last weekend.

Any thoughts?

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

I respect you, Coffeeman. Please don't make me D_B you.