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

[2muchcoffeeman]

Hornish (228.985) on the pole so far, Castroneves 2nd (228.008). Weldon 3rd (227.338).

Danica currently 10th (224-674). Teammate Buddy Rice 14th (224.393). Vitor Meira (226.156, 6th), despite lack of sponsorship on Panther Racing sidepods1, outqualifies entire Rahal team and all Andretti-Green drivers except Kanaan, Unser Jr. failed to average 220, currently 26th.

Stephan Gregoire currently last driver in the race (217.428, 29th).

1No mention of Pennzoil on the car, which is dark orange with black trim and blank sidepods. Apparently Panther is broke enough that it could not afford to take the Pennzoil logos off its web site.

 

[sportschick]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Isn't the speedway really in Speedway, Ind., or am I imagining that that's what the dateline used to read in AP stories?

 

[Bubbler]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Isn't the speedway really in Speedway, Ind., or am I imagining that that's what the dateline used to read in AP stories?

It should be the dateline, but AP insists on using Indianapolis.

Unlike most Indy suburbs, Speedway never acquised to UNIGOV and is still an independent entity and the track sits inside its city limits. I've asked the AP folks there about it and they look at me like I'm insane ...


Which I am, of course, but I'm right on this DAMMIT! Incorrect datelines drive me nuts.

 

[sportschick]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Isn't the speedway really in Speedway, Ind., or am I imagining that that's what the dateline used to read in AP stories?

It should be the dateline, but AP insists on using Indianapolis.

Unlike most Indy suburbs, Speedway never acquised to UNIGOV and is still an independent entity and the track sits inside its city limits. I've asked the AP folks there about it and they look at me like I'm insane ...


Which I am, of course, but I'm right on this DAMMIT! Incorrect datelines drive me nuts.

It's probably something I had drilled into my head when I was working in Indiana or something then. If they don't change Auburn Hills to Detroit, why are they changing Speedway to Indianapolis?

 

[DisembodiedOwlHead]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

It's probably something I had drilled into my head when I was working in Indiana or something then. If they don't change Auburn Hills to Detroit, why are they changing Speedway to Indianapolis?

Because Speedway is inside Indianapolis, surrounded by it.

 

[sportschick]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

It's probably something I had drilled into my head when I was working in Indiana or something then. If they don't change Auburn Hills to Detroit, why are they changing Speedway to Indianapolis?

Because Speedway is inside Indianapolis, surrounded by it.

I've been to the speedway. I've covered games/events in and around Indy. I'm well aware of the geography of Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. It's still a separate city/town/municipality and should be treated as such by AP.

 

[spaceman]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

it's like the Vatican.

 

[abesimpson22]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

it's like the Vatican.

Beat me to it.

I can't wait until Sunday. Most fun day of the year.

 

[sportschick]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

it's like the Vatican.

It is the Vatican of auto racing.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

it's like the Vatican.

Beat me to it.

I can't wait until Sunday. Most fun day of the year.

Bump Day used to be the most fun day of the year. Of course, that was back when more than 33 cars tried to qualify for the Indy 500. I don't know that anybody's even going to try to qualify 33rd tomorrow, much less start bumping their way in.

 

[Clerk Typist]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

it's like the Vatican.

Only richer. And with Christmas in May.

 

[Jeff Gluck]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

What happened to Champ Car/Indy thread I?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

What happened to Champ Car/Indy thread I?

It's on page 300 (I think) and was itself 300 pages long. Time to freshen the laundry.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Well, Indy now has a full field. Who the hell is Thiago Medeiros?

 

[Jack_Kerouac]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

God, Indy sucks now. Ten or 15 years ago, it really was a spectacle, as they still say and try to pass it off as. Bump Day used to be so thrilling and nerve-wracking to watch, but it truly just sucks now.

 

[Gold]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

it's like the Vatican.

Beat me to it.

I can't wait until Sunday. Most fun day of the year.

Bump Day used to be the most fun day of the year. Of course, that was back when more than 33 cars tried to qualify for the Indy 500. I don't know that anybody's even going to try to qualify 33rd tomorrow, much less start bumping their way in.

I believe that is where the phrase "On the Bubble" originally came from.

 

[crimsonace]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

God, Indy sucks now. Ten or 15 years ago, it really was a spectacle, as they still say and try to pass it off as. Bump Day used to be so thrilling and nerve-wracking to watch, but it truly just sucks now.

Next Sunday morning, I'll have difficulty agreeing with you. But last year's 500 was a phenomenal race.

The drivers aren't the household names they used to be, and that takes a lot of the luster off. Outside of Danica and Andretti/Unser, nobody really knows who the drivers are. The economics of the sport, however, have changed, and that has just blown Bump Day to smithereens. Sponsorship dollars increasingly go south and support three series, and what's left, IRL and CCWS teams get to fight over -- it's barely enough to fill the field. Honda has worried about being able to supply 33 engines for the month, which is an economics problem in all of open-wheel racing. But even NASCAR has difficulty filling fields to 43 now (and Kirk Shelmerdine always shows up to save them the PR disaster that might cause).

But then, as now, the guys qualifying in the final hour on Bump Day are usually one-off drivers, several of which scrambled to make a last-minute deal (with A.J. Foyt or **** Simon, usually) and drove it into the show. Indy almost got one of those this year. Ryan Briscoe would've bumped his way into the field today if Marty Roth hadn't found a way to screw things up for a legitimate driver running for a semi-legitimate (if slow) team.

 

[crimsonace]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

Indy predictions ...

1. Helio Castroneves. Penske has been fastest all month, and usually figures it out on race day. Helio is proven over 500 miles. Hornish hasn't finished 200 laps at Indy yet.
2. Tony Kanaan. A perennial bridesmaid, but he'll be up front.
3. Dan Wheldon. I might pick him for No. 2, but he doesn't seem comfortable with the race package yet.
4. Scott Dixon. Ganassi is flying, and has managed to have a leg up on other teams (well, all of the other teams whose cars don't look like packs of smokes). He's slower than his teammate, though.
5. Vitor Meira. Not a sexy pick, but he managed to be up front at the finish of nearly every race.
--
Dark horse: Tomas Scheckter. He's got tons and tons of talent, but he's learning the value of patience. That should pay off. So should the fact that Vision has actually been semi-competitive this month.
Dark horse II: Michael Andretti. Never qualifies well, but the last time he had a really slow qualifying run at Indy, he was leading midway through the race.

 

[crimsonace]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

bumping the thread.

Since it's a minor sport in Indy (everyone has a favorite), throw yours out ...

(and nobody will notice because it's about a seventh-tier series, but the last-lap shootout in the Pro Series race today at IMS was pretty cool).

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II

bumping the thread.

Since it's a minor sport in Indy (everyone has a favorite), throw yours out ...

(and nobody will notice because it's about a seventh-tier series, but the last-lap shootout in the Pro Series race today at IMS was pretty cool).

It will come down to Penske vs. Ganassi, unfortunately. I have a feeling that outside the top five or six cars, this race is going to sucksucksuck.