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re: IndyCar 2021 Season Thread
Posted on 5/19/21 at 1:43 pm to BlueWaffleHouse
Posted on 5/19/21 at 1:43 pm to BlueWaffleHouse
Before we get too deep into Indy 500 pole/bump week, a quick recap of the season so far:
1. Five different winners (and nationalities) in the first five races!
Barber: Alex Palou (Spain)
St. Petersburg: Colton Herta (US)
Texas Race 1: Scott Dixon (New Zealand)
Texas Race 2: Pato O'Ward (Mexico)
Indy GP: Rinus Veekay (Netherlands)
2. Youth brigade and first-time winners!
Four out of the five winners are 24 yrs old or younger. Three out of the five are first time winners! Awesome.
Alex Palou - 24 yrs old - 1st win
Colton Herta - 21 yrs old - 4th win
Scott Dixon - 40 yrs old - 50th win
Pato O'Ward - 22 yrs old - 1st win
Rinus VeeKay - 20 yrs old - 1st win
I think both F1 and IndyCar fans get a little tired of some of the old-timers who race for 10 years but never distinguish themselves. It's great to find new young talent. It seems like there are more young guys now who are both fast and mature by the time they get their opportunity at the top level.
As far as these young IndyCar stars and the possibility of switching to F1, (1) Herta just re-signed with Andretti so he's committed to IndyCar; (2) O'Ward would sign with McLaren F1 in a heartbeat if given the opportunity—I think both he and McLaren are taking the test at Abu Dhabi seriously even if Lando and Daniel are locked-in for the next few years; I don't think O'Ward would sign with a backmarker team just to be in F1; (3) I wonder if Alex Palou is already too old at 24 for F1 to give him a serious look; (4) VeeKay is only 20 yrs old! If he continues to win races, I think he'll get some attention from Europe.
3. Dixon is still King until further notice.
Dixon has finished in the top 5 in four of the first five races. Relentless, boring consistency has always been his MO. Not exciting for fans, but he's a huge thorn in the side of any championship hopeful. The top 10 is a nice mix of veterans and newcomers. Aside from Romain Grosjean (who won't show up in the top 10 because he is not running ovals this year) another notable newcomer is three-time V8 Supercar champ Scott McLaughlin, who is racing well and is on Team Penske so he should have a good season (all four Penske drivers are in the top 10).
Standings
1. Scott Dixon (Ganassi)
2. Alex Palou (Ganassi)
3. Josef Newgarden (Penske)
4. Pato O'Ward (McLaren Schmidt Peterson)
5. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
6. Rinus VeeKay (Carpenter)
7. Simon Pagenaud (Penske)
8. Scott McLaughlin (Penske)
9. Will Power (Penske)
10. Colton Herta (Andretti)
Now, onto Indy...
Although they run at Texas in the superspeedway aero configuration, the track is way too different from IMS for it to have much bearing on Indy 500 preparations. So we can't really make any Indy 500 predictions based on how the Texas races went, other than we can expect Dixon to be strong as usual.
Aside from expecting Ganassi, Penske, and (maybe) Carpenter & Andretti to be strong, last year's P1, P3, and P4 finishers (Sato, Rahal, and Ferrucci) are all on the same team this year, so I'm curious to see if RLL can show that they can be consistently strong from year to year.
The drivers said yesterday was cool, and they are expecting much hotter conditions this weekend, so it sounds like we have yet to see who is going to be strong for qualy.
1. Five different winners (and nationalities) in the first five races!
Barber: Alex Palou (Spain)
St. Petersburg: Colton Herta (US)
Texas Race 1: Scott Dixon (New Zealand)
Texas Race 2: Pato O'Ward (Mexico)
Indy GP: Rinus Veekay (Netherlands)
2. Youth brigade and first-time winners!
Four out of the five winners are 24 yrs old or younger. Three out of the five are first time winners! Awesome.
Alex Palou - 24 yrs old - 1st win
Colton Herta - 21 yrs old - 4th win
Scott Dixon - 40 yrs old - 50th win
Pato O'Ward - 22 yrs old - 1st win
Rinus VeeKay - 20 yrs old - 1st win
I think both F1 and IndyCar fans get a little tired of some of the old-timers who race for 10 years but never distinguish themselves. It's great to find new young talent. It seems like there are more young guys now who are both fast and mature by the time they get their opportunity at the top level.
As far as these young IndyCar stars and the possibility of switching to F1, (1) Herta just re-signed with Andretti so he's committed to IndyCar; (2) O'Ward would sign with McLaren F1 in a heartbeat if given the opportunity—I think both he and McLaren are taking the test at Abu Dhabi seriously even if Lando and Daniel are locked-in for the next few years; I don't think O'Ward would sign with a backmarker team just to be in F1; (3) I wonder if Alex Palou is already too old at 24 for F1 to give him a serious look; (4) VeeKay is only 20 yrs old! If he continues to win races, I think he'll get some attention from Europe.
3. Dixon is still King until further notice.
Dixon has finished in the top 5 in four of the first five races. Relentless, boring consistency has always been his MO. Not exciting for fans, but he's a huge thorn in the side of any championship hopeful. The top 10 is a nice mix of veterans and newcomers. Aside from Romain Grosjean (who won't show up in the top 10 because he is not running ovals this year) another notable newcomer is three-time V8 Supercar champ Scott McLaughlin, who is racing well and is on Team Penske so he should have a good season (all four Penske drivers are in the top 10).
Standings
1. Scott Dixon (Ganassi)
2. Alex Palou (Ganassi)
3. Josef Newgarden (Penske)
4. Pato O'Ward (McLaren Schmidt Peterson)
5. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
6. Rinus VeeKay (Carpenter)
7. Simon Pagenaud (Penske)
8. Scott McLaughlin (Penske)
9. Will Power (Penske)
10. Colton Herta (Andretti)
Now, onto Indy...
Although they run at Texas in the superspeedway aero configuration, the track is way too different from IMS for it to have much bearing on Indy 500 preparations. So we can't really make any Indy 500 predictions based on how the Texas races went, other than we can expect Dixon to be strong as usual.
Aside from expecting Ganassi, Penske, and (maybe) Carpenter & Andretti to be strong, last year's P1, P3, and P4 finishers (Sato, Rahal, and Ferrucci) are all on the same team this year, so I'm curious to see if RLL can show that they can be consistently strong from year to year.
The drivers said yesterday was cool, and they are expecting much hotter conditions this weekend, so it sounds like we have yet to see who is going to be strong for qualy.
This post was edited on 5/19/21 at 2:26 pm
2
Posted on 5/19/21 at 1:49 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
What is the rumor that CBS and NBC are thinking of splitting the Indy Series TV rights? Has anyone else seen this or heard this?
Posted on 5/19/21 at 2:41 pm to sms151t
quote:
What is the rumor that CBS and NBC are thinking of splitting the Indy Series TV rights? Has anyone else seen this or heard this?
I haven't heard the latest, but the IndyCar TV package has been a disaster IMO. I know it's a hard call to put races on the broadcast channel when the numbers are low, but if you signed up to be the series' TV broadcaster, you aren't going to grow the audience by putting most of the races on the cable channel. But worse is not allowing free streaming of practice and qualy sessions. International fans following young stars like Palou, O'Ward, VeeKay and McLaughlin are being shut out of maximum exposure to the series. NBC is just doing anything they can to get people to sign up for Peacock.
But if there's any meat to that rumor, it sounds like IndyCar and IndyCar fans are going to continue to get screwed.
Posted on 5/19/21 at 3:25 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
I was skeptical when ESPN took over the F1 rights in America, but putting it on the same channel each week, allowing easy access to replays on ESPN app, and giving slightly more promotion has brought more fans.
DtS and Liberty finding out what social media is has definitely helped as well, but the move to ESPN has helped the overall image in the US.
DtS and Liberty finding out what social media is has definitely helped as well, but the move to ESPN has helped the overall image in the US.
This post was edited on 5/19/21 at 3:29 pm
Posted on 5/19/21 at 3:42 pm to fightin tigers
quote:
DtS and Liberty finding out what social media is has definitely helped as well, but the move to ESPN has helped the overall image in the US.
No doubt. Add in the success of the Netflix show along with what Mclaren and red bull are doing with their digital media, F1 has found a sweet spot.
Mclaren is producing some decent content (at least they’re doing race vlogs) for the Indy team, so that’s a good start.
It’s a shame NBC is probably cutting bait. There was so much crossover potential for growth amongst the nbc universal umbrella .... [i.e. Potential marketing gold with NBC bringing Nintendo & Mario Kart rides to their theme parks, get some of the wives on one of the Bravo Housewives shows (I laughed @ this @ first but those shows are insanely popular apparently), and so on...]
Posted on 5/19/21 at 3:47 pm to BlueWaffleHouse
quote:
Mclaren is producing some decent content (at least they’re doing race vlogs) for the Indy team, so that’s a good start.
Their unboxed series is some really good content for people who want less drama and more actual workings. Zak has really changed that team image.
Will Buxton before and after kind of gives a nice "what to watch for" for those who don't want to get too far into the technical.
Merc with their tech stuff is worth watching too.
The teams not taking themselves too seriously really is what brings it closer to fans. 2019 had James Allison doing a tech talk and had a sandbag on the table behind him. Then actually having a pallet of sandbags in the paddock.
Maybe ESPN picks it up and tries to bring some ideas they see with sky and Liberty.
This post was edited on 5/19/21 at 3:49 pm
Posted on 5/19/21 at 3:53 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
last year's P1, P3, and P4 finishers (Sato, Rahal, and Ferrucci) are all on the same team this year, so I'm curious to see if RLL can show that they can be consistently strong from year to year.
I really think Graham is about to go on a 5 year run and could see him winning the 500 this year. He only just turned 32, this is his 14th season in Indy, but his dad made him basically “earn” the right to drive for his team and he grinded it out developing with Sarah Fischer and eventually Ganassi for the first half of his career. (I know he wasn’t exactly roughing it, but that’s at least a better path than a lot of spoon fed legacy drivers w/ money)
He’s become very consistent and a patient driver, and has really developed on Ovals. His drive @ last week’s race was one of the most mature and impressive 5th place finishes I’ve ever seen.
Him and his two lunatic teammates will be very fun to watch these next two weeks.
Posted on 5/20/21 at 1:48 pm to BlueWaffleHouse
quote:
Him and his two lunatic teammates will be very fun to watch these next two weeks.
OMG you aren't kidding. The RLL boys have already almost caused a major accident in practice...
https://www.espn.in/racing/story/_/id/31478106/colton-herta-scott-mclaughlin-avoid-crash-dodging-photo-opportunity
There's video.
Posted on 5/20/21 at 1:54 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
The RLL boys have already almost caused a major accident in practice...
Seems like an incredibly stupid and unsafe thing to be doing during practice in which other cars are running at full speed.
Posted on 5/20/21 at 6:13 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
BETTER VIDEO LINK
Wow.
____________
I feel bad for Santino Ferrucci. He had really climbed the boards today only to crash out. Even though his leg injury was "minor" it was enough to send him to hospital for imaging. I hope he can recover and they can get the car back together for qualifying.
Wow.
____________
I feel bad for Santino Ferrucci. He had really climbed the boards today only to crash out. Even though his leg injury was "minor" it was enough to send him to hospital for imaging. I hope he can recover and they can get the car back together for qualifying.
Posted on 5/20/21 at 8:37 pm to AutoYes_Clown
Conor Daly has been consistently fast this week. I really want to see him do well. CGR cars are looking fast too to bottom. I can’t help but feel that Penske is working on race set up and will go all out on quali set up tomorrow.
Posted on 5/21/21 at 11:34 am to EhSeeJay
Oh yeah it's Fast Friday and they're running qualy boost!
First half hour and these guys are already above 230 mph.
Ed Jones 231.569 mph
Pato O'Ward
Scott Dixon
Stefan Wilson
Conor Daly 230.200 mph
First half hour and these guys are already above 230 mph.
Ed Jones 231.569 mph
Pato O'Ward
Scott Dixon
Stefan Wilson
Conor Daly 230.200 mph
This post was edited on 5/21/21 at 1:38 pm
Posted on 5/21/21 at 1:35 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
After the first two hours, these are the best "no-tow" speeds, obviously the best indicator of raw speed for qualifying.
RLL (#1 Sato, #4 Rahal), Ganassi (#2 Palou, #5 Kanaan, #6 Dixon), Andretti (#3 Rossi, #7 Herta, #11 Wilson), and Carpenter (#8 VeeKay, #12 Daly) look like the strongest teams and are all running above 230 mph. Since the aero package was tweaked this year, I was curious if RLL could match their speed from last year, and they are looking strong again.
Conspicuously absent from sniffing the Fast 9 is Team Penske. The fastest car so far is McLaughlin at 229.355 mph and #20 in the order!
Also, defending champ and winner of two of the last four Indy 500s...
RLL (#1 Sato, #4 Rahal), Ganassi (#2 Palou, #5 Kanaan, #6 Dixon), Andretti (#3 Rossi, #7 Herta, #11 Wilson), and Carpenter (#8 VeeKay, #12 Daly) look like the strongest teams and are all running above 230 mph. Since the aero package was tweaked this year, I was curious if RLL could match their speed from last year, and they are looking strong again.
Conspicuously absent from sniffing the Fast 9 is Team Penske. The fastest car so far is McLaughlin at 229.355 mph and #20 in the order!
Also, defending champ and winner of two of the last four Indy 500s...
This post was edited on 5/21/21 at 1:50 pm
Posted on 5/21/21 at 1:48 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
absent from sniffing the Fast 9 is Team Penske
wow
Ferrucci is on track
BTW - Link for IndyCar Radio (at top) and live timing
Posted on 5/21/21 at 6:16 pm to AutoYes_Clown
At the end of Fast Friday, here are the final no-tow speeds going into Saturday qualifying.
On Saturday the top 9 cars will be set for the Sunday Fast 9 shootout for pole position,
and the top 30 cars will be set for the race.
The last row will be up for grabs on Sunday Bump Day. Five cars will be vying for the last three starting positions.
On Saturday the top 9 cars will be set for the Sunday Fast 9 shootout for pole position,
and the top 30 cars will be set for the race. The last row will be up for grabs on Sunday Bump Day. Five cars will be vying for the last three starting positions.
This post was edited on 5/21/21 at 6:20 pm
Posted on 5/21/21 at 6:46 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
The Hondas really are continuing their domination. Qualifying should be fun tomorrow. My pole prediction is Sato
Posted on 5/21/21 at 8:21 pm to BlueWaffleHouse
My prediction
Pole: Dixon (I know, what a stretch)
Pole speed 231.8
Bumped: Enerson, Hinch :(
Bump speed 225.1
Pole: Dixon (I know, what a stretch)
Pole speed 231.8
Bumped: Enerson, Hinch :(
Bump speed 225.1
Posted on 5/22/21 at 3:59 pm to EhSeeJay
This thread should be on the first page.
Posted on 5/22/21 at 4:31 pm to TigerGyp
Ganassi domination, not a surprise.
I love how Carpenter has two cars in the Fast 9. No one can use the excuse that Honda teams have an advantage over Chevy teams.
RLL really dropped off today.
Penske is really struggling. Given that the cars are pretty much the same, you wonder what went wrong with their preparation.
I'll pick Herta for pole tomorrow.
I love how Carpenter has two cars in the Fast 9. No one can use the excuse that Honda teams have an advantage over Chevy teams.
RLL really dropped off today.
Penske is really struggling. Given that the cars are pretty much the same, you wonder what went wrong with their preparation.
I'll pick Herta for pole tomorrow.
Posted on 5/23/21 at 12:15 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
It's bump day and pole day.
Five cars are competing for the final three spots on the grid starting now. 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power in a Penske is in danger of being bumped! Realistically, Rc Enerson and Simona De Silvestro look like the obvious cars that are gonna be bumped.
Fast 9 pole qualifying at 3:00 ET.
Five cars are competing for the final three spots on the grid starting now. 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power in a Penske is in danger of being bumped! Realistically, Rc Enerson and Simona De Silvestro look like the obvious cars that are gonna be bumped.
Fast 9 pole qualifying at 3:00 ET.
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