With just over three days remaining until Jack Nicholson drops the green flag on the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500, we continue with part II of our look at the 500 field. Today, we look at the middle of the starting grid. (for part I, click here)
Showing posts with label Mario Moraes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mario Moraes. Show all posts
20 May 2010
A Qualifications Primer
Until the 500/600 $20 Million Double occurs (and SI.com's Tim Tuttle nails most of it here), the biggest change to hit the Indianapolis 500 was the overhaul of the schedule for the month of May. With a schedule closer to that of the 1998 500, teams have been prepping all week for the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 and stand to do their qualifying trim on Thursday.
Saturday will mark the biggest changes to the qualifying format - no, Brian Barnhardt will still talk to the drivers momentarily before the head out for their qualifying effort - with a "Pole Day Shootout" scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m..
From noon-4, the first 24 slots will be filled, based on speed. After a half-hour break, the top nine speeds will then have a window in which to attempt to qualify for the pole.
The new format blends a bit of the "Firestone Fast Six" road/street qualifying format that fans have enthusiastically endorsed with the tradition of late-day pole runs at Indianapolis.
Now, whether or not this draws fans back to Pole Day remains to be seen. While I don't see the massive crowds returning for qualifications until drivers are pushing 240-250 mph, last year's crowd appeared to be up from the previous year. For the most part, the qualifying was good, albeit too spread out, as Alex Lloyd put together a late run to qualify in the top 11 in his Sam Schmidt/Ganassi car.
With two Ganassi machines (and a third in Townsend Bell's Schmidt/Ganassi effort), at least one quality KV machine (Mario Moraes), three solid Penske cars, two-five Andretti Autosport efforts (Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan have shown the most speed) and a Tagliani (he's been surprisingly quick in practice), some quality drivers are going to be left out, leaving some to scramble around 3:30 to try and make a run into the first three rows of the 500 field.
In any case, it should make for a more interesting Pole Day, with track activity guaranteed far more than in the past.
As for Bump Day, filling the final nine spots in the field should take little time, provided the weather cooperates. And unlike past years, we won't see Jimmy Kite and P.J. Jones as the only cars attempting to bump their way into the field (now, after experiencing a two-seater ride, I have an immense amount of respect for any of those drivers, especially the ones trying to bump their way in with an ill-handling machine).
Based on the speed charts thus far, it looks like everyone's favorite driver, Milka Duno (hey, she is great with the fans, I'll credit her that), will be squarely on the bubble come Sunday. And if that happens, keep a close eye on the AJ Foyt Racing garage, where I wouldn't be surprised to see another car prepared if Milka was sitting on the bubble late in the day.
Saturday will mark the biggest changes to the qualifying format - no, Brian Barnhardt will still talk to the drivers momentarily before the head out for their qualifying effort - with a "Pole Day Shootout" scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m..
From noon-4, the first 24 slots will be filled, based on speed. After a half-hour break, the top nine speeds will then have a window in which to attempt to qualify for the pole.
The new format blends a bit of the "Firestone Fast Six" road/street qualifying format that fans have enthusiastically endorsed with the tradition of late-day pole runs at Indianapolis.
Now, whether or not this draws fans back to Pole Day remains to be seen. While I don't see the massive crowds returning for qualifications until drivers are pushing 240-250 mph, last year's crowd appeared to be up from the previous year. For the most part, the qualifying was good, albeit too spread out, as Alex Lloyd put together a late run to qualify in the top 11 in his Sam Schmidt/Ganassi car.
With two Ganassi machines (and a third in Townsend Bell's Schmidt/Ganassi effort), at least one quality KV machine (Mario Moraes), three solid Penske cars, two-five Andretti Autosport efforts (Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan have shown the most speed) and a Tagliani (he's been surprisingly quick in practice), some quality drivers are going to be left out, leaving some to scramble around 3:30 to try and make a run into the first three rows of the 500 field.
In any case, it should make for a more interesting Pole Day, with track activity guaranteed far more than in the past.
As for Bump Day, filling the final nine spots in the field should take little time, provided the weather cooperates. And unlike past years, we won't see Jimmy Kite and P.J. Jones as the only cars attempting to bump their way into the field (now, after experiencing a two-seater ride, I have an immense amount of respect for any of those drivers, especially the ones trying to bump their way in with an ill-handling machine).
Based on the speed charts thus far, it looks like everyone's favorite driver, Milka Duno (hey, she is great with the fans, I'll credit her that), will be squarely on the bubble come Sunday. And if that happens, keep a close eye on the AJ Foyt Racing garage, where I wouldn't be surprised to see another car prepared if Milka was sitting on the bubble late in the day.
13 March 2010
How I See It
I'll keep the predictions short and to the point. In any case, here is how I see the 2010 Izod IndyCar season shaking out:
Scott Dixon. Seriously, you're going to bet against the Haast Eagle? A year after finishing second, I would be worried about an angry, giant bird of prey. Add to it the combination of Chip Ganassi Racing's superior cars over the last few years and the hubris/bravado of the Chipster, and you have the recipe for a dominant season.- Ryan Briscoe. I should like Ryan Briscoe more than I do. He's Australian - I love the country I spent five crazy months in my junior year of college. He overcame some horrific crashes, and who doesn't like someone who comes back like that? But I can't quite pinpoint what it is that keeps me from liking him more - maybe it's the Penske sponsorship, or his bird-like features. Maybe he just needs sponsorship from Bundaberg Rum (just a thought). Either way, he's immensely talented, and I think he'll be right there at the end of the season again.
- Will Power. It'd be far too boring to pick Dixon-Briscoe-Franchitti-Castroneves in some order at the top, so it's time to spice things up. The addition of Will Power to the Penske stable has only bolstered one of the two top teams in the series. Power is already among the series' top road/street circuit drivers, and is progress on the ovals has been steady. I think the Australian takes the leap this season.
- Dario Franchitti. He flies helicopters for fun. He has a gorgeous wife and knee-buckling Scottish brogue. And he is a two-time series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 champion. Basically, Dario Franchitti is in the running to be either the most interesting man in the world or the man every other man wants to be. Regardless, I see another fine season for Franchitti.
- Tony Kanaan. It could happen. I think TK gets back to the front of the IndyCar pack after a trying 2009 season. Remember, he led the points heading into Indianapolis last year, before his season went to Hell in a handbag. If Andretti Autosport can stabilize their operations, I can see Kanaan picking up a win, maybe even that elusive Indianapolis 500 victory.
- How I see the rest of it coming out: Helio Castroneves (I think Power steals a few of Helio's wins this year), Marco Andretti (same old, same old), Mario Moraes (a rising star), Dan Wheldon, Danica Patrick.
18 September 2009
The Haast Eagle Striketh
While you were comfortably asleep (I assume, since at 2:30 in the morning, I was), we saw the return of The Haast Eagle, who crushed the dreams of Mario Moraes (more than likely with its talons), picking up the Peak Pole Award and a vital point in his quest to catch Ryan Briscoe for the points championship.(Yes, that's a Haast Eagle over there. And those flightless birds it's about to devour are pretty large. The lesson - Mario Moraes is lucky he lost just the provisional pole.)
Apparently Moraes was sitting on the provisional pole and Dixon was the final driver to go out for qualifications at Motegi. Call him the Ice Man if you want, but his lightning-quick strike on Moraes' time and ability to snatch the pole was positively Haast Eagle-esque. (No word on whether Moraes' pelvis was crushed when Dixon won the pole).
If you think this post is solely an excuse to use the phrase Haast Eagle as much as possible and push Dixon's new nickname, well, that's part of the reason (I have pledged to make Haast Eagle happen, as part of a pact with The Silent Pagoda).
Reason number two for the post resides in the fact that most people weren't awake at 2:30 this morning to watch qualifications on Indycar.com. And, I won't be able to watch the Versus Qualifications show at 6 p.m. ET, as I'll be working (when you're a Sports Information Director and the college athletics season starts, so goes your free time).
However, I will be home in time for the race (10:30 ET), with beer in hand, to watch live and see if the legend of the Haast Eagle comes to fruition.
30 August 2009
Chicagoland Comes Through Again
Looking to attend just one IndyCar race a year? If you're looking for side-by-side racing and a high probability of a photo finish, the evidence is quite clear - you need to head to Chicagoland Speedway. Once again, the track delivered, as Ryan Briscoe somehow passed Scott Dixon on the penultimate lap to win the race by .0077 second and build on his points lead.
Indianapolis has the spectacle, history and tradition (I will never miss this race); Kentucky has a similar setup to Chicagoland and camping; Iowa is a bull ring; Texas has a history of close finishes. But Chicago has the most close finishes in series history (now three of the four closest in IndyCar Series history) and is close to Indianapolis (3 hours or so, allowing you to drive to it the day-of, like Kentucky) and is near Chicago if you want to make a weekend out of it. Why I haven't been there yet is a failing on my part. Next year I will correct this.
Indianapolis has the spectacle, history and tradition (I will never miss this race); Kentucky has a similar setup to Chicagoland and camping; Iowa is a bull ring; Texas has a history of close finishes. But Chicago has the most close finishes in series history (now three of the four closest in IndyCar Series history) and is close to Indianapolis (3 hours or so, allowing you to drive to it the day-of, like Kentucky) and is near Chicago if you want to make a weekend out of it. Why I haven't been there yet is a failing on my part. Next year I will correct this.
Courtesy of teammate Helio Castroneves, who suffered suspension failure for the second straight race, Briscoe was aided in catching the Target-Chip Ganassi cars of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti. The duo had built an impressive lead after green-flag pit stops, and Briscoe used most of his push-to-passes getting back to third place. His work was inversely proportional to blog favorite Tony Kanaan, who entered the pits in fifth and when everyone had cycled through was in 12th. That's probably why he tweeted:
Morning, very frustrated night. Not happy at all. Let's turn the page and move on.
(UPDATE, as of 12:30 p.m., Aug. 31: Tony Kanaan says he wasn't upset at Marco Andretti when he went to talk to Michael Andretti after the race, he was upset about the race strategy, which included him losing several spots during green-flag pit stops after he stayed out while most of the field pitted.) From @TonyKanaan:
To clear things out here guys, I went to talk to Michael after the race about the strategy, nothing happen btw me and Marco.
With Dixon well out front, Castroneves' crash was just what Briscoe needed to bunch the field and get around the Target cars. And with a lap to go, he did just that. The yellow flag also created the closest 1-13 finish in series history - just 0.8269 second separated Briscoe from Kanaan.
Now Kentucky was a fantastic race because of the racing throughout the field, with drivers trading places most of the night. Chicagoland was exactly the same, if not more exciting, as multiple cars were going three-wide throughout the night. Honestly, who didn't think that the combination of Mario Moraes, Graham Rahal and Marco Andretti going three-wide in the closing laps would not result in a wreck? Amazingly, it didn't.
Even with Versus seemingly cutting to commercials every 10-15 laps (seriously, you don't have enough ads for this.), it is apparent that the IndyCar Series is back on track with their oval racing setup (though admittedly the late yellow really helped after the field separated themselves in green-flag stops).
As usual, Chicagoland proved to be the grounds for exciting races. Let's hope Motegi (get excited - it's 3 weeks from now!) and Homestead-Miami deliver the goods as well.
24 August 2009
Ah, Youth
While Dario Franchitti was cruising to the second wire-to-wire victory in IndyCar Series history, something else happened - the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma turned into an exciting race (at times).
This occurs when you jumble the field via a first-lap accident and then let eight drivers - seven of whom have 3 years or less IndyCar Series experience - battle it out for spots 3-10 over the last five laps.
Look at the experience level (in the IndyCar Series) among the drivers who finished in the top 10:
Shortly after Helio Castrone3ves and Ryan Hunter-Reay went off the course in separate incidents, the IndyCar Racing gods decided to spice up Sonoma, creating controlled (and sometimes not controlled) chaos in the last five laps. Justin Wilson was attempting to carve through the field on fresh Firestone Firehawk red tires, and while Jack Arute may have been overstating it a bit to say he could climb from seventh to the podium, Wilson's attempt at running through the field and subsequent spin was exciting to watch.
Wilson wasn't the only driver in the top 10 to spin. Raphael Matos went wide in the final turn, giving away two spots to Wilson and Tony Kanaan. Then Marco Andretti spun Scott Dixon, dropping Dixon to 14th temporarily; the racing stewards eventually put him in 13th and dropped Andretti to 14th.
And maybe most exciting over those final few laps was the drive of Mike Conway. Always a candidate for the "Good Qualifying Effort, Only to be Undone by Driver Error," Award, Conway showed what he is capable of if he keeps his nose clean. The best may have come in the post-race interview, when Conway broke down his pass of Hideki Mutoh by describing it as a "dummy" move of Mutoh. Versus captured the aerial shot of the pass, and when Conway gave the play-by-play, you could see exactly how he dummied Mutoh (showing left then ducking inside the turn) to record his first career podium.
Besides the final five laps, Sonoma presented plenty of drama, just not in the front of the field. You had Kanaan getting into Castroneves, possibly setting in motion Castroneves' suspension failure later in the race. Richard Antinucci and Franck Montagny got together, ending Montagny's day in his only IndyCar start for Andretti-Green.
And you had the cluster at the beginning of the race that allowed several of the young drivers to move up through the field, simply by avoiding the wreck. Kudos to Mario Moraes for admitting as much in post-race interview, in which he was praised for advancing seven spots on the first lap. Moraes, whose fourth-place finish was his career best, some something to the effect of: I didn't have to do too much, just avoid the wreck, to advance.
To top it off, the game of Championship Hot Potato continued, as Dixon fell from 1st to 3rd in the championship hunt. Though being moved to 13th helps, Dixon is now 20 points shy of Ryan Briscoe, who sits in first. Franchitti, who refused to share throughout the weekend (taking the pole position, leading every lap and claiming every bonus point possible) is four points behind Briscoe entering the final three races of 2009.
In any case, the recipe for creating an exciting road course race has apparently been found:
This occurs when you jumble the field via a first-lap accident and then let eight drivers - seven of whom have 3 years or less IndyCar Series experience - battle it out for spots 3-10 over the last five laps.
Look at the experience level (in the IndyCar Series) among the drivers who finished in the top 10:
- Dario Franchitti - 7th year (8th if you count Surfers' Paradise in 2008, but I'm not)
- Ryan Briscoe - 4th year
- Mike Conway - rookie
- Mario Moraes - 2nd year
- Hideki Mutoh - 3rd year
- Oriol Servia - 2nd year (9th year in top-level, American open-wheel racing)
- Justin Wilson - 2nd year (6th year in American open-wheel racing)
- Tony Kanaan - 8th year
- Raphael Matos - rookie
- Robert Doornbos - rookie
Shortly after Helio Castrone3ves and Ryan Hunter-Reay went off the course in separate incidents, the IndyCar Racing gods decided to spice up Sonoma, creating controlled (and sometimes not controlled) chaos in the last five laps. Justin Wilson was attempting to carve through the field on fresh Firestone Firehawk red tires, and while Jack Arute may have been overstating it a bit to say he could climb from seventh to the podium, Wilson's attempt at running through the field and subsequent spin was exciting to watch.
Wilson wasn't the only driver in the top 10 to spin. Raphael Matos went wide in the final turn, giving away two spots to Wilson and Tony Kanaan. Then Marco Andretti spun Scott Dixon, dropping Dixon to 14th temporarily; the racing stewards eventually put him in 13th and dropped Andretti to 14th.
And maybe most exciting over those final few laps was the drive of Mike Conway. Always a candidate for the "Good Qualifying Effort, Only to be Undone by Driver Error," Award, Conway showed what he is capable of if he keeps his nose clean. The best may have come in the post-race interview, when Conway broke down his pass of Hideki Mutoh by describing it as a "dummy" move of Mutoh. Versus captured the aerial shot of the pass, and when Conway gave the play-by-play, you could see exactly how he dummied Mutoh (showing left then ducking inside the turn) to record his first career podium.
Besides the final five laps, Sonoma presented plenty of drama, just not in the front of the field. You had Kanaan getting into Castroneves, possibly setting in motion Castroneves' suspension failure later in the race. Richard Antinucci and Franck Montagny got together, ending Montagny's day in his only IndyCar start for Andretti-Green.
And you had the cluster at the beginning of the race that allowed several of the young drivers to move up through the field, simply by avoiding the wreck. Kudos to Mario Moraes for admitting as much in post-race interview, in which he was praised for advancing seven spots on the first lap. Moraes, whose fourth-place finish was his career best, some something to the effect of: I didn't have to do too much, just avoid the wreck, to advance.
To top it off, the game of Championship Hot Potato continued, as Dixon fell from 1st to 3rd in the championship hunt. Though being moved to 13th helps, Dixon is now 20 points shy of Ryan Briscoe, who sits in first. Franchitti, who refused to share throughout the weekend (taking the pole position, leading every lap and claiming every bonus point possible) is four points behind Briscoe entering the final three races of 2009.
In any case, the recipe for creating an exciting road course race has apparently been found:
- Create chaos early in the field
- Create alternate tire strategies for teams
- Off-sequence pit stops for some teams
- Late yellow flag, bringing the field back together
- Let the youngsters try and drive all over each other in the final laps
10 May 2009
Pole Day
I haven't been to qualifications at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in years (probably around 15 years or so) - lots of Carb Days and plenty of 500s, but I was always busy on qualification days, most likely with baseball games.
This year, we managed to snag free tickets to Qualifications courtesy of running the Mini-Marathon (there's a perk to my ankle feeling mangled), so we packed some coolers, made some sandwiches and headed to IMS.
For $5 (what a bargain), we were able to park on Georgetown Road, directly across from the Paddock. So, by, 12:30, we had seats in the infield, right by the Vision Racing pits. With temperatures in the low 60's and winds up near 30 mph, I was glad I brought a long sleeve shirt. My other early concern involved Tony Kanaan, who was slow for most of the early-going, before he grabbed Hideki Mutoh's tub, put his 11T car wings on it and gradually found some speed. Still, Ryan Briscoe set the early pace when we headed to the Coke Zero stage to watch the George Clinton concert.
While I wasn't crazy about heading over (it was smack dab in the middle of qualifications, after all), IMS does a good job using their concerts to draw a diverse crowd. I'm sure there were a few people there who would not have attended Pole Day otherwise. Some highlights from the show:
Also, with our group gone, we were able to use the 4 suite passes we were given earlier at the concert. I'd never been in the Infield Suites, but I should thank the Average Joe's and Indianapolis Star folks for having their suites. During Happy Hour runs, I was able to watch lap telemetry on the television screens, which helped me map the field of 11.
When Briscoe's last attempt to regain the Pole Position failed, Castroneves became the major story of the day; his last 3 weeks - from acquittal on tax evasion charges to obtaining his third career 500 pole - has been truly remarkable.
Almost as remarkable, and overlooked, were the qualifying efforts of Mario Moraes and Alex Lloyd. Last year, Moraes was a candidate to wreck at almost every track, especially on ovals. This year, he qualified seventh, ahead of three Andretti-Green cars (Marco Andretti is eighth, while Danica Patrick is 10th).
Lloyd hasn't raced an IndyCar since the 2008 Indianapolis 500. Yet in his second go-round with Chip Ganassi and a co-sponsor (last year it was Rahal Letterman, this year it is Sam Schmidt Motorsports), Lloyd got in at the gun, placing 11th in the field. Lloyd and Schmidt are pretty easy guys to root for in the remainder of the month.
The day's activities completed, we headed to Dawson's in Speedway for some excellent dinner and fun people-watching (among those we saw: Tony George and Sunday qualifier Davey Hamilton). The dinner was capped off with a stop at Long's Donuts on the way home, which definitely came in handy as we took tape off of our freshly-painted walls Sunday morning.
This year, we managed to snag free tickets to Qualifications courtesy of running the Mini-Marathon (there's a perk to my ankle feeling mangled), so we packed some coolers, made some sandwiches and headed to IMS.
For $5 (what a bargain), we were able to park on Georgetown Road, directly across from the Paddock. So, by, 12:30, we had seats in the infield, right by the Vision Racing pits. With temperatures in the low 60's and winds up near 30 mph, I was glad I brought a long sleeve shirt. My other early concern involved Tony Kanaan, who was slow for most of the early-going, before he grabbed Hideki Mutoh's tub, put his 11T car wings on it and gradually found some speed. Still, Ryan Briscoe set the early pace when we headed to the Coke Zero stage to watch the George Clinton concert.
While I wasn't crazy about heading over (it was smack dab in the middle of qualifications, after all), IMS does a good job using their concerts to draw a diverse crowd. I'm sure there were a few people there who would not have attended Pole Day otherwise. Some highlights from the show:
- One of the guitarists (they are about 10 of them) yelling, "Hello Daytona 500" as the P-Funk All-Stars warmed up and promptly getting booed
- Turning back to the Pagoda, looking for Kanaan's qualifying speed (he was 8th at the time) and realizing he had failed his inspection
- Watching Castoneves go out and grab pole position
- Playing the "I am Indy" drinking game
Also, with our group gone, we were able to use the 4 suite passes we were given earlier at the concert. I'd never been in the Infield Suites, but I should thank the Average Joe's and Indianapolis Star folks for having their suites. During Happy Hour runs, I was able to watch lap telemetry on the television screens, which helped me map the field of 11.
When Briscoe's last attempt to regain the Pole Position failed, Castroneves became the major story of the day; his last 3 weeks - from acquittal on tax evasion charges to obtaining his third career 500 pole - has been truly remarkable.
Almost as remarkable, and overlooked, were the qualifying efforts of Mario Moraes and Alex Lloyd. Last year, Moraes was a candidate to wreck at almost every track, especially on ovals. This year, he qualified seventh, ahead of three Andretti-Green cars (Marco Andretti is eighth, while Danica Patrick is 10th).
Lloyd hasn't raced an IndyCar since the 2008 Indianapolis 500. Yet in his second go-round with Chip Ganassi and a co-sponsor (last year it was Rahal Letterman, this year it is Sam Schmidt Motorsports), Lloyd got in at the gun, placing 11th in the field. Lloyd and Schmidt are pretty easy guys to root for in the remainder of the month.
The day's activities completed, we headed to Dawson's in Speedway for some excellent dinner and fun people-watching (among those we saw: Tony George and Sunday qualifier Davey Hamilton). The dinner was capped off with a stop at Long's Donuts on the way home, which definitely came in handy as we took tape off of our freshly-painted walls Sunday morning.
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