New Layout, High Tempers Promise Excitement at Edmonton

A week off is not likely to cool the tempers resulting from the highly entertaining (and controversial) Honda Indy Toronto two week ago as the IZOD IndyCar Series continues its Canadian foray, heading west to Edmonton for the Edmonton Indy.

As much controversy as there was at Toronto, with three separate incidents not being penalized (to the chagrin of Tony Kanaan, Will Power and others), it was at Edmonton in 2010 where controversy reigned.

Leading in the closing laps, race officials ruled that then-leader Helio Castroneves came off his line to defend first place against teammate Will Power. Power had to check up, allowing Scott Dixon to pass; when officials ruled a drive-through penalty in the waning laps against the Brazilian, handing Dixon the victory.

Indycar Series 2010 Edmonton Controversial Finish (via Motorsports45)

While Canada is known as a relatively gentile country, fuses were short in Toronto, where Power repeatedly criticized points leader Dario Franchitti for triggering Power's spin on Lap 56. A wreck later in the race had Power fuming with Alex Tagliani, as well. Whether Power has cooled in the time off remains to be seen, but now trailing Franchitti by 55 points in the championship, Power will need to be nearly flawless the rest of the way if he wants to dethrone the two-time defending champion.

A new course awaits drivers at the Edmonton City Centre Airport; with some runways being shutdown, NZR Consulting drew up a new circuit on the airport land, a 13-turn, 2.3 mile course with plenty of opportunities to carry speed into turns and set up passing. Already, Tagliani has predicted multiple wrecks on the new venue. While drivers continue to whinge about the double-file restarts, the fact remains that only one of the several incidents at Toronto was in relation to the double-file restart, coming on Marco Andretti's admittedly shaky move at the end of the race.

Still, with the cars racing in close quarters and desperation growing in the heat of the summer, expect some fireworks at Edmonton.

What to Watch: Our words from the Toronto preview:

After five consecutive races on ovals, we may have forgotten how treacherous double-file restarts on the street circuits can be. Power lost valuable ground at Long Beach when taken out, while contact between cars at St. Petersburg, Barber and Brazil left tempers short.

Midway through the year, you mix in the emotions of drivers who are beginning to feel the pressure, whether to move up through the pack in order to possibly save a job or to challenge for a podium, and toss in the close-quarters of Toronto, it's a recipe for flared tempers and choice words.

'Wanker' qualifies as a choice word, correct? I'd say we pegged that one (about time we got something right this year). The same would still apply this week, as emotions are still high and each driver's level of desperation ebbs and flows depending on their spot in the points.

After a week of coming under fire from drivers and fans for a lack of penalties, keep an eye on race control; an early penalty for blocking or avoidable contact could be thrown to send a message that drivers' complaints were heard and that the stewards are keeping a close eye on the racing.

Who to Watch: A week after blasting Franchitti and Tagliani, keep an eye on Will Power. The Australian is always a treat to watch on road and street courses, but this week, I have a feeling Power is going to push the envelope more than usual. Whether it results in him blistering the field or spinning off course remains to be seen, but his expected on-track battles with Franchitti and possibly Tagliani will be highly entertaining. 

While none of the three are native to Alberta, the home crowd will once again be pulling for James Hinchcliffe, Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani. Hinchcliffe and Tracy were on to solid runs at Toronto before contact hurt both drivers, while Tagliani suffered the slings and arrows of Power after punting the No. 12 Verizon car. To add to the fracas, Tagliani was on his side just laps later, rolling on two wheels along the catch fence following a late wreck. 

Championship Race: Eight races left, and for the first time in recent memory, Dario Franchitti is threatening to make the championship run an afterthought. Franchitti's left front tire helped him turn a 20-point lead into a 55-point cushion over Power in the World Championship standings. While Scott Dixon is in third, 83 points back, the closest battle is for fourth, where Oriol Servia leads Tony Kanaan by a scant 11 points. In fact fourth through 10th in the standings are separated by as many points (39) as Servia is to Dixon.

Franchitti's efforts over the last half decade have the driver climbing open-wheel racing's all-time wins charts in a hurry, and the the Scotsman is beginning to cement a legacy that would put him in the company of some of the all-time greats. A fourth series championship rests in his hands, and were he to pair that with another Indianapolis 500 (he shows no signs of slowing down), Franchitti could begin to make the case for the most versatile driver in the history of Indycar racing. 

Picking a Winner(s): We backed Power in Toronto, and there is no reason not to pick the Aussie at Edmonton. Two years ago, he thoroughly dominated, setting the stage for a full-time ride with Team Penske. Last year, he arguably should have won the race. This year, the angry Power fuels him to the checkered flag.

On the TV: IZOD IndyCar Series continues on Versus this week, with qualifications airing at 6 p.m. ET Saturday night. Versus will bring all the emotion and excitement to air on Sunday afternoon, when coverage of the Edmonton Indy starts at 2 p.m. ET.

IZOD IndyCar Series Hits the Mean Streets of Toronto

As the IZOD IndyCar Series returns to the road and street courses for the next month, nine races remain on the 2011 schedule. With Dario Franchitti holding a 20 point lead in the standings, it is beginning to get desperate in the IndyCar garages.

A pit road incident at Iowa cost Will Power dearly, as he was never a factor in a race that saw Franchitti open the largest lead to this point in the season. However, just as an artist works in oils or watercolors, Power works in street/road circuits. With six 'twisties' left on the schedule, the Australian will need to be better than Franchitti starting on Sunday.

While road and street circuits are often maligned for a lack of exciting racing, Toronto has consistently proven to be the exception to the rule during its 25 years on the open-wheel schedule. Close quarters make for thrilling side-by-side racing as the drivers seemingly play chicken over entry points into several turns. Last year's event saw six car drop out due to contact, while it was Power who avoided the carnage to collect the checkered flag.

Expect more of the same out of the festive atmosphere this year. With Power looking to catch Franchitti in the points, qualifying will be key for both drivers, as Power will not want to have to make up ground during the race if he can avoid it. Similarly, Franchitti will not want to risk being caught in an incident by starting anywhere other than the front.

What to Watch: After five consecutive races on ovals, we may have forgotten how treacherous double-file restarts on the street circuits can be. Power lost valuable ground at Long Beach when taken out, while contact between cars at St. Petersburg, Barber and Brazil left tempers short.

Midway through the year, you mix in the emotions of drivers who are beginning to feel the pressure, whether to move up through the pack in order to possibly save a job or to challenge for a podium, and toss in the close-quarters of Toronto, it's a recipe for flared tempers and choice words.

Who to Watch: If you're not watching Will Power on a road/street circuit, you're missing the boat. The defending Mario Andretti Trophy winner, Power is among the top drivers in the world (including Formula One) on the twisties. 

Aside from Power, driving in one's native country is always a special occasion. So for Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani and James Hinchcliffe, the Streets of Toronto hold extra meaning. Tracy is from just outside Toronto and is always a crowd favorite, while Hinchcliffe is holding his own in his rookie season with Newman-Haas Racing. 

Championship Race: After nine races, it has become a two-man race for the IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship (barring an unforeseen occurrence). After Iowa, where he finished fifth, Franchitti climbed into first in the standings, holding a 20-point edge on Power. At Toronto last year, the two went one-two, with Power beating Franchitti to the line.

A third-place run at Iowa has Scott Dixon up to third, but he is 73 points in back of his teammate, Franchitti. Oriol Servia continues his strong season, just 16 points behind Dixon, while Tony Kanaan closed the gap with a runner-up finish at Iowa. The Brazilian is three points behind Servia. 

Picking a Winner(s): After spending the last two races picking Tony Kanaan to win, we'll go with chalk this time around. Will Power has to earn points back after a disastrous run at Iowa; the desperation pushes him to a dominant run at Toronto, where he will close the gap on Franchitti as the series crosses Canada over the next two weeks.

On the TV: IZOD IndyCar Series continues on Versus this week, with qualifications airing at 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday night. Versus will bring the festive atmosphere of Toronto to life on Sunday afternoon, when coverage starts at 2 p.m. ET for the Honda Indy Toronto.

Moving Through the Indianapolis 500 Field: 23-33

With the 100th anniversary running of the Indianapolis 500 just four short days away, it is time move past the drama of ride-buying and focus on the 33 cars and drivers that will start their engines on Sunday.  Today, SB Nation Indiana looks at the back half of the field - can any of these drivers do what Ray Harroun and Louis Meyer did in 1911 and 1936, repspectively, in winning the 500 from this deep in the field?

Note: each of these cars has moved up from its original qualifying position after the No. 41 car was moved to the rear of the field following the driver swap of Ryan Hunter-Reay for Bruno Junquiera.

23. No. 78T - Simona De Silvestro
All De Silvestro has done this month is flip her car into the catch fence at IMS, have the car catch on fire and walk away with second and first degree burns on her hands. Oh, and then 48 hours after that wreck, she drove with heavily bandaged hands and qualified for her second straight 500.

The 2010 Rookie of the Year continues to gain fans with an effervescent personality (including a willingness to sign autographs with her "Mickey Mouse gloves" on as she called them). Asking for a win might be a little much, given her situation, but a top 10 performance would exceed last year's 14-place effort.

24. No. 23 - Paul Tracy
The highest qualifier from Sunday's Bump Day, Tracy left no doubt as to whether he would be in the 500 after withdrawing a time and failing to requalify. With rain imminent at IMS, Tracy put down four blistering laps; had he run those on Saturday, he would have been on the outside of Row 6 instead of the Outside of Row 8.

Always popular among open-wheel racing fans, Tracy is driving this race with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing; last year, the team had both Justin Wilson and Mike Conway in position to capture the Borg-Warner Trophy. If Tracy can avoid trouble, he should be running near the front in the search for his first (or second) 500 title.

25. No. 7 - Danica Patrick
Seemingly quick all month, Patrick (and the rest of Andretti Autosport) were barely up to snuff over the weekend, putting just two of its four primary drivers in the field (a third, Ryan Hunter-Reay, would be added to the field on Monday). Still, when push came to shove, Patrick found speed again, qualifying on the inside of Row 9.

Over the last few years, Andretti Autosport's setups have been better on race day than in qualifications. The team must hope that is the case again, though with Tom Anderson taking the fall for the poor qualification performance, there will be some added pressure on the Engineers. Patrick took a solid sixth last year, and with rumors flying that she will head to NASCAR full time next year (and allowing her to still race the 500), this may be her last best chance at a 500 win. 

26. No. 6T - Ryan Briscoe
It is rare to find a Team Penske car this low on the grid.  However, that's where Briscoe sits after a wreck the morning of Pole Day left his primary car damaged and his backup low on speed. Giving the Team Penske IZOD team a night to work on the backup however, it was only a matter of where Briscoe would qualify, provided he did not find the wall again.

Briscoe, since scoring two top 10s to start his career at IMS, the Australian has seemingly been snake bit, recording finishes of 23rd, 15th and 24th. Avoiding trouble while trying to move to the front of the field will be paramount if he wants to reverse his recent fortune.

27. No. 26 - Marco Andretti
The last car to qualify, Andretti said his mentality on the final run was to "put it in the Show or put it in the fence." Fortunately for Andretti Autosport, it was put in the 500 (at the cost of buying a ride for Ryan Hunter-Reay).  

Unfortunately for the young Andretti, he has a habit of bouncing results around at IMS; in his first five starts look like this: 2nd, 24th, 3rd, 30th, 3rd.  If we follow that pattern (and this certainly isn't the SATs), then Andretti is due for a disappointing performance on Sunday.

28. No. 83 - Charlie Kimball (R)
One of five rookies in the field, Kimball and teammate Graham Rahal struggled during qualifying weekend, while their counterparts at Target Chip Ganassi Racing had plenty of speed in participating in the Fast Nine.  

Still, it would be a mistake to count out Kimball, who will be a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year honors. Having his teammate directly next to him should allow the duo to work their way through the field over the course of the race. Perhaps more important, having a week to pour over data from the Target Chip Ganassi Racing cars and finding the right race trim should give Kimball an edge.

29. No. 38 - Graham Rahal
It's hard to believe that Rahal is making his fourth start at IMS, but the 22-year old is now a veteran of the Indianapolis 500. The middle of Row 10 marks Rahal's worst starting position for the 500, but again, his Chip Ganassi Racing Team has the benefit of being able to study telemetry from the Target Chip Ganassi Racing cars of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.

Last year, Rahal was quick, qualifying for the Fast Nine and running up near the front before a Black Flag scuttled his chances at a historic win. On the 25th anniversary of his father's lone 500 win, finding a Rahal in Victory Lane would be a great story (as would a throwback mustache in tribute to his dad).

30. No. 19 - Alex Lloyd
As impressive as Andretti's qualifying effort was on Sunday at the gun, Alex Lloyd's may have saved a race team. It was fairly apparent that rookie James Jakes was slow, and some of the money associated with a run at Indianapolis can help fill the budget for a team. Still, it looked as if Dale Coyne Racing was slow on speed in both cars. Instead, Lloyd, who finished fourth last year, put his car solidly in the field with about six minutes left on Bump Day.

If Lloyd can replicate some of last year's run, in which he finished fourth, it would be remarkable for a team that looked dead in the water until late on Sunday.

31. No. 31 - Pippa Mann (R)
In her first IZOD IndyCar Series event, Mann outqualified Conquest Racing's primary driver, Sebastian Saavedra. The Firestone Indy Lights veteran, Mann has always been quick at IMS, qualifying on the pole for the 2010 Freedom 100 before collecting her first career Lights win at Kentucky Speedway later in the year.

Mann is a dark-horse for Rookie of the Year honors.  Sometimes the award can be won simply by avoiding attrition and collecting a stealthy top 15 finish.  In other years, the driver needs to charge through the field.  Mann has the experience in Lights to do this, but it remains to be seen if her car will have the handling and speed needed to put her in position to challenge for Rookie of the Year.

32. No. 32 - Ana Beatriz
The last of four Dreyer & Reinbold Racing cars in the field of 33, the most of any team in the field, Beatriz will be looking to build on a 21st place finish in her rookie campaign at IMS. The Brazilian is the slowest car in the field, though, which does not necessarily bode well for the race, as the slowest car in qualifying has never won the Indianapolis 500.

However, Beatriz has experience navigating traffic at IMS, running at or near the front in the Freedom 100 on several occasions. Being faced with getting through the field in one piece won't phase the 26-year old.

33. No. 41 - Ryan Hunter-Reay
The Andretti Autosport driver takes the seat originally filled by Bruno Junquiera, who qualified the ABC Supply car 19th on the grid. However, the No. 41 will now carry sponsorship from ABC Supply, DHL and Sun Drop after Andretti Autosport bought the seat in an effort to please its sponsors.

Hunter-Reay has last row experience, starting 32nd in 2009. Since a sixth-place finish with Rahal-Letterman Racing earned him the 2008 Rookie of the Year award, though, Hunter-Reay has not finished better than 18th in the 500. While karma has not seemed to be on his side this week, Hunter-Reay will need it to turn around if he wants to collect prize money for the most positions made up during the race.

Exhaustion (and how Paul Tracy Helps Legitimize Indianapolis)

I turned zero laps over the weekend.  But, like any strong competitor, I tuned up my body for May 30 and the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500.  Mainly by sitting at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for nearly eight hours over Saturday and Sunday with a box lunch and a beer or two.

There was zero tracking down of interviews, or autographs (until late Sunday).  Just venturing to Box 13 in the Paddock and catching some sun, playing "I am Indy," and enjoying the sights and sounds of IMS.

When Robin Miller says the Pole Day crowd was the largest he had seen since 1995, I'm inclined to believe him; turn 1 was nearly full, while the portions of the infield stands and paddock that were open we full of people.  40,000 (Curt Cavin's estimate) sounds about right.  The combination of great weather and an exciting new format seemed to bring more people to the track; around 4:15, it seemed like more people showed up prior to the "Pole Day Shootout," though they could have been arriving from the Eddie Money concert, too.

(Quick aside: the Money Man has some hits.  Don't sleep on that guy for a go-to 80's hit.)

More proof that fans want to see the big speeds return to IMS: the biggest cheer of the day was when Dave Calabro announced Helio's first lap at more than 228 mph.  An audible gasp went through the crowd as Helio figuratively gave the finger to the other eight competitors when dominating.

After Helio gave the shootout and Pole Day the much sought-after boost, Tony Kanaan did his level best to spice up Bump Day.

The Sunday crowd was definitely down from Saturday, though to be honest, the 90-degree temperatures might have played a small role in that.  Saturday saw plenty of people using the paddock boxes in which to catch some sun; Sunday saw virtually everyone in the shadows as the temperatures climbed.

The crowd was given a few things to cheer about early - local favorite John Andretti (the man is so down to earth, he shuns the golf cart to walk down pit road, helmet in hand) qualified early, while the Junk Man dropped a massive qualifying effort after just seven practice laps (he is a serious dark horse candidate, in my opinion).

Now, I'm a Kanaan guy - the hat and koozie reflect that - and it seemed like most, if not all of the crowd was pulling for the nine-time starter.  As the day crept along, Kanaan did not have the speed to get into the 500; my wife was pretty sure TK would not be in the race.  Bob Kravitz had the same thought in The Indianapolis Star today.  But the crowd would not be denied, as their biggest cheers of the late afternoon came for Kanaan whenever his car went down pit road.

However, by 5:00, Kanaan had found some speed as he turned a few laps in the high 224s.  He immediately put the car into line and qualified it.  Still, he was on the outside of row 10, and after Takuma Sato qualified his Lotus ahead of him, it appeared that TK might eventually be on the bubble.

By the end, both Paul Tracy and Jay Howard attempted to decide their own fates, with neither achieving their desired result.  And since I was critical of Alex Tagliani last year for sitting on his hands and not doing anything to defend his bubble spot in 2009, I can't fault Tracy nor Howard.

The tweets began pouring in shortly after 6 p.m., talking about Paul Tracy's emotional press conference.  And it's good to see just how much Indianapolis means to Tracy.  In an odd way, his not making the field of 33 helps further legitimize the race.  In 1996, the 500 was mocked for its field, versus the US 500's field (though that opening lap crash looked fairly silly for CART); as teams gradually came back to Indianapolis, the complaints about the field quality diminished, but grumblings about the 2002 500 remained among loyalists of one series or another.

And now, the face of the old guard, Paul Tracy, can't make the 500.  It's one of those shocking misses, not on the 1995 Penske level, but a big enough name that reminds everyone that Indianapolis cannot be taken for granted (not that Tracy did).  No gimmicks, amount of owners points, top 35 rules or anything like that can get you into the Field of 33.  It's pure speed, the way God intended it.