Sweet Home Chicago

Ok, Chicago isn't my home, but it's close.  I do spend an inordinate amount of time there, whether it's visiting family or attending Cubs games.  Which is why not attending this weekend's race at Chicagoland Speedway hurts.

Granted, I've never been to a race at Chicagoland, but then again, I've never had an outlet from which to convey my impressions of the IndyCar Series.  And now that I do, I figure I should try and make some races, whether they be at Indianapolis (my backyard), Kentucky (just a 2.5-hour drive) or Chicago.  This year, however, it's about saving a little bit of money.  And judging from the amount of good, cheap tickets available online, I should be able to go next year (especially if I can't go to Kentucky because of work).

Anyways, Chicagoland has been one of the IndyCar Series' go-to tracks, along with Texas, for exciting side-by-side racing.  Four of the 10 closest finishes in series history have come at the track, including three of the top five.

With that in mind, along with the push-to-pass system (drivers will get 20 at Chicagoland) and the aerodynamic options introduced at Kentucky, I would expect more of the same exciting racing we saw in early August.  As for who will come out on top, who knows.  Could anyone really have predicted that Ed Carpenter would fall just short of topping Ryan Briscoe at Kentucky?  Or that the Target cars - the ones who helped spearhead the car changes - would struggle with their setup most of the night?

Mix in a three-man battle for the points lead (does anyone really want the points lead at this point, though?  It's been traded around after all but one race this year.), and you have the ingredients to make Chicagoland an intriguing race to watch Saturday night.  Now, it won't help that the race won't start until roughly 9:45 ET (TV coverage on Versus starts at 9 p.m. ET), but hopefully the racing will be such that the highlights will be splashed on TV the following morning for those who can't stay up late.

As for me, I'll be up late, beer in hand, wishing I was at Chicagoland.

IndyCar Says Goodbye to Milwaukee in 2010

So the IndyCar Series clarified three points on their 2010 schedule.  Motegi will now be on Sunday, Sept. 19 (still aired live on Saturday night in Indianapolis), while the Kentucky race will be Saturday, Sept. 4 at night.  If I can, I will return to Kentucky and campt this time.  Lastly, Texas was moved up to Saturday, June 5, the weekend after the 500.

Being the race directly after the 500 has been what Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage has always wanted.  However, it's doubtful he wanted it to be the week after the 500 - he's always wanted that week in between to promote his race.  In either case, it has come to fruition, while simultaneously guaranteeing that Milwaukee will not be on the 2010 schedule.

However, since Milwaukee was more than likely not going to be on the ICS schedule in 2010 anyways, I think this is one way for the IndyCar Series to bring Milwaukee back into the fold in 2011, just in a different slot on the schedule.  

Eliminating Milwaukee in 2010 gives the series a fresh slate for negotiations in 2011, including the date/time.  Back in one of my speculative schedules (here), I had surmised Milwaukee could move to Sunday, June 19, 2011.  New Hampshire and Texas would fill in the gaps between Indianapolis and Milwaukee under my proposed schedule.  And while I don't see Texas giving up its spot directly behind the 500 (unless the Truck Series date moves), I could see them accomodating NHMS, as both tracks are owned by the same Speedway Motorsports Inc. company.

This Is No Way to End a Season

And you thought the NBA and NHL Playoffs dragged out. While the IndyCar Series does not have a formal end-of-year playoff, the fact that the final three races of the IndyCar season will be contested over 42 days makes next to no sense.

With three drivers separated by a scant 20 points, the IndyCar Series once again is in the enviable position of having the championship come down to the last lap of the series finale. However, by breaking up the final three races over such a long span of time, the series shoots itself in the foot, failing the capitalize on any excitement the chase for a title would build.

After this week's race at Chicago, it will be three weeks before we see IndyCar Series racing again, and it will be live from Japan at 10:30 p.m. ET (which isn't terrible considering Chicago starts at 9 p.m. ET). Two weeks after that, the series championship will be decided at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But in between those races, how much momentum is lost? Yes, I'm sure the ICS will have Ryan Briscoe, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon doing various interviews, but the best way to build up the series and put the drivers on display is to actually show racing and let the points battle unfold on a week-by-week basis (especially down the stretch).

In 2010, the issue is addressed slightly, as the series will close with 5 races in the final 7 weeks of season. Still, the race at Motegi is spanned by weeklong breaks before and after. Once again, any momentum built heading into and out of the penultimate race of the year is blunted by these breaks.

Look at again at the year-end schedule I've proposed for 2011 (here is my original schedule post):

• Labor Day Weekend - Kentucky Speedway
  
• Saturday, September 17 - Twin Ring Motegi
• Saturday, September 24 - Las Vegas (an easy stop on the way back from Japan; paired with Truck Series event; can go at night if too hot during the day)
  
• Saturday, October 1 - Phoenix International Raceway (season finale should Miami fail; 5 weeks ahead of NASCAR race at Phoenix)
  
• Saturday, October 8 - Homestead-Miami (finale if the 2009 and 2010 editions go well)

Now doesn't that actually build some momentum towards the end of the year? You have ovals which breed side-by-side racing and you're racing virtually every weekend, putting your product and a championship chase on display for sponsors and viewers.

Now, obviously, tracks would need to be added for this to work. Or the schedule needs to be tightened. But it's an issue the IndyCar Series needs to address in order to capitalize on their ability to create a championship that comes down to the last lap of the last race of the season.

News & Notes

So, cleaning up from yesterday (where I suspect they are still picking up wing bits and other debris in the hills of Sonoma) and looking into today's headlines:

• Sarah Fisher Racing announced that she will be "going pink" at Homestead-Miami, working to raise money and awareness for Susan G. Komen For the Cure. Great move on SFR's part - their sponsor activation for the event appears to be tremendous and aligning Komen with SFR is a great public relations/marketing move on both sides.
• In an interview with Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star, Nelson Philippe says that Will Power thought he killed Philippe in their scary wreck at Sonoma (you can watch it here). Philippe, whose brake pedal went through his left foot, will be sidelined for about 2 months with the broken foot and broken right leg. As for Power, he suffered two compression fractures of two vertebrae in his lower back, had a concussion and knocked out two teeth when his helmet slammed into the steering wheel.
• Cavin also filed a story reaffirming that Danica Patrick and Scott Dixon will both be signing new contracts in the coming weeks. Dixon confirmed that he had spoken with Gil de Ferran about de Ferran's new IndyCar team, but nothing could be worked out between the two. Patrick went into more detail about her reasons for re-signing with Andretti-Green (who whatever it will be called in 2010 and beyond), and as Cavin relates:

Patrick said Andretti has put extra effort into her program this season. He became her race strategist, and she has noticed he focuses on her car's performance during practices, qualifying and races before checking on the status of the team's other cars, including the one driven by his son, Marco.

• I wonder how Marco feels about that. Patrick also mentions that Michael Andretti has involved her in some of his discussions about streamlining the four-car team's operation in the upcoming offseason. I also wonder if he's involved Marco and Tony Kanaan in those talks, too.
• Believe it or not, Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves disagree on what caused their contact at Infineon. (Curt Cavin is the busiest man in motor sports, even if he's stuck in Indianapolis). I chalked their contact up to a racing incident on Sunday - Kanaan tried to make a pass in a tough spot, while Castroneves probably could have given some more room. Since neither one really gave at all, they would up hitting each other, which probably caused Castroneves to suffer suspension failure later in the race. That still makes sense to me.
  
• Lastly, I need to touch on something I heard yesterday on 1260-AM WNDE. During JMV's interview with Robin Miller, he casually mentioned that The Indianapolis Star has told Curt Cavin that he can no longer attend races that require an overnight stay. (You may have noticed that The Star's recap from Sonoma was the Associated Press story) Frankly, if this is true, it disgusts me. I know times are tough for newspapers, but given the stature of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the auto racing beat at The Indianapolis Star may be the nation's premier auto racing beat. For The Star not to have a presence at races outside of the Midwest is appaling to me. Cavin is one of the paper's best reporters (in my opinion), offering insight into the world of auto racing that you won't find in many papers. For him to be taken off the road in many cases is sad.

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:

1. Dario Franchitti - 7th year (8th if you count Surfers' Paradise in 2008, but I'm not)
   
2. Ryan Briscoe - 4th year
3. Mike Conway - rookie
4. Mario Moraes - 2nd year
5. Hideki Mutoh - 3rd year
6. Oriol Servia - 2nd year (9th year in top-level, American open-wheel racing)
   
7. Justin Wilson - 2nd year (6th year in American open-wheel racing)
   
8. Tony Kanaan - 8th year
9. Raphael Matos - rookie
10. Robert Doornbos - rookie

Just look at 3-7 in the final results. With all the young drivers looking to make a name for themselves and not caring about championship points, the "damn the torpedos" mentality took over and made for exciting racing. Sure, you look at Oriol Seriva and Justin Wilson not as "young" drivers, but they are both in their second season of IndyCar Series racing. Their previous experience in CART/Champ Car (and its road-only circuits) definitely served to spice things up at Sonoma.

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

It's not a bad way to go, all things considered. With Sonoma serving as the last road/street circuit of 2009, the IndyCar Series will have three ovals over the next 5 weeks to wrap up the season. But if the ICS can bottle the excitement of the final five laps of Sonoma (or barrel them) and use them as a catalyst towards the road/street course set ups of 2010, then things are looking up for the series.

Making Sonoma Exciting

Not that Infineon Speedway isn't exciting (actually, I've never been there, so it could be for all I know. It looks nice, though), but America's pre-eminent motorsports beat writer, Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star, certainly spiced things up with a few tweets recently.

Here is what Cavin tweeted over the last 20 minutes:

@curtcavin Danica: Staying in IRL with AGR, but paperwork not done. #indycar

You can see more detailed tweets of his by clicking here. For my tweets, click here.

So, basically, as expected, Danica Patrick is staying in the IndyCar Series. What is surprising, though not as surprising as it would have been a few months ago, it that she will be staying with Andretti Green Racing, or whatever it will be known as in the future. Per Cavin:

Danica said Michael A. convinced her team headed in right direction ... Danica said she's spent the last two days with Boost Mobile execs, including the president. She likes activation that's to come.

So, that's a positive for IndyCar moving forward. Plus, it will give people in motorsports garages and telecasts around the country something to talk about this weekend. Kudos (and thanks) to Curt Cavin for providing some fodder for tomorrow's broadcast.

A Fine Wine at Sonoma

After a one-week break, the IndyCar Series crosses the country after a dominating/snoozer of a race at Mid-Ohio to Sonoma, where a similar race is almost assuredly to break out.

When the IndyCar Series arrived at Mid-Ohio, I wrote this in my preview:

...I really do. Especially coming off a race in Kentucky that had the following:

• Side-by-side racing
• Lack of domination by any one team
• Green flag racing from start to finish (Justin Wilson's engine trouble aside)
• Photo finish

Now, time to be the wet blanket: do you see any of those four things happening at Mid-Ohio?

So again, do we see any of these happening at Sonoma? Doubtful. The closest we came to an exciting finish in wine country was in 2007, when Marco Andretti clipped then-teammate Dario Franchitti exiting the pits, damaging Franchitti's car and causing the Scotsman to drop from a probable first or second-place finish to third.

Both Ganassi and Penske have won at Sonoma in each of the last two years (Castroneves, 2008; Dixon, 2007), so they will once again run up front, more than likely.

Andretti-Green (we have four races left to use that) has traditionally run well here, too, with Tony Kanaan taking the inaugural Grand Prix of Sonoma in 2005 and Andretti claiming his only ICS win in 2006. But, we also know how they've run most of the year, so who knows if their five-car stable will show up. Though just doing the math, with five of the 22 cars in the field, they stand a 22.7-percent chance to win the race (Franck Montagny will be driving the No. 25 AFS car).

Look, the fact of the matter is that Sonoma is not likely to deliver the excitement that many fans want in their TV coverage. Road racing is like a fine wine - you have to appreciate the subleties of the course, just as the subtle differences - age, season, variety, etc., in a wine must be appreciated.

While side-by-side racing is prevalent on ovals (at least when the cars are set up properly), the road course is usually more of a physical test, given the number of turns. Yes, g-forces can build up on an oval (see: Iowa), but the road course in the summer really tests the drivers and their machines. The IndyCar must be set up to handle differently, obviously, while tire wear and pit strategy also come into play. And while this might not make for great TV viewing, all these small factors do help build the in-race story lines and create and appreciate for the road course race.

So, with that in mind, here's what I recommend: go to your local bottling shop and buy a bottle or two of Andretti Wine (even if his father's venture, Michael Andretti needs the money - he's going to be running a four-car team on his own, in case you haven't heard). Buy some cheese and crackers (I recommend some pepper jack or colby jack). Drink and eat this during the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

You'll feel closer to Sonoma, which is in California's wine country. Plus, perhaps you'll appreciate the road circuit a little more.