This weekend is the height of the racing season, starting in Monte Carlo with the Monaco GP, coming back home to Indiana for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", and finishing in Charlotte with the 600. While I do like NASCAR the first two represent 2/3rds of racing's triple crown (the other being the 24 hours of LeMans). The main event for me is the 500. With all due respect to the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 is the still the most significant race in the USA in my opinion.
This year's race is loaded with story lines, the biggest of which is the new car. First off it's slower, second there is noticeable gaps between engine manufactures. Its Chevy > Honda >>>>>>>>>>>>> Lotus. Lotus is way off pace to the tune of 16 MPH off of the pole speeds (yet IndyCar decided not to let them use extra boost). Its a borderline safety hazard, they will be moving chicanes. If they don't maintain 105% pace they will be removed though.
There are also new names in the fray, the biggest star thus far in the month of May has been James Hinchcliffe who takes over Danica Patrick's (and what was to be Dan Wheldon's) ride in the Andretti Go Daddy Chevy. He is quite the character, he is the mayor of his own imaginary internet town Hinchtown. He missed the pole by a whopping .003 mph average. You've also got Josef Newgarden driving for Sarah Fisher's team who was the best Honda in the field in 7th as a rookie. He was the Indy Lights champion last season and won at Indy in that series. Sarah Fisher is also entering Bryan Clauson, a rookie Indiana boy who took the traditional USAC ladder to Indy. He had a very promising qualifying effort going on pole day before he took a hard hit on lap 4. Being that there were only 33 cars, all he had to do was get in 4 clean laps on bump day which he did. He will start 31st, ahead of the two Lotus snails.
Here are some recent clips to get you in the mood for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing...
Showing posts with label Dan Wheldon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Wheldon. Show all posts
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Goodbye Dan
Photo Link
Today, two children lost a father, a wife lost a husband, and the racing world lost a great competitor. Following injuries sustained in a lap 12 crash during the IndyCar series finale in Las Vegas, Dan Wheldon tragically lost his life. He was just 33 years old.
To echo the comments of the other drivers and commentators, drivers understand the risks involved but it doesn't make it any easier to lose someone. The cars and tracks are as safe as possible but it is impossible to remove all risks. It is obviously a tragic string of events that lead to Dan's death so to analyze the issues are another task for another day.
Dan was a great ambassador for the sport, someone that really was Indycar at its core. He was well liked around the garage and he had a real passion for racing. When asked about his opinionated views he said, "I put everything into my racing, and I expect the same back".
It's unfortunate that we had to lose someone, to see the emotion of guys like Tony Kannan and Dario Franchitti trying to pull themselves together; can't help but make you well up a bit yourself. I would like to give the network a round of applause as they did an excellent job in the coverage of being respectful. I think once it came out that they tarped the car, everyone knew that things were very very dire. The hardest part for me is that while they understood the dangers of racing, it still weighs as a matter of "is it worth it?" It's such a tragedy that two young children will grow up without their father. Goodbye Dan.
To echo the comments of the other drivers and commentators, drivers understand the risks involved but it doesn't make it any easier to lose someone. The cars and tracks are as safe as possible but it is impossible to remove all risks. It is obviously a tragic string of events that lead to Dan's death so to analyze the issues are another task for another day.
Dan was a great ambassador for the sport, someone that really was Indycar at its core. He was well liked around the garage and he had a real passion for racing. When asked about his opinionated views he said, "I put everything into my racing, and I expect the same back".
It's unfortunate that we had to lose someone, to see the emotion of guys like Tony Kannan and Dario Franchitti trying to pull themselves together; can't help but make you well up a bit yourself. I would like to give the network a round of applause as they did an excellent job in the coverage of being respectful. I think once it came out that they tarped the car, everyone knew that things were very very dire. The hardest part for me is that while they understood the dangers of racing, it still weighs as a matter of "is it worth it?" It's such a tragedy that two young children will grow up without their father. Goodbye Dan.
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