I know IndyCar has picked up all these sponsors, but I've noticed only a minor change in the amount of people IndyCar actually has following the sport. Do I actually think IndyCar has gained some fans? Yes, but not a lot of them though.
IndyCar still looks like they don't know how to gain a major fan base. Look at their T.V. contact, or how IndyCar likes to focus on only one driver i.e."DANICA PATRICK." Also IndyCar's popularity can really count on how the drivers treat their fans on and off the track to. I personally think just these few things alone have the most affect on the popularity of this sport.
I still feel IndyCar's TV Contract with Versus is a bad thing, considering IndyCar is struggling to average at least 600,000 viewers per race on that channel. How can you expand your racing series, if you can only offer your product to a limited amount of television viewers. I'm sorry, but IndyCar just needs to go back and have every race on ABC/ESPN again. At least everyone has access to watch the race on ABC/ESPN. You can tell why ABC/ESPN is better, just by showing all the races on IndyCar's schedule that were on ABC hit at least 1,000,000 viewers. Also a few more sponsors would be attracted to the IndyCar Series. There are always reports of sponsors turning their backs away from IndyCar, just because of poor TV ratings.
IndyCar needs to stop putting all the attention towards one driver or a driver that doesn't even win(Danica Patrick). I'm not saying she is a bad driver, but she has never been in contention for the IndyCar Series Championship or too many other wins during her career with IndyCar. Throughout the past few seasons IndyCar has focused nearly all attention on her, and many fans are annoyed with that. In the future IndyCar needs to start paying attention to the Championship contender's more, the drivers that win in the series. The Points race the last couple season has been surprisingly close, but this still seems to be put second on the IndyCar Series list. Remember fans don't remember someone in 20 years, because they had good looks, fans remember the winners, it will be drivers like Dario Franchitti, or Will Power that people will continue to talk about. Not some driver that won one race, and was a poor loser. Fans also remember drivers like Tony Kanaan, and Simona de Silvestro which throughout every race put sportsmanship first. IndyCar needs to put the first class drivers as the face of the series, not one driver that shows no sportsmanship, and shows no ability to win a championship.
I think one of the best ways to attract fans to start talking about the IndyCar Series, and to have fans come back every year to races with a pleasurable experience each time, starts with how the drivers treat fans. It seems most of the drivers are still all about their own ego. Look at Dan Wheldon he was the most respected driver around, he was always for the fans. He would take time out to give every autograph he could even when he had no time to. He would make you feel like you were supposed to be there. He felt like a friend to every fan that met him. He would also take time out to thank everyone that had come out to view the race. Only if every single driver would take some time to thank every fan with a smile, and all it takes one autograph to win over a fan. Only if every driver would act first class all the time. Then IndyCar would be exploding, but until everyone realizes this, I think IndyCar will be struggling to expand. Although the IndyCar Series has made some momentum, it's not enough to ensure the sport's survival in the long term.
Showing posts with label IZOD IndyCar Series.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IZOD IndyCar Series.. Show all posts
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Why Is It So Hard For IndyCar To Get Ovals on The Schedule?
Here are just the blatant reasons why the IndyCar Series has trouble getting a good amount of ovals back on the schedule year after year.
Race Attendance
At all the ovals other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Iowa Speedway, there are major issues with race attendance. Everyone complains that IndyCar needs ovals on the schedule, but no one seems to attend these specific events. IndyCar just needs to promote all oval events themselves, which I think Randy Bernard is going to do next year. If you want tracks like New Hampshire Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway back well then instead of having crowds of 20,000 aim for at least 40,000 next year. Next year IndyCar needs to advertise that specific race earlier on all the local TV Stations, and they need to advertise their new cars. IndyCar needs to advertise that they are a whole new series that is exciting to watch. Basically that they have a whole new product to offer the spectator, to get people to come back and get interested into American open-wheel racing again.
Sponsors
Once again finding a title sponsor for a road course or street race is not hard compared to ovals. All of these events have more people that attend these event so sponsors are attracted to these automatically. It's hard for IndyCar to find a Title Sponsor for an oval race that will not have a big audience for that event. Once again IndyCar needs to express that they have all new cars, and that they are a growing racing series that new people are getting attracted to next year.
The Venue Making a Profit After Paying Sanctioning Fee
It's really hard for a racing venue to actually say they want an IndyCar race at their facility if they are not sure if they are going to break even at least. Some ovals like Milwaukee Speedway or Chicagoland Speedway will not be on the schedule next year simply because they are not sure if there is any profits to be made in holding an IndyCar race. Many ovals are just fine only holding Nascar races, because they already make plenty of money off those races.
TV Contract
IndyCar doesn't necessarily have the best TV Ratings either. I would like to see all races on a Channel like ABC. Although I love Versus' broadcast better than ABC's, but at least you know you will get around 900,000 viewers on ABC. Let's face the fact, you have to know there are sponsors that turn their backs on the IndyCar Series when they see TV Ratings under 200,000 viewers. Also with ABC at least everyone has access to watching the IndyCar race. Even the SPEED Channel has more access to viewers than Versus. Once again I do like Versus' broadcast better, but IndyCar on ABC would be better to attract sponsors. Sides how is IndyCar supposed to expand and get bigger with a channel where a big part of it's fan base does not even access to that channel.
Race Attendance
At all the ovals other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Iowa Speedway, there are major issues with race attendance. Everyone complains that IndyCar needs ovals on the schedule, but no one seems to attend these specific events. IndyCar just needs to promote all oval events themselves, which I think Randy Bernard is going to do next year. If you want tracks like New Hampshire Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway back well then instead of having crowds of 20,000 aim for at least 40,000 next year. Next year IndyCar needs to advertise that specific race earlier on all the local TV Stations, and they need to advertise their new cars. IndyCar needs to advertise that they are a whole new series that is exciting to watch. Basically that they have a whole new product to offer the spectator, to get people to come back and get interested into American open-wheel racing again.
Sponsors
Once again finding a title sponsor for a road course or street race is not hard compared to ovals. All of these events have more people that attend these event so sponsors are attracted to these automatically. It's hard for IndyCar to find a Title Sponsor for an oval race that will not have a big audience for that event. Once again IndyCar needs to express that they have all new cars, and that they are a growing racing series that new people are getting attracted to next year.
The Venue Making a Profit After Paying Sanctioning Fee
It's really hard for a racing venue to actually say they want an IndyCar race at their facility if they are not sure if they are going to break even at least. Some ovals like Milwaukee Speedway or Chicagoland Speedway will not be on the schedule next year simply because they are not sure if there is any profits to be made in holding an IndyCar race. Many ovals are just fine only holding Nascar races, because they already make plenty of money off those races.
TV Contract
IndyCar doesn't necessarily have the best TV Ratings either. I would like to see all races on a Channel like ABC. Although I love Versus' broadcast better than ABC's, but at least you know you will get around 900,000 viewers on ABC. Let's face the fact, you have to know there are sponsors that turn their backs on the IndyCar Series when they see TV Ratings under 200,000 viewers. Also with ABC at least everyone has access to watching the IndyCar race. Even the SPEED Channel has more access to viewers than Versus. Once again I do like Versus' broadcast better, but IndyCar on ABC would be better to attract sponsors. Sides how is IndyCar supposed to expand and get bigger with a channel where a big part of it's fan base does not even access to that channel.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Kentucky Indy 300 Review.
Overall the race was great, but I wish more people were there to view on of the greatest races in IndyCar Series history.
A little too much action in the pits.
There was a couple of big incidents in the pits on Sunday leaving a few drivers out of the race. First Simona de Silvestro's clutch broke, causing her to go into EJ Viso's pit stall, hitting chief mechanic Darrin McMahon. Darrin was then sent flying about 15ft away from where he was hit, and he fractured his knee from that incident. Simona would then have to stay out of the race a couple laps later due to reoccurring clutch problems. Then under caution another incident in the pits happened when JR Hildebrand's(R) brakes locked up when pulling into his pit, and hit tire changer Erik Scheumann causing lower leg injuries. In that same accident Marco Andretti and Alex Lloyd were hit and knocked out of the race to.
How the whole field did.
What really made the race exciting was Ed Carpenter and Dario Franchtti battling for first place the last 20 laps of the race. The whole time they were neck to neck. Although Ed Carpenter never seemed to be able to pass Dario for the lead, but overall Ed Carpenter had the better car, and won the race. This was the first win for both Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher Racing. Hopefully both of them will have more wins in the future. Dario Franchitti went on to finish second, and teammate Scott Dixon finished third. Newman/Haas teammates James Hinchcliffe(R) and Oriol Servia finished 4th and 6th. Other notable results were Ryan Hunter-Reay in fifth, Wade Cunningham(R) in seventh, and Buddy Rice in ninth.
Sarah Fisher Racing/Ed Carpenter loose sponsorship.
In an interview after the race Sarah Fisher announced that Dollar General has said they will not be back as the team's sponsor next season. Hopefully this win will convince Dollar General to come back and support the team through the 2012 season.
Poor Race attendance/TV Ratings.
The race attendance for Kentucky was maybe around 20,000. If this race comes back, they will need a better plan to promote the race. TV Ratings for the Versus broadcast were around 188,000. This shows how IndyCar needs to find a better channel to advertise their races on TV, maybe NBC?
What I thought about the facility and this race needs to come back next year.
No Kentucky is not the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but this is still a top notch racing facility that IndyCar needs to come back to. I was impressed with the fact that I could actually see the whole track. Finding a good place to sit in the track isn't a problem, because you can see the whole thing from just about anywhere you sit. This is another action packed oval that needs to come back in 2012.
A little too much action in the pits.
There was a couple of big incidents in the pits on Sunday leaving a few drivers out of the race. First Simona de Silvestro's clutch broke, causing her to go into EJ Viso's pit stall, hitting chief mechanic Darrin McMahon. Darrin was then sent flying about 15ft away from where he was hit, and he fractured his knee from that incident. Simona would then have to stay out of the race a couple laps later due to reoccurring clutch problems. Then under caution another incident in the pits happened when JR Hildebrand's(R) brakes locked up when pulling into his pit, and hit tire changer Erik Scheumann causing lower leg injuries. In that same accident Marco Andretti and Alex Lloyd were hit and knocked out of the race to.
- Other accidents.
How the whole field did.
 |
| Ed Carpenter celebrating his first IndyCar Series win with his daughter McKenna. From:SPEEDTV.COM |
What really made the race exciting was Ed Carpenter and Dario Franchtti battling for first place the last 20 laps of the race. The whole time they were neck to neck. Although Ed Carpenter never seemed to be able to pass Dario for the lead, but overall Ed Carpenter had the better car, and won the race. This was the first win for both Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher Racing. Hopefully both of them will have more wins in the future. Dario Franchitti went on to finish second, and teammate Scott Dixon finished third. Newman/Haas teammates James Hinchcliffe(R) and Oriol Servia finished 4th and 6th. Other notable results were Ryan Hunter-Reay in fifth, Wade Cunningham(R) in seventh, and Buddy Rice in ninth.
Sarah Fisher Racing/Ed Carpenter loose sponsorship.
In an interview after the race Sarah Fisher announced that Dollar General has said they will not be back as the team's sponsor next season. Hopefully this win will convince Dollar General to come back and support the team through the 2012 season.
Poor Race attendance/TV Ratings.
The race attendance for Kentucky was maybe around 20,000. If this race comes back, they will need a better plan to promote the race. TV Ratings for the Versus broadcast were around 188,000. This shows how IndyCar needs to find a better channel to advertise their races on TV, maybe NBC?
What I thought about the facility and this race needs to come back next year.
No Kentucky is not the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but this is still a top notch racing facility that IndyCar needs to come back to. I was impressed with the fact that I could actually see the whole track. Finding a good place to sit in the track isn't a problem, because you can see the whole thing from just about anywhere you sit. This is another action packed oval that needs to come back in 2012.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Kentucky Indy 300 Preview
Obviously this is one of the most exciting race circuits that IndyCar will be going to this season. With a full 29 cars set to race tomorrow this is looking to be a very competitive race. I'm also proud to say that I'll be viewing the race at Kentucky Speedway tomorrow. So I'll give you my input next week on what I experienced first hand at Kentucky Speedway.
Anyways qualifying today was packed with plenty of action. Will Power is on the pole, giving him another point over Dario Franchitti in the IndyCar Series Championship. Three American's qualified in the top five with Graham Rahal in 2nd, Ed Carpenter in 4th, and JR Hildebrand(R) in 5th. Also James Hinchcliffe(R) qualified in 3rd, and Marco Andretti in 6th. Simona de Silvestro showed an impressive qualifying run, ending up in 13th. This could be showing that she is rebuilding her confidence on ovals after her crash at Milwaukee. Dan Wheldon didn't qualify in his Sam Schmidt car, because his car did not pass tech inspection due to the fact that the backing plates were wrong. Now he will start in the back of the pack in 28th. Also Pippa Mann didn't post an official lap because she crashed on her warmup lap. Other Disappointing qualifying runs: Helio Castroneves 16, Tony Kanaan 19th, and Takuma Sato 22nd.
My pick to win the Kentucky Indy 300 is Graham Rahal, because he has been patiently awaiting for a chance to win and he has that chance in Kentucky this weekend.
Savor the Moments.
Kentucky Speedway may not be back on the schedule next year due to the fact that Bruton Smith and Randy Bernard have not found sponsors for an IndyCar race here next season. Other ovals that have the same circumstances are New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Chicagoland Speedway. Let's face the facts, unless Randy Bernard has the magical spark to find sponsors for each of these tracks, IndyCar will not be back at any of them for a long time to come.
Kentucky Indy 300 Starting Grid.
1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 219.283
2. (38) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 218.348
3. (06) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 218.186
4. (67) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 218.004
5. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 217.872
6. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 217.807
7. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 217.692
8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 217.632
9. (2) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 217.520
10. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 217.357
11. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 217.213
12. (27) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 217.110
13. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 216.924
14. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 216.768
15. (17) Wade Cunningham, Dallara-Honda, 216.763
16. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 216.732
17. (44) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 216.685
18. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 216.669
19. (82) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 216.484
20. (24) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 216.424
21. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 216.300
22. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 215.856
23. (59) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 215.789
24. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 215.607
25. (34) Dillon Battistini, Dallara-Honda, 215.578
26. (22) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 215.404
27. (18) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 214.297
28. (77) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, no speed
29. (30) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, no speed
The Kentucky Indy 300 will be on Versus live at 2:45 ET. Race coverage starts at 2:00 ET.
Anyways qualifying today was packed with plenty of action. Will Power is on the pole, giving him another point over Dario Franchitti in the IndyCar Series Championship. Three American's qualified in the top five with Graham Rahal in 2nd, Ed Carpenter in 4th, and JR Hildebrand(R) in 5th. Also James Hinchcliffe(R) qualified in 3rd, and Marco Andretti in 6th. Simona de Silvestro showed an impressive qualifying run, ending up in 13th. This could be showing that she is rebuilding her confidence on ovals after her crash at Milwaukee. Dan Wheldon didn't qualify in his Sam Schmidt car, because his car did not pass tech inspection due to the fact that the backing plates were wrong. Now he will start in the back of the pack in 28th. Also Pippa Mann didn't post an official lap because she crashed on her warmup lap. Other Disappointing qualifying runs: Helio Castroneves 16, Tony Kanaan 19th, and Takuma Sato 22nd.
My pick to win the Kentucky Indy 300 is Graham Rahal, because he has been patiently awaiting for a chance to win and he has that chance in Kentucky this weekend.
Savor the Moments.
Kentucky Speedway may not be back on the schedule next year due to the fact that Bruton Smith and Randy Bernard have not found sponsors for an IndyCar race here next season. Other ovals that have the same circumstances are New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Chicagoland Speedway. Let's face the facts, unless Randy Bernard has the magical spark to find sponsors for each of these tracks, IndyCar will not be back at any of them for a long time to come.
Kentucky Indy 300 Starting Grid.
1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 219.283
2. (38) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 218.348
3. (06) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 218.186
4. (67) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 218.004
5. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 217.872
6. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 217.807
7. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 217.692
8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 217.632
9. (2) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 217.520
10. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 217.357
11. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 217.213
12. (27) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 217.110
13. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 216.924
14. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 216.768
15. (17) Wade Cunningham, Dallara-Honda, 216.763
16. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 216.732
17. (44) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 216.685
18. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 216.669
19. (82) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 216.484
20. (24) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 216.424
21. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 216.300
22. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 215.856
23. (59) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 215.789
24. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 215.607
25. (34) Dillon Battistini, Dallara-Honda, 215.578
26. (22) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 215.404
27. (18) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 214.297
28. (77) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, no speed
29. (30) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, no speed
The Kentucky Indy 300 will be on Versus live at 2:45 ET. Race coverage starts at 2:00 ET.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
New Hampshire Preview
It's been over 10 years since the IndyCar Series has been to Loudon, so this race will be interesting. None of the current IndyCar Series drivers have raced on this track to, and this is more of a drivers track. I expect there won't be too many incidents, but the racing will get crazy with tons of passing coming out of the turns going onto the straightaways.
Dario Franchitti is on the pole after qualifying a full one mph faster than the rest of the field Saturday. Expect Newman/Haas to come out strong after Oriol Servia qualifying in second, and James Hinchcliffe(R) in fourth. Other drivers that could have a huge result on the race after strong qualifying runs could be Tony Kanaan starting in third, and then Scott Dixon starting in seventh. Personally I think you will see Newman/Haas' first win of the season with either Servia or Hinchliffe grabbing that lead and winning the race. Obviously the Target cars will be a threat with Dario on a hot streak this year, and Dixon is coming here from a win at Mid-Ohio last weekend.
The starting grid for the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225.
Rank, Driver , AVG SPD, Gap (Time)
1 Dario Franchitti 170.843 --.----
2 Oriol Servia 166.250 169.831 0.2573
3 Tony Kanaan 169.698 0.2914
4 James Hinchcliffe 169.590 0.3192
5 Ryan Hunter-Reay 169.570 0.3243
6 Ryan Briscoe 169.451 0.3548
7 Scott Dixon 169.114 0.4415
8 Takuma Sato 169.044 0.4597
9 Helio Castroneves 168.886 0.5005
10 Charlie Kimball 168.434 0.6179
11 JR Hildebrand 168.047 0.7188
12 Mike Conway 167.852 0.7696
13 Will Power 167.011 0.9910
14 Alex Lloyd 166.877 1.0266
15 Danica Patrick 166.834 1.0380
16 Alex Tagliani 166.809 1.0445
17 EJ Viso 166.536 1.1172
18 Tomas Scheckter 166.381 1.1585
19 Vitor Meira 166.253 1.1925
20 James Jakes 165.265 1.4580
21 Ana Beatriz 164.958 1.5411
22 Marco Andretti 164.722 1.6051
23 Graham Rahal 163.816 1.8529
24 Sebastian Saavedra 162.285 2.2779
25 Ed Carpenter 161.734 2.4328
26 Simona de Silvestro 157.437 3.6782
News From Yesterday.
Pippa Mann was involved in an incident during practice on Saturday, and was sent to the hospital but was later released. Rahal Letterman Racing pulled her entry out of the race right after that on Saturday. Mann is scheduled to get an MRI of her back on Monday in Indianapolis, and she will not be cleared to race until the results are out.
The MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 will be on ABC at a 3:30 p.m. ET.
Dario Franchitti is on the pole after qualifying a full one mph faster than the rest of the field Saturday. Expect Newman/Haas to come out strong after Oriol Servia qualifying in second, and James Hinchcliffe(R) in fourth. Other drivers that could have a huge result on the race after strong qualifying runs could be Tony Kanaan starting in third, and then Scott Dixon starting in seventh. Personally I think you will see Newman/Haas' first win of the season with either Servia or Hinchliffe grabbing that lead and winning the race. Obviously the Target cars will be a threat with Dario on a hot streak this year, and Dixon is coming here from a win at Mid-Ohio last weekend.
The starting grid for the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225.
Rank, Driver , AVG SPD, Gap (Time)
1 Dario Franchitti 170.843 --.----
2 Oriol Servia 166.250 169.831 0.2573
3 Tony Kanaan 169.698 0.2914
4 James Hinchcliffe 169.590 0.3192
5 Ryan Hunter-Reay 169.570 0.3243
6 Ryan Briscoe 169.451 0.3548
7 Scott Dixon 169.114 0.4415
8 Takuma Sato 169.044 0.4597
9 Helio Castroneves 168.886 0.5005
10 Charlie Kimball 168.434 0.6179
11 JR Hildebrand 168.047 0.7188
12 Mike Conway 167.852 0.7696
13 Will Power 167.011 0.9910
14 Alex Lloyd 166.877 1.0266
15 Danica Patrick 166.834 1.0380
16 Alex Tagliani 166.809 1.0445
17 EJ Viso 166.536 1.1172
18 Tomas Scheckter 166.381 1.1585
19 Vitor Meira 166.253 1.1925
20 James Jakes 165.265 1.4580
21 Ana Beatriz 164.958 1.5411
22 Marco Andretti 164.722 1.6051
23 Graham Rahal 163.816 1.8529
24 Sebastian Saavedra 162.285 2.2779
25 Ed Carpenter 161.734 2.4328
26 Simona de Silvestro 157.437 3.6782
News From Yesterday.
Pippa Mann was involved in an incident during practice on Saturday, and was sent to the hospital but was later released. Rahal Letterman Racing pulled her entry out of the race right after that on Saturday. Mann is scheduled to get an MRI of her back on Monday in Indianapolis, and she will not be cleared to race until the results are out.
The MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 will be on ABC at a 3:30 p.m. ET.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The 500 Miles' Week in Review.
New information from the past week in the IndyCar world.
-Simona De Silvestro started her training again on Wednesday, which was the first the first time since her crash at the Milwaukee Mile on June 18th. De Silvestro has been suffering from post-concussion symptoms the past couple weeks, but is reporting that she is feeling a lot better. She still has to be cleared to race by IndyCar Series medical staff, in order to race at Toronto on July 10th.
-Will Power was cleared to go back into his Penske car on Wednesday. That same day he started testing with teammates Ryan Briscoe, and Helio Castroneves at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.Which was just less than 4 days after being diagnosed with a minor concussion from a crash at Iowa.
-The testing on the new 2012 IndyCar Series Dallara chassis will begin August 8th. It will be held at either Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, or in Sebring, FL. Another test is scheduled at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway sometime the last week of September. The chassis will be tested along with the new Honda V6 turbocharged engine, since it is the only engine that's ready to go as of now. Dan Wheldon, and Bryan Herta Autosport will test the new chassis.
-Simona De Silvestro started her training again on Wednesday, which was the first the first time since her crash at the Milwaukee Mile on June 18th. De Silvestro has been suffering from post-concussion symptoms the past couple weeks, but is reporting that she is feeling a lot better. She still has to be cleared to race by IndyCar Series medical staff, in order to race at Toronto on July 10th.
-Will Power was cleared to go back into his Penske car on Wednesday. That same day he started testing with teammates Ryan Briscoe, and Helio Castroneves at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.Which was just less than 4 days after being diagnosed with a minor concussion from a crash at Iowa.
-The testing on the new 2012 IndyCar Series Dallara chassis will begin August 8th. It will be held at either Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, or in Sebring, FL. Another test is scheduled at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway sometime the last week of September. The chassis will be tested along with the new Honda V6 turbocharged engine, since it is the only engine that's ready to go as of now. Dan Wheldon, and Bryan Herta Autosport will test the new chassis.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
500 Miles' Week in Review
Some big news has appeared out of nowhere in the last few days in the IndyCar Series world. Let's see what came up.
Pippa Mann has a ride with Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan Racing for Loudon, Kentucky, and Las Vegas. This is great news for the driver which had only planned to run in the Indy 500 this year. Also it is great news for a team that is wanting to come back, and run a full season in the IndyCar Series next year.
In other news it has been reported by Randy Bernard on Trackside Live this week that he has been trying to contact Bryan Sperber, the president of the Phoenix International Speedway, but has had no luck with getting a hold of him. Sounds like Randy Bernard tried to get Phoenix back on the schedule for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season, but Mr. Sperber does not want to deal with the IndyCar Series.
 |
| Pippa at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. From:speedtv.com. |
In other news it has been reported by Randy Bernard on Trackside Live this week that he has been trying to contact Bryan Sperber, the president of the Phoenix International Speedway, but has had no luck with getting a hold of him. Sounds like Randy Bernard tried to get Phoenix back on the schedule for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season, but Mr. Sperber does not want to deal with the IndyCar Series.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Texas Twin 275's Recap.
The Texas Twin 275's race format was interesting to say the least. For the most part I liked it, but there needs to be some tweaking to do if this format comes back next year. Many things happened before and after the Texas race lets see what happened.
In race 1 Alex Tagliani started out on the pole, but Dario Franchitti dominated by leading virtually every lap and winning the race. The only crash that happened during this race and all of Saturday night was when Wade Cunningham(R), and Charlie Kimball(R) hit each other and were knocked out of race 1. Overall race 1 was a flop, Tagliani didn't fight for the lead for long at all, and Franchitti led for most of the race. Both of the Target cars finished well with Franchitti first and Dixon second.
Race number 2 had some more action to it with Tony Kanaan on the pole. For the first 40 laps Tony Kanaan and Will Power battled for the lead, until on lap 41 when Will Power took over for the rest of the race and won race 2. Once again Scott Dixon finished second, and Kanaan ended up finishing 5th. The problem everyone is pointing out about this race is that Dario Franchitti started 28th, and moved up to 7th by the end of the race. Franchitti has complained that if he didn't have to start in the back of the field, that he would have been a contender for first position.
Dario Franchitti definitely didn't hold back voicing his opinion on the random draw that caused him to start in the very back of the field. He has said that if they continue to have the two race set up at Texas that the plans need to be redrawn. Even Randy Bernard has said that he agrees with Franchitti on tweaking the two race setup. Although I kinda enjoyed the whole thing, I think they need to take the 70 minute break in between and cut that in half. Also for the whole setup I kinda like Dan Wheldon's idea he he gave the next day on twitter "My idea. Twin 275's - first race regular points, 2nd race, random draw, no points, $1,000,000 for winner!!! That's what is should be!!!"
Dan Wheldon as a race commentator?
I liked Dan Wheldon's position as a commentator during the race he added some much needed personality, and we need someone that's new and fresh.
Did the new Texas Twin 275s setup spark up better TV ratings?
Well kinda. The overnight Versus overnight TV ratings were at a .38, which is up 12% from last year. I think if they would cut down on the amount of time between the races the ratings would be so much better.
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| Dario celebrating his race win. From:speedtv.com |
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| Will Power doing his signature move. From:speedtv.com |
Dario Franchitti definitely didn't hold back voicing his opinion on the random draw that caused him to start in the very back of the field. He has said that if they continue to have the two race set up at Texas that the plans need to be redrawn. Even Randy Bernard has said that he agrees with Franchitti on tweaking the two race setup. Although I kinda enjoyed the whole thing, I think they need to take the 70 minute break in between and cut that in half. Also for the whole setup I kinda like Dan Wheldon's idea he he gave the next day on twitter "My idea. Twin 275's - first race regular points, 2nd race, random draw, no points, $1,000,000 for winner!!! That's what is should be!!!"
Dan Wheldon as a race commentator?
I liked Dan Wheldon's position as a commentator during the race he added some much needed personality, and we need someone that's new and fresh.
Did the new Texas Twin 275s setup spark up better TV ratings?
Well kinda. The overnight Versus overnight TV ratings were at a .38, which is up 12% from last year. I think if they would cut down on the amount of time between the races the ratings would be so much better.
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