AR1 Head to Head: Indianapolis 500
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| Keith Ori predicted RHR's victory last year |
For the second consecutive year, racing insider Keith Ori guest joins AR1 senior motorsport columnist Brian Carroccio for a round of AR1 Head to Head: Indianapolis 500.
And in the interests of full disclosure, last year's showdown went to Ori, who told all of you that Ryan Hunter-Reay would etch his likeness to the Borg-Warner Trophy. Who will win this year's running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing? Who are the potential sleepers? What teams and manufacturers have the edge? Brian and Keith are here to tackle those questions and more.
Enjoy.
| Question | Brian Carroccio | Keith Ori |
| Obviously, the story of this month has been the accidents of Castroneves, Newgy, Carpenter and now Hinchcliffe. What are your general thoughts on the accidents, and how the series is responding? | Oh, where to begin. On the one hand, there was no catastrophe and I suppose some the reaction was knee-jerk. On the flip side, you can’t have cars getting off the ground. And there’s nothing that tells me that concern is behind us. Ditto for the extra load on the aero kits we saw in the Hinchcliffe accident. | I think the problem is hard to quantify with the amount of time and information available, so IndyCar decided lay up and take as few chances as possible. They have a certain body of information available, which they used to make a rule change they’re hoping will keep the cars on the ground. However, I can’t help the feeling that trying to figure this out without the benefit of actual testing is a bit like trying to read a book by looking through a drinking straw. Some information is available, but much more is not. We’re all hoping they guessed correctly. |
| The biggest story of 2015 so far has been the Chevy and Honda aero kits. Give a grade on the aero kits so. |
Well, lets’ see –debris bits hit a woman at St. Pete |
There’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything, and it’s hard to escape the feeling that IndyCar has its arms wrapped around the wrong way. I don’t understand it, and I don’t have to, but I’m certain there was a way the body kits could have been a big plus, but at this time it doesn’t appear IndyCar is likely to find it. Why strapping toasters onto all four corners of the car is the best they could do is something I’ll never understand. |
| Okay, onto the Indy 500. Driver who surprised the most with a strong qualifying effort? | Justin Wilson beating RHR, Munoz and Marco and being the lead Honda. | Probably Marco Andretti, but only because I have low expectations. |
| Driver with the most disappointing effort? | Juan Pablo Montoya qualifying 15th. He’ll be a factor in the race, but there are a lot of strong drivers ahead of him. | I’ll go with Montoya as well, but I really think it had more to do with an imperfect setup and just wanting to get it safely in the field. He’ll be on point Sunday. |
| With Penske and Ganassi sweeping the top-5 qualifying positions, who do you think is the best potential threat at disturbing the Power Team dominance? | I’m tempted to say Sebastien Bourdais, but his Indy 500 record is nothing to scream about. Ed Carpenter to me is the best bet to derail the Penske/Ganassi freight train. | While it’s hard to tell how much removing the aero bits from the Chevys hurts them, I have a feeling that Honda is going to have an edge in the race. Justin Wilson knows this might be the best shot he ever gets, so he’s my horse. |
| If I offered you the choice between the top-5 qualifiers (Dixon, Power, Pagenaud, Kanaan and Castroneves) or the field (all other 28 starters) who are you taking? | Easily the top-5. If someone is offering such odds, I'm cashing out my IRA and heading to the nearest betting window. | No way dude! The top 5 cars are all Chevrolets, and those cars were engineered from jump with the aero bits IndyCar just banned. I think Honda will rule the race. |
| Non-series regular you think has the best chance to win Sunday | Before qualifying, I’d have said Townsend Bell, but he has a long way to go to get to the front. Justin Wilson and Oriol Servia would be candidates, but I don’t see Honda winning the race. I’ll say J.R. Hildebrand. | Ryan Briscoe. Nobody except J.R. Hildebrand has more to prove and more to gain by winning than Briscoe. He’s got a Honda, and the team has a lot of top 10s on ovals even if they haven’t won one yet. Also, I’m a sucker for a Hollywood ending. |
| Indy-only driver who would most benefit from a strong showing | Probably Conor Daly. I think people know what Oriol Servia and Justin Wilson can do (at least they should). Young Daly would benefit greatly from a strong run. | I’m going with Sage Karam. He could turn Ganassi’s sort-of commitment into a solid commitment with a top 5 finish. |
| Driver you’re most disappointed not to see in this year’s 500 | Paul Tracy never got a proper send off, but that ship has long sailed. I’ll be unconventional here and say Mikhail Aleshin, who really took to the ovals last year in IndyCar. | I can’t help but think that if Paul Tracy were in shape and in a competitive car that he’d still embarrass guys who were in diapers when his career started. It’s easy to forget he’s only six years older than Helio, Juan, and Tony, and still younger than Buddy Lazier. |
| Over/Under: 2.5 Hondas finish in the top-10? | I know what you’re going to say, and before you answer let me just say we need to get you drug-tested. But the answer is Under. This is going to be a Bowtie-dominated affair, and perhaps more specifically a Penske/Ganassi dominated affair. | Over. With the Chevy aero changes, I think Honda will be at an advantage. |
| Will the ABC broadcast be unforgivably awful, typically rotten, or just mediocre? | As usual, names will be mispronounced, key passes and important storylines will be ignored. The less-than-subtle undercurrent of blithe indifference, synonymous with ABC’s Indy coverage of will again be on display, as it has so far in 2015. Typically Rotten! | We’re in for a terminal lack of charisma from much of the broadcast team. Its real, real hard to make IndyCar racing boring, let alone the Indy 500, but ABC somehow always seems to give it the old college try. Typically Rotten! |
| Potential Sleeper | Carlos Munoz who always seems to come alive at the Speedway | Briscoe finds himself in a no-pressure situation with a pretty good ride. |
| What is the worst conceivable Indy 500 outcome for IndyCar? | A car in the stands. | Chevys still taking flight. Even with the fixes, a lot of people are going to be holding their breath on Sunday. |
| What is the ideal outcome for IndyCar in the 99th Indy 500? | The dimple-faced, charismatic, all-American Josef Newgarden sipping milk. | Oh hell yes. |
| So give us your prediction to win the 98th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing | Scott Dixon. To me this is his race to lose. | I’m going all out: Justin Wilson |
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