Grand Prix of Indianapolis postscript
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| Will Power dominated |
The 2nd Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis was by no means a classic. A clumsy start, which was nearly missed by the series’ television partner, culminated in a first lap accident that shuffled the field, and relegated a few would-be-contenders to the back of the field. From there, pole sitter Will Power took firm control of the proceedings only to be briefly threatened by a charging Graham Rahal in the closing laps, before ultimately cruising to his 25th career Indy car victory.
As you might expect, the discussion in the race’s aftermath was not about Power, nor the resurgent Rahal, but less encouraging the ongoing buffoonery that is INDYCAR Race Control, and the pathetic display by ABC/ESPN. And while we’ll get to all of those topics and more, it is the reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion with whom we will begin.
Power
While I don’t want to bore anyone with statistics, I do believe this a good time to very briefly look at the Aussie’s historic standing in the sport.
With his 25th career win, Power moved past Bobby Rahal and Ted Horn and into a tie with Gordon Johncock and Ralph DePalma on the all-time wins list. Also, noteworthy is Power’s 25 wins puts him 4 behind teammate Helio Castroneves, who is tied with Team Penske man Rick Mears, and two behind Johnny Rutherford.
But what should be noted about Power’s 25 wins is they have come in less than half the starts of both Castroneves and Rutherford. At 34, and with the sport’s most storied team, Power seems very well-positioned to keep racking up the wins and ultimately assemble a resume that can, statistically at least, be compared with some of the sport’s all-time greats.
Graham
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| Graham Rahal was the star of the show — again. |
Graham Rahal has a ways to go to catch Power in terms of historic stature. However, his epic charge in the closing laps at Barber, combined with an incredibly opportunistic move from 17th to 6th through the wreckage at the start of Saturday’s race, and eventual charge past the likes of Sebastien Bourdais and Juan Pablo Montoya to finish second, young Rahal has been THE SHOW the last two races.
Of course, Rahal struggled mightily in 2013 and 2014, finishing 18th and 19th in the standings respectively, and began to feel the heat from his critics. As I noted in my Barber Postscript, I believe Rahal didn’t necessarily help matters with how he handled his critics. However, in light of his performance the last two seasons and Honda’s struggles in 2015, Rahal recent form is mind-blowing to say the least.
To be perfectly honest, I have no definitive explanation. I’ve heard theories such as engineering staff, maturity, or father Bobby taking a step back. Maybe, Honda shifted a greater degree of focus to young Rahal, after he showed speed in preseason testing? I don’t know.
Clearly, however, something has clicked at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with young Rahal. And as things stand now, watching young Rahal charge through the field is THE REASON to tune in.
The GP after two years
Like, a lot of things in life, it appears the 2nd Grand Prix of Indianapolis lacked the initial enthusiasm of last year’s inaugural edition. Sure, there were some complications that probably didn’t help matters such as rain being forecast. But whatever the case, it appeared on television, and was confirmed by numerous people I spoke with in attendance the crowd was down this year.
Now, I’m not going to take anyone to task for that. Selling tickets is no easy feat, and from all indications IMS is working hard to attract people to their events. Also it should be noted, I was a strong proponent of the event when it was first announced and still believe the Grand Prix is a better way to kick-off the month than what was being done before.
The above noted, and I will likely elaborate on this in a future piece, but I’ve slowly come around to my boss Mark Cipolloni’s position that a 400-miler on the oval Labor Day Weekend is a better idea.
Weekly Race Control Report
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]To begin, I believe Helio Castroneves should have been penalized for the turn 1 incident at the start. The Brazilian entered the turn far behind the #9 Target Chevy, got into Scott Dixon’s rear wheel and came out of the turn near the outside apex which would indicate he did not have the control under braking to give Dixon proper room. Further, those who took the runoff to avoid the accident, should have been put back in place and not allowed to move up.
Of course, it seems we go through something after every race. Apparently, the people who make decisions for INDYCAR are either trying to save $30 on an AR1 subscription or just plain not listening. However, in the hopes someone may actually be taking this note this week, I will repeat exactly what I’ve been saying ever since it was announced Brian Barnhart would be returning to Race Control this offseason.
While I believe the series dropped the ball with the turn 1 incident, the problem with INDYCAR Race Control is not any particular bad call, non-call. The problem is a climate exists where no one thinks they can possibly get a call right. Tony Kanaan, who took strong objection (rightfully) to the drivers advancing positions who took the run-off, basically mocked Race Control afterwards telling Dave Furst of RTV 6 in Indianapolis “trust me there is a line of people waiting speak with them."
Now, I’m not saying Race Control should change because drivers are complaining. I use Kanaan’s discussion with Furst simply as an example illustrating the fact people expect Race Control to screw up. Because well, of course there’s a line of people waiting to tell them how lousy they are.
Making matters worse, there are rumors suggesting Castroneves may be assessed some sort of penalty Wednesday. This after Race Control wasn’t compelled to assess a penalty for 82 LAPS Saturday screams of acquiescing to the mob (even if said mob is correct).
Anyone with a brain should see this is no way to run a professional series. The sooner changes are made, the better.
Speaking of Unprofessional
There’s really only one way to describe ABC/ESPN’s television broadcast: AWFUL!
Look, I understand the difficulties of live television. Such issues are particularly exposed in motor racing, as the cameras can only focus on a given area at a given time. Therefore, I’m not going to sit here and filet ABC/ESPN for missing this pass, or that pit stop, or heck, the start of the freaking race!
What I will filet them for is failing to fulfill basic tenets of professionalism. For example, they really didn’t know Will Power could make the final stint with 23 laps of fuel? Well, if they were too busy to ask the teams (who will often tell you the fuel window before a race) they could have easily looked up last year's results and seen that first and second-place finishers Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Hunter-Reay each ran 28 laps (26 under green) in the final stint.
Yes, Power might have needed to save some fuel, as pit windows have been a hair shorter this season. But he was not running out.
And Scott Goodyear calling Sebastian Saavedra a rookie? Okay, we all make mistakes, and again it is live TV. But could they at least have had the courtesy to correct the record? Or is referring to a driver who has made 59 career starts and competed in SIX DIFFERENT SEASONS a rookie, just not that big a deal?
Granted, I don’t really believe a race broadcast is a huge determining factor in whether people becomes fans or not. And I’ll reiterate Saturday’s race wasn’t exactly a thriller.
That said, the blithe indifference and unprofessional effort (the very good Alan Bestwick excluded) ABC regularly brings to the series sure isn’t helping matters. And before next weekend, INDYCAR/IMS owe it to their teams, sponsors, and fans, to make sure Saturday’s broadcast is not a precursor to the Indianapolis 500.
A Final Thought Presented by….
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]It was reported over the weekend that Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles is seeking a presenting sponsor for the Indianapolis 500 as early as next year’s 100th running. As you might expect debate broke out, with traditionalists objecting to the idea and others citing the business reality and/or potential of such a deal.
Personally, there was a time when I would have been on board with the tradition stuff. But before guaranteed starting spots, B.S. propaganda about grassroots homegrown drivers, 12 chances to qualify, and being told 33 was only a number sort of dampened whatever enthusiasm I may have had for such traditions associated with the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
So, conceptually speaking, I agree with the idea of selling a presenting sponsorship in order to maximize the bottom line. However, I’ll simply note that for such measures to have any meaningful impact, wise decisions must be made with the revenue generated. And do people really think the same organization, which created the current mess, is equipped to fix it?
Brian Carroccio is a senior motorsports columnist for AutoRacing1. He can be contacted at BrianC@AutoRacing1.com