Overheard in Fontana (Update 4)
02/13/15 Recall our reports below from the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series finale at Auto Club Speedway of dissension within the paddock over the testing of aero-kits. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver James Hinchcliffe essentially echoed some of this yesterday speaking with Dean McNulty of the Toronto Sun:
Hinchcliffe also isn't happy that two IndyCar teams — the Chevrolet team at Penske Racing and the Honda team at Andretti Autosport — got a big jump on the competition by being picked to be in on the testing of the significantly improved aero package as it was being developed.
"I think Penske and Andretti head into the first race with a bit of an advantage," he said.
"That's the nature of the beast, we just have to deal with it and do the best we can."
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08/30/14
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| James Hinchcliffe says tonight's race is going to be a battle of attrition. |
With just under three hours still to go before the green flag in tonight's MAVTV 500, there's a fair amount of time-killing going on here in the Auto Club Speedway media center. A general sentiment being expressed both here in the media center and in the paddock is shock that the season is really ending this evening.
I forgot to mention this yesterday, but when we caught up with Andretti Autosport's James Hinchcliffe after qualifying he said to expect a "battle of attrition" in this evening's race.
One quick note is that MAVTV has extended its agreement to be the title sponsor of the event for 2015 and 2016. While there is no date yet for next year, this is obviously an indication the event will return.
Another story we've been tracking has been aero-kits, which will be tested starting this off-season. We hear Team Penske is already scheduled to start testing in October, although we have not heard the details on where and when.
I also spoke with one team principal on the matter of aero-kits, and told him some of the details of how INDYCAR planned to conduct off-season testing, and he said "that's news to me."
Essentially, I'll reiterate what I said yesterday. There is cynicism and mistrust within the paddock over how exactly the new kits are being introduced. Further, there seems to be a lot of frustration from the small teams, in that they believe they are being left in the dark about key details. While the focus here in Fontana tonight is on the championship, and the end of the season, we get the sense the s*** may hit the fan in the coming weeks regarding the testing of body kits.
More later.
Brian C. reporting from Auto Club Speedway
08/30/14
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| Mikhail Aleshin |
Good afternoon from a steamy, sunny Auto Club Speedway. It's about 3:20 p.m. local time, and the Verizon IndyCar Series teams are beginning preparations for this evening season finale, the MAVTV 500.
The subject on everyone's mind, of course, is last evening's practice accident that saw Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin get airborne and viciously crash into the turn 4 catch fence. After many minutes, Aleshin was removed from the car with the assistance of the Holmatro Safety Team. As you might imagine, the mood here in the media center was very somber as we are awaiting word on Aleshin's condition. And there was a collective sigh of relief when Arni Sribhen with INDYCAR P.R. announced that Aleshin was awake and complaining of arm and foot pain.
Aleshin will obviously not race today. Although to our knowledge the #7 SMP Racing Honda has not officially been withdrawn. If there is any update, we will pass along that information.
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| Justin Wilson |
One of the subjects of discussion on everyone's mind hear at Fontana is the track surface, something that has been outlined by AR1. We asked Dale Coyne Racing's Justin Wilson his perspective on the surface from inside the cockpit. Wilson said that yesterday the surface was a lot better than Wednesday, which "was like driving in the rain according to Wilson." There were of course numerous cut tires during the test, three for Wilson alone.
However, Wilson was complimentary of the cleaning that was done Thursday which he said greatly improved conditions. Yesterday, here was one cut tire for the entire field. We'll see how the surface holds up this evening.
In other news, we overheard that next year's rumored Dubai race may not happen. Also, it appears the holdup on the announcement of the Brasilia race is the necessary improvements to the track may not be ready by the rumored March 8th date.
We'll have more later.
Brian C. reporting from Fontana
08/29/14
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| Aero-kits and hot weather have been big discussion points today at Auto Club Speedway. |
It's about 2:00 p.m. local time here at a blazing hot Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying for the MAVTV 500 begins in about 15 minutes. We just spent time roaming the paddock, and talked to a few of the people who were actually willing to venture outside.
One such individual was KV Racing Technology affiliated driver Mikael Grenier. They One such individual was KV Racing Technology affiliated driver Mikael Grenier. The 21 year-old Quebecoise has of course, been a regular in the paddock with KV this year. And all along the plan has been to work on getting Grenier a full-time IndyCar ride for 2015.
"That's still the plan. The team is working on an extra car, and we should know something in the next few weeks."
Grenier did make clear that nothing was done, but he did sound optimistic that there is a chance he may be in the series next year with KV.
We also looked more into the aero-kit situation. If you recall our morning report, we mentioned that we had gotten word the bigger teams would be the ones to carry out much of the testing. IndyCar's website notes that
"the 2014-15 offseason on-track testing period open Sept. 16. Six days of manufacturer aero-kit testing with selected (emphasis, mine) teams will be conducted to Oct. 6 to Jan. 18, 2015."
Well, after this morning's practice we approached a car one-team to ask what involvement (if any) they might have with the aero-kit testing. When asked, one crew member laughed, rolled his eyes, glanced in the direction of a 4-car team currently supplied by the same manufacturer and said, "go ask them."
No, we don't think you'll see a pitchwork-equipped mob storming the corner of 16th and Georgetown Streets anytime soon. Just know that the seeds of discontent over the introduction of aero-kits are being sewn. And we get the sense this is just the beginning.
Moving on, you might remember sports car driver Guy Cosmo announced a few weeks ago that he was pursuing a chance to run IndyCar in 2015, and had spoken with a current team about testing this off-season. After a little reconnaissance we thought we knew what team it was. So, off we went to ask this team whether Cosmo would be testing for them, and when we asked: they looked at us like we had three heads.
Brian Carroccio and Lucille Dust reporting from Auto Club Speedway