All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

If this goes green the rest of the way (highly unlikely), Sebastien Bourdais MAY be able to make it on just one more stop. Pretty much all of the other major contenders need two. And just like that, caution for Bourdais!

 

Looks like he won't need another stop

 

And now Castroneves is the lastest victim of dirty air. No fourth 500 win today. Fifty laps to go, everybody is basically on same fuel strategy. Have no idea if anybody has anything for Power right now.

Grip is in extremely limited supply.

 

Kanaan crashes with 13 laps to go. Three cars are trying to get to the end on fuel -- Servia, Wilson and Harvey -- but Power has fresher tires and was turning laps in 220 mph range just before that. Sitting ducks? I think so.

 

Power takes the checkered flag.

 

How do you not like that guy - and his wife. Apologizing for spilling milk on the Indy queen.

 

He lives in Charlotte. Where does this get placed in The Observer?

 

I think the pace and one-groove racing reminded me most of the 1993 race (obviously not the controversial ending part). That year might have been the most-closely matched field per qualifying speeds I can remember, and they stayed tightly bunched all day.

Some of the best racing was when Davison and Harvey acted like jam cars and drivers were going all over the track to miss them (except for Sato). And poor Leist nearly got run over when the field ambushed him on a late restart.

I've been quite spoiled in recent years by the DW12's ability to draft and pass, so when the extreme weather made passing even more difficult today, I had to applaud Rossi, Rahal and Servia for slicing and dicing their way up through the field -- I'm certain it was way more spectacular in person, but then again, I'm not sitting in race traffic on 30th and Moeller right now.

I was surprised by the number of veteran drivers who swapped ends, particularly Castroneves and Kanaan, because most of the rookies kept their noses clean for the most part. On the radio, they said Bourdais' crew put in three turns of front wing the lap or two before he wrecked in Rossi's dirty air, a blunder worthy of any land war in Asia.

Won't miss the complete lack of insight or analysis of strategy during the race. Won't miss 10 minutes of commercials with 15 laps remaining. Won't miss the crying wife cam. Won't miss the lack of post-race interviews. As always, IMS Radio was head and shoulders better. Haven't missed a radio broadcast since 1971. Heck, I can look at timing and scoring and figure out what's happening quicker than high-paid "experts."

Too bad Roger put Newgarden on the alternate strategy, although Power had everybody covered once the fuel savers ran out. What might have made that a classic would have been had Stefan Wilson topped off just before the next to last caution. He was a bullet in clean air (turned 220-plus once he passed Swervia), and Power would have really been on the edge at the end if Wilson had three more laps in the tank.

Just like chocolate cake, there's no such thing as a bad Indianapolis 500 (exception: 1973).

 

A brief at best.

 

I wish I had thought to bet on Danica being a DNF... but I doubt it would have paid much.