Running 2023 Motorsports thread

Glad I had an antenna to point at Dayton to watch that rather than Indianapolis’ imbecilic TV blackout.

 

Wow. Speechless. What a crazy race. I normally hate Penske winning but Newgarden has been waiting so long. What a pass.

And the 14 car led! I can't believe how long it's been for a Foyt fan to be thrilled with third place.

The action at our seats in Turn 1 was wild, especially on restarts. Just sitting here knowing it's hours before we can get out of the parking lot.

 

So I wound up not completely missing the race after all. My daughter wanted to futz around in an arcade so I popped in the new knockoff air pods and found the radio stream about Lap 95-ish. Stayed with it there and on the drive from Gulf Shores back to Mobile. Even kept reception in the tunnel during a moment of high drama. Stayed with it as we stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the rental house. And then finally they died during the last red flag.

So hurray to all who enjoyed the race, but I’m over the Brain France-Vince McMahon bullshit.

 

When are we thinking tomorrow? Noon?

 

Not a real great display of racecraft out there in the last 40 laps, though I have to say the move Newgarden threw down when the time came was first-class and worthy of the win. Marcus Ericsson was rather unsurprisingly unhappy with how the finish went down. I hope Lewis Hamilton called him to commiserate, because I got some definite Abu Dhabi vibes there (and Red Bull didn't own the Abu Dhabi circuit). On the other hand, I think that's just a structural difference between American and European racing. For a race to end under yellow would be unusual but not a critical problem, but considering IndyCar is already fighting for a dwindling slice of American sports attention, I think everyone realized they had to do everything short of NASCAR-style overtime to avoid finishing in parade formation. Ericsson was the victim of their desperate need to create a show, though I assume Dario Franchitti probably doesn't know what the problem is with finishing under yellow.

Honestly, there's a lot about IndyCar right now that needs fixing, and that's before we consider how close they came to getting a fan killed today. Admittedly, I don't watch as often as I did when I was a kid, but it's not a good sign that even I didn't realize Josef Newgarden was an American until I looked it up on Wikipedia after the race, and it feels like there's something wrong with the aero package if the leader basically can't defend themselves on a restart like that.

 

IndyCar is in better shape than it's been in a very longtime. The on-track product is the best its been since well-before the split. It's not all sunshine and roses, but it's been since I was a kid in the late '80s/early '90s that the racing was this consistently good.

Ericcson pulled that exaggerated dragon move, which is probably going to have to be addressed in the rules as its the second year in a row he's done it like that and it's incredibly dangerous to do near the pit entrance. Regardless, it's what cost him the race as Newgarden responded perfectly.

Not knowing Newgarden is 'Murrican is on you. He's been a series regular for over a decade and has been the face of the series since moving to Penske and immediately winning a title.

 

It feels so wrong to root for a Penske driver, but I've been a fan of Newgarden since his Sarah Fisher days and have mostly come to terms with it.

The thought of Fertucci pulling one more rabit out of the hat for A.J. Foyt was so tantalizing. Would've been the storybook ending.

 

Sting Ray Robb?
Shouldn't he be driving Saturday night on a dirt track around Phenix City?

 

The blackout. It's like I marveled in the Willis Reed RIP thread that Game 7 was blacked out in New York. Are they still that afraid they won't get a sellout? Or is that a carryover from the Hulman days?