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

Back in May, Lee Montgomery, who used to cover NASCAR for the Durham Herald-Sun and NASCAR.com, professed interest in seeing the Indy 500. We couldn't make it work financially under that time constraint, so I told him I'd put my name in for the 2023 race and see what ticket selection we might get. I guess I had to provide a credit card at the time.

Well, it apparently you don't get a choice, other than what grandstand you'd like. IMS sent me a receipt for Stand A, Box 2, Row D, so that's sort of a good news, bad news situation.

Good news: From the virtual seat diagram, it appears we're just a couple hundred yards from the start-finish line (closer to Turn 1), which means we should see some pit stops, crazy-ass restarts and slingshot moves. That'll start to get shade later in the afternoon. And we're probably no more than 20 yards from the racing groove.

Bad news: That's only three rows up, so I'm wondering if we'll be able to see anything through the catchfence other than right in front of us. It's also possible we won't see anything but cockpit aeroscreens, engine covers and rear wings flashing by at 225 mph because of the height of the wall. And we're probably no more than 20 yards from the racing groove.

However, it's the front straight at Indy. Lee's never seen an IndyCar at full throttle, let alone 33. We should be able to walk either down to the track for pre-race or at least across from where they line up the rows of three. And as the race goes on, people begin to leave. So we're hoping to keep sneaking higher up in the stands by the time things get exciting.

I haven't been at the 500 since 1996 and haven't been at the Speedway since 2012. It'll be nice to be back home again.

 

The only time I was at Indy was 1967, a high school graduation present from my car-crazy Dad. I was low down on turn four where I couldn't see much until Parnelli Jones' turbine car came to a halt due to part failure about 25 feet from me. So ya never know.

 

A lot to unpack there.

1. Elitist? Sure. They race through the streets of Monaco. One of the chief sponsors is Rolex. It's pretty much always been elitist. That's much of the appeal.
2. The commercial rights to F1 are now owned by an American company that has made growth in the U.S. a priority. There are three American races next year.
3. His tweet is because he's angry that Colton Herta can't drive in F1 next year because Herta doesn't qualify for a Superlicense. If he did he'd have a drive at Alpha Tauri next year, and McLaren has been trying to get him as well. There's an argument to be made that IndyCar results should be more heavily weighted toward a Superlicense than they are now, but regardless, Herta doesn't qualify.... and he'd be in F1 next year if he did.
4. Fuck Graham Rahal. I don't need snotty tweets from a rich kid decrying elitism. Graham's a shitty driver and a perpetual whiner who is there because his daddy is Bobby Rahal.
5. Bobby Rahal is a former F1 driver (though barely) and he was a Team Principal for Jaguar in F1. So apparently F1 wanted the talented member of the Rahal family.

 

I'm not sure I agree. I have a difficult time believing that any of those teams who saw a driver getting results - especially in inferior equipment - would openly discriminate against Americans.

How many Americans are willing to slog it out in F2 and lower, hoping to work their way up? Not being snarky ... it's an honest question. If there are American drivers by the bunch abroad in the lower circuits and none of them are getting legitimate chances at an F1 seat, then maybe Graham Rahal has a point. If not, then don't drive IndyCar and get too upset because Euro-based aren't throwing countless offers at your feet to drive for top teams.

Moreover, how many Americans are willingly taking the chances to go to, say, Haas - which is based in Charlotte - or Williams, knowing they'll have to drive their a_ses off to get a shot at seat with Red Bull, Mercedes or Ferrari? Are they willing to do what it takes to be the next George Russell?

 

A lot of teams would love to have an American driver. The fact that Colton Herta is even part of the discussion shows that.

The reality is it's pretty damn hard for an American to get to F1, but that's not because of some anti-American sentiment. To work your way up the traditional ladder would require moving to Europe at a relatively young age. That's an expensive proposition and it's really hard for an American to get the sponsorship you need to fight your way up into F3 and F2. The two Canadian kids who did that in recent years are the sons of billionaires. Logan Sargeant is doing it now and is part of the Williams Academy, but he struggled with funding on the way up.

The other option is IndyCar, and the FIA treats it as a second-rate series. Which, honestly, it is. Guys who were overmatched in F1 -- or weren't good enough to get a serious look -- are instantly competitive in IndyCar. Having said that, it should probably get more credit toward Superlicense points. One stumbling block there is that the FIA has a vested interest in maintaining F2 and F3 as the main feeder series to F1, so they may not be too keen to change the rules to create that secondary route.

 

How many Americans have dads who own chains of grocery stores or are oligarchs willing to pay a few million a year so their kid can be a number two driver?

 

Paul Menard just dropped a 2x4. And Brendan Gaughan a handful of poker chips.

 

Yeah, Menard's old man was dropping some lumber on Teresa Earnhardt.

 

Ayrton Senna Now Has His Very Own Musical And We Don’t Know What To Think About It

Prost is a bitch
He's a big, fat bitch
He's the biggest bitch in the whole wide world...

 

I sat in that general vicinity in 2012, which was my first time back at the 500 since '98. It was also my wife's first race.

We were about five rows up in A3. It's not my favorite spot on the track, but it was not bad at all, either. I don't think the catch fence will obstruct much and you'll get a good view of the pits and the pit road exit, in addition to the front stretch and turn one.

 

Came across this belly laugh today on social media:

"F1 has outpaced MLS in growth in mainstream US sports culture in the span of 2 years by being very good at storytelling and building narratives for fans to latch on to."

 

Pierre Gasly officially heading to Alpine, with Nyck de Vries joining Alpha Tauri. At this point the only way we see Danny Ric on the grid next year is if he joins Haas purely to film episodes of Drive to Survive.