Detroit Double Grand Prix

wilson89

wilson89

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The first double header weekend is happening Saturday and Sunday.

The two big stories going into Detroit this weekend is Tony Kanaan last weeks Indy 500 champion and how he will fair this weekend. The other story is breaking news this afternoon Panther Racing fired JR Hildebrand and Ryan Briscoe is driving the #4 this weekend.

News on Hildebrands release from Panther - http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/indy/izod-indycar/hildebrand-out-at-panther-racing/

Also Ana Beatriz is not driving for Dale Coyne this weekend, Mike Conway will be in that car. There is no word if Ana will be back.

AJ Allmending is expected to run this weekend as well.
 
Briscoe is a solid choice (surprising he's even available), but Belle Isle is a tricky course, almost like a tight F1 track. Hopefully J.R. will find a ride someplace where he can get redemption for his finish at Indy in 2011.

The double-header format will be interesting, not sure how it will help improve popularity. I am glad that it replaced Milwaukee this year, I need some time to recover and get ready for The Mile.
 
I was never impressed with Hildebrand, even after the success he had in Indy Lights. I thought he was a choke at Indy '11 and I was watching the Hildebrand death clock.

Cheers to Briscoe on getting a second chance, always thought he was a great championship-caliber driver. Panther is probably a solid B tier team in the series. Maybe put up some good runs this year and get himself back into a Ganassi/Andretti/Penske car in the future.

Only bad thing is that we now have another foreigner (after Dan Wheldon) driving the Panther National Guard car.
 
It's good to see Briscoe finally back in a full-time ride.

I'm looking forward to seeing them in action on the new surface and layout.
 
SuperTex14 said:
Briscoe is a solid choice (surprising he's even available), but Belle Isle is a tricky course, almost like a tight F1 track. Hopefully J.R. will find a ride someplace where he can get redemption for his finish at Indy in 2011.

The double-header format will be interesting, not sure how it will help improve popularity. I am glad that it replaced Milwaukee this year, I need some time to recover and get ready for The Mile.
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I think Detroit was the race after Indy last year as well. I think that was the year that the asphalt came up and there was the red flag. Milwaukee should return to its traditional place the weekend after Indy, in my humble opinion. Like Paul Newman said in Winning, "Everybody goes to Milwaukee after Indy."

I don't think Detroit is a particularly good race course. It's narrow and hard to pass without any good straightaways. It doesn't have any of the glamor or tradition of Monaco, Long Beach or Surfers Paradise. Some of the roads seem to be poorly maintained. Let's face it, we all know the only reason it's on the schedule is because Roger Penske is the promoter, and Hometown Roger wants Motown to have an auto race.
 
KevinWI said:
I think Detroit was the race after Indy last year as well. I think that was the year that the asphalt came up and there was the red flag. Milwaukee should return to its traditional place the weekend after Indy, in my humble opinion. Like Paul Newman said in Winning, "Everybody goes to Milwaukee after Indy."

I don't think Detroit is a particularly good race course. It's narrow and hard to pass without any good straightaways. It doesn't have any of the glamor or tradition of Monaco, Long Beach or Surfers Paradise. Some of the roads seem to be poorly maintained. Let's face it, we all know the only reason it's on the schedule is because Roger Penske is the promoter, and Hometown Roger wants Motown to have an auto race.
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Agreed. Long Beach, Monaco, Surfer's Paradise and Baltimore are more than races, they're events. Each of those races has prestige or has an atmosphere that's unmatched.
 
KevinWI said:
Like Paul Newman said in Winning, "Everybody goes to Milwaukee after Indy."
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That's funny, I was thisclose to writing these exact words in my post! It's got some cheesy parts, but it's still a great movie. Maybe because of the cheese. I stayed at the Speedway motel one year before they tore it down and imagined we were in the same room.

Also agree about Belle Isle, my meaning in comparing it to a Formula 1 street track. It used to be fun to watch on TV, but now there are too many other good tracks without a race for them to keep going back (Road America or Roger's oval in Brooklyn MI).
 
SuperTex14 said:
That's funny, I was thisclose to writing these exact words in my post! It's got some cheesy parts, but it's still a great movie. Maybe because of the cheese. I stayed at the Speedway motel one year before they tore it down and imagined we were in the same room.

Also agree about Belle Isle, my meaning in comparing it to a Formula 1 street track. It used to be fun to watch on TV, but now there are too many other good tracks without a race for them to keep going back (Road America or Roger's oval in Brooklyn MI).
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Yeah, great movie for race fans. Doesn't have the great cinematics of Grand Prix but still some great racing scenes. Speaking of Road America and Winning, I believe the opening scenes with the sports car race are filmed at Road America.
 
Kevin, you are correct. I recalled after my post that the movie starts in Elkhart Lake and ends at Indy, with the line you quoted.

Lots of severe weather going through the northeastern Illinois area towards Detroit tonight, I hope everyone is safe and the most we have to worry about is Dario's grid penalty! Fingers crossed here...
 
Hello IndyCar fans. Time for the early game in the doubleheader.

ABC talking to Briscoe. He looks good in that National Guard car, have to say. Don't know how a guy like him got fired from a top team.
 
Damn, another front row for EJ Viso. He could be coming into his own here.
 
KevinWI said:
Damn, another front row for EJ Viso. He could be coming into his own here.
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Never mind, he just fell asleep on the green flag, apparently.

For those of you who are NASCAR fans, Allmendinger just got punted into the wall by another car on the first lap.
 
KevinWI said:
Hello IndyCar fans. Time for the early game in the doubleheader.

ABC talking to Briscoe. He looks good in that National Guard car, have to say. Don't know how a guy like him got fired from a top team.
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Mrs. Briscoe looks fantastic in the trackside booth at Dover. Stunning.

The race will be on tape delay over here due to my better half wants to watch after she gets done doing whatever she's doing. It's worth it to have a partner who likes it as much as me.
 
Mike Conway is really good at road racing.

He would be a top contender in this series if he could get over his issues with ovals. I think he's one of the last holdouts from the European crowd that refuses to race on ovals.
 
Conway just passed the defending champ like he was standing still. He's going to win this race unless something breaks on the car.
 
Yeah, between his Twitter outburst at Pippa last week and his bitching about Marco this week, Saavedra is kind of becoming a punk.

But, to look on the bright side, another win for a small team! Who would have thought that Dale Coyne and AJ Foyt's teams would have gotten wins in this series after years of dominance by Penske/Ganassi/Andretti. Two Coyne cars on the podium is pretty incredible, I remember when Coyne co-owned that team with Walter Payton and they were backmarkers in the old CART field. Long way they've came.

Also, Honda wins in Chevrolet's hometown after the Bowties shutout Honda at Indianapolis after the whole month of May.

Also, I was absolutely disgusted when they announced the 2013 with all these goofy doubleheaders on it, but, I'm kinda liking them now! Cool to see a top race on Saturday afternoon and there's another one tomorrow! I don't think they should do it every week, and three times a year is probably too many, but kind of neat. Have to admit I was wrong about the doubleheaders.

Conway needs to get over his phobia of ovals, seriously. The guy can road race, and with this schedule, even mediocre finishes on ovals and great finishes on road courses could make him a contender for the championship. Ask Will Power.
 
While there has been some terrific racing this year, I'd hold short of calling this 'the golden age of Indycar', as either Eddie or Scott gushed during the last part of the race today. That said, I can't remember a season with more exciting racing at every event. There was even a lot of passing to be had on that tight course today. I liked the longer straight on the front of the course, as the braver drivers were rewarded for holding off on the brakes with opportunities to advance.

Great job by Conway and the whole Coyne team. I remember when Dale drove at Indy himself, and we've always cheered for them. I met my better half while working at Walter Payton's Roundhouse (microbrewery, restaurant, nightclub), which used to have a museum with a bunch of his racing memorabilia, including Indy stuff. It's hard to blame Mike for his choice to avoid racing on ovals. He suffered a broken leg and vertebrae in his bad crash at Indy, and then crashed ****pit-first the next time he raced there. He was also driving at Vegas when we lost Dan Wheldon.
 
Utter dominance in Race 1 today and sitting on the pole tomorrow - Conway looks to have a great shot at the weekend sweep.

Sucks that Briscoe lost it with only a few laps remaining, he had a solid run going. Probably should've finished Top 10-12.
 
SuperTex14 said:
It's hard to blame Mike for his choice to avoid racing on ovals. He suffered a broken leg and vertebrae in his bad crash at Indy, and then crashed ****pit-first the next time he raced there. He was also driving at Vegas when we lost Dan Wheldon.
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I do blame him. But, if he feels that way, then it's probably better he gets out of the car for somebody who isn't.
 
I do blame him. But, if he feels that way, then it's probably better he gets out of the car for somebody who isn't.
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I disagree. I don't have a problem with a driver choosing where to drive (however, it limits his opportunities). NASCAR teams have brought in ringers for road courses. Mark Martian chooses to skip tracks he doesn't like. The team owner controls who drives his cars, whether it be a single driver or several drivers.
 
Conway will have lots of opportunities without doing ovals, he said he's headed to LeMans to get ready for the 24 hrs after this weekend. As long as he doesn't feel it's beneath him, which I don't think is the case.

I'm sort of old fashioned about what makes a truly great driver: does it all well. Ovals, road racing, open wheel, sedans, pavement, dirt, whatever. There are still a few around.

I saw on NBCSN's site that Saavedra and Marco have tweeted and made up, and no penalty for the pair of birds. Here's hoping the racing is at least as good as yesterday.
 
SuperTex14 said:
While there has been some terrific racing this year, I'd hold short of calling this 'the golden age of Indycar', as either Eddie or Scott gushed during the last part of the race today.
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I didn't hear that, but it's incredible to me that anyone would say that. You just aren't paying attention if you believe that. The racing is great, but the foundation is no stronger now than it was prior to Randy Bernard (foundation being management and fanbase). Hell, he's the guy who brought about this "golden age," and they sent him packing. That ought to tell you just how golden things are.

Let's keep this up for another couple years, and get a decent TV deal before we go too far here.
 
Conway can use my byline, or "This space for rent" on his racing suit. It's a little surprising that at least Honda didn't buy some space knowing he'd get some prime airtime today, even if he blows up.
 
Doesn't cortizone cause numbness?

Maybe between the ears.
 
Conway I think could still come back and win this race, but if not he's gonna have a great weekend anyway.
 
This is a remarkably terrible broadcast. And no mention of IZOD. Plus, they're not even promoting the Texas race which is on their own network and are instead promoting NASCAR Nationwide Series racing from Iowa instead. Just, wow.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
This is a remarkably terrible broadcast. And no mention of IZOD. Plus, they're not even promoting the Texas race which is on their own network and are instead promoting NASCAR Nationwide Series racing from Iowa instead. Just, wow.
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Probably tons more viewers for Nationwide than Indy. Can't say for sure, haven't looked at the numbers.
 
Stewart Fan said:
Probably tons more viewers for Nationwide than Indy. Can't say for sure, haven't looked at the numbers.
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And how can they expect that to change when they keep talking about the Nationwide race at Iowa instead of the IndyCar race at Texas, which is (as Andy said) on their own network.
 
Stewart Fan said:
Probably tons more viewers for Nationwide than Indy. Can't say for sure, haven't looked at the numbers.
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As true as that is, it still highlights why there is such difference in quality between NBC and ABC, and why IndyCar will never grow with ABC covering it. NBC works in support of IndyCar and is actually proactive in the growth of the series. At this point, it's painfully obvious ABC is only there because the contract says they have to be.
 
Another great race this week. Didn't get to see yesturdays race though. This field is so competitive this year litterially anyone can win, unlike the last few years where if you weren't driving a Penske or Ganassi car you pretty much had no chance. ABC's coverage has always been crappy so this is nothing new.

So what does everyone think of the double header weekends?
 
wilson89 said:
Another great race this week. Didn't get to see yesturdays race though. This field is so competitive this year litterially anyone can win, unlike the last few years where if you weren't driving a Penske or Ganassi car you pretty much had no chance. ABC's coverage has always been crappy so this is nothing new.

So what does everyone think of the double header weekends?
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good race today. missed yesterday.
 
wilson89 said:
Another great race this week. Didn't get to see yesturdays race though. This field is so competitive this year litterially anyone can win, unlike the last few years where if you weren't driving a Penske or Ganassi car you pretty much had no chance. ABC's coverage has always been crappy so this is nothing new.

So what does everyone think of the double header weekends?
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I thought yesterday was better, mostly due to less wrecking, but the level of competition was really good both days. I may be biased because I love it when smaller outfits beat the big money super teams and make things interesting.

I liked the format because more racing was on TV, but I don't see how it's going to grow the sport beyond the existing fan base. It wasn't like a heat race format, which would've been interesting, like in motocross when final results are based on finishing position in both races, or even better like Supercross, with two 20-25 lap heats and a last chance qualifier, then a 50 lap final (which they tried last year IIRC).
 
StandOnIt said:
ESPN is a sister network of ABC.o_O They are both owned by Walt Disney Company
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So you're saying it's Walt Disney's fault?

wilson89 said:
So what does everyone think of the double header weekends?
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I have to eat crow on both counts. I was expecting another boring follow-the-leader race at Belle Isle and these two races were anything but. The new surface and layout for the race really seemed to be good. Despite all the wrecks, the track seemed to grip up on Sunday and everybody seemed more racy on Sunday.

And, I cringed when they released the 2013 schedule with all these doubleheaders, but I actually liked having two full length races in the same weekend! Gave me something to do on Saturday. I kind of doubt the viability of future doubleheaders through. The stands looked EMPTY for the Saturday race and some peeps in my family didn't know there was a Saturday race and only tuned in on Sunday. If I was a betting man, I'd bet the attendance/TV ratings for Saturday were horrible.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
This is a remarkably terrible broadcast. And no mention of IZOD. Plus, they're not even promoting the Texas race which is on their own network and are instead promoting NASCAR Nationwide Series racing from Iowa instead. Just, wow.
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The more I think about it the more that pisses me off. They chose to promote a Nascar race on ESPN (yes they are both owned by Disney but still) they made only 1 mention I seen on the entire broadcast that next week the Indycar race would be on ABC the actual station that showed the race today. Not to mention I believe both the Nationwide and Indycar race will overlap time wise so it was like them pretty much saying to just watch the Nascar race instead.

By the way I think IZOD might be leaving. Most the safety trucks don't have the logos anymore, no IZOD banners and I haven't seen one IZOD commerical this year. I think Verizon may be interestead though.
 
wilson89 said:
The more I think about it the more that pisses me off. They chose to promote a Nascar race on ESPN (yes they are both owned by Disney but still) they made only 1 mention I seen on the entire broadcast that next week the Indycar race would be on ABC the actual station that showed the race today. Not to mention I believe both the Nationwide and Indycar race will overlap time wise so it was like them pretty much saying to just watch the Nascar race instead.
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This, exactly. I don't expect ABC to plug an IndyCar race on NBC Sports Net, but they could at least plug another IndyCar race on their own freaking network.

Especially at a track like Texas, which is popular with NASCAR fans. If any casual NASCAR fans had been watching, they might have thought "Oh, I like Texas, maybe'll tune in next Saturday night!"

Robin Miller explained in a Speed column a few weeks ago that IndyCar's TV contract says that ABC/ESPN gets first pick to air any IndyCar races they want, and NBC Sports Net gets the leftovers. Well, if ABC is going to nab the oval races (which are, admittedly, more exciting to the unwashed masses and get better ratings) then at least they could promote the ****** things.
 
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