Indycar Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete Prerace thread

S

SuperTex14

Guest
American Open Wheel Racing's premier series debuts with most of the usual suspects on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. Notably absent will be Nicole Briscoe's husband Ryan, who was incredibly unable to find a seat on a team befitting his stature. Good luck in ALMS after a class win at Sebring in sporty cars.

So who's going to win? The 'big two' can always be counted on to hit their marks and be there at the end, but testing at Barber Motorsports Park resulted in a refreshing mix at the top of the time sheets. I will be rooting for James Hinchcliffe in Andretti's Go Daddy car. The likeable 'Mayor of Hinchtown' was among the fastest in every session in 'bama, and hopefully the guys in the pits will equal his efforts on the track.

http://www.indycar.com/en/Schedule/2013/IZOD-IndyCar-Series/Honda-Grand-Prix-Of-St-Petersburg
 
Anybody who runs a Chevy is my pick. :)

The Team Chevy line-up as the season kicks off in St. Petersburg will be:

Andretti Autosport: Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 1 DHL Chevrolet, Marco Andretti, No. 26 RC Cola Chevrolet; James Hinchcliffe, No. 27 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet and E.J. Viso, No. 5 Team Venezuela/PDVSA CITGO HVM Chevrolet

Ed Carpenter Racing: Ed Carpenter, No 20 Fuzzy’s Premium Vodka Chevrolet

Dragon Racing: Sebastian Saavedra, No. 6 TrueCar Chevrolet and Sebastien Bourdais, No. 7 McAfee Chevrolet.

KV Racing Technology: Tony Kanaan, No. 11 Hydroxcut SH Racing Chevrolet and Simona de Silvestro, No. 78 Nuclear Entergy Areva Chevrolet

Panther Racing: JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet

Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: Oriol Servia, No. 22 Mecum Auctions Chevrolet

Team Penske: Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Chevrolet and Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet
 
I think Will Power is gonna be the driver to beat as always on the road courses. I am very excited for this season to begin, especially after last year when like a quarter of the field started the season off with Lotus engines that were not even close to being competitive.
 
Some stats headed into the 2012 season

Active race winners

1a. Sebastien Bourdais 31
1b. Dario Franchitti 31
3. Scott Dixon 29
4. Helio Castroneves 27
5. Will Power 18
6. Tony Kanaan 15
7. Ryan Hunter Reay 9
8a. Justin Wilson 7
8b. Ryan Briscoe 7
10. AJ Allmendinger 5
11a. Marco Andretti 2
11b. Ed Carpenter 2
13a. Graham Rahal 1
13b. Mike Conway 1
13c. Oriol Servia 1
13d. Alex Tagliani 1

All time American Open Wheel Victories (top 20)
1. AJ Foyt 67
2. Mario Andretti 52
3. Michael Andretti 42
4. Al Unser Sr. 39
5. Bobby Unser 35
6. Al Unser Jr. 34
7a. Paul Tracy 31
7b. Sebastien Bourdais 31
7c. Dario Franchitti 31
10a. Rick Mears 29
10b. Scott Dixon 29
12a. Johnny Rutherford 27
12b. Helio Castroneves 27
14. Rodger Ward 26
15. Gordon Johncock 25
16a. Ralph Depalma 24
16b. Bobby Rahal 24
18a. Emerson Fittapaldi 22
18b. Tony Bettenhausen 22
20a. Earl Cooper 20
20b. Tommy Milton 20

Indy 500 winners active

Helio Castroneves - 3 wins - 2001, 2002, 2009
Dario Franchitti - 3 wins - 2007, 2010, 2012
Scott Dixon - 1 win - 2008

Past 10 Indy 500 winners
2003 - Gil de Ferran
2004 - Buddy Rice
2005 - Dan Wheldon
2006 - Sam Hornish Jr.
2007 - Dario Franchitti
2008 - Scott Dixon
2009 - Helio Castroneves
2010 - Dario Franchitti
2011 - Dan Wheldon
2012 - Dario Franchitti

Multiple time Indy 500 winners
AJ Foyt - 4 times
Al Unser Sr. - 4 time
Rick Mears - 4 times
Louis Meyer - 3 times
Wilbur Shaw - 3 times
Mauri Rose - 3 times
Johnny Rutherford - 3 times
Bobby Unser - 3 times
Helio Castroneves - 3 times
Dario Franchitti - 3 times
Tommy Milton - 2 times
Bill Vukovich - 2 times
Rodger Ward - 2 times
Gordon Johncock - 2 times
Emerson Fittapaldi - 2 times
Al Unser Jr. - 2 times
Arie Luyendyk - 2 times
Dan Wheldon - 2 times

Indycar Rookie of the year the past 10 seasons
2003 - Dan Wheldon
2004 - Kosuke Matsuura
2005 - Danica Patrick
2006 - Marco Andretti
2007 - Ryan Hunter Reay
2008 - Hideki Mutoh
2009 - Raphel Matos
2010 - Alex Llyod
2011 - James Hinchcliffe
2012 - Simon Pagenaud

Indycar Series champ the past 10 seasons
2003 - Scott Dixon
2004 - Tony Kanaan
2005 - Dan Wheldon
2006 - Sam Hornish (Defeated Wheldon with more wins in the season despite the two being tied in points)
2007 - Dario Franchitti
2008 - Scott Dixon
2009 - Dario Franchitti
2010 - Dario Franchitti
2011 - Dario Franchitti
2012 - Ryan Hunter Reay

Oval and Road course champions

2010 Ovals - Dario Franchitti - 2010 Road Courses Will Power
2011 Ovals - Scott Dixon - 2011 Road Course - Will Power
2012 Ovals - Ryan Hunter Reay - 2012 Road Course - Will Power
 
I expect the usual suspects to be up front but I'm looking forward to see who in the 2nd tier can do better than last year. I've always been a fan of Kanaan and I want to see how Simona does in a more competitive ride.
 
StandOnIt said:
yeah you can...but you have to put on your go daddy panties and Hinches black wig, and walk around the block. :)
Click to expand...

I that case I guess I'll stick with The Mayor. I don't think the neighbors would mind, but they aren't my go daddy's and I would have to explain to my 'better half' how they got stretched out.
 
SPOILER ALERT: Streets of St. Petersburg Qualifying Results
(scroll down...)















http://www.indycar.com/News/2013/03/3-23-Qualification-Results-HGPSP

The refreshing mix of teams and drivers at the top seen in preseason testing repeated itself in St. Pete as Roger Penske's Will Power took the pole, followed by A.J. Foyt's Takuma Sato and Simona de Silvestro, driving for KV Racing. These results are even more impressive considering the knockout style qualifying copied from F1 and perfect racing conditions Saturday afternoon. Simona did really well in this race last year, so it would seem like a good bet that the added confidence will give them the lift they need to get her first win. My pick Hinch came in 4th, and with the rest of the heavy hitters following, pit strategy will play an important role as drivers try to get out front on the flat combination of city streets and airport runways.

The broadcast production appeared unchanged from what we've seen for this series in the past. The team in the booth did a pretty good job, aside from calling Marco Andretti 'Michael' at one point. Robin Miller reported that Sato talked A.J. into letting his personal physician perform acupuncture to treat a bout of sciatica that has kept Foyt away from the track for the last couple of days, an image that is proving difficult to get out of my mind. :)
 
eh your dropping hinch like a hot rock and going for Simona...I can tell you dog:) ..me too, hope she can stay with em. Be a nice one two finish though. Besides, they are both running Chevys
 
StandOnIt said:
eh your dropping hinch like a hot rock and going for Simona...I can tell you dog:) ..me too, hope she can stay with em. Be a nice one two finish though. Besides, they are both running Chevys
Click to expand...
Actually, I just jumped on Hinch's bandwagon this year, after seeing how well spoken he is, and his sense of humor. Intelligence and confidence contribute to a talented driver's ability IMHO. Also, I tend to root for Andretti's drivers, as well as Chevy's. My 'better half' and I have been fans of Simona since she came to Indycar, her talent is obvious, and her courage after the wreck during practice at Indy last year just made us bigger fans. No doubt she's going to do well wherever she ends up. I'm glad it's here.

Now that I mention it, I hope to see Ana Beatriz do well too. Maybe I'm sexist that way? lol
 
I may have to walk back my Pagenaud pick. The Hondas have been dogs out of the gate. Sato looks like the only one keeping pace.
 
I like Indy car! I think Simona will have a top five finish and Tony Kanaan will surprise many and win at st. Petes. Go Tony!!!
 
I''ll wait until they get thru the first turn.:)..nah I'm going with hinch and underdog Simona. She has a car this year, but too soon to tell if she can keep the wheels on it.
 
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