IndyCar: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

FLRacingFan said:
No idea why they're running to the time limit after it was pushed back a day.
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Why do they even have a limit to begin with?

Is this new? From the start where I have started watching this series I hadn't known they had time certain races.
 
Reck said:
Why do they even have a limit to begin with?

Is this new? From the start where I have started watching this series I hadn't known they had time certain races.
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Road and street races usually time limits because of TV. They're less common in recent years because NBCSN usually throws them out.
 
Nice going there Leigh. Not one spoil but a double.

Managed to spoil Supercars and NASCAR all in one fell swoop. Not that I care or watch NASCAR but wtf.
 
DIDIT said:
Maybe a little rain before the finish will spice it up a bit.
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Your crystal ball is working a lot better that mine. Radar said it would be a dry race, but we got rain instead.

The rain made things a bit dicey, but in the end the right guy won. Newgarden simply owned the weekend.
 
Glad I could watch that live today. I enjoyed it. Fun watching the rain
strategy at the end. Newgarden is definitely in superstar mode. What a great
guy on top of that. One of the fan friendliest drivers out there.
 
How long before Newgarden makes the move over to NASCAR? Guy seems absolutely primed to dominate this sport
 
I'm watching now on DVR because NBC Sports Live Extra crapped out at work.

The weather early on looks good. They should've just started the whole damn thing over again honestly, without the time limit. And earlier, instead of at noon.

What does ZCD think he's doing? I get that you shouldn't necessarily quit down a couple of laps but he's racing the lead-lappers like a fool.
 
Reck said:
Why do they even have a limit to begin with?

Is this new? From the start where I have started watching this series I hadn't known they had time certain races.
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It's happened at Detroit a couple of times, even once without rain, because ABC has other **** they want to get to.
 
Rossi's team pitted him for new slicks as the first drops started to fall...huh.

Awesome driving between Dixon and Bourdais at the end. Two of the best road course drivers in the world doing it right.

Mispeedway15 said:
How long before Newgarden makes the move over to NASCAR? Guy seems absolutely primed to dominate this sport
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If he can't get an F1 test within two or three years, he might give that a try (if Roger lets him). Don't know how that would go though, Helio has been begging him just to try an Xfinity car some day and Scott McLaughlin said he wants to race Xfinity too.
 
So how do you guys post pictures? I keep hitting the "Upload a File" button on my cellphone. It starts to pick up the photo. Then it quits and says, "No file chosen".

What am I doing wrong? I used to be able to post pictures before. A little help please. Thanks.
 
Interesting race, very dicey at the end. The battle to the line between Bourdais and Dixon was killer.

Jimmy W1 said:
So how do you guys post pictures? I keep hitting the "Upload a File" button on my cellphone. It starts to pick up the photo. Then it quits and says, "No file chosen".

What am I doing wrong? I used to be able to post pictures before. A little help please. Thanks.
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The only method I know of is to upload to an external image hosting site such as Imgur, then copy the URL of the hosted image and post it using the insert image button.

tI5JLHj.jpg
 
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FLRacingFan said:
If he can't get an F1 test within two or three years, he might give that a try (if Roger lets him)..
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I don't want to see him go to F1. Americans never, ever get a fair shot over there. Michael Andretti was fired the day after he scored a podium and it was even worse for other Americans. Scott Speed was actually physically assaulted by his team manager, and Speed was fired while the manager kept his job. Frankly, those people hate us, until that is, we have to intervene and stop them from killing each other.

The only reason Mario Andretti ever got any kind of opportunity is because the Europeans considered him to be an Italian. Even at that, while Andretti was winning poles and races in a part time Ferrari role, he could only land a full time ride when Lotus sucked so bad Chapman couldn't et anyone else.

Unless you can land a Mercedes or Ferrari deal, it's a waste of time to even consider Formula One.
 
gnomesayin said:
Interesting race, very dicey at the end. The battle to the line between Bourdais and Dixon was killer.



The only method I know of is to upload to an external image hosting site such as Imgur, then copy the URL of the hosted image and post it using the insert image button.

tI5JLHj.jpg
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OK. Thanks.
 
Mispeedway15 said:
How long before Newgarden makes the move over to NASCAR? Guy seems absolutely primed to dominate this sport
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I don't want to see any Indycar drivers go to Nascar either. Nascar has become so specialized that open wheel skills are virtually useless. Remember how badly Franchitti and Hornish did, or even Danica? Newgarden is a smart kid and there is no need for him to start from ground zero when he already has an Indycar championship and a Penske ride. Before too long he will have an Indy 500 win, so why risk looking stupid in Nascar?

I see JN becoming more of a Rick Mears type, winning a few championships and 500s before hanging it up while still competitive. Maybe he will entertain other types of racing, but I think he is hyper focused on Indycars. Otherwise it would have been Newgarden in the Acura at Daytona and Sebring instead of Graham Rahal.

Penske used to just throw his Indycar drivers away, and you can ask Tom Sneva, Big and little Al and even Paul Tracy about that. Winning has always come before any kind of friendship or loyality, but maybe we are seeing a little change in that. I think the sportscar program, in part, allows him to keep his guys longer, giving both them and himself opportunities to keep winning.

Mostly I don't want Indycar to be a development series. I want it to be a destination, a career pinnacle. That's why it's important to keep our drivers, especially the Americans.
 
Doc Austin said:
Mostly I don't want Indycar to be a development series. I want it to be a destination, a career pinnacle. That's why it's important to keep our drivers, especially the Americans.
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IndyCar has a long, long way to go to be a driver destination series. It's mainly a refuge for drivers who fell off the F1 ladder without ever getting there, or got there but couldn't stick. It's not like it was in Rick Mears' day.

As for Newgarden being solely focused on IndyCar... I wonder where you are getting that... certainly not from Newgarden himself.
 
Call me crazy, but I for one don't think F-1 is the pinnacle of open wheel racing when it comes to outright competition and something I will make much of an effort to watch. I do have my problems with race control taking away much of the excitement that Indycar provides. In F-1, they have wrung about all of the excitement out of F-1 to where people are saying qualifying is more exciting than some of the races.
 
LewTheShoe said:
IndyCar has a long, long way to go to be a driver destination series. It's mainly a refuge for drivers who fell off the F1 ladder without ever getting there, or got there but couldn't stick. It's not like it was in Rick Mears' day.
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Too bad. Indycar was always the American national driving championship, but that changed during the cart years. Now it's much more of an international championship.

As for Newgarden being solely focused on IndyCar... I wonder where you are getting that... certainly not from Newgarden himself.
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Hadn't seen that, but where would he go? No front line team will ever again hire an American out of Indycar after Michael Andretti's flame out. Ferrari and Mercedes are never going to hire anyone who hasn't already proven themselves in an F1 car, so what's left? Red Bull already has too many drivers, so the top right behind those three is Force India, which right now look completely hapless, and who in their right mind would leave a Penske Indycar ride for that?

It just doesn't make any sense. Maybe one day Jo can get a test, but it would be silly to leave a winning situation to go run around in a hopeless F1 ride just for the sake of being in F1.
 
Formula 1 is the destination road racing series. That's basically what everyone aspires to when they're young and starting out. And understandably so. It's worldwide, has massive OEMs, etc. that it'll just never be overtaken.

Beyond that, I think there are a few quality road racing series below that that guys first look towards when they realize F1 isn't for them, for whatever reason that may be - IndyCar, Formula E, factory sports car programs (in a bunch of different series), DTM, not sure if I'm forgetting some others. Personally, I would rate IndyCar and FE the highest below F1. FE gets a lot of **** but a lot of people don't realize the grid is really talented. I don't know what's going to happen to DTM with Mercedes going away...those are six quality drivers that could be looking for additional work next year.

If you look at the FIA Super License requirements, the only category that awards more points through the top 5 championship positions is FIA F2, and the only other series that awards more through the top 10 is FIA WEC LMP1. And obviously they would award more points for F2 than for IndyCar since the former is the top step of their Global Pathway before F1. So it is still well-esteemed worldwide, despite being a domestic championship.
 
Doc Austin said:
Hadn't seen that, but where would he go? No front line team will ever again hire an American out of Indycar after Michael Andretti's flame out. Ferrari and Mercedes are never going to hire anyone who hasn't already proven themselves in an F1 car, so what's left? Red Bull already has too many drivers, so the top right behind those three is Force India, which right now look completely hapless, and who in their right mind would leave a Penske Indycar ride for that?

It just doesn't make any sense. Maybe one day Jo can get a test, but it would be silly to leave a winning situation to go run around in a hopeless F1 ride just for the sake of being in F1.
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I was actually thinking Red Bull/Toro Rosso. Ricciardo is probably gone, and their Junior Team is currently truly terrible (that's why they were so desperate to bring back Hartley).
 
Formula 1 is the absolute pinnacle, not only talent wise but also with its pure speed and tech. The hybrid systems within an F1 engine allow them to create some serious power from regenerative braking
 
StandOnIt said:
Call me crazy, but I for one don't think F-1 is the pinnacle of open wheel racing when it comes to outright competition and something I will make much of an effort to watch.
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Formula One tries to be everything to everyone. The problem is, you can't have a technology driven series where one or two teams have an insurmountable advantage also be a driver's championship. If this were really a driver's championship, it stands to reason the one guy most people rate as the best in the world would score a podium or two every three years or so, but it's not working out that way for Alonso, is it?

There are those who say (and I don't agree) that Vettel was only champion because he had the unbeatable car. Well, if that's so, how much credibility does the driver's championship have, anyway?

I do have my problems with race control taking away much of the excitement that Indycar provides.
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Except they have to enforce the rules. You just can't allow complete anarchy or you'de be getting people killed. I think they do a reasonable job, though theu do make a bad call, or bad no call every so often.

I'm more upset when races are turned upside down by yellow flags that screw people like happened to Dixon at Toronto last year and Long Beach (along with Bourdais) this year. Fuel games and random yellows make these street races a total lottery and upset the competitive balance more often than race control making an occasional bad call. However, as long as you have as many pit stops as in Indycar, it's almost bound to happen every race.

In F-1, they have wrung about all of the excitement out of F-1 to where people are saying qualifying is more exciting than some of the races.
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China was actually quite fun, but again that was an example of a random yellow turning the race upside down, though this time it was more fun because we are all tired of seeing Mercedes and Ferrari run away with things.

Mostly, though, F1 has been boring because Mercedes was untouchable, but that might be changing. Who would have bet Mercedes would be 0-3 at this point of the season? They may still win every remaining race anyway, but it is looking less likely.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I was actually thinking Red Bull/Toro Rosso. Ricciardo is probably gone............
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To Ferrari probably, so that seat is locked up. Odds are Gasly would end up next to Verstappen sp Merc, Ferrari and Red Bull would be full. The best possible seat that could be open would be Torro Rosso and that's only of no one is left in the junior program. Torro Rosso currently suck, so who would leave Penske for that?

I'm also sick of the revolving door of Indycar. Part of what made Indycar so successful was the Foyts, Unsers and Andrettis stayed so long and developed a following. Now there always seems to be some mythical greener pasture, though I can't remember the last time someone left and had any success. Like, maybe Mario when he went full time to F1. Having said that, I think Helio and Juan are going to do rather well in IMSA, though I don't believe either of them wouldn't rather be in Indycar.
 
Doc Austin said:
Formula One tries to be everything to everyone. The problem is, you can't have a technology driven series where one or two teams have an insurmountable advantage also be a driver's championship. If this were really a driver's championship, it stands to reason the one guy most people rate as the best in the world would score a podium or two every three years or so, but it's not working out that way for Alonso, is it?

There are those who say (and I don't agree) that Vettel was only champion because he had the unbeatable car. Well, if that's so, how much credibility does the driver's championship have, anyway?



Except they have to enforce the rules. You just can't allow complete anarchy or you'de be getting people killed. I think they do a reasonable job, though theu do make a bad call, or bad no call every so often.

I'm more upset when races are turned upside down by yellow flags that screw people like happened to Dixon at Toronto last year and Long Beach (along with Bourdais) this year. Fuel games and random yellows make these street races a total lottery and upset the competitive balance more often than race control making an occasional bad call. However, as long as you have as many pit stops as in Indycar, it's almost bound to happen every race.



China was actually quite fun, but again that was an example of a random yellow turning the race upside down, though this time it was more fun because we are all tired of seeing Mercedes and Ferrari run away with things.

Mostly, though, F1 has been boring because Mercedes was untouchable, but that might be changing. Who would have bet Mercedes would be 0-3 at this point of the season? They may still win every remaining race anyway, but it is looking less likely.
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Not trying to belabor my point, rules are rules. hmm I think there are too many that take away the excitement. They never had many of those rules for years and years. There wasn't a judge and jury determining if a pass was within the rules? Mistakes, and the spontaneity of failure or better yet a successful pass was a big part of my enthusiasm in open wheel. I'll never forget the duel that Al Unser jr. and Emo had at Indy for instance. Now everybody is interrupted by race control waiting for them to certify if it was the right kind of pass. Tragically they probably would have penalized Emo.
 
Interestingly enough, Max Papis and Arie Sr. are the two stewards...any ties go to Jay Frye for the deciding vote. The first two are fairly old school so I think in some cases (Bourdais at Long Beach) they are really bound by the law itself. They're at least much better than F1 stewards and Charlie Whiting, IMO. The race director, Kyle Novak, is also new this year so he has a learning curve to go through.

At the very least, it's never as bad as when Brian Barnhart was running the whole thing on his own. You wanna see a bizarrely bad rule/call, look up Helio being robbed on a restart at Edmonton several years back.

Doc Austin said:
To Ferrari probably, so that seat is locked up. Odds are Gasly would end up next to Verstappen sp Merc, Ferrari and Red Bull would be full. The best possible seat that could be open would be Torro Rosso and that's only of no one is left in the junior program. Torro Rosso currently suck, so who would leave Penske for that?

I'm also sick of the revolving door of Indycar. Part of what made Indycar so successful was the Foyts, Unsers and Andrettis stayed so long and developed a following. Now there always seems to be some mythical greener pasture, though I can't remember the last time someone left and had any success. Like, maybe Mario when he went full time to F1. Having said that, I think Helio and Juan are going to do rather well in IMSA, though I don't believe either of them wouldn't rather be in Indycar.
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I don't want him to leave either, but he's still young and it's probably something he can afford to try and then come back to the States afterwards if it doesn't pan out. Do well in a Toro Rosso and maybe one day you get called up to Red Bull...
 
FLRacingFan said:
I don't want him to leave either, but he's still young and it's probably something he can afford to try and then come back to the States afterwards if it doesn't pan out. Do well in a Toro Rosso and maybe one day you get called up to Red Bull...
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I understand your reasoning, but would that Penske seat be open when you return? I think when you have the best ride in Indycar and the best car to win the Indianapolis 500 with, you don't take that chance. At least I wouldn't unless it was Ferrari or Mercedes calling.

That and Jean Eric Vergne did well in the Torro Rosso and still got the boot, so I sure wouldn't feel very safe there.
 
DanicaFreak said:
how did wickens do? I know he finished 4th...
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I kept up with him a bit, he moved up towards the end of the race. JMO he was conservative, definitely wasn't over driving. They didn't qualify well, maybe he didn't have a good grip on the car. Pretty bizarre conditions even on the last day with the rain and all.
 
I believe he qualified a way back, so fourth was probably a decent result, especially considering Newgarden was untouchable and Bourdais was so strong. It's going to be interesting to watch him adapt to the speedway. I think he will do rather well.
 
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