Race thread: 104th Indy 500

I can remember it wasn't that long ago that you could count on Sato to wreck every time out. He sure has changed the last couple years.

My seat is directly up on the Pagoda side of the track from the end of that pit wall that Pigot hit. I sure hope they get it fixed by next May.
 
Just finished on delay. What a letdown ending.

Rooted for Sato when he won and for the way he won but I thought the 1st block was blatant (He moved twice in reaction) and the 2nd one not even a real block.

LOVE the Indy 500 and loved this race till that downer of an ending.
 
donthaveanickname said:
For me, this is clearly the race I look forward to the most every year.
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Ditto.
kyle18fan said:
I really like it, and it is great to see that the cars are safer. I remember when I was a kid, the racers were getting killed at a pretty alarming rate.
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Certainly glad for that. I saw two midget drivers lose their lives back when I was a little kid. This was back when they had nothing but a roll hoop behind their head. Those are things I never wish to see again, God willing.
 
I was expecting the pace car to bring them down pit road - if not for a red flag, at least to give some room for the safety crew to do their thing.

The attenuator did it's job. The tires are all bolted together, so it's unlikely that it was too badly damaged.

Even if they had flagged it immediately, it would only have been a 1-lap dash.

The crash was at 4 to go.
Come around and park the cars at 3 to go
Go back out with 2 to go
green flag with 1 to go

And probably would have ended in a 6 car melee mid-field before turn 2.
 
Old Kid said:
Ditto.

Certainly glad for that. I saw two midget drivers lose their lives back when I was a little kid. This was back when they had nothing but a roll hoop behind their head. Those are things I never wish to see again, God willing.
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That sort of thing takes the joy out of watching races
 
kyle18fan said:
I really like it, and it is great to see that the cars are safer. I remember when I was a kid, the racers were getting killed at a pretty alarming rate.
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When I started watching racing as an 8 year old I thought it was impossible to die during an automobile race. When Dan Wheldon and Allan Simonsen died I learned that auto racing is still dangerous.
It's crazy to think how much safety has improved over the decades but racing will always be dangerous.
 
kyle18fan said:
I wonder if Dixon had enough to get by him ? I almost think that he didn't, it was starting to go away
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I don't think he did at the end. He had the one big run but I'm not sure there was another coming. He needed Sato to struggle in traffic and he didn't. Dixon appeared shocked that Sato could make it on fuel, they got overconfident.
 
donthaveanickname said:
When I started watching racing as an 8 year old I thought it was impossible to die during an automobile race. When Dan Wheldon and Allan Simonsen died I learned that auto racing is still dangerous.
It's crazy to think how much safety has improved over the decades but racing will always be dangerous.
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I remember listening on my radio back when the turbine cars were racing
 
Lots and lots of complaining on Twitter that they didn't throw the red. IMO they should simply eliminate the possibility and state clearly "We don't do that. Red flags aren't for entertainment, we don't use them to force the kinds of race finishes we want to see."

I think they can live with this backlash better than if they had, and the GWC or whatever was a cluster**** with cars running out of gas and crashing everywhere. Fans need to learn to deal with the lack of constant gratification.
 
I really wanted Marco to win, but maybe he can do it next year when the fans are there to cheer. The only good thing is he faded early and was never a factor. At least he didn't get our hope to high and then lose it. The whole family has got to be gutted.

Initially it looked like no one had anything for Dixon, but Sato had that third starter surprise. Whenever someone has a really quiet month, second, third or fifth all week, and starts third, it's an ambush. I would have been ok with Dixon winning, but I'm thrilled for Sato. Yeah, the yellow took the edge off it, but I think Sato wasn't going to be caught and it was a very well deserved win. Rahal scored a career best third and Hondas were 1, 2, 3, 4.

In fourth was danger boy Santino Ferrucci. He had a slow week but found the speed when it counted. That guy sure is fun to watch. He's going to be great at Gateway.

Damm, Askew's wreck was really nasty. Daly moved down a little because the guy on the outside squeezed him a little, got on the curb and we've seen that's a certain death. Glad no one got hurt and glad we've got the aeroscreen.

It was not a really good race because it looked like Dixon had everyone covered, but like I say, Sato dropped the surprise, ran Dixon down and passed him, and then drove away. The last 20 laps were seat of the pants stuff and those alone made the whole day worth it. Average 480 miles, but the last 20 were something else. Overall it was a good day.
 
Hated ending under caution but I think to red flag would have been a mistake. It is what it is.
 
I like Sato so I'm happy to see him get another win. Don't really care that it ended under yellow but that's probably got a lot to do that I'm sick of NASCAR making up new **** every year and I absolutely hate the stage bs which basically replaced the "phantom yellow" where they have a few forced yellows every race that somehow manage to take almost 6-10 laps to get back to green when the track isn't even dirty.

Anyway, congrats Sato! He ran a great race and deserved it.
 
Magnethead said:
I was expecting the pace car to bring them down pit road - if not for a red flag, at least to give some room for the safety crew to do their thing.

The attenuator did it's job. The tires are all bolted together, so it's unlikely that it was too badly damaged.

Even if they had flagged it immediately, it would only have been a 1-lap dash.

The crash was at 4 to go.
Come around and park the cars at 3 to go
Go back out with 2 to go
green flag with 1 to go

And probably would have ended in a 6 car melee mid-field before turn 2.
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It appears this was the decision-making process indeed.

 
Reck said:
This is grating on me the more I sit and think about it. The team massively let Dixon down.

I'd want to see some heads roll. Biggest race of the year and you decide to gamble on what some other driver may or may not have? Jesus Christ. Amateur hour.
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It's a major misjudgment, no doubt, especially since they were the class of the field by a mile. I see why they were thinking "Don't let Sato push us beyond our intended pace" because they knew they were close on fuel. Obviously they were too confident that they knew what the other Honda team's mileage was. It's strange.
 
When it’s that close among guys on the same strategy I don’t think you run to a number. Certainly no one else was. Race to the flag and whatever happens, happens. Classic case of overthinking it, imo.
 
gnomesayin said:
I just want them to be consistent. Fine with it ending under yellow. It's a race, not a show, just decide how you're going officiate it and stick with it. The issue is with reserving the discretion to make it up on the spot.
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The thing that I was worried about was a car breaking a part or blowing a tire and sliding up and running over a driver laying on the ground like Pablo Montoya did when he hit the jet dryer. Thank God that was a track dryer and not a person. Anytime there is a driver laying on the track it should be a full course red until he is safely removed imo. Safety should always be first and then they can make the decision if the want to restart or call the race.
 
Nitro Dude said:
The thing that I was worried about was a car breaking a part or blowing a tire and sliding up and running over a driver laying on the ground like Pablo Montoya did when he hit the jet dryer. Thank God that was a track dryer and not a person. Anytime there is a driver laying on the track it should be a full course red until he is safely removed imo. Safety should always be first and then they can make the decision if the want to restart or call the race.
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as said before, i dont understand why they didnt bring the field down pit road instead.
 
Indycar needs shuffled restarts and GWC so so bad. It’s obvious why NASCAR has surpassed it so far
 
Glad everyone walked out of there alive today. 20 years ago there may have been 3 fatalities in this race, but I have to be honest in saying part if the draw of the Indy 500 for me is the balls these drivers have to race there at these speeds. I love the danger factor but never hope for a wreck
 
Reck said:
This is grating on me the more I sit and think about it. The team massively let Dixon down.

I'd want to see some heads roll. Biggest race of the year and you decide to gamble on what some other driver may or may not have? Jesus Christ. Amateur hour.
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Was Dixon informed that Sato didn't have enough fuel ? if so, that would explain some things
 
I don't remember were I read it, but IndyCar officials said it would take an hour to repair the attenuator, which would put them out of the broadcast window. Red flag would have meant we would not have seen the finish at all. NBC was not going to stay with the race. I hated the finish under yellow too, but I think Sato had Dixon's number and was inching away. The only question is whether either of them would have had enough fuel.

Funny though. Dixon left his challenge too late …………. no attack, no chance.

Think back a few years ago when Sato crashed on the last lap fighting for the lead. If that had turned out a little differently Sato could be a three time winner. Think about that for a second.

Has anyone heard what happened to Marco? He was going backwards as soon as they took the green. Looks like the entire Andretti team came off the rails.
 
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