Wednesday, March 6, 2019

A Welcome Sight - 2019 Indycars

Greetings everybody!

I hope everyone has fared well in our open-wheel, semi-hibernative state since our last INDYCAR race back in September of 2018 (some 25 weeks ago).

Where I live in Northern Indiana, the winter has been egregiously long and cold. Starting in earnest in mid-November, the wintry weather tends to make one draggy to the point of forgetting what day/week/month it is until that first glorious spring day appears, or INDYCAR starts in earnest on the Albert Whitted Airport circuit, whichever comes first. This year, it's INDYCAR that has awakened me from the winter rather abruptly.

It's not lost on me how ridiculous it seems that something nearly 6 months in the making can 'sneak up' on someone, but alas, here we are. I intend to hit the ground running however and this inaugural post of 2019 will review one important visual aspect of the sport before the green flies in St. Pete - the liveries.

Something like this cannot typically be done until the week before the first race anyway, as deals and sponsors get tied-up, and the reveals often happen just before the season starts, so I forgive myself for not posting on this sooner.

A nice pictorial summary of some of the 2019 liveries can be found at this link to the openwheel33 blog who got some great shots from the pre-season testing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. I'll give my 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest) star rating on my opinion of the newest liveries for St. Pete from the spotter's guide, seen below. Please feel free to disagree with me here 😀.


Car number - Driver Abbreviation - Primary Sponsor: Rating, comments.

2 - NEW - Hitachi - ✪✪✪✩: 3.5 for a very solid, classic Penske-type livery that rarely inspires but is always easily recognized and on-brand. 


4 - LEI - ABC Supply,
14 - KAN - ABC Supply - ✪✪✪: 3.0 for another very recognizable, stable, albeit dated design that actually has looked better on the new chassis than on the previous one. It still smacks of a swoopy-early-2000s design and I think it could be updated and improved with only a few tweaks.  I still struggle with who's who between LEI and KAN at speed even with the color flipped. Maybe that's more a sign of a feeble brain than design.

5 - HIN - Arrow,
7 - ERI - Arrow - ✪✪✪✪: 4 for a design that is not only easily-recognized, but also has the benefit of looking extra sleek (fast) by day or night, thanks to the colors as well as the drivers. To be seen whether I struggle recognizing which car is which with the subtle color variation. Both look great however and neither looks the lesser of the other.

9 - DIX - PNC Bank - ✪✪✪✩ 3.5 for a design that initially didn't impress me (how could it following one of the greatest liveries of all-time - Target), but is growing on me.  I like the colors and again this is unlike any other livery out there which makes it easily identifiable in-person or on TV.  I get the slick color gradients employ the logo graphic, but it seems to wash out the natural appeal of the chassis silhouette.

10 - ROS - NTT Data - ✪✪✪ 3.0 for to the League Title sponsor's livery. Regretfully, as this design forsakes flashy design for simple, recognizable appeal, it just leaves me wanting a bit more. I can't help but wonder if incorporating the Swedish flag of pilot Rosenqvist somehow with the similar NTT Data blue wouldn't add some welcome zip and appeal to a certain foreign TV demographic.

12 - POW - Verizon - ✪✪✪ 3.0 for yet another solid Penske team livery that at one time was more easily distinguished from the field, now suffers from sameness that could be improved with a different color styling. Tough to just change the reigning Indy 500 champion winner's livery but with the right touches, it could also be improved.

15 - RAH - United Rentals - ✪✪✪ 3.0. This RLL car is fairly recognizable and doesn't necessarily offend but there just seems to be a lot going on in terms of colors and designs with sponsors. As has been noted in years past, the blue and white schemes seem dated and overused. Can't say that about how the 2019 field is appearing, but this scheme also seems to lack an overall team cohesion with it's sister car.
30 - SAT - Seeman-Holtz - ✪✪✪✫ 3.5 for the sister to the 15. Again a lot going on visually from the sides, but I can't not give this an extra half star rating for that nose design which makes me recall the gorgeous Player's liveries of the late 90s.

18 - BOU - SealMaster - ✪✪✪ 3.0 for a car that is easily recognizable. I can't decide if this looks more like some sort of high-speed emergency vehicle or and indicator that Wiz Khalifa is a new Indycar team owner. I appreciate the stones it took to be as aggressive with the color and striping as they did which is why they get a 3.0 and not a 2.5. Red lettering on black backgrounds always causes visual issues. The lettering needs a more pronounced white outline as a contrast to the black.

19 - FER - David Yurman - ✪✪✫ 2.5 for a flashy black-on-chrome design, albeit with little interest beyond that. The T-1000 Terminator would be proud. the dorsal fin contrast in black with the Honda lettering is a welcome bit of accent similar to other designs, yet more noticeable on this livery.

20 - JON - Autogeek,
21 - PGO - Autogeek - ✪✪ 2.0. Again with the dreaded red on black lettering combined with an overall scheme that appears as a refugee from the early IRL days. Sorry ECR, this ain't cuttin' it. After years of solid and easily recognizable liveries with Fuzzy's, I can't tell if the new sponsor is Autogeek or Autogreek or Autoweek. Unremarkable from most any angle, I hope they have something better in the works by the time Indy rolls around.

22 - PAG - Menards - ✪✪✪✫ 3.5 for that great 80s-90s nostalgic neon yellow look combined with the simplicity of the Penske team liveries. You'll never not be able to remember this car and sponsor because it's seared into your retinae. Looks like it's moving even when standing still. 


23 - KIM - Tresiba - ✪✪✫ 2.5. To be honest, I've never liked the color scheme of this livery, but it does the job for standing apart and being memorable for the sponsor. Easily seen when on TV and in-person.

26 - VEA - Gainbridge - ✪✪✪✫ 3.5. I didn't like or dislike it when I first saw it, but the more I see it, the more I like it. Easily visible are the sponsor's name and graphical chevron branding. The blue accents work well and make this a more recognizable livery than it might be otherwise.
27 - ROS - NAPA - ✪✪✪✪ Four-Point-Oh for what I feel is the best livery in the paddock. Visually as near perfect as a livery can be on TV or in-person. Stands out and looks great at every angle. Maybe the car-parts-related sponsor is what tips this to the highest rating. The Andretti stable has a very good thing going with their team cohesion and design elements (just fore of the cockpit).
28 - RHR - DHL - ✪✪✪✫ 3.5 for a livery that looks great and instantly recognizable. Just a light bit of pizzaz away from being a 4. Maybe a third color wing accent like the Gainbridge car.
98 - AND - US Concrete - ✪✪✪✫ another 3.5 for a very good design. Sometimes a bit difficult to see on TV, it looks good in-person and the logo really pops. I may be just a bit weary of carbon-greys, other wise this could push for a higher rating.

59 - CHI - Gallagher - ✪✪✪ 3.0. More of the swoopy bits which usually make me cringe, but they're done better on this car. Maybe it's because the monochromatic blue scheme is attractive to my eyes and the swoops add interest where few other sponsors names/logos reside.

60 - HRV - Sirius XM - ✪✪✪✫ 3.5. As a sister car to the SPM Arrow cars, I like this livery very much and the hot purple metallic over black is a sweet look that is memorable and eye-catching. Great for sponsor exposure, however, the Sirius XM sponsor doesn't utilize purple in their logo in anyway, so there's a slight bit of dissonance with their use of blue. The white numbering on the purple is easier to see than on the hot pink of 2017. Nice design and great use of colors with energy and excitement.


81 - HAN - ? - No Rating. Apparently carrying over the livery from their sportscars to their Indycar, newbies DragonSpeed Racing may be using a scheme that some might associate with glory days of ABC's Wide World of Sports when Evel Knievel used to jump rows of passenger buses wearing motorcycle leathers with a similar design. Fun! Until I see an actual picture of this livery in person or high-quality photo, I won't rate it. There's definitely some potential here though.

88 - HER - ? - ✪✪✫ So far not much to be seen on the livery front except that it's apparently a change from last year. Again, a wait and see on this one. The spotter guide doesn't offer much on their latest design so that's what I'm looking at currently.

32 - ? - ? No rating yet for Juncos until they enter a car for a race. Apparently they'll not be at St. Pete although judging by their previous liveries, I'll probably like very much what the come up with.

In all, I'd have to give the overall grade for the entire field a ✪✪✪ for the variety and general good work done in designing liveries for the 2019 season of Indycar.

Feel free to add your thoughts below and thanks for reading!



Friday, September 14, 2018

A Season for All Fans

Two thousand and eighteen.

A year in which I imagine, in the long history of the sport of Indycar racing, will be seen as a bright point in a long history of ups and downs. Perhaps seen as one of the finest in terms of the sanctioning body meeting the challenges presented by attempting to satisfy such divergent factions as fans, teams, manufacturers, drivers, venues, sponsors, and media - all with whom the desire to see something "special" exists. "Special", however, in Indycar is often defined as many different ways as the number of people you ask. It's never more evidenced than by the oft-tossed opinions that splatter the walls of Twitter.

Of course it takes a team to make any endeavour successful, but the one person that many attribute a majority of the wider success of the 2018 season is Indycar's President of Competition and Operations, Jay Frye. 
Jeff Gluck's recent interview with Mr. Frye is a must-read/listen for Indycar fans who care to know more about this man, whose efforts are widely regarded by those diverse factions of the Indycar environment.


A Season That Satisfies:
As to the entirety of the 2018 season, I cannot recall in my 40-plus years of following the sport, a season where this level of equipment parity has also allowed such a variety of strategies, outcomes, and winners in both drivers and teams. Here is a brief overview of some statistics of this highly competitive season, through 16 of 17 rounds:

Number of different winning drivers = 8

  Bourdais (1), Newgarden (3), Rossi (3), Power (3), Dixon (3), 
  Hunter-Reay (1), Hinchcliffe (1), Sato (1).

Number of different winning teams = 6
  Coyne (1), Penske (6), Andretti (4), Ganassi (3), Schmidt-Peterson (1), 

  Rahal Letterman Lanigan (1).

Number of different pole-sitters = 7
  Bourdais (1), Newgarden (4), Rossi (3), Power (4), Carpenter (1),
  Wickens (1), Andretti (1).

Number of different podium-placing drivers = 14
  All listed winners above plus Wickens (4), Pagenaud (3), Jones (2), Pigot (1), 

  Rahal (1), Carpenter (1).

Number of different podium-placing teams = 7

 All listed winning teams above plus Ed Carpenter Racing (2).

Manufacturer wins and points
  Honda 10 (from 5 different teams), Chevrolet 6 (only with Penske).


A Summer To Remember:
To me, all of the above statistics support my general feeling of satisfaction from the competition of this season's races. 

I think my overall enjoyment of the season was amplified because I attended more races than I ever have prior. I hadn't planned on anything more than the Indy Grand Prix (weather permitting), Indy 500 (come hell or high water), and maybe one other race (fingers crossed) as with several of recent years past.

For whatever reason, my summer schedule freed at all the right times to allow not only a return to Gateway, but also unplanned runs to Iowa and Mid-Ohio, all of which were great racing weekends to my good fortune. I was treated to a nice variety of courses and now I don't want to imagine not going back to those venues in addition to adding Road America for which I haven't yet attended.  



An Incident To Forget:
Despite satiating my hunger for great Indycar action over an entire season, I cannot go without saying that once again, enjoyment has been sobered with the incident of Robert Wickens at Pocono. Perhaps there can be no perfect season but as a fan, I was feeling better than I have in decades about this sport I cherish. Sadly, Robert Wickens' crash and resulting injuries is a reminder that no matter the level of thrill and enjoyment, I cannot and will not forget that these brave drivers ante their very being in trade for the seemingly disproportionate reward of racing thrills, money, glory, and for our entertainment. 

I simply can't get beyond feeling partially responsible when supporting this sport which can all too quickly create the most painful of voids where none should be. As I age, it gets harder to deal with each time. Of course we can take a slight measure of hope for Robert's outcome not being worse that it is. We also continue to wish for his total recovery, and for wisdom and advancement in the ongoing battle for protection of all involved. 


The Championship Round:
(c) 2015 Indycar Twitter
Heading into the final round of 2018, I think the odds are with latter-day legend, Scott Dixon, not only as the leader but with a fair bit of margin to maintain over his nearest rival and hot-shoe, Alexander Rossi.  It's quite literally all in Dixon's hands this weekend as a Top 3 finish (plus 3 bonus points) will see him Champion regardless of what any other drivers do. 

Four drivers are in play for the Championship and here's a brief rundown of some of the most basic Championship scenarios, with a maximum total of 104 points available to the winner.

Current Standings: Dixon = 598, Rossi = 569, Power 511, Newgarden 511. 

1. Dixon finishes 2nd or better + 0 bonus points = Dixon Champ.
2. Dixon 3rd or better + 3 bonus points = Dixon Champ.
3. Rossi win + 2 or more bonus points + Dixon 3rd or worse = Rossi Champ.
4. Rossi win + 1 bonus point + Dixon 3rd + Dixon 1 bonus point or less = Rossi Champ.
5. Newgarden or Power win + 4 bonus points + Dixon 22nd or worse + Rossi 9th or worse = Newgarden or Power Champ.
6. Rossi outpoints Dixon by 30 or more in any combination of place and bonus points + not being outpointed by either Newgarden or Power by 59 points = Rossi Champ.

The Finishing Position points available for Sonoma are as follows (double a standard race):

1st  100,
2nd   90,

3rd   70, 
4th   64,
5th   60, 
6th   56, 
7th   52,
8th   48, 
9th   44
10th 40
11th 38
12th 36
13th 34
14th 32
15th 30
16th 28
17th 26
18th 24
19th 22
20th 20
21st 18
22nd 16
23rd 14
24th 12
25th or worse 10

The Bonus Points available for the finale are as follows:
Pole = 1, Lead any lap = 1, Lead most laps = 2.


Epilogue:
Regardless of whether we crown Newgarden or Power, Rossi or Dixon, I will leave this season satisfied as a Indycar fan and especially as an attendee. My experience with Indycar this summer has been unparalleled thanks to the ongoing work Indycar does to provide a highly competitive and versatile form of auto-racing, to the venues that worked to provide a great event experience for fans, and to the fates which allowed me to see more live races in a season than ever before.

May we have a safe and entertaining conclusion to this, a season for all fans. 





Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Pocono - The Other 500

(c) 2017 LAT Photographic - Abbott

While other tracks have cheekily claimed 500 or 550 or 600 in their event titles, Pocono remains the only other true, old-school, 500-miler on the schedule. With the news that Pocono is considering signing for Indycar events beyond 2018, fans of this unique and legendary palace of speed will certainly be relieved if and when it happens.

What is it about '500' that adds a certain cachet in automobile racing? As a number, it was rather basically developed over a hundred years ago to provide an "all-day" event in Indianapolis each May. Ever since, the 500-mile distance still remains a race that tests team and machine and driver more than most any other race, and most typically at storied venues like Pocono. 
Of course the 24-hour sports car races are much longer, but also utilize multiple drivers and crew members during their events. Those races, however, have also become more like a 24-hour sprints, rather than paced endurance races.

Maybe it's the speeds attained and maintained during these races that add to their lore and attraction. In 2014 at Pocono, the top-10 drivers (all finishing on the lead lap) averaged over 202 miles per hour for the entire race distance. This currently stands as the fastest race by average speed for a 500-mile race in the history of Indycar.


It truly takes something special to win a 500-miler. Pocono also boasts a who's who of Indycar legends as its winners. Among them you will find the legendary likes of Donohue, Leonard, Foyt, Rutherford, Sneva, Unser, Mears, Andretti, Rahal, Dixon, Montoya, and Power. 

In past, venues like Ontario Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and California/Fontana Speedway all hosted 500 mile events for Indycar. Aside from Indianapolis, the only 500-mile race distance venue remaining on the schedule is legendary Pocono.

Pocono stands alone in many ways.

Currently, it can list the following titles among all Indycar ovals; the farthest east, the fastest, most unusually shaped, "tricky", 
widest straightaway, longest straightaway, remote, camper-welcoming, and "green" (100% solar-powered, 75% event waste stream diverting). All of those features combine for a modern Indycar fan's delight, deserving Indycar's support whenever possible.

(c) unknown - aerial

While some bemoan the lack of support races found in it's current format, it's noteworthy to remember that this is the only other 500-mile event on your Indycar calendar. If you enjoy outright speed, history, legend, majesty, scenery, camping, or any combination thereof, you will find it difficult to match the allure of Pocono on the Indycar schedule.

Let's hope Indycar and Pocono can secure this storied and worthy venue and the 500-mile race distance for years to come.