Well the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series is off to a roaring start, and so is this blog--finally! I enjoyed the race today, especially the restarts, and I think starting on a high note with some strong racing, a new winner, and no whispers of politics or off-season drama will bode very well for the season ahead.
Congratulations to James Hinchcliffe on his first-ever IZOD IndyCar Series win! Much deserved, and this will serve the series well to have a popular, media-friendly driver at the top of the podium. The cheers at the end of the race when he crossed the finish line were some of the loudest I've heard on TV. It does seem fitting too, as Hinch mentioned, that Dan Wheldon's car is in victory lane in his hometown. I'll admit I teared up a little at Hinch's emotional tribute.
Kudos to Simona de Silvestro, too, for showing what a real racer with a real engine can do. I'm sure she's extremely happy to be rid of that Lotus! The vast amount of cars with mechanical issues was also somewhat expected since it's the first race of the year and testing/practice on this course was limited. Interesting that the cars finishing in the bottom five were all Hondas....
I also thought the new NBC Sports Network broadcast team did a great job. In today's hypercritical, social-media-driven world, no broadcast is ever going to be perfect or please everyone, but they showed how a race should be covered. Even if they missed an important pass, they quickly replayed it and analyzed it. Now, if only other networks can follow their lead....
Given his dominating performance in practice and in qualifying, I had expected Will Power to lead the race from start to finish. He got off to a great start, but eventually ran into some bad luck and some bad driving by JR Hildebrand. (Good awareness for all of us why we shouldn't text and drive, ha!) I do think Power seemed a little whiny after the race, complaining about his teammate's jumping the restart, but that's what we've come to expect from Power--honesty and a strong opinion.
It was very sad not to see Ryan Briscoe in this field, however. As a fan who doesn't quite understand (or want to understand, frankly) the inner workings of owners and teams, it actually angers me that unproven drivers like Viso and Jakes and Captain Crash Sato all have full-time rides while a previous race winner (many times over) and Indy 500 pole-sitter does not. I know it has to do with sponsorship and dollars, but let me be blunt here: it sucks. I had the opportunity to observe Ryan up close after the Texas race last year, and he impressed me with how fan-friendly, genuine, and nice he is. The series needs drivers like that. I hope he's back in an IndyCar sooner than later, and I wish him the best of luck in sports cars this year.
No race next weekend unfortunately, but we'll savor this one for awhile I think!
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