That's how I feel about this weekend's doubleheader in Detroit. It really felt like we had three separate races: Saturday's race, the first half of Sunday's crashfest, and then the excitement of Sunday's second half. There's a lot to digest from one weekend, but here goes!
Race 1
The first race of the Dual in Detroit will be remembered for Mike Conway's sheer domination. He showed he is a force to be reckoned with on street and road courses. No one could even come close to catching him all day. Dale Coyne Racing impressively had two drivers on the podium, with Justin Wilson taking third. Conway clearly needs to be in a part-time ride as a road course specialist, and ovalie (I just made that word up, but it fits!) Ed Carpenter would be the perfect partner.
The race will also be remembered, as will the entire weekend really, for some inter-driver drama a la NASCAR. Sebastian Saavedra's double birds, directed at Marco Andretti, were delivered in plain sight of the TV cameras, which ABC may not like but I loved it! I like to see drivers showing some emotion and passion, and Saavedra had to feel both after his day ended early. Big kudos to his team for getting the car repaired and ready to race again on Sunday.
Late in the race, Ryan Briscoe spun and stalled the car. Rather than calling for a full-course yellow, race control elected for a local yellow instead. After all the controversy following the caution-ending Indy 500 a week prior, this seemed like the right call. It was unfortunate for Briscoe, who just needed a restart to finish the race, but it was satisfying to end the race under green.
I'm going to go out on a limb and make a bold claim here. Ryan Hunter-Reay may be the best all-around driver in any motorsports series, period. He has proven he can win on street circuits, road courses (including a win at Barber this year), and ovals. He has podiums at all three type of tracks this year, and I believe he'll have at least one more win. It's time to promote this American driver for the talent that he is and give him some well-deserved recognition.
Race 2
This race was really a tale of two halves. The first half of the race was, quite frankly, an embarrassing crashfest. I'm sure a lot of viewers tuned in, laughed at all the accidents, and flipped the channel, never to return. That's unfortunate, because the second half of the race was fantastic, with action-filled passing galore. I still am not sure how Simon Pagenaud came out in front of Jakes and Conway, but he owes his pit crew a few brewskis for that effort! Congrats to Pags on his first IndyCar win. And we have now seen three drivers this year score their first IndyCar series victory. We may not be done yet!
I was very surprised that race control did not call for a red flag after that huge crash that apparently Sebastien Bourdais instigated. The track was completely blocked, and I think it messed up the restart order because some drivers pitted and could not line up properly. I would like to hear an explanation on this. I'm sure they have a good reason, whether it was their expectation that safety crews would clean up quickly, allowing teams to work on their cars, the TV window (not a good reason), or something else. Those kinds of accidents happen from time to time on street courses, and we expect it with those kinds of races. Since this was the first big accident to happen all year, I think we're doing quite well.
Speaking of Bourdais, how funny was Will Power? I loved his glove-throwing (gloves, really?) and his "once was a champ, now he's a chump" comment. Between this encounter and Saavedra's on Saturday, IndyCar is starting to build some good old-fashioned rivalries. Those work pretty well for NASCAR so why not?
James Jakes deserves some recognition for being able to hold off an impressive Mike Conway, too. I am still not fully convinced of Jakes' abilities, but he showed us all he can play with the big boys this weekend. I think Charlie Kimball's pass on Conway needs a shout-out, too, because he seemed to be the only driver who could catch up to Conway all weekend!
Overall Weekend Reflections
The newly reconfigured track was much, much better for passing this year. Sunday's race had more action than Saturday's, but that could have been because teams were playing it safe and not wanting to damage their race cars. Big thank you to Roger Penske for investing so much into this event and making some much-needed, effective track changes.
I liked seeing how the different tire strategies played out. It became evident on Saturday that the blacks were better than the reds, and more teams adopted that strategy on Sunday. The tire battle gives us something else to watch for, and even a non-technical car person like me could understand it.
AJ Allmendinger proved that lightning can indeed strike twice. It seems unfathomable that the same driver can be out of each race on the first lap. After such an impressive performance at Indy a week ago, this was truly a huge disappointment and you have to wonder what's next for the Dinger. I'll admit I was not on the bandwagon until Indy, but I became an AJ Allmendinger fan after this weekend. From seeing his passion for "It's Indy Pole Day!" to his humbled honesty at admitting his mistakes in Detroit, he won me over. I empathized with his dejected emotions. I really hope someone gives him a chance in open-wheel racing, but after messing up twice in Roger Penske's backyard, Roger will have to think long and hard about giving him that opportunity.
Honda rebounded from a disappointing Indy 500 by sweeping both races and the top five spots on Sunday. All in Chevytown. I think this gives us a terrific, friendly rivalry between manufacturers.
We are seven races into the season, and we have seen six different winners from six different countries, five different teams, three first-time IndyCar winners, and...none from Penske or Ganassi. As we move on to Texas, a race that is anyone's to win, Derrick Walker wants to make some changes and possibly take all this parity away from us. That's a subject for another day. In the meantime, we can continue to enjoy this thrilling, unpredictable season.
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