Afterthoughts on Texas

I cannot stop thinking about or reading about the Texas race. I have read many divisive comments, from some who appreciated Helio's impressive victory to those who felt the race was boring. I understand those latter comments from fans, who pay good money to be entertained. But when at least two national writers devote entire articles to the "boring" Texas race or the "ho-hum" nature of the event, I get a little fired up. IndyCar does not need such negative rhetoric, and I don't think all of it is deserved.

I just watched the telecast and I have to say I'm glad I did. I received more information about why certain drivers fell off the pace, and I came to admire the outstanding drive Helio had. I wonder why, when Tiger Woods has a five-shot lead going into the last few holes at a golf tournament, we all tune in but when a driver shows the same kind of domination on the race track we think it lacks excitement? Can we not just appreciate greatness?

I also don't think the telecast was as bad as everyone claims. Sure, there were plenty of oversights. During the first and only "up to speed" through-the-field analysis, they skipped over P3 and P4 for no apparent reason. Eddie Cheever continued to make unintelligent comments. They showed everyone who pitted, whether they were in contention or not. They focused too much on Helio the leader and not much on the action in the back of the pack (as usual). I wish they would have followed Tony Kanaan after his final pit stop, because I saw his charge to third place in person and it was impressive and exciting. Scott Goodyear did seem to be "dumbing down" his comments, but that's to be expected because they were in prime time and might have lots of new viewers who have never seen an auto race, much less an IndyCar race. They did not follow up on Scott Dixon or his pit crew until after the race was over. Okay, maybe those are a lot of criticisms. But I was also intentionally looking for them because I'd read how displeased others were with the broadcast. I do think they did a good job informing us what was going on in the pits. They explained how long Helio was able to go between pit stops, which demonstrated the excellent job by his team. It sounded like they all expected one more caution, and I did, too. We've grown used to them at oval races. But that did not happen this time, so let's give them a break. I don't think Marty Reid misidentified any cars this time, so that's something!

This was not the best race of the year, we can all acknowledge that fact. I think we've grown accustomed to seeing exciting racing so we expected to see that again Saturday night. I think we also had high expectations and hopes because the race was broadcast on prime-time regular television. But I also think we're really overreacting here, and I'll include myself in that, too. I noticed on TV that the first half of the race was fantastic. You had lead changes, pit challenges, passing, two-wide traffic, and a few cautions. Then Helio took over and you just had to stare in awe at his ability to drive away with the race. And really, does anyone show the kind of enthusiasm that Helio does after a race? It's infectious, and I couldn't help but smile. Helio's win was good for IndyCar and good for national television because he's a household name (thanks to Dancing with the Stars) and he shows his excitement and passion. I don't think we should be as discouraged as I originally thought.

What we should be seeing, instead of articles proclaiming the lack of race excitement, are analyses of why Helio was able to dominate so easily. He only made three pit stops! He was able to go 54 laps after his first stint and 61 laps after his second stint. Every other driver had the same struggles as tires began to erode. Why was Helio able to manage them so much more effectively? Why was he so quick on that third restart when it looked like his teammate Will Power held up the rest of the field? And why oh why does IndyCar not line up their restarts in order? Charlie Kimball should not have been at the front on that second restart. Restarts are some of the most exciting parts of racing, but IndyCar botches them by allowing the cars to line up in some seemingly random order.

Derrick Walker admitted he messed up on the package. I respect someone who can admit a poor decision and take responsibility, but I think he's being too hard on himself in this situation. Perhaps he didn't mess up the package, but Helio's team was the only one to properly figure it out. The drivers got what they wanted--a tire that would degrade faster and the opportunity to put the race back in their hands. While this may not have been the best "show" for the fans, we're not the ones driving around the track at over 200mph. We're the ones sitting in the stands, on our couches, or behind computers tweeting, blogging, and criticizing. But that's the culture we live in these days I suppose.

One last rant and then I'm going to end with a story. I don't know why, for all the good Eddie Gossage does for the fans, he sometimes bashes the product he's trying to sell. Regarding the weekend, he was asked by a fan if the NASCAR truck winner receives six shooters too. Eddie replied that no, it's only for the main event of the weekend. I found his next response, containing a comment from another fan, insulting:

Agreed. RT @ingalls22: @eddiegossage @jebburtonracing @tsmotorsports @txmotorspeedway no offense this wknd Trucks WERE your main event!
— Eddie Gossage (@eddiegossage) June 10, 2013

Ugh. I got pretty riled up when I read this. That's what passion will do though! At least he responded to the fans, I guess that's what most would say.

Okay, here's my final Texas story from the weekend and then I'll shut up and look forward to Milwaukee. After the race my boyfriend and I went to a local chain restaurant for a bite to eat and a late-night cocktail. We sat out on the patio, because the weather was beautiful. We're sitting outside chatting and who do I see come out on the patio? Simon Pagenaud. I wasn't sure at first it was him but after a second look I knew it was. My boyfriend did not know who he was but I quickly informed him of Pags' first win last weekend in Detroit. (This is the second year in a row I've had to point out to my boyfriend that we were in the presence of an IndyCar driver." Last year we stood mere feet away from Ryan Briscoe in the garage after the race and my bf was clueless. I'm educating him though!) I'm not one of those fans who gushes over celebrities (as much of a celebrity as an IndyCar driver is, ha), so I made no attempt to talk to either Briscoe last year or Pagenaud this year. Pags sat far in the corner anyway so it wouldn't have been easy to chat. But as Simon was leaving, my outgoing boyfriend told him, "Hey, great win in Detroit!" to which he replied, "Thanks, buddy!"

A brief cool moment for both of us. Was that the most IndyCar excitement we had all weekend? Maybe, just maybe. :) But it definitely won't stop me from watching for more.