Sonoma Review

Whew, what a race! IndyCar roared back after a long three-week layoff with a drama-filled slugfest at Sonoma. Will Power finally got a win after a long drought, and Team Penske continued its dominance at the track. But let's face it, that's not what got the most attention.

Let's start with the call that had everyone talking. Scott Dixon clipped a member of Will Power's pit crew, creating a sort of domino effect that led to several crew members lying on the ground and icing various body parts afterwards. Replays showed that one pit crew member may have been purposefully carrying a tire and leaning toward Dixon's car, enticing Dixon to hit him and ultimately serve a drive-through penalty. I first have to ask, why would someone intentionally risk getting hit? We'd have to go back and review previous pit stops to see where that crew member walked to know if it was intentional. Stupidity maybe, or lack of awareness, but intent is nearly impossible to prove without a confession. Perhaps there were other issues such as one Beaux Barfield mentioned in the post-race interview, the pit boxes were confusing.

Regardless of intent or the reason for the incident, the rule is absolutely clear: If someone gets hit, you call a penalty. I had to look it up to be sure, and in case you're wondering (and I know you were, ha!), it's rule 7.10.1.6, which says "contact with personnel" is cause for a penalty. If the tables had been turned, and Power had clipped one of Dixon's crew members, I would hope Dixon would feel a penalty was justified. In his post-race interview, as he was being shown the replay, Dixon (in addition to calling the pit crew member in question a less-than-favorable, yes-we're-on-live-TV name) complained that race control needs more consistency. Maybe on other issues, but how can you be inconsistent when it comes to someone else's safety? Show me one instance where someone has been hit in pit lane and not penalized, then we can talk about inconsistency. I understand Dixon's frustration but he showed no compassion for crew member safety in that interview. His response certainly lacked the tact that Mike Hull and Tim Cindric displayed. And I have to agree with Barfield's comment that safety is and should be more important than a few championship points.

I must add a caveat to all this, in that I did not want to see Dixon win again. I would have felt the same way had Power or any other driver won three races in a row. I just like variety and different winners. So perhaps my analysis is a little biased, but I would have liked to see a more objective review of the incident rather than the anti-race control rants we heard on NBC Sports Network and on Twitter. If you don't make that call and issue a penalty, you're basically saying it's okay to hit crew members. I know some will say that this call now creates a slippery slope, where crew members can intentionally be negligent and spiteful, trying to get lead cars penalized. But this brings me back to my original question: why would you intentionally risk serious injury or death just to get a penalty? I sincerely hope we do not head down this path. I'd like to believe that most, if not all, crew members are responsible and ethical.

Let's talk about something else, shall we? This race had plenty of other storylines. Justin Wilson was impressive, finishing second and racing cleanly next to Power on the final restart. He gave us some edge-of-your-seat thrills as he tried to pass the leaders. Ryan Hunter-Reay managed to rebound after a questionable pit strategy in which he stayed out while all the other leaders came in to pit. Most importantly, he finished ahead of Helio Castroneves (who drove a smart, safe race), so he remains in the championship hunt. I'll admit, I thought he was doomed after that initial call, when he dropped back to 16th place. At this point, it's going to be very difficult for him to win this thing, but he's still alive so kudos to him. And Graham Rahal had a strong qualifying effort, plus surviving contact in the race, to finish in 11th place. Perhaps this is the start of good finishes for him.

The race featured a lot of contact, as a record for full-course cautions was set. Surprising, considering the caution-free race we had at Mid-Ohio. The Captain, Roger Penske, could be seen scolding Marco Andretti after the race for making contact and not giving his driver enough room. There were plenty of penalties for avoidable contact, with the last one ruining Ryan Briscoe's good day. I had been reading articles and previews of Sonoma prior to this race, and most said the same thing: we should be prepared for an uneventful race on a track where passing is difficult. Well, this race was anything but uneventful! In addition to the race control drama, we saw passing aplenty, with good battles for the lead all day. Sonoma proved to be a great track, and these storylines will carry over to next year's race as well as next week's event in Baltimore.

Overall, I think most folks--except for those in Ganassi's camp--were pleased to see Will Power in victory lane once again. (Where was the victory jump, though, Will? I missed it!) Power has always been good at Sonoma, and he now has three wins at the twisty road course. It's hard to believe that Power had not won since Brazil last year, and had only been on the podium once this year prior to this race. He wanted this win, that was evident. Would Power have won without that penalty? It's difficult to say, because Dixon had nailed all the previous restarts, leaving everyone else in the dust. He clearly had a dominant car. But we shouldn't forget those intangibles like desire and determination. We'll see just how much those variables count in these last few races.

Schedule Gaps

Rumor has it the 2014 schedule is nearly finalized, and with 20-21 races supposedly finished by Labor Day, you can bet we won't be seeing three- and four-week gaps like this year. The schedule is a major source of contention among everyone associated with IndyCar--owners, drivers, and fans alike. Fans don't want long breaks between races, but teams get worn out without them, especially with doubleheaders. We need a happy medium. Unfortunately I don't think this problem will be fixed any time soon.

NASCAR thrives in part because races take place nearly every weekend. It's just like any other sport: it has a regular schedule that fans can plan around and look forward to. Huge gaps between races lead to fans losing interest, forgetting to tune in, and finding other things to occupy their leisure time. I've been somewhat grateful for these breaks because they have allowed me to get some much-needed work done, but I want to see some racing! I know we all do, and let's face it, as good as Turbo is, it just doesn't cut it. But I don't necessarily need doubleheaders every weekend either, which might happen if we're expected to fit in 20-21 races by Labor Day. Again, let's find a happy medium.

News also surfaced this week that IndyCars would begin testing on the IMS road course, for a possible race next May. Testing does not guarantee there will be a race, but the IndyCar powers that be certainly seem to have their mind set on it. I am not opposed to the idea of an IMS road course event. I think it will help the track bring in a little more revenue, and it gets IndyCar back to its roots, the place they are most known for. However, I am opposed to such a race in May.

Forget about tradition, and history, and ruining a sacred event like the Indianapolis 500 for a moment, although those are good reasons too. I just don't think this is the best solution to help IndyCar gain recognition and financial stability. You already have the premier motorsports race on Memorial Day weekend (despite what some naysayers say, I still believe it's the greatest spectacle in racing). So a lot of eyeballs and fan attention are already turned toward the speedway in May. Wouldn't it make more sense to spread things out so you can bring those eyeballs back, such as at the end of the year? I think having the season finale at IMS would be great publicity. (A street race in Indianapolis would be even better.) And I think it would highlight the fact that these drivers are the most versatile in the world, because they race on ovals and non-ovals--at the same place! Crazy! If you want to expand your fan base and grow more appeal, I think that would be a better way to do it.

I hear some fans complain that the race would be too boring, because previous events held on that course have been. Let's not rush to judgment on that just yet. As I recall, a lot of folks used to say street races and tracks like Barber were boring too, but we've had some incredibly exciting action at those venues this year. I'm willing to give an IMS road course race a chance. I just wish it wasn't in May.

The End of Speed

A lot of motorsports fans are lamenting the loss of the Speed network, particularly now that Speed Center and Wind Tunnel have aired their final shows. As most of us know by now, Speed will be replaced by the new Fox Sports 1, an ESPN wannabe channel. I have mixed feelings about the début of this new channel. On one hand I'm grateful that ESPN will finally have some real competition, which they have never really had. CNNSI didn't last very long. NBC Sports Network struggles to gain viewership, although it has done a good job of creating its own unique identity, separate from ESPN. I think the increase in multisports channels will give sports viewers more choices, and force all networks to be at the top of their game, both of which can be positive outcomes from this change.

Years ago ESPN2 had a show called RPM2Night, a show very similar to Speed Center. I'm not sure why it went off the air, but it was really the only show devoted to covering and analyzing all forms of motorsports. Speed (formerly SpeedVision) followed the same philosophy. With SpeedVision, motorsports fans finally had a consistent place to turn for their favorite sport. Now, once again, they are left without such a place and I know many fans like myself feel a void now that this place has been taken away. It's strange to me that there are so many sport-specific channels now-NBATV, NFL Network, MLB Network, NHL Network, Tennis Channel, Golf Channel...but as of Saturday there will be no motorsports channel, and I would argue that motorsports are at least as popular as hockey or tennis in this country.

I will admit, I was not a regular viewer of Speed Center or Wind Tunnel, but I would check them out occasionally. I knew that if I wanted to follow up on the IndyCar race of the weekend and get some post-race analysis, I either had to read stories online or tune into one of these two shows. They were the only ones that talked about IndyCar. Now there's only the internet, unless NBC Sports Network decides to add such a show, which they should. I'm fine with that but I understand the frustration some fans must feel at the lack of exposure other non-NASCAR motorsports will now receive. Fox Sports issued a statement reassuring fans that they would still be receiving motorsports coverage, but in their statement, they really only mentioned NASCAR and MotoGP. Oh, and Formula E, which may not even last more than one year. What I want to know is, what will happen to the 24-hour races like Daytona and LeMans? I enjoyed watching those, along with some of the other non-mainstream motorsports that Speed occasionally showed. Without consistent coverage, I fear these motorsports are doomed--and that includes IndyCar. But I must remain optimistic.

Change is difficult for most people. When I worked in retail years ago, an elderly woman asked me if we still carried a particular product. I informed her that we didn't and I explained why (although I can't remember why now). She sighed and replied, "Everything changes, but not always for the better." I have never forgotten those words, and I often repeat them to myself whenever a change occurs that I don't necessarily approve of. I pride myself on keeping an open mind so I will just have to wait and see what the future of Fox Sports 1 brings. I encourage all viewers to do the same. In the meantime, to all the folks at Speed, farewell and thank you for your years of motorsports coverage.

OH Kimball!

After watching part of today's NASCAR wreck-fest at Watkins Glen, I am much more appreciative of the caution-free racing we saw in IndyCar last weekend at Mid-Ohio. Last week's race was nearly issue-free, too, until a late tire issue caused Tony Kanaan's day to end. (And I think I jinxed TK because I had literally just tweeted that I was surprised every car was still in the race, when TK had problems. Sorry Tony!)

Mid-Ohio was Charlie Kimball's coming-of-age event. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who was not happy to see Kimball get his first IndyCar win. Kimball has shown steady improvement this season, with a podium at Pocono and a trip to the Firestone Fast Six at Barber. The victory was even more impressive considering Kimball was in a backup car after a scary crash in practice and he didn't even race at Mid-Ohio last year. To me, Kimball has always seemed stronger on road and street courses than ovals, and the pass he made on Simon Pagenaud showed why. He has had several memorable, bold moves throughout his IndyCar career, and that was perhaps the best. When he went off course into the dirt, I thought his day was done. But he made a nice save and drove an aggressive yet smart race to earn a well-deserved visit to victory lane.

As Ryan Briscoe noted, it was refreshing to see the fastest car win rather than the car with the best fuel mileage. The two-stop strategy backfired for Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power, and Scott Dixon, and though I like all of those drivers, I'm glad it did. The different pit strategies kept the race interesting, and the ensuing battle between Pagenaud and Kimball after their final pit stop was edge-of-your-seat thrilling. One does not need cautions and crashes to create drama, as this race showed.

I think we can officially say that Ganassi is back. They stumbled out of the starting blocks this year, but ever since the post-Iowa break, the team and Honda have really gotten their act together. Dario has made a nice quiet comeback, although he's still out of the championship hunt. Honda swept the top three spots at Mid-Ohio so they appear to have identified and corrected the source of their problems. However, I'm not convinced that the engine is the reason why Kimball, Pags and Dario were on the Mid-Ohio podium. They were just the best drivers of the day.

Two IndyCar newbies also had decent performances. James Davison and Luca Filippi finished 15th and 16th respectively, but more impressively, they stayed out of trouble and drove professionally and intelligently. Their rookie performances may bode well for future IndyCar rides. And EJ Viso was up to his old tricks again, inexplicably failing to move over for the leaders. Just as we thought he was taking significant steps forward, he reminds us that he's still the same old Viso.

Having Ryan Briscoe in the booth was a welcome addition, though he lacked the charisma of Dan Wheldon or other analysts who have temporarily joined the IndyCar broadcast team. He did, however, provide some unique driver insight, which was appreciated.

This part of the schedule is frustrating. We just had three weeks between races, and now we have three more weeks between races. What a great way to kill momentum. On the other hand, I'm somewhat grateful for these lags because they have allowed me to get some necessary class prep work done! And at least we still have five more races to look forward to!