With the Formula One-centered film Rush now in widespread release, one has to wonder what, if any, impact this movie will have on open-wheel racing's popularity in the U.S. (and how many people will mistake IndyCar for Formula One, or vice versa). Clearly Turbo was not the answer to help IndyCar, but it definitely doesn't hurt to have two open-wheel racing-themed films released in the same year. It also begs the question: if you were to make a non-animated IndyCar film based on a true story, what would it be about?
A film about IndyCar should be relevant to a larger audience, not just race fans, and it shouldn't be too negative. Rush focuses on a heated rivalry and its consequences, and IndyCar has had plenty of those over the years. The whole IRL debacle could be chronicled in film quite nicely but I wonder if such a plot would be too technical for a big audience. Rush appears to be a heavily race-focused film so I'm not sure how much wide appeal it will generate. Evidently it was not a big hit in its premiere weekend, which is usually a bad sign. It does have critical acclaim and awards buzz though, so that will help.
Biopics can also make for interesting movies, and IndyCar has a whole cast of characters from which to draw for a biopic: A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell just to name a few. After reading Helio's autobiography, I think there's an interesting
subplot in it about Emerson Fittipaldi's con artistry that could be
movie-worthy. The Will Power-Dario Franchitti rivalry could make for a hilarious comedy as well.
I'd like to see a movie made about Dan Wheldon, not a biopic necessarily but how IndyCar's overzealous attempts to gain popularity contributed to negligent decision-making. This film would not paint IndyCar in the brightest light, so it would probably never be approved, but it certainly would be interesting. It would also appeal to a wider audience and help us all learn a valuable lesson about not rushing to a decision without careful consideration of all possible problems with the outcome. The film would have to include an epilogue about the changes IndyCar and other racing series have made since this tragedy.
Of course these films will probably never reach the studio, but it is fun to think about. If an IndyCar movie is made, let's hope it's better than Driven, which I have never fully seen (only parts of it) but have heard is dreadful. I do plan to see Rush soon, because racing movies are so rare. Good racing movies are even rarer.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Bye Bye Baltimore, Hello Montoya
Two significant IndyCar stories broke this past week--one good, one very bad. Let's start with the bad news first, so we can end on a more positive note.
The announcement that IndyCar would not be returning to Baltimore in 2014 or 2015 felt like a kick in the gut. Really, we should not be surprised given the turmoil that has surrounded the event since its inception. But it felt like things were moving in the right direction. The track had increased attendance this year, and the mayor spoke positively about the economic impact the Baltimore Grand Prix had on tourism and the national and international exposure it generated for the city. I spoke glowingly of Baltimore in my race recap, and I was looking forward to attending the track in the future.
So what went wrong and where do we place the blame? Organizers pointed to scheduling conflicts, which makes some sense. Certainly it's difficult to plan an event in a city with two major sports teams, whose schedules have to be worked around, and a large convention center near the track location. IndyCar exacerbated the problem by insisting that its season end before Labor Day. Dates in June and August were discussed, but were unavailable due to other events already planned in the city. I would guess that the city of Baltimore experienced at least a little frustration at IndyCar's stubbornness. Dates in late September or October might have been an option, but that would extend the season beyond IndyCar's goal. But based on what the mayoral spokesperson said, I would argue that the lack of a title sponsor is the biggest reason why the event was canceled. Perhaps the city was losing too much money, or pumping too much money into the race without a sufficient return on their investment. I actually feel like the city of Baltimore used IndyCar, especially after reading Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's statement in the Baltimore Sun. They hosted a three-year event with the intent to show that the city could take chances, could bring in new audiences, and could be rewarded for their efforts. But I feel like the intent was to tell other interested organizations, "Hey, we hosted an IndyCar race, look what we can do! Come host your event here!"
While there's a miniscule amount of optimism that IndyCar will return there after 2015, I'm not going to get my hopes up. It does not sound like Baltimore wants IndyCar back. And losing Baltimore is a huge blow to IndyCar. It was a successful track with good fan support, in a location where NASCAR does not visit. Now East Coasters must travel to Pocono Raceway if they want to see an IndyCar race, and thankfully they have that option for at least the next two years. Street races are tricky because they require a great deal of planning and they force the host cities to shut down some traffic flow for awhile. But they are also a great opportunity to showcase what a city has to offer and to give its residents a unique, family-friendly event. I'm not aware of any other cities besides Fort Lauderdale that are interested in hosting an IndyCar street race. So Houston, it's your turn. Let's see what you can do.
On to more positive news! Juan Pablo Montoya will be returning to IndyCar in 2014 after an unsuccessful run in NASCAR. This announcement surprised me since he had turned down an offer from Andretti Autosport. I had expected him to accept a deal from another NASCAR team, since they would probably pay him more. But Montoya wants to be with a winner, which is why he chose Penske. When Montoya was in open-wheel racing, he was one of the best drivers around. It will be interesting to see what he can do now that he's been away from the sport for awhile.
Montoya's return to IndyCar gives us an intriguing rivalry. Not just between Penske and Ganassi, the team that dumped Montoya from NASCAR, but also between teammates. Montoya is very competitive, and he'll want to win just as much as Helio and Will Power. This creates sort of an IndyCar superteam, but the intra-team dynamics could be interesting to watch. I think Montoya will be on a mission, too. He needs to re-prove himself as a dominant open-wheel driver, and will be looking for revenge against his Ganassi team. Never underestimate the power of a driver with a chip on his shoulder.
Montoya's return is also great for IndyCar. He is an internationally known star who will bring an allegiance of fans with him. NASCAR fans, even if they didn't like him, may casually read race recaps or check out a race just to see how he's doing (or perhaps, to root for him to fail). IndyCar fans are in for some thrilling theater next season. It's just too bad he'll never get to experience the thrills of the Baltimore Grand Prix.
The announcement that IndyCar would not be returning to Baltimore in 2014 or 2015 felt like a kick in the gut. Really, we should not be surprised given the turmoil that has surrounded the event since its inception. But it felt like things were moving in the right direction. The track had increased attendance this year, and the mayor spoke positively about the economic impact the Baltimore Grand Prix had on tourism and the national and international exposure it generated for the city. I spoke glowingly of Baltimore in my race recap, and I was looking forward to attending the track in the future.
So what went wrong and where do we place the blame? Organizers pointed to scheduling conflicts, which makes some sense. Certainly it's difficult to plan an event in a city with two major sports teams, whose schedules have to be worked around, and a large convention center near the track location. IndyCar exacerbated the problem by insisting that its season end before Labor Day. Dates in June and August were discussed, but were unavailable due to other events already planned in the city. I would guess that the city of Baltimore experienced at least a little frustration at IndyCar's stubbornness. Dates in late September or October might have been an option, but that would extend the season beyond IndyCar's goal. But based on what the mayoral spokesperson said, I would argue that the lack of a title sponsor is the biggest reason why the event was canceled. Perhaps the city was losing too much money, or pumping too much money into the race without a sufficient return on their investment. I actually feel like the city of Baltimore used IndyCar, especially after reading Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's statement in the Baltimore Sun. They hosted a three-year event with the intent to show that the city could take chances, could bring in new audiences, and could be rewarded for their efforts. But I feel like the intent was to tell other interested organizations, "Hey, we hosted an IndyCar race, look what we can do! Come host your event here!"
While there's a miniscule amount of optimism that IndyCar will return there after 2015, I'm not going to get my hopes up. It does not sound like Baltimore wants IndyCar back. And losing Baltimore is a huge blow to IndyCar. It was a successful track with good fan support, in a location where NASCAR does not visit. Now East Coasters must travel to Pocono Raceway if they want to see an IndyCar race, and thankfully they have that option for at least the next two years. Street races are tricky because they require a great deal of planning and they force the host cities to shut down some traffic flow for awhile. But they are also a great opportunity to showcase what a city has to offer and to give its residents a unique, family-friendly event. I'm not aware of any other cities besides Fort Lauderdale that are interested in hosting an IndyCar street race. So Houston, it's your turn. Let's see what you can do.
On to more positive news! Juan Pablo Montoya will be returning to IndyCar in 2014 after an unsuccessful run in NASCAR. This announcement surprised me since he had turned down an offer from Andretti Autosport. I had expected him to accept a deal from another NASCAR team, since they would probably pay him more. But Montoya wants to be with a winner, which is why he chose Penske. When Montoya was in open-wheel racing, he was one of the best drivers around. It will be interesting to see what he can do now that he's been away from the sport for awhile.
Montoya's return to IndyCar gives us an intriguing rivalry. Not just between Penske and Ganassi, the team that dumped Montoya from NASCAR, but also between teammates. Montoya is very competitive, and he'll want to win just as much as Helio and Will Power. This creates sort of an IndyCar superteam, but the intra-team dynamics could be interesting to watch. I think Montoya will be on a mission, too. He needs to re-prove himself as a dominant open-wheel driver, and will be looking for revenge against his Ganassi team. Never underestimate the power of a driver with a chip on his shoulder.
Montoya's return is also great for IndyCar. He is an internationally known star who will bring an allegiance of fans with him. NASCAR fans, even if they didn't like him, may casually read race recaps or check out a race just to see how he's doing (or perhaps, to root for him to fail). IndyCar fans are in for some thrilling theater next season. It's just too bad he'll never get to experience the thrills of the Baltimore Grand Prix.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Conspiracy Theories
I will admit, I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist. Many people believe the moon landing was staged or that JFK's assassination was an inside job, but I'm not one of them. I do, however, think that our sports outcomes are not always as spontaneous as we might think they are. These days, no sport is immune from scrutiny, and with the vast amount of technology we have available to us we can overanalyze every single play, comment, and decision until we start to believe it was all prearranged. Couple that with the appeal of social media, and conspiracy theories in the world of sport are bound to emerge.
I will also admit that I think the outcome of the NASCAR race in Richmond, and subsequently, the "Chase" was manipulated by Clint Bowyer and others. NASCAR evidently felt the same way, as they assigned some significant penalties Monday. But I also think this is nothing new when it comes to motorsports.
When Scott Dixon viewed the replay of his actions on pit lane in Sonoma, his immediate reaction was to think that the pit crew member impeded his path intentionally. Likewise, he felt Will Power may have purposefully swerved in front of him on a restart at Baltimore, causing him to crash and affecting his championship chances. Townsend Bell addressed the issue of "gamesmanship" on NBC Sports Network prior to the Baltimore race, alleging that pit crew members do indeed try to make it difficult for others to have clean stops. So NASCAR, you are not alone in your conspiracy theories.
Formula One practically invented "team orders." Not being more than a casual observer of F-1, I was surprised when I watched the movie Senna at how political the sport is. It astonishes me that crew chiefs, owners, and drivers would put themselves at such risk in a dangerous activity just to help a teammate secure a win or a championship. Is it worth it? What would have happened, for example, had Power's pit crew member been seriously injured? Or if Clint Bowyer had slammed into the wall at over 100mph? Are racing teams really trying to win at all costs? Do we need to be reminded just how dangerous racing truly is?
We should expect some conspiring in motorsports, which has teammates like many other sports. Teammates look out for one another, support one another, and in the case of racing, they share data, resources, and staff. If you really want to get rid of possible race manipulation, then you should only allow single-car operations. But even that may not fix the problem, because if you are to believe some of the crazies after the Indy 500, Dario Franchitti crashed on purpose so that his friend, not his teammate, would win the race (personally, I think that's the most ridiculous of all conspiracy theories).
Furthermore, if you want know if races are being manipulated, look to the sponsors. Is it merely coincidence that Ryan Hunter-Reay has put his car into DHL Victory Circle at Milwaukee the past two years? (I don't really believe this was prearranged but it's just one example of a coincidence.) Money talks, we all know that. And sponsors like winners. So do fans.
Fans will probably be suspicious of anything Will Power does in the remaining races. He has admitted that his charge now is to help Helio win a championship, and we know Penske wants that badly. We have learned from the Richmond NASCAR race that teams can be creative in how they help their drivers win. So for better or worse, every move Power makes will be scrutinized--on television, radio, and social media. That's just the world we live in now.
Perhaps we are so suspicious of sports outcomes because they have been manipulated before. The 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal is arguably the most famous of all fixed events, when eight baseball players took bribes from gamblers and agreed to lose games. Unfortunately for these players, they were promised a payoff but never actually received it. Nevertheless, they were eventually banned from professional baseball (for an excellent summary of this scandal, read Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof, or see the as-excellent movie). In a more recent case, NBA referee Tim Donaghy admitted officials played favorites when making calls, so much so that he was able to bet which teams would win based on who the referees were. These cases cast doubts that all games, players, and officials are on the up-and-up.
Television coverage also manipulates outcomes. "TV timeouts" can break up momentum, or give hurting players a little more rest before re-entering a game. And then there's the one I am beginning to believe more and more, that if a team is getting blown out, something must be done to make the game closer because otherwise ratings will suffer. So are we, the fans, just the innocent bystanders in one big, sports conspiracy? Who knows? Would we stop watching even if we were?
IndyCar and NASCAR have received a good deal of criticism over the past few weeks, but both entities took swift action to try and reduce intentional, unethical manipulation of race outcomes. Meanwhile, the NFL has announced they will try to crack down on teams that intentionally fake injuries, and the NBA penalized numerous players for "flopping" last season. So evidently conspiracy and collusion will not be tolerated in sports. Are these just words to calm down fan outcries? I'll leave that for the conspiracy theorists.
I will also admit that I think the outcome of the NASCAR race in Richmond, and subsequently, the "Chase" was manipulated by Clint Bowyer and others. NASCAR evidently felt the same way, as they assigned some significant penalties Monday. But I also think this is nothing new when it comes to motorsports.
When Scott Dixon viewed the replay of his actions on pit lane in Sonoma, his immediate reaction was to think that the pit crew member impeded his path intentionally. Likewise, he felt Will Power may have purposefully swerved in front of him on a restart at Baltimore, causing him to crash and affecting his championship chances. Townsend Bell addressed the issue of "gamesmanship" on NBC Sports Network prior to the Baltimore race, alleging that pit crew members do indeed try to make it difficult for others to have clean stops. So NASCAR, you are not alone in your conspiracy theories.
Formula One practically invented "team orders." Not being more than a casual observer of F-1, I was surprised when I watched the movie Senna at how political the sport is. It astonishes me that crew chiefs, owners, and drivers would put themselves at such risk in a dangerous activity just to help a teammate secure a win or a championship. Is it worth it? What would have happened, for example, had Power's pit crew member been seriously injured? Or if Clint Bowyer had slammed into the wall at over 100mph? Are racing teams really trying to win at all costs? Do we need to be reminded just how dangerous racing truly is?
We should expect some conspiring in motorsports, which has teammates like many other sports. Teammates look out for one another, support one another, and in the case of racing, they share data, resources, and staff. If you really want to get rid of possible race manipulation, then you should only allow single-car operations. But even that may not fix the problem, because if you are to believe some of the crazies after the Indy 500, Dario Franchitti crashed on purpose so that his friend, not his teammate, would win the race (personally, I think that's the most ridiculous of all conspiracy theories).
Furthermore, if you want know if races are being manipulated, look to the sponsors. Is it merely coincidence that Ryan Hunter-Reay has put his car into DHL Victory Circle at Milwaukee the past two years? (I don't really believe this was prearranged but it's just one example of a coincidence.) Money talks, we all know that. And sponsors like winners. So do fans.
Fans will probably be suspicious of anything Will Power does in the remaining races. He has admitted that his charge now is to help Helio win a championship, and we know Penske wants that badly. We have learned from the Richmond NASCAR race that teams can be creative in how they help their drivers win. So for better or worse, every move Power makes will be scrutinized--on television, radio, and social media. That's just the world we live in now.
Perhaps we are so suspicious of sports outcomes because they have been manipulated before. The 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal is arguably the most famous of all fixed events, when eight baseball players took bribes from gamblers and agreed to lose games. Unfortunately for these players, they were promised a payoff but never actually received it. Nevertheless, they were eventually banned from professional baseball (for an excellent summary of this scandal, read Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof, or see the as-excellent movie). In a more recent case, NBA referee Tim Donaghy admitted officials played favorites when making calls, so much so that he was able to bet which teams would win based on who the referees were. These cases cast doubts that all games, players, and officials are on the up-and-up.
Television coverage also manipulates outcomes. "TV timeouts" can break up momentum, or give hurting players a little more rest before re-entering a game. And then there's the one I am beginning to believe more and more, that if a team is getting blown out, something must be done to make the game closer because otherwise ratings will suffer. So are we, the fans, just the innocent bystanders in one big, sports conspiracy? Who knows? Would we stop watching even if we were?
IndyCar and NASCAR have received a good deal of criticism over the past few weeks, but both entities took swift action to try and reduce intentional, unethical manipulation of race outcomes. Meanwhile, the NFL has announced they will try to crack down on teams that intentionally fake injuries, and the NBA penalized numerous players for "flopping" last season. So evidently conspiracy and collusion will not be tolerated in sports. Are these just words to calm down fan outcries? I'll leave that for the conspiracy theorists.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Baltimore Recap
Well, Baltimore was...interesting. The street circuit definitely did not lack drama, with so many storylines I'm sure I'll leave one out. We had caution-filled carnage, an unexpected podium, a new rivalry, and a whole host of drivers upset with one another after the race. Not to mention that this all took place in Iron-Man city, at a venue with an uncertain future. So let's take a look at each one of these stories in turn.
Caution-Filled Carnage
We should expect some full-course cautions and bottleneck crashes on street courses like Baltimore. We have seen them elsewhere this year and in years past. Naturally when you try to squeeze 20 cars through a tight opening, when everyone wants to win or improve their position, there's bound to be some wreckage. Some drivers blamed the crashes on double-file restarts, but I'm not convinced eliminating them will prevent these issues. If anything we might see even more aggressive driving. Once everyone started driving more cautiously and less aggressively, we saw fewer problems.
Not only did cars exit the race because of crashes, but it seemed like there were more mechanical gremlins than usual. Mechanical problems unfortunately victimized Dario Franchitti, who had been on a roll, and championship contender Ryan Hunter-Reay, giving the title fight a whole new look. It appears RHR's chances for a repeat are all but done, as he falls to fifth place, 74 points behind Helio.
An Unexpected Podium
In between the wrecks and the cautions, we saw some fantastic racing and passing. Simon Pagenaud scored his second win of the year, and the second of his young IndyCar career, with a determined late pass on his fellow countryman Bourdais (Bourdais took issue with the contact but was more restrained than we've seen him be in post-race interviews). I think we all knew Pags would be someone to watch out for, especially on street courses. He showed us last year that he has some serious driving chops. Not only can he win on these tracks, but he is now a serious championship contender, catapulting up to third place in the standings. To me, that's more surprising than his victory in Baltimore.
And how about Josef Newgarden, who earned his first IndyCar podium with a car that looked strong enough to win all weekend? Honestly, even though he took second place, it felt like he won the race. I was more excited for his finish than Pagenaud's win. This was an outstanding result for a small team that really needed it. We should see Newgarden in victory lane soon enough--he has shown some good patience and improvement as a driver this year.
A New Rivalry
Will Power and Dario Franchitti have had their issues over the years, even as recently as last weekend in Sonoma. But it appears Power has found a new rival on the Ganassi team. We have discussed the Scott Dixon Sonoma penalty ad nauseum the past few weeks, but that controversy ignited this new rivalry. Now, in Baltimore, Power chopped Dixon on a restart, ending Dixon's day and significantly affecting his championship chances. The initial camera angle made Power's move look blatantly intentional, but subsequent replays and Power's explanation afterwards showed it was more carelessness and lack of awareness than malice. Power has to feel terribly about causing Dixon to spin and hit the wall, but that move points to a bigger concern in my opinion. Power has always been one of the best drivers on road and street courses, but this year his results have not reflected that talent. I would be more likely to expect that kind of ill-advised move from Luca Filippi or some other rookie who lacked IndyCar experience. Has Power lost his mojo? And how much patience will Roger Penske have if Power keeps making these silly mistakes?
Scott Dixon had a legitimate gripe, though he may want to start showing more restraint if he wants to get race control on his side. He seemed more upset that IndyCar officials would not let him bring his car back to pit lane to work on than he was at Power. I would like to hear race control's explanation as to why Dixon's car was not towed back to pit lane, but he wasn't the only driver who was denied access. The past two races have not gone Dixon's way, and he has every right to be frustrated about it. But I'll be honest, his comments and reactions have forced me to root for his rivals rather than him. He showed a lack of compassion for an injured crew member after Sonoma, and he called for race officials to be fired after this race (which, in any other sport, he would receive a hefty fine for). He also seems to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist, accusing Penske of gamesmanship at both Sonoma and Baltimore. I think back to Pocono, where he was helped out by Sato running into Hunter-Reay on pit road. Race results are often the result of good teamwork, strong driving, and a little bit of luck, let's face it. Lately Dixon has not had the luck, but it's not like he hasn't had any luck this year. He is not out of it. He swept the doubleheader in Toronto, so he can definitely do it again in Houston, which would be a huge swing in the points standings.
Upset Drivers
Is there anyone who wasn't upset with another driver after the race? Bourdais didn't like Pagenaud's pass. Justin Wilson was unhappy with Bourdais for clipping him. Bobby Rahal called Tony Kanaan a punk on Twitter. Simona DeSilvestro also had less-than-flattering words for her teammate. Oriol Servia and Will Power both served drive-through penalties for avoidable contact, and Dixon believed Graham Rahal should have been penalized as well. Wow! You know it's a good race when you have this many drivers complaining afterwards! If it was an easy race where everyone was civil to one another, that would not be good entertainment. So thank you, drivers, for adding a little bit of drama and intrigue into the remaining races! Let's just be mature about it and discuss it with each other instead of airing out grievances through social media, okay?
Baltimore the Venue
Some questions remain about whether or not Baltimore will be back on the schedule next year. It will definitely not have the Labor Day date, because of a scheduling conflict at M & T Bank Stadium and because Mark Miles wants IndyCar's season to be finished by Labor Day. It appears Baltimore will return for 2014 but beyond that we will just have to wait and see. It's a shame that the event has had so many financial issues because it truly is a beautiful venue that has produced some exciting racing these past three years. I loved the overhead views of downtown Baltimore with cars zooming right past Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore is one of those tracks I hope to see, so I hope it's still around for me to visit in a few years.
Finally, we must give congratulations to Iron Man Tony Kanaan, who broke the all-time IndyCar starts record this past weekend. TK has now started an astonishing 212 races in a row, which is extremely impressive in a dangerous sport. The fact that he broke this record in front of where the other Iron Man, Cal Ripken, played for so many years, just felt incredibly fitting. A special accomplishment in a special place.
Caution-Filled Carnage
We should expect some full-course cautions and bottleneck crashes on street courses like Baltimore. We have seen them elsewhere this year and in years past. Naturally when you try to squeeze 20 cars through a tight opening, when everyone wants to win or improve their position, there's bound to be some wreckage. Some drivers blamed the crashes on double-file restarts, but I'm not convinced eliminating them will prevent these issues. If anything we might see even more aggressive driving. Once everyone started driving more cautiously and less aggressively, we saw fewer problems.
Not only did cars exit the race because of crashes, but it seemed like there were more mechanical gremlins than usual. Mechanical problems unfortunately victimized Dario Franchitti, who had been on a roll, and championship contender Ryan Hunter-Reay, giving the title fight a whole new look. It appears RHR's chances for a repeat are all but done, as he falls to fifth place, 74 points behind Helio.
An Unexpected Podium
In between the wrecks and the cautions, we saw some fantastic racing and passing. Simon Pagenaud scored his second win of the year, and the second of his young IndyCar career, with a determined late pass on his fellow countryman Bourdais (Bourdais took issue with the contact but was more restrained than we've seen him be in post-race interviews). I think we all knew Pags would be someone to watch out for, especially on street courses. He showed us last year that he has some serious driving chops. Not only can he win on these tracks, but he is now a serious championship contender, catapulting up to third place in the standings. To me, that's more surprising than his victory in Baltimore.
And how about Josef Newgarden, who earned his first IndyCar podium with a car that looked strong enough to win all weekend? Honestly, even though he took second place, it felt like he won the race. I was more excited for his finish than Pagenaud's win. This was an outstanding result for a small team that really needed it. We should see Newgarden in victory lane soon enough--he has shown some good patience and improvement as a driver this year.
A New Rivalry
Will Power and Dario Franchitti have had their issues over the years, even as recently as last weekend in Sonoma. But it appears Power has found a new rival on the Ganassi team. We have discussed the Scott Dixon Sonoma penalty ad nauseum the past few weeks, but that controversy ignited this new rivalry. Now, in Baltimore, Power chopped Dixon on a restart, ending Dixon's day and significantly affecting his championship chances. The initial camera angle made Power's move look blatantly intentional, but subsequent replays and Power's explanation afterwards showed it was more carelessness and lack of awareness than malice. Power has to feel terribly about causing Dixon to spin and hit the wall, but that move points to a bigger concern in my opinion. Power has always been one of the best drivers on road and street courses, but this year his results have not reflected that talent. I would be more likely to expect that kind of ill-advised move from Luca Filippi or some other rookie who lacked IndyCar experience. Has Power lost his mojo? And how much patience will Roger Penske have if Power keeps making these silly mistakes?
Scott Dixon had a legitimate gripe, though he may want to start showing more restraint if he wants to get race control on his side. He seemed more upset that IndyCar officials would not let him bring his car back to pit lane to work on than he was at Power. I would like to hear race control's explanation as to why Dixon's car was not towed back to pit lane, but he wasn't the only driver who was denied access. The past two races have not gone Dixon's way, and he has every right to be frustrated about it. But I'll be honest, his comments and reactions have forced me to root for his rivals rather than him. He showed a lack of compassion for an injured crew member after Sonoma, and he called for race officials to be fired after this race (which, in any other sport, he would receive a hefty fine for). He also seems to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist, accusing Penske of gamesmanship at both Sonoma and Baltimore. I think back to Pocono, where he was helped out by Sato running into Hunter-Reay on pit road. Race results are often the result of good teamwork, strong driving, and a little bit of luck, let's face it. Lately Dixon has not had the luck, but it's not like he hasn't had any luck this year. He is not out of it. He swept the doubleheader in Toronto, so he can definitely do it again in Houston, which would be a huge swing in the points standings.
Upset Drivers
Is there anyone who wasn't upset with another driver after the race? Bourdais didn't like Pagenaud's pass. Justin Wilson was unhappy with Bourdais for clipping him. Bobby Rahal called Tony Kanaan a punk on Twitter. Simona DeSilvestro also had less-than-flattering words for her teammate. Oriol Servia and Will Power both served drive-through penalties for avoidable contact, and Dixon believed Graham Rahal should have been penalized as well. Wow! You know it's a good race when you have this many drivers complaining afterwards! If it was an easy race where everyone was civil to one another, that would not be good entertainment. So thank you, drivers, for adding a little bit of drama and intrigue into the remaining races! Let's just be mature about it and discuss it with each other instead of airing out grievances through social media, okay?
Baltimore the Venue
Some questions remain about whether or not Baltimore will be back on the schedule next year. It will definitely not have the Labor Day date, because of a scheduling conflict at M & T Bank Stadium and because Mark Miles wants IndyCar's season to be finished by Labor Day. It appears Baltimore will return for 2014 but beyond that we will just have to wait and see. It's a shame that the event has had so many financial issues because it truly is a beautiful venue that has produced some exciting racing these past three years. I loved the overhead views of downtown Baltimore with cars zooming right past Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore is one of those tracks I hope to see, so I hope it's still around for me to visit in a few years.
Finally, we must give congratulations to Iron Man Tony Kanaan, who broke the all-time IndyCar starts record this past weekend. TK has now started an astonishing 212 races in a row, which is extremely impressive in a dangerous sport. The fact that he broke this record in front of where the other Iron Man, Cal Ripken, played for so many years, just felt incredibly fitting. A special accomplishment in a special place.
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