Indy 500 Hangover

The first IndyCar race I ever watched was the 1992 Indianapolis 500. As is well-known, that was the closest finish in Indy history, with Al Unser Jr. holding off Scott Goodyear on the final straightaway. From that moment, I was hooked. I'm grateful that I finally have the personal and professional life schedule that allows me to follow IndyCar more religiously, and the racing has only gotten better in the past few years. I hope that yesterday's Indy 500, the second closest finish in history, generated some new fans just like me.

The finish was the story of the race of course. I applaud the decision to red-flag the race with less than ten laps to go, which set up a thrilling sprint to the finish between eventual winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and runner-up Helio Castroneves. Fans were treated to IndyCar racing at its finest, with good clean back-and-forth action between the top two drivers. Hunter-Reay's bold pass on Helio in Turn 3, where he almost ended up on the grass, showed that he wanted and deserved this win. It was a heartbreaking loss for Helio, trying to join elite company by winning his fourth 500. But I want to say thank you to both drivers for having all of us on the edge of our seats, hearts pounding, as we watched that final lap play out. The finish created a lot of positive rhetoric about IndyCar, which the series desperately needs. It was truly awesome.

I was incredibly surprised that we went almost 150 laps without a caution. I think everyone just tried to settle into a rhythm, saving the aggression for the last 20 laps. We didn't see as much artificial passing with cars drafting each other as we did last year, and that was just fine with me. We still saw plenty of passing and lead changes, and even after 150 laps I had no idea who would win the race. Kudos to the drivers and teams for driving so smartly and safely for so long. That had to be difficult; your arms never get a break when the race stays under green like that.

The crash between James Hinchcliffe, Ed Carpenter, and Townsend Bell really changed the complexion of the race. I do think Carpenter had an excellent shot to win the race at that point but he was an innocent victim and justifiably upset with Hinch. Who was more to blame for the incident, Hinch or Bell? That's tough to say, though the jury of professional opinion seems to argue it was Hinch. Credit Hinch for accepting the blame, too, and acknowledging he made a mistake. Bell, who was quite impressive again, did punt Carpenter a little bit, which may have set off a chain reaction.  But Hinchcliffe also stuck his nose where he probably shouldn't have, causing an ill-advised three-wide situation going into a turn. After listening to Bell's comments on the radio and after the race, it appears he did not realize they were three-wide going into that corner. Karma is a bitch, though, isn't it? Bell eventually crashed, setting up the red flag. The wreck also echoed the one at Long Beach earlier this year, when Hinch criticized his teammate, Hunter-Reay, for making a "rookie move," the exact same term Carpenter labeled Hinch's move at Indy. It's fair to say they won't be vacationing together any time soon.

What a race to forget for the Ganassi cars. Ryan Briscoe had a slight spin on the first lap and had to pit early. Surprisingly, he ended up as the top-finishing Ganassi car, at 18th. He was in the top ten until the last few laps, when he had to deal with a broken front wing. The other Ganassi drivers all had issues. Charlie Kimball's spin brought out the first caution. Scott Dixon inexplicably crashed a few laps later. And reigning Indy 500 champ Tony Kanaan ran out of gas as he pulled into the pits for his first stop, causing all sorts of problems that never went away. For a team that normally impresses and wins at Indy, these results likely do not sit well with its owner.

How impressive was Sage Karam? The rookie started on the last row, but charged all the way to the front and finished ninth. He had some fearless passes during the race. Ganassi might be looking to make a switch this year after witnessing that result!

Unfortunately, though Karam had the drive of the day in my opinion, he won't be winning the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award. That honor goes to sixth-place finisher Kurt Busch, who stayed out of trouble and just seemed to be enjoying the ride. I think his crash in practice put things in perspective for him, and he was content just to hang back, find a comfortable rhythm, and finish the race. He avoided wreckage in front of him a couple of times, perhaps because of luck, skill, or both. Busch's attempt to complete the "double" fell short due to engine problems in the Coca-Cola 600. I think his entry in the Indy 500 undoubtedly brought more interest and viewership to the event, which was beneficial for IndyCar. He also earned a great deal of respect with a good result. I felt, however, that all the post-race comments about Busch overshadowed Hunter-Reay's victory. I understand the attention, since so few drivers have attempted the double and since he is a NASCAR star. I was most bothered by some ignorant comments made after Busch had such a good finish. Some fans (mostly of the NASCAR variety) claimed that IndyCars, and the Indy 500 in particular, must not be too difficult to drive if someone in their first IndyCar race can finish sixth. Ugh, that angers me. I hate the NASCAR vs IndyCar battle, because I wishfully hope that the two series can successfully coexist (and help each other out) without fighting each other. I think Busch had a successful Indy 500 because he is a talented race car driver, number one, who also had several weeks of practice in an IndyCar, including a big learning experience by crashing in practice. And it's not like he's never driven on an oval, or at Indianapolis before. It seemed like those fans thought Kurt was just thrown into an IndyCar the day of the race without any training or discussion with his team. Was his top ten rookie-of-the-year performance impressive? Yes, definitely. But it should not diminish the performance of the five who finished ahead of him, including the WINNER, nor all the other regular IndyCar drivers. I hope Busch's success leads other NASCAR drivers to participate in the Indy 500. The publicity it generates helps both series, though it certainly helps IndyCar more. We'll see how those other drivers do.

I do not understand what is going on with Graham Rahal. He was the first car out of the race with electrical issues. But his part-time teammate Oriol Servia finished 11th. How is this possible? Don't they compare data? We should not see that much of a discrepancy between drivers on the same team. It baffles me. I keep hoping Graham has good results, but he keeps disappointing. Kurt Busch actually has one more championship point than he does now (a result of the double points earned from Indy), which is a sad reality.

What was up with the pre-race show on ABC? The feature on TK and his medallion/good luck charm was excellent. But the segment with Josef Newgarden and some Catwoman-like thing in a bathtub of milk was incredibly bizarre. Granted, Newgarden showed he might have a future in horror films when his racing career is over, but that whole bit was unnecessary. I think it would be better if the pre-race focused more on the drivers. When NBC televises the Olympics, they spend a great deal of time telling athletes' stories, particularly the unique or interesting ones. That gives viewers more understanding of who these people are, since most of them are unknown to the public, and it gives them someone to root for. The same approach would be beneficial for ABC's pre-race coverage. All of these drivers have a story, and some, like Hunter-Reay's, are actually fascinating and inspirational. IndyCar fans are familiar with most of them, but these stories should be told to all the viewers that just turn in for the Indy 500 each year. Give them a driver to watch and root for.

A lot of people criticized ABC for showing a split-screen on the last few laps with the racing on one side and the drivers' significant others' reactions on the other side. Truth be told, I didn't even notice this was done until I read about it later. I was solely focused on watching RHR and Helio battle it out. So it didn't bother me at all, but I understand why it would be aggravating for some viewers. ABC/ESPN still has some improvements to make in their motorsports coverage, that's for sure, but this year has been light-years better than last year with Marty Reid.

I want to devote a blog entry to Ryan Hunter-Reay later this week, because he deserves the recognition. I will be attending a luncheon in his honor on Wednesday, so stay tuned! For now, though, let's savor and celebrate that fantastic Indy 500. I'm glad we have less than a week until the next IndyCar race, too!