Sometimes it's not the fastest car or the team with the best strategy who wins the race. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck, too. Until Helio took the checkered flag on Sunday, that was how I felt about the Dual in Detroit. I do think Helio had the best car on Sunday and probably all weekend. Strategy certainly played a role in both races, but even the best-laid plans can go awry.
The story of the weekend was Will Power. He generated the most conversation for sure. I will admit, I was in Will's corner before this weekend. When he and Dario had one of their many battles, I would always take Will's side. But after this weekend I am no longer a Will Power supporter. He drove aggressively with blatant disregard for the other drivers on the track, and didn't even seem apologetic about taking out multiple cars. And he did this in both races. The worst part is, he was essentially rewarded for his reckless driving (with merely a warning in Race 1) and he continued to make the same moves even after receiving a penalty in Race 2. To be honest, though I didn't like Will's attempt to go three-wide in a corner, I would've understood if race control decided not to penalize him. Did Newgarden turn into him, as Power claimed? Who knows? But I think race control has let Will slide too much and needed to quiet the conspiracy theorists who believe they're giving him a pass because Verizon is his primary sponsor. And he did end THREE other drivers' races, including Graham Rahal, who had shown such promise in Race 1 (kudos to Charlie Kimball, who managed to avoid getting caught up in the wreck and worked his way back up to finish on the podium). Though Power came out of the weekend with the points lead, he likely didn't make many new friends or fans. IndyCar has its villain, though, and they've already started marketing it with their #IndyRivals campaign.
Ryan Briscoe said that Detroit was basically a "lottery," where anyone can be the beneficiary of luck and circumstances. This means that the fastest car, the team with the best setup, or the best strategy could still lose depending on when the yellow flags fly. And Briscoe experienced that firsthand on Saturday, as he was the victim of a late caution that upset his whole fuel strategy and may have cost him a victory or a podium. (However, Briscoe probably should have been penalized for spinning Sato on Sunday. I think the only reason he wasn't is that it didn't bring out a full-course caution.) Halfway through Race 2, I thought to myself, "don't pay any attention to who's leading because it will change." Relying on luck or cautions should not win a race. Call me old-fashioned but I still think the fastest car should win. Fortunately I think it did on Sunday.
We did see a variety of fuel and tire strategies being played out, which made things very interesting. Mike Conway's strategy of being the only one to start on black tires Sunday certainly backfired. He had an 11-second lead at one point, but once he switched to reds he really had to fight to keep pace. He ended up pitting a lot earlier than planned just to get the reds off. I felt it was necessary to follow timing & scoring on IndyCar.com, to understand when everyone had last pitted and which tires they were using. Seriously, how did people watch races without timing and scoring before? It really enhances the viewing experience and gives you so much more information than the telecast. I think more people would get into IndyCar racing if they knew all this technology was available (thank you Verizon for getting the word out on this).
Ryan Hunter-Reay had a weekend to forget. He seemed to struggle with the car all weekend, qualifying in the last row for both races. He also visited the wall on multiple occasions, and had a DNF in Race 2 due to electrical issues. After the whirlwind week RHR had as Indy 500 champion, it's natural to speculate that fatigue may have been a factor in the poor results. Any momentum he might have had after winning the greatest spectacle in racing was lost this weekend, and he's ready to move on. I think RHR's struggles helped make a good case for why 500-milers are worth double points. They help balance out the amount of points that can be gained (or lost) from doubleheaders. Usually the cars that are good in Race 1 of a doubleheader are also good in Race 2, because you can use the same setup. We sort of saw that this weekend--Helio's car was good both days, as was Power's. Rahal's might have been equally as good had Power not taken him out (the same goes for Justin Wilson, who finished 4th in Race 1 but was also an innocent victim in the first crash of Race 2).
Conversely, it was a magnificent weekend for Team Penske. At their "home track," they won both races and swept the top two spots on Sunday. You know Roger has been wanting that for awhile, and he definitely wanted good results for Chevy in the land of GM headquarters. Chevy now has a commanding 218-point lead in the engine manufacturer race. The weather was perfect all weekend, and the event had good crowds both days. Detroit looked beautiful on TV, showing the rest of the world that it still has life despite its economic turmoil. They have made some nice improvements to the track, and the races the past couple of years have been much less boring than the first year. Many might root against Will Power, but Helio's enthusiasm is unparalleled and you cannot help but smile as he climbs the fence with his team and oozes excitement in post-race interviews. That was great for the fans well. The only Penske question mark was Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 12th and 13th respectively. Still learning his way, perhaps.
And now, a rant. Thank goodness we are finished with the ABC/ESPN telecasts for the year. Just as you think they're starting to make strides of improvement, they show you that they have not shed their old ways just yet. Their coverage of the Dual in Detroit was abysmal. They consistently cut away just as one car was getting ready to pass another. Hello, passing is one of the major reasons we watch racing. Just because it's not for the lead doesn't mean we don't want to see it. They completely missed the first restart on Saturday because they were showing a replay of last year's Long Beach race. They also missed the restart after Newgarden's crash. And does Josef Newgarden run and hide after a race? Why is he never interviewed? I would've loved to hear his perspective on Sunday in particular. He is a likable personality and the public should get a chance to know him. I commend Allen Bestwick for injecting some life and intelligence into the booth, and he is light-years better than Marty Reid ever was. Unfortunately he has to contend with the Cheever and Goodyear sideshow. It seems like those two are constantly disagreeing or fighting with one another, and they have no chemistry. I blame the arrogant Cheever more ("I won LeMans?" Really?), and he really seems to dislike Goodyear. A fresh start with new analysts would be welcome. Can they keep trying to persuade Dario to join them?
One small, positive change I did notice was that they regularly gave race control updates in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. They informed viewers when something was under review, when no action was taken, and when a penalty was issued. I hope this feature stays, as that was most helpful. But ugh, as a whole their coverage aggravated me, and in talking with others who were watching, I know I'm not alone. I am glad we're moving on to NBC Sports Network now. I don't think the Dual in Detroit fully capitalized on the positive momentum generated by the Indy 500 but I still think IndyCar is moving in a positive direction. On to Texas, where I will be in attendance and am proud to say I'm bringing a new IndyCar fan along with me. Can't wait!
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