TO Weeks of Craziness

It's been an eventful couple of weeks in the Verizon IndyCar Series, to say the least. First off, because of an eventful personal week, I neglected to post a review of the Iowa race so let me start with a quick recap of that before moving on to the madness that was Toronto.

The Iowa Corn Indy 300 was a spectacular race, and reaffirmed to me why Iowa Speedway is my favorite IndyCar track. After a rainy start, the race resumed and provided us with some action-packed excitement. This race will be remembered for how it ended, not how it began. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Honda literally stole this race out from under Tony Kanaan's tires. You have to feel for TK, who dominated the race but didn't quite have enough to push the Chevy across to victory lane. It turned out to be a brilliant call by Michael Andretti--and Josef Newgarden's crew, who also changed tires during the final caution and managed to charge to a podium finish, his first of the year. The last ten laps reminded me of what I witnessed in person at the Texas race. I remember watching RHR quickly pass everyone after he had fresh tires. It was literally like watching a video game, and as both RHR and Josef noted, it felt like that while driving it, too. In my opinion, the Iowa race has been the most entertaining one this year. It's a perfect fit for IndyCars, and I'm glad they're sticking around for awhile.

Now, on to Toronto. Unfortunately Toronto will be remembered for being a bit of a mess, leaving IndyCar with a black eye and some lost credibility in the eyes of drivers and fans. But I think they made the right call. It's a delicate balancing act, trying to please drivers and fans equally. And I think they did the best they could given the circumstances. Sure, it'd be great if the entire weekend was dry and we were able to follow the preplanned schedule. But to quote a line from one of my favorite movies, Bull Durham, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And sometimes it rains." When it rains, there are no winners really. No matter what race control decided to do, someone would have been unhappy. In the end, they listened to the drivers--and to the fans, believe it or not--by deciding to postpone Saturday's race and host two mostly full-length races on Sunday. Had they opted to go with only one race, there would have been more of an uproar, I'm sure.

Let's start with what IndyCar did right. They still gave the fans two full races to watch. Both races counted for full points. They wisely avoided further carnage by using a rolling start in race #1. If fans had tickets for Saturday, they got in free on Sunday. They made the decision relatively early enough that fans did not have to wait until darkness fell to leave the track or their TV's. They threw red flags when the track was impassable (more on those later). They listened. They televised both races, even though one had to be moved to CNBC. They provided entertaining races for fans. We are a fickle bunch if that's simply not good enough for us. Rainouts do not happen that often in IndyCar, and I'm thankful for that.

I was appalled and angered by some of the comments I saw--from respectable journalists, no less--after IndyCar canceled all track activity on Saturday. Robin Miller wrote a piece claiming "they should have raced," where his main argument was that "well, they did it in the 60's and 70's so why can't they do it now?" Any argument that starts with "back in the day..." is fatally flawed to begin with, so he lost me right there. In case you hadn't noticed, Robin, we do not live in the 60's or 70's anymore. The world has changed a lot since then, and some of it for the better. After reading his article, I immediately thought of all the "old-school" professors at my campus who continue to use the same teaching methods (the so-called "sage on the stage," lecture-style methods) they used in the 70's, regardless of how much technology is now available or how much students have changed since then. Those methods are simply not as effective anymore, so good teachers will adapt. And IndyCar has adapted as well. Yes, the cars are safer now. But we have seen too many tragedies, including ones that could have been prevented. I'm sorry, but the risks outweighed the rewards. Most of the drivers admitted Saturday's rain made for dangerous conditions, and we even saw a scary incident with Mikhail Aleshin on Sunday that had us all holding our breath. That happened on a track that wasn't nearly as wet as the one on Saturday, so you can imagine what might have happened if they had raced Saturday. I cannot believe some people said they watch racing to see these drivers essentially cheat death. For example:

I will be refraining from tweeting until I calm down. My one comment… when I was a paying fan, I paid to see drivers risk their lives.

— Steve Wittich (@stevewittich) July 19, 2014

If you want to watch death, go visit the local morgue. It's not something I want to see. Just typing this is getting me fired up again. I should save some additional thoughts for another blog.

Now, what did IndyCar do wrong? For starters, they should not have made teams keep wheeling cars out to the grid repeatedly, teasing fans that they would start the race. A decision probably should have been made earlier, but having been in some difficult situations I can tell you that decision-making is a process and it's not something that should be rushed. When it is, bad things usually happen. All angles have to be considered, feedback needs to be received, and all affected parties must be questioned. Those things take time, so I understand the delay. I also understand fans' frustration, though. We live in an instant-gratification era, so we want things NOW. Sometimes that's just not possible.

Another thing I think IndyCar did wrong was switching from a 65-lap race to a timed race halfway through Race #2. I did not see the reason for that. Some claim that it's because other races and series were scheduled that day but as a fan that's not acceptable. IndyCar is supposed to be your main draw for the weekend. You advertise this as the "Honda Indy 2inT.O.," not the Pirelli World Challenge featuring IndyCars. Your main event should not take a back seat to other series. To me, that signals IndyCar lacks power. They should not be taking orders from other series. I can't imagine another major motorsports series (that shall remain nameless) doing that. As a fan, I felt cheated by the shortened second race. What would have happened had we gone an additional nine laps as was originally scheduled? We'll never know.

We saw so many red flags this weekend I thought I was at the beach during a hurricane. The first one on Saturday was certainly understandable. A massive pile-up caused the track to be impassable so that one was justified. Some, including eventual winning owner Ed Carpenter, questioned the final red flag in race #2. The track was somewhat blocked because of a crash involving the two Carloses, among others. But they probably could have gotten through (they did last year at Detroit after a similar incident). Carpenter's frustration was not with the red flag per se, but rather that there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when they're thrown. I think Carpenter and everyone else should just get used to them. The red flag is IndyCar's answer to the green-white-checkered. It's their way of pleasing fans who want to see a race end under green but not add any additional laps. Fans like it, and I think IndyCar realizes they need to make fans happy or else they'll be extinct. I personally didn't have a problem with it.

The bigger issue with the red flags seems to be with the rules. I always thought you were not allowed to work on your car during a red flag. That rule was thrown out the window on Saturday because technically the red flag was thrown before the race started. So Will Power, who spun just as the race was getting ready to go green Saturday, Ryan Briscoe, and Juan Pablo Montoya were allowed to make repairs but had to move to the back. Moving to the back and going a lap or several laps down is a huge difference, though. Sunday was a different story. A first-lap incident brought out the red flag, and officials told teams they could not work on their cars until the yellow came out. I loved Sarah Fisher's response to the orders given on Sunday. After waiting for a bit and getting no response from race control, she said fine, we'll just take the penalty. That's the kind of quick decision-making we need! At times it felt like IndyCar was making up the rules as they went along, though. And maybe they are. After all, these doubleheaders are a new, unique experience. They call for some new, unique thinking.

With all of that, we did seem some actual racing on Sunday! The two races in T.O. could not have been more different. Sebastien Bourdais led start to finish in a dominating, dry-track performance in race one. Clearly he is Mr. Toronto, having achieved much success at the track, including two podiums last year. It was nice to see the old Seabass back. We knew he had it in him. It was more a question of when he'd return to victory lane, not if. Congratulations on earning his thirty-second career IndyCar win and joining some elite company.

Race #2 featured some rainy conditions, albeit more manageable than what we saw on Saturday. The rain allowed for some strategy to come into play, and Mike Conway proved to be the smartest strategist. He was the first to call for his rain tires to be replaced with slicks, and it paid off. He earned his second win of the season, and made Ed Carpenter look like a genius once again for splitting the ovals and road/street courses between drivers. Props also to Tony Kanaan, who rebounded from a disappointing Iowa loss with two strong performances and two podiums this weekend. As unbelievable as it is that Chip Ganassi has not won a race this year, you have to think a victory is just around the corner. They seem to be inching ever closer.

One final note: Paul Tracy has officially won me over. I didn't like him at first, but he is a great addition to the booth. He adds another layer of insight and provides honest, sometimes funny commentary. He also admits when he doesn't know something, as when he asked Townsend Bell a question about the current car because he hadn't driven it. Hope he sticks around for the rest of this year and the future.

All in all, after a bumpy start, I enjoyed both Toronto races. We saw wheel-to-wheel action, some bold passes (such as Ryan Hunter-Reay in race #1 and Graham Rahal in race #2), and two different winners from smaller teams. As Will Power, who is now only 13 points behind Helio in the championship battle, put it: "Typical IndyCar race, throws everything at you." What more could an IndyCar fan want? Should IndyCar consider holding doubleheaders on the same day? It's definitely something to think about. Then again, I think all involved with IndyCar--including its fans--have a lot to think about after this weekend. Good thing we have a week off to process it all!

Pocono Power

IndyCar's Pocono 500 on Sunday will not go down as the best race of the year. Until Graham Rahal's spin brought out the caution on lap 159, it lacked excitement and passing, at least for my taste. I'm sure it was much better in person. I had no idea what I would write about in this blog, because it didn't seem there was much to say. However, thanks to some great action in the last 36 laps, the race did produce some good talking points. I think the best way to analyze the fastest 500-miler in IndyCar history is to go driver by driver, starting with the race winner.

Juan Pablo Montoya
Welcome back, JPM! After watching Montoya's slow and steady progress this season, it seemed it would only be a matter of time until he found himself atop the podium. Understandably, it took a few races for Montoya to get accustomed to the car and familiarize himself with the tracks. Though he denied that his years in NASCAR helped him at Pocono, I think it played a role, albeit a small one. With the return of Pocono to the schedule after a long absence, he had more track time than the IndyCar veterans. I think experience helps to understand some of the subtle nuances of the track, especially a "tricky triangle" like Pocono Raceway. Montoya didn't win this race because of his NASCAR experience, though. He drove a consistent, smart race, and even finished with a broken front wing! He ended the curse of the pole winner this season, becoming the first pole sitter to win a race. Consequently, Montoya has not only ended his IndyCar series victory drought, he has also wedged himself into the championship battle. He now sits in fourth place, 55 points behind Will Power and Helio Castroneves. He has shown you can go home again.

Will Power
Oh Willy P. Where to start? Power started strong, as he did at Texas, and demonstrated how much he has improved on ovals. I've always said Pocono favors Power, because it's a road-coursey oval that plays to his strengths. But then Will made that blatant chop block on Helio--his Penske teammate no less! He can complain all he wants, but just like Helio in Houston, this one was easy to call. Power was at fault, and I think he knew it as he watched the replay. That was some very entertaining television, by the way. Will was rendered speechless, and you could tell he realized he'd messed up...again. If Will loses this championship, he has only himself to blame. It seems every race he earns a penalty, and his 39-point lead has now evaporated into a tie with Helio. NBC Sports Network did a good job displaying his "rap sheet" this year. Pit speeding penalties, avoidable contact penalties, blocking penalties...he's had a little bit of everything. Power has acknowledged that he needs to stop making those stupid mistakes, yet he keeps making them. Tim Cindric has his hands full this year, as does Roger Penske. Power is clearly a talented driver, but how long is his leash? How many more mistakes will Team Penske tolerate? Right now all this drama is good for IndyCar, but I also worry that his aggressive, shortsighted moves will result in casualties. If I'm Cindric, I think I advise Power to take it easy at Iowa. Of course, it's up to Will to heed the advice.

Tony Kanaan
As expected, the Ganassi cars were strong at Pocono. Ryan Briscoe finished a season-high fourth, with Scott Dixon right behind him. But questionable strategy may have cost Tony Kanaan a win. His team chose to pit under caution, perhaps expecting another one late in the race. TK tried to save fuel, even slowing down to 199 mph at one point, but he still needed to stop for a splash and dash with three laps remaining. It was another disappointing end in a season full of them for TK. But he can hold his head high after showing a good competitive performance for the second weekend in a row. Naturally he and his boss want a win, especially after taking over such a prestigious ride. One might be just around the corner.

Simon Pagenaud
A sixth place finish for Pagenaud put him firmly in third place for the championship, only 44 points behind co-leaders Power and Castroneves. Ovals have not been Pagenaud's strength, so he has to be pleased with that result. I took issue with his animated gestures toward Charlie Kimball, though. Kimball, who was a lap down, had been shown the blue flag, yes. But I don't think Pagenaud should just expect Kimball to immediately move over. He had to close the gap and still make a pass. It is racing, after all. And once Pagenaud had gotten close enough, eventually Kimball did allow him to pass, quite easily. Call me crazy, but I think part of being a skilled driver is learning to navigate through lapped traffic. You should have to earn your position, not have it gifted to you.

Other drivers of note: Josef Newgarden, on the same strategy as Kanaan but not nearly as criticized for it, also had to come in for a late splash and dash. I was so hoping we'd see Newgy's first win, but it wasn't to be. More mechanical problems ended Ryan Hunter-Reay's shot at the Triple Crown, but his team did manage to repair the car and salvage some points. He's not completely out of it yet, but he needs some good results fast. Jack Hawksworth's injury sounds scary. I think the right decision was made to keep him out of the race, and to take time to safely repair the car. I think I speak for all fans when I wish him a speedy recovery. He's been so exciting to watch this year, but his health and safety come first.

And now, for some final thoughts on the race track itself.

Pocono
Much has been written about the poor advance ticket sales and the doubtful future of an IndyCar race at Pocono. Track president Brandon Igdalsky more or less threatened fans if they didn't come out, the event would be pulled. On television, the crowd looked fairly sparse, but I would gather they had about 20,000 fans in attendance. The place seats up to 70k, and it was slightly less than half full. Is that enough to keep them around for another year, or will Igdalsky opt out of the contract? I don't have the answer. I would like to see them give it one more year or try a Saturday race instead of Sunday. Everyone and their uncle has a theory for why the event has seen such a sharp attendance decline in one year. Some of these theories are ignorant and misguided--such as the person who commented it's because he can't pronounce 90% of the drivers' names. Others have more merit. Truth be told, I don't think there's one clear-cut reason why fans did not return. I think it's a combination of many factors, and maybe there are too many problems to fix. As someone who went to the race last year but not this year, let me offer my own "expert" opinion.

Last year I brought my parents to Pocono, their first professional race of any kind. My dad loves cars, especially fast ones, so I thought he would enjoy the event. Though they live only about ten miles from the track, I'll tell you why they didn't return. The number one reason was traffic. My dad got extremely frustrated sitting in traffic both before and after the race. I am normally laid back, but my dad is not, and having to listen to his incessant complaining about how "stupid" the routes were really took away from what was otherwise an enjoyable experience for me. (I live in a major city; I'm used to traffic by now.) Reason number two was the weather. It was as hot as Houston that day, and my dad has already had a minor bout with skin cancer so sitting in unshaded grandstands was not a wise idea. I understand why they would not want to go back this year. After reading numerous comments, online, it appears there were a lot of fans who felt the same way. Why should they be forced to sit in traffic and heat for a race that only lasts a few hours? Isn't it easier just to stay home and watch it on television? This is the sad reality of motorsports today.

I did not attend because I'm making a trip out there later this month, for my brother's 30th birthday. I cannot afford to make multiple trips to the Pocono area; in fact, I could barely afford the plane ticket home for this birthday. It's not an easy area to fly in and out of. So this means that (gasp!) I chose family over IndyCar this year. But I would try very hard to attend next year, if the race happens. When I first learned IndyCar would be racing at Pocono, I was ecstatic. It allowed me to visit my family and enjoy one of my passions. I would love for that opportunity to continue, but sadly, I doubt it will.

I have heard some other reasons for poor attendance that I also agree with. For instance:

• Ticket cost: Lower-level tickets were only $25, the same price as last year. That's very reasonable. However, at Pocono, you really need to sit in the more expensive, upper-level seats in order to see the track. It would be great if there were stands overlooking one of the turns. But the viewing experience at Pocono is restricted. Again, you can see more on TV (though you won't experience the sounds, sights, and speeds).
• Lack of racing: Ovals have a problem. Road and street courses see a lot more action, and I'm not talking about passing, though some could argue that too. Ovals seem to expect fans to show up and watch only one race. But I can pay the same price at a road or street course, see a lot less of the track, and watch three times as many races. I wish more oval tracks would adopt the Milwaukee IndyFest model, or at least compact qualifying, Indy Lights, and the IndyCar race into one day. Fans today want more bang for their buck, and I don't blame them. There's only so much time you can spend in the IndyCar Fan Village. This might be one of the biggest reasons why oval track attendance has soured. After all, declining attendance is not just an IndyCar oval problem; NASCAR is feeling it as well.
• The date: I personally don't think Fourth of July weekend is a bad time to host a race. After all, as Igdalsky has noted, many people are in the area anyway, and a lot of them are looking for things to do. But I think a Saturday race would be better than the Sunday event. After taking an Independence Day vacation, I think most people would be heading back home on Sunday, not looking to prolong their trip by attending a race and sitting in traffic afterwards. It would be ideal if IndyCar could condense the weekend to one day, Saturday, and then fans could stick around for fireworks after all the racing was complete. (This also allows for the event to be moved to Sunday in case of rain.)  I think this approach would attract non-race fans as well--people who just want to see the fireworks. A later time on Saturday would be most beneficial.

Those are the biggies I think, and there are actually reasonable solutions for all of the above problems. Is Igdalsky willing to solve them, though? Has he done any research to uncover why fans did not show up this year? A final decision should be an informed decision, not one made just by looking at grandstands. I hope all is not lost for IndyCar at Pocono.

Houston, We Have Rookies

Where to begin after that intense, unpredictable, wild weekend in Houston? The races themselves were enjoyable enough, but there were so many other sub-plots you'd think we were watching The Young and the Restless. I have boiled it down to three main storylines from the Shell/Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston: rookies, Marco, and #IndyRivals.

Rookie Performances
Saturday's rain-soaked timed event featured an all-Colombian podium on a day when the country also won its World Cup match against Uruguay. On that podium were two rookies, including first-time winner Carlos Huertas. Dale Coyne proved he has mastered the art of the timed race, as a good strategy and the ability to stay out of trouble handed Huertas the win. To say it was a surprise victory would be the understatement of the year. Huertas has had only two top tens this year, with his previous best finish an eighth-place result at Detroit race 1. I would not have picked him to be the first rookie to win this year, but that's one reason why IndyCar is so exciting right now. You just have no idea who's going to win one weekend to the next. I noticed a lot of people criticized Huertas for not showing more emotion after winning. Having also noticed this trait in Carlos Munoz, who finished third in race 1, I wonder if it's a cultural thing. Or perhaps just a Carlos thing.:)

Unfortunately Huertas was the first car to retire in race 2, but the rookies weren't done for the weekend yet. Mikhail Aleshin scored his first podium, as did Jack Hawksworth, who finally, finally got some good luck. These results were, to me, less surprising than Huertas's victory. It was only a matter of time until we saw one or both of them on the podium. Aleshin was guilty of some overly aggressive driving on Saturday (though he was not alone in that characteristic this weekend, that's for sure) but he bounced back Sunday. Hawksworth's battles with Juan Pablo Montoya were some of the best racing we've seen in a long time, despite Montoya's complaints about it. Welcome back to IndyCar, JPM. These rookies aren't going to move over for anyone. They're here to play, and they showed their chops this weekend. The rookie of the year fight is going to be as exciting as the one for the championship!

Marco
The big talking point of the weekend was Marco Andretti's failure to obey a blue flag command, and subsequent $2500 fine and probation. There seems to be a great divide among fans (and drivers) on whether or not Marco should have even received the blue flag. He was the last car on the lead lap but not of his own doing. He had pace and was understandably fighting to avoid getting lapped. I see nothing wrong with that. Some, such as AJ Foyt, called it gamesmanship, as Marco held up Takuma Sato to allow his teammate James Hinchcliffe to close the gap. Perhaps that's true, but I don't think Marco was feeling too friendly toward his teammates at that  point after Munoz punted him. And if Sato was faster, he could have passed Marco easily.

That being said, Marco did opt to ignore the commands from race control to move over and was justifiably black-flagged for it. I applaud people for standing up for their principles and fighting for what's right, but a better solution might have been to file a protest right then and there rather than disobey authority. After reading Derrick Walker's comments after the race, too, it seems Andretti Autosport would have had a case because he implied they had made up a new rule. All this has done is make Marco look like the bad guy, when really he wasn't. And a three-race probation, really? Are you really going to enforce that as Marco heads to his home track of Pocono? Would you deny the fans a chance to cheer for their favorite driver?Obviously race control considered these questions because Marco had some questionable moves in Sunday's race that could have warranted parking him for a race. All in all, a precedent has now been set. My take is that Marco shouldn't have been blue-flagged, but he also shouldn't have ignored official orders.

#IndyRivals
Was there anyone who came away from Houston liking each other? Graham Rahal and Tony Kanaan probably have the biggest reason to dislike each other, as Rahal's blatant running into TK cost both of them a shot at a victory or at least a podium. My initial reaction was to get pissed off, for two reasons. One, Rahal took out my favorite driver. Whatever, I can get over that because I like a lot of drivers in the field. But more significantly, Rahal's ineptness cost the fans a shot at an exciting finish. Instead the race ended under caution, which was a huge let-down after great racing the last few laps. Everyone was on the edge of their seat on that restart. Who knows what might have been.

After watching the replay, though, I'm not sure the fault lies entirely with Graham, though I'd say he shares the vast majority of the responsibility. TK did not seem to be speeding up for the restart, and Graham may have been anticipating that. But new restart rules this year probably complicated things even more. And it didn't look good for Graham. He looked, quite frankly, like a bad driver, and all the recent criticism against him seemed justified. TK showed remarkable composure during Graham's apology and the post-race interview. I grew to respect and admire him even more after that.

Helio Castroneves' strong Sunday drive quickly came to an end because of one ill-advised move. Helio seemed to place the blame on Sebastien Bourdais, but come on, Helio. The wreck was caused by you. Helio moved up like he was going to pass Simon Pagenaud, and when Bourdais saw that, he rightly moved into the opening that Helio had left. Bourdais had to be anticipating a pass there, not a quick cut back in front of him. Helio's day was over (which was unfortunate because he looked strong, and would surely have improved his championship standing), while Bourdais went on to finish fifth with a broken front wing. That's impressive.

Why does it seem like drivers are unwilling to accept responsibility for their own actions, more so this year than ever before? Instead they blame other drivers or label these crashes "racing incidents" rather than acknowledge their role in causing them. Helio and other drivers are guilty of what we in my field call the self-serving bias. This means that when we fail at something, we are more likely to attribute our failures to circumstance or some other external characteristic, rather than an internal one. We blame the situation. When we achieve success, though, we attribute it to internal characteristics, such as "I'm talented" or "I worked hard." We do the opposite when we observe others' successes and failures; this is called the fundamental attribution error. We saw the fundamental attribution error in effect this weekend, as many fans claimed Huertas had the win "handed to him," (including me, above) rather than saying his win was the result of talent or skill. Research shows that the most successful, elite athletes avoid those external attributions. They take ownership of both their successes and their failures, which leads them to keep improving. So these drivers would be wise to own up to their mistakes. Even Rahal, who apologized to TK and accepted some responsibility, didn't fully do this. He said he "couldn't see" and blamed the restart confusion from this year. This is something I'll be keeping an eye on as the season progresses.

Other Random Notes
The wet standing start seemed like a bad idea, but amazingly went off with only a minor hitch (Rahal's car stalled but quickly recovered). It seemed odd that they did a standing start in the rain but not in dry conditions on Sunday.....Reigning champ Scott Dixon is having a tough year, and doesn't seem to be driving like a champ. All of Team Ganassi appears to be struggling this year. Charlie Kimball has been the most consistent, and he's the least experienced IndyCar driver on the team.....I'm very glad I did not go to the races this year. I went to Houston last year, and last year's Saturday was insanely hot and humid. I can only imagine how much worse it was this year, and we've had fairly mild summer weather in Texas so far. Houston in June is a bad idea, and I felt for the drivers as they climbed out of their cars on Sunday. I have to say I'm not really a fan of the doubleheaders, though both races were highly entertaining. It was tough to commit to watching two races in one weekend. However, I much preferred watching the races in my AC than in the Houston heat!