Three Stars of the Race
#1 Star: Helio Castroneves
It's been a long time since Helio has climbed the fence--three years in fact. It almost seemed like he was crying after the race, as he said it felt like winning for the first time. He stayed near the front most of the day, and passed JR Hildebrand late to take and hold the lead. With rumors circulating that this might be Helio's last year in IndyCar (say it isn't so!) the victory felt even more special. It just seems fitting that on the weekend the new Spider-Man movie debuted, IndyCar's own Spidey was a winner once again. This was Helio's 30th career victory and his place as an IndyCar legend is secure, no matter what the future holds. If he can somehow win that elusive championship, he will go out on top--or force Roger Penske to make a very difficult decision.
#2 Star: J.R. Hildebrand
Hildebrand was driving the #21 that Josef Newgarden dominated in last year's Iowa race, and he qualified second so I wouldn't say it was a total surprise that he had such a good race. He led 38 laps and finished second (after crashing in practice!) for his second podium of the year (the other coming at another oval, Phoenix). Hildebrand is a little hard to figure out. He seems like he's definitely a better oval driver than road/street course driver, so he'll have to work on that if he wants to remain in IndyCar. His consistency needs some improvement, but he drove a heck of a race on Sunday.
#3 Star: Ryan Hunter-Reay
It's been a tough year for RHR. He just doesn't seem to be enjoying himself, and who can blame him? It seems like every race he's run into some bad luck. But in a race expected to be Chevy-dominated, RHR was the top Honda with a strong race performance. This was also Hunter-Reay's second podium of the year, at what is probably his best track (he's won Iowa three times). He charged from 15th to finish third, making some great passes right away in the race. I hope this is the start of a good run for him and the Andretti team.
Three Stories of the Race
#1 Story: Red Flag Rain
The top story really was Helio, but since I've already addressed that, let's talk about something else. A very random raincloud drizzled a bit on the track, bringing out the caution flag in the middle of the race and eventually a red flag. I understand some people were perplexed and annoyed by the red flag, but I applaud it. I'm guessing the people who were against the red flag were not at Texas last year, when it was clearly raining hard with no chance of stopping--yet IndyCar decided to continue driving around for 60 laps to try and make the race official. That infuriated me, and I still feel cheated. Green flag racing is the best racing, there is no argument about that. Sure, the raindrops were minimal (thankfully). But weather is unpredictable and I appreciate IndyCar's decision to try and give the fans as much green flag racing as possible. I'm glad it didn't last long, and I don't think it affected the outcome of the race too much.
#2 Story: Sunday Night Is Not Alright for Racing
This race is typically run on a Saturday night, when ambient and track temperatures are cooler. Unfortunately NBCSN had other television commitments with NASCAR and the Tour de France, so the race was held at the incredibly inconvenient time of 4:30pm CST on Sunday. We had considered going to this race but for us working stiffs, a late Sunday afternoon race is not practical. TV-wise it was fine. But I have to think attendance would've been better had the race been held on Saturday night as usual. IndyCar goes head-to-head with NASCAR next weekend in Toronto (with IndyCar shuffled to CNBC, and a replay following the NASCAR race on NBCSN) so I don't understand why you can't do the same for this race. With all the technology we have these days, fans can actually watch both races at the same time on multiple devices. Television seems to trump the paying fans, but it's a catch-22. If no one can attend, guess what? Suddenly Iowa isn't on the calendar anymore, and that would truly be tragic.
#3 Story: Clean Racing
This was just a good ol'-fashioned oval race. There were some great passes and challenges for the lead, with no "big ones" at all. Mikhail Aleshin was the first to crash, in a single-car accident, and I have to wonder how much longer Aleshin will be an IndyCar driver. He seems prone to mistakes and wrecked equipment. Jimmy Vasser even tweeted during the race something to the effect of "Wait, who crashed? #7? Big surprise." The other two incidents came from the Foyt cars, who continue to have a nightmare season. What is going on with that team? Daly and Muñoz are not bad drivers, but the team is making them look like ones.
On the other hand, Esteban Gutierrez drove a clean, consistent race--all the more impressive considering this was his first oval race ever. Dale Coyne has to be pleased with his performance so far--especially since the car came back in one piece!
Overall, much like Road America, I wouldn't say this was a "wow" race but it was a good race. The last two races we have been treated to the best things about IndyCar--versatile, talented drivers on versatile, beautiful tracks. A road course, a short oval and now a street race in Toronto. No pressure, Canada, but let's keep the good ones coming!