On Texas...and a NASCAR/IndyCar Doubleheader

I guess I provided some evidence that a NASCAR/IndyCar doubleheader could work, because I attended both the NASCAR truck race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway and the DXC IndyCar race on Saturday night. It wasn't difficult for me to choose which race was better--the truck race was a crash-filled embarrassment, with a seemingly scripted winner in Greg Biffle, and the IndyCar race came down to the final few laps. I have some other observations about both races, but more on that later. First, a recap of the IndyCar race at Texas.

Three Stars of the Race

#1 Star: Colton Herta

I chose Herta as the top star of this race because he was noticeable all night. I couldn't take my eyes off the battle between him, Alexander Rossi, and James Hinchcliffe in the mid to late stages of the race. He showed speed and fearlessness, and seemed to be the only one who could pass on the outside of turn 1. But his aggression eventually got him in trouble, as he tried to pass Scott Dixon on lap 229. Though some say Dixon should have given Herta more room, I have to disagree. I watched Herta inching closer and closer to him each lap, and I saw him dart to the inside of turn 3. I thought to myself, there's no way that's going to work, and I was right. Now you can say Dixon should have given Herta more room and considered the big picture of the championship, and allowed Herta to pass, but Dixon had such a good car he could have eventually caught Newgarden and Rossi for the lead. That would yield even more points. To me, this crash was on Herta trying to impatiently force a pass. I do like that he was going for the win, however. Right now I feel like there are too many drivers simply driving around hoping for a decent finish, not really challenging for the lead. I also applaud Dixon for accepting some responsibility (at first, at least). Herta is exciting to watch, and I can only dream about what a super team he and Pato O'Ward would have been this year.

#2 Star: Ryan Hunter-Reay

RHR led more laps than anyone (90), but poor strategy took him out of contention for the lead. I'm not completely sure why he wasn't able to save fuel as well as some others, but I imagine leading so many laps contributed to it. It definitely looked like he had one of the best cars in the race, and I felt bad for him. He needs a win, and this could have been his first one at Texas. He and his team will have to talk this one out and try to ensure it doesn't happen again.

#3 Star: Tim Cindric

I will confess, I looked up at the pylon at one point late in the race and was shocked to see #2 listed in second place. As Rossi noted, Josef Newgarden was not in contention at all during this race. He and Team Penske looked to be having a terrible race (by their standards). But Cindric called Newgarden in during a caution, putting him in position to outlast other drivers who still needed to pit. This is two weeks in a row now where Cindric has pulled off a winning strategy, and he may have just handed Newgarden his second championship. To be honest, I felt deflated and cheated when Newgarden took the checkered flag. Rossi, Dixon, Herta, Hinch, RHR...all of them had better cars, consistently ran toward the front, and were in position to win the race. I know, Newgarden kept it clean whereas Dixon, Herta, and Hinch did not. But I just want to see someone different win a race for a change. I am so tired of Team Penske, and I liked Newgarden much better when he was with Ed Carpenter Racing (and others), probably because he was a bit of an underdog then. I imagine Rossi has to feel similar frustration, coming in second behind a Penske car for the third time in three weeks. I feel like the parity that was so characteristic of IndyCar at the beginning of the year has quickly dissipated. Right now it feels like the only drivers who can win a race are Team Penske, Rossi, and Dixon. Takuma Sato could have won this race had he not violently hit one of his crew members--wow, was that scary, and I'm glad the crewman was alright (and a true badass, wanting to get back out there during the race!). And Dixon has now crashed two races in a row after not doing so in several years. So really it comes down to Penske vs. Rossi--a rivalry that could be good for IndyCar, but only if Rossi can actually beat Penske one of these days.

Race Storylines

As for the race itself, I thought it was very good. I didn't feel like I was able to relax until Zach Veach brought out the first caution, even though the first 100 laps or so were a bit of a parade. This race felt a lot like the Indy 500, with limited action until the second half of the race, and when it picked up, ooh boy was it exciting. Sato and Dixon pulled away easily from the field, but once the sun went down, things changed, as they often do at Texas. Suddenly cars ran closer, and passing was difficult but not impossible. The last few laps were thrilling, and the crowd cheered when Rossi and Newgarden swapped positions at the front. Personally I would've liked to see a little more passing or side-by-side action, but that also makes me nervous so maybe I'm good with what we saw.

There were several possible explanations for why we didn't see as much action in the first half of the race. For one, tire falloff wasn't as great as some expected. I got a look at some of the tires after the race, and while some belonging to Team Penske looked extremely blistered, many others didn't. I think Firestone has some work to do with this tire, and I'm sure they will get better. Second, Texas is still recovering after a repave and lowering of the banking between turns 1 and 2. There never seemed to be a second groove for passing in that area. Rossi tried numerous times to pass in turn 1 but couldn't make it work. And when Hinch did try to pass coming out of turn 2, he spun and hit the wall. I imagine in a few years, the track will be more rubbered in and will return to its old form. Three, teams had limited practice time, with the first practice, and the only one under the lights, shortened by rain. I wish they could have added another practice but I understand they don't want to add one on race day in case any problems arise. And finally, it was incredibly hot when the sun was up--around 95 degrees air temperature, with the track temp much higher. That can certainly have an effect on tires, cars, and drivers. I saw someone suggested pushing the start time for this race ahead a half an hour, to level the playing field some and give us better racing. I fully support that suggestion.

As I said, I attended the NASCAR truck race Friday night and was reminded of why I prefer IndyCar racing. Apparently there were a record number of cautions in the race, and once I saw the third caution in the first 28 laps, I actually was pissed. Under green flag conditions, there was close, side-by-side racing, but these drivers couldn't go more than a few laps without someone crashing. And then, when there was an exciting battle at the front, the caution flag would wave because it was the end of a stage. It was without a doubt the worst race I have ever witnessed in person. But fans were happy because Greg Biffle won. There was definitely a different (and much smaller) crowd at the track on Friday, and while that type of "racing" may have appealed to some of those fans, it did not appeal to me one bit.

At one point either before or during the race on Saturday, I overheard a self-admitted NASCAR fan say that he tried to watch the Detroit IndyCar race (I'm not sure which one) and that after giving it a go, he said he'd rather watch paint dry. I'm guessing he watched race 1, or tuned out quickly during race 2. I also saw some comments by NASCAR fans describing the Texas IndyCar race as boring. As much as these comments infuriate me, I understand them. If you don't know the drivers and the cars, and don't know which battles to follow, racing can indeed be boring or uninteresting. I thought my first NASCAR race, also at Texas, was incredibly boring--because I didn't know many of the drivers. But imagine if that fan had been next to me and I had the opportunity to educate him about the drivers, the cars, the style of racing, etc.--and he could do the same for me about NASCAR. Perhaps this is a pipe dream, but I think the two fan bases can coexist, if we can get over competing with each other about which form of racing is better. The truth is, it's a matter of personal preference. I don't like to see crashes, stages, or gimmicky entertainment. I think IndyCars look sleek and sexy, and I can't pick a favorite driver because almost every driver is incredibly likable. I marvel at IndyCar drivers' skill when they are side-by-side with other open wheel race cars. I love that they race on different types of tracks, so that an IndyCar champion is truly a diverse and deserving race car driver. As I saw this weekend, NASCAR is primarily about entertainment and marketing its drivers. At times the racing is great, but even if it's not, fans will be happy as long as "their" driver wins. You will never, ever persuade me that NASCAR is better than IndyCar, as I'm sure you'll never, ever persuade some NASCAR fans that IndyCar is better. But I will watch both, and I bet many NASCAR fans would too. I hope that I get to see a doubleheader with these two American motorsports sometime in my lifetime.

Three Races, Six Stars, and One Big Blunder

With three races in two weeks, this extremely busy part of the schedule is demanding and exhausting for teams, especially the mechanics. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to go from a prestigious superspeedway (Indianapolis) to a bumpy street course doubleheader to another fast oval in the span of just a few weeks. But this is a great time to be an IndyCar fan. Let's recap the past three races.

Indy 500 Stars

#1 Star: Simon Pagenaud

Of course, Pagenaud won the race so he earned the top star, even though I think we will remember Alexander Rossi's performance more. Listening to Pagenaud explain his thinking over the last 12 laps showed why he won. He displayed patience and intelligence, and really dominated the entire race. It's always nice to see a first-time winner at IMS, and Simon is a deserving champion. He and Rossi gave us a tremendous, exhilarating finish to an enjoyable but otherwise ho-hum race.

#2 Star: Alexander Rossi

Rossi is quickly becoming an IndyCar star and a fan favorite, and his driving at the past two Indy 500s have shown why. Whether he was shaking his fist at lapped Oriol Servia for not allowing him to pass (meaning that he was driving with one hand at 220 mph!), banging on the steering wheel when his fueler couldn't get the hose into the car, or showing daredevil moves by passing as many cars as possible, Rossi was a thrill to watch. The past few races have highlighted to me that not everyone in the paddock actually wants to win--there seems to be some drivers and teams who are content with a podium or a top ten finish, as long as the car comes back clean. As a fan, that is aggravating, so it's refreshing to see someone like Rossi, who clearly wants to win every week and will do whatever it takes to get to Victory Lane. He will get his second Indy 500 win eventually, I'm pretty sure about that.

#3 Star: Santino Ferrucci

Ferrucci also gained some fans, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., with his slick driving at Indy. He raced former champ Tony Kanaan cleanly out of the pits, ultimately passing him, and he managed to avoid all the carnage caused by Sebastien Bourdais' and Graham Rahal's crash, cutting through the grass at full throttle. This solid driving garnered him a seventh place finish and Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors. It also showed a maturing Ferrucci, who seems grateful for the second chance that IndyCar has given him, and who seems to be having the time of his life.

Side note: This really is an impressive rookie class. Every full-time rookie in the field has won something this year: Colton Herta won the race at COTA, Marcus Ericsson won the Indy 500 pit stop challenge (and a podium at Detroit), Ferrucci won Indy 500 ROTY, and Felix Rosenqvist won the pole for the Indy Grand Prix. It will be a dogfight for the overall Rookie of the Year award. Pato O'Ward, it's your turn next!

Detroit Stars 

#1 Star: Scott Dixon

This was a difficult choice, because the two winners of the Dual in Detroit both had awful races along with their victories. It was shocking to see Dixon crash in Race 1, something he apparently hasn't done since 2014 (I believe it was Texas, I was there--he crashed coming out of turn 3). He took responsibility for the wreck, claiming "driver error." Then he followed it up with a clean, Dixon-like effort in Race 2. He is just an all-around amazing driver.

#2 Star: Josef Newgarden

Again, Josef won Race 1 but made an aggressive, mental error in Race 2 and did not finish. But like Dixon, he took responsibility for the error, which was refreshing. Newgarden was the beneficiary of a timely caution in race 1--he was in the pits when the yellow came out, but he managed to hold off a hard charging Rossi to win. Rossi had to be frustrated beyond words to take second place behind a Team Penske Chevrolet for the second race in a row, which may have him longing for a spot on the team. Full credit to Tim Cindric, who called Newgarden in when the track started drying, anticipating a yellow flag. I did not like how he kept telling Newgarden when Rossi was using push-to-pass, and I think that's something IndyCar may want to look at when the season's done. Not so long ago that information was secret, which keeps things more interesting and fair.

#3 Star: Marco Andretti

Marco was the first one to take off the rain tires in Race 1, and should have catapulted to the lead when the caution flag came out. But unfortunately he got inexplicably screwed by Race Control. Race Control essentially rushed to open the pits before bunching up the field, which allowed other cars to come out in front of Marco. It's a real shame for Marco, who needed and, in this race, deserved a good result. The on-board camera showing Marco skillfully driving on slick tires in still-wet conditions was fantastic. For that alone, his performance was star-worthy.

A Frustrating Blunder

That being said, I thought Detroit Race 1 was the worst race of the year, one that overall left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't understand why it became a timed race, only 75 minutes, when NBC knew its window ended at 6pm EST, and when it knew it could switch to CNBC, another network, or at the very least, the NBC Sports app. It doesn't bother me that it moved to another network--this has happened in the past with ABC and with other sports. But someone did not calculate their math correctly if they thought the race would finish by 6pm. Seasoned event planners like those at Detroit and NBC should know to plan for the worst, or at least have some ideas in place if things don't go as planned. Did the race organizers, IndyCar, and network representatives not talk about contingency plans in case of weather? Did they not look at a forecast or the radar? And then, to give fans absolutely no explanation, and to not take responsibility for this error is unacceptable. Dixon and Newgarden admitted their mistakes, the network should do the same. I feel extremely bad for anyone who bought a ticket to the race, traveled out of city or state to attend, only to have the race shortened by almost 30 laps for no good reason. I just want someone at NBC to say, "we messed up, and we will do better next time," which is what effective leaders do. Why is that so hard?

The shortened race, coupled with the failure to bunch up the field and allow Marco to at least have a chance at taking the lead, and Newgarden's lucky yellow, just made me mad and disappointed. I like to see different winners, so I'm hoping we see someone new on the podium's top step this weekend (Conor Daly, perhaps? We can dream, right? Anything is possible at Texas!). Fortunately Race 2 was much better, and we were treated to some great racing and drama. Another side note: How did Will Power take 3rd after his miserable weekend?? Incredible, and worth an honorable mention. Texas always brings nervous excitement, and I'm hoping it will also bring some redemption for a tough Detroit weekend. For now at least, it's not supposed to rain! Let's hope NBC has a plan just in case it does.