Weekend Review… The Greatest Street Race EVER Edition

Yet another race in the books, and another finish for indycar lore. Depending on who you ask, the 2013 Indy Brazil 300 was either the race of the year, decade, century… or ever. I’m not sure I have the qualifications to make such claims, but they sure aren’t too far off. There were multiple on-track passes for the lead, and even given the roulette type nature of the previous three races, we literally had no idea that Hinch would pull it out in the final corner. Especially while sitting in P4 with ten laps to go and nearly ten seconds of time to make up.

Hinch – The Canadian driver showed experience well beyond his year on his way to victory lane this weekend. Keeping his cool while Sato was just toeing the line between tough defensive driving and blocking, James pounced when Takuma over cooked the entrance to the final turn on the final lap. The patience that was displayed to simultaneously run hard, making up a couple second gap and three positions with just a handful of laps left, but wait until the time was right to finally put the deciding move on Sato. Well played by The Mayor as he clinched win number two, the second of many more this season.

Blocking – If the definition of blocking is moving from the racing line to impede the progress of another driver, Takuma Sato did not block on Sunday. The only thing he is guilty of is apexing the slight doglegs on the back straight. Sato consistently ran the inside line while apexing the doglegs for the majority of the final stint once he gained control of the lead position. There were no jerky motions to the inside and Sato had started his drift to the apex before either Hinch or Josef made their own move to the inside. In reality, if a driver is taking the Sato line, the passing zone does not open up until after the final meander in the back straight before turn 11. It was great racing from Sato, Newgarden and Hinch all the way to the end and an even better no-call from race control If you were upset with the no-call, how would you have taken race control monkeying with the finish?

Josef Newgarden – Speaking of blocking, If anyone got the short end of the stick, it wasn’t Hinch, it was Newgarden. The video replays were much less decisive in Newgarden’s case than Hinch’s. And if there was a real, honest to goodness block, it was probably when Josef violently abandoned his inside line on lap 70 due to the encroaching Sato. After a few spirited laps in the closing segment, Joseph’s tires were shot causing him to lose a few positions before coming home in his career best finish of P5.

Tires – The forced decision to run the 2012 tire compounds actually helped the racing and finish. It was clear from the start that drivers could run quite hard on the softer reds this weekend without a large amount of tire degradation with many drivers turning their personal best lap near the end of the final stint of the race while on reds. This allowed all drivers in contention to run as hard as they absolutely could almost all afternoon without the tires falling off the cliff (see Simona de Silvestro in St Petersburg). I prefer the 2013 spec tire as it opens more possibilities to alternate tire and pit strategy along with maintaining a wider gap in grip and longevity between the blacks and reds.

Cautions – Say what you will about the drivers seemingly inability to keep the race clean for any length of time some weekends, but all that yellow allowed the drivers to run hard, every lap, until the end of the race; no slowed stints due to fuel strategy. The yellow flag periods were relatively quick by indycar standards, probably because there wasn’t enough running to necessitate heavy usage of the sweepers. Yellows aren’t always the best of things, but they seemed to play into the race quite heavily; a nuance that makes 19 yellow flag laps, over a quarter of the event, more bearable than usual.

DCR and Ana Beatriz  – Three DNF’s in four races that were all the result of some type of mechanical gremlins have really put Ana Biatriz and the second car at Dale Coyle Racing in a tight situation. I fear that her perdicimant is shining the spotlight squarely at Dale’s poor prep work on the second, rent-a-seat ride. I was honestly shocked on Sunday when her engine cover came off and there was helicopter tape, the extremely expensive tape used to cover seams and find hundredths of a second, stuck to the cover as well. Ditch the tape and spend some time finding out what the heck is wrong with the second program. Ana and Justin Wilson deserve more out of their operation.

KV Racing – How in the name of the Borg-Warner did KV manage to run Tony Kanaan out of fuel while in Brazil? Tony’s final sponsorship check for the weekend must not have included three full tanks of gas. That, or Vasser is far worse at race strategy than anyone could have dreamed of. This is the same guy who pulled Takuma Sato out of the lead, and an almost sure win, at this very track in an attempt to go “off strategy”. I’m not sure where the KV crew learned to call races, but they could really use a refresher course. TK does not deserve to be locked into the bag-o-snakes that is Vasser, Kalkhoven, and their KV Racing crew.

For the fourth race in a row, I was muttering to myself that I need to start taking Ryan Hunter-Reay more seriously. The 2012 champion still feels like a dark horse for me, even after four competitive runs this year. Although no one is watching, indycar has the most momentum heading into The 500 than it has had in a long time. There is no way there wasn’t increased casual exposure in the wake of the Brazil finish; see this article on Jalopnik, a casual motoring website, for proof. We have 33 entries lined up with the promise of one or two more possible late comers. That’s it for the opening act of the 2013 season; on to Indy and the meat of the season.

Eric Hall

Into the Crystal Ball… The Sambadrome Edition

Welcome to May! Before we hit the famed Brickyard, there is one more stop to make: The Streets of Sao Paulo Brazil. Without a doubt, this track is a favorite of fans and drivers alike. Half of the circuit consists of standard, 90 degree street course turns without much in the way of elevation change. Not super spiffy or fantastic; we love this place for the longest straight on the schedule followed by a gnarly hairpin and a blast down the Sambadrome straight. All of this has led to intense action during the previous three trips with 2013 looking no different. Gaining momentum heading into Indy will be very important as it can often take trips to multiple venues to rebuild the composure of a rattled team.

Five things to watch

Turn 1/2 Complex – After four years of ridiculous traffic jams and fender benders that would end a race, NZR Consulting has finally reprofiled  the turn 1/2 complex. Most of the accordion crashes were caused by a simple lack of room from the exit of turn one through the exit of turn two; two cars would barely fit side-by-side. Drivers have been given an extra ten feet of track from curb to wall and the two corners have been made a bit quicker to help prevent the stack-ups that have become expected when racing in Brazil.

Downforce – The Sambadrome circuit has a back straight of nearly a mile; the perfect reason to take some chances with car set-up. Unlike the balance of the twistie season where you crank in as much downforce as possible, Brazil give teams the unique opportunity to run a bit less downforce to gain some straight line speed. Of course, the car would be a handful in the tight sections, but the gains could out weight the tire wear penalty. Midfield teams who have a setup and driver that is easier on the tires would be the perfect candidates to roll the dice on different aero configurations.

Turn 11 – What’s almost as good as a nearly one mile straight? Following it up with a tight hairpin. Said hairpin is the best passing zone on the track and possibly the best passing zone on the entire schedule. Decelerating from 190 mile per hour to about 60 in a few hundred feet on the bumpy street circuit is no easy task leading to quite a lot of action taking place in the final turn before the Sambadrome straight. Having a car that can make it cleanly and easily through this corner will be paramount. If a drivers setup is compromised in this turn, they’ll be losing positions here all day.

Tires – Firestone’s 2013 tire compounds have been a big hit with drivers and fans alike. The gap between the softer reds and harder blacks has been widened leading to tire strategies that have been more dynamic than we have even seen since adopting the two-compound program. This weekend, Firestone has elected to bring the 2012 compounds. I don’t understand the rationale behind throwing teams a curveball after they spent three races and spring training forming new setups and developmental paths tailored to the new tires.

Rain – The forecast looks mostly clear for the city over the weekend with the bulk of expected rain to move in on Monday. But this is Brazil we are talking about; the chance of precipitation is always present. Will any teams opt for a wet/dry split? I highly doubt it given the forecast, but we are still a few days out from raceday. If chances increase, this would be another area for the midfield teams to take a chance and pull out a shocker. And if it rained, those teams and engineers would look like geniuses.

 

Predictions

Pole – Dario Franchitti – The fantastic run he had in Long Beach will parlay itself into an even better weekend for Dario. And it all starts with the pole.

Winner – Takuma Sato – AJFE and Sato can absolutely repeat their Long Beach performance this weekend. Sato has been close to the win the past two years and has proven he can run clean and mean all day long.

Epic Performance – Dario Franchitti – His season got off to a rough start but the turn-around two weeks ago is something we haven’t really seen out of Franchitti since the adoption of the DW12. A top five would give him and the team a fair amount of momentum heading into Indy.

Biggest Loser - Will Power (?!) – After picking him for the win and pole two out of the previous three races, I think there may be something seriously wrong with the organization. Power has been plagued by inconsistency, bad luck and poor race strategy for nearly a year now. Anything but a win is not enough to erase the last year of hardship.

Helio leads the standings heading into the weekend while most of the would-be contenders have had a slow start. If the first three races are any indication, once the checkers fall the standing could look very different from anything we could have expected in March. There are many fresh, young faces finally getting their chance to shine, and journeymen drivers stepping into the respect and results they have been striving to achieve for many years. This particular street circuit has character and it produced great racing with the old chassis and even better racing with the new one. Regardless of championship implications, the annual trip to Brazil is always an extremely exciting time.

Eric Hall

Weekend Rewind… The Broken Record of Fantasticness Edition

Sunny So-Cal and indycar had another amazing weekend, punctuating a blistering start to the 2013 campaign. Takuma Sato took the checkers while the rest of the finishing order looked like something out of the twilight zone. Some will say that Dallara was the real winner because nearly every car had some sort of physical damage at some point throughout the weekend. I say, through good use of local yellows, full course cautions and laps behind the pacecar were minimized considering the track and amount of contact. The race was another stellar performance from everyone involved; we are all sounding like a broken record at this point, but I don’t think anyone is complaining.

Reactions

SATOOO – The Japanese driver finally arrives in indycar with his long overdue win on Sunday. He not quieted naysayers about himself, but he also raised AJ Foyt Enterprises stock quite a bit. The car was clean and without a blemish on the nose, Sato drove a picture perfect race, and the crew was able to give him the support he needed throughout the race to finally seal the deal. With Larry Foyt and Takuma Sato helming the ship, AJFE could be headed to the top of the midfield. Where’re you at SSPM, DCR and BHA?

Clean Driving? – It’s hard to fault the drivers for the plethora of bent noses and shattered carbon fiber seen on Sunday. Sometimes on street circuits, indycar has a sort of minor league feeling with all the yellow flags that fly, but our street circuits are more akin to Monaco than anywhere else. Super tight confines and open-wheels are never a winning combination. I’m not too sure the F1 guys really could do a better job of keeping it clean at Long Beach, especially considering the poor surface indycar drivers are asked to work with at almost all street facilities.

Kimball – after the drive of his life in Barber, Charlie ends up in the tire barrier… twice. And both were cases of over cooking the corner and ending up in the tires. His first foray into the fence came after quite a spirited and clean battle with Alex Tagliani before making a rookie error. On the front row as a lapped car on the map 55 restart, Kimball proceeded to smash it into the barriers once more for good measure. Not good Mr. Kimball; Wild, self-inflicted inconsistency does not sit well with The Chipster.

The Booth – With all credit to our wonderful commentators and NBCSN, I absolutely hate it when the guys talk over pit-to-driver radio broadcasts. It’s not a new problem for the network, and it seems like the guys just don’t care. Not only can we not hear them, most of the time the booth makes no attempt to relay the missed message to the audience. Not that it would matter, because there are no accompanying graphics to denote who is actually on the radio. I love the usage of comms in the broadcast, but NBCSN needs to figure out to make it work. …(cough cough)… F1 …(cough cough)…

Championship – The 2013 campaign thus far: no Penske or Ganassi wins, Simona de Silvestro and Will Power are tied for P8, AJFE pulls out a huge win and we have had two first time winners in three races with the most recent podium containing AJFE, RLLR, and DCR. We knew this year would be competitive, but no one saw anything like this coming. Who would have thought we would be celebrating a Franchitti finish of P4 to pull him into P20 of the championship?

Ganassi Rebound – They figured something out for Long Beach. All three drivers were on it and with May looming only a few weeks away, Ganassi may be heating up at just the right time. It’s hard to say the team has been out to lunch, but it has been a dice roll regarding which car would be fast on what weekend. All three drivers were in the hunt with a fast car under them all day long. With a win or two, we could have a nice team battle brewing with AA.

Andretti Autosport – I’m sure that days like Sunday make Michael Andretti, and every other team owner in the paddock, glad there is no team championship in indycar. When Marco is your highest only finishing entrant on a street circuit, you know something went amiss during the race. Hunter-Reay drove it into the tires, Hinch put himself in a poor position and got squeezed into the wall, and Viso fell victim to the accordion effect to end his day. Not a total team failure, but there were still shades of the AA of past on Sunday.

How can a series redefine road racing every single time they hit the track? Indycar has been doing that for the past three races. It used to be that you would strap in for a snoozer with the possibility of moderate excitement always present, but usually untapped. Now it does not seem unreasonable to expect at least a “good” race every weekend with the possibility of a snoozer almost undetectable. And a great race is absolutely possible every single time the green falls. Dreams of “what could be” were realized at Long Beach this weekend. There are almost no expectations at this point in the season and quite possibly anyone is in position to steal race wins and a championship.

Eric Hall

Into the Crystal Ball… Welcome to the Concrete Jungle Edition

What an odd place we find ourselves in the championship entering round three on the streets of Long Beach. Dario Franchitti is in last place, Andretti Autosport has four cars in the top ten and Will Power is sitting in P8, just three spots ahead of Simona de Silvestro who is on the run of her career. The deep field, wonky championship table, very clean racing and an all-important year of experience with the equipment had started to turn 2013 into something of a renaissance. We literally have every component honed to make the current edition of indycar one to remember. Now the circus heads to the most storied street race in the western hemisphere to contest the 39^th Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Five Things to Watch

Busy Day – Long Beach is a mentally and physically taxing track. The short blast down Seaside Way, also known as the back straight, is the only time drivers will be able to take a short breather. Because of the short distance of the straight, drivers will still be subjected to acceleration g-forces, making exactly zero spots around the 1.9 mile track where drivers bodies won’t be subjected to some type of physical g-loading. The front straight is anything but, and the rest of the track is textbook street course design with multiple fast flowing 90 degree corners. A split second lapse of concentration could mean meeting the wall and an early end to the day.

The Walls Are Close – The drivers have played pretty clean this year, and a weekend at Long Beach will test this newfound respectful driving. There is something about Long Beach and Toronto that makes competitors extra hot under the helmet. With its close concrete walls and without much racing space to be found anywhere on the track, we could see a bit more carbon fiber than the first two rounds. St. Pete still had some open sections that gave everyone a few seconds to breathe, a luxury that will not be found this weekend. Close walls make drivers crazy; I hope everyone can make it out of the weekend relatively unscathed.

Expanded Field – AJ Allmendinger makes the second start on his homecoming tour and 2011 race winner Mike Conway straps in for his only confirmed race of the season after vacating his seat before the 2012 season finale. 27 machines, the biggest field of the season so far, look to take the green this weekend. And in the tight concrete canyon of Long Beach, that only adds to the possibilities of unseen unfortunate crashy type events. Make no mistake, our drivers are world class and AJ and Mike are no slouches in their own right. Theoretically we should have another cleanish race, but for some reason, I just don’t see that happening.

Attrition – Two races in and the 2.2 liter engines could have as many as 1000 miles on them. We already know Honda is suffering from possible faulty exhaust system issues and on the second street circuit of the year, we could start to see increased mechanical failures. Although reliability has been incredible this year in comparison to 2012, the engines are still only in their second year of development. These 2013 gen one engines still have quite a long way to go, including 80 race laps down the notoriously rough Shoreline Drive; a portion of track known to eat racecars alive.

KV Racing – Tony Kanaan, Simona de Silvestro and the entire KVRT organization are on the cusp of moving to the next level of competition. The paring of Kanaan and de Silvestro has created something special within the team; a team that has been in dire need of such a thing for many years. The pairing is quick and seems to work really well with each other. Tony Kanaan looks like a new man and Simona is already having the season of her career. A win may be too much to ask of the still jelling team, but anything less than a top ten would be difficult to swallow for a team capable of so much.

 Predictions

Pole – Tony Kanaan – TK turned the fastest race lap last year, and as already described, the team are close to something. Long Beach could be their breakout weekend.

Winner – Will Power – The Aussie finally gets his season on track. Unlike other early season poor performances, Power will undoubtedly be able to bounce back.

Epic Performance – AJ Allmendinger – Would a top ten count at an epic performance? In AJ’s case, I think so, especially on a street circuit in this hyper competitive era. Allmendinger is focused, driven and has the best equipment under him. A top ten will happen, and a top five would be analogous to a win for the tin-top transplant.

Biggest Loser – Dario Franchitti – The four-time champion has never started a season this poorly. Granted, an exhaust issue on his Honda engine sidelined him in Barber, but Dario has struggled since the debut of the DW12. Franchitti looks to have a few more bad days ahead before the good one start rolling in again.

Tight confines, big numbers, quick drivers? I think I’ll take that. It is something of a miracle, but the DW12 has actually made me start looking forward to the street races instead of just merely standing them. The season is front loaded with killer street courses, a fact made all the more clear as we head to the Streets of Sao Paulo in two weeks; the best street course in the championship. Long beach really is the street crown jewel in our crown, it’s no wonder F1 is stirring the pot again. Let’s light this candle and see what Long Beach has to offer in 2013.

Eric Hall

Indycar Lore… 1980 CRL Season

What had started in 1978 as an honest attempt at increasing the marketability of championship racing sanctioned by The United States Auto Club, spiraled out of control almost instantly. The “White Paper”, a simple inter-team memo, sparked the formation of Championship Auto Racing Teams and, with help from the Sports Car Club of America, created its own rival championship trail. The 1979 season saw both CART and USAC sanction their own full, but independent, championships. The “split” was already in full swing and each side started digging in for a long battle.

However, in 1980, there looked to be an amicable resolution on the horizon when the Championship Racing League was formed. The CRL was to be a joint sanctioning effort combining the best of what USAC, date equity of events and officiating, and CART, the stars and cars, had to offer. The once rival sanctioning bodies were, for a short time at least, able to hammer out agreements on rules, tech and release a 12 race schedule.

The happy union was announced on April 3, 1980, just ten days before their inaugural event. Representation on the CRL board of governors was not equal, with car owners capturing five of the six seats and already presenting a thorn in USAC and IMS’s side. But the agreement pressed on in an attempt to keep big time racing in the US unified.

Before the papers were signed, USAC had already released a 12 race schedule independent of CART and was intent on seeing it out until the creation of the CRL. The initial 1980 USAC season contains an oddity that has been lost in open-wheel history. The opening round at Phoenix International Raceway scheduled to take place on March 2^nd, over a month before the CRL was announced, was cancelled due to the Salt River flooding and making access roads to the track inaccessible.

Nevertheless, the CRL successfully ran five races together, as a happy family, early in the year before the floor fell out from under the whole deal. Already disenfranchised by losing six races from their initial schedule in favor of less established CART events and in a position of underrepresentation on the CRL board, USAC quickly cut all ties with the CRL before the fifth and what would become the final combined round at Mid-Ohio. USAC would not sanction another race in the 1980 season. What could make USAC cut all ties so quickly? The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, of course.

IMS President and CEO John Cooper lobbed the first grenade, signaling the end of the honeymoon. On June 20, Cooper told media outlets that the CRL is too heavily controlled by car owners. He went on to say that “… champ car racing must be run by an independent group… and if USAC did not realign itself, the 500 would look to sanction elsewhere.” Independent was not something that CART or USAC could claim to be while under the guise of the CRL.

A whirlwind of politicking ensued, including the rumor that NASCAR, Cooper’s former employer, would be tapped to officiate the 500 if USAC didn’t get its act together. On June 30^th, the USAC board attempted to amend their own bylaws in an attempt to change the way CRL’s Board of Governors were selected. A move that they believed would quell the IMS uprising and keep the tenuous relationship between the three players going. The revision failed to capture the unanimous vote needed to amend the USAC bylaws.

The two nay votes were casted by Pat Patrick and Roger Penske; Both team owners and CART stalwarts given voting positions on the USAC board with the formation of the CRL. After the failed vote, USAC had no choice but to immediately withdraw from the CRL and reorganize their own board in order to maintain their good standing with IMS.

The CRL ran one more combined round at Mid-Ohio before USAC totally wiped their hands of the now untenable union. But not before firing one last shot at CART by voting Roger Penske and Pat Patrick off the USAC board.

CART finished the planned season and awarded the championship based on the five rounds of CRL competition in addition to the final seven rounds of CART competition. What followed in 1981 and beyond is well documented. USAC, as just a pawn in The Speedways attempt to keep control of technical regulations in-house, was never able to recover from the negative PR and soiled relationships with track owners. CART flourished and, with the decisive victory in 1980, became the de facto national championship trail.

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A lot could be said about the key players from all sides, and as it stands, all participants are guilty of simply promoting their own self-interests. And, as ironic as it may sound, attempting to protect championship car racing in the United States so it could flourish and grow to new levels. IMS felt a need to protect what, in their eyes, was the key to the whole sport. USAC was only guilty of being a pawn in the IMS war chest and doing what they felt was right by maintaining a link between the powerful owners union and IMS. Finally CART, specifically Patrick and Penske, for being forced to throw the final punch and Cooper for throwing the first.

In the spring of 1982, John Cooper resigned to take a chairman position on the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States and Joseph Cloutier was named president of IMS. The ACCUS, an organization known to vehemently choose their own path to the detriment of others, is the arbitrating body overseeing all sanctioned racing in the US on behalf of the FIA and a perfect place for Cooper.

Cloutier had initially been named president of IMS in 1977 after the passing of Tony Hulman and was known to be more open minded when dealing with team owners. The IMS board appointed Cooper to the role of president, displacing Cloutier, in 1979. For only presiding over The Speedway for two and a half years, it seems like Cooper did an awful lot of damage.

Under Cloutier’s leadership, CART, USAC and IMS were able to coexist more or less peacefully for eight years.  You have to wonder what would have been if Cloutier, who served until his passing in late 1989, could have presided over The Speedway for those 30 faithful months. Would the CRL have been able to flourish in a new era of cooperation? Would Tony George have made the same decisions once he took control of IMS after Clouter? If the CRL has maintained stability, what kind of fire breathing open-wheeled monsters would we have now? What would F1 and NASCAR look like today?

Yet another interesting story of deceit and lies in the fragmented history of American open-wheel racing. A story that is not told enough in the context of events leading to the “big split” in 1996 and 1997. Fortunately, I think everyone sees the value in sticking together for the foreseeable future. In due time, we could very well see those fantastical machines we all dream about now that we are all rowing in the same direction; for most of the time anyway.

Eric Hall

How I Saw It… Barber Does it Again Edition

For the second year in a row, the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama contested at Barber Motorsports was a clinic in road racing; after the early yellow flag shemozzle of course. Once the racing resumed on lap six, we were treated to runaway stints by both Will Power and eventual race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, multiple on-track passes for the lead, record breaking speeds and a dash of innocent contact. Scott Dixon crossed the line in P2 for the fourth year in a row, Charlie Kimball finally has a strong weekend from start to finish, St. Pete winner James Hinchcliffe drops out early due to a missing tire, the return of AJ Allmendinger and to top it off,  Helio Castroneves now leads the championship after two rounds. For a nearly full green flag race, the action was nonstop from front to back.

4Gs – For the first time in many, many years, indycar looked nearly as fast as Formula One on a road course. The new tire compounds from Firestone and the offseason surface grinding transformed the DW12 and indycar into something of a spectacle on a tight motorcycle track. The drivers were fighting up to four Gs in the corners, not something uncommon on ovals, but an extreme rarity on road courses. More often than not, indycars look heavy and cumbersome on the twisties, not the light and nimble formula cars seen in Europe. One of the perceived problems with indycar is the inability to be taken seriously as top level open wheel racing by road racing and formula fans. If Firestone could build something with this extreme grip to unlock more cornering speed at the notoriously slippery street courses, I think indycar could break some prejudices’ against it. Regardless, that was an amazingly quick racing, and it transferred very well to the home viewers.

Ryan Hunter-Reay – The reigning champion and winner at Barber put in a dominant performance starting from the moment they unloaded. RHR never ran lower than P3 in the race after stealing pole position from Will Power on Saturday qualifying. Even given his champion status, I have always quietly doubted Hunter-Reay’s pure skill behind the wheel. This was the first weekend that he, backed by Andretti Autosport, unloaded the car and absolutely claimed the weekend as his own. The story of RHR’s career has been one of overcoming adversity. Even throughout his championship run in 2012, it seemed every race was marred with some kind of high pressure situation that never allowed him to relax and just drive. This last weekend, that is precisely what he did by unloading quick, grabbing pole, running at the sharp end all day and gaining a ten plus second lead on a street circuit after the early yellow flag.

The Big Two – I have always been focused on the drama of the Big Three/ Big Two; particularly Andretti Autosport’s annual unknown of whether they will be a powerhouse or just a thorn in Ganassi and Penske’s side. With a recent championship, and nine wins in the last three seasons, they just may be in the position to unseat Ganassi from the Big Two. Unseat?! Ganassi has really struggled with the new equipment. We know Scott Dixon can drive through nearly any kind of handling issue, but Dario has fizzled and Kimball has shown moments of insane ability, but I am not yet convened the P2/P4 finish seen from Dixon and Kimball at Barber is the norm instead of a fluke. Right now is the time for Charlie Kimball to set himself up for a future target ride and he did a great job proving himself on Sunday. The real question is if the team will, or can, support him in a breakout season.

Two Stopper – Will Power and Team Penske attempted a two stop strategy on Sunday and came up just a bit short. Power was beat by pure speed. The other drivers were able to cruise right around the slower driver as he fought to save fuel from the drop of the green. I don’t appreciate Power and Penske’s attempt to win a mileage race, and I feel almost vindicated that they failed to even make the podium. It almost serves them right as the series has made very serious attempts to prevent that exact scenario. Obviously you can never know when the yellows will fall, but this is racing; it needs to be done full tilt from green to checkers without even a pause in the speed. Kudos to the team for rolling the dice after the lengthy early yellow, however their attempt at an underhanded win was rewarded the way it should have been: not good enough.

Helio Castroneves – Spiderman sits P1 in points after just two rounds, the same position he was in last year before succumbing to the heated battle between Power and Hunter-Reay as the championship wore on. It is well known that the only thing missing From Helios resume is clinching the series champion trophy. Of course he has three 500 wins, but that does not make a well-rounded driver. If he were to retire tomorrow, he would be remembered as one of the greats, but with a huge asterisk beside his name. There aren’t many competitive, full season years left under the Brazilians belt, and as the field gets deeper and deeper each year it will become increasingly more difficult to finish this task. 2012 was a momentum year for Castroneves and he is in prime position to make an honest run this year. I hope to see him successfully check this final box in an amazing career.

It’s almost ironic that the once bemoaned tight and too tough to pass motorcycle track has become the gold standard of natural terrain road course racing and possibly the best twisties on the schedule. Barber delivered again and it was accomplished through nearly a full race distance of green flag running. When the drivers finally emerged from their cars after 85 green flag laps, they all looked fresh faced and ready to race again. I think the whole grid has been prepping for the double header weekends, and that only adds to the competitiveness of the field. After a couple years of phenomenal racing, the growing on-site crowd and the meticulously manicured gorgeous facility, the Grand Prix of Alabama is quickly becoming the road course crown jewel and an overall blue chip event.

Eric Hall

Into the Crystal Ball… The Gorgeous Facility Edition

Indycar returns to the gorgeous facility that is Barber Motorsports Park for round two of the 2013 championship season. A track once hated for its lack of action is now quickly becoming a fan favorite and open wheeled strong hold year in and out. In only its fourth year on the schedule, Barber is still a newish addition to the schedule, but has produced everything from incendiary action to coma inducing follow the leader parades. The DW12 and Barber seem to be a match made in heaven and this year’s edition should be the best example yet. Round two is the first of three natural terrain road courses on the schedule and the lack of these types of track means there isn’t much development time available to teams throughout the season. Well prepared squads should unload quick and stay quick all weekend, whereas teams slightly off the mark may have a really tough weekend ahead.

Five Things to Watch

New Track Record – Spring training at the gorgeous Barber facility produced the quickest lap times ever turned at the track; over three seconds faster than the 2012 pole time. Because the laps were turned independent of race weekend, they are considered unofficial. This weekend should see the record officially broken as the series will be under sanctioned timing and scoring during qualifying and the race. A freshly ground racing surface and spiffy new Firestone tire compounds should prove more than adequate to smash whatever may be left of the record once the 26 drivers hit the track. I will be especially focused on the Firestone Fast Six pole shootout once the remaining drivers strap the grippier red compounds onto their race machines. Although the added speed will not come from chassis or engine technological improvements, breaking track records is something sorely missed in indycar racing.

AJ Allmendinger – The once promising American open wheel star will finally be making his competition return to the machines that lit the fire for his love of racing. Allmendinger was on a meteoric rise to stardom in 2006 when he signed with Forsythe Championship Racing halfway through the season. During his short stint with the Champ Car powerhouse, he racked up five wins and landed himself third in the championship standings before being shown the door on the eve of the season finale due to a new NASCAR contract. The guy knows how to get around the twisties and with Penske engineering prowess powering his return, there is literally nothing he cannot achieve. Allmendinger has been slightly pensive regarding his return, but I think once the competition heats up he will fit right in at the top.

Turn Five – On a track with extremely limited passing opportunities, the run to turn five proved to be a hotbed of action last year. The blind, downhill, off camber corner is one of the trickiest places to get right leading to blown entries, exits, and plenty of passing. I expect this year to be no different once the drivers get a bit hot under the helmet later in the race. Words of the day will include dive bomb, banzai, shoulder check and poke and hope when describing the action seen in the slower, carousel type corner. T1 and T11, the other passing zones on the track, are both a bit too fast to pull off an honest pass on a competitive driver so we may see an entire lap taken to set up an overtake into T5. Hopefully we can make it through the 90 laps without too much smashed carbon fiber.

Setup Unknowns – It was very apparent in St. Pete that most teams had a much better handle on creating quality setups for the new equipment. The main issue was tire longevity once the magic rings got more than a few laps on them. Simona de Silvestro’s lack of grip in the closing laps two weeks ago showed that a slightly off the mark setup would not treat the tires well. This is in direct comparison to the Team Penske drivers who looked to be able to sprint an entire stint without much noticeable loss of traction. The fresh pavement at Barber may be even more abrasive on the rubber, so set ups will need to be extremely close to the mark at the start of the race if teams and drivers are to have any hope in staying within the performance envelope for the entire race.

James Hinchcliffe – After an amazing start to the season with a trip to victory lane, The Mayor has a hard road ahead to prevent the second half slip seen in 2012. James clearly has the skill, and engineering backing to be a serious title contender this year. The only question is if the still young driver has the mental prowess to stay a serious contender through the remaining 18 rounds of the season. The Go Daddy ride should be up front all day again this weekend, but maintaining his momentum should be the main aim this weekend. As he has already proven, wins will come if all the homework is done. It’s just a matter of keeping his head in the game, qualifying near the front and simply clicking off quality laps all year long. The title push starts this weekend, will Hinch be up for the challenge?

Predictions

Pole – Will Power – The Aussie was two tenths faster than the second quickest time turned in testing; a country mile considering most of the field in St. Pete was covered by less than a second. Power was in his own zip code during preseason testing and I don’t think anything will change that position on Saturday.

Winner – Will Power – His mistakes in St. Pete that pushed him back in the pack and allowed Hildebrand to ruin his race should be minimized if he can stay at the front. If testing was any indication, Power will be untouchable this weekend.

Epic Performance – Ed Carpenter – The oval specialist claimed one of his best twistie finishes in St. Pete with a P14. And in the hyper competitive 2013 season, that is a huge accomplishment for him. Consistent top 15 finishes on the twisties will be a huge win for him. His strong start to the season should continue into Indianapolis.

Biggest Loser – Honda – Without a chance to work on the engine components until the first rebuild window, Honda’s only hope at gaining more speed will be in engine management upgrades. And there is simply not enough to be found to compete with Chevy. The next three rounds will be very tough for the Honda contingent.

Even after a six month offseason, two weeks have felt like a long time. Sometimes it takes a few rounds to really get the season swinging, but it’s already April, so we know the long summer haul is right around the corner. I really enjoy the trip to Barber each spring because the facility has the ability to seemingly produce something we have never seen before. What started out as one of the worst races of the year has miraculously transformed into something very special. The show indycar is able to pull off down there is rare in the single-seater world. Round two here we come; the series is a total crapshoot right now, who knows what will happen this weekend. One thing is for sure: the race will be a heck of a good time.

Eric Hall