The 2013 Schedule… On Double Headers, Balance and ABC

The 2013 Indycar schedule came out on Sunday and fans have shown equals parts joy, hate and total indifference. I am positive you readers have had about enough of the scheduling talk, but I’ve got a few things to say as well. As we were expecting, street circuits are featured heavily in the schedule. Ten of the 19 races to be exact, with ovals taking six and natural terrain road courses granted the remaining balance of three races; no better or worse than the 2012 schedule.

We are minus one event in Edmonton that was deemed a “financial loser” and plus two events in Huston and Pocono. The revival of double headers has really skewed the balance of power to the twisties for 2013 and could open the door for even more championship hopefuls. Nearly all of the returning races are taking more or less, in the same position on the calender. The date equity gained by many of these events could do more for attendance than any amount of unfocused promoting. Date equity makes the events feel more stable and big time; yet another good thing for all parties involved.

Double Headers – 99% of this blog’s readers attend multiple races a year and 99% of those people, more than likely, spring for a weekend pass no matter what is happening on Friday and Saturday of a race weekend. Yet the basic response was: “Meh, cheap way to make it to 19 races…” I am totally confused by this. When I head to the track, constant on-track action throughout the weekend is a major selling point for me when deciding which event or events to attend outside of Indianapolis. I went to Mid-Ohio this year for only the Sunday indycar race. Would a second race on Saturday have swayed my mind? Absolutely, and I would have camped on-site; exactly what the promoters want to hear.

Double headers do have a slight minor league feel to them, but they are a part of our sports history. Most importantly, we don’t even know if they will or will not work in today’s economic climate. And with the state of indycar racing as a whole, we might as well try some new things to mix it up. We aren’t instituting green-white-checkers, or competition cautions. This is not dumbing down the racing, or adding any unnecessary gimmicks to “spice the racing up”. Instead of making two trips to a facility twice in a single season, the series is squishing them into a single weekend. It could be a financial win for teams, owners, sponsors, the series and, most importantly, the fans.

Balance – Having 19 races and two new facilities signed, sealed and delivered by October is no small feat. Randy Bernard needs to be commended for such a herculean effort to secure the 2013 schedule before time starts to melt away during the long offseason. However, I am still concerned with the balance of ovals to twisties. Last year, there were 265 points available on ovals with Indy qualifying and no bonuses, and there were 500 points available on the twisties.  2013 looks to have 315 on the ovals and 650 on twisties; less than a third of the total points available in the 2013 campaign will be awarded on ovals. Moving from a pure fan simply wanting more ovals to an overall championship perspective, drivers can be less versatile and still have a good shot at the Astor Cup. I believe Will Power would have clinched the championship in 2012 if the season was contested with the 2013 schedule. I am more concerned with maintaining the championship impact of oval racing verse a numerical balance of schedule; I am totally onboard with weighting the points awarded on ovals to do that.

But the Break is Sooo Looong – Compare the 2012 schedule to the 2013 schedule. The series has actually gained two events above the 14 that are returning in 2013. I don’t care how you want to spin it; that is a very good thing. Ovals or twisties, the balance of the  is as long as I can watch top-level open wheel racing on an oval five or six times a year; that is my reality, I have accepted it. So how did we get stuck with such a long break between Baltimore and Huston? The obvious answer is the loss of Edmonton. But remember how loud everyone complained when there was a very real possibility that the 2013 season could end in Huston? To appease the fans, Fontana was pushed back a few weeks so the season could finish on an oval.

WE SHOT OURSELVES IN THE FOOT. And we got exactly what we wanted. What is more important to you: the season ending on an oval, or not having a five week break in September? Plus, there are still a few balls in the air in regards to Providence and Kentucky. Although Randy Bernard has stated the schedule we have is what we will run, I have a hard time blindly believing anything he says. Better to exceed expectations by adding another race to a “completed” schedule than disappointing the masses by giving them hope and ultimately not adding another race.

ABC – The much maligned TV “partner” has taken a fairly good route when they chose what races to broadcast and have actually picked up an extra race as well. In 2012, ABC had initially signed up to broadcast five races, but broadcasted the NBCSN produced Mid-Ohio race due to conflicts on NBCSN. A very public olive branch was extended to the series by allowing the broadcast and the relationship seems to be warming a bit with ABC taking main broadcast duties on six races this year; the Saturday race in Detroit is the addition. They are also choosing to use the midseason block of ovals minus Milwaukee, plus Detroit as their broadcast window. That gives us over a month of nearly uninterrupted coverage on network TV.

Pocono – We are finally headed back to the east coast mecca of American open-wheel racing… epic. Not much more needs to be said.

Once it’s all said and done, there really aren’t that many differences between the 2012 and 2013 schedule and overall, it seems like a moderate step in the right direction. I will say it seems like Penske may be muscling his way around with the Detroit GP. He gets the week after the 500, ABC coverage, and now has been given a double header; I expect track changes to increase the odds of passing. Anything less and we know Penske may have gotten the best of us yet again.  During double header weekend, the paddock on Saturday afternoon and evening could be one of the more hectic places to be seen. It will be very interesting to see how teams cope with those three super busy weekends. The 2013 schedule could be better, but it could be far worse. Considering what the series had to work with, the release of the 2013 schedule this early and in such complete form could be considered a minor miracle. ON TO SILLY SEASON!

Eric Hall

How I Saw It… 2012 Super Review Part The Final, The People Edition

2012 was the year of competition. Even with an unproven hardware package, the fight from the front to the back of the field was close and intense all year long. A new car, new engines, the reworked rulebook, a cleaned house in race control; so much was unknown entering the 2012 season and I think we can all agree that given the steep climb we faced this year, indycar came out on top and no worse for the wear. Of the 25 full season drivers, we could really only classify one or two drivers as in over their heads. We finally have the best and brightest from ChampCar in mostly competent rides and it finally feels like American open-wheel racing was truly unified for the first time since 2008. There aren’t many vestiges of the complicated political past left in the series and a glimmer of hope and a slight inching of forward progress punctuated an epic season of indycar racing.

Reactions

Andretti Autosport – The most fearsome team in the paddock during the mid-2000’s has finally retaken its rightful place atop the championship standings. An interesting statement, but not one I totally believe to be true. It would be hard to categorize a season with four wins as a fluke, but it just doesn’t feel like we truly have the “big three” back. Obviously, Ryan Hunter-Reay more than pulled his weight on the team, and sophomore driver James Hinchcliffe was placed as high as P2 in the standings after Milwaukee, but where was Marco? Taking Target Chip Ganassi and Team Penske as the high water mark of the series, it is more than apparent that all available drivers must be in a position to win races and help teammates in the late stages of a championship battle. The boss’s kid was quickly overshadowed by Hinch and is now the weakest link in the chain. I know he’s young, but Marco has a long road ahead of him to total bring Andretti Autosport back into the lime light.

Simon Pagenaud – Four podium finishes and five more top seven finishes punctuated the Frenchman’s return to American Open Wheel Racing. Sam Schmidt is one of the most ruthless owners in the paddock and it was only a matter of time before success was found at the highest rung of the ladder. The amalgamation of Simon and SSM seems to be exactly that both needed to find near immediate success in the series. Pagenaud ended the season P5 in the championship standings, didn’t claim a single victory and finished ahead of four race winners in the final standings. Pagenaud had a single DNF in 2012, bested only by Helio Castroneves who finished every race in 2012. Not bad for a “rookie” driving for a team in their sophomore season. Throw in a second car for 2013, and Simon, his teammate and SSM will absolutely be contenders week in and out.

Race Control – Beaux Barfield performed as well as anyone could have asked during his maiden voyage into the shark infested waters of the indycar paddock. The officiating staff had only one real scream at the TV moment with Scott Dixons wonky non-penalty penalty in Milwaukee, Of course we can dissect the red flag at Fontana forever, but I think it was a good move if rules are hashed out and clearly spells out the how/when/whys of the issue. But honestly, after going green in the rain on an oval last year, it did not take much to appease the detractors and we received at least a single year of more or less calm waters in race control. Drivers said all year that they never know what the rules are race to race, but that’s exactly what they are paid to do. No one could create a disenable pattern of bad calls; all in all an excellent year for indycar in the tower.

Discipline Championships – I have made it no secret that I am a fan of the oval and twistie trophies handed out by the series. We also know that there were more points available (500 on roads, 265 on ovals with Indy qualifying and no bonus points) on the twistie side of the championship than the oval portion. The series prides itself in diversity, but many fans do not feel the series is truly diverse until a close to 50/50 split schedule of oval and twistie events it attained. I would like to see some kind of weighted system to make the ovals worth more to the championship in the long run. Even if it is a sub-discipline, a five race championship is not very spectacular. At this rate, we might as well hand out separate road and street course championships too.

Team Owners – Penske and Ganassi have been vocal about how car owners in the series do business, and 2012 really separated the good guys from the rest of the pack. During the mid-season break, some wonderful people started the owners-want-to-buy-the-series rumors that, in the end, just reopened old wounds than need to be left alone. Michael Andretti, the man single handedly trying to save indycar and keep its ladder system healthy, had issues getting sponsorship contracts signed due to this rumor mongering. Everything seemed more or less peachy in March, but the paddock has quickly devolved into the monster we all know and love. At least we think we know who we can trust; it would be nice to get a few more owners on the let’s-do-right-by-indycar bandwagon.

Off-Season Questions

- Is Andretti Autosport still considered the best of the rest, or do they exist in some big three* limbo?

- Tipped to be the next race winning team in March only to devolve into more of a joke by September, what is the ultimate fate of Tony Kanaan and KV Racing?

- Will Takuma Sato quit throwing it away at the most inopportune times all the time?

- What kinds of changes can, or should, we expect in race control?

- How will the 2013 edition of the rulebook evolve from the current version?

- Will we see any tire compound changes from Firestone? Amid the posturing regarding the 2015 tire supply, should they prove themselves throughout the coming seasons?

- How much speed is left to be found in the DW12?

- What will the engine regulations look like next year? How far will manufacturers push the envelope?

- If KV, Penske, and G2 all lose a seat, how will this affect the effort to pair up existing single car teams?

- Will Ed Carpenter Racing finally strengthen its only real weak link in the program; Ed Carpenters road course driving skills?

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What. A. Year. We had a season of clean racing, close finishes, epic on track battles and yet another patented indycar championship race than came down to the final corner of the season. The series has finally nailed down the on-track product and now needs to finalize the off-track details that seem to derail any forward progress obtained. . The field was finally stacked, and the drivers had a more than capable race machine to do battle on-track with, it’s just too bad no one saw it. The anticipation race to race and the accompanying buzz in 2012 were far more palpable than any time in recent history and the off season looks to be even worse. Indycar racing is still the best kept secret in motorsports, and now we just need to let the rest of the racing world know.

Eric Hall

How I Saw It… 2012 Super Review Part 1: Nuts and Bolts Edition

2012 will be remembered for close racing and an entirely new chassis/engine package that revolutionized the on-track product in the INDYCAR series. Not revolutionized, no, it was more of a renaissance of sorts. A return to a more historically correct version of what many people see as big-time open-wheel racing in the US. People don’t notice these sorts of things overnight, and if there as a more perfect way to start the true road to recovery, I think we are finally headed down a path with some semblance of sense and quality decision making. The new equipment quickly quieted the nay-sayers as it delivered some of the hottest racing in 2012.

Engines – 2012 saw the introduction of both a freshly designed chassis as well as a new engine formula. The 2.2 liter direct injected turbo engines were extolled as the saviors of the series and the first tangible link to the turbocharged past that American open-wheel racing has been angling to return to. What we received was a bit more muted than we all expected. Admittedly, no one was expecting the 900 horsepower fire breathing monsters of years past, however I still cannot shake the feeling of being somewhat underwhelmed by final product.

At 12,000 rpm, these are the highest revving direct injected engines in the world. Impressive, and technologically distinct in the motorsports world, but they don’t have that sound. You shouldn’t need to see the track to know cars are whipping around; you should be able to feel it. The exhaust-muting turbochargers don’t even give that distinctive whine heard in years past. As a visceral experience, the new engine formula never totally enveloped me when I witnessed them in the flesh. But hearing those turbos dump their boost onto the hot exhaust tips made up for quite a bit of sustained volume.

All of that is forgivable, and I hope Honda and Chevy can find some more power with the seven months of development that is the offseason. I don’t think it is totally ridiculous to ask these engines to make 600 to 650 horsepower in speedway trim and 800 for road and street courses and short ovals. Over 20 years ago, 1.5 liter turbo engines that made nearly 1000 horses in race trim were the winning formula in F1. Let’s see how far we can go with direct-injected technology; we definitely are headed down a good road with the engine formula. An indycar is supposes to be scary because of its power, not from the handling.

Chassis – What started development as an absolute pig at the Speedway, ended its maiden season proving it could attack any type of racing environment with composure and repeatability. The DW12 more than overcame the expected growing pains experienced early on. Dallara proved they were committed to the series, and the fans, by continually developing the chassis until it became the fearsome competitor seen carrying drivers to the 15 checkered flags seen this year.

Throughout the entire year, we were treated to action not seen in many other forms of motorsports, let alone our little open-wheeled haven. Barber was one of the best road races I have even seen in terms of action throughout the field. All of the ovals were true tests of driver skill, team communication and engineering acumen again, not seen in the series in quite a while. From what we were expecting when the green flag fell in St Petersburg, to what we witnessed take the checkers in Fontana, I can definitively say the car accomplished more than what I ever could have imagined Dallara could have provided.

Is it beautiful? Maybe, maybe not, but in racing form usually follows function, and I can forgive any complaints about the looks if we continue to have racing like this. Honestly, it really doesn’t look too terribly awful after watching a partial season of F1 side-by-side a full season of indycar racing. Aerokits for next year? I’m so back and forth on the subject that I don’t know if I’m totally sold on the idea we need them if it would help the entities that make up indycar help revitalize the sport in other ways. But the manufacturers have been asking for them and I doubt they haven’t already spent some cash looking into their feasibility and possible initial design concepts.

Throw a moderate horsepower increase and a hair more downforce in relation to added power onto this thing and we could have a modern day classic in the makes right before our very eyes. The chassis has proven it could use a kick in the pants and the drivers seem to think it could as well. Now, to get those pesky engine manufacturers on board…

Track Selection – Although a true 50/50 split between ovals and twisties would be ideal, the thirds method of scheduling that thrust CART into the limelight was nearly replicated in 2012. I have given my opinions as to why the thirds scheduling is not the worst idea in the world, but we are not quite there. With only three natural terrain road courses: Barber, Mid-Ohio and Sonoma, there is a very obvious hole in the “most diverse series in the world” claim. I would love more ovals on the championship trail, but balance needs to be found in other areas as well. Natural terrain road courses are often negatively lumped into the same hate-filled pile at street courses. This is unfair, and with the amount of historic and high quality road courses in North America, one would think this would be a good route to take in schedule expansion, yet we haven’t caught wind of a single one looking to be added next year. Maybe the at-the-track business model is in a bit more trouble than we thought.

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All in all, the nuts and bolts of 2012 were pretty well in place. If we ignore the farce that was the China round and glaze over the three week hole in the schedule created by it, the racing was fantastic and the equipment proved to be up to snuff in this initial development year. Power showed that even though the schedule is twistie heavy, you have to be on your game no matter how successful you are in one of the disciplines. Exploding engines didn’t become a factor in the championship story and they more than adequately powered the DW12 into the history books as possibly one of the raciest chassis ever to be created for indycar racing.

Next Wednesday I will dive into the people and “soft” aspects of the 2012 season as well a few final thoughts about what the heck we witnessed this year. From then throughout the off-season you can expect a single weekly post on Wednesday until the run into the 2013 campaign next March. And as always, thank you for reading!

Eric Hall

How I Saw It… The Speechless Season Finale Edition

High, low and everywhere in between, in a sight unseen for many years of indycar racing, no part of the track was safe. The drivers earned their money Saturday night with a race for the ages, and once again the DW12 and INDYCAR’s aero package proved to be exactly what the track needed to produce the breath taking racing we witnessed during the season finale. Ryan Hunter-Reay was able to capitalize on Will Powers early wreck and finished a mere three points ahead of Power and denying him and Roger Penske championship honors for yet another year. Once the smoke cleared, Ed Carpenter went head to head with Dario and came out on top again in a nearly carbon copy finish of 2011 at Kentucky. An absolutely amazing way to finish the 2012 chapter in indycar racing.

Ed Carpenter – Sure, a championship was handed out on Saturday night, but the real show stopper was Ed Carpenter truly taking it to the big dogs and stealing another win on an oval. I honestly thought there would never be another owner/driver win in the series and had all but quit picking Eddie in my fantasy league. Not that I was unsure of his talent, it just seemed like the team was out in the weeds more than it was banging towards the front. Ed is the man, and the last vestige to the USAC history of open wheel racing; the likes of which may never be seen again in a full season capacity. But it takes a team to win an indycar race, and Ed has surrounded himself with some of the best in the business. I hope a real road racer can take a seat at the team next year so we can see what they can really do.

Will Power – Dude! Seriously?! I was shocked that he threw it away so early. All he had to do was exactly the opposite of smashing his car into the fence. All he had to do was keep RHR in sight; he didn’t even need to be racing him. But in a multi-lap battle, seasoned oval driver forced Power lower and lower, causing him to have to race through the seams of the track which would be the cause of his demise. I have given Power crap in the past about his questionable skills on ovals, but I had all the faith in the world that he would at least be able to hold onto the car long enough to clinch the championship. Again, shocked but not necessarily surprised. 2012 turned out to not be Powers year after every competent source pegged him for the Astor Cup in March. WP still has a lot to prove on the ovals in 2013.

500 Miles of awesomeness – All gushing about the race aside; Saturday night was the perfect example of why 500 mile races in open wheel racing are so special. If we look back to lap 147, the final lap completed closest to the 300 mile mark before pit stops started, and Tony Kanaan was leading with Ryan Hunter-Reay struggling back in P8. By lap 218, or 436 miles in and right before final stops, RHR was still fighting an ill handling car in P6 and not in championship contention. Although Carpenter was at the front, it took that final pit stop to help Dario and RHR find a bit more speed. These extra two or three stops really changed the complexion of what could have happened, not to mention we saw a fair amount of equipment attrition as the night wore on. By the end of the evening, if felt like we were watching a patented 500 mile Fontana race.

Red Flag – Possibly the largest point of contention in the entire season and it happened with 10 laps to go in the 2012 campaign. Along with everyone else in TV land, I was quite surprised to see the red fly when Tony Kanaan found the wall. I have no issue with this type of call, but it seemed like teams weren’t prepared for such a thing. What if a car wouldn’t re-fire? This isn’t endurance racing in the sense that you must prove continued starting system reliability. An impassible track is one thing, but light contact is a totally different story. Beaux Barfield got really lucky on this one and nothing wonky happened when the field finally got underway. BxB said he informed team owners that this was a possibility; it would have been nice for him to inform the fans as well.

Restarts – Indianapolis, Texas and Fontana were the site of the only single file restarts all year, and after said races, I believe there is no reason to continue with their usage into 2013. Fontana, which is approximately 19 lanes wide and has a football fields worth of grass separating the racing surface from pit lane, had no excuse not to be a double file restart. Not to mention, the drivers were using every inch of race track from the apron to the wall in the turns and down the straights, so the track should have been considerably cleaner than in the days of hugging the white line all night. The use of single file restarts was an understandable reaction to the events of last October, but their use should be reconsidered for at least Fontana if it returns in 2013.

Could there have been a better way to end the season? The DW12 proved itself in all situations throughout the year and punctuated its freshman year with a style of racing seen nowhere else in the world at any level of racing. We saw something very special on Saturday night and watched the new-and-improved indycar finally prove it is worthy of the 100 years’ worth of oval racing history linked with the current incarnation of American open-wheel racing. There is talk that the street race in Houston, Texas is taking over the honors of holding the season finale; this is unacceptable. Auto Club Speedway has held six CART season finales, was the penultimate round of the IRL for two years and the IRL season finale once. A finish at Kentucky or Chicagoland would be awesome, but it just feels right at Fontana.

Eric Hall

Into The Crystal Ball… One Last Time For 2012 Edition

As the indycar world turns finds itself at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California for the final episode of the 2012 season. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Will Power are in heated competition to claim their first championship and the right to have their name etched in the Astor cup. There are various other honors up for grabs but none more important at this point in the season. Chevy has been dominant through most of the year and finds itself powering both contenders to the checkers in this initial development year of the new engine formula. By to indycar standards, the year has gone more or less damage free and we find ourselves primed for an exciting evening of Saturday night racing in southern California to crown the 2012 champion.

Five Things to Watch

500 Miles – For the first time since its inception, the IRL turned INDYCAR will be staging a 500 mile race outside of Memorial Day weekend. The old line of thought was the 500 was the only race that warranted such an important distance. But 500 miles races are an integral part of American open-wheel racing that was lost in this series since 1995 and fell off the ChampCar calendar after the 2003 season. The cream rises to the top, and a 500 mile race is the definition of that mindset; not to mention this race will be run in afternoon to night conditions so teams and drivers will be chasing the track all night long. 500 miles also brings with it two or three more pit stops, also known as two or three more times for something to go wrong on a possibly crowded pit lane. The pace will be furious and any bobble could spell the end of the night for someone. I think we need to do this more often.

Aero – The cars are carrying basically the same package that was run at Indianapolis: speedway wings and the superspeedway wheel guard. With the extra-large bumper, we could have similar drafting action that was seen in Indy this year. The bumper seems to punch an even larger hole in the air than just the wide hips of the DW12 can alone with the stock bumper. Add in the 14 degrees of banking in the turns that should catch the drivers early on, and we could have a good ol’ drafting party. There still isn’t enough downforce available to hug the white line throughout a tire run so mechanical setup will be of the most important order to guarantee drivability all night long.

Engines – The entire field will take a new engine for the race. There is no reason not to considering how fast and wide Fontana is; the ten grid penalty could mean next to nothing. As of posting, there are already a few drivers committed to an engine swap including championship contender Will Power. Plus, if the entire grid gets a new engine, the starting order shouldn’t change much from the close of qualifying. And now that we are finally here, we can bask in the warming glow of not having an engine penalty adversely affect the late stages of the championship. In May, the Chevys looked to have the speed advantage in the heat, but fell off once it started to cool off. This only fuels the warning to never count the target boys out no matter the circumstances.

The Other Guys – There are actually more than just two drivers running for the race win, and more than a few have a pretty good shot at winning on the big oval. This weekend will mark exactly the last time in 2012 that teams and drivers will have a chance to prove themselves by snagging a race win. In that light, this race could be more important for this group than even the two contenders. No matter how it plays out one will win and one will lose, but for the rest of the field a win could mean so much more heading into the offseason to gain momentum, confidence and possibly an inked deal for 2013. One caveat for the other guys going checkers or wreckers for the final win of the season: please, do not get involved in the championship battle.

Goodbye Lotus – It has more or less been officially unofficially confirmed that Lotus will not live to fight another year. Once the green flag flies at Fontana Saturday night, the Judd created Lotus will begin its 500 mile circling of the proverbial drain. But that is only if they can run fast enough not to get black flagged after a few laps a la Indianapolis. But that would really be a fitting end to the nearly stillborn engine program created at the eleventh hour on an even less than shoe string budget. With all of that said, I would love to see the series buy the program, up the boost and lease it to Indy only one offs. Obviously, the engine probably wouldn’t last more than 50 laps, but at least the hard work John Judd put into the engine would not have been in vain. And if we could get Buick to brand it? Perfect.

Predictions

Pole – Ryan Hunter-Reay – The only way to get the ball rolling in his championship quest is to start the race firmly on pole and collect the all-important bonus point that comes with it.

Winner – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Let’s be honest, anything less than a win would certainly spell doom for his championship hopes.

Epic Performance – Andretti Autosport – And Michael Andretti gets the second greatest prize of the season for all of his hard work; the elusive 500 win will have to come another year. The Andretti boys finish 1-2-3 effectively locking Will Power out of the championship and in the process reminding the world why it used to be the “big three” in indycar racing.

Biggest Loser – Will Power – I have no real dog in this fight, but I love rooting for the guy behind… underdogs succeeding and such. Power is competent on the ovals, but if Andretti Autosport can lock the podium there won’t be anything Power can do.

Season Champion – Ryan Hunter-Reay – After bouncing around for years in open wheel racing, Hunter-Reay seals his place in the history books all while making his future employer, Roger Penske, wait yet another year to snag a championship in the combined series.

Oval Champion – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Just a byproduct of winning the season championship, but a fantastic byproduct nonetheless.

Manufacturers Champion – Chevy – The bowtie brigade wrapped up the championship with races in hand. After their blazing start, I don’t think there was much hope that Honda could pull it out.

Rookie of the Year – Simon Pagenaud – As with the Manufacturers Championship, Pagenaud wrapped up ROTY honors long ago, and in such convincing fashion that he had Roger Penske calling him up for a ride before the season has even finished.

So all that’s left for 2012 is to light this candle. A compressed season that was oddly punctuated by an extended summer break will finally culminate with 500 miles of open wheeled insanity under the lights on Saturday night. Because Power has a very good shot at locking this championship up I have to say: if it was Franchitti and Power, I would be all about a Will Power championship. But Penske can wait one more year so AA can finish its rebuilding phase and give us a close and heated title battle from the get go in 2013. 250 miles are all that we have left before the long off season; above all I want a clean, close and safe race to the championship. As we all say every year, I can’t believe the season is already on the eve of its final race. Let’s do this!

Eric Hall

Into The Crystal Ball… Multiple Combatants Edition

Welcome to championship week! In five short days the checkered flag will fall on the 2012 season and new, first time champion will be crowned. Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California will be the site of the final battle that the drivers will contest this year, and it is shaping up to be quite the nail biting season finale we always wish for when the season kicks off. Unsurprisingly, Will Power will be fighting came-from-nowhere opponent Ryan Hunter-Reay for the championship in yet another patented indycar season finale. The two-part super preview will cover the contenders of the various honors to be decided this weekend, and Thursday will have a more straight forward race preview.

Season Champion

Ryan Hunter-Reay – The better oval driver? Possibly, but there is more to this tale than meets the eye. RHR only has seven top five finishes in 49 starts on ovals whereas Will Power has eight. Not to mention, Power got there in 31 races. But Power has done all of this with Penske power. Hunter-Reay has pushed through a career of lack luster teams and subpar equipment before finally landing his ride at Andretti. And for the first time, he may be relaxed and confident in his abilities. RHR has claimed two oval victories in the new package and looks to finally be settled into his new home and ready to take a championship. But this weekend is a must win; a finish outside of the top two really opens the door for Power to clinch by just surviving.

Will Power – The Penske driver sits a handful of points ahead of Hunter-Reay and the 2012 championship race has shades of 2010 written all over it. That year, a good finish could have clinched the championship for Power. It was not to be and a wrecked racecar was all that Power had to show for himself. Two years later and Power is in survival mode again, but the style of oval racing will play more into his hands than ever before. An entire season of learning and development has put him in as best a position he could ever want to be in. I am one who believes the Texas two-step races deserve an asterisks and this weekend would be the perfect time to legitimize himself in the oval racing ranks. Survival will nearly ensure the championship if RHR misses the podium, but a win would make it so much sweeter.

Oval Champion

Lots ‘o contenders  – There are eight drivers in mathematical contention for the Oval honors assuming Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan, who are both tied for P1 with 136 points, score a maximum of 12 points each. Barring minimum points scored for both of those guys, James Hinchcliffe is the only other driver with a real shot at the championship.  The Canadian sits 15 back, but a podium would almost be needed to grant any realistic shot at winning the honors.

The other guys: Helio -23, Wilson -24, Dixon -27, Broscoe -28, and Rahal -31, would need multiple miracles to usurp season championship hopeful Ryan Hunter-Reay in this side quest. Point’s co-leader Kanaan could easily take the honors, but his KV Racing ride isn’t always consistent and the Brazilian will definitely not want to help decide the main champion by racing too hard for the oval championship. If RHR win the main championship, he will win the oval trophy as well. A lose-lose situation is the only other outcome for Hunter-Reay’s probable checkers or wreckers run on Sunday.

Manufacturer Champion

Chevy – The American manufacturer clinched the honors more than a few races ago and now they are powering the two championship hopefuls and will almost certainly be powering the oval champion. All in all not a bad year, but in some execs eyes could be seen as a failure for not winning the Indy 500. We should not forget why everyone is really competing in the series.

Rookie of the Year

Simon Pagenaud – Not much to say here other than: are you really surprised? The guy has a second place overall finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a second overall finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring, an LMP2 win at Petit, two Spa 1000km overall wins, an ALMS championship, and an Atlantics championship. The guy is legit and doesn’t even have to show up to clinch ROTY honors considering he sits P5 in the championship and his closest competitor, Josef Newgarden, sits P23. The other possible rookie, Rubens Barrichello, sits P11 and would not have been a threat if he had been classified as a rookie; no asterisks needed here.  A win would be the perfect way to end a remarkable sophomore freshman year in American open-wheel racing indycar racing.

TEAM Money

EJ Viso – The third KV Racing driver sits P20 in the championship, and if I was a betting man I would say this is the TEAM money cut off line. Collecting 234 points across the 14 events thus far there isn’t much chance that James Jakes, 20 points back, will be able to outscore Viso enough to pass him in the hunt to be in the top 20. I’m not sure how much finishing in the money affects Viso’s 2013 plans considering he is thinking about team ownership, but missing TEAM money will most likely spell the end of James Jakes poor indycar career. There are other possibilities to how TEAM money could be distributed in 2013, but without more to go on everything is speculation.

The manufacturer’s championship and Rookie of the Year honors are all sewn up and all that is left is a race for the final two championship trophies. No matter how deep the talent pool is, or how lopsided the championship may seem throughout the year, it amazes me that we can have such incredible and down to the wire championships year in and out. And the fact that it is mostly filler free racing only adds to the luster of our championship. Five days followed by a six or seven month offseason it a tough reality only made bearably by the championship coming down to the wire. This is why I love indycar racing.

Eric Hall

Open-Wheel Timeline, Part 1… The Sanctioning Bodies

The history of American Open Wheel Racing and its respective national championships are as confusing and intricate as any other aspect of the sport. Controversy between the various sanctioning bodies, participating manufacturers and of course the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the rule and not the expectation for the bulk of racing history in the United States.

I have attempted to construct a timeline of events between the various players in the game that is big time racing in the US. This timeline is the first step to a more complete and intricate chronological history hitting the major points in the 117 year history of automobile-turned-open-wheel racing that comprises the history of the series we currently enjoy.

All additional posts will be added to the “Open-Wheel Historical Timeline” tab at the top of the page. No promises to how often this will be updated, but it is a good start and is much more useful in published form as opposed to sitting on my hard drive. As always, all research was completed with due diligence, however I can never guarantee 100 percent accuracy. And as such, any notes, additions or corrections are more than appreciated and requested.

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1895 – The first race on American soil is contested. Although this was more of a feasibility test of self-propelled carriages, the Chicago-Evanston-Chicago 50 mile contest started an undying love affair between Americans and the automobile.

1899 – The Automobile Club of America (ACA) is formed in an attempt to coalesce US racing. The ACA quickly aligns with the Automobile Club of France (ACF), the world’s predominant automobiling organization at the time.

1902 – AAA racing board is formed in opposition to the ACA which was seen as too bourgeois for the blossoming sport of motor racing.

1904 – The AAA Racing Board sanctioned its first race the 1904 Vanderbilt cup. It is unknown why William Vanderbilt chose AAA to sanction his new international event over ACA.

1905 – The AAA Racing Board sanctions the National Track Championship, but is inexplicably cancelled for the 1906 season. This 1905 season was the first time an official points system was applied to a season of racing in the world.

1908 – ACA creates the American Grand Prize in an attempt to break into the international grand prix scene and steal some of the limelight from AAA’s Vanderbilt Cup. These contests gave the United States two international level events.

1908 – The ongoing feud between the ACA and AAA was finally put to rest. It was decided that the ACA would sanction all international level events on American soil and AAA would sanction anything else that was left, which turned out to be the winning formula. By all accounts, this decision doomed the ACA and by 1916, AAA was sanctioning all big time racing in the US.

1908 – AAA dissolves the Racing Board to form the Contest Board. AAA’s exact reasons for the change have been lost with time, but it was most likely so they could legally oversee all automobiling events, not just races.

1909 – The Manufacturers Contest Association (MCA) was formed in an attempt to gain more manufacturer control over the technical regulations used by AAA at the time. The MCA’s insistence to use more stock style racecars and in effect, causing the extinction of American made thoroughbred race machines until 1915.

1909 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for business.

1911 – The first Indianapolis 500 was contested.

1916 – AAA relaxes the rules to allow purebread race machines back into competition ahead of the inaugural 1916 championship racing season. The MCA had steadily been losing clout in the racing world and ultimately folded at a date unknown.  This would mark the first time since 1905 a national champion was declared based on points earned through a season of racing.

1916 – The final American Grand Prize sanctioned by the ACA was contested and awarded points towards the 1916 AAA National Championship. The ACA fades from existence in the coming years and never sanctions another top level contest.

(Note: If you know anything further on the eventual demise of the MCA and ACA, please help me fill these holes.)

1917 – 1919 – the championship is suspended due to WWI. Major sanctioned racing continues uninterrupted however no season champion is crowned.

1942 – 1945 – Championship racing is completely suspended for WWII. No major racing takes place worldwide.

1952 – NASCAR creates the Speedway Division that consisted of stock block open wheeled cars, very similar to the sit up front engine cars seen in the AAA series.

1953 – The Speedway Division awards its last champion and is quietly discontinued.

1955 – AAA withdraws from sanctioning the season championship. The death of Bill Vukovish and the 1955 Le Mans disaster are pointed to as the main reasons.

1955 – The United States Auto Club (USAC) is formed by IMS owner Tony Hulman to fill the void created left by the AAA Contest Board. USAC becomes the arbitrating body for the Nation Championship.

1979 – The first season of the newly created Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) is contested. The Sports Car Club of America would sanction this inaugural season so the series would be recognized by the FIA and included on the international motorsports calendar.

1979 – The USAC championship is seen as the de facto national championship and continues to sanction the Indy 500

1980 – CART and USAC form the Championship Racing League in an attempt to combine the competing series. IMS management rejects the idea and the season is abandoned after Mid-Ohio and USAC does not contest another championship event in 1980. CART continues its season and with this decisive victory becomes the dominant national championship sanctioning body.

1981 – USAC Gold Crown Championship struggles to maintain a solid schedule. The last paved oval outside of Indianapolis is held at Pocono this year sealing the Gold Crown championships fate. The series would consist of a handful of dirt ovals along with the still USAC sanctioned Indy 500.

1985 – The USAC Gold Crown Championship now consists of a single event: the Indianapolis 500. Its winner holds the dual honor of being crowned both the Indy 500 champion as well as the Gold Crown Champion.

1996 – The Indy Racing League (IRL) is created and its first season contested in response to the increasing foreign diversity, diminished importance of oval racing and rising costs of the CART Championship. This will mark the first time since 1984 that USAC will sanction more than a single championship level event in a calendar year. CART still maintains its national championship albeit without the Indy 500 included on its schedule for the first time since the inception of CART.

1997 – After multiple officiating gaffs, the IRL kicks USAC out of the official’s seat and moves sanctioning in house. USAC will never sanction another championship level event.

2004 – CART declares bankrupt and its assets are purchased by Open Wheel Racing Series. OWRS morphs into The Champ Car World Series and contests its first championship season.

2008 – Lacking the financial assets to contest the 2008 season, Champ Car filed for bankruptcy and its assets folded into the IRL. 2008 marked the first time the Indy 500 and the national championship are sanctioned by a single unified body since 1978.

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So that’s phase one. History is always fun and I can’t wait to add to it once the off season gets to be nearly unbearable. See anything wonky, have a request or want to float a suggestion? Contact me through the usual routes. This started as a random idea and has grown into a crowd sourced project; yes, there are other parts already framed and research is underway to complete future additions to this timeline. I have no idea how large this will grow but maybe we can create some semblance of informed historical accuracy in a confused sport with a fractured past.

Eric Hall