OK, Here we go with the Milwaukee race notes… finally. I think I have found some international feed on youtube as there was not even a second of prerace; straight into the command and the launching of the cars. I must say, I’m not upset. Let’s do this!
Arie back into the two-seater… interesting
—Race—
GREEN
Power straight to the lead, RHR in last
Good to see the guys really using the new tires and slice through the field early on
3
I know we are some 15+ mile an hour slower than the old CART machinery here in qualifying, but these guys still look fast on this ancient ribbon of concrete
7
Sato nearly crashes before the race even starts. Well done. I expect nothing less from you
9
Spending a few laps onboard with RHR and there is no one better to be onboard here with. The guys is so good here, even if he is starting from the rear of the field
12
Alright, I know I am watching this a few weeks late and the crowd debate has been beat to death, but the main grandstands look really full. Obviously, the shorties in T1 and T4 are sparse, but the mains are full with people sitting all the way down to the fence
24
The commercials really eat up a lot of laps here
RHR still slicing through the field with Hinch close in tow
27
It’s very hard to tell if there is fuel savings going on here at Milwaukee. It just feels like if you do decide to lift early, you will instantly be out of contention
29
Power ahead by over ½ a second… an eternity at Milwaukee
31
Lost sound on the feed. Sounded faded down in the studio, I bet this is an issue with the broadcaster
33
Now Dixon making a few moves. The cars that are on it here really look on it
Taking the entrance to 1 the half lane down can gain you a good amount of ground
37
Alright, I think that was an uncommented commercial break. Wonder why I missed those ten or so laps early on
39
Did you know Charlie Kimball has diabetes?
42
Confirmed. This is the world feed. We get no off track cut away interviews. I’m 100% ok with that
44
Onboard with Pagenaud. Dude has so much trouble on ovals; he does not look comfortable at all right now
47
Saavedra holding up a pack of quick guys. Shocking
51
Castroneves is mired behind SS as well. I can imagine the seething under the helmet, HCN needs to go
52
Pags first in. That orange is beautiful. Possibly my favorite car in the field, and bold monochromatic liveried don’t usually look too hot on the DW12s
56
The rest of the field is filing into the pits rather quickly
59
TK gaining on Power ever so slightly
60
3 WIDE INTO T1 AND T3. These guys get nutty on new tires
62
JPM hits a tire in the pits with no penalty. What?!
64
Carpenter in. For a tiny team, his crew is blindingly fast. What a difference between ECR and SFHR
66
Knock down drag out fight for the lead! TK is just a bit slower in the lowside and loses momentum to Power riding around the high side. I think we can classify this oval run for Power as clinical already. Not many people could have help off a charging TK for the lead on an oval
70
Silent commercial break, this time we are onboard with Power looking back at TK. Good view for a few moments of silence
72
The Mile looks pretty smooth considering the harsh northern winters and tunnel running under the track. I’m sure this place hasn’t been resurfaced in a long while. What a great facility to have IndyCars at
75
Power running into some heavy lapped traffic
79
RHR up to P6 with the Ganassi/Penske show ahead
81
Ha ha! The lap speeds are being displayed in KPH
85
Bell mentions high-speed commitment. Well put
87
Stat mentions Hawksworth finished P9 last year here in IndyLights… out of what, 11 cars? Silly stat
90
Awesome battle between HCN and about 3 other guys during the silent commercial break. Glad I got to see it
95
RHR +14 to P5. Get it done
99
Have yet to mention Newgarden. The kid is finishing the year strong. I hope good things come to him in 2015
100
Points as they run. Still kind of far from the end of the year to be doing this isn’t it?
105
Dixon in. Looks like the guys are only running about 50 lap stints out of a possible maximum of 70. Another tire limited race it looks like
114
…enthralled with the racing…
115
Stops still happening. If this race continues green until the end there could be a stop every single lap as the strategies drift away
119
TK hastling Power from a lap down with new tires. Takes him a few laps to get around even with new tires
122
TK to the lead with over 3.5 seconds in hand
125
Power has already reeled in TK by nearly a second
127
Through the field. Over half way? Not bad. My supremely scientific method of using when ‘through the field’ first appears to gauge the excitement of whatever race I am watching. It feels like nearly every race has seen through the field over halfway through
131
YELLOW
Munoz brushes the wall
About half the field comes in with TK not taking tires and Power not even coming in for fuel. Interesting shift in strategy
Munoz behind the wall
A few late takers for fuel and tires
135
Good for AJFR. They jumped Kimball in the pit battle
141
GREEN
TK and JPM rushing through the field
Sounds like TK may have actually taken tires. Confused with the conflicting info
148
Power has settled into a comfortable lead. This has been an unbelievable afternoon for him.
Power TK JPM. Strong top 3
154
Has the race been exciting? I think so. Yes, it’s been slightly strung out, but the cars look spectacular here. The drivers are clearly working hard and you can see that in the attitude of the cars through the corner
260
Top 3 have closed up and are sprinting away from the field
TK cites Ted Horn as the guy who made him work at short ovals. Cool shout out
163
Through the field
Pags hanging tough in the top 10. Pretty good day after a slow start
Broken suspension for RHR. Shades of Pocono. What a weird year for the Indy 500 winner. No yellow
Replay. GREAT save
177
The guys are still close up front, but traffic looms ahead
TK and JPM have done an excellent job keeping power in their sights
183
Newgarden in pretty early. It may be tough to make it to the end from here
188
Slow stop for Marco
189
Power in. This should be his last stop. Nice reminder from Cindric to not speed on pit lane
Rest of the field streams in as well. This could be the longest stint the field has had to run
195
Good race between JPM and TK, but they are over 3 seconds behind Power
Honestly, I never thought I would see Power run this dominant of an oval race.
200
Newgarden could be holding up JPM and TK, but still a great run from him
202
Wow, once the traffic got thick Powers lead evaporated with JPM bombing past Newgarden for P2
204
JPM and Power racing for the win
This race will be decided by how well the two guys can get around traffic
210
Cindric: Be mindful of fuel
JPM having trouble with traffic
215
I saw them give the blue to Munoz from the flagstand. I don’t like the idea of race control parting the seas for the leader while P2 and down have to fight to navigate the traffic
220
Sounds like Newgarden can’t make it to the end
Wow, Pagenaud in P3. Huge day for him and SSM
225
So Power is running away with it and no one has anything for him. This is a defining drive
233
Aaaand Pags slips down to P7
235
Montoya is slowly closing in, but he just doesn’t have to speed through traffic
242
Power is doing a great job cutting through traffic. I’m shocked at how well he is running this race. It has all clearly clocked for Power
246
Pagenaud not letting Power by. I wish we could hear what Pags is mumbling to himself under the helmet right now
248
Big points swing for Power
250
CHECKERED
Power “I love winning on ovals!”
Absolutely amazing. With this kind of dominant win on the definition of a drivers track, buckle in for a few years of Power crushing the field. Even if he lost a hair on the twisties, what he has gained on the ovals this year has been nothing short of masterful. I think we saw someone ‘get it’ this afternoon.
Not a bad afternoon of racing. Exciting but somewhat uneventful, but the cars still look spectacular here. Final thought? I want to see INDYCAR give the teams road course boost. We need 750 horses here.
Eric Hall
