One topic that I purposely omitted from my Random Thoughts post on Monday was Andretti Autosport re-signing Alexander Rossi to a multi-year contract. Most of you know I am a lifelong fan of Team Penske, dating all the way back to Mark Donohue and Rick Mears, then to Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves and now to Josef Newgarden. There have been very few Team Penske drivers I have pulled against over the years.
Archive for July, 2019
Maintaining the Balance of Power
Posted in IndyCar on July 31, 2019 by OilpressureRandom Thoughts on Mid-Ohio
Posted in IndyCar on July 29, 2019 by Oilpressure
There are a lot of old sayings in racing that may sound trite, but carry a lot of truth behind them. To finish first, you must first finish is attributed to the great Rick Mears. You can’t win a race in the first turn, but you can certainly lose it there is an old favorite. Darrell Waltrip didn’t come up with catching him is one thing, passing him is another but he sure did like to use it a lot. Well, I’m adding one more to the list…Never count out Scott Dixon at Mid-Ohio.
Mid-Ohio Preview
Posted in IndyCar on July 26, 2019 by Oilpressure
The NTT IndyCar Series makes its annual stop in Lexington, Ohio this weekend for the Honda 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This track has a long and storied past with Indy car racing. CART first ran at Mid-Ohio in 1980, with Johnny Rutherford winning in Jim Hall’s Chaparral. But CART did not return again until 1983 when Teo Fabi, who was driving for Gerry Forsythe, won the same year he won the pole at the Indianapolis as a rookie. For the next twenty years, CART raced at Mid-Ohio, with their last race there in 2003 when Paul Tracy won, also driving for Gerry Forsythe.
Aesthetics vs Safety – A Common Debate
Posted in IndyCar on July 24, 2019 by Oilpressure
There is a topic pertaining to the NTT IndyCar Series that I have not given a whole lot of attention to, and that is the new aeroscreen that was unveiled on Carb Day at IMS back in May. I think I may have mentioned something about it when it was first unveiled, but I’m not sure It ever went beyond a mention or not.
Random Thoughts on Iowa
Posted in IndyCar on July 22, 2019 by Oilpressure
There seems to be a trend developing this season in the NTT IndyCar Series. When a team hits upon the right setup, that team’s driver is able to check out and dominate a given race. Takuma Sato totally dominated at Barber. Alexander Rossi followed suit at Long Beach and Road America, as did Simon Pagenaud at the Indianapolis 500 and last weekend in Toronto. Saturday night, it was Josef Newgarden’s turn as he put on a clinic for his second IndyCar win at Iowa Speedway and his fourth win of the season.
Iowa Preview
Posted in IndyCar on July 19, 2019 by Oilpressure
Tomorrow night will mark the thirteenth running of an IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway, located in Newton, Iowa. The NTT IndyCar Series began racing at Iowa Speedway in June of 2007, less than a year after the 7/8-mile track opened in 2006. That race was known as the Iowa Corn 250, which was won by Dario Franchitti, who was driving for Andretti-Green Racing at the time. Franchitti would go on to win the first of his four IndyCar championships that year.
Do Casual Racing Fans Really Exist?
Posted in IndyCar on July 17, 2019 by Oilpressure
This past Friday, I was listening to my usual sports-talk radio show that I’ve been listening to on my way to work for years – The WakeUp Zone on WGKX 104.5 FM – The Zone. Most people evolve with age and deepen their interests in many different areas. I am the exception. I have gotten more shallow with age. Fifteen years ago, I would listen to different types of music, news-talk radio as well as sports-talk. Today my radio pretty well stays parked on this station 24-hours a day. In the not too distant future, I’ll be so shallow there won’t be much left in the pool to drain.
Oilpressure 