Greetings from the frozen tundra of Rochester, Minnesota! Our flight and a snowstorm both hit Minneapolis at about the same time. We rented a Toyota Corolla to make the hour and fifteen minute drive to the south to Rochester. The further south we drove, the heavier the snow got. There were times that we were sliding around and I could look out into the fields going by, and I couldn’t see the horizon between the snow on the ground and the snow still falling. Those of you that live in the north probably know what I’m talking abut, but we’re not used to seeing snow like this in October. It is currently 27° as I type, but on Monday – the low will be 12°
Archive for October, 2020
Random Thoughts on St. Petersburg
Posted in IndyCar on October 26, 2020 by OilpressureSt. Petersburg Preview
Posted in IndyCar on October 23, 2020 by Oilpressure
The 2020 NTT IndyCar Series champion will be crowned this weekend in a surreal setting for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. This is usually the site where we kick the season off, not bring it to a close. Quite honestly it seems like two or three years have passed since that fateful Friday the 13th back in March, when IndyCar made a last minute decision to cancel this race. A lot has happened since then, both on the track and off.
Will the Ovals Ever Come Back?
Posted in IndyCar on October 21, 2020 by Oilpressure
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize that oval track racing is becoming an endangered species in the NTT IndyCar Series. Just a quick glance at next year’s schedule compared to the schedule as recent as 2015 shows a shocking decline in just a few years. The 2015 scheduled featured six oval races; the Indianapolis 500, as well as races at Texas, Fontana, Milwaukee, Iowa and Pocono. The 2021 schedule has the Indianapolis 500, a double-header at Texas and Gateway – four races at three oval tracks.
The Short and Chaotic Reign of Joe Heitzler
Posted in IndyCar on October 19, 2020 by Oilpressure
There was a loss in the IndyCar world late last week that probably went unnoticed by many. Some may have seen the name and it didn’t ring a bell. Others may have callously smirked and silently thought “Good riddance!” to themselves.
The Grass is Not Always Greener
Posted in IndyCar on October 16, 2020 by Oilpressure
Although it has yet to be officially announced, it looks pretty certain that Felix Rosenqvist will be leaving Chip Ganassi Racing to replace the recently fired Oliver Askew at Arrow McLaren SP for 2021. This leaves Ganassi in somewhat of a pickle. Word has it that he had every intention of extending the second-year IndyCar driver for 2021 and beyond.
A Disturbing Pattern That Has Been Emerging
Posted in IndyCar on October 14, 2020 by Oilpressure
If you are a fan of the show Curb Your Enthusiasm, you may have seen the episode of Larry David and Richard Lewis encountering a blind man on the street, who needed some help moving some furniture into his apartment. Giving the fact that he was blind, of course they agreed to help. When they got in there, they found him to be extremely rude, nasty and demanding; as he guilt-tripped them into helping him. As it turned out, he was simply a rotten person who treated people poorly. The point of the episode was that just because someone has a disability, does not automatically make them a saint.
The Good and the Bad of the 2021 Schedule
Posted in IndyCar on October 7, 2020 by Oilpressure
The NTT IndyCar Series did a smart thing last week, when it released to 2021 schedule just hours before the first practice for the Harvest Grand Prix. They knew it wouldn’t be completely overlooked, but that fans had a race to pay attention to and they would mentally place the schedule on the back burner.
Oilpressure 