This past Thursday, Marshall Pruett of Racer.com posted an article regarding the upcoming west coast swing for the NTT IndyCar Series. After a very busy stretch in August with three races over as many weekends, the series is in the middle of a two-weekend break before resuming for the final three-race leg of the season – all on the west coast. The first stop will be Portland on Sep 12, where an outdoor mask mandate has already been put in place; followed by Laguna Seca on Sep 19 with the season finale at Long Beach taking place on Sep 26.
Archive for August, 2021
IndyCar Needs to Announce a Plan B, Now
Posted in IndyCar on August 30, 2021 by OilpressureRobin Miller – A Different Perspective
Posted in IndyCar on August 27, 2021 by Oilpressure
Over the past couple of days, we have all read, heard and seen some beautiful and heartfelt tributes to Robin Miller, who sadly passed away early Wednesday morning. I am quite certain that I cannot add anything that would be near as eloquent or significant as what you and I have already seen. But I feel it would be highly neglectful and grossly inappropriate if I wrote about anything else besides Robin Miller today.
Has the Time Come For Ed to Hang it Up?
Posted in IndyCar on August 25, 2021 by Oilpressure
Back in 2018, I wrote a post when Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) announced that Jordan King would not be returning to the team for the following season. Within that post, I opined for a couple of paragraphs that it might be time for Ed Carpenter to step out of the cockpit for the ovals, in order to focus on two full-time cars. A couple of the comments disagreed with me, but I received an e-mail from a very loyal reader practically chastising me for that opinion. He said he sent me an e-mail because he didn’t want to dress me down in public. I can appreciate that, but he did not hold back on how wrong I was in his e-mail.
Random Thoughts on Gateway
Posted in IndyCar on August 23, 2021 by Oilpressure
I’m assuming most of you have read the race recap I posted late Saturday night after the race, where I get into the nitty-gritty of the race itself. I will cover the race a little more, but I want to spend more time today talking about the weekend in general. – GP
Now that I’ve had a little time to think about Saturday night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWT Raceway – formerly known as Gateway Motorsports Park), I realize what a wild race it really was. Mostly, it was very entertaining – at least to witness in person. We’ve not yet watched the replay – in fact, we still have the IndyCar race at IMS from last week to watch – so, I can’t say how it looked on television; but it was probably the most entertaining race we’ve been to at Gateway.
An Interesting Night, Indeed
Posted in IndyCar on August 21, 2021 by Oilpressure
The 2021 Bommarito 500 is now in the books. Counting the double-header last year, this was the sixth edition of this incarnation of the race – since the NTT IndyCar Series returned to the 1.25 egg-shaped oval in Madison, Illinois in 2017. Without going back an reviewing each race, this one stands out as perhaps the most unique.
All Good Things Must Come to an End
Posted in IndyCar on August 21, 2021 by Oilpressure
By Susan Phillips
In a few hours our 2021 racing travel season will come to a close. The Bommarito Auto Group 500 usually signals the last race we attend for the year. I will be envious of the people we see at Portland, Laguna Seca, and Long Beach, but I’m not entirely sure I am up for cross-country flying and being race-ready when we arrive. I have done well to go to three consecutive races in a row!
Penske Cars Sizzle in Practice
Posted in IndyCar on August 21, 2021 by Oilpressure
Well…at least the Team Penske cars of Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were sizzling on a very hot and muggy afternoon at World Wide Technology Raceway. They paced the one and only practice for tonight’s Bommarito 500. The ninety-minute practice session went without incident, which should be a big relief for all teams. Nothing could have been much worse than to have a team wad up a car just a couple of hours before qualifying.
Oilpressure 