It was disjointed, cold, sunny and drizzly. It featured some crashed race cars, some fast times and an unexpected twist. No, this wasn’t the narrative of an entire Month of May. Instead, it was the description of the two days of the Open Test on the IMS oval last Wednesday and Thursday.
Archive for April, 2022
Random Thoughts on the IMS Open Test
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on April 25, 2022 by OilpressureThe Balloons Will Soar No More
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on April 22, 2022 by Oilpressure
Some will say this post is nothing more than an old man screaming at a cloud. In actuality, it’s an old man screaming about an empty sky. I was going to write about the Open-Test at IMS for the past two days. That can wait until Monday.
Making the Changes Fans Wanted
Posted in IndyCar on April 20, 2022 by Oilpressure
The much-maligned street course used in the Inaugural Music City Grand Prix last August is getting a few tweaks for 2022. Last year’s crash-filled race brought out nine cautions and two red flags. The race featured two signature moments in my mind, and neither were very good. One is that of Colton Herta crashing with six laps remaining, after completely dominating most of the afternoon (and early evening). The other is that of eventual winner Marcus Ericsson flying over the car of Sébastien Bourdais on a restart. Both of these incidents may or may not have been caused by the very tight confines of the track.
The Dots Don’t Always Connect
Posted in IndyCar on April 15, 2022 by Oilpressure
Mark Twain is credited with saying “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” or something to that effect. Some have substituted the word “Demise” for death. In actuality, the quote to the New York Journal in 1897 was “…the report of my death was an exaggeration”.
F1 in the US: Roadblock or Opportunity?
Posted in IndyCar on April 13, 2022 by Oilpressure
A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Formula One will stage a Grand Prix in Las Vegas, giving the international series three races in the US in 2023. The reaction among fans of the NTT IndyCar Series has been mixed – and that’s putting it mildly. Some follow the theory that the tide rises all boats, while others claim that the sky is falling on top of IndyCar.
Random Thoughts on Long Beach
Posted in IndyCar on April 11, 2022 by Oilpressure
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach started off like so many of them finish – as a single-file parade. For all of of its history and prestige, Long Beach has the tendency to lay an egg sometimes, when the NTT IndyCar Series takes the track. I was afraid that yesterday was going to be one of those times. I ended up being very wrong; as Josef Newgarden, Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou battled it out for the final twenty or so laps – with Newgarden winning his second straight race.
Long Beach Preview
Posted in IndyCar on April 8, 2022 by Oilpressure
Although it has barely been six months since it ran, it is time once again for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. It has been three years since this race took place during its traditional April date. The 2020 race was completely cancelled due to COVID, and last year’s race was scheduled as the season-finale as a precaution. Before last year, the last time Long Beach was run outside of the month of April was in 1984 – the first year it ran under the sanction of CART.
Oilpressure 