It’s Race Day (Again) in Nashville!
Once again, good morning from Nashville Superspeedway! By now, I’m sure most have heard that today’s race has been shortened to last year’s distance – 225 laps. The official explanation is that there will be record heat this afternoon. The forecast is for a high of 90°, which is certainly not a record high for the Nashville area in mid-July. My personal opinion is that everyone would like to get a head-start on getting the heck out of here – and I don’t blame them. The teams have been here since Thursday, and there is a lot of sitting around for the next three hours.
Surprisingly, no one from FOX or IndyCar asked me my opinion last night but if they had, I would have suggested to start the race at 10:00 local time and run the original distance of 300 laps. It is 11:30 local time as I type this, and the weather is fine. As I’ve said many times this weekend – at this time of year, pop-up thunderstorms are extremely common here in July. It would not surprise me if rain affects things again this afternoon.
Normally, IndyCar does everything they can to get in a full race in the event of rain. I have an idea that if a few raindrops fall anytime after Lap 113, we will quickly see the red flag along with the checkered flag. I guess the worst-case scenario at this point is if a shower hits about ten minutes before the green flag, which is at 2:05 pm CDT (local time). They may end up running the race tonight at 10:00 pm in front of friends and family.
The thing is, once the race finally gets going – I think it will really be a great race. Had they gotten to race last night, it would’ve been very entertaining. The cars had been prepared for the heat of the day. It was very cool last night, which would have presented a very interesting set of circumstances.
I also saw a lot of angst on social media overnight. I get their frustration, but I’m not sure what IndyCar could have done last night. I get why they were anxious to tap into that World Cup lead-in and the chance to have once-in-a-lifetime ratings. But I also understand fan’s frustrations. Some drove from several hours away, spending lots of money on hotels, tickets and meals – to watch some Saturday practice sessions and an Indy NXT race; before being told to come back today, when they had to be back at work. It’s frustrating, but any time you travel to a race, especially an oval, you know that weather can be a factor.
Enough of the ifs and the buts – there will hopefully be a great race this afternoon, that has the potential to really tighten up the points battle. Kyle Kirkwood sits 56 points behind Alex Palou. Kirkwood is sitting on the pole, with an obviously very fast car. Palou will start fourth, but his qualifying speed aside – he has struggled a little bit with his car. Not that I am wishing any ill will on Palou, but I like a tight battle. Kirkwood has the opportunity to take a bite out of that 56 point lead. If he does, it would be the first time this season that anyone in the second spot has taken advantage of an off-weekend for Palou.
I also want to keep an eye on David Malukas. With the 9-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine chance, Malukas actually loses only one spot – from twenty-fourth to twenty-fifth. He led the Final Practice and it will be fun watching to see him move toward the front.
Supposedly Graham Rahal’s team found the faulty part that had been his gremlin all weekend. If he has some newfound speed, he could be worth watching.
But I still think it will be Josef Newgarden flexing his muscle on another short oval, and ending up in victory lane. Let’s hope it’s this afternoon and under dry conditions.
Check back after the race. I may combine the Random Thoughts the wrap-up, under the unusual circumstances. We’ll see.
George Phillips
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