It’s hard to believe when we arrived at the track this morning, but we were actually wearing jackets, Granted, it was more rain-wear, but it was not terribly uncomfortable. That all changed when we went out for the 3:00 practice session. The 80° temps felt like 105°. You know what they say; it’s not the heat, but the humidity. After two days of downpours, when the sun finally came out it was sweltering.
Music City GP–Friday Wrap-Up
Posted in IndyCar on August 4, 2023 by OilpressureWelcome to the Music City Grand Prix!
Posted in IndyCar on August 4, 2023 by Oilpressure
Welcome to the Music City Grand Prix! More specifically, welcome to the bowels of Nissan Stadium. This is a first world problem that will generate no sympathy from anyone, but this is my least favorite media center of the tracks we’ve been to. It’s nice and all, but it is underground with no windows. Plus, it is on the far side of the stadium from the rest of the track. We enter the stadium on the track side, take an elevator down to the catacombs and then walk through the tunnels of the stadium around the north end-zone – until we reach the media center which is even with about the 30 yard-line. Due to being underground and the lack of outside sound, it is extremely quiet in here. Usually the media center is a lively place, but this is always like a library. It’s almost oppressive.
Nashville Preview
Posted in IndyCar on August 4, 2023 by Oilpressure
Being a Nashville resident, you can imagine how excited we are to have the NTT IndyCar Series descend into our hometown. Those that live in the Indianapolis area know what a luxury it is to spend a day at the track, and then go home to sleep in your own bed. That luxury is one of my favorite parts to this weekend.
Our Anonymous Hometown Hero
Posted in IndyCar on August 2, 2023 by Oilpressure
Most regular readers of this site know that I live in Nashville. I was born and raised in Tennessee, graduated from the University of Tennessee and have lived in Nashville since 2001. So it’s safe to say I am a native Tennessean. Not only do I know what’s going on in Nashville, I know what is being talked about – or in this case, what is not being talked about.
Where Will Romain Grosjean End Up?
Posted in IndyCar on July 28, 2023 by Oilpressure
Much of the IndyCar Silly Season speculation has centered around the possible 2024 destinations of 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion and current points leader Alex Palou. To just a slightly lesser extent, a lot of focus has been on his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson. It appears that there will be at least one vacant seat at Ganassi for next season. Depending on what Marcus Armstrong does (or what Ganassi decides to do with the No. 11 entry), there could be as many as three new drivers at Ganassi for 2024.
A New IndyCar Season-Finale?
Posted in IndyCar on July 26, 2023 by Oilpressure
If you’ve listened to Trackside over the past couple of weeks, you’ve heard Kevin Lee throw out a theory where Nashville could become the site of the season-finale and also host the championship banquet. Last week, I also saw a tweet from sports business insider Adam Stern (@A_S12) saying “@IndyCar is in advanced talks to move its season finale and banquet to Nashville with the @MusicCityGP as soon as next year, per people familiar.”
Random Thoughts on Iowa
Posted in IndyCar on July 24, 2023 by Oilpressure
Those of us that watched the Hy-Vee Weekend at Iowa from afar got a real treat this weekend. Friday night after work, I treated myself to watching the replay of a long practice session from Iowa Speedway. Not much of significance happened, mind you, but there is something therapeutic about watching race cars on an oval after a long week at work. Josef Newgarden led that one and only practice session of the weekend, but that was certainly no surprise.
Oilpressure 