As you read this, Mrs. Oilpressure and I are on our way to Barber Motorsports Park, near Birmingham, for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Excluding the COVID-cancelled race in 2020, the NTT IndyCar Series has been coming to Barber every year since 2010. Consequently, we have been coming every year as well – including the Spring Training they held at Barber in March of 2009.
Barber Preview
Posted in IndyCar on April 29, 2022 by OilpressureRemembering Ted Prappas
Posted in IndyCar on April 27, 2022 by Oilpressure
Chances are, if you saw a story over the past weekend pertaining to the death of Ted Prappas – a lot of you may have said “Who?” Unless you are over fifty and an IndyCar die-hard, there is a good chance you would not have heard of Prappas. He was not in the public eye for very long, but if you knew about him – you know he is the type of driver that Donald Davidson loves to talk about.
Random Thoughts on the IMS Open Test
Posted in Indianapolis 500 on April 25, 2022 by Oilpressure
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.
The 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.
Oilpressure 