While Herta got lucky with the timing of that yellow flag, it was impressive the way he was able to drive away from a Penske car with much more push-to-pass available. The kid's got talent - more than his dad? I do feel sorry for Will Power - to lose a race like that that you've dominated, and wind up dead last. But that's racing.
While it's early, I feel more hype for O'Ward and Herta than when Marco and Graham came in. I got to give props to Brian Barnhart too, he did a helluva a job. They took it to the big boys today and schooled them at their own game.
I'd be curious to see what the F1 cars could do with similar leeway. Regardless it was a fun race. Will Power and Rossi definitely got hurt by that yellow. Post checker pic Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not sure what you mean. The drivers weren't "ignoring" track limits because IndyCar decided to not put in track limits for the race. But overall yes it did look odd with them going so far off line. I was waiting to see who would make turns 3 through 6 a straight line and go over all the red white and blue paint lol.
I must have missed something on the yellow. Power attempting to leave the pits with his output shaft issue, but when they came in Rossi was right on his tail and the next thing you know, Rossi was right at the back. What happened to him? The young guys and rookies are going to shine in Indy Car this year. It's a very impressive lot with Herta, Rosenqvist, O'Ward and Ericsson. Some of the veterans seemed lost today. Pagenaud at the tail end of the field, Dixon and Rosenqvist were off the pace while Newgarden has a first and second place to his credit and big early points lead. BHW
Great race. Cool to see INDYCAR at COTA. And Congrats to Herta. It’s a great cast of rookies this year. Credit where credit is due - INDYCAR is the best it’s been in years. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.
When the yellow hit, Rossi and Power has not yet pitted to put on their Sticker Red Tires (not Tyres for IndyCar...haha), so the yellow collapsed the field and the healthy lead(s) they had over Herta, Newgarden, RHR vanished...and now Rossi and Power still needed to pit. Prior to the yellow, and in the final pit window, I listened via scanner to the commentators remarking how the front runners were "playing with fire" by not pitting now (actually they called it the "Danger Zone" with very annoying Kenny Loggins impersonations). It probably wouldn't have mattered for Power with his Mechanical trying to leave the pits, but he still had a few words for how he felt about the devastating impact these yellows can have on an otherwise masterfully driven race. To add insult to injury, for this race an additional $100k in prize money was to be awarded to the Pole Sitter if he also won the race. Ouch!
On a new circuit the teams have to make some educated guesses. Penske and Andretti obviously made better guesses than Ganassi, Schmidt and Foyt. But I can't explain Pagenaud when you compare his race with his teammates.
The cars certainly look a lot better than they did with those silly aero kits. And there weren't carbon-fiber shards lying all over the place after minor contact incidents.
Fun race! The rookies really stole the spotlight. I'm not sure how I felt about track limits but it certainly added to the entertainment of the race.
Caught the bit with Power complaining about the Indy Car pit lane rule. Okay, explains how Rossi got shuffled out. Turn your back for two seconds and you miss the whole thing I'm not sure about anyone else, but the sound mix was really bad. The sound of the engines was drowning out the commentary (which in Diffey's case is a good thing) so I wasn't really hearing everything they were saying. NBCS better dial that in soon. On the yellow for the Rosenqvist-Hinchcliff incident, looked innocuous enough, but the caution period seemed to go on forever. Were they sorting out the field behind the pace car or was the incident worse than it appeared and they needed to fix the barrier? BHW
So NBC sports broadcast the race which I duly recorded for watching when I returned home. The recording got all but the last 8 laps! Brilliant coverage guys, just brilliant! I guess I was supposed to record the 3 hours of golf that followed so I could see the last 20 minutes of the race.
That should be the recording formula for any live sporting event. One never knows what delay might occur.
Yup. Temporarily closing the entry to pit road just as soon as the yellow gets thrown definitely compounds the problem.
Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Jr. set to join NBCS Indy 500 broadcast team. Nothing against the guy personally, but given that he's never once driven an open wheeled car, how does NBCS think this is going to enhance their Indy 500 broadcast? The first time he says "I don't know about Indy Cars but in NASCAR..." (and we all know he will) I'm pulling an Elvis and shooting the TV. https://racer.com/2019/04/03/nbc-confirms-dale-jr-to-join-indy-broadcast-team/ BHW
An attempt to broaden the appeal to NASCAR fans I guess. Can't wait to see June Bug interview Alonso. Also Prince Albert in a can.
