IndyCar Thread (post-Indy 500) ***SPOILERS***

nice to see Simon get a win, great and underestimated driver.

 

I despise Belle Isle; I think it's the worst course that IndyCar runs on. They'd be better off going back to the old F1 course around the Renaissance Center. After attending the Indy 500 in person, I didn't even make an attempt to watch this one on T.V. But it was good to see guys like Conway and Pagenaud (and Coyne, Schmidt and Hamilton) break through.

And to think, it's June already, and Penske and Ganassi are still 0 for the season.....

 

that's the surprise of the year IMO.

 

Have to agree that Belle Isle is the worst possible venue for Indy Car. One crash and
extended yellow after another. How may the average Joe attending his first race
take it seriously?

If they want to race in Michigan, whats wrong with the Michigan International Speedway?
Seems to me there were some great races there in the past.

BHW

 

I wonder how the fans took to this 1955 entry in a field of open wheeled roadsters? (I was not born until '60, so I missed this... )
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Same here, listened to both races on the radio. Mike King and team (led by Hamilton as driver expert) make it quite enjoyable to listen to and follow.

 

Good Question. I was born in 57. I do not doubt that it raised interest and help draw people in. Any technology that promotes innovation was and is usually welcome.

 

You and countless others.....Sports Media Watch ? IndyCar Doubleheader Has Slight Uptick on ABC

 

Bunch of teams just left Indy airport for Texas! Let's go for 550 (KM) this time.

By Dave Lewandowski
Published: Jun 5, 2013
How will Tony Kanaan look in a yellow firesuit?

The recently-crowned Indianapolis 500 champion wouldn't care if it was fuchsia; he's jazzed about the renewed relationship with longtime Indy car sponsor Sunoco. Kanaan will drive the No. 11 Sunoco "Turbo" car at the IZOD IndyCar Series events at Texas Motor Speedway (June 8), Iowa Speedway (June 23), Pocono Raceway (July 7) and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Aug. 4).

The car's livery will feature the lead character from the upcoming DreamWorks Animation feature film "Turbo" about a snail whose dreams of competing in the Indianapolis 500 come true. It features the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"By leveraging its association with the upcoming DreamWorks feature film 'Turbo,' Sunoco provides the perfect activation platform to bring the excitement surrounding the film’s release directly to the fans at the racetrack,” said INDYCAR executive vice president of business development Greg Gruning.

Sunoco’s first Indy car race as a primary sponsor was Dec. 1, 1968, at Riverside, Calif. The No. 12 Sunoco Eagle driven by Mark Donohue for Penske Racing started fifth and finished 21st (broken right-front suspension). In 1972, the No. 66 Sunoco McLaren won the Indianapolis 500 – the first for Roger Penske, Donohue and Sunoco.

Sunoco, which has been INDYCAR's Official Fuel and Convenience Store since 2010, returned to IndyCar racing as a primary sponsor in the 97th Indianapolis 500 on May 26 on the No. 60 Sunoco “Turbo” Panther Racing car driven by Townsend Bell.

“I am very proud and happy that Sunoco will be my primary sponsor for four upcoming races,” Kanaan said. “Along with Sunoco, ‘Turbo’ will be riding along with me in those events. My son, Leo, will be excited to see that, and I am very proud to be associated with what is sure to be a very special movie.

“Sunoco has a long heritage in Indy car racing beginning in the late 1960s and is a proven winner. I look forward to my association with them and hopefully get them to victory circle starting in Texas.”

The Firestone 550 -- the 25th IZOD IndyCar Series race at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway -- will be the first IZOD IndyCar Series prime-time race on ABC (8:30 p.m. ET). ABC also will broadcast the races at Iowa Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET) and Pocono Raceway (noon ET).

"We're on the way, on a climb, as far as bringing other fans back," Kanaan said of the importance of the race in prime time. "The credibility that ABC gives to us being in prime time, for sure it's helping that. It's showing that the series is growing. We can see people are making movies about us now. I think we have plenty of personalities as far as drivers. We have plenty of competition as far as the cars. It's a great product. This is some exciting news."


Special guests involved in pre-race

Two teachers from Moore, Okla., who saved several children during the devastating tornado last week, will be the co-grand marshals of the Firestone 550.

Jennifer Simonds and Anna Canaday will give the command to start engines. C.J. Gillaspie, captain of the volunteer fire department from West, Texas, who was among the first responders to the fertilizer plant explosion in April that killed five volunteer firefighters from West, will be the honorary starter.

Pagenaud drives a van?

Simon Pagenaud, winner of the Race 2 of the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans on June 2, will drive a Honda Odyssey in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30.

But it’s not quite your average family van. Pagenaud will drive a turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 (500-plus horsepower) Odyssey that was developed for competition by associates at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama. It includes racing suspension and brakes, roll cage and limited-slip differential from the Acura TL product line.

Current management to lead Ed Carpenter Racing

Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter said he doesn’t plan to immediately replace Derrick Walker as general manager. Following the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, Walker assumed the duties of president of competition and operations for INDYCAR.

“We have some good leadership with our team right now in Tim Broyles as our team manager, Bret Schmitt as our crew chief and Matt Barnes as our lead engineer,” said Carpenter, the pole sitter at Indianapolis. “Plus we have a veteran team that proved they can win as we did last year at Fontana.”
Going for 200 wins and other notables

The next victory for Honda will be its 200th since entering Indy car competition in 1994. Honda Performance Development, the competition arm of Honda, is marking its 20th anniversary. … The Firestone 550 will be the 25th IZOD IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway dating to the track's opening in 1997. Underscoring the competitiveness of the series, there hasn't been a repeat winner in the past seven years. Through the years, 18 different drivers have won the 24 races. … Alex Tagliani has earned the pole at Texas the past two years. Tomas Scheckter has the record with three (2002, 2003, 2005). ... KV Racing Technology driver Simona De Silvestro, a native of Switzerland, will dive into Texas culture when she takes line dancing lessons for the first time at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth on June 6.
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Marco and Tony leading practice speeds. Simona currently 5th.

IZOD IndyCar Series Race Control - Live Timing & Scoring

Quals today at 3:30 CST

DONT FORGET THIS RACE IS SATURDAY NIGHT!!! IT IS AT 7:30 PM CENTRAL TIME ON ABC AND XM211

 

Good news to see them (to some extent) in Forza. I always enjoyed the IndyCar only game from early 2000's I believe, had an amazing amount of adjustments you could make.

Always thought a new game would provide a boost (albeit small) for fans.

 

Seems that was the case for many who had tickets.......

 

Oh come on now, that's just silly.....no one bought tickets!

In all seriousness, this race has to be the worst promoted event on their, or any top racing series', calendar. The only promotional ads I saw werw a single billboard, and one ad in the paper. I'm a big racing fan, although I only keep up with Indy Cars a little, and I first learned of the date of the race through a Living Social email advertising rides in a two sweater Indy car.


Mark

 

Even free "Brats" can't save it!!!

 

Interesting news because Micheal Andretti was the promoter (as mentioned several times throughout the race by NBC). I caught the race through random clicking...

 

Went to the race as always with my brother and father. I agree it was not promoted well however, just from what I saw the attendance was about the same of last year, which was more than five years ago but not as much as 10 years ago.....if that makes sense

There was a complete lack of merchandise, food options, etc. That being said, the race itself was interesting.

 

Andretti Sports Marketing headed up this event- they also do the Baltimore GP weekend.

We had our race karts in the T2 classic car corral & in the street party, and it wasn't too terribly busy any of the days down there. The grandstands during the race were probably a little more than half filled. Between the downtown street party, amusement park rides, car shows, concerts & etc- they're trying different things to attract whomever they can, but people just aren't coming. I havent seen the comparative numbers between this years and last years attendance, but heard that this may have been 'it' for the Milwaukee event if #'s were down again.

 

Yaaaay in Iowa....

Did feel for P2 though. He had a terrific drive.

 

They're still down.....INDY 250: TV Ratings Low For Iowa Corn Race | WHOTV.com