Chip Ganassi Racing (IndyCar Series)

It was a bittersweet return to the Milwaukee Mile for the IndyCar Series today. The Target/Chip Ganassi and KV Racing Teams had great success, while championship points leader Will Power struggled.

The main story though is the crash in qualifying involving Simona de Silvestro, that sent her to the hospital.

On her second warmup lap in qualifying, the HVM Racing No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy car driven by Simona de Silvestro made rear end contact with the wall in turn four, then backed into the inside retaining wall. She was awake and alert and transported by ground to Froedert Medical Center for further evaluation.

Dario Franchitti managed to separate himself from Will Power, which didn't involve a blind draw to determine the field. Franchitti won the pole award in the return to Milwaukee, giving himself one extra point in the standings. It is his 25th career IndyCar pole, which ties him with Paul Tracy for ninth all-time.

Power, who topped the speed chart in the initial practice session on Friday, will have a season-low 17th starting position. He had a moment during his qualifying run in turn three where he appeared to get loose, costing him valuable positions.

His Penske teammate Helio Castroneves shook off the rust and put his car on the front row beside Franchitti. He has had some bad finishes here in the past five or six races, and really needs to have a solid finish to regain his confidence.

The defending race winner, Scott Dixon, won this race in 2009 while starting in row two. He will start in third, on the inside of row two on Sunday. Not to be outdone by the Ganassi team, KV Racing put all three of their drivers in the front of the field together. Tony Kanaan starts in fourth, Takuma Sato in fifth and E.J. Viso in sixth.

Rounding out the top 10 qualifiers, are Ryan Hunter-Reay and Ryan Briscoe in row four, with Marco Andretti and Oriol Servia in row five.

The race is set to air at 3:30 p.m. on ABC tomorrow, Father's Day.

The idea behind bringing back the twin races at Texas Motor Speedway this year was to create some more buzz around the series. Mission accomplished.

As far as the races themselves, everything went very well. There was only one caution throughout the entire night, which came late in the first race. The racing was intense and action packed up front as cars were duelling it out side-by-side at over 210 mph. We saw the typical Ganassi/Penske battles, as well as Marco Andretti riding his famous high line all night. Heck, we even saw all three KV Racing Lotus cars finish in the top 10.

The only hiccup that the series seemed to encounter was the way they went about setting the grid for the second race.

After winning the first race, Dario Franchitti selected his starting spot last, which meant he really had no choice in the matter at all. As it was, he was left with the 28th position, while the man he is fighting for the championship (Will Power) drew the third starting position. Power went on to win the second race, and Dario was never a factor.

While it sounded like sour grapes after the events transpired, Dario did say that the field should have been inverted long before Saturday night. The odds of him actually getting that far behind Power in the starting lineup were slim, but it happened. Once again he voiced his displeasure and frustration about what happened and how it should be changed for the future.

The rules are the rules, but this is something that will have to be changed. It wouldn't matter so much if it were a race that didn't reward any championship points, but this one did. He is now 21 points behind Power after starting in the worst spot of his IndyCar career, a spot he didn't even qualify for.

Scott Dixon passed 16 cars in the second race, while his teammate passed 20. Will Power passed just two, but collected more points as he crossed the finish line in first. Normally I would say it doesn't matter, because you start where you qualify, but they really had no say in where they lined up.

While the night was filled with many things for the fans to see and do, I think there are a lot of people out there that would prefer the standard one-race format that we have had recently at Texas. I'm not really sure what we, or anyone benefited from doing the twin races. The only thing that it could possibly do is give us some controversy if the Target/Chip Ganassi teams lose the championship by a very slim margin.

If they are going to keep doing the twin races at Texas, they will surely have to change the rules and make the second race an inverted field, rather than doing a blind draw. They could also just decide to not reward any points for the second race. Even if they decided to go back to just the one race under the lights, I don't think anyone will be crying about that either.

There were a lot of people talking about this race, both before and after it was run. Hopefully we won't be talking about it towards the end of the season, and how it cost somebody a championship.

Panther Racing has now finished in second place the last four years at Indianapolis. None of them were even close to the heartbreak that was seen today.

For the second consecutive year, it looked as though the race would come down to who had the most fuel left at the end. In the last 20 laps, there were seven different drivers that held the lead at one point. After Danica Patrick got the crowd into a frenzy, it looked as though Bertrand Baguette was going to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Indy 500 history.

Baguette had to pit, giving the lead to rookie driver JR Hildebrand with just three laps remaining. Hildebrand had a comfortable lead, and as he entered turn four, it looked like he had enough fuel to finally end the runner-up curse for Panther. Unfortunately, there was one more turn he had to make it through.

Hildebrand came up on fellow rookie Charlie Kimball as he entered turn four. Instead of downshifting and finishing behind him, JR decided to go around him. When he got on the outside of Kimball, he appeared to get loose in the marbles, which sent him hard into the wall. He was able to slide across the finish line, but not before Wheldon passed him.

Hildebrand was okay, but understandably heartbroken. Almost winning the biggest race in the world is one thing, but to lose it in the last turn of the final lap is even worse. For Wheldon, it was his second Indianapolis 500 win, and the first for his car owner and former teammate Bryan Herta.

The win just adds to the legacy of Wheldon at the speedway. In nine career races here, he has two wins, two second place finishes, a third, and fourth place finish. Anyone that knows him knows that he loves the track, the race, and the history and traditions that ago along with it.

It was fitting that Wheldon won today's race. He was in that same car in 2009 and 2010 when he finished in second both years.

It was a great day for a couple of guys that started in the back of the field as well. Graham Rahal, who started 29th, finished third, and Tony Kanaan charged from 22nd to finish fourth. Scott Dixon led a race-high 73 laps and finished fifth. Oriol Servia, who started on the front row, was sixth.

When Baguette realized he was going to be short on fuel, it looked like Dario Franchitti was going to slide in and grab his third Indy 500 win. Dario led 51 laps and was running second on Lap 195. He had to pit for a splash of fuel on Lap 199 and finished in 12th.

It was a relatively good day for Andretti Autosport teammates Marco Andretti and Patrick, given the debacle that the month had been for them up until today. Both drivers finished in the top ten, Marco ninth and Danica 10th. There were 23 lead changes among 10 drivers and seven cautions for 40 laps.

It wasn't a horrible day for the Ganassi boys, as they led 124 of the 200 laps, but they weren't able to close the deal in the end. For Team Penske though, the day couldn't have been much worse. Ryan Briscoe got caught up in an accident with Townsend Bell, finishing in 27th. Helio Castroneves was a non-factor as he finished in 17th, and Will Power didn't seem to have anything for this race, as he came home in 14th.

Pole sitter Alex Tagliani had a rough day as well, smacking the wall on his own midway through the race, ending his day.

All was quiet this morning as the sun came up over the Pagoda. Another Indianapolis 500 is in the books, but this one is one we will never forget. The drama was alive and well throughout the race, and even began a couple of weeks ago on Opening Day.

The Centennial Race has come and gone, but this one will be talked about for decades to come.

Monday brought cooler temperatures at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but there was no rain.

For the first time this year, we had a full scheduled six hour practice session that resulted in a total of 1379 laps turned by 39 cars. All of the teams were out with their primary cars and some made their first appearance of 2011 at the famous speedway.

Some familiar names were at the top of the speed charts in the first couple of hours. The 2004 Indy 500 winner, Buddy Rice, took over the top spot, holding it for the early parts of the afternoon. When the Ganassi cars finally came out to take the track, it didn't take Scott Dixon long to land the fastest lap.

He was bumped off the top spot, though, by Alex Tagliani with just about 30 minutes remaining in the six-hour practice session. Tagliani posted a fast lap of 225.878 mph on his 16th lap of the day.

There were a few guys that really impressed midway through the practice session. Graham Rahal turned a best lap of 225.071, good enough for third best, while Oriol Servia and Vitor Meira finished with the fifth and sixth fastest laps.

The "big five" were all included in the top 10, which was no surprise. Dixon had his fastest lap clocked at 225.124 mph. Ryan Briscoe was fourth with a best lap of 225.016. Defending champion Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves and Will Power all managed to stay in the top 10.

The interesting thing about these two power teams, were the number of laps turned. Briscoe turned 29 laps, Helio did 32, and Power went around 34 times. The total number of laps that Dixon and Franchitti turned, combined, was just 18 (10 for Scott and eight for Dario).

Tagliani, Dixon, Rahal, and Briscoe were all able to reach 225mph on this cold and windy Monday.

Just as some drivers had impressive speeds, there were others that I expected to see more out of. One of those drivers was Tony Kanaan. He barely reached the 223mph barrier, and his KV Racing teammates were even worse.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was not able to reach 223 mph, and his teammate Mike Conway had a best lap of just 219.359, in his 51 laps out on the track, 38th best of the 39 cars. We got to see Dan Wheldon hit the track for the first time this year, but his best lap was 221.272 mph.

When the drivers arrived at the track this past weekend, I had Tagliani listed as my dark horse for this race. Obviously the speeds on this first full day really don't mean anything, but he is definitely a driver that fans are going to see plenty of this month. Last year he missed practice time because of illness, but this year he looks ready to make up for it.

Tomorrow's weather calls for more of the same from today. The high is listed at 58 degrees and there will be plenty of cloud cover. As much rain as we have had in Indy the past couple of months, we will take any dry day we can, no matter the temperature.

Tomorrow's practice session will begin at noon again, running through 6pm.

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series oval concept car, and the road/street course model were unveiled today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The mock-ups, exactly what 2012 car project manager Tony Cotman wanted to display, will be in the Pagoda Plaza at IMS through the May 29th Indianapolis 500. Cotman addressed the media today during the event. "There is a lot of room for aerodynamic kit development and that’s what this platform is about; allowing people the freedom to design as they wish, dream as they wish and come up with a superior product than others. That’s what drives competition."

A rolling chassis that is now known as the IndyCar Safety Cell will be the universal feature of the next generation car, with bodywork open to development and sale by any approved manufacturer. Three engine companies (Honda, Chevrolet, and Lotus) will dress up the IndyCar Safety Cell and aero kit programs, which will create different looks.

It is important for fans to know that these are not exactly what Dallara’s kits are going to look like on road courses and ovals next year.

“The display cars are mock-ups of some of the things we could be doing on these cars,” said Sam Garrett, Dallara’s U.S.-based quality control leader. "By August, we’ll already have to be into the production run for the first 30 or 40 cars of parts.”

Even though they are still a ways away from looking how they will once the aero kits are available, the cars are already getting a lot of buzz. Most of the drivers are being mostly positive in regards to the new designs, which shouldn't come as a surprise. It would be interesting to know how they really feel.

Many people are comparing the oval concept car to a classic. It looks as though it has a fin that reminds many people of the 1956 Novi. The prototype is scheduled for testing in August.

The road/street course model looks similar to some of the Formula One cars that have been on display in recent years. It actually has been referenced to the Panoz DP01 that Cotman designed for the final year of the Champ Car World Series.

As far as the oval concept car, Mike Conway said that it was "interesting", which you can take either way. It looks good in some areas, while other areas make you stop and think.

Fellow writer Christopher Leone may have said it best in his latest article when he said "The side pods almost look backwards compared to the current car, with the fin formerly placed in front of the rear wheel being moved up to about where the driver sits. The new side pod seems to emphasize sponsor visibility, but at the cost of the aesthetic."

Obviously the biggest concern with these cars is the cost to the teams, and the ability to distinguish the appearance and designs from one team to another. It will create more competition, allowing people to take their ideas from paper to product.

The situation the series faces now is, do they go ahead and keep racing ugly spec cars where the fans may not show up, or do they put things back in the owners hands and pray for the best? The need for the aero kits is apparent now more than ever. Without the different kits available for the teams to use, we are right back in the same boat that we found ourselves in 2003.

With the Indianapolis Speedway’s opening just a mere four days away, the excitement of the 100^th running of the Indy 500 is starting to build.  Drivers are starting to arrive in town, teams are setting up their spaces at the track, and fans, like me, are getting more and more anxious.

This year’s race will have a lot of storylines behind it.  Will this be Danica’s last 500?  How many female drivers will make the field?  What big name drivers will get bumped out on bump day?  How will the race be impacted on the 100^th anniversary?  How will the new double file restart rule come into play?  The most intriguing to me, however, is can a team outside of Ganassi, Penske, or Andretti win the 500?

Since 2001 Ganassi, Penske, and Andretti teams have won nine of the 10 Indianapolis 500s.  The lone year a team other than those three won was 2004 with Rahal Letterman Racing’s Buddy Rice.

With this season being so unpredictable and the competition so high, can this be the year that a new team enters victory lane in Indianapolis?

A lot of factors come into play with this question.  The set ups, the drive, the determination, the skill, and the most important factor of all, luck, will come into play to win this race.  Five hundred miles is a long way, and the driver that stays the most patient and has the most poise will set him or herself up to be the winner in the end.

It will be hard to beat those three mega-teams this month, but if it was going to happen during any year, this would be that year.  With the closeness of the fields and the new double file restarts, anything can happen.  At some point during the first four races, all three of these teams have had struggles; however, lady luck has been present at some point as well.

Will Power has been the most consistent driver this season, winning all four poles, but he struggles on ovals.  Fellow Penske teammate Helio Castroneves has hit just about everything and everybody in his sight, and he’s been lacking the luck it takes to win the 500.  The third driver in the Penske stable, Ryan Briscoe, has never really had much success at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and I honestly don’t think he has it in him to win the 500.

Andretti Autosport, which took home two of those nine 500 victories this past decade, has struggled this season.  The team’s only bright spot was Mike Conway’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach victory.  With the four drivers that Andretti has this May, it would be difficult to pick any of them to win.  Danica and Marco show the most promise, but both have struggled qualifying this season and have had a hard time adjusting to ill handling race cars.  Mix that with the closeness of competition, and that’s a recipe for a long day at Indy.

Ganassi racing has the best shot of the three teams to win this year.  Dario Franchitti is the defending race champ, and he has two Indy 500 victories on his resume.  His teammate, Scott Dixon, also runs well at the Speedway, and is the 2008 Indy 500 champion.  Ganassi also has two other drivers that have a shot at winning, Graham Rahal and rookie Charlie Kimball, but realistically Franchitti and Dixon will be the ones to watch.

Outside of Ganassi, almost any team can win the race.  Look for drivers like Vitor Meira of AJ Foyt Enterprises, Alex Tagliani of Schmidt Motorsports, or even Oriol Servia of Newman/Hass to try and steal a victory in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”  Other possible sleepers would be Townsend Bell at Schmidt Motorsports and 2005 Indy 500 champ, Dan Wheldon with Herta Autosport. 

Although Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti are the big names when it comes to the Indy 500, Wheldon has actually led more laps then both of them. Look to Wheldon to have a good showing this year because of his relentless fight to land a permanent ride for the rest of the season.

If I was the CEO of the Izod Indy Car Series for a day, I would make changes that would allow the series to regain its status as the “Face of Motorsports.” The following are some of these changes.            

Broadcast:

First things first, I would move the series coverage off of Versus and end the five-race ABC/ESPN deal.  Indy Car needs to be shown on a major network, every time. Being on one channel one day, and a different channel the next weekend is inconsistent and confusing to fans. If the Versus and NBC merger works out, then I would make sure to get a deal that forces NBC to televise the whole season.

I would also try to get the network to televise all practice and qualifying sessions. NASCAR has had major success doing this and it makes it more exciting to know who is practicing well and the speeds the drivers are reaching. If  NBC had sole rights to televise the whole season, I’d put practice and qualifications on alternate NBC stations like TBS or TNT.  Basically, I would make it so that if there’s a car on the track, then there are TV cameras catching the action.

I would also like to see the supporting race series, Firestone Indy Lights, get more publicity. NASCAR has its supporting races run the day/night before the main event, and this has shown to be very successful. I’d make sure TBS or TNT had coverage of the Firestone Indy Lights race in order for people to become familiar with the future drivers of Indy Car Racing. 

Another series I’d like to market is the USAC series.  I’d try and work with stations to get coverage on select USAC events.  The feeder system is starting back up with USAC and it’s a great thing, but too many USAC drivers jump to NASCAR, and it’s time to put an end to that.  Thursday Night Thunder would be making a comeback if I had any say in it. 

I’d definitely market the drivers better. There have been a number of NASCAR commercials streaming through the airwaves, but very little in regards to Indy Car.  The only ones you really see, or at least remember, are the Go Daddy campaigns that use Danica Patrick’s sexuality.  I would want to get more drivers showing their personalities in commercials so that they are showcased to the world.

My last broadcasting idea would be to set up a stage at the track on race weekend that would host shows like Trackside with an Indy Car analyst-like panel.  Throughout race weekend there would be concerts, shows and giveaways.  This would attract more people and convert the non-race fan into at least a track-events fan.  For the shows broad casted from this stage, I would hire Paul Page as the lead host. In supporting roles, my choices would include different driver analysts such as Johnny Rutherford, Arie Luyendyk, Bobby Rahal, Eddie Cheever or Rick Mears. The featured concerts would be voted on by fans. 

I feel like improving the broadcasting and setting up feeder series would be very beneficial.  All three series, Izod Indy Car, Firestone Indy Lights and USAC, would be showcased and viewed on live TV, and the TV station that carries them would devote their time and money to the series.

Schedule

The most important change would be the schedule. The first change I would make would be to fill the two weeks in between the last two races. People lose interest during this time and that is the last thing Indy Car should be doing. These two races have to be back-to-back, high-speed, exciting, American ovals to keep the fans interested.

The next change would be to keep more consistency by scheduling races at the same time on the same weekend every year.  People like traditions.  You can’t build an Indy 500-like event if you’re constantly moving dates and times each year.  Keep the races on the same weekends every year, and build an annual event around it.

Another change I would do is release the schedule earlier.  This year the people in charge released the schedule, with dates and times, only two weeks before the start of the season.  That’s unacceptable because fans had no idea what was going on.  It’s hard for people to plan to go to races when the schedule is released so late.  I’d release it early in the winter, and make a big deal/event about it.

The biggest change I would make to the schedule would be the addition of races at Pocono, Atlanta, Michigan, Road America, Montreal, and Fontana. Those five tracks need to be back on the schedule, and with that addition, I’d add a Triple Crown of 500 Milers.  The tracks hosting this competition would be Indianapolis, Pocono, and Michigan.  I’d also get a sponsor, and call it, for example, the Visa Triple Crown.  Imagine offering $25 million to someone if they could win all three locations. $10 million if someone could win at two of the three locations.  If no one wins the prize then the money rolls over to next year.  Can you imagine the marketing around that? It is like the Indy Car Super Lotto!  Not only does it keep your attention, but it brings even more excitement to all three races. 

Here is what MY schedule would look like for the next year’s season:

Sunday March 25th: Golden Corral 300—Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1:00pm

Sunday April 1st: Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete—St. Petersburg, Fl, 1:00pm

Sunday April 8th: Alabama Grand Prix—Barber Motorsports Park, 1:00pm

Sunday April 15th: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach—Long Beach, CA, 4:00pm

Sunday April 22nd: Autoclub 400—Fontana, California, 4:00pm

Sunday May 6th: Apex Grand Prix of Brazil— Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1:00pm

Sunday May 27th: Indianapolis 500—Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 12:00pm

Sunday June 3rd: Miller 225—The Milwaukee Mile, 1:00pm

Saturday June 9th: Firestone Duel 275k—Texas Motor Speedway, 8:00pm

Saturday June 16th: Iowa Corn 250—Iowa Speedway, 8:00pm

Sunday June 24th: Molson Indy Toronto—Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1:00pm

Sunday July 1st: Molson Indy Montreal—Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1:00pm

Sunday July 15th: Shell Grand Prix of Road America—Elkhart, Lake, WI, 1:00pm

Sunday July 22nd: Michigan 500—Michigan International Speedway, 1:00pm

Sunday August 5th: Honda Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio—Lexington, Ohio, 1:00pm

Sunday August 12th: Sylvania 225-—New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 1:00pm

Sunday August 19th: Chevrolet Grand Prix of Infineon-—Infineon Raceway, 4:00p

Sunday August 26th: Molson Indy Edmonton—Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 4:00p

Sunday September 2nd: Pocono 500—Pocono Raceway, 1:00pm

Sunday September 9th: Baltimore Grand Prix—Baltimore, Maryland, 1:00pm

Saturday September 15th: Meijer Indy 300—Kentucky Speedway, 8:00pm

Saturday September 22nd: Peak 300—Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 8:00pm

You would start off at a high-speed, close racing track by getting attention early, and not running a boring road course.  There's nothing better than picking up the old cup date in March at Atlanta and running there.  Running Long Beach and Fontana on back to back weekends would allow fans to save on travel by just staying on the West Coast.  I would bring back Milwaukee to the traditional weekend after Indy.  Next I'd run the Canada races, minus Edmonton, with each other in back-to-back weekends, then stay up in the region close and run Road America after.  Again you’re saving costs by traveling shorter distances.  If you run Michigan on the traditional date in late July, then you could use Labor Day weekend for the final Triple Crown event in Pocono.  Think how beautiful the Poconos would look in September with all the trees surrounding the track on Labor Day weekend.  This would allow Indy Car to start the Triple Crown races on Memorial Day Weekend and end it at Labor Day weekend.  Could it be more perfect?  Finally, I would end the season on 2 high speed ovals, Kentucky and Vegas, because both are excellent venues.