2019 NTT IndyCar SeriesOpen Wheel 

I doubt the spotter have the time to even initiate any communication in such cases.
As much as he's been in the situation, he does pretty well for himself. Until IndyCar says he can't, which they shouldn't, he'll be fine.
 
I'm looking forward to the penultimate and final races of the 2019 season. Both races on the West Coast- Portland and Monterey. I remembered seeing my first race at Portland International Raceway with (then) CART in 1999. I think it was Gil de Ferran that dominated that race while I was following eventual 1999 CART Champion Juan Pablo Montoya. Then later in September, it will be the double-points finale at Laguna Seca. So if you don't have a good race at Portland, you better cash in big time at Laguna Seca.

But first things first- IndyCar at Portland. Get ready for two classic racing venues to close out the 2019 season of IndyCar racing!
 
2020 calendar. Pocono out, Richmond in.
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Chaos at the start again. Not as chaotic as last year's opening lap, but chaos nonetheless. Newgarden got very lucky in that given the damage he could have had.
 
^ Also applies to pretty much everyone that pitted that wasn't Rossi or Herta.

Edit: 8 laps to go and Ferrucci's car craps out. Caution.

Also, something I just thought of: Does the pace car in Indycar have to move at a high speed so that the Indycars have grip, like you see with the pace car in f1?
 
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^ Also applies to pretty much everyone that pitted that wasn't Rossi or Herta.

Edit: 8 laps to go and Ferrucci's car craps out. Caution.

Also, something I just thought of: Does the pace car in Indycar have to move at a high speed so that the Indycars have grip, like you see with the pace car in f1?
Those cars seem to be moving pretty quick so I'm guessing that car isn't putting around. Remember Mark Reuss spinning the Corvette a few years ago? Doesn't happen milling around like Grandma I reckon.
 
Chaos at the start again. Not as chaotic as last year's opening lap, but chaos nonetheless. Newgarden got very lucky in that given the damage he could have had.
That chicane in Portland has often produced starts like this.

I'm originally from Portland, attended many Indycar races at the track, and also have raced on it.

The track is quite wide right there, but the chicane is tight enough that it's basically a one line corner. You can overtake going into it, but it requires cooperation from both parties.

The original track configuration was without a chicane, what is turn 4 now was turn 1. The chicane was added to reduce speeds and to add an overtaking zone.

I think that's generally been effective, but with tight fields during starts and restarts, it can create some issues.

One idea would be to bypass the chicane on starts and restarts. The speeds are not going to be as high as they will be on a flying lap, especially if they fly the restart green flag later in the lap.

Because of the foam blocks that they want the drivers to use in the event of straight lining the chicane, this approach would have to be rethought. But they might be able to use only painted markers on the pavement to designate those zones, possibly with sensors like they have at other tracks to determine if drivers have run wide.

I get that if drivers just behaved, it would all be fine, but I'm not sure we can expect all 24 to behave. :)
 
EDK
That chicane in Portland has often produced starts like this.

I'm originally from Portland, attended many Indycar races at the track, and also have raced on it.

The track is quite wide right there, but the chicane is tight enough that it's basically a one line corner. You can overtake going into it, but it requires cooperation from both parties.

The original track configuration was without a chicane, what is turn 4 now was turn 1. The chicane was added to reduce speeds and to add an overtaking zone.

I think that's generally been effective, but with tight fields during starts and restarts, it can create some issues.

One idea would be to bypass the chicane on starts and restarts. The speeds are not going to be as high as they will be on a flying lap, especially if they fly the restart green flag later in the lap.

Because of the foam blocks that they want the drivers to use in the event of straight lining the chicane, this approach would have to be rethought. But they might be able to use only painted markers on the pavement to designate those zones, possibly with sensors like they have at other tracks to determine if drivers have run wide.

I get that if drivers just behaved, it would all be fine, but I'm not sure we can expect all 24 to behave. :)
I know Robin Miller suggested that in the Portland debrief video that Racer did with Marshall Pruett and Sebastien Bourdais. I'm thinking bypassing the chicane would be the best idea and the easiest to implement. All they'd need to do is either make someone give positions back or drive throughs for blowing the chicane after the start and restarts.


On that note, I'll link the video I referenced in a spolier to save space. It's well worth watching if anyone wants to give up about 9 minutes.
 
Colton is on pole and the top 2 in points are together on row 2.

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of racing the IndyCars can deliver here.
 
If anyone was watching the pre-race show, I couldn't help but notice that in pretty much every shot you could distinctly hear a horns section band in the background...I have no idea why, but all I could think of when hearing it was the band from the Top Gear / Top Ground Gear Force episode for those that remember.
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Anyway, a bit off topic but just thought'd I point that out
 
Two Andretti cars take each other out and the tinfoil hats are out!!!

For real though, right now, I think Pagenaud is in a good place to steal this with the struggles that Rossi and Newgarden have been facing. Still some ways to go
 
I think if Andretti was going to pull team orders Herta wouldn't have pulled away at the beginning.
 
I turned on at lap 55. What did I miss? How has Rosenqvist ended up in the top 4 after starting last for example?
 
I turned on at lap 55. What did I miss? How has Rosenqvist ended up in the top 4 after starting last for example?

Rosenqvist simply drove it to the front -- and won the Rookie of the year championship too, despite Herta's best effort to foil that.
 
If Herta drives like this next year, he very easily could be a championship contender. Same with Rosenqvist. Everyone knew he was talented before coming to Indycar, but Felix absolutely trounced the field today.
 
I was kind of hoping Rossi would pull the upset, but I certainly won't complain about Penske winning.

Next year will be very interesting, especially with McLaren onboard full-time.

Rosenqvist simply drove it to the front -- and won the Rookie of the year championship too, despite Herta's best effort to foil that.

Felix seemed a little better at conserving his tires as well, especially towards the end of the first stint.
 
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