2021 NTT Indy Car SeriesOpen Wheel 

  • Thread starter Dotini
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Pato is doing everything he can to make this race interesting. :eek:

Edit: And he gets the win!!!
 
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Eh, it was pretty much the Scott Dixon show until he got jumped in the last round of stops, lots of fuel saving going on (which most hate but kind of turns it into a bit of a 210mph chess match which I like). Pato had the best car and made some awesome (and sketchy!) passes, masterful performance for sure. He won that race, it wasn't handed to him.

They have to figure that non-traction compound crap out, STAT. Anybody who got up into that stuff at the wrong time was a passenger on a one way trip up to the wall. It's not just bad racing, it's not real safe.
 
They have to figure that non-traction compound crap out, STAT. Anybody who got up into that stuff at the wrong time was a passenger on a one way trip up to the wall. It's not just bad racing, it's not real safe.

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It made for quite an awkward race weekend didn’t it? Is there a way they can remove the stuff? I know it wears away, but pretty sure Eddie Gossage didn’t like to see this kind of race at his track. And pretty sure the drivers and sponsors didn’t either.
He may not have liked it, but he's not going to change anything. The compound use is going to continue because NASCAR brings in more money. Gossage has tried to spin it into a "We're trying to do right" situation, saying they need to find a chemical solution because the asphalt is still good. 🤬 'em, you have that in place BEFORE you use the product. I'm done with TMS.
 
It made for quite an awkward race weekend didn’t it? Is there a way they can remove the stuff? I know it wears away, but pretty sure Eddie Gossage didn’t like to see this kind of race at his track. And pretty sure the drivers and sponsors didn’t either.


I don't know, did they think a double header could solve the problem? Found a recent interesting article, seems no one has a clue...

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/ind...llenged-by-nascar-track-enhancement-at-texas/

One thing for sure, TMS as it is now, is like a pizza with no tomato...
 
I don't know, did they think a double header could solve the problem? Found a recent interesting article, seems no one has a clue...

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/ind...llenged-by-nascar-track-enhancement-at-texas/

One thing for sure, TMS as it is now, is like a pizza with no tomato...
Yup, it's for sure a one lane track for Indy cars. Venture into the black, and it's very possible wall contact after a miserable, long slide.
But one thing's for certain, the young comer with the greatest determination, commitment and nads conquered it in a style noticed around the world.
It was a spellbinding performance, quite convincing and possibly career-defining. But I hope he doesn't try that at Indy.
 
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He just needs to give Sato a wider berth.
 
Nice win by Rinus, hopefully for ECR's sake he doesn't get sniped like Newgarden did.

It's also nice to see Rahal's gamble at the start paid off with another top 5, he really is having a renaissance this year and I have to imagine a win is just around the corner.
 
Superb race from Grosjean - was really hoping he'd win it but after he pitted it became obvious he wouldn't be able to. Still, to get P2 in his third race is phenomenal stuff - it's fantastic to see him doing well after the Haas era. Plus, having thought Indycar wasn't really for me, I can safely say yesterday was one of the best races I've watched recently - consider me a full convert!
 
Thought this was a good article
https://www.autoweek.com/racing/ind...-making-indycar-more-run-f1-for-fans-drivers/

It's a different series and a different car for sure, but really, they always were. This has turned into one of the most fun eras to be sure.

I've gotten into Indycar and Nascar this year and really loving them both. It was a bit jarring at first having only watched European motorsport but you do get better sport up at the front in both in my opinion. I still love F1 though and there's always great midfield action and the occasional curveball; Gasly's Monza win was one of the most exciting sporting moments in recent years for me, especially considering his prior demotion.

It's a tough one really. I do like manufacturer led sport and there's something fun about manufacturers competing to make the best car (having watched the Ford vs Ferrari film recently, I'm liking how 2021 is Honda vs Mercedes). However, I think F1's main issue is that you don't have all the cars on the grid genuinely competing to win because small independent teams like Sauber, Haas and Williams don't have the funds to even dream of doing so. Plus, Williams effectively went bankrupt and Haas appears to be on its last legs. Linked to that is the whole junior team thing I suppose. If the budget cap doesn't even if it out then maybe they should make it a multi-class series as it sort of is anyway at this point.

I don't think F1's main issue is Mercedes dominance though but rather just how relatively easily they've been able to do it. I forget the race but last year Bottas in a damaged Merc was still able to easily overtake another team's car which summed it up really. Take the WRC for example, Ogier truly has been a dominant force in that for years but he's not ahead by a crazy amount on every stage or indeed every day. There's generally always a sense he's had to fight for rally wins and the championship can get very tight. If I remember correctly, in 2018 it wasn't decided until the final round in Australia. Close racing is all anyone wants really and it seems the times we've got that in recent years (Ferrari in 2018, RB now) were down to rule breaking (or bending, depending on one's perspective).

It's no wonder that people have gone away from F1 really. Regardless of the lack of competition up front, it's also a very expensive sport to be a fan of in terms of subscriptions, ticket prices and merch. I still love it though and hope to go to Silverstone next year but a sport can't really survive on just the diehard fans who will watch it come what may.
 
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Enerson and Kimball are the unlucky ones to miss the race. Power nearly threw it away as well by kissing the wall during his run but was able to continue and put up a good enough time.

I also gained quite a bit of respect for Top Gun, it seemed for the longest time that they were just another vaporware team but managed to actually show up and while not close to making the field they still put up as much of a fight as they could. Hopefully this isn't the last we hear of them.

Now onto the Fast 9!
 
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Here are the results of Carb Day: https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2021/05/indycar-results-pf.pdf
They indicate the advantage held by Honda during qualifying has vanished. The conditions have turned cool and windy, supposed to be a further indication the racing will be close and even tomorrow. There's probably going to be some clumsy blocking and short tempers, so yellow flags are likely, IMHO. Will there be a strong fan turnout? I think so. Will the coming men defeat the veterans? Ordinarily I would think not. But conditions may be favorable for an upset!
 
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