Infineon: Sunday thoughts
IndyCar commentary — By More Front Wing Staff on August 22, 2010 10:22 pm(Originally posted by Bash to Planet-IRL.com.)
Yesterday’s vibe at Infineon Raceway was fun and relaxed, but Sunday’s was raring to go at the start. Arriving at the track at 9:30 AM, it was already jumping with spectators and the media center was full of folks doing their thing.
The word is that sales were up for this race, and I’d be interested to hear what others in attendance think. The crowds in the garage area and around the grandstand were large, but you can’t judge attendance by density in the main grandstand. Although it’s convenient to the garage and fan zone area, it isn’t the best place on the course to watch the race. The hills out around the turns and backstretch offer the best views, and that’s a better place to gauge attendance.
The weather was much better today with the fog clearing early, warmer temperatures, and less wind.
Against this backdrop, there wasn’t very much that was surprising about today’s events. JK Vernay won his fifth race of the season in Firestone Indy Lights with Charlie Kimball and James Hinchcliffe joining him on the podium. Another notable finish was fifth-place Pippa Mann, who recorded her best FIL finish three weeks after having surgery on her broken left hand.
In the IZOD IndyCar Series race, it was another episode of World Domination by Will Power. He jumped to a lead at the green and only relinquished it briefly to Scott Dixon for a last pit stop. Power topped off the Mario Andretti Road Course Championship he locked down at Mid-Ohio and stretched his overall championship lead over Dario Franchitti by finishing two places ahead of the Scot. Scott Dixon tried in vain to challenge Power for the last few laps, but his tires finally went off and Power took the win.
Surprises at Infineon? Well, you never expect to look out the window as the green flag drops and see Dan Wheldon spinning down the frontstretch on his lid. (Dan is fine.) And although there wasn’t much change at the very front of the field, there was a lot of action through the rest. One thing credited with the increased action was the compounds Firestone brought for this race, a rousing success by all accounts.
Another surprise: hearing Mike King say on the IMS Radio Network that a credible source told him Takuma Sato’s contact with Danica Patrick in Friday’s practice was on purpose. Their contact in the race had Patrick fuming that he’d done it again — although, of course, Sato denied this. That relationship will be interesting to watch as the final ovals unfold.
In closing, I noted the usual complaining on Twitter that this race is a real snoozer. All I can say is: you just gotta be here. There’s a lot more happening than TV can show you, and it’s a special place to see an IndyCar race.
Tags: Dan Wheldon, Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Infineon Raceway, JK Vernay, Pippa Mann, Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Will Power
The race was so much better than I expected! It didn’t make me sleepy at all. Just a little angry in the end, but it was good overall.
Power’s dominance was kinda boring, but I like him, so it’s nice to see him winning. It’s so much better then seeing Dixon winning. xD
I was surprise by Mike King’s comments too and it got me thinking: when the bad blood started between Sato and Danica? I can’t remember a thing involving them before this weekend. #Mistery
Do you remember the 3rd spring drama earlier in the year? IICS officials did nothing to stop Penske from modifying how the sway bar was mounted to act as a high-load 3rd spring. This created, as other owners described, rocket cars capable of large mechanical traction gains in high-load situations (almost every corner other than the slowest and EVERY oval on the calender). Other teams have tried to implement something similar but it seems only Ganassi has come close to replicating Penke’s success.
Teams from Andretti to almost the very back of the field are incredibly closely matched. Even here at Sonoma, a track loathed by most fans due to “lack of passing”, the action mid-pack was absolutely amazing. During a few side-by-sides I actually felt compelled to watch as it seemed the energy on track was always high. If you take away the “3rd spring” advantage of the top two we could have had a more competitive season, including more teams in the fun. 2 thumbs up for Sonoma, it seems as if Indy Car racing has become full contact.