PT and the 2010 I500

[SarahFan]

Anyone remember his championship season?

And the next year they were interviewing patreek carpantier....and Patrick talked of how committed pt was ... How he showed up in the best shape of his life ... Demanded perfection of those around him ... Complete and singularly focused on one goal

yet we also a playful side with his whineritis medical mask during qualifying




It feels like that thus May...

If when I go to wendover on the 22nd he is 50-1 it will be very easy to lay down that hundy

[Mark in Oshawa]

Anyone remember his championship season?

And the next year they were interviewing patreek carpantier....and Patrick talked of how committed pt was ... How he showed up in the best shape of his life ... Demanded perfection of those around him ... Complete and singularly focused on one goal

yet we also a playful side with his whineritis medical mask during qualifying




It feels like that thus May...

If when I go to wendover on the 22nd he is 50-1 it will be very easy to lay down that hundy

I would put the money on him...even at 20-1

[maxmach]

PT, go for it all.......or crash trying.....
...just wish He was full time...but somethings better then nuttin...

[garyshell]

PT...FTW

Gary

[TURN3]

Very good points SarahFan. Conventional wisdom tells us that Penske and Ganassi are going to be hard to beat, but KV has shown oval speed and PT is as good as anybody driving these cars today. He's absolutely put a ton of effort into this one race, to heck with a season, he's focused. Really tough to turn down those odds all things considered.

[Mark in Oshawa]

The other thing is about PT at Indy is his patience. PT in his latter attempts at winning at Indy displayed great skill in setting up a car the way he wanted it, and staying out of the stupidity. PT will be in the top 10 at some point, and likely will stay there...so with luck, or maybe a weird goofy sort of thing that only can happen it seems in the 500, he just might find himself in a position to win the Indy 500

[garyshell]

PT is starting to blog about Indy on Racer.com.

http://www.racer.com/paul-tracys-indy-blog-begins/article/170095/?DCMP=EMC-RACER_DAILY

Gary

[SarahFan]

mark.......i expect to see PT in the top 10 all day..

the question is will he find himself in the top 1-4 with 30 to 50 togo....then it gets interesting....

[Mark in Oshawa]

mark.......i expect to see PT in the top 10 all day..

the question is will he find himself in the top 1-4 with 30 to 50 togo....then it gets interesting....

Wouldn't THAT be something???

[garyshell]

Wonder why PT did so few laps in practice today? I did. But not anymore:


paultracy3: Going to run alot tomorow , the irl is going to let the non full time cars buy up to 7 more sets of tires

paultracy3: For some reason they had a rule that part time cars got 7 sets less than full time cars , that's one of the reasons we have also not run

paultracy3: They changed thier mind today after practice and said we could buy more tires , to be the same as everyone else,could have told us earlier

paultracy3: So we did not sit around all day

Via PT's twitter feed.

Gary

[chuck34]

Wonder why PT did so few laps in practice today? I did. But not anymore:

Via PT's twitter feed.

Gary

Who the heck ever thought that giving the part time teams LESS tires was a good thing? Are we sure that was the rule, or was it just a case of mistaken interpretations by the team? I find it hard to believe that anyone was that short sighted. But maybe I'm giving people too much credit?

[garyshell]

Who the heck ever thought that giving the part time teams LESS tires was a good thing? Are we sure that was the rule, or was it just a case of mistaken interpretations by the team? I find it hard to believe that anyone was that short sighted. But maybe I'm giving people too much credit?


Apparently from what I could piece together from other reports there are two engine/tire lease programs. One with more engine miles and tires than the other. Tracy is on the lesser program. But the series has decided to allow the teams on that program to buy more tires. But what doesn't make sense to me is why would you need more tires if you don't have more miles on your engine program in which to use them. Sarah said something yesterday that the folks who went on the lesser program are actually making out better because of all the rained out sessions.

Hoop are you listening? Any idea why the need for tires without a need for additional engine miles???

Gary

[SarahFan]

I thought PT said he had the full engine lease?

and did anyone see PT's tweet this morning... looks like he has found additional sppnsorship and will be in toronto tues to show off a new paint scheme for more races this year

[Hoop-98]

Apparently from what I could piece together from other reports there are two engine/tire lease programs. One with more engine miles and tires than the other. Tracy is on the lesser program. But the series has decided to allow the teams on that program to buy more tires. But what doesn't make sense to me is why would you need more tires if you don't have more miles on your engine program in which to use them. Sarah said something yesterday that the folks who went on the lesser program are actually making out better because of all the rained out sessions.

Hoop are you listening? Any idea why the need for tires without a need for additional engine miles???

Gary

Just a guess, they underestimated tire wear vs engine miles when they came up with the formula.

rh

[garyshell]

PT jumps to P2 in practice with a 226.322 MPH run.

Go PT!

Gary

[chuck34]

Apparently from what I could piece together from other reports there are two engine/tire lease programs. One with more engine miles and tires than the other. Tracy is on the lesser program. But the series has decided to allow the teams on that program to buy more tires. But what doesn't make sense to me is why would you need more tires if you don't have more miles on your engine program in which to use them. Sarah said something yesterday that the folks who went on the lesser program are actually making out better because of all the rained out sessions.

Hoop are you listening? Any idea why the need for tires without a need for additional engine miles???

Gary

Ok that sort of makes sense. If it was a choice given to the teams for more or less tires, then I completely understand. However, where I'm getting messed up is the part about the League allowing them to buy more, like the League was the one choosing which program they were on. I'm missing that totally.

As for the tires vs. engine miles. I would assume that would have to do with how many simulated qual runs you want to make. Every time you make a qual run you want to have new tires on reguardless of how many miles your engine has.

[garyshell]

What the series has done, apparently, is to allow the teams who choose the 800 mile package to buy more tires AFTER the teams had made their decisions. I suspect Hoop is right, as to why the change has been made.

Gary

[garyshell]

Rain quickly approaching from the west so I think everyone is scrambling to get on track.

Gary

[garyshell]

PT has full details on his blog:

http://www.racer.com/paul-tracys-indy-blog-3/article/170610/?DCMP=EMC-RACER_DAILY

Gary

[Hoop-98]

From another source:Paul Tracy posting

Major announcement for pt

Flying to Toronto to make a major announcement on Tuesday of next week , can't wait . Multiple new sponsors and a wicked looking car 

I am going to newyork Monday , then doing Toronto on Tuesday to announce new sponsors

good news eh!

[garyshell]

More updates from PT:

http://www.racer.com/paul-tracys-indy-blog-4/article/170673/?DCMP=EMC-RACER_DAILY

Gary

[Jag_Warrior]

Years ago, I didn't care much for Paul. But now that he's about the only driver with a BIG personality, who is also capable of winning races, I don't get why the series itself doesn't beat the bushes to get him a full season sponsor. IMO, what this series needs is more Paul Tracy/Robby Gordon type drivers and fewer PC/corporate robot type drivers.

Good link. Thanks for posting that. :up:

[jimispeed]

I got an email from Indycar today about the latest news........PT wasn't even mentioned. :rolleyes:

He got more sponsorship on board, but unfortunately Indycar won't recognise him. He would be a great asset for Indycar. He is a great asset for open wheel racing!! Always willing to speak his mind.

[Easy Drifter]

PT is making a major announcement in Toronto on Tues.
UFC is making a major announcement in Toronto on Tues.
It couldn't be could it? :eek:

[garyshell]

PT is making a major announcement in Toronto on Tues.
UFC is making a major announcement in Toronto on Tues.
It couldn't be could it? :eek:

UFC???

Gary

[Easy Drifter]

Ultimate Fighting Commission

[NickFalzone]

UFC is likely announcing that Toronto has sanctioned it to hold events there (previously they did not want the headache of 10k drunk UFC fans coming out of an event center). Probably completely unrelated to PT. My guess on PT is that he has added 1-2 more sponsors for 2-3 more races this season, similar to last year. Toronto, Edmonton, maybe Ohio or the Glen.

[Easy Drifter]

The Govt. of Ont. has banned UFC.
Premier 'Nanny' McGuinty will not allow it.

[NickFalzone]

PT is pissed. what is up with KV this year, total disaster.

[TURN3]

PT is pissed. what is up with KV this year, total disaster.


I've been bantering on twitter all day. Even before his dismal attempts, Viso, Sato, and Moraes have all crashed hard this week. You can't tell me that team hasn't stretched its resources as a result. I feel like with the limited week the team poorly managed the track time, working on race setups until the last possible minute, then sitting out a ton of track time. I do believe he'll be good in the race but heck, YOU HAVE TO GET IN!

There are 9 spots plus 1 for whoever has the slowest speed overal. There are 13 cars, including Bruno going for those spots. I have a hard time thinking PT and KV can't out qualify 4 cars. But still, there are some teams capable of some fast times back there. You have PT & Sato, TK & JA, IV & Vitor, and of course Bruno. I see Romance-ini, Milka, Lloyd, Sarah struggling to make it in at this point.

[Scotty G.]

PT is pissed. what is up with KV this year, total disaster.

Too many stroke drivers. That' whats wrong.

How can anyone be surprised with what has happened with KV this year at Indy. You bring Viso, Moraes and Sato together and you really think that is going to work? You think those spazzes are not going to try and knock down the walls not only at Indy but throughout the entire season?

If Vasser and Kalkhoven want to get serious and put a real team out there, they better start with finding competent drivers who won't bankrupt them with crash damage. And those 3 just might bankrupt them.

Plus, how in the world can you go to Indy with 3 noted crashers and PT (who has never not been aggressive) and only have 5 cars for the 4 drivers? Sato will have to get back into the same car he wadded up tomorrow. That is just stupidity on Jimmy and Kevin's part. If you want to run 4 cars at Indy, you better have more then 1 backup car in the trailer. Either that, or you shouldn't be running 4 cars.

[Marbles]

A bit of a shocker IMO. I guess PT was catching tows in race trim all week. Going by his tweets it sounds as though they didn't even run in qualifying trim. "we made a lot of changes that should have made it faster."

[SarahFan]

I cant imagine PT not getting in today....but then again I couldnt imagine him not getting in yesterday,.......

but Im going to look at the silver lining.... and that will be watching him and TK carve they way to the top ten next sunday!

right?

[Marbles]

right?

Right!

[SarahFan]

'Tough day yesterday , having not seen the sun in a week on track . When it came the clouds left with our setup . We need to find grip in the car cuz we can't trim the car if it's sliding around with df on . We are try just about everything different today , roll centers , springs shocks, wing angles. We have too . Feels like 02 again . I will get it in and race it like a motherf$&ker . That you can make a bet on !!!!'--PT early this morning

'Team made the car more happy this morn , it's not so edgy in the rear . I feel better about it'---PT a few minutes ago after running a 225+ this morning

[SarahFan]

I had a crazy busy weekend...what with kids, sports, music programs, plays etc....

I really didnt get more than a couple hours behind the computer....

I get home just as quals ended and switched on VS..to see a graphic that paul didnt make the field...

I'm feeling for the guy.....

but I see he has Already commented

"We live by the sword and die by the sword
Gave it all it had , but we could not get the car to handle in the heat . I will be back soon"--PT

[DanicaFan]

It was a very bad call by the team to withdraw his time to begin with. If they had not have done that, he would be in the race.

[Marbles]

"We live by the sword and die by the sword
Gave it all it had , but we could not get the car to handle in the heat . I will be back soon"--PT

Yup, he didn't point fingers. He was pretty straight and together in the post race on Indycar.com. "We made the decision."

Damned if you don't and damned if you do. If he sat there and got knocked out we would be screaming he didn't do enough. He came out and messed up and we call him them on a bad decision. We be geniuses!

Not for lack of trying... closest to the wall without wadding it up award goes to him. I thought for sure that he would be faster with the shadows.
I'm sure the folks at Indy aren't any happier.

[nigelred5]

well, there goes much of my interest.....

[SarahFan]

It was a very bad call by the team to withdraw his time to begin with. If they had not have done that, he would be in the race.

Monday morning quarterbacking

*interesting you showed and posted. On all the active threads but one.... Hmm I wonder why ...not

[champcarray]

I watched the coverage on VS and saw Jack Arute interview him as he walked off pit lane. Jack asked him to describe his thought process as he decided to withdraw his time and re-qualify. Paul said that he was sitting in the car and was told to try again. Paul may have put a "we" spin on it later, but it appears Barry Green made the decision.

[bblocker68]

So much for his blog on Racer..........

It was a shock to see him out after how fast the car was all week.

[SarahFan]

http://www.racer.com/paul-tracys-indy-blog--the-epilogue/article/170816/?DCMP=EMC-RACER_DAILY

[DanicaFan]

Monday morning quarterbacking

*interesting you showed and posted. On all the active threads but one.... Hmm I wonder why ...not

No, its a fact. That team knew their car wasnt handling well in the heat and when they went out for that last attempt it was hot and the track temp was still near 120 degrees. So why risk it ? Had they not done that, they would be in the field.

As for posting in the other thread, why bother, no one will agree with what I say and Im tired of all the negativity towards Danica.

[SarahFan]

As for posting in the other thread, why bother, no one will agree with what I say and Im tired of all the negativity towards Danica.


Never stopped you before

[chuck34]

all the negativity towards Danica.

How about all the negativity FROM Danica?

[harvick#1]

As for posting in the other thread, why bother, no one will agree with what I say and Im tired of all the negativity towards Danica.

not to be mean, but once you quite being a biased spectator and keep posting fantasy dream news about Danica and start actually talking about all the drivers and the race itself, you will come to find you'll have a friendly discussion with everyone :)

[rabf1]

"Paul said that he was sitting in the car and was told to try again. Paul may have put a 'we' spin on it later, but it appears Barry Green made the decision."

Exactly correct. And it was a monumentally stupid decision. I don't think anyone could ever be criticized for NOT withdrawing a car in the last 15 minutes to try for a better time. If its in the show, don't take it out used to be the universal rule.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I thought hiring Barry Green was to be the master strategist to get Paul TO Victory Lane? Oh well...scratch THAT idea. This just proves that the team is only as good as it's weakest link...and there are a few of them with KV Racing. Scott was right on them being stretched too thin.....and I think Paul got screwed with some bad strategy. Never put in to requalify if you are already in...you cant race if you are not one of 33...and people have won from the back, so for them to take his time off table was brain dead...

[spiritone]

I think pt being unable to qualify points out the problem with the present irl car, 80% car 20% driver. Best example milko duno, tell me how someone with no apparent talent can get her car to be almost as fast as tracy. Ed carpenter qualifying in the top 9, did someone give him a talent transfusion.


Indy used to be about driver talent, powerfull cars and dramatic races. All gone.


Now we have pimski and ganass dominating the races with foreign drivers and resources that most teams in the irl would kill for.


Is this the Indy 499 that all you irl fans envisioned? Bad tv ratings and a once proud race reduced to 2 weeks. Tony won the war, but it has been at a great cost to both openwheel racing and tony. This is not the real 500.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Spiritone, you are a little off. First off, it has always been a lot of team prep and the car has been the bigger factor for years. It was when the turbines won, and it was when Jim Clark was beating up on the roadsters. A superior car wins at Indy. That said, now with everyone running more or less the same car, it shows the quality of the teams and the communication with the engineers. KV has 3 clueless car wreckers and Paul Tracy. They didn't find the information they needed soon enough and they lost out. Simple as that....

Penske and Ganassi dominate because they do all the little things right, and regardless of the nationality of the driver, that is going to count. It doesn't take a rocket scientest to drive fast for 4 laps at Indy, what it takes is someone who doesn't have his head up his @ss and can communicate what needs to be done. Penske and Ganassi hired guys who understand this sort of race car and know their stuff. Andretti has TK and two people who couldn't set up a car if TK didn't give it to them first.....and it shows.

[chuck34]

I think pt being unable to qualify points out the problem with the present irl car, 80% car 20% driver. Best example milko duno, tell me how someone with no apparent talent can get her car to be almost as fast as tracy. Ed carpenter qualifying in the top 9, did someone give him a talent transfusion.


Indy used to be about driver talent, powerfull cars and dramatic races. All gone.


Now we have pimski and ganass dominating the races with foreign drivers and resources that most teams in the irl would kill for.


Is this the Indy 499 that all you irl fans envisioned? Bad tv ratings and a once proud race reduced to 2 weeks. Tony won the war, but it has been at a great cost to both openwheel racing and tony. This is not the real 500.

If you hate it so much, don't watch it. It's a simple concept that many seem to forget.

That being said, it's obvious that you DIDN'T watch any qualifying this weekend. If you had you would have seen great drives by many people just to keep the darn thing out of the wall. Go ask PT about how much driver input he put into his final attempt.

[chuck34]

It was when the turbines won,

Small nit, turbines never won. They were fast as hell, and led a lot of laps, but never won.

[SarahFan]

"Not going to take the easy way out
I am back from Canada , and having thought about it for a couple days . I am going to stay with my team and try and help out and be with my sponsors that have supported me . It would be easy for me to just leave and say I'm done and out . I worked so hard for this year to get ready and although I'm massively bummed out , I'm going to stay and do it the hard way !! After meeting the kids in Canada that were sick and in wheelchairs , I have nothing to cry in my milk about . I gave it my best effort , and that's all I can ask of myself . If I came here and gave it a 60% effort I would be even more mad at myself . All you can do is to do your best . I will continue to get ready for the races in Canada and give it another shot . Thanks for the support"--PT

[SarahFan]

thanks

[Mark in Oshawa]

Small nit, turbines never won. They were fast as hell, and led a lot of laps, but never won.

Right..lol...Why did I write that???? Parnelli SHOULD have won....and it was a fluke they didn't.

[spiritone]

I'm a little off, your right mark, guys like jim clark, rick mears,and aj were just average drivers, it was all car.

Its a simple fact, the cars are easy to drive. It they had real cars racing at indy milka wouldn't be within 20 mph of the front row.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I'm a little off, your right mark, guys like jim clark, rick mears,and aj were just average drivers, it was all car.

Its a simple fact, the cars are easy to drive. It they had real cars racing at indy milka wouldn't be within 20 mph of the front row.

Spirit one...it wasn't all just car, but no one was going to catch Clark in 64 unless they had a Lotus Ford and he had bad luck. Ditto for Parnelli Jones when he ran the turbine. That both DIDN'T win is Indy Lore and part of the fantastic history the place has, but now with all the cars all but identical, it is fractions of an inch and a bunch of people with laptops tuning these things, and the end result is like you said, Duno IS within 20 mph of the Front Row and Paul Tracy is watching the race from pit lane.

The fact is, until THIS is rectified, in that the driver or a superb car can break away, then a lot of the mystique and interest in this sport isn't going to be there.

[rabf1]

In every form of racing at the professional level the car is more important than the driver.

[Mark in Oshawa]

In every form of racing at the professional level the car is more important than the driver.

Starter is right, and in the case of Indy, the car does matter maybe a bit more. That said, we race fans idolize the drivers, not the cars, but to pick a great driver out of the crowd, he has to show his stuff or excel. The way the IRL is now, it is hard to tell the ok from the great because the cars are so equal that on some ovals, passing was almost impossible.

[chuck34]

I'm a little off, your right mark, guys like jim clark, rick mears,and aj were just average drivers, it was all car.

Its a simple fact, the cars are easy to drive. It they had real cars racing at indy milka wouldn't be within 20 mph of the front row.

So I'm not following you, are you saying that PT is a cr@ppy driver?

Do you honestly think that with all the cars being the "same" and so "easy" to drive at Indy that the driver makes no difference? That doesn't make any sence. Either they are easy to drive and then PT should be at the top, or they aren't quite so "easy" and even a guy like PT can miss it sometimes.

Again what do you think that PT would say if you told him these cars are so easy to drive? Did you see his last attempt?

[Mark in Oshawa]

I would say PT didn't make it because the car was just a little off...and being just a little off means you are screwed. If you are a little ahead of everyone, you must be in a Penske or Ganassi car.....

It is fractions of an inch...just like in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing where the differences are minute between a good car, and a bad car....