2011 Indianapolis 500

[EagleEye]

I cant wait for this race. The weather will be great. And come Sunday afternoon, my signature will become truth when Danica takes the checkers!

You will need to change "winner" to "whiner". It takes talent, not hype, to win the race.

[Steve-o]

comments from Dixon and Tags following Friday practice:
http://www.fanviewpoint.com/2011/05/scott-dixon-fastest-for-chip-ganassi-at.html

I am thinking this race has all the potential for being very exciting. Maybe it's my own excitement for the event, but Servia and Tags up front makes me think that possibly someone can stop the Penskannasi tide.

[Chris R]

a little off topic - but somewhat relevant to the discussion relative to Bruno and RHR - the two HRT cars have been allowed to start the Monaco grand prix despite not setting qualifying times.... not quite apples for apples - but this just illustrates that this sort of thing is not an isolated incident.....

[Chris R]

:p
I cant wait for this race. The weather will be great. And come Sunday afternoon, my signature will become truth when Danica takes the checkers!

I will make no dire predictions one way or the other as I prefer to avoid eating crow - but you may want to make sure you have a high quality crow sauce on hand for dinner Sunday night in the fridge next to the bottle of champagne - just to cover your bases :p

I do not think you prediction is as far fetched as some would believe, Indy tends to favor Danica's racing style - but I think she is far from a favorite........

If there is to be a dark horse winner I would tend to look to Tags, Servia or even Carpenter.... Of the female runners I would imagine Danica has the best chance - but Simona is not far behind.....

[SarahFan]

Sauce? F that!

Only one way to eat crow and that's raw fear factor style!



*posting from my phone in the airport

[garyshell]

Anyone have any Carb day times? I know Dixon was on top. Where did Tags wind up?

Gary

[DBell]

Anyone have any Carb day times? I know Dixon was on top. Where did Tags wind up?

Gary

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91781

[SoCalPVguy]

:p

I will make no dire predictions one way or the other as I prefer to avoid eating crow - but you may want to make sure you have a high quality crow sauce on hand for dinner Sunday night in the fridge next to the bottle of champagne - just to cover your bases :p

I do not think you prediction is as far fetched as some would believe, Indy tends to favor Danica's racing style - but I think she is far from a favorite........

If there is to be a dark horse winner I would tend to look to Tags, Servia or even Carpenter.... Of the female runners I would imagine Danica has the best chance - but Simona is not far behind.....

I think the Princess will tool around the track unmolested at about 2 mph slower than the leaders, stay out of trouble, and with a few crashes/failures eliminating some faster cars, and maybe even a lucky alternate fuel pit strategy, finish in the top 10. She will never be a factor for the lead on speed, only attrition or temporary fuel mileage will move her up.

[garyshell]

Thanks DBell!

Looks like Tags did just fine. Hope they have a hot weather setup at the ready. It is going to be a scorcher tomorrow.

Gary

[F1boat]

Dario FTW! I am a fanboy...

[Anubis]

I cant wait for this race. The weather will be great. And come Sunday afternoon, my signature will become truth when Danica takes the checkers!

Somewhere in California, Harold Camping is reading this and thinking, "Jeez, that's a crazy prediction!".

[Marbles]

Mikey explains why qualifying was so tough this year!

"[In] 1995 it wasn't this competitive, in my mind," he said. "I just feel that the quality that was out there this year was just unmatched in the history of this Speedway, in my mind, from the drivers to the teams. I think this was the toughest it's ever been."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91680

[SarahFan]

Does anyone have a link to a detailed schedule of events for tomorrow?

National anthem
Back home
Driver intros
Flyover

Etc

?

[TheCountessZ]

Here ya go:

http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/eventinfo/42158/

[slorydn1]

......And come Sunday afternoon, my signature will become truth when Danica takes the checkers!

:rolleyes: If she some how lucks her way to the front then it will be HALF true....and believe it or not, if the stars align just right and an asteroid takes out half the paddock tonight then yeah, I could see it happening. But she is NEVER gonna win the Daytona 500 because even if she somehow gets into Sprint Cup, she's never going to have the one thing she would need to win THAT race...a partner willing to sacrifice himself to push her to the win. Not gonna happen. Even her "owner" Dale Jr would dump her the first chance he got to get on the front bumper of someone else willing to push HIM to the win. The best she will ever get at Daytona is p2. But, yeah, I could see her waiting around until Viso takes out half the field and "fuel mileaging" her way to another win. Sure, it could happen. I don't believe it will, but sure it can...

[call_me_andrew]

Tomorrow's weather for Indianapolis calls for a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms in the morning which should give way to mostly cloudy skies by the green flag time. Skies will clear over the course of the race with a high temperature of 88°F (31°C). Winds will blow from the south-southwest (the enterance of turn 1) at 16mph (26km/h). Humidity should be about 60%.

So bring your snow shoes! :p

[SarahFan]

WKe up everyone!

It's race mornIng....... Anyone have anything say?


*16 miles east of the speedway!

[Alfa Fan]

I cant wait for this race. The weather will be great. And come Sunday afternoon, my signature will become truth when Danica takes the checkers!

I'd say there's about a 50% chance of that....Of course she'll be behind about 15 other cars if she does!

[slorydn1]

Well Robin Miller just reported on Speed Center that the drivers got their way-no double file restarts for Indy...I don't know how true that it is yet, but there it is....

[maxmach]

I thought they, the drivers and speedway, had modified it. They are going to re-start between turns 3 and 4, so they will be more spread out by turn one. Still seems like a dumb idea to test it out at Indy but so be it. The hot weather should make it more interesting.

On a side note, that was one hell of a race at Monaco.......now I'm alll reved up for Indy!!!! Go PT.

[slorydn1]

Just checked the indy car site. Either I misunderstood what Miller said, or he got bad info....there was a compromise, still double file, but the restart line moved to the middle of 3-4 so the cars will have time to single up on their own by turn 1.....

[maxmach]

man oh man, just watching the pre-race show......gettting goosebumps allready. I think it's going to be the best 500 in a long time.....

[garyshell]

WKe up everyone!

It's race mornIng....... Anyone have anything say?


*16 miles east of the speedway!

Bon voyage! Wish I was there.

Gary

[Mad_Hatter]

B-2 flyover, awesome.

:cool:

[Mad_Hatter]

AWFUL start, but no crashes...

CDW on Servia's car.

Tags back into the lead.

[gm99]

The Penske are really nowhere in the early stages of the race.

[Hoop-98]

http://i53.tinypic.com/ifpj5f.jpg

Tracy light into the wall Sato heavier, Simona in and out of the pits

[maxmach]

PT has probs, and Will Power went out of the pits without a rear wheel, holy hell

[Alfa Fan]

Sato's partner in crime out now too

[Hoop-98]

Viso!

http://i52.tinypic.com/beh6ra.jpg

[harvick#1]

Sato and Viso out, that was expected

[maxmach]

as PT would say.....oh EJ...why EJ why

[Anubis]

Just when it looked like Sato was starting to calm down. Arse. As for Viso, how is he still in that drive? Well, ok, money, but you know what I mean.

[Hoop-98]

Simona @ 207 dropping off pace Ana up 12 spots

[Alfa Fan]

Tags in trouble

[Hoop-98]

Added a change since start column

http://i53.tinypic.com/122ep8k.jpg

[anthonyvop]

Why am I still here?

I was told that Double-Wide starts at Indy would bring on the Rapture.

[Hoop-98]

Because you are an _______?

[Mad_Hatter]

Give it time Anthony rapture takes time to set in.


The wave around???

[Anubis]

Give it time Anthony rapture takes time to set in.


Depends what sort of Rapture mileage you're getting I think.

[Hoop-98]

http://i53.tinypic.com/2r3xoib.jpg

[Mad_Hatter]

Its a ford, so take it for what it's worth...

[Hoop-98]

http://i51.tinypic.com/s46o2u.jpg

[Anubis]

Danica on the move!


Well someone had to say it...

[gm99]

Looks like the Target cars will be the ones to beat.
Pretty impressive run by Hildebrand thus far.

[Alfa Fan]

Hinch out. Seems its a bit harder than his twitter comments of the past suggested...

[Mad_Hatter]

Does it seem like some cars are having issues with the refueling safety system today?

[maxmach]

damn, hinche out, and Danica, well, Danica's being Danica, gotta admit, shes really good at staying out of trouble.....damn it

[Mad_Hatter]

Oriol to the lead!!!

[anthonyvop]

WooooHoooooo.....Go Oriol!

[anthonyvop]

Some of the tweets are hilarious


BeccyGordon Beccy Gordon
@IndyCar has me confused. A ton of cars pit when the pits were closed. #Indy500

[Hoop-98]

http://i54.tinypic.com/e82738.jpg

[anthonyvop]

More tweets

@IRLinsider
Wow..Dario passed Tags like...Like...Dario passing Tags.



@IRLinsider
Wave-Bys are soooooo NASCAR


@IRLinsider
Hildebrand has my vote for R.O.Y.

[NickFalzone]

Lol, aren't you... IRLInsider?

[harvick#1]

Come on Servia, seems like hes the only one to be giving the fight to the Ganassi boys

[maxmach]

Tags......tags the wall

[Mad_Hatter]

Still a great run for the Sam Schmidt guys.

[gm99]

Not a good day for the Canadian drivers...

[anthonyvop]

Lol, aren't you... IRLInsider?

Technically yes but I am not doing the tweeting.

[maxmach]

I guess its Ohhhhh Canada.........

[Alfa Fan]

Shame for Sam Schmidt

[harvick#1]

damn tough break for Bell, where did Rahal all of a sudden come from. also I really hope that if a restart is near the end of the race, all lap cars go to the back to give the leaders all the shot at the win, it seems them innermixing is causing havoc on restarts

[anthonyvop]

@MidwkMotorsport
by radiolemans
Now #ABC, this would be a great time to talk about pit windows and fuel strategy. But an ad break is a much better idea! #Indy500

Too bad for Tags and Sam. Still a great run though

[anthonyvop]

Hilarious!!!


@MartinHaven
by radiolemans
Agreed, diabetes - controlled - is no restriction to living a full life but what's next? A feature on how being Ginger doesn't stop someone?


@adamheidrick
by radiolemans
What we learned from ABC today: Godaddy.com, Olympics of racing, diabetes, loose wheel nut, Danica, gout & side-by-side not in that order

[Alfa Fan]

Neither Rahal or Servia will win.

[Mad_Hatter]

We went from commercial to race back to commercial in less than a minute...

[Hoop-98]

Danica is in position

[Alfa Fan]

Danica Hospenthal doesn't quite have the same ring..

[gm99]

DanicaFan is probably climaxing just now :P

[Anubis]

DF has to be praying to as many deities as he can think of for a caution right now.

[Hoop-98]

Bertrand maybe?

[Alfa Fan]

Someone has to dig up something DF has said about Baguette. There's bound to be loads...

[Alfa Fan]

Baguette's going to do it!

[Alfa Fan]

Dario in real trouble

[Alfa Fan]

Or Hildebrand to win??

[harvick#1]

Hildebrand to the lead!!!!!!!!

[anthonyvop]

Ganassi and Fuel measures have not been friends this month

[Alfa Fan]

Hildebrand to the lead!

[harvick#1]

White flag for JR!!!!!

[Mad_Hatter]

JR Hildebrande!!!!!

[Alfa Fan]

Who'd have thought it. Rookie winners of both 500s

[Anubis]

This could be amazing or utterly heartbreaking...

[harvick#1]

Wheldon WIN!!!!!!!!!!! holy cow

[anthonyvop]

Holy F*cking Crap!!!!

[Hoop-98]

JR!!!!!!! no Wheldon wow

[Anubis]

That'll be heartbreaking then

[Alfa Fan]

****ing hell. Cannot believe that. Unbelievable. Amazing.

[maxmach]

Un F-ing belivable

[gm99]

What an amazing finish! Really happy for Bryan Herta!

[Mad_Hatter]

The most amazing finish ever!!!!

[Mad_Hatter]

Whoa, Dan Wheldon the best ever?



That's a stretch there Bryan Herta....

[Jag_Warrior]

DF has to be praying to as many deities as he can think of for a caution right now.

He must have left out Zeus. And apparently Zeus doesn't like to be left out.

It would have been a really nice story for the kid to have won it. But I had an odd feeling that he was going to flub it when he passed that lapper. So one of my least favorite drivers wins it. Oh well.

[Anubis]

Whoa, Dan Wheldon the best ever?


That's a stretch there Bryan Herta....

I feel that was the adrenaline talking. That said, he's won it twice, so he's knows how to pedal a car round there.

[maxmach]

Dan Whelden.......winner.......I500.......congrats

[anthonyvop]

So one of my least favorite drivers wins it. Oh well.

Oh Crap...We agree on something!

[NickFalzone]

I'm not a big Wheldon fan either, but I'll give him credit for being a great driver at Indy. Two runner-ups with Panther, a win with AGR, and now a win with Bryan Herta, he's one of the best.

[Nikki Katz]

Wow, that was some finish. Really great for Wheldon, I hope he gets a seat on a more permanent basis. Must be horrible for Hildebrand though, last corner of the last lap!

[anthonyvop]

What is it with Ganassi and fuel measurement this month?

[NickFalzone]

What is it with Ganassi and fuel measurement this month?

Wondering the same thing. Up until the last 5 laps it looked like Dario had the win, then suddenly it's like the crew's fuel mileage changed and Dario had to drop considerable amount of speed.. then he still ran out on the last lap (according to his post race intv). Maybe they were banking on a yellow.. but he pitted pretty late and from I could tell he should have made it.

[gm99]

Apparently Panther Racing are protesting the result as Wheldon passed Hildebrand under yellow.
I doubt the protest will be successfull, though, as it was of course Hildebrand who brought out the yellow in the first place.

[Anubis]

I feel we often do current drivers down and only come to properly consider their talents after a passage of time, but he's now got two wins and a total of five top three finishes. I'm not his biggest fan, as there is something about him which grates, but you don't have that sort of record through dumb luck.

[Mad_Hatter]

Interesting...

[NickFalzone]

Apparently Panther Racing are protesting the result as Wheldon passed Hildebrand under yellow.
I doubt the protest will be successfull, though, as it was of course Hildebrand who brought out the yellow in the first place.

This is one of those things that, regardless of what the fine print says, Hildebrand lost the race and it feels like sour grapes to protest.

[Anubis]

I can't see how a protest can possibly succeed. Every driver going round a crash "in progress" is guilty of the same thing. Would make the result go from amazing to just downright rotten.

[SoCalPVguy]

I think the Princess will tool around the track unmolested at about 2 mph slower than the leaders, stay out of trouble, and with a few crashes/failures eliminating some faster cars, and maybe even a lucky alternate fuel pit strategy, finish in the top 10. She will never be a factor for the lead on speed, only attrition or temporary fuel mileage will move her up.

I TOTALLY CALLED IT !!!

A lot of downforce makes a stable - but slow - car, see how Baquette passed her like she was standing still. Danca - good "driver" not "racer".

[Andrewmcm]

Wheldon was past Hildebrand before the yellow light came on anyway.

[Anubis]

I TOTALLY CALLED IT !!!

A lot of downforce makes a stable - but slow - car, see how Baquette passed her like she was standing still. Danca - good "driver" not "racer".

I'll get it out of the way shall I?

"I'm proud of her, she ran a great race!"

[SoCalPVguy]

Whoa, Dan Wheldon the best ever?



That's a stretch there Bryan Herta....

Two Wins, two seconds... gotta be near the top ""33 Greatest Drivers at INDY"

[Andrewmcm]

You could argue that being a good 'driver' and not a 'racer' is why Ms. Patrick does so well at Indy - it's as much about getting your car to the end at the front as it is about being racy and passing people. The contrast between Kanaan and Patrick is a good example of this today - different approaches, both made big advances on their starting places.

[Anubis]

Being a good driver should see that tactic pay off at more tracks than just Indy and Motegi though. My pet theory is they just happen to punish her style less, hence she appears to run better at them than elsewhere. That tactic didn't pay off at Barber, as she finished nowhere, despite avoid all the incidents.

[DBell]

Wow, a very entertaining race! Jr, I don't know what to say. I like you and hope you recover from this, but this is one of the biggest chokes in sports history. A couple of big golf chokes come to mind, Greg Norman blowing the Masters with a huge lead and the French guy gagging on the final hole of the British Open with a 3 shot lead. But the final corner of the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500, that has to be maybe the biggest ever.

[Andrewmcm]

Being a good driver should see that tactic pay off at more tracks than just Indy and Motegi though. My pet theory is they just happen to punish her style less, hence she appears to run better at them than elsewhere. That tactic didn't pay off at Barber, as she finished nowhere, despite avoid all the incidents.

Oh I tend to agree. But then Indy isn't the average race.

[F1boat]

I came here thinking about the amazing, epic and heartbreaking finish, but I see that people are still talking about Danica. Oh, dear.

[Anubis]

Wow, a very entertaining race! Jr, I don't know what to say. I like you and hope you recover from this, but this is one of the biggest chokes in sports history. A couple of big golf chokes come to mind, Greg Norman blowing the Masters with a huge lead and the French guy gagging on the final hole of the British Open with a 3 shot lead. But the final corner of the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500, that has to be maybe the biggest ever.

Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis for the World Snooker Championship in 1985 is up there as well. Black ball game to win it and they both managed to choke several times before Taylor won. Tension was unbearable.

Back to JR, should the team perhaps have been coaching him home more, bearing in mind his rookie status? Don't know if we got all the radio transmissions, but did they warn him about the slow car? Two schools of thought I suppose, as you could just as easily consider that a distraction.

[markabilly]

Apparently Panther Racing are protesting the result as Wheldon passed Hildebrand under yellow.
I doubt the protest will be successfull, though, as it was of course Hildebrand who brought out the yellow in the first place.

Huuummmmm, race was on, he was leading yellow on, and he still going when passed and made it over the finish line.

looks like a clear rule violation, but do not think for a second that the IRL will uphold that appeal and destroy all the winning images by having a busted car finish first.......

But they did it to Paul Tracey

[markabilly]

Whoa, Dan Wheldon the best ever?



That's a stretch there Bryan Herta....

At what?? Passing crashed cars to win??????

[Andrewmcm]

Huuummmmm, race was on, he was leading ylloe on, and he still going when passed and made it over the finish line.

looks like a clear rule violation, but do not think for a second that the IRL will uphold that appeal and destroy all the winning image by having a busted car finish first.......

But they did it to Paul Tracey

Someone posted this - http://twitpic.com/54bhhc

[NickFalzone]

Someone posted this - http://twitpic.com/54bhhc

Don't try and include logic here, that would curtail all the amusing attempts at trolling.

[Andrewmcm]

I guess that makes me a killjoy then!

Actually, are the in-car yellow lights and track lights synchronised following the 2002 debacle?

[djarumdudley]

unbelievable finish to a great race....shame for Hildebrand...an amazing victory for Wheldon & Herta.

[gm99]

My understanding of the IndyCar rule book (https://hardcards.indycar.com/Resources/pdfs/2011_IZOD_IndyCar_Series_Rule_Book_FINAL_%20UNFORM ATTED_CLEAN.pdf)is that this is actually an unprotestable issue:


Section 12.3

E. Decisions Not Subject to Protest or Appeal -
(5) Whether a Car was properly positioned upon the
declaration of a yellow condition; whether the Safety
Car signaled a Driver to pass during a yellow
condition, whether a proper passing signal was given
during a yellow condition, whether the Safety Car or
another Car was improperly passed during a yellow
condition or whether a Car was properly positioned
as it crossed the point designated as the end of the pit
lanes.


I wonder if this particular rule was introduced after the 2002 Indy 500...

[Leo Krupe]

Color me surprised. I really thought Dario was going to have it in the last 15 laps, and then I was pulling for JR. Things happen though....

I was disappointed with PT though. I've been a fan of his since his Penske days, when he had brown tasselly hair and the glasses. But I have to think it's probably time for him to retire.

Simona gave it a good shot, and was classy with her apology to the team.

Now I understand about Danica...I'd never really paid that much attention to her before, but realized when she had all that downforce put into the wing, it dragged down not only her speed, but fuel mileage. So her performance is really all her--to her credit, she kept it off the wall and finished 10th, but she gets blamed for needing so much downforce that her mileage suffered and needed to pit so late in the race. I say let her go to the cabs full time so someone else will pick up the TV tab. No doubt GoDaddy got their exposure money's worth though. It's a pity they covered her so much though, and not some of the others.

For instance, I only saw Pippa mentioned when she nearly wrecked TK in the pits. And Bia? Maybe one mention of her on the track.

[SoCalPVguy]

Wow, a very entertaining race! Jr, I don't know what to say. I like you and hope you recover from this, but this is one of the biggest chokes in sports history. A couple of big golf chokes come to mind, Greg Norman blowing the Masters with a huge lead and the French guy gagging on the final hole of the British Open with a 3 shot lead. But the final corner of the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500, that has to be maybe the biggest ever.

Last corner or the last lap ...

Inexperience was the root cause for poor JR... an experienced driver would have backed off around lapped traffic in the last corner with a big lead and not push it up the track into the marbles... I hope he recovers but seriously do we ever think he will ever be in the lead at the 500 on the last lap in the last corner again ?

[Anubis]

Huuummmmm, race was on, he was leading yellow on, and he still going when passed and made it over the finish line.

What do you want Wheldon to do, slot in behind the coasting remains of Hildebrand's car to see where he ends up?! What if he'd simply spun without contact and was in the process of gathering it all up when Wheldon arrived, or maybe had run out of fuel and was coasting slowly enough to warrant a yellow? It's a ludicrous line of argument. We surely have to consider a car as inactive as soon as the contact occurs, not on where it finally comes to a halt, otherwise you'd be penalising people all the time. For example, I count nine cars passing Viso under yellow here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzXOn0octTc

I'm as gutted for the kid as anyone, and indeed don't especially like Dan Wheldon, but the protest is just desperate clutching at straws. Anyway, as already posted, the green light was on, so it's a moot point.

[beachgirl]

Last corner or the last lap ...

Inexperience was the root cause for poor JR... an experienced driver would have backed off around lapped traffic in the last corner with a big lead and not push it up the track into the marbles... I hope he recovers but seriously do we ever think he will ever be in the lead at the 500 on the last lap in the last corner again ?

Actually, I think he could very well find himself there again in the future.

[FormerFF]

Apparently Panther Racing are protesting the result as Wheldon passed Hildebrand under yellow.
I doubt the protest will be successfull, though, as it was of course Hildebrand who brought out the yellow in the first place.

That's stupid. You get to pass the crashed car. Otherwise the race would have to come to an IMMEDIATE SCREECHING HALT! What is Panther thinking?

[markabilly]

someone posted this - http://twitpic.com/54bhhc

photoshopped!!!

[FIAT1]

Congrats to Dan Weldon, great job G.Rahal , good race!

[markabilly]

What do you want Wheldon to do, slot in behind the coasting remains of Hildebrand's car to see where he ends up?! What if he'd simply spun without contact and was in the process of gathering it all up when Wheldon arrived, or maybe had run out of fuel and was coasting slowly enough to warrant a yellow? It's a ludicrous line of argument. We surely have to consider a car as inactive as soon as the contact occurs, not on where it finally comes to a halt, otherwise you'd be penalising people all the time. For example, I count nine cars passing Viso under yellow here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzXOn0octTc

I'm as gutted for the kid as anyone, and indeed don't especially like Dan Wheldon, but the protest is just desperate clutching at straws. Anyway, as already posted, the green light was on, so it's a moot point.


All NINE needed drive throughs......................... :D :D

Oh rell, the other result would have been more fun.

Now we get Dan dancing cause he passed a crashed out car in the last corner......oh well

worse, though, is the bad news that Danica did not win.....if that streak of being a loser keeps going, nobody is going to be watching, cause all you got to do is listen to all the hype leading up the race, and it was all about Danica, at the "GO DADDY 500" or was it the "500 Sponsored by Go Daddy". :rolleyes:

worse than that, having to watch the Go Daddy stuff all over the scoring on TV, and even worse than that, the Danica commericials were stanky, she looked like an old hooker gone gothic :eek: :eek:

[Anubis]

she looked like an old hooker gone gothic :eek: :eek:

I shouldn't laugh, but I did :)

Hopefully she'll be gone next year and we can all get back to arguing about something else equally outside our control.

[Hoop-98]

From Twitter;

"Panther Racing has not, nor will it, protest the finish of the Indianapolis 500."

[Sateryn76]

Well...

It's weird, because it was an exciting race. But I'm feeling a little underwhelmed, since no one I'm rooting for did anything of note. I'm all for DeSilvestro, Sato, Franchitti, Hinchcliffe...none of them did anything. So I was left with a Big Spectacle that did nothing for me.

And, I had to battle a sour taste as Danica led the race. Funny aside - I always asked my husband "What DOES happen next?" on Go Daddy for every commercial. He always knew ;)

Good for Rahal and Kanaan. Love TK, so that was pretty fantastic when he passed almost the entire field twice to finish 4th.

Does anyone have any insight on what exactly happened on Power's tire situation? So far as I could tell, the jack dropped before the back wheel guy was done, and based on that, the lead guy gave him the go ahead. It's too bad, because I think Will Power had some stones going into this one. He's not my favorite, but he is one of the best drivers.

I'd hate to be the pit guy who has to explain it to Penske. I swear RP can shoot lasers out of his eyes....

[Marbles]

Great drama. This is Indy!!!

If Dario is "devastated", I'd put Hildebrand on suicide watch. Tough luck! I wanted him to win at the end. Slid down in my chair when he came across that lapped car.

Awesome pre-race opening with the track walk, CG and history of Indy. Extremely, and surprisingly, well done.

If Kanaan had started at the front and avoided mishaps I guess he would have lapped the field a couple of times.

Tough for Tagliani and Schmidt. He drove a pretty sick handling car for quite a while before hitting the wall and calling it a day.

Bad day for Canadians. LOL, PT hits the wall on the first few laps, goes a ton of laps down and soldiers around to finish ahead of both Tagliani and Hinchcliffe.

Congrats to Wheldon and great to see Rahal at the front as well.

I don't care how exciting restarts are. The new rule Stinks! There is no way that a driver who has a half a lap and six lapped cars between him and his pursuer should have to restart wheel to wheel with said pursuer.

[Marbles]

Does anyone have any insight on what exactly happened on Power's tire situation? So far as I could tell, the jack dropped before the back wheel guy was done, and based on that, the lead guy gave him the go ahead. It's too bad, because I think Will Power had some stones going into this one. He's not my favorite, but he is one of the best drivers.

I'd hate to be the pit guy who has to explain it to Penske. I swear RP can shoot lasers out of his eyes....

I don't know what happened but apparently waving your left arm in the air is a somewhat ambiguous sign and something that has to be ironed out before the next "Penske Pitstop". A bad race for Penske is one thing but a bad Indy for Penske is another thing entirely. Someone is going to pay.

[Nem14]

I wonder what Hildebrand's spotter was telling him as he approached, at a goodly pace mind, what looked to be a car that had run out of gas and was going pretty slow.

Consider what happened to Conway last year.

After looking at it several times, if he had slowed to stay behind the other car he would have had to slow A LOT, Weldon may have, may not have, been able to catch him before he could get around the other car and accelerate to the finish line. It would have been really close.

I think I would have done exactly what Hildebrand did, gone for the outside pass.

[cos]

No doubt GoDaddy got their exposure money's worth though. It's a pity they covered her so much though, and not some of the others.

For instance, I only saw Pippa mentioned when she nearly wrecked TK in the pits. And Bia? Maybe one mention of her on the track.

I saw nothing of Rice, Wilson, Bia, Pippa on the coverage all day!

[NickFalzone]

I wonder what Hildebrand's spotter was telling him as he approached, at a goodly pace mind, what looked to be a car that had run out of gas and was going pretty slow.

Consider what happened to Conway last year.

After looking at it several times, if he had slowed to stay behind the other car he would have had to slow A LOT, Weldon may have, may not have, been able to catch him before he could get around the other car and accelerate to the finish line. It would have been really close.

I think I would have done exactly what Hildebrand did, gone for the outside pass.

I was wondering the same thing. It's easy to just say that JR choked, and maybe he did, but that lapped car really takes some of the blame. I think he was put in a tough position, either possibly lose his lead to Wheldon, or take a risk by going around the lapper. In the heat of the moment, he made the decision a lot of us would make, and those damn marbles made it an impossible pass to actually pull off.

[downtowndeco]

I agree with both of you guys. If he would have let up too much Weldon could have blasted past him & the only thing worse than choking is to be too timid. He went for it & lost. Glad to see he at least slid across in 2nd. IMO he has nothing to be ashamed of.

Great race!


I was wondering the same thing. It's easy to just say that JR choked, and maybe he did, but that lapped car really takes some of the blame. I think he was put in a tough position, either possibly lose his lead to Wheldon, or take a risk by going around the lapper. In the heat of the moment, he made the decision a lot of us would make, and those damn marbles made it an impossible pass to actually pull off.

[Marbles]

but that lapped car really takes some of the blame.

Did the lapped car play a role? Yes, it did. Is it to blame? No, it isn't. The lapped car, driven by Charlie Kimball, did exactly what you want a car being lapped to do. Stay on "it's" line. The last thing you want a lapped car to do is the "Chicken Dance" to try and get out of your way. Race school basics.

[Bob Riebe]

Huuummmmm, race was on, he was leading yellow on, and he still going when passed and made it over the finish line.

looks like a clear rule violation, but do not think for a second that the IRL will uphold that appeal and destroy all the winning images by having a busted car finish first.......

But they did it to Paul TraceyWhen is the yellow light coming on going to return to being based on what is happening on the track and not some chicken-little dumb-**** afraid some one might cut their finger?

[call_me_andrew]

Did the lapped car play a role? Yes, it did. Is it to blame? No, it isn't. The lapped car, driven by Charlie Kimball, did exactly what you want a car being lapped to do. Stay on "it's" line. The last thing you want a lapped car to do is the "Chicken Dance" to try and get out of your way. Race school basics.

The lapped car is 100% to blame! The lapped cars aren't supposed to hold their line, they're supposed to avoid any semblance of the leader's line. Kimball should have gone for the warmup lane. He was certainly going slow enough to drive there.

Best Indy 500 I've ever watched though.

[SoCalPVguy]

Actually, I think he could very well find himself there again in the future.

I sure hope he does too, beachgirl !!! I'd hate to think "that was it" for him...

[NickFalzone]

Not to get too far off topic, but the entertainment value of this years 500 made me wonder what things will be like next year, and not necessarily in a good way. With the spec cars we seem to have reached the point where almost any decent team has a shot at Indy. This year probably had the most even field in terms of equipment and highest quality of teams/drivers that Indy has seen in a long while. Once the field is split up by different engines/aeros, etc. we may be back to a "which team is the richest" scenario of blowout wins. Which is not to say that I am against that. I believe it is necessary. But this years race showed to me that the current spec can actually produce exciting racing. Also, I think the 2-wide restarts were contributed to the show as well. Barnhart, for all the crap he gets, deserves some props for the quality of this year's race.

[SarahFan]

Can someone give mRNA quick explanation of what happened to Simona today?

[call_me_andrew]

Huuummmmm, race was on, he was leading yellow on, and he still going when passed and made it over the finish line.

looks like a clear rule violation, but do not think for a second that the IRL will uphold that appeal and destroy all the winning images by having a busted car finish first.......

But they did it to Paul Tracey

Assuming for the moment that Hildebrand was in front of Wheldon when the yellow came out (WHICH HE WAS NOT), the results still stand because Hildebrand brought out the yellow; therefore, Hildebrand was the one driver whose position wasn't frozen when the yellow came out (as opposed to Castroneves v. Tracey where the yellow was unlreated to the actions of the leading cars).

[Mr. Mister]

What a spectacle of the most immense human drama possible! I absolutely love the Indianapolis 500, and this was as good a rendition as any, if not the best of all-time. Surely the greatest I've seen. Every year the Speedway tells a story, and this one had all the elements of a true classic. Triumphs, dreams, adversity, heartbreak, and the emergence of another all-time great rising from the obscurity of "has-been" with a team of longshots. A glorious victory for Wheldon, and a glorious day for automobile racing in America! Experience outlasting the exuberance of youth as two men find their way into the archives and, more importantly, into our memories. Exactly what I'd expect from the 500, and yet nothing I could have ever predicted. Perfection.

[Marbles]

The lapped car is 100% to blame! The lapped cars aren't supposed to hold their line, they're supposed to avoid any semblance of the leader's line. Kimball should have gone for the warmup lane. He was certainly going slow enough to drive there.


If I sold crack, I'd want you as a customer.

[Nem14]

The lapped car is 100% to blame! The lapped cars aren't supposed to hold their line, they're supposed to avoid any semblance of the leader's line. Kimball should have gone for the warmup lane. He was certainly going slow enough to drive there.

Only if the slower car's driver has eyes in the back of his head. The slower car should always hold it's line. It's the overtaking cars responsibilty to make a safe pass, not for the slower car to get out of the way. Otherwise people get hurt, or worse.

Jochen Mass tried to get out of Giles Villeneuve's way but Giles was going so much faster and had committed to his line and couldn't do anything about it, and Giles was dead just a few seconds later.

[NickFalzone]

What a spectacle of the most immense human drama possible! I absolutely love the Indianapolis 500, and this was as good a rendition as any, if not the best of all-time. Surely the greatest I've seen. Every year the Speedway tells a story, and this one had all the elements of a true classic. Triumphs, dreams, adversity, heartbreak, and the emergence of another all-time great rising from the obscurity of "has-been" with a team of longshots. A glorious victory for Wheldon, and a glorious day for automobile racing in America! Experience outlasting the exuberance of youth as two men find their way into the archives and, more importantly, into our memories. Exactly what I'd expect from the 500, and yet nothing I could have ever predicted. Perfection.

I agree completely. Every year I have high hopes for Indy, but this is the first year, honestly that I can remember, that the race actually lived up to all the possible hype. ABC also did a great job with the pre-race Centennial videos.. I particularly liked this one:

cfI305ZR78Q

[Marbles]

Only if the slower car's driver has eyes in the back of his head. The slower car should always hold it's line. It's the overtaking cars responsibilty to make a safe pass, not for the slower car to get out of the way. Otherwise people get hurt, or worse.

Jochen Mass tried to get out of Giles Villeneuve's way but Giles was going so much faster and had committed to his line and couldn't do anything about it, and Giles was dead just a few seconds later.

A bit of history for us all and why racing schools around the world promote this very basic rule in regards to being lapped.

You may very well be able to get out of the way of a much faster car when being lapped and depending on the speed and the track you are racing on it may be a very nice gesture on your part when executed appropriately but disastrous when things go awry.

We are not talking Andrea de Cesaris and F1 blue flags here folks.

[garyshell]

Can someone give mRNA quick explanation of what happened to Simona today?

She went a bit wide and brushed the wall. At first it seemed she would be ok, but there was some issue with the car and they wound up parking it. She took the entire blame in the interview and apologized profusely to her team. Real standup job.

Gary

[call_me_andrew]

Only if the slower car's driver has eyes in the back of his head.

That's what the mirrors are for.

See this?

http://www.abflags.com/_flags/sports/car-racing/blue-flag-yellow-stripe/blue-flag-yellow-stripe-L-anim.gif

It means "get out of the way" not "stay exactly where you are".

[anthonyvop]

The lapped car is 100% to blame! The lapped cars aren't supposed to hold their line, they're supposed to avoid any semblance of the leader's line. Kimball should have gone for the warmup lane. He was certainly going slow enough to drive there.

Nope. The passing car is required to pick a safe place to pass. Kimball was low and the idea that he was suppose to suddenly change his line at the last moment is silly and dangerous.


Best Indy 500 I've ever watched though.

It was? I found it kind of average. The only real excitement being caused by J.R.'s Epic Fail and team Ganaasi once again messing up the fuel measurements.

[anthonyvop]

That's what the mirrors are for.

See this?

http://www.abflags.com/_flags/sports/car-racing/blue-flag-yellow-stripe/blue-flag-yellow-stripe-L-anim.gif

It means "get out of the way" not "stay exactly where you are".

It doesn't mean to suddenly swerve out of the way and to screw up your race. It means that a faster car is coming up and to let them by when it can be done safely.

[beachbum]

I saw nothing of Rice, Wilson, Bia, Pippa on the coverage all day!ABC missed a lot of stories. When Carpenter was leading, they didn't even mention it for a while. They seemed to treat the race as an excuse to show more ads.

It is a shame because if you were relatively new to the sport, the coverage was so bad the race seemed pretty dull. But based on who finished where, there were a lot of interesting stories.

[Chris R]

Was Bryan Herta Autosport cooperating with another team this month? If so, who???

[Alexamateo]

Was Bryan Herta Autosport cooperating with another team this month? If so, who???

Sam Schmidt Motorsports owned the Chassis.

[beachgirl]

It was? I found it kind of average. The only real excitement being caused by J.R.'s Epic Fail and team Ganaasi once again messing up the fuel measurements.

What would it take to make a race beyond average for you? Constant excitement every foot of the way? Not going to happen, regardless of series, type of race, or participants. That's just a pipedream.

[wedge]

Congrats to Weldon.

Possibly the greatest Indy 500 in long, long, while. Possibly up there with the all time great races.

And for once, a race that made me forget about the spec-formula racing debacle.

[Mr. Mister]

Sam Schmidt Motorsports owned the Chassis.

I was dead wrong about SSM this month. When I saw they didn't go out for Opening Day practice, I was pretty skeptical that they must have been spreading their resources way too thin if they had so many cars they were collaborating with, and then not even doing a full program on any of them. Turned out to be a pretty good month for them, and I have to say, I'm very glad it was. Great team and I found myself supporting many of the cars they were affiliated with on the basis of being underdogs with a real chance and having some great stories within their participation. Glad to see a class act like Wheldon win with some help from another of the paddock's greatest people, Sam Schmidt.


What would it take to make a race beyond average for you? Constant excitement every foot of the way? Not going to happen, regardless of series, type of race, or participants. That's just a pipedream.

I don't know which boat he's on, but some fans will never be content unless it's the Panoz DP01, some will never be content unless there's massive manufacture spending and dominant diesels, some will never be content unless an American wins, etc, etc. A lot of people just don't like the fact that the current rules package produced one of the greatest races in 500 history. Their loss; most of us, I hope, had a wonderful afternoon. I know I did.

[nigelred5]

My understanding of the IndyCar rule book (https://hardcards.indycar.com/Resources/pdfs/2011_IZOD_IndyCar_Series_Rule_Book_FINAL_%20UNFORM ATTED_CLEAN.pdf)is that this is actually an unprotestable issue:



I wonder if this particular rule was introduced after the 2002 Indy 500...

Yes, that's the Brian "my reaction time is measured in calender days and no one can protest my race calls" Barnhart rule.


While I'm gutted for JR, he was far from the first car to essentially do the same thing in sunday's race. He just had REALLY lousy timing. How many drivers have said to themself "This is mine, this is mine, just don't crash" ;) Far more exerienced drivers put it into the wall passing a slower car. If anything, I think maybe JR was too cautious passing Conway and gave himeslf a little too much room which got him into the gray. He drove a great race for 799 corners. Yet another arguement for bringing back more of an apron at IMS. An overtaking driver should have the skill to pass a slower car successfully, however in situation where the slow driver really does need to get off the racing line and stay low at Indy, a driver can't just jump down onto the acceleration lanes in the corner with the grass down there. They are able to enforce the inside line at other tracks with a wide apron, there's no reason that can't be enforced at Indy. Well, let me take that back. They SHOULD be able to anyway......It does make for a pretty race track though.

[harvick#1]

It doesn't mean to suddenly swerve out of the way and to screw up your race. It means that a faster car is coming up and to let them by when it can be done safely.

I do agree, Kimball's spotter had plenty of time to radio in when JR was on the backstretch heading into 3 to move to the runoff, Kimball was going extremely slow and should not have compromised the race like that.

[booger]

Great race...unbelievably crappy coverage. Pulleeese get some new announcers next year...pullleeese!

[anthonyvop]

What would it take to make a race beyond average for you? Constant excitement every foot of the way? Not going to happen, regardless of series, type of race, or participants. That's just a pipedream.

I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.

The race was owned by Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the only reason they lost was because of a bad fuel calculations. Not driver skill, Not a better setup and definatly not because of a better car but because somebody who couldn't do basic math.

This race will be remembered of one of the All Time Greatest Chokes in racing History.

[SarahFan]

That's total BS

[Mr. Mister]

Great race...unbelievably crappy coverage. Pulleeese get some new announcers next year...pullleeese!

Yeah, get a new director, too.

I don't want to rant about that because this was such a great race, and the pre-race stuff was good (the intro was lightyears ahead of what they had been doing because they just kept it straight, for example), but...it has to be said.

Having a team of guys where this isn't their dedicated job or their first passion makes for a broadcast team that comes across as lacking knowledge and lacking enthusiasm.

They missed a lot of good racing, too. And I'm not talking about ad breaks...I'm talking about showing nothing when something was happening. Every pass is critical because you never know what it will mean at the end of 500 miles. Hildebrand's on Franchitti's was an example of that, and they even knew it would be as Baguette's strategy was well-documented. Tony, Dan, Tomas, etc. all had some good ones we missed.

The lack of interviews when drivers retired from the race was concerning, too. The lack of information on what happened to certain drivers who had gained/lost positions was also a disappointment. A lot less investigating in the pits and a lot more "four Firestone tires and Sunoco fuel, back to you" kind of stuff. Telling you what's right in front of you.

My biggest letdown, though, was the lack of storylines. Please do some research. Please please please! All 33 drivers/teams had a backstory, and many of us here could have told plenty of them with ease. Most people with an Internet connection could at least come up with something, anything. And yet ABC failed to do this. They had the big ones, the obvious ones...Simona, Alex/Sam, etc., but many good ones were buried unnecessarily. When someone not in their script took the lead (like Baguette or Servià), they gave us a "he's from Belgium, he's from Spain" and ended it there. They didn't know these guys, and to the casual viewer, it makes the humans seem unimportant...and when you get that disconnect, you can say goodbye to those viewers. America will fall back in love with this event and this sport when they can feel the human drama that defines it, and I'm glad the finish allowed for that, because up until then, the broadcast missed many chances (by not doing interviews and not doing research). Every driver and every event can be sold in an appealing way with the right knowledge and the right command of English. Sadly, it wasn't to be in that regard.

Anyone else aware of the grids from the early 90s, where Paul Page would tell a backstory set to music and footage (both on-track stuff and B-roll) on each and every driver? I know there is not enough time devoted to the race to do that, and I understand why, but if they could do the research as if they were going to do that, they would be prepared for any driver making his/her way onto the broadcast, and able to get the viewer involved through that information. It's critical to make sure the fan knows all of them are stars, all of them are important, all of them are human. When you don't do that, you have (as I said) disconnect, and you risk losing viewers when Simona and Tagliani and Danica are out of it and you have no way to persuade them that the other thirty are just as special.

Fortunately, we had a great, safe race. No complaints there.


I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.

Different people have different tastes. Luckily, we have an F1 and a rally section here. If that's your thing, well, those are your forums. :)

[Mr. Mister]

I agree completely. Every year I have high hopes for Indy, but this is the first year, honestly that I can remember, that the race actually lived up to all the possible hype. ABC also did a great job with the pre-race Centennial videos.. I particularly liked this one:

And there it is! Had just referenced it in my last post. Thanks for sharing; nice to see it again. We were certainly treated with Delta Force on Pole Day and this on race day; much better than the over-produced, over-dramatized, and largely over-the-top treatment recent years' introductions have received. I'm glad they're turning the corner, and now it's time to see how they can address their other inadequacies.

[beachgirl]

I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.



I have slept through many a boring F1 race. Not in the past year or so, I will admit, but in many years previously. Pure excitement? I think not.

As far as WRC is concerned, yes, every moment THAT IS TELEVISED is usually pure excitement. That's because we don't see every car in every section in every rally. We see the highlights, the great bits, and only the exciting parts in the broadcast coverage. Unless you, of course, get a special raw feed of every moment of any given WRC event that the rest of us don't?

[Anubis]

I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.


Absolute rubbish. We've been lucky with F1 in the last few seasons, but it was tedious for many, may years before that. A great deal of the current excitement is all artificial anyway. Take away the DRS, KERS and short-lived tyres and see what sort of races you get. WRC is so exciting that I had no idea Rally GB even took place last year, as it had zero media coverage. None. I'm guessing Loeb won. As for the Ganassi comment, haven't you complained bitterly about people winning races on fuel mileage in the past? Are you seriously telling me you'd have preferred Dario to win it by cruising round 20mph off the pace for 10 laps? You'd have been the first one moaning about it not being a valid victory.

[chuck34]

What would it take to make a race beyond average for you? Constant excitement every foot of the way? Not going to happen, regardless of series, type of race, or participants. That's just a pipedream.

That's easy. If you've read his post for a while, the only thing that would make it worth his time is if it wasn't held in Indianapolis, wasn't 500 miles, had nothing to do with the Hulman/George family, didn't have Indy in the name, was held on a road course, and it probably shouldn't be held on Memorial Day weekend. That would be anthonyvop's all time favorite Indy 500. Just go back through his posts, I'm not really stretching the truth too much. I honestly have no idea why he posts here.

But from an actual fan's perspective. I have to say that was a d@mn good race. Sure parts of it got a bit boring, but I sort of blame the TV guys more than anything for that. I listened to it on radio live (in the car), and it was great. Then I watched the replay at 7 here in the Indy area, and it was only so-so until the last few laps. At this point I'm not sure I can blame the announcers anymore (except that they do suck). But the producers and directors are more to blame. They are the one's choosing the story lines, usually they map some out days before, but it looked like they showed up the morning of the race to me. And the announcers are only supposed to talk about what is being shown. So if the directors don't pick the right cars/stories to follow, the announcers can't talk about the "good" stories. My hope is that NBC takes an even more active roll in VS, sees the potential and then takes over from ABC. Anyone know when that contract is up?

[chuck34]

And for those of you who think Kimbal should have somehow moved, as others have said, that's almost rule #1 in driving schools DON'T CHANGE YOUR LINE WHEN BEING PASSED.

[Nem14]

That's what the mirrors are for.

See this?

http://www.abflags.com/_flags/sports/car-racing/blue-flag-yellow-stripe/blue-flag-yellow-stripe-L-anim.gif

It means "get out of the way" not "stay exactly where you are".Sorry, but no, that is not what it means.

In Indy Car racing all it means is "Faster Car Approaching". In FIA races, that flag is not even used.

[nigelred5]

Call_ me Andrew, where exactly would you have had Kimball go? you don't jsut slow down and ride around in a high line at Indy. Slower cars stay low. That accident was not Kimball's fault in any way. Hildebrand simply choked on what should have been an easy pass of a much slower car.

[Bob Riebe]

Call_ me Andrew, where exactly would you have had Kimball go? you don't jsut slow down and ride around in a high line at Indy. Slower cars stay low. That accident was not Kimball's fault in any way. Hildebrand simply choked on what should have been an easy pass of a much slower car.So being forced into the marbles is an easy pass, especially at Indy.
I assume then that you are familiar with this in some way first hand?

Now it is possible Kendall had people telling him what to do, which was not what he thought best to do, which meant ended with him simply doning nothing, but he is not totally free of guilt.
Last lap and one is not fighting for position, then get as slow and far out of the way as possible.

[jimispeed]

I agree that he could have slowed long before the corner to let him use the correct line, but that's racing! Great race by the way! Where was PT???

I hope to see more evidence of what's coming next year now!!!

[harvick#1]

Call_ me Andrew, where exactly would you have had Kimball go? you don't jsut slow down and ride around in a high line at Indy. Slower cars stay low. That accident was not Kimball's fault in any way. Hildebrand simply choked on what should have been an easy pass of a much slower car.

considering Kimball was 24 seconds back in the final lap, he lost 10 seconds on the white flag lap and was extremely slow, he should've been on the warmup lane in 3 and 4, Kimball prolly felt it was ok to be on the bottom but his team needed to notify him that the leader was coming and to get out of the way, he had plenty of time to get out of the way.

[ICWS]

Give Kimball a break, he didn't do anything wrong. If you watch the video, Hildebrand had a no problem overtaking Kimball's car when going into the turn. Kimball slowed down and maintained his line, making it easy for Hildebrand to get around him.

Hildebrand had a considerable lead on Wheldon so he didn't need to push his car as fast as he did. Especially since Hildebrand, which he seemed to admit after the race, was told to make sure the car had enough fuel to cross the finish line. Hildebrand simply had so much adrenaline built up from realizing he was gonna win the race that he over-drove his car, and thus crashed it. In hindsight, he should've drove more conservatively, get around Kimball, and exit the turn at a steadier and slower pace and he still would've had no problem holding the lead.

[Bob Riebe]

Give Kimball a break, he didn't do anything wrong. If you watch the video, Hildebrand had a no problem overtaking Kimball's car when going into the turn. Kimball slowed down and maintained his line, making it easy for Hildebrand to get around him.

Hildebrand had a considerable lead on Wheldon so he didn't need to push his car as fast as he did. Especially since Hildebrand, which he seemed to admit after the race, was told to make sure the car had enough fuel to cross the finish line. Hildebrand simply had so much adrenaline built up from realizing he was gonna win the race that he over-drove his car, and thus crashed it. In hindsight, he should've drove more conservatively, get around Kimball, and exit the turn at a steadier and slower pace and he still would've had no problem holding the lead.The talking heads on the radio, said had he done that, that, for sure do to location and traffic on the track, Wheldon would have passed him and he would not have been able to regain momentum to re-pass.
They said he had two bad choices and had he by some miracle survived the marbles there was no other way he could have won.
Kimball's team is probably the one who screwed up as Kimball does not have eyes in the back of his head, or a TV broadcast to tell him what is going on.
Kimball should be glad it was not an Andretti , we would be hearing May whine for months to come had that happened.

[garyshell]

I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.

The race was owned by Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the only reason they lost was because of a bad fuel calculations. Not driver skill, Not a better setup and definatly not because of a better car but because somebody who couldn't do basic math.

This race will be remembered of one of the All Time Greatest Chokes in racing History.

What a steaming load of BS. F1 has it's parades, I won't comment on WRC as it holds no interest for me and I don't watch it. As for the rest ot his BS, you have no clue what you are talkimg about. Gannasi gambled and lost, period. No miss-calculation, just a roll of the dice. And they came up snake-eyes.

Gary

[jackmart]

I went for the first time this year and it was really amazing, it brought me to tears several times. I was in between two jumbotrons so it was hard for me to follow the order. I basically decided that I would follow Graham the entire race and listen in on his radio. It was such an exciting race. I listened back and forth between the IMS radio and the PA and the TV and grahams car. It was fun to watch Graham make a new record by improving 26 spots!! It was also fun to see other react around me to the leader changes because I felt there were a lot more than normally. After the race the interviewed wheldon and asked him if he is going to try to run FT for the rest of the year. His answer was he wants to take a nice vacation with his wife and child. I thought that was really admirable and beautiful.

[ICWS]

The talking heads on the radio, said had he done that, that, for sure do to location and traffic on the track, Wheldon would have passed him and he would not have been able to regain momentum to re-pass.
They said he had two bad choices and had he by some miracle survived the marbles there was no other way he could have won.
Kimball's team is probably the one who screwed up as Kimball does not have eyes in the back of his head, or a TV broadcast to tell him what is going on.
Kimball should be glad it was not an Andretti , we would be hearing May whine for months to come had that happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EGq_yKp2-A

Watch the video up to about 45 seconds (before Hildebrand crashes). Wheldon was quite a ways back from him on the last lap. I don't know what those talking heads are smoking, because it looked pretty clear that Hildebrand could've played it safer and not drive as fast as he was into and exiting that corner and still win the race.

[mousti]

Missed the damn race! But very happy with Baguette's performance! Even leading the Indy 500! And 7th place in probably his first race overall this year for him, not bad at all!



What are the regular Indycar fans think of his performance?

[beachbum]

Missed the damn race! But very happy with Baguette's performance! Even leading the Indy 500! And 7th place in probably his first race overall this year for him, not bad at all!



What are the regular Indycar fans think of his performance?I was impressed with Baguette's performance all month. It is a shame the media (particularly TV) seemed to ignore him.

Overall, the media seemed to miss what may be the biggest story of this years Indy. This was the year for the on-off and part time rides, the little "guy", young drivers, and the failure of the "super" teams to figure much into the results.

[Chris R]

I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.

The race was owned by Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the only reason they lost was because of a bad fuel calculations. Not driver skill, Not a better setup and definatly not because of a better car but because somebody who couldn't do basic math.

This race will be remembered of one of the All Time Greatest Chokes in racing History.

I wach F-1 plenty, I only see WRC occasionally - if you see pure excitement there and not in Indycar it is only because you WANT to - which is perfectly fine - but be real - F1 has been producing mostly snoozefests for years... granted the cars are more interesting and much more twitchy etc. but the races are generally won in the first corner or on pt strategy..... WRC, what the cars do is cool - but there is no head to head competition - makes it hard to create a ton of immediate excitement....

I am not saying the average Indycar race is pure excitement - just that the things you are holding in higher esteem are not significantly (if any) better in that regard....

To me, the fun of racing is almost as much the analysis of the events after the fact as the event itself.....

As for Ganassi - they gambled and lost - I don't think they made the same mistake as in qualifying.... they also did not stay on top of setup throughout the entire race (I would say) - in the end they finished significantly behind - so they did not have the race "under control" it just looked like they did - has happened many time in Indy history.....

Can't argue about the choke - people can point fingers at Kimball all they want but is was Hildebrand's to lose and he lost....

I do have to admit, I thought for a minute or so that he had actually won in a wrecked car - things changes so quickly in the end I lost track of who was in second and how far behind they were.....

[wedge]

I guess you never watch F1 or WRC. Every moment in either series is pure excitement.

The race was owned by Target Chip Ganassi Racing and the only reason they lost was because of a bad fuel calculations. Not driver skill, Not a better setup and definatly not because of a better car but because somebody who couldn't do basic math.

This race will be remembered of one of the All Time Greatest Chokes in racing History.


That's total BS

I don't know what your problem is.

There was great racing up and down the field.

Getting your maths right is part of racing; choking and handling pressure is part of the make up of competing in sports.

[SarahFan]

Why are you including me with anthOny wedge?

[wedge]

Sorry, I should have pointed I agreed with you.

[SarahFan]

Some one agrees with me :)

The devil must be wearing a parka

[SoCalPVguy]

where's our Diminutive Friend (DF) ? haven't heard much about the princess's top 10 finish !!!

[Mark in Oshawa]

Well that was an interesting weekend of racing all ways around. Saw lots of bad strategy and lots of mistakes. Always watch til the end kids....

Hildebrand had a brain cramp. Simple as that. He had a few seconds...and if he backed right out of it going into 4 to tip toe around the lapped traffic, he would be the winner today. The lapped car had every right to be there...and it isn't his job to make life easy for the leaders although protocol would dictate he should whenever he can help by being out of the way long before the leader arrives. In this case, he had no place TO go......

AS for a good 500? Yaaah, I don't know. It was an interesting one.....

As for DF, He could point out Danica kept her head and wits about her and stayed out of trouble to get a top 10...but alas, that is what she does at Indy most years. She is good at staying out of trouble, but to win, you must really risk it all...and Danica doesn't risk it all....

[mousti]

I was impressed with Baguette's performance all month. It is a shame the media (particularly TV) seemed to ignore him.

Overall, the media seemed to miss what may be the biggest story of this years Indy. This was the year for the on-off and part time rides, the little "guy", young drivers, and the failure of the "super" teams to figure much into the results.
I really hope that the sponsors have seen it! And that they can give him some more races! Last year his real debut year was good average results! But did a nice qualifying and saw here in forum "Baguette is going to do it" at the end of such a classic! I was very impressed and shows he has lots of potential but like always, money money and money :(

[jackmart]

What is the podium like there? I can't seem to find a picture of the full podium but only of Dan Wheldon, do they do a full podium?

[Will Rogers]

They don't do a full podium (first three places), just the winner. "Victory Lane" is so tight there, once you bring the car in plus the team plus the wives and sponsors, there's no room for anyone else.

[harvick#1]

What is the podium like there? I can't seem to find a picture of the full podium but only of Dan Wheldon, do they do a full podium?

Podiums only belong in Road Course racing. they do not belong in ovals, just IMO

[garyshell]

Some one agrees with me :)

The devil must be wearing a parka

Hey, we have been in agreement more often than not lately. I guess the rapture is closer than Camping thinks.

Gary

[airshifter]

Great race overall, and one of the best 500s in years IMO.

I didn't get the watch the race until about 1am. I got up and watched the Monaco F1 (which was a great race as well) and recorded Indy since I had things to get done. We spent the evening at a friends who had a big party and watched the NASCAR race (snoozefest, glad they had plenty of beer).

Got home around 1, slightly buzzed, thinking I'd just watch some highlights before I logged on or turned on something and go the "spoiler" results. I ended up watching the entire race.

Gutted for Hildebrand. Most likely the adreneline rush got to him. It was like watching a train wreck. One second I'm thinking a rookie is going to win Indy... and he just kept driving in deeper and deeper... and at that point it was clear he was in the marbles and it was over. I'm sure he's going to hate life for a while, but worse things could happen.


As for the "side by side" ads, they do get annoying and seem to take forever sometimes, but it sure beats when they cut away, only to come back and replay a great pass or something.


And having lurked on this forum now and then to catch up on Indy news, I know how merciless you guys can be with DanicaFan. But I'll give him a lot of credit for loyalty. And for that reason alone, I'll remind everyone that a lot of your favorite drivers probably didn't make the top 10. It wasn't misfortune... Danica owned everyone behind her! :laugh:

[FormerFF]

Well that was an interesting weekend of racing all ways around. Saw lots of bad strategy and lots of mistakes. Always watch til the end kids....

Hildebrand had a brain cramp. Simple as that. He had a few seconds...and if he backed right out of it going into 4 to tip toe around the lapped traffic, he would be the winner today. The lapped car had every right to be there...and it isn't his job to make life easy for the leaders although protocol would dictate he should whenever he can help by being out of the way long before the leader arrives. In this case, he had no place TO go......



I think the right thing for JR to do would be to back off a little in the short chute, and push the apex of turn 4 a little farther down the track. That way he'd have less force pushing him up towards the wall, and wouldn't sacrifice much in the way of exit speed from 4. I suspect that is what most of the more experienced drivers would do.

Disclaimer: All my experience was on road courses, I've never driven an oval.

[Bob Riebe]

I am wondering, this was the one hundredth anniversary of the day of the first five hundred; will there be as big a lead-in and celebration for the actual one hundredth race in a few years on?

[NickFalzone]

I am wondering, this was the one hundredth anniversary of the day of the first five hundred; will there be as big a lead-in and celebration for the actual one hundredth race in a few years on?

Bob, an astute observation. They have been calling this the "Centennial Era" at the speedway. So next year may very well be groundhog day as far as all the promos and activities. As far as I can tell, this year, and next year, will be the 2 key 100th Anniv races that drivers want to win for that feather in their cap.

[chuck34]

Bob, an astute observation. They have been calling this the "Centennial Era" at the speedway. So next year may very well be groundhog day as far as all the promos and activities. As far as I can tell, this year, and next year, will be the 2 key 100th Anniv races that drivers want to win for that feather in their cap.

Next year is not the 100th running. It will be in 2016.