Three years on and baack, Back, BACK
While away on vacation or, as the British like to say, on holiday, I have enjoyed being on the other side of the fence, leisurely reading the efforts and output of my fellow motorsport bloggers and writers. Now I do not even remotely classify my stuff as writing. Honestly, a lot of it is just opinion. Almost all of it is MY opinion and I never charge a dime for that.
The bulk of what I have seen posted on various social media outlets as well as professional media outlets have pretty much covered the events leading up to this weekend’s 2015 season inaugural race at St. Petersburg. The earth shattering reveal of the highly anticipated aero kits lead the list of covered topics during the past two weeks. How do I weigh in after the wave of news has passed? Consider this; aero kits have been clamored for since Randy Bernard unveiled the DW12 concept at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the cool, projected on the big screen graphics left people going, “huh?” We were all rather stunned by the concept of ‘boxes of development areas’ and a call to true aerospace companies to climb onboard and offer up designs and join in on the competition. With that perspective in mind, I got a chortle or two out of the sides being taken among the diehard fan as to which set of wings and bits was “better”. Believe me, without even seeing the Honda reveal, once I learned that Nick Wirth had the lead on their project I thought of wings, lots and lots of wings. The point not lost on me is this; now that aero kits are a reality, why are fans saying this will be bad for the sport if one manufacturer wins over the other? This has always been an outcome of competition in that one will win over the other. So, is IndyCar doing good or is it doing bad? One thing is for sure, young kids have taken notice of the new look cars. Check out this conversation between Nick Wirth and Robin Miller that was published by Racer Magazine on March 16, 2015. The folks at Racer Magazine always provide great content and you should consider a subscription!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-RPdrD97Ck
So, by any measure, IndyCar is doing good. But wait; it is doing bad also! Too many ride buyers, lack of quality seats, too few teams with talent and dollars divided among a small amount of super teams, few ways a newbie can get a ride. Well, the new reality is, at least the consensus among my fellow bloggers is that one has to have cash and lots of it! This is no different than in NASCAR or IndyCar or Super Modifides and darn sure the modus operandi of F1. Speed is an expensive past time and the amount of speed you want is related to the amount of speed you can buy. So, by this measure, is IndyCar doing good or doing bad? It certainly helps that the leader circle payout is growing. Not since the days of Tony George having his hand taken OUT of the cookie jar have budgets been so tight! So, with a season a mere 5 months long, is IndyCar doing good? Of course it is! Every single division of motorsport out there still struggles in the competition for the entertainment dollar. IndyCar has the right on track product, an increasing trend in viewership and a new media partnership with USAtoday. The car count for Indy is already at 33 but I see no more being added to the field for bumping.
Simona in and Busch OUT
Almost a candidate for my “This Week’s Hot Link”, the post by Robin Miller of his interview of Simona DeSilvestro. Granted Robin has at times reminded me of the pawing, feeling uncle at Thanksgiving that is harmless and yet we all steered clear. It is obvious that Robin remains enamored with Simona as do most IndyCar fans. She is the real deal, has a bigger pair than most guys and is quite fearless. After nearly being burned up and out at Texas, she stuck with it on ovals. She proved to be fast in her attempt to land an F1 ride and she has a line on some of the best equipment in the paddock. The question begs to be asked; if Kurt Busch had never met Ms. Driscoll, do you think he would have the fifth car at Andretti Autosport and not Simona?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gOy53kllTQ
CAR COUNTS GET TO 33 FOR MAY
How they did that is beyond me! Curt Cavin added a few lines to his Pit Pass post that is dated 3/19/2015 at 2:22pm which almost fell through the cracks. First his observations on Chevy Aero bits at the Barber open test last week. Specifically:
“Full-course cautions are about to rise on street circuits if the bumping of the past three seasons continues. The vertical pieces on either side of Chevrolet’s front wing figure to fly off with even modest contact. One team broke one with a rope while towing its car through the paddock.”
Oh my…….
And from the same post, my favorite comment on car counts for May:
“>>The Indianapolis 500 extras are starting to come together. Add Townsend Bell (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) and Pippa Mann (Dale Coyne Racing) to the list that already includes Bryan Clauson (Byrd Racing via KV), Jay Howard (Bryan Herta Autosport) and Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing). Andretti said he’s expecting to run five cars (good chance Justin Wilson lands in the fifth), CFH Racing will have a third (best bet is JR Hildebrand), RLLR should have a second, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports should have a third. That’s 33.
This Week’s Hot Link
A tastey bit o’ speculation to ponder as we grind our way along the path to May is THE Double. Who holds the torch now that a certain, shall we say, NASCAR driver actually wants to consider the 1100 miles of turning left. Tom Jensen of Fox Sports provided this exclusive a few days ago. Big tip of the hat to Mr. Jensen!
As always, thanks for stopping by and hitting the blog! Nicely appreciated and we will talk to you next time.
GForcePaul
WideOpenWheel 
I have always had reservations about the editorial credibility of Racer Magazine. It is clear that the more advertising you buy the more column inches you get. I don’t think IndyCar advertises in any other print car magazine thus they get a lot of space. Also note regarding the Wirth interview that Robin’s weekly mailbox column is sponsored by Honda.
Good points all! I wondered how Miller scored that interview so close to the release
“The point not lost on me is this; now that aero kits are a reality, why are fans saying this will be bad for the sport if one manufacturer wins over the other? This has always been an outcome of competition in that one will win over the other.”
Couldn’t agree more. It’s called racing. As far as Simona…man she was off yesterday. I tend to think IndyCar is trying hard, I do see progress. Is it enough? Time will tell.
Now about those Honda vs Chevy aero-kits…Judging by the amount of shrapnel left on the track by Honda teams, I think Honda built theirs to be like the Japanese Zero-light weight and expendable. Let’s hope the speedway kits are a little more shall we say, ‘”bullet-proof”, because I’d hate to see a cut tire at Texas.
Another excellent post!