Indycar Minnesota

Winners and Losers: Milwaukee

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:50:00 +0000

Here are your winners, losers, and Cone of Shame "winner" following the 2013 Milwaukee Indy Fest:

Winners

Ryan Hunter-Reay
Another fantastic run by Ryan Hunter-Reay puts him right back into the championship hunt. He now heads to Iowa, where he won last year. The champ is on championship form again.

Helio Castroneves
Helio continues his streak as the only driver to complete every lap this season, and because of this and many great results, Helio remains P1 in the championship. A nice P2 drive was a cherry on top of an already great season.

Will Power
Will Power is finally starting to string together some good results with his P3 finish this weekend. But is it too little, too late for Power as far as the championship?

Takuma Sato
Takuma Sato had a fantastic race going for him until a caution caught him out and he cycled to the back. His result did not take away from a great run, though. Sato is definitely having his best season of his Indycar career.

Losers

Marco Andretti
A major blow to Marco's championship effort due to a mechanical failure puts Marco far behind Helio in the championship. A pole and fast car shows that he is, however, in the best form of his career.

Alex Tagliani
Another brutal result for Tags and BHA, who have finished outside the top-ten in every race since their tenth place effort in the opening round at St. Pete. A P23 result adds to the brutality.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Jakes and Rahal both struggled mightily in the race, with Graham one of if not the first cars to go a lap down and Jakes doing nothing spectacular either. The team is far behind the form they were expecting in the offseason.

Sebastien Bourdais
Despite having a great run going, a fuel pressure issue, followed by running over an air gun, followed by parking his car due to damage caused in the pits, ruined Sebs race. Shame because he was flying in the race with some Scheckter-like moves on the restarts.

Cone of Shame

Simona de Silvestro

Simona continues to have a rather miserable season. A spin and parking of her car on Saturday added to this. I honestly thought that her great start in St. Petersburg would be followed by wins and podiums, but this has not been the case. How can Simona get her season back on track? Her incident at Milwaukee didn't necessarily merit a Cone of Shame, but her past couple of races certainly do.

Let me know what you think.

-Matthew Hickey

Fantasy Indycar Picks: Milwaukee

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:35:00 +0000

Here are your Fantasy Indycar Picks for the 2013 Milwaukee Indy Fest:

Name	Twitter Handle
Alan Stewart	_alanstewart	Rahal	Hinch	Wilson	Kanaan	Dario
Alana Jolly	alanajolly	Dario	Kimball	Wilson	RHR	Pagenaud
Andy Nagel	Gabbahey75	Helio	Andretti	Dario	Viso	RHR
Chris Blackburn	chblackburn23	Viso	Andretti	Dario	Bourdais	Briscoe
Chris Mienaltowski	CPMski	Sato	Jakes	Kanaan	Carpenter	Helio
Connor De Phillippi	cdephillippi11	Kanaan	RHR	Dario	Newg	Hinch
David Redner	IndyCART	Dario	RHR	Pagenaud	Briscoe	Kanaan
Diego Santesteban	santesteband	Carpenter	RHR	Andretti	Rahal	Sato
DJ Jordan	djordan3223	Dario	Helio	Briscoe	Kanaan	Pagenaud
Emily Mugan	emyrmalee	Hinch	RHR	Viso	Tags	Briscoe
Gina Navarra	OfficalGinaN	Sato	Dixon	Power	Jakes	Viso
James Alban	TheKing0fSwing	Briscoe	Kimball	RHR	Tags	Newg
James Sedlmayr	dfd827	RHR	Helio	Dario	Carpenter	Kanaan
Jason McVeigh	jasekm	Kanaan	Newg	Power	Andretti	Viso
Jerry Cruz	Indycar_Raider	Kanaan	Jakes	Dario	Viso	Tags
Jessica Baker	bakerjm13	Wilson	Jakes	Newg	Andretti	Sato
Joe Swain	Indy69Nova	Viso	RHR	Carpenter	Hinch	Dixon
Kieran Brughelli	kieranbrughelli	RHR	Dixon	Helio	Rahal	Tags
Kyle Lewis	kylelewis1	Kanaan	Rahal	RHR	Kimball	Viso
Kyle O'Gara	kyleogara	Rahal	Viso	Briscoe	RHR	Hinch
Lynn Weinberg	lynnweinberg	Kanaan	Andretti	Rahal	Viso	Dario
Mathew Gruenholz	IndycarSTIG	RHR	Hinch	Viso	Andretti	Carpenter
Matthew Hickey	Indycar_MN	RHR	Viso	Hinch	Newg	Kanaan
Michael Tressler	mtressler13	Helio	Andretti	Jakes	Rahal	Wilson
Mike Crawford	7BigMike	Kanaan	Carpenter	RHR	Andretti	Dixon
Rick Snodie	rickfromwi	Dario	Briscoe	RHR	Helio	Dixon
Ross Fujibayashi	fujis123	Dario	Andretti	RHR	Carpenter	Pagenaud
Sam Klein	sklein31	Kanaan	RHR	Hinch	Briscoe	Carpenter
Steve Hall	dannycatsteve	RHR	Carpenter	Dario	Kanaan	Briscoe
Steven Jenkins	ukindyfan	Viso	RHR	Helio	Jakes	Briscoe
Tony Tellez	tonytellez	Wilson	Kanaan	Jakes	Dario	Vautier

Penalties: Emily Mugan and Diego Santesteban

Top 3 most picked: 1) Ryan Hunter-Reay (20), Tony Kanaan (17), and Dario Franchitti (15).

Not picked: Ana Beatriz, Sebastian Saavedra, and Simona de Silvestro.

*Fantasy will be updated Sunday night, apologies for the delay!*

-Matthew Hickey

Winners and Losers: Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 13:40:00 +0000

Here are your winners, losers, and Cone of Shame "winner" following The Firestone 550 at Texas:

Winners

Helio Castroneves
Helio climbs the fence for the first time in 2013 with a dominating win at Texas. Can he capture that all elusive championship that he is trying desperately to win?

Ryan Hunter-Reay
The Champ is doing everything well to set himself rather beautifully for the stretch of races that won him the championship last year. He was nowhere near this close to the leader at this time last year. Good news for him.

Ed Carpenter
A solid run for Ed Carpenter despite two mishaps in the pits. Quality runs for the little guys against the mega teams is always good to see. Would love to see the team expand to two cars so one can go after the championship.

Chevrolet
Domination again on the ovals for Chevy, having their own little bowtie parade in the top five. Honda was not invited, like Paul Tracy to the Indy 500 winners' dinner... Oh wait... He never won...

Losers

Scott Dixon
The poor guy can't consistently string together solid races. Just when you think he is ready to dominate the race and spring himself in the championship, a gearbox issue followed by an oil line failure killed his race. He'll be back in Milwaukee where he hopefully doesn't get downed by a phantom penalty.

Alex Tagliani
Tags and Bryan Herta Autosport are not having the best of seasons. Tags comes home a dismal P22. A complete 180 from last year at Texas after they captured the pole. Tags and Co. need to pull it together.

Graham Rahal
I was expecting so much more from Graham Rahal, who was two laps from winning the 2012 Firestone 550. Instead, Graham couldn't have been higher than 20th all night. Something needs to be figured out for the driver who should be fighting for the championship.

Honda
Another bad showing on an oval. Honda is beginning to make a habit of it. Plus, I'm a little peeved that Pippa Mann's Honda let go after a whopping four laps. I know that's a part of racing, but come on...

Cone of Shame

Scott Goodyear

Now, I won't begin to bash ABC. They think that our product, Indycar, is good enough to be shown on their network that reaches millions of people. Yes there are a lot of commercials and some questionable tactics used during the race, but I appreciate all they do for Indycar. Having said that, they can control the guys in the booth. I personally love Eddie Cheever and all of the insight he brings. He does exude enthusiasm and knows a thing or too. Marty Reid is meh but I respect him. Scott Goodyear is Utterly horrible. It's like listening to a pig whose only food choice as an infant was glue trying to explain racing. He is redundant, un-enthused, and painful to listen to. I'd love to see Parker Johnstone return to the booth but maybe that's just me. Get lost Goodyear.

Let me know what you think!

-Matthew Hickey

Fantasy Indycar Picks: Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 13:37:00 +0000

Here are the Fantasy Indycar picks for the 2013 Firestone 550K:

Name	Twitter Handle
Alan Stewart	_alanstewart	Kanaan	Tags	Dixon	Dario	Helio
Alana Jolly	alanajolly	Newg	Carpenter	Dario	Kimball	Helio
Andy Manes	andyjm1989
Andy Nagel	Gabbahey75	Kanaan	RHR	Wilson	Rahal	Sato
Chris Blackburn	chblackburn23	Wilson	Servia	Dario	Andretti	Jakes
Chris Mienaltowski	CPMski	Andretti	Dario	Wilson	Servia	Carpenter
Connor De Phillippi	cdephillippi11
David Redner	IndyCART	Helio	Andretti	Carpenter	Dario	Rahal
Diego Santesteban	santesteband	Carpenter	Vautier	Tags	Helio	Hinch
DJ Jordan	djordan3223	Carpenter	Servia	Andretti	Rahal	Viso
Emily Mugan	emyrmalee	Andretti	Dixon	Tags	Kanaan	Servia
Eric Hall	erock_in_indy
Gina Navarra	OfficalGinaN	Servia	Hinch	Dario	Wilson	Helio
James Alban	TheKing0fSwing	Servia	Carpenter	Simona	Jakes	Andretti
James Sedlmayr	dfd827	Servia	Wilson	Carpenter	Andretti	Kanaan
Jason McVeigh	jasekm	Andretti	RHR	Hinch	Viso	Servia
Jerry Cruz	Indycar_Raider	Andretti	Rahal	Carpenter	Helio	Dixon
Jessica Baker	bakerjm13	Servia	Carpenter	RHR	Dario	Viso
Joe Swain	Indy69Nova
Kieran Brughelli	kieranbrughelli	Carpenter	Pagenaud	Dario	Helio	Andretti
Kyle Lewis	kylelewis1	Dixon	Dario	Tags	Rahal	Servia
Kyle O'Gara	kyleogara	Helio	Dixon	Servia	Carpenter	Dario
Lynn Weinberg	lynnweinberg	Helio	Kanaan	Wilson	Carpenter	Newg
Mathew Gruenholz	IndycarSTIG	Hinch	Helio	Kanaan	Wilson	Pippa
Matthew Hickey	Indycar_MN	Carpenter	Tags	Dixon	Rahal	Servia
Michael Tressler	mtressler13	Viso	Newg	Carpenter	Kanaan	Dixon
Mike Crawford	7BigMike	Carpenter	Dario	Dixon	Helio	Andretti
Rick Snodie	rickfromwi	RHR	Andretti	Rahal	Carpenter	Dixon
Ross Fujibayashi	fujis123	Andretti	Carpenter	Wilson	Kanaan	RHR
Sam Klein	sklein31	Kanaan	Tags	Servia	Helio	Dixon
Steve Hall	dannycatsteve	Carpenter	Kanaan	Rahal	Dixon	Andretti
Steven Jenkins	ukindyfan	Carpenter	Kanaan	Servia	Andretti	Dixon
Tony Tellez	tonytellez	Rahal	Sato	Dario	Servia	Andretti

Top 3 most picked: 1) Ed Carpenter (18) 2) Dario Franchitti (12) 3) Helio Castroneves (12)

Not picked: Sebastian Saavedra, Sebastien Bourdais, and Will Power.

-Matthew Hickey

Official Starting Grid: Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 02:21:00 +0000

Here is the official starting grid for the 2013 Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway (Grid position, car number, team, engine, average MPH):

1) #12 Will Power / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 219.182
2) #25 Marco Andretti / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 217.553

3) #1 Ryan Hunter-Reay / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 217.524
4) #10 Dario Franchitti / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 217.504

5) #5 EJ Viso / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 217.244
6) #3 Helio Castroneves / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 217.100

7) #67 Josef Newgarden / Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing / Honda / 216.693
8) #83 Charlie Kimball / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 216.570

9) #20 Ed Carpenter / Ed Carpenter Racing / Chevrolet / 216.552
10) #16 James Jakes / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / Honda / 216.487

11) #9 Scott Dixon / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 216.447
12) #27 James Hinchcliffe / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 216.248

13) #11 Tony Kanaan / KV Racing / Chevrolet / 215.474
14) #98 Alex Tagliani / Bryan Herta Autosport / Honda / 215.406

15) #7 Sebastien Bourdais / Dragon Racing / Chevrolet / 214.839
16) #4 Oriol Servia / Panther Racing / Chevrolet / 214.586

17) #15 Graham Rahal / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / Honda / 213.888
18) #6 Sebastian Saavedra / Dragon Racing / Chevrolet / 213.217

19) #18 Pippa Mann / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 212.785
20) #19 Justin Wilson / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 207.807

21) #14 Takuma Sato / AJ Foyt Enterprises / Honda / No Time
22) #78 Simona de Silvestro / KV Racing / Chevrolet / 216.396*

23) #77 Simon Pagenaud / Schmidt Peterson Racing / Honda / 215.727*
24) #55 Tristan Vautier / Schmidt Peterson Racing / Honda / No Time*

*Denotes 10 position grid penalty for unapproved engine change

Let's go racing!

-Matthew Hickey

Changes Needed at ECR

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:46:00 +0000

It is hard to imagine a team staffed as well as Ed Carpenter Racing can't seem to find any success on the tracks that make up the majority of the Indycar schedule: road and street courses. And when it boils down to it, I feel as if the owner of the team needs to step up and make the critical decision. The owner, who also drives the car, is Ed Carpenter.

Now if I you were to ask me who a contender is on any oval, I would say Ed Carpenter every time because he is so fast on them. There is no question that he can flat out fly on the cathedrals of speed. I mean, he was on pole for the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Ed, who started the team in the months following the 2011 season with backing from Fuzzy's Vodka, averaged a tenth place finish on the five ovals in 2012, including a win at the season finale in Fontana.

But when it comes to the road courses, my oh my, Ed struggles. His average career finish on these road course races in Indycar is 17.4. That is not good at all. Compare that to his average qualifying 21.2, which basically means he started the bottom three rows at every road course, and you get recipe for a 0% chance to win the championship. Ed has been racing in Indycar for a very long time, starting out his road course endeavors following their re-inception into Indycar in 2005 with Vision Racing. You'd think there would be some improvement, right?

Carpenter's struggles on road courses continue (Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)

And unfortunately, his 2013 stats are not shaping up to be any better. His average finish on road courses this season is a whopping 18th place with a staggering 22nd starting position. The only positive thing you can say is he gains position and generally keeps a clean nose. But when does it go from "he's learning" to "we need to find another solution?" Even after a solid run at Indianapolis, Ed finds himself P20 in the championship. That is awful.

So if I were Ed Carpenter and I wanted to see my team soar to new heights, I would consider two things: I would get another car to make a two car team and put someone like JR Hildebrand, Oriol Servia, or Conor Daly to race next to him all season. The better solution in my opinion is having a program where Ed took all of the ovals and give the wheel to another driver for the greater portion of the season on road courses. I think there is some guy named Mike Conway who would be a rather perfect fit for the role.

This is just my personal opinion. I think Ed is very talented and will most definitely win a race on an oval this year, but on a road course? No chance. Let me know what you are thinking.

-Matthew Hickey

Looking at the Sheet: Rounds 6 & 7

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:15:00 +0000

Here is the running stats for the 2013 Indycar season. Key: Pos = Position in the points standings, Drivers = you already know, Pts = Points, Start = average starting position, Finish = average finishing position, Change = change is position from starting grid position to finishing grid position, Laps L = laps led, Laps C = Laps completed (out of 695 this year), Green = Leading category, Blue = Second in category, Orange = Second to last in category, yellow = last in category. Only those who raced in the last race are qualified to be first, second, etc in the category. Here is the sheet!

Pos	Drivers	Pts	Start	Finish	Change	Laps L	Laps C
1	Helio Castroneves	206	9.1	6.7	17	68	695
2	Marco Andretti	206	12	7.1	34	38	692
3	Ryan Hunter-Reay	191	3.8	11	-50	116	622
4	Scott Dixon	186	13.4	8.3	36	1	695
5	Simon Pagenaud	177	15.4	9.71	39	18	611
6	Takuma Sato	175	10.9	11.4	-4	72	646
7	Justin Wilson	161	13.1	10	22	3	650
8	Tony Kanaan	160	13.1	12	8	56	690
9	James Hinchcliffe	154	10.7	15.6	-34	34	548
10	Charlie Kimball	149	15.3	11	30	3	693
11	Dario Franchitti	140	10.7	13.6	-20	27	552
12	James Jakes	130	13.1	14.1	-8	9	690
13	EJ Viso	130	8.6	14.1	-39	5	659
14	Graham Rahal	126	18.6	14.4	29	0	684
15	Josef Newgarden	124	21.4	14.4	51	0	620
16	Will Power	124	6.6	15.4	-62	56	617
17	Simona de Silvestro	123	14.6	14	4	0	633
18	Oriol Servia	112	14.8	10.6	21	16	549
19	Tristan Vautier	109	15.9	15	6	1	653
20	Ed Carpenter	108	18.9	17.1	12	37	685
21	Sebastien Bourdais	99	16.7	17.1	-3	13	622
22	Mike Conway	97	2.67	9.7	-21	78	178
23	JR Hildebrand	79	16.2	17.8	-8	4	326
24	Alex Tagliani	72	15.6	17.1	-11	1	605
25	AJ Allmendinger	60	10.8	19.8	-45	23	341
26	Carlos Munoz	54	2	2	0	12	200
27	Ana Beatriz	53	23.4	20	17	0	406
28	Ryan Briscoe	48	19	15.3	11	0	335
29	Sebastian Saavedra	44	15.1	21.4	-44	0	374
30	Conor Daly	11	31	22	9	0	198
31	Townsend Bell	10	22	27	-5	1	192
32	Katherine Legge	8	33	26	7	0	193
33	Pippa Mann	8	30	30	0	0	46
34	Buddy Lazier	8	32	31	1	0	44

Anything stand out? Let me know what your thoughts are!

-Matthew Hickey

Winners and Losers: Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:37:00 +0000

Here are your winners, losers, and Cone of Shame "winner" following the 2013 Duals in Detroit:

Winners

Mike Conway
Conweezy was throwing down this weekend, driving the #18 car for Dale Coyne Racing which will be driven by multiple drivers for the rest of the season. Conway was called on Tuesday to drive the car this weekend and it clearly was the right decision. If Dale has any amount of brains, he will sign Mike for the remaining road course schedule. P1 and P3 for Conway.

Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud claims his first win in the Indycar Series, with a stealthy drive to the front and some brilliant laps in the middle to late stages of the race. Crepes all around for everyone.

James Jakes
James "The Walking Paradox" Jakes captured his first career Indycar podium in a very smooth and nice drive. He was strong all weekend. Is he finally living up to his potential?

Scott Dixon
Minus lap one of race one, Dixon had a very good weekend, staying out of trouble and picking up two top-five finishes on his way to collecting valuable championship points. Honorable mention goes to Dario Franchitti who also ran very well.

Losers

Takuma Sato
Well damn. Sato had a great championship going, but his title run has come to a halt following two pretty bad races for him in the form of a P19 and P23 finishes respectively. Can he pick it up in Texas?

James Hinchcliffe
The Mayor also had a pretty not so stellar weekend for someone who is in the top-five of the points championship coming into the race. P15 and P19 for Hinch means very little points for him.

Alex Tagliani
The driver with the second worst weekend out of all 25 drivers was Alex Tagliani. Tags had something go wrong from P3 in the first race, and he was collected in the gaggle wreck in race two. The results of these incidents was a mere 16 points collected in the two races. Horrendous.

Simona de Silvestro
Simona had a pretty shocking weekend. P16 in the first race which is just alright, and a crash in the second race which is anything but alright. Standings have not come out yet, but she should not be where she is in the championship at all.

Cone of Shame

AJ Allmendinger
Trying to decide how to describe AJ's weekend. Appalling? Gruesome? Disturbing? Unpleasent? ~~Jim Utter~~-ish? Hideous? Awful? Bricktacular? I don't know if it is possible. Dinger, in two races, made it through a whopping six turns total before destroying two cars. That is not how you impress the boss in his backyard. With no more confirmed races on the season, Dinger may have to wait a long time for redemption.

On to the next one.

-Matthew Hickey

Fantasy Indycar Picks: Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 13:49:00 +0000

Here are the picks for both races at Detroit:

Race 1

Name	Twitter Handle
Alan Stewart	_alanstewart	Pagenaud	Dixon	RHR	Dario	Tags
Alana Jolly	alanajolly	Wilson	Power	Helio	Viso	Newg
Andy Manes	andyjm1989	Pagenaud	Sato	Andretti	Dinger	Viso
Andy Nagel	Gabbahey75	Simona	Power	Hinch	Kimball	Viso
Chris Blackburn	chblackburn23	Dixon	Wilson	Power	Conway	Jakes
Chris Mienaltowski	CPMski	Wilson	Hinch	Sato	Dixon	Andretti
Connor De Phillippi	cdephillippi11
David Redner	IndyCART	Andretti	Dixon	Viso	Pagenaud	Conway
Diego Santesteban	santesteband	Briscoe	Dixon	Helio	Power	Sato
DJ Jordan	djordan3223	Kimball	Briscoe	Dinger	Dixon	RHR
Emily Mugan	emyrmalee	Kimball	Conway	Pagenaud	Viso	Wilson
Eric Hall	erock_in_indy	Kimball	Newg	Vautier	Viso	Dario
Gina Navarra	OfficalGinaN	Viso	Tags	Conway	Sato	Rahal
James Alban	TheKing0fSwing	Conway	Saavedra	Vautier	Pagenaud	Dinger
James Sedlmayr	dfd827	Kimball	Andretti	Sato	Simona	Dixon
Jason McVeigh	jasekm	Dixon	Wilson	Pagenaud	Conway	Andretti
Jerry Cruz	Indycar_Raider	Dixon	Conway	Viso	Wilson	Dinger
Jessica Baker	bakerjm13	Conway	Pagenaud	Simona	Briscoe	Kanaan
Joe Swain	Indy69Nova	Kanaan	Sato	Simona	Rahal	Helio
Kieran Brughelli	kieranbrughelli	Sato	Dinger	Viso	Wilson	RHR
Kyle Lewis	kylelewis1	Conway	Pagenaud	Viso	Sato	Wilson
Kyle O'Gara	kyleogara	Newg	Power	Simona	Pagenaud	Wilson
Lynn Weinberg	lynnweinberg	Dixon	Kanaan	Hinch	Pagenaud	Tags
Mathew Gruenholz	IndycarSTIG	Dario	Dixon	Power	Andretti	RHR
Matthew Hickey	Indycar_MN	Conway	Dixon	Pagenaud	Dario	Helio
Michael Tressler	mtressler13	Sato	RHR	Hinch	Power	Dixon
Mike Crawford	7BigMike	Andretti	Sato	Kanaan	Hinch	Viso
Rick Snodie	rickfromwi	Power	Sato	Hinch	Conway	Dinger
Ross Fujibayashi	fujis123
Sam Klein	sklein31	Dixon	Wilson	Conway	Pagenaud	Kimball
Steve Hall	dannycatsteve	Conway	Dixon	Dario	Pagenaud	Viso
Steven Jenkins	ukindyfan	Conway	Wilson	Power	Kimball	RHR
Tony Tellez	tonytellez	Rahal	Conway	Viso	Wilson	Dinger

Race 2

Name	Twitter Handle
Alan Stewart	_alanstewart	Dario	Tags	Sato	Wilson	Kimball
Alana Jolly	alanajolly	Carpenter	Kanaan	Andretti	Sato	Dixon
Andy Manes	andyjm1989	Dixon	Sato	Hinch	Vautier	Simona
Andy Nagel	Gabbahey75	Simona	Dixon	Hinch	Kimball	Viso
Chris Blackburn	chblackburn23	Dario	Helio	Rahal	Simona	Newg
Chris Mienaltowski	CPMski	RHR	Helio	Dixon	Hinch	Power
Connor De Phillippi	cdephillippi11
David Redner	IndyCART	Jakes	Vautier	Conway	Tags	Rahal
Diego Santesteban	santesteband	Hinch	Viso	Pagenaud	Kanaan	Newg
DJ Jordan	djordan3223	Tags	Bourdais	Simona	Wilson	Conway
Emily Mugan	emyrmalee	Kimball	Conway	Pagenaud	Viso	Wilson
Eric Hall	erock_in_indy	Kanaan	Rahal	Viso	Bourdais	Wilson
Gina Navarra	OfficalGinaN	Carpenter	Pagenaud	Power	Vautier	Dixon
James Alban	TheKing0fSwing	Conway	Wilson	Tags	Hinch	Dixon
James Sedlmayr	dfd827	Briscoe	Conway	Vautier	RHR	Power
Jason McVeigh	jasekm	Dinger	Viso	Newg	Kimball	Dixon
Jerry Cruz	Indycar_Raider	Power	Sato	Helio	RHR	Tags
Jessica Baker	bakerjm13	Conway	Bourdais	Kimball	Viso	Dixon
Joe Swain	Indy69Nova	Kanaan	Sato	Simona	Rahal	Helio
Kieran Brughelli	kieranbrughelli	Dixon	Kanaan	Viso	Briscoe	Newg
Kyle Lewis	kylelewis1	Sato	Wilson	Tags	Viso	Pagenaud
Kyle O'Gara	kyleogara	Newg	Power	Conway	Helio	Dixon
Lynn Weinberg	lynnweinberg	Helio	Dario	Wilson	Pagenaud	Kimball
Mathew Gruenholz	IndycarSTIG	Pagenaud	Helio	Tags	Conway	Simona
Matthew Hickey	Indycar_MN	Simona	Andretti	Conway	Wilson	Sato
Michael Tressler	mtressler13	Simona	Vautier	Helio	Wilson	Bourdais
Mike Crawford	7BigMike	Andretti	Helio	Simona	RHR	Wilson
Rick Snodie	rickfromwi	Andretti	Conway	Wilson	Tags	Dario
Ross Fujibayashi	fujis123
Sam Klein	sklein31	Conway	Wilson	Pagenaud	Simona	Bourdais
Steve Hall	dannycatsteve	Conway	Hinch	Newg	Wilson	Dinger
Steven Jenkins	ukindyfan	Conway	Simona	Dixon	Hinch	Andretti
Tony Tellez	tonytellez	Power	Sato	Helio	RHR	Newg

Most picked: 1) Mike Conway (29) 2) Scott Dixon (27) 3) Justin Wilson (26)
Not picked: N/A, all drivers were picked

-Matthew Hickey

Reviewing Rules for Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Wed, 29 May 2013 20:56:00 +0000

New to the 2013 IZOD Indycar Series is doubleheader races at the tracks of Detroit (this weekend), Toronto, and Houston. I literally had no clue as to what the rules are and how the whole system works. After research, here is what I can determine and what you should look forward to this weekend at Detroit:

Qualifying for race one will be the normal qualifying format with the Fast Six procedures. This will take place on Saturday. From what I gather, the grid for race two on Sunday will be another qualifying session, with the field being split into two groups evenly. Each group will get 12 minutes to qualify with five minutes of guaranteed green flag time (in the case of a yellow or red flag). The groups do not determine the inside row or the outside row or anything. They are merely meant to ease the congestion on the track with less cars in the groups. Time for this session is TBA.

Race 1 will feature a standing start (excluding Detroit). Standing starts are used in many forms of road racing including F1 and V8 Supercars. Race 2 will feature the conventional rolling start.

The last standing start we saw was Champ Car Long Beach 2008 (Photo: Getty Images)

Both races will be 70 laps in length, broadcasted in America on ABC with coverage starting at 3:30 local time (eastern). Each race will be using the standard point system, so if a driver were to win both races, they would walk away with a cool 100 points.

The track in Detroit has since been repaved and altered since last year's debacle with the track falling apart. New pavement and a newly tweaked track layout will enhance the racing.

This is, to the best of my knowledge, what you should look forward to this weekend! Since there is little info circulating, if I missed anything or made an error let me know!

-Matthew Hickey

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Two things popped up this Month of May; One before the Indianapolis 500 and one after it. The two issues have been how the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled and green-white-checkered finishes. Let's talk about them in a calm and rational manner.

First off, why oh why would you want to change the current Indianapolis 500 format? I, for one, thought the old format of a week of practice, Pole Day (filling positions 1-11), Second Day (filling positions 12-22), then another week of practice, then Third Day (filling positions 23-33), and then Bump Day was a bit long and exaggerated given the current climate in Indycar. The new format, which begins two weeks before the race, has been nothing short of great for teams, fans, and drivers. Win-win-win.

The new format is economically better for teams. Instead of having three weeks in Indy, they have two. Which I know doesn't sound like much, but that is a lot of money saved for teams. Drivers don't miss a beat with getting up to speed with the track, as seven days of practice is more than enough. And the new qualifying format has been such a treat for fans, with the Fast Nine on Pole Day is both thrilling and competitive. Not a single person wasn't in suspense as Ed Carpenter took the pole this year. My question is, why on Earth would anyone think about changing the format? *cough Robin Miller cough*

And now for the other issue, green-white-checker finishes to prevent races from ending under a yellow flag: I personally don't at all see the need for them. It is the Indianapolis 500, not the Indianapolis 507.5. The less gimmicks in Indycar, the better. NASCAR is NASCAR, Indycar is Indycar. Why must we be like them? How about we do things our way and you do them yours.

Was this finish not exciting enough? (Photo: AJ Mast / AP Photo)

Jenna Fryer was saying something along the lines of (this isn't exactly word for word what she said) Indycar isn't making large profits and is barely paying the bills. Would GWC really help that? Do people honestly think that GWC finishes will increase the ratings? There are better things to be working on like a new TV deal, because most people wouldn't be able to see said finish. If anything it'll make Indycar more expensive with all of the wrecked cars following the GWC.

Our series has a lot going for it and some things going against it that should be be addressed. Shouldn't we be addressing the bad things that can be fixed rather than the things that are going well for us, like a TV deal and adding races to the schedule? Maybe I am alone.

In a separate and very unrelated note, is anyone interested in teaching me the art of masonry? I lost all of my bricks that I threw at Jim Utter and don't really feel like buying more... I am more of a do-it-yourself guy... Let me know!

-Matthew Hickey

Looking at the Sheet: Round 5

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Mon, 27 May 2013 20:08:00 +0000

Following the Indianapolis 500, here is the updated stat sheet on the 2013 Indycar Season. Key: Pts = Points, Start = Average Start, Finish = Average Finish, Change = Change in position, Laps L = Laps Led, Laps C = Laps Completed, Green = Leading category, Blue = Second in category, Orange = Second to last in category, yellow = last in category:

Pos	Drivers	Pts	Start	Finish	Change	Laps L	Laps C
1	Marco Andretti	168	10.4	4.8	28	38	555
2	Takuma Sato	157	9.6	7.6	10	72	555
3	Helio Castroneves	152	8.6	6.8	9	68	555
4	Ryan Hunter-Reay	138	3.8	11.4	-38	96	493
5	James Hinchcliffe	128	9	15	-30	34	421
6	Justin Wilson	125	13.6	9	23	0	553
7	Tony Kanaan	124	10.8	11.8	-5	46	550
8	Scott Dixon	122	14.4	10	22	1	555
9	Oriol Servia	112	14.8	10.6	21	16	549
10	Simon Pagenaud	108	18.8	11	38	0	471
11	Charlie Kimball	106	12.8	11.2	8	3	553
12	Simona de Silvestro	103	13.6	11.6	10	0	555
13	Will Power	89	6.8	16	-46	53	494
14	Josef Newgarden	84	20.4	15.6	26	0	486
15	Graham Rahal	82	18.4	16.6	9	0	544
16	Dario Franchitti	81	9.6	16.8	-36	27	412
17	Ed Carpenter	81	17.4	17.4	0	37	550
18	EJ Viso	80	10.8	13	-11	5	528
19	JR Hildebrand	79	16.2	17.8	-8	4	326
20	Alex Tagliani	79	15.8	15.2	3	1	550
21	Sebastien Bourdais	74	16.2	17	-4	13	533
22	Tristan Vautier	73	17	16	5	0	514
23	James Jakes	68	17.4	17.4	-1	5	550
24	AJ Allmendinger	55	9.7	16.3	-20	23	341
25	Carlos Munoz	54	2	2	0	12	200
26	Ana Beatriz	53	23.4	20	17	0	406
27	Sebastian Saavedra	44	17	23.6	-33	0	272
28	Ryan Briscoe	22	23	12	11	0	200
29	Conor Daly	11	31	22	9	0	198
30	Townsend Bell	10	22	27	-5	1	192
31	Pippa Mann	8	30	30	0	0	46
32	Katherine Legge	8	33	26	7	0	193
33	Buddy Lazier	8	32	31	1	0	44
34	Mike Conway	5	5	25	-20	0	38

Anything stand out? Let me know what you think!

-Matthew Hickey

Winners and Losers: Indianapolis

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sun, 26 May 2013 20:25:00 +0000

Here are your winners, losers, and Cone of Shame "winner" following the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500:

Winners

Tony Kanaan
What can be said about the effort Tony Kanaan put in and all the emotion that followed the race after the drive to victory. I clapped my hands to myself with tears in my eyes even though I was in a separate room from my parents watching the race. Unbelievable job by TK.

Indycar
This is exactly the kind of racing Indycar needs to put on for the mainstream audience in order to get some of the old fans back in the sport. A truly amazing day for the sport we love.

Carlos Munoz
The rookie who could finishes an impressive second after starting second led all Andretti Autosport drivers. And to think he was disappointed with the result! Carlos Munoz has nothing to be ashamed of, a great first race at Indy.

Justin Wilson
Where in the hell did Justin Wilson come from? He snookered his way to a top-five finish at the Greatest Spectacle of Racing. Well done Justin.

Losers

JR Hildebrand
How can you crash with only a handful of laps in the books? Even if the car has an awkward level of downforce, the car should be approached with care at the start of the race in order to see what you have. Mistakes abounding again for Hildebrand.

Sebastian Saavedra
Yeah it sucks that Pippa Mann didn't see you in her mirror and wrecked you in a complete accident, but it wasn't necessary to trash her and Indycar after the race, saying you are fighting for the championship. NEWS FLASH: You were P24 in the championship before the race.

The Mayor
All of the Andretti Autosport cars ran up front all day. All but James Hinchcliffe, which surprised many including me. Hinch did however prove Indycar's can be driven without having hands on the steering wheel.

Past Champions
Past champions did not fair well today excluding Helio Castroneves, who finished P6. Scott Dixon (P14), Dario Franchitti (P23), and Buddy Lazier (P31) all struggled in the race.

Cone of Shame

Honda

Honda was overshadowed all month by Chevrolet and race day was no different. Chevrolet dominated in the race, owned the top ten spots in qualifying, and Honda was nowhere to be found. They will be right back at it in Detroit, don't worry.

Let me know what you think.

-Matthew Hickey

Guest Blog: We Are Ok

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:38:00 +0000

As the 500 Approaches, I realize - We Are Ok.

Immediately after the checkered flag in Sao Paulo, there was a lot of negativity surrounding Takuma Sato and whether or not he was blocking. I made a comment that Sato “can do no wrong” for this lifelong IndyCar fan. When I explained why I feel this way, Matthew asked me if I would write a blog post about my experience with Sato. I said “Sure. Do you think people would be interested?” So, here goes my first blog post:

I was in a restaurant in Las Vegas the day after the tragic loss of Dan Wheldon. Sitting next to us was Takuma Sato. As we got up to leave, I stopped at the table where he was dining with two older ladies I presumed to be his Mom and Grandma. It was my intention to express my condolences to him and his family regarding the loss of his racing colleague. What happened next was completely unexpected and surprised me as much as it surprised his family. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, I started to cry. Well, to be more accurate, I was bawling, completely bawling. He remained completely calm and collected, as I stood in front of him, a blubbering lunatic. He reached out and took both of my hands in his and said “It will be ok, we will all be ok.” I pulled myself together enough to thank him and wish him a safe trip home. I had been sitting there in that restaurant, on my home to St. Louis, hating this sport that I had been raised to love so very much. With those few, calm words, he made me feel better about this horrible thing that happened.

Sato celebrates his victory at Long Beach (Photo: Robert Laberage)

When Sato won his first IndyCar race at Long Beach this year, I was ecstatic. He can be heard on the radio transmission saying “That was really nice.” So calm…Just like the day he offered me those comforting words in the Las Vegas restaurant.

I’ve reflected on that brief conversation with Sato so many times. In the months that followed, I never really questioned whether I would continue watching IndyCar, probably because I knew we would be okay, we would all be ok.

-Lynn Weinberg @lynnweinberg

Some 500 Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:57:00 +0000

Numbers can tell us a lot about future events. The Indianapolis 500 is no different. Looking at past data from the 96 other runnings of the Indianapolis, we can begin to understand and look at how qualify and race data translates into odds for drivers without taking into consideration other variables. Before I go on, I am by no means predicting the 500 and downplaying certain drivers. This is merely looking at the race from a statistical standpoint. Here are some of the statistics that we can look into and how it can translate this year's 500:

The pole sitter for the Indianapolis 500 has won 22 of the 96 times, or 27% of the time, the most by any starting position by far. This bodes well for this year's pole sitter Ed Carpenter.

Former winners of the race include Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012), Scott Dixon (2009), Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2008), and Buddy Lazier (1996).

Active teams who have won at Indianapolis include Team Penske (15), Chip Ganassi Racing (4), Andretti Autosport (2), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1), Bryan Herta Autosport (1), and AJ Foyt Enterprises (1).

Former pole sitters of the race include Ryan Briscoe (2012), Alex Tagliani (2011), Helio Castroneves (2003, 2007, 2009, 2010), Scott Dixon (2008), and Tony Kanaan (2005).

68 of the 96 Indianapolis 500's have been won by drivers starting ninth or better, which amounts to 70.8% of the races. Good news again for Carpenter, as well as Carlos Munoz, Marco Andretti, EJ Viso, AJ Allmendinger, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, and James Hinchcliffe.

AJ Allmendinger (closest) and Will Power on among those who have the odds in
their favors. Being on Team Penske doesn't hurt either (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

The race has only been won 6 times between P22 and P28, or 6.3% of the time. Not good news for Townsend Bell, Ryan Briscoe, Simona de Silvestro, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Sebastian Saavedra, and Tristan Vautier.

Even worse news for drivers starting P29-P33, which includes Ana Beatriz, Pippa Mann, Conor Daly, Buddy Lazier, and Katherine Legge: A driver has never won starting in positions 29-33 in all 96 Indianapolis 500s.

General statistic: The driver who has led the most laps have won 52 of the 96 Indianapolis 500s, or 54% of the races. The trend recently has been different, with three of the last ten drivers who have led the most laps have gone on to win, so we'll see what affect it has on race day.

The five drivers in the field with the highest average finish are Dario Franchitti (7.5), Helio Castroneves (7.6), Scott Dixon (7.6), JR Hildebrand (8), and Charlie Kimball (10.5).

A rookie has only won the Greatest Spectacle eight times, or 8.3% of the time. Will Carlos Munoz, AJ Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier, or Conor Daly change that?

I have been trying to look up specific data for this last one, but can't find anything. So feel free to quote me when I say: There is a 100% chance the race will be great! Enjoy the race as you see

Let me know what you think!

-Matthew Hickey

2013 Indianapolis 500 Grid

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:04:00 +0000

Here is the grid for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 (Grid position / car number / driver / team / engine / qualifying speed in MPH):

1) #20 Ed Carpenter / Ed Carpenter Racing / Chevrolet / 228.762
2) #26 Carlos Munoz (R) / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 228.342
3) #25 Marco Andretti / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 228.261

4) #5 EJ Viso / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 228.150
5) #2 AJ Allmendinger (R) / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 228.099
6) #12 Will Power / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 228.087

7) #1 Ryan Hunter-Reay / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 227.904
8) #3 Helio Castroneves / Team Penske / Chevrolet / 227.762
9) #27 James Hinchcliffe / Andretti Autosport / Chevrolet / 227.070

10) #4 JR Hildebrand / Panther Racing / Chevrolet / 227.441
11) #98 Alex Tagliani / Bryan Herta Autosport / Honda / 227.386
12) #11 Tony Kanaan / KV Racing / Chevrolet / 226.949

13) #22 Oriol Servia / Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Chevrolet / 226.814
14) #19 Justin Wilson / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 226.370
15) #7 Sebastien Bourdais / Dragon Racing / Chevrolet / 226.196

16) #9 Scott Dixon / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 226.158
17) #10 Dario Franchitti / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 226.059
18) #14 Takuma Sato / AJ Foyt Enterprises / Honda / 225.892

19) #83 Charlie Kimball / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 225.880
20) #16 James Jakes / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / Honda / 225.809
21) #77 Simon Pagenaud / Schmidt Peterson Racing / Honda / 225.674

22) #60 Townsend Bell / Panther Racing / Chevrolet / 225.643
23) #8 Ryan Briscoe / Chip Ganassi Racing / Honda / 225.265
24) #78 Simona de Silvestro / KV Racing / Chevrolet / 225.226

25) #21 Josef Newgarden / Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing / Honda / 225.731
26) #15 Graham Rahal / Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing / Honda / 225.007
27) #6 Sebastian Saavedra / Dragon Racing / Chevrolet / 224.929

28) #55 Tristan Vautier (R) / Schmidt Peterson Motorsports / Honda / 224.873
29) #18 Ana Beatriz / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 224.184
30) #30 Pippa Mann / Dale Coyne Racing / Honda / 224.005

31) #41 Conor Daly (R) / AJ Foyt Enterprises / Honda / 223.582
32) #91 Buddy Lazier / Lazier Family Partners / Chevrolet / 223.342
33) #81 Katherine Legge / Schmidt Peterson Racing / Honda / 223.176

Let's go racing!

-Matthew Hickey

Pre-Fast Nine Times

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:13:00 +0000

Here are the Pre-Fast Nine lap times from Pole Day qualifying. Drivers 10-24 are locked in and will start where they are listed. Those below P24 did not qualify and will have to do so tomorrow. Drivers in the top nine will have to re-qualify to set the field. Here are the times:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Team
1	Will Power	228.844	Team Penske
2	Ryan Hunter-Reay	228.282	Andretti Autosport
3	Carlos Munoz	228.171	Andretti Autosport
4	Helio Castroneves	227.975	Team Penske
5	Ed Carpenter	227.952	Ed Carpenter Racing
6	Marco Andretti	227.893	Andretti Autosport
7	AJ Allmendinger	227.761	Team Penske
8	EJ Viso	227.612	Andretti Autosport
9	James Hinchcliffe	227.493	Andretti Autosport
10	JR Hildebrand	227.441	Panther Racing
11	Alex Tagliani	227.386	Bryan Herta Autosport
12	Tony Kanaan	226.949	KV Racing
13	Oriol Servia	226.814	Panther Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
14	Justin Wilson	226.370	Dale Coyne Racing
15	Sebastien Bourdais	226.196	Dragon Racing
16	Scott Dixon	226.158	Chip Ganassi Racing
17	Dario Franchitti	226.069	Chip Ganassi Racing
18	Takuma Sato	225.892	AJ Foyt Enterprises
19	Charlie Kimball	225.880	Chip Ganassi Racing
20	James Jakes	225.809	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
21	Simon Pagenaud	225.674	Schmidt Peterson Racing
22	Townsend Bell	225.643	Panther Racing
23	Ryan Briscoe	225.265	Chip Ganassi Racing
24	Simona de Silvestro	225.226	KV Racing
	Josef Newgarden	225.210	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
	Ana Beatriz	225.117	Dale Coyne Racing
	Graham Rahal	224.996	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
	Sebastian Saavedra	224.656	Dragon Racing
	Pippa Mann	224.350	Dale Coyne Racing
	Tristan Vautier	224.156	Schmidt Peterson Racing
	Buddy Lazier	223.073	Lazier Family Partners
	Michel Jourdain. Jr	218.329	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
	Conor Daly	No time	AJ Foyt Enterprises
	Katherine Legge	No time	Schmidt Peterson Racing

Pole Day Order

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:29:00 +0000

Here is the pole day running order which will start at 11am Eastern Time tomorrow, May 18th. Drivers will each get one attempt to qualify before the remaining afternoon time gets allotted for anyone who has one of their three attempts remaining up until 4:30pm local time, in which the gun will sound and Fast Nine qualifying will begin. Take a gander at the list (spot in which they go out, driver number, driver, team, engine):

Spot	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	40	TBA	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
3	14	Takuma Sato	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
4	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
5	14T	Takuma Sato	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
6	2	AJ Allmendinger	Team Penske	Chevrolet
7	6T	Sebastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
8	91	Buddy Lazier	Lazier Family Partners	Chevrolet
9	8T	Ryan Briscoe	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	78	Simona de Silvestro	KV Racing	Chevrolet
11	83T	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
12	40T	TBA	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
12a	60T	Townsend Bell	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
14	27	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
15	27T	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
16	9T	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
17	41	Conor Daly	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
18	3T	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet
19	16T	James Jakes	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
20	12T	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
21	7	Sebastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
22	19	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
23	3	Helio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet
24	11T	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing	Chevrolet
25	1T	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
26	78T	Simona de Silvestro	KV Racing	Chevrolet
27	16	James Jakes	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
28	99T	TBA	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
29	5T	EJ Viso	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
30	22T	Oriol Servia	Panther Dreyer and Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet
31	18T	Ana Beatriz	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
32	6	Sebastian Saavedra	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
33	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
34	60	Townsend Bell	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
35	20T	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
36	5	EJ Viso	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
37	98	Alex Tagliani	Bryan Herta Autosport	Honda
38	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
39	77T	Simon Pagenaud	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
40	25T	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
41	8	Ryan Briscoe	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
42	11	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing	Chevrolet
43	21	Josef Newgarden	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
44	55	Tristan Vautier	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
45	10	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
46	18	Ana Beatriz	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
47	4T	JR Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
48	19T	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
49	10T	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
50	55T	Tristan Vautier	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
51	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
52	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
53	1	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
54	17	Michel Jourdain Jr	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
55	26T	Carlos Munoz	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
56	26	Carlos Munoz	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
57	2T	AJ Allmendinger	Team Penske	Chevrolet
58	4	JR Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet
59	25	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet
60	21T	Josef Newgarden	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda
61	98T	Alex Tagliani	Bryan Herta Autosport	Honda
62	99	TBA	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
63	7T	Sebastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet
64	41T	Conor Daly	AJ Foyt Enterprises	Honda
65	77	Simon Pagenaud	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
66	15T	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
67	63T	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
68	22	Oriol Servia	Panther Dreyer and Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet

Go Indycar! Let's have a good Pole Day!

-Matthew Hickey

Five Darkhorses of Pole Day

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:03:00 +0000

There are 31 drivers poised to make runs on Pole Day tomorrow (assuming Conor Daly is still shaking down the backup car and Buddy Lazier continues to get up to speed, with two late entries possible for bump day with drivers TBD), here are five drivers (and when I say darkhorse, I say drivers who aren't thought of having a chance, drivers not named Castroneves, Andretti, and Hinchcliffe) that have a real chance to make the Fast Nine and possibly make a run for the pole (in no particular order):

1) Carlos Munoz
Driving for Andretti Autosport, rookie driver Carlos Munoz from Colombia has had a solid week of practice, cruising through Rookie Orientation and quickly coming up to speed in the several practice sessions throughout the week. With the fastest lap of the month (as of May 16th), Munoz looks primed for a great starting position for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Munoz is having a very solid Month of May (Photo: Doug Matthews)

2) Josef Newgarden
The only Honda to make my list, Josef Newgarden has been steadily quick all month. While not possessing that high 224/low 225mph lap that others have from the tow, do not be surprised if Newgarden, who, as a rookie was the only driver with a Honda engine to make the Fast Nine in 2012, should be up their once again on Pole Day.

3) EJ Viso
Another driver from the Andretti Autosport stable, EJ Viso of Venezuela, looks prepared to make another go at the Fast Nine. EJ made it into the Fast Nine last year while driving for KV Racing. Now driving for the elite Andretti Autosport, expect the Venezuelan Badger to be knocking on the door of the front row.

4) Oriol Servia
There is no driver with more to prove out of the 33 drivers than Oriol Servia. Servia was recently notified that his current team, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, would be shutting down their fulltime racing operation, leaving Oriol with a cloudy future, but he would love to send the team off with a bang. He has a very good car even without the tow, so expect Oriol to be up front when the gun goes off.

5) JR Hildebrand
Maybe it is the superman colors on the car, or maybe it is because he has seemed to figure out Indy, but whatever it is, JR Hildebrand has got it going on. Steadily fast all month, JR should have a very solid car on Pole Day and should translate into a great race day result.

JR Hildebrand has been quick all month (Photo: Michael Hickey)

Who gets the pole? Let me know what you think.

-Matthew Hickey

Combined Practice Results: May 16th

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:12:00 +0000

Here is the combined results from Indianapolis 500 practices so far, with the drivers best lap time from the sessions ranked. Here is the list:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Session
1	Carlos Munoz	225.163	6
2	Marco Andretti	225.100	3
3	Helio Castroneves	225.075	3
4	Ryan Hunter-Reay	225.066	6
5	Scott Dixon	224.468	6
6	Dario Franchitti	224.236	5
7	EJ Viso	224.221	6
8	James Hinchcliffe	224.210	4
9	JR Hildebrand	224.075	6
10	Ed Carpenter	224.019	6
11	Oriol Servia	223.995	6
12	Will Power	223.784	3
13	Townsend Bell	223.716	5
14	AJ Allmendinger	223.660	6
15	Takuma Sato	223.660	6
16	Simon Pagenaud	223.465	6
17	Justin Wilson	223.460	6
18	Josef Newgarden	223.123	4
19	Tony Kanaan	222.833	3
20	Ryan Briscoe	222.803	5
21	Alex Tagliani	222.350	5
22	Sebastien Bourdais	222.130	6
23	Tristan Vautier	222.020	6
24	Charlie Kimball	221.886	6
25	Simona de Silvestro	221.776	6
26	Sebastian Saavedra	221.315	6
27	James Jakes	221.241	5
28	Pippa Mann	221.241	3
29	Conor Daly	220.780	6
30	Graham Rahal	220.550	6
31	Ana Beatriz	219.975	3
32	Michel Jourdain. Jr	218.073	6
33	Buddy Lazier	106.687	6

Let me know what you are thinking!

-Matthew Hickey

Combined Practice Results: May 15th

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Here is the combined results from Indianapolis 500 practices so far, with the drivers best lap time from the sessions ranked. Here is the list:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Session
1	Marco Andretti	225.100	3
2	Helio Castroneves	225.075	3
3	Ryan Hunter-Reay	224.386	3
4	Dario Franchitti	224.236	5
5	James Hinchcliffe	224.210	4
6	Will Power	223.784	3
7	Townsend Bell	223.716	5
8	JR Hildebrand	223.652	4
9	Takuma Sato	223.363	3
10	AJ Allmendinger	223.264	3
11	EJ Viso	223.138	4
12	Josef Newgarden	223.123	4
13	Carlos Munoz	223.110	4
14	Tony Kanaan	222.833	3
15	Ryan Briscoe	222.803	5
16	Alex Tagliani	222.350	5
17	Scott Dixon	222.312	5
18	Oriol Servia	222.093	4
19	Ed Carpenter	221.879	5
20	Justin Wilson	221.810	3
21	Charlie Kimball	221.801	3
22	Simon Pagenaud	221.704	3
23	Simona de Silvestro	221.613	3
24	James Jakes	221.241	5
25	Sebastian Saavedra	221.119	4
26	Sebastien Bourdais	221.088	4
27	Tristan Vautier	220.765	5
28	Conor Daly	220.659	5
29	Pippa Mann	220.500	3
30	Graham Rahal	220.360	3
31	Ana Beatriz	219.975	3
32	Michel Jourdain. Jr	218.037	5

Rahal Letterman Lanigan in trouble? Let me know what you think.

-Matthew Hickey

Combined Practice Results: May 14th

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Tue, 14 May 2013 23:24:00 +0000

Here is the combined results from Indianapolis 500 practice so far, with the drivers best lap time from the sessions ranked. Here is the list:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Session
1	Marco Andretti	225.100	3
2	Helio Castroneves	225.075	3
3	Ryan Hunter-Reay	224.386	3
4	James Hinchcliffe	224.210	4
5	Will Power	223.784	3
6	JR Hildebrand	223.652	4
7	Takuma Sato	223.363	3
8	AJ Allmendinger	223.264	3
9	EJ Viso	223.138	4
10	Josef Newgarden	223.123	4
11	Carlos Munoz	223.110	4
12	Tony Kanaan	222.833	3
13	Oriol Servia	222.093	4
14	Alex Tagliani	221.950	3
15	Townsend Bell	221.898	4
16	Justin Wilson	221.810	3
17	Charlie Kimball	221.801	3
18	Simon Pagenaud	221.704	3
19	Simona de Silvestro	221.613	3
20	Ryan Briscoe	221.531	3
21	Ed Carpenter	221.154	1
22	Sebastian Saavedra	221.119	4
23	Sebastien Bourdais	221.088	4
24	Dario Franchitti	220.549	1
25	Pippa Mann	220.500	3
26	Scott Dixon	220.419	3
27	Graham Rahal	220.360	3
28	Tristan Vautier	220.017	4
29	Ana Beatriz	219.975	3
30	Conor Daly	219.688	4
31	James Jakes	219.161	4
32	Michel Jourdain. Jr	217.118	4

Anything stand out?

-Matthew Hickey

O'Gara Readies for Indy

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:47:00 +0000

Kyle O'Gara is preparing to make his Firestone Indy Lights debut on Carb Day for the 2013 Freedom 100 at Indianapolis. O'Gara has been racing in USAC for the past couple of seasons, but has tested an Indy Lights car before at Kentucky in 2012 and at Indy a couple weeks ago. I talked with Kyle recently to gather his thoughts on the upcoming race. Here are some of the things we discussed:

Driving for the top tier team in Indy Lights, Schmidt Peterson Racing in conjunction with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, O'Gara expects to do very well. When asked bout the team, Kyle said, "I can't thank everyone at SFHR Development and Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports for this great opportunity. The SPM team has proven over the past decade that they are the team to be with if you want to succeed. They have been very welcoming and helpful in everything that I need."

O'Gara testing at Indy (Photo: IMS / Indycar Media)

Goals? Well, I've known Kyle for quite a while. He's definitely got the racer gene in that a) he is very good at driving, always kicking ass (obviously) b) he is a big critic of himself. All he wants to do is win. Kyle told me, "I have nothing but high expectations for this month of May. Going into the Freedom 100, I have put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. I see no reason why I cannot compete for the win with the SPM team behind me. I expect my past oval experience to help along with advice from Sam (Schmidt), Sarah (Fisher), and Josef (Newgarden)." He also went on to say, "This is the biggest race of my life, with the most weight ever being out on my shoulders. I don't want it to sound like it is a MUST that I perform well, but it will definitely help."

Finally, I asked him what it means to be making his debut and how much it means to him to be racing at Indianapolis. Me personally, I faint just from walking in to the joint. Taking laps in a race car? That would give me some happy dreams. Kyle feels the same: "It means the absolute world to me to finally race at the famed "Brickyard." In my eyes, this is when you can say that you have made it. Now, it's time to see what I can do."

Kyle with car owner Sam Schmidt (Photo: Indycar Media)

I fully expect to see Kyle O'Gara succeed at any race he does. For the Freedom 100, which I will regrettably not be watching live, I can see Kyle going for the win. I will be cheering him on during his whole journey! One final quote from our conversation:

"The Freedom 100 has been something that I have been working towards my whole career. It is such a great stepping stone to make it to my ultimate goal of the Indy 500." -Kyle O'Gara

Thanks for reading! Click here to find Kyle on Twitter, make sure to follow him!

-Matthew Hickey

Combined Practice Results: May 13th

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:03:00 +0000

Here is the combined results from Indianapolis 500 practice so far, with the drivers best lap time from the sessions ranked. Here is the list:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Session
1	Marco Andretti	225.100	3
2	Helio Castroneves	225.075	3
3	Ryan Hunter-Reay	224.386	3
4	Will Power	223.784	3
5	JR Hildebrand	223.624	3
6	Takuma Sato	223.363	3
7	AJ Allmendinger	223.264	3
8	James Hinchcliffe	223.075	3
9	Carlos Munoz	223.023	2
10	Tony Kanaan	222.833	3
11	EJ Viso	222.523	2
12	Josef Newgarden	222.340	3
13	Oriol Servia	222.069	3
14	Alex Tagliani	221.950	3
15	Justin Wilson	221.810	3
16	Charlie Kimball	221.801	3
17	Simon Pagenaud	221.704	3
18	Simona de Silvestro	221.613	3
19	Ryan Briscoe	221.531	3
20	Ed Carpenter	221.154	1
21	Townsend Bell	221.137	3
22	Dario Franchitti	220.549	1
23	Pippa Mann	220.500	3
24	Scott Dixon	220.419	3
25	Graham Rahal	220.360	3
26	Ana Beatriz	219.975	3
27	Sebastien Bourdais	219.498	3
28	Conor Daly	219.044	3
29	Sebastian Saavedra	218.633	3
30	James Jakes	218.351	3
31	Tristan Vautier	217.556	3
32	Michel Jourdain. Jr	216.603	2

Only confirmed driver to have not taken a lap is Buddy Lazier.

-Matthew Hickey

Combined Practice Results: May 12th

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Hickey) — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:24:00 +0000

Here is the combined results from Indianapolis 500 practice so far, with the drivers best lap time from the sessions ranked. Here is the list:

Pos	Driver	Speed (MPH)	Session
1	Carlos Munoz	223.023	2
2	Ryan Hunter-Reay	222.825	2
3	EJ Viso	222.523	2
4	Marco Andretti	222.485	2
5	AJ Allmendinger	221.279	2
6	Ed Carpenter	220.970	1
7	Josef Newgarden	220.920	1
8	James Hinchcliffe	220.907	2
9	Charlie Kimball	220.633	1
10	Alex Tagliani	220.248	1
11	Dario Franchitti	219.873	1
12	Tony Kanaan	219.636	2
13	Oriol Servia	219.283	2
14	Takuma Sato	219.082	2
15	Ryan Briscoe	218.900	2
16	JR Hildebrand	218.501	2
17	Scott Dixon	218.214	1
18	Helio Castroneves	217.923	1
19	Will Power	217.595	1
20	Sebastien Bourdais	217.378	2
21	Simona de Silvestro	216.938	1
22	Simon Pagenaud	216.308	2
23	Sebastian Saavedra	215.977	2
24	Michel Jourdain. Jr	215.478	2
25	James Jakes	215.285	2
26	Graham Rahal	214.092	2

Drivers who have not taken a lap: Ana Beatriz, Buddy Lazier, Conor Daly, Justin Wilson, Pippa Mann, Townsend Bell, and Tristan Vautier.

Bring on Day 3!

-Matthew Hickey