I think Paul Tracy is an excellent announcer , being a former racer and one that was known to do whatever it takes he brings an interesting perspective to the booth . He's not afraid to say what he thinks , he may be a little raw in delivery but that makes him different and less wooden than others . I like the current announcer lineup that Indy has and I also like the racing . I will admit I like the street circuits and road courses more than the ovals but overall the series has a good mix .

During the race when the cameras panned to the chunks of curbing that were on the track the announcers speculated if a yellow was going to be thrown for track cleanup . Of course that would have bunched up the field . The decision was made to " let them race " which I respect . Had this been F1 they would have done a safety car/full course yellow/drivers change your panties/let's analyze data for an hour and restarted :D

Watch Portland last year. Unbelievable. To give you a taste, he was involved in this,
http://cms.autosport.nl/images/stori...t_Portland.jpg
and extended his championship points lead.

Tracy is great in the booth. I get the feeling now that he and Bell compete for the who can provide the most technical insight trophy.

Ran over to the computer to say if you are a fan you need to check out what happened at the beginning of the race.

SPOILERS!!!



























Sato's new nickname is "Kamikaze". He managed to take out a quarter of the field on the first lap.

Not the first time Sato has pulled a bonehead move.

Good news is all drivers are okay.

Sato has always been aggressive-his motto "no attack, no chance".
I was really surprised when he came on board with Rahal since Bobby had the reputation of always bringing home the equipment in one piece and it helped him win the CART championship 3 times.
All things being equal, Taco has behaved himself the last few years and has shown well including the Indy 500 but today was a bonehead move and he needs to have some discipline action from the league to send a message to him (and others).

That siad, no tears for Rossi who has pushed a few folks into the wall in the past year and a half.

Don’t understand why they still race at Pocono, the place is dangerous. The fence that Wickens hit and the crash today looks like it’s been there since day one, rusty and pieced together. Wickens called the place “toxic to Indycars” today, I agree. I like Sato, and Rossi, for that matter, ( no ones moved more guys than Power) and I agree with Rossi, Sato needs to sit a race and collect his thoughts. Of course he was instrumental in securing the series title sponsor so I doubt that will happen. Even NASCAR has had some bad wrecks at Pocono in the same spot, the safer barrier doesn’t work if you Re in the rusty fence.

Rossi condemning Sato is the pot calling the kettle black.

Its not the track. Without Satos move, look at how the remainder of the race progressed.

That catch fence is a joke. Rusty old pos. The fencing along the front straight is new. Poor design

Agree Pocono is unreasonably dangerous, but I love the track configuration and the speeds. Overall, I think Indycar is the best racing on the planet.

I'll be in STL next week for the race, then follow the circus to Portland. Might even decide to head on down to Laguna for the final.

Laguna will be great, just don't ask Papa Herta about the corkscrew!

I watched the race live and regardless of how many times I see the replays of Sato's crash I can't understand what he was thinking ??? There is no way in hell a professional driver would have thought he cleared Rossi to make the move to the left . Obviously he didn't look in his mirror . I would love to hear what if any conversation/instructions came from his spotter . I did not hear any comments by the commentators regarding any spotter conversation . It will be interesting to see what the IRL does in the next few days in regards to a suspension , in my opinion he should sit for the remainder of the season . He easily could have killed someone !

Pocono Raceway and many others have been around a long time , from their original designs to today the cars regardless of the series are much faster . Upgrading every aspect of safety sounds like the right thing to do but saying it vs. paying for it are two different things . A race track like any business model has a business plan that covers all aspects of running the business and to make a profit . I agree the current catch fence does catch the cars but the destruction it causes to the race car and the driver ( Wickens ) is too great .

So what is the fix ? Slow the cars down ? Make the safer barrier 4 ' higher ? Or 6 ' higher ? At what point does it now interfere with fan viewing of the event ? Yes racing is a dangerous business and you can't prevent every crash or fatality but yesterday a tragedy was avoided maybe simply due to luck ............ luck is not repeatable ! Or maybe you just tell the drivers if you drive stupid , cause a wreck and are lucky to survive you will sit for four races to think about it .

^Erm, its not IRL anymore, thankfully.

The onus is on Indycar to make sure each track is safe. If they did not think it was safe to race at Pocono, they would not.

^^^ Could care less what it's called the safety of the track is in question . Here is just one of many articles on the subject.

https://jalopnik.com/after-another-serious-crash-driver-calls-for-indycar-t-1837354416

Look at the pics of the patched up catch fence , doesn't scream world class protection to me :rolleyes:

At the outset, I will say that I have a love affair with Pocono, have been to 20 some races there, and miss the days when CART ran the place and you could walk down hot pits during practice practically alone.
That said, it needs to go. Its family owned and they can't afford to or won't upgrade the fence. The accident yesterday was fortunate in that the fence worked. It was a virtual replay of the Wickens incident, however, just with a luckier outcome. Had the smooth underside of the tub not slid along the fence, we'd be praying for Felix now.
Attendance has been an issue since the indycars came back. Its a bowl in the sun with only one grandstand along the front straight, and poor ingress/egress. There should be a race in the northeast, but unless ISC or someone can buy the place and reconfigure the fencing its over.

Racing = Danger.

If you don't want danger, watch the boring and very tight.restricted tracks of the E-Series racecars. I like 3-4-5 wide racing. I like watching hair raising, balsy moves. Satos move wasn't balsy.. but a mistake. Came up too fast on the guy in front, thought he cleared Rossi (or assumed Rossi would make room. Whatever.)

Pocono is still family owned. They host 2 money makers (Nascar) and likely 1 break even (indy) event per year. The rest is club rentals. Nascar gets their attention and pays the salaries, so they will be accommodated first.

I get that, but this is 2019 and safety standards are safety standards. The fencing between 1 and 3 exit at Pocono is past its shelf life by many years.

I don't think it's black or white. I would sure hate Pocono to be replaced by another mile and a half oval. Maybe something good will come of this.

The difference between Sato and the old Kanan is that Tony made it work. Probably time for both to move on.

Watkins Glen. My track. Hopefully 2021. Perfect Indy track