Indycar 2023

[Scott Douglas]

It kind of reminds me of the way basketball has gone.

[CurtEgerer]

It wasn't the demolition derby I was expecting. So there's that. Clearly, the race was moved to downtown to appease Chevrolet (GM/Chevy HQ is in the RennCen building in the middle of the track). The only thing missing was part of the track running thru their lobby.

And they probably got a chunk of taxpayer $$$ from the City of Detroit (they're always willing to spend boatloads of money in their never-ending 50-year quest to revitalize the city.)

On to a genuine racetrack: Road America.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

It wasn't the demolition derby I was expecting. So there's that. Clearly, the race was moved to downtown to appease Chevrolet (GM/Chevy HQ is in the RennCen building in the middle of the track). The only thing missing was part of the track running thru their lobby.

And they probably got a chunk of taxpayer $$$ from the City of Detroit (they're always willing to spend boatloads of money in their never-ending 50-year quest to revitalize the city.)

On to a genuine racetrack: Road America.

This sums up my thoughts too. The race was better than the track promised even though there were too many incidents. I look forward to hearing the fan experiences as it looked horrible for fans too.

Alex Palou is a very talented driver.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

One more interview with Flava Flave and I would have turned it off .

+100

There was more passing than I expected but at the expense of Crashcar/Nascar style "racing". The drivers love a challenge but I bet the team owners hated the cost of all the carnage. Belle Isle was such a beautiful track so its a shame that we had to watch alley way racing.

I continue to be impressed with Kirkwood. The kid has potential. I also was impressed with Armstrong. He held his own.

The biggest loser was O'Ward - he let emotion get him to make a risky move.

Rahal: all the haters are gonna hate but I think he owned his mistake and said as a driver and a team they owe the sponsors more than they have delivered this season. I didn't hear any whining

[CurtEgerer]

RLL's horrid team performance is baffling. They've got great sponsors with lots of resources but just can't seem to get things together (Indy GP being an exception with 2 top 10 finishes). Just 2 years ago, Graham was a regular top 5 finisher. Supposedly, they shook up the engineering side a year ago and brought in some new talent. Still nothing. And it's clearly not a driver problem - the cars are simply off pace It was mentioned that they're on their way down here to Sebring for testing ahead of Road America. Not sure what good running at Sebring will do for a track like RA? Must be working on larger issues other than setup.

[rfuerst911sc]

If I was Bobby Rahal I would be calling Tony Kanan or any seasoned driver thats available
and have them shake down the entire fleet of cars . It seems like there is a fundamental issue across the board .

Assuming it's not engine or gearing then that leaves the chassis/setup/drivers . I know it's not that simple but they have to narrow down the possibilities . I hope they get it turned around .

[CurtEgerer]

^^^ That's a great suggestion.

[Geneman]

anyone see the shunt in the MPC race where the BMW went airborne over the Aston? yikes. not much owning up there. just some mumbles about abs locking up etc....

[Zeke]

Graham isn't helping the RLL team at all. He has never been a great driver, but he did benefit from decent cars up until recently. I stated the Indy 500 cars were bound up set up wise and the in car race cams proved it. The fast cars were going down the straights with the steering wheel very close to 12 o'clock. Some, like RLL were at 1 o'clock, which is not unusual for a smaller oval.

If the Foyt cars can come from nowhere then RFF needs to throw away their set up book and find the new settings.

I don't know much about Lundgaard, but Harvey has been a back marker since his debut. So RLL ought to change that roster too. And at that, it will take a year to come forward if they can. Meanwhile everyone else will learn and progress so RLL has to come forward 2 years in one season. Or sell the team and go sports car racing.

I think the writing on the wall was clear enough when Legg qualified better than 3 other cars.

I'll leave it at this, Graham and Marco made more bonehead mistakes in their time and Marco was smart enough to know when to step out.

[rfuerst911sc]

Conor Daly has been released at ECR .

https://racer.com/2023/06/07/daly-and-ecr-to-part-ways/

[rfuerst911sc]

Intense qualy today . New surface smooth as glass but slippery off line . Very fast track . Some bone headed moves thrown in . Foyt cars continue to have pace and RLL showing some improvement . Looking forward to a good race tomorrow .

[chapo]

so much better than F1, rain saved that session and it still wasn't that good.

[rfuerst911sc]

Will Power was a very pi$$ed off driver yesterday . The shunt with Dixon , then Power wanting to punch Grosjean . Then he was angry at the track for the grassy areas being too rough .

Someone has to get him refocused for today's race . I don't know if that's his engineer or his wife or Roger Penske . This track is way too fast/dangerous to not being 100 % focused .

I hope today's race is fast/safe/exciting. Would love to see a Foyt car on the podium .

[greglepore]

Yeah, Zen Willie from last season has left the building, and evil Power from years before is back.

[CurtEgerer]

I think they do need to rework that off-track area coming off of Turn 1 - it's literally launching cars Travis Pastrana-style

So nice to be at a real racetrack!

[pwd72s]

Poor Colton Herta...a coulda-woulda-shoulda pit strategy. Overall, fun race to watch. Gotta love Road America.

[CurtEgerer]

This would not happen in F1

https://racer.com/2023/06/18/road-america-boss-claps-back-at-power-who-pays-the-joke-forward/

[rfuerst911sc]

Very enjoyable race to watch . There were quite a few very close calls at high speed . Herta team strategy was off on that last stop . Dixon an amazing comeback to finish 4th . RLL clawing their way back slowly .

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

This would not happen in F1

https://racer.com/2023/06/18/road-america-boss-claps-back-at-power-who-pays-the-joke-forward/

Hahaha that's great 👍 . Thanks for sharing .

[herr_oberst]

That's pretty funny. I'm glad they smoothed things over. I like both drivers.