Reflections From The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, After 195 Days Of ?

Reflections From The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, After 195 Days Of ?
(Championship Racing Radio Post Race Review With Josh Farmer & Edmund Jenks )

It's been 195 days since the Verizon IndyCar Dallaras have taken to a racing surface in anger as the drivers, teams, and cars took to the temporary street course track at Saint Petersburg for the first race of this 2016 season - The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 13, 2016

So many story lines - Will Power, Oriol Servia, Rookies (Conor Daly, Spencer Pigot, Alexander Rossi, & Max Chilton), Simon Pagenaud - how'd they do?, Marco Andretti and Andretti Autosport's Carlos Munoz effect on the race and final order at finish (RHR Podium) ... WOW, great race for the first one of the year after a long dry spell since the Verizon IndyCar Dallaras have taken to a racing surface in anger.

This race, including rookies, may have the best crop of drivers to start a competitive racing season in the history of IndyCar. Easily one of the most competent based upon accomplishment and resume.

The rookie field alone has a series champion - Pigot, one with Indy 500 plus four other 2015 season races under his racing royalty belt - Daly, and two that are coming in with Formula 1 experience - Rossi & Chilton.

Race start of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Image Credit: VICS

The race started cleanly with two exceptions. Takuma Sato got a flat tire and James Hinchcliffe went off the course ... also with a flat tire. It was revealed in the post race interviews that Josef Newgarden had plenty to do with the Mayor's problems as well as his own which had him, Newgarden, finish 47 laps off of the race total.

The biggest movers at the start were Josef Newgarden (with the punt of Hinchcliffe) and Marco Andretti.

Simon Pagenaud took the lead from pole position followed by teammates Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya.

By Lap 10, Helio's front tires began to lose grip giving an opening for JPM to pass at the beginning of the lap at the end of the front straight.

About Helio's early first pit-stop:
Edmund Jenks retweeted
Timothy Burke @bubbaprog
typical Florida driver pic.twitter.com/SjM6ImKi8E

<<< VIDEO >>>

Lap 22 - RHR chops across Luca Flillippe and causes carbon fiber damage on Luca's Dallara.

Lap 33 - JPM gains to 1.5 seconds behind after first pitstops.

Lap 46 - Marco Andretti tries to follow RHR at the end of the front straight in a pass of Luca --- spins with contact to rear ... stalls and creates a FCY.

Lap 48 the field pits when the pits become open --- Pagenaud slides to a stop in the pit box but remains within limits ... beats JPM back out on track.

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Aaron Bearden @AaronBearden93
. @ConorDaly22 is sitting pretty after this yellow. He had just pitted laps earlier and inherits the lead. #IndyCar #FirestoneGP

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Restart Lap 57 - Big stoppage at Turn 4 when Rahal got booted by Carlos Munoz stacking up 9 cars - Front Wings between Rahal and Servia touch with many rear end collisions behind

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“Calamity corner. #indycar https://t.co/SG3k8gjdl8”

<<< VIDEO >>>

Edmund Jenks retweeted
Eric Smith @Eric_RaceReview
Officially 9 cars listed in that Turn 4 crash on Lap 56: 98, 15, 16, 83, 41, 5, 15, 11, 12 ‪#‎IndyCar‬ #‎FirestoneGP‬

Cars/Drivers as follows; 98 - Alexander Rossi, 15 - Graham Rahal, 16 - Spencer Pigot, 83 - Charlie Kimball, 41 - Jack Hawksworth, 5 - James Hinchcliffe, 15 - Luca Filippi, 11 - Josef Newgarden, & 12 - Oriol Servia.

Daly loses lead on restart Lap 63 to JPM - Lap 65 end of straight, Helio passes Dixon at end of straight.

Munoz gets penalty for avoidable contact in large accident.

RHR passes Helio for Podium on Lap 107

If JPM wins, it will be the first back-to-back wins at St. Pete since Helio did it in 2006-2007

Juan Pablo Montoya starts the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season the same way he started the 2015 VICS season ... with a win on the streets of St. Petersburg. Image Credit: VICS

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Race Results (Highlights Video Here)

Click HERE to view and download the official results from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Results Sunday of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 1.8-mile St. Petersburg street circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1.  (3) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 110, Running
2.  (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 110, Running
3.  (5) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 110, Running
4.  (2) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 110, Running
5.  (17) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 110, Running
6.  (10) Takuma Sato, Honda, 110, Running
7.  (4) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 110, Running
8.  (12) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 110, Running
9.  (19) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 110, Running
10.  (13) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 109, Contact
11.  (9) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 109, Running
12.  (18) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 109, Running
13.  (20) Conor Daly, Honda, 109, Running
14.  (21) Spencer Pigot, Honda, 109, Running
15.  (14) Marco Andretti, Honda, 109, Running
16.  (6) Graham Rahal, Honda, 109, Running
17.  (16) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 109, Running
18.  (22) Oriol Servia, Chevrolet, 109, Running
19.  (8) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 109, Running
20.  (15) Luca Filippi, Honda, 108, Running
21.  (7) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 87, Contact
22.  (11) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 47, Electrical                             

Race Statistics
Winner's average speed:   89.006 mph
Time of Race: 02:13:28.4650
Margin of victory: 2.3306 seconds
Cautions:  2 for 16 laps
Lead changes: 4 among 4 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Pagenaud 1 - 48
Daly 49 - 63
Montoya 64 - 81
Hunter-Reay 82-84
Montoya 85 - 110

Verizon IndyCar Series Point Standings: Montoya 51, Pagenaud 43, Hunter-Reay 36, Castroneves 32, Aleshin 30, Sato 28, Dixon 26, Munoz 24, Kanaan 22, Kimball 20.
[ht: Verizon IndyCar Series]

... notes from The EDJE


TAGS: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, St. Pete, The EDJE, Josh Farmer, Championship Racing Radio, Verizon IndyCar Series, VICS, #indycar, Motorsports Journal

Honda Indy GP Of Alabama Gives High Marks To Round Four

CFH Racing's Josef Newgarden sprays ... and gets sprayed with, champagne after winning the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Image Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher - VICS

Honda Indy GP Of Alabama Gives High Marks To Round Four

Ever go to a Team Penske Chevy coronation (with a Ganassi Chevy chaser) and have a competition break out? This is what happened during the fourth round of the young 2015 Verizon IndyCar season.

The dedicated road course racing complex just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, Barber Motorsports Park, hosted the sixth consecutive Honda Grand Prix of Alabama this last weekend and all of the activity leading up to the race pointed to a racing domination put on by Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) built upon engine-power and aerodynamics provided by Chevrolet.

Qualifications saw the top 10 places occupied Chevy with Team Penske's Helio Castroneves and Will Power filling up the first row followed by team-mate Simon Pagenaud at P3 with TGCR's and Round 3 winner (Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach) Scott Dixon slotted in at P4.

The closest Honda engine-power and aerodynamics packaged Dallara DW12 was piloted by Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Graham Rahal at P8 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Round 2 race winner (GP of Louisiana) James Hinchcliffe rounding out the top 10.

The weather decided not to become the story ... or better, become the over-riding factor of the race because the weather was perfect for the race to be the story of the race.

When the GREEN Flag flew, fans were treated to fast speeds and expert driving without all of that unnecessary carbon fiber flying all over the place. Barber Motorsports Park was originally constructed as a supermoto motorcycle race track so the racing surface provided tends to be a little tight for wide IndyCars but this did not limit expert passing on the many power curves this rolling hills situated track is noted for.

No. 67 Josef Newgarden leads No. 3 Helio Castroneves and the field into Turn 5 during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Image Credit: Chris Owens - VICS

Within the first few laps, people were being treated to a masterful display of race management driving first by CFH Racing's Chevy of Josef Newgarden (starting P5) and in the closing laps by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Honda of Graham Rahal (starting P8).

Newgarden made his intent to win known immediately, passing Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon as the field streamed into Turn 1 after the GREEN Flag. Before the first lap was even completed, he gained another position when he out-maneuvered Will Power coming out of Turn 17.

On Lap 19, Newgarden and race leader Helio Castroneves dropped into the pit lane for their first stops of the race. The No. 67 Hartman Oil crew switched Newgarden to black Firestone Firehawk tires quickly enough to beat the No. 3 of Castroneves off of the pit lane.

Newgarden led the field to the restart on Lap 24 over Castroneves and Graham Rahal. A few clean laps were followed by another full course caution on Lap 34, sending Newgarden back into the pit lane for his second stop of the race. The team believed they were within the window to be able to complete the race on one more stop later in the event.  Castroneves remained on the same strategy as Newgarden, but this time the No. 3 beat the No. 67 out of the pits. The yellow flag split the strategy of the field, with half of the cars electing to stay out.

No. 1 Will Power works his way back through traffic as the field streams through Turn 5 during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Image Credit: Chris Owens - VICS

The next restart on Lap 39 saw Newgarden take the green from the 14th position. Newgarden focused on getting around Castroneves to move back to the first car in line on their strategy.  His goal was accomplished within the lap, when he masterfully overtook Castroneves coming out of Turn 16.

As the second round of pit stops cycled through, Newgarden regained the lead on Lap 51, ahead of Castroneves and Dixon. Newgarden's last stop came on Lap 63, one lap ahead of Dixon's final stop who was running in second. After final pit stops, Newgarden cycled back to the lead on Lap 70 and began building a lead that reached as high as seven seconds.

RLL driver Graham Rahal comes in for his final pitstop seven laps later than Josef Newgarden and one lap later than Scott Dixon which allows him to put on the hardest podium placing charge of the race. Image Credit: Chris Jones - VICS

A hard-charging Rahal, who was on a different pitstop strategy, got new tires and full fuel to the end on Lap 70, caught and passed first, Will Power (ending P4), Ryan Hunter-Reay Lap 81 (ending P5), Helio Castroneves Lap 83 (who finished P15 out-of-gas), then Dixon on the final lap after being as far back as P6 after his final pitstop.

Josef's car sports a 'wheel tag' mark on the left sideloor kick (presumably from a set of Reds) as he crosses across just over the Start/Finish line proving the tight racing that was experienced throughout the 90 laps of the Honda Indy GP Of Alabama. Image Credit: Chris Owens - VICS

Newgarden took the checkered flag 2.2 seconds ahead of Rahal, adding his name to the record books as a Verizon IndyCar Series race winner.

As far as Chevy domination? ... Andretti Autosport, Honda-powered and aero-modified, finished with three cars in the top 10 at P5, P6, and P10 (RHR, Munoz, and Andretti), add James Hinchcliffe at P7 and Graham Rahal's P2 and the top 10 places are evenly split - five Chevy, five Honda.
(ht: CFH Racing for description contribution on Josef Newgarden, No. 67 Hartman Oil Chevrolet's run)

Nothing but smiles on the Victory Lane podium for @josefnewgarden, @grahamrahal & @scottdixon9. #HIGPA #VerizonIndyCar

A photo posted by Paddock Insider (@paddockinsider) on Apr 26, 2015 at 3:21pm PDT

This excerpted and edited from Motorsport.com -

Five worthless opinions: Honda Grand Prix of Alabama edition
By: Mark Wilkinson, Motorsport.com - April 27, 2015 5:06pm

At times, my WO’s (worthless opinions) can run to sarcasm. Surprising, I know. And the Verizon IndyCar Series always seems to offer snark fodder in abundance.

At previous races this year, the fragile front wings, racing in the rain, and rules interpretations have made it easy for one so inclined. The Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park changed most of that. While not snark free, most of these WO’s celebrate a great race.

1.  All-American Finish

Josef Newgarden winning is a big deal for many reasons. A compelling storyline to recent Verizon IndyCar Series seasons is the lack of a marketable American drivers for a North American series.

F1, noted for drivers from around the world, is a truly international series with venues around the world.  The IndyCar series is not. The international drivers in IndyCar are outstanding, but without sounding all jingoistic about it, having a young, well-spoken, and telegenic American cannot hurt the marketability of the series. If the series chooses to market him, of course.

They had American Ryan Hunter-Reay as both series champ and Indy 500 winner and it would hard to say they capitalized on that.

2.  The Racing

Newgarden and his Chevy were racy from the start, passing Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud, and Will Power to grab the lead from a fifth place start. It was the kind of start that had fans using body English to help the drivers maneuver through traffic.

Graham Rahal’s run in his Honda to second after a late fuel stop had fans watching two strategies at once: Newgarden’s slow-paced fuel saving in his Chevy versus Rahal’s hanging-it-out after stopping for fuel near the end. Fans could actually see the interval decreasing by [a couple of] seconds per lap.

And while Newgarden’s early passes were scintillating, Rahal’s outside passes throughout the race were equally spectacular. Great stuff.

3.  Lack of Idiocy/Penalties/Yellows

It was almost life affirming to not see carbonfiber flotsam and jetsam strewn around the track on the first lap. The racing was tight and, for the most part, clean.

For the second race in a row, yellow flag racing was at a minimum. Of course, the last two races simply balanced out the first two in the green/yellow ratio. We’ll see where it goes from here.

It goes without saying that no Verizon IndyCar Series race is complete without grousing and complaining from drivers and teams about the officiating. Both Sebastien Bourdais and Stefano Colleti took exception to yellow flags causing them personal hardship.

Juan Pablo Montoya took umbrage at Rodolfo Gonzalez slowing him down. James Hinchcliffe was upset with Rahal’s line through the turns. Ryan Hunter-Reay is still upset about NOLA and sees inconsistency everywhere. And of course, everyone complained about Francesco Dracone’s pace.

The reality was that Race Control penalized some, drivers, warned others, and called nothing in other situations.  It’s like calling holding in the NFL. An official can do it every play. You can’t call it all in racing, either, no matter how much the drivers whine and complain.

4.  Success of CFH Racing and RLL Racing

Back at the top of the podium, the success of Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing over Penske and Ganassi bodes well for the sport and the team.

The same holds true for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, too. The smaller teams in the series need success to bolster their bottom lines when it comes to sponsorship. While Ed Carpenter has Fuzzy’s Vodka for he and Luca Filippi in their ride share, a win can go a long way to help Sarah Fisher land a season-long sponsorship for Josef Newgarden.

Graham Rahal’s second place finish sure put sponsor Steak and Shake in the spotlight. And Rahal, ever the shill for his sponsors, tweeted after the race that he might stop in for a shake on his way home.

5.  Big Mo Heading to Indy:

There must be something to momentum in sports. Every announcer, coach, and player in every sport talks about its value.  If that’s true, then the month of May in Indy could be interesting.

Chevy certainly has engine and aero kit momentum. They are the class of the field. Penske has some, too.  The team has every driver in the top nine in the standings with Montoya and Castroneves running first and second.

The Ganassi boys are coming on, particularly after Long Beach. With Newgarden and Rahal riding their Barber success, this might be the year for an underdog winner at the 500. And don’t forget about the invisible man, Ed Carpenter.  He knows Indy.

The greatest beneficiary of momentum has to be the Verizon IndyCar Series. After the aero growing pains of St. Pete and the weather woes of NOLA, the series seems to be finding its groove.

All in all, it was a most excellent race.

Let’s hope it sets the tone for a most excellent month of May in Indy.
[Reference Here]

Will Power on course during the final warmup for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Image Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher - VICS

The last kudo goes to Will Power for qualifying P2, being passed, sliding back and being penalized with a drive through penalty for hitting Takuma Sato (on "pit out" after the first stop) sending Power to the back of the field, then fighting all of the way back to a respectable P4 finish ... the highest finishing Team Penske car in the field.

The promise of the merger, the DW12 with modified aero body parts, tire selection, fuel management, great weather, along with good strategy and excellent driving all came together at one of America's most beautiful purpose built road courses.

Bravo to Newgarden, Rahal, Dixon, Power, Barber Motorsports Park, and most of all ... the Verizon IndyCar Series for presenting the best road racing action in several years.

... notes from The EDJE

#GPofNOLA Could Have Been Named The NOLA Mudder 47 (Laps)

Tony Kanaan goes off course during the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park. Image Credit: Joe Skibinski for IndyCar

#GPofNOLA Could Have Been Named The NOLA Mudder 47 (Laps)

The inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana was ushered in with great anticipation and hype for a 75 Lap affair. This great uplift was to be dampened (literally) by a track that suffered from the improper, or unplanned for, wick-ing of pooling water caused by rain in several key places.

True, the track facility (2.74-mile, 13-turn road course) was reclaimed from low ground swamp area near the city of New Orleans which is what characterizes the geography at the end of the Mississippi River. With this in mind, why wasn't the facility better prepared for the track to become a race-able surface in a more even way around the track.

Gabby Chaves (No. 98 Bowers & Wilkins Brian Herta Autosport Honda) comes off course due to degrading track conditions during the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park. Image Credit: Bret Kelley for IndyCar

So full course YELLOW Flags (FCY) filled the air as much as the wet spray from the turbulent backsides of the second race-testing of the Chevy and Honda aero kits. This left (from notes) a total of 47 Laps completed of a scheduled 75 Lap race (called a 105 minute timed race on Lap 28 due to delays caused by FYCs) with only about a total of 26 Laps actually raced in anger. This left 21 laps upon which strategy and fuel conservation could be applied to the race day equation.

Bravo to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports who race with Honda engines and aerodynamics and were able to place both of their drivers on the podium. James Hinchcliffe was able to notch his first win in 2015 and his fourth overall IndyCar career victory while British born James Jakes finished third, his first podium finish since he finished second at Belle Isle-2 in 2013 - his second career top-five IndyCar finish.

Of the 47 Laps logged, Hinchcliffe did not go in for fuel during the last 34 laps that were run ... keeping clean and fuel management were the keys to his success.

The mudder part of the race was on display as cars left the track and hit ARAMCO barriers, slid off the track on corners then kept the tires spinning, flailing grass and chunks of mud while creeping back to a paved surface to soldier on.

One of the most controversial incidents happened on Lap 44 which turned out to be the last GREEN Flag restart - after cruising around the track another three laps on FCY.

The final full course YELLOW Flag came from a massive incident between Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pageneud, and Ryan Hunter-Reay as the drivers attempted to go three-wide in turns 3 and 4.

Pageneud slid off the track into the mud, and then back on the track in the next right-hand corner, collecting Hunter-Reay and Bourdais sending all three cars across the grass.

Bourdais slides to the tire wall and hits broadsides cracking the hull of his No. 11 Dallara (all preceding crash images by Bret Kelley for IndyCar).

Post Race Incident Quotes:

Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet): “Really too bad about the finish because the Penske Truck Rental Chevy was really fast. It handled great in traffic and we looked like we were heading toward a good result. I'm not sure what Hunter-Reay was thinking there. He just drove us off the track and I'm just glad everyone is OK. I want to thank the fans for staying with us this weekend despite the weather. I think the No. 22 Chevy team will be able to come back strong at Long Beach.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 DHL Honda): “We had a great race going, had some good clean racing there with (Graham) Rahal, (Will) Power — even (Simon) Pagenaud, we went side by side through Turn 10 there, it was some good racing. Then we got down to Turn 3… I’m peddling the car all the way out, it’s loose, there’s just no more room for (Pagenaud) to be out there.  (Sebastien) Bourdais, is on my left, I don’t know where to go at that point. I’m using my regular racing line – (Pagenaud) stuck his nose out there (and was off the racing line)… And just cleans us all out. I’m happy all three of us are uninjured. (Pagenaud) said I ran him out of room, but there just was no room in the first place. I don’t know what to say to that — it’s certainly a racing incident but there wasn’t a whole lot of room there to begin with. Disappointing way to end the day, we were looking for a strong finish with the DHL Honda.”

Sebastien Bourdais (No. 11 Team Mistic E-Cigs-KVSH Chevrolet):  “It was a weird race obviously. We held our own throughout the race getting as high as fourth. The Mistic-Circle K car ran good in the wet and ran good as the track transitioned. Then the race just became a succession of cautions with restarts after restarts during which I made a couple of spots and lost a couple of spots. Because of all the cautions there were different strategies and as they played out we ended up having to pit when everybody behind us had already done so. The guys in back cycled to the front and we cycled to the back with the leaders. Then with all the cautions, the guys in back were able to stretch their fuel and on the last restart I was on the inside and Ryan (Hunter-Reay) came up and made it three wide with Simon (Pagenaud). Ryan pushed Simon into the grass, he then came back on track with no control and could not avoid collecting me ending our race. It was never going to be a good day, but now with the damage to the car it is a shame because this was going to be my Indy 500 car.”

The #5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda front wing aero kit of James Hinchcliffe bathed in New Orleans purple, green and gold, Mardi Gras style, winner's circle confetti at the Verizon IndyCar victory podium. Image Credit: Chris Jones for IndyCar

The race also had its share of missing and damaged aero kit parts, but through it all, drivers that kept their cars clean, advanced during restarts, and stayed away from the mud were rewarded with great results.

Pos   Driver                      Team/Engine         Time/Gap
1      James Hinchcliffe     Schmidt/Honda     1h47m19.4896
2      Helio Castroneves     Penske/Chevrolet     +0.4279
3      James Jakes     Schmidt/Honda     +0.8452
4      Simona de Silvestro     Andretti/Honda     +1.2924
5      Juan Pablo Montoya     Penske/Chevrolet     +1.7564
6      Tony Kanaan     Ganassi/Chevrolet     +2.2638
7      Will Power     Penske/Chevrolet     +3.0958
8      Graham Rahal     Rahal/Honda     +4.3495
9      Josef Newgarden     CFH/Chevrolet     +5.7352
10      Luca Filippi     CFH/Chevrolet     +7.2115
11      Scott Dixon     Ganassi/Chevrolet     +7.8421
12      Carlos Munoz     Andretti/Honda     +9.0899
13      Marco Andretti     Andretti/Honda     +9.7817
14      Charlie Kimball     Ganassi/Chevrolet     +15.7221
finished the race, above - retired from the race, below
15      Gabby Chaves     Herta/Honda    
16      Carlos Huertas     Coyne/Honda    
17      Stefano Coletti     KV/Chevrolet    
18      Sage Karam     Ganassi/Chevrolet    
19      Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti/Honda    
20      Simon Pagenaud     Penske/Chevrolet    
21      Sébastien Bourdais     KV/Chevrolet    
22      Takuma Sato     Foyt/Honda    
23      Francesco Dracone     Coyne/Honda    
24      Jack Hawksworth     Foyt/Honda
(ht: motorsport.com | nextgenindy.com)

The return of  Simona de Silvestro for a second race (in a race by race commitment) to an Andretti Autosport seat gave the accomplished female driver and the team its highest finishing order in this young 2015 season. A commitment to have a car ready for her this next weekend for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, a track where she has won at and performed well, has not been announced. It would be a shame a deal can not be made by race time April 17 - 19 - Race Broadcast, Apr 19 4:00 PM ET.

Two races in the books where Carbon Fiber and Terra Firma have played a major role at bringing out full course YELLOW Flags. Let's hope we all can be treated to a competitive full run through the streets of Long Beach and see for ourselves if the new aerodynamics of the cars limit the potential of passing because of low mushroom cloud "muddy air" turbulence placed on the trailing car.

If this is the case, IndyCar will be taking a big step backwards toward a lack of fan enjoyment due to IRL style nose-to-tail railroad car racing that was prevalent during the Dallara "Crapwagon" era.

... notes from The EDJE