Firestone GP Of Monterey Locks Down A Make American Great Again NTT IndyCar 2019 Season Finale

Checkered Flag from the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Start/Finish Line tower ends a winning weekend American-style for the NTT IndyCar Series 17 race season in history making fashion. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019) 

Firestone GP Of Monterey Locks Down A Make American Great Again NTT IndyCar 2019 Season Finale

Really, how good can a season finale in American open-wheel racing get? The sanctioning history of the top professional racing series season if rife with agendas and policies to promote the development of winning American-born race car drivers.

To be honest, this was one of the main reasons for the split-up of the extrodinaridly successful CART into ChampCar and the Indy Racing League. Now, eleven years after the re-unification announcement of American professional open-wheel racing, IndyCar has a final race of the season that all Amerifiles can be proud of, and over-the-moon about, because not only did an American rookie win the P1 Pole Award and race ... an American driver secured the IndyCar Series championship.

Josef Newgarden wins the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Championship - Celebrates with Team Penske - Kisses the Astor Cup. Images Credit: Ken Manfred (2019)

Colton Herta wins the race in a perfect weekend for team Harding Steinbrenner Honda after beating out the four season points leaders for the NTT P1 Pole Award at the end of the "Firestone Fast Six" third round Knock-Out qualifications format.

Colton Herta as he guides his Honda-powered Dallara DW-12 with modern aerodynamic road course body work through Turn 8a toward 8b, also known as the Corkscrew. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

What placed a cherry on top of this innaugral Firestone Grand Prix Of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (WRLS), the first top level professional open-wheel race at this iconic track in 15 years, was Team Penske Chevrolet American-born driver Josef Newgarden matching his 2017 season performance at Sonoma Raceway by finishing with a 25 point margin over teammate Simon Pagenaud for the 2019 Championship honors in the form of the Astor Cup.

Andretti Autosport's INDY500 winner Alexander Rossi as he felt great about his chances in the race qualifying withing a good striking distance of NTT P1 Pole winning Colton Herta. Image Credit: Brandon O'Brien - Motor Driven Images (2019)

Adding just a touch more Make American Great Again to the mix, Andretti Autosport Honda driver Alexander Rossi entered the race one point ahead of Pagenaud for second most points garnered in the championship race - this, after losing out in 2018 to Ganassi Racing Honda driver Scott Dixon.

“It is the way it goes,” said Rossi on the team's race strategy. “We started on the used Firestone reds. We knew ultimately the guys [to beat] were Scott [Dixon] and Colton [Herta] because we knew we needed to win the race. We went opposite of them on tire choice on the grid. It was a gamble. We made the decision this morning if we were going to go for it, we would rather finish third [in points on the season championship] than second and be complacent. It is the way the chips fell."

Rookie NTT P1 Pole Award winner Colton Herta leads out the rest of the field at the start of the Firestone Grand Prix Of Monterey contested at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the first time since 2004 [recap here]. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

Monterey Speed Week's Firestone Grand Prix Of Monterey season finale logged in the following numbers - 90 Laps for 201.43 miles - Seven changes for the lead, Time of race: 1:53:57 - Average speed:106.057mph - Pole speed: 114.867mph.

This excerpted and edited from IndyCar-State-Of-The-Sport season-ending press conference held at WRLS -

Mark Miles - IndyCar CEO:
I'd start by saying we believe IndyCar is the most compelling form of motorsport on the planet, and I think that's more true, more defensible every year. Under Jay's [Jay Frye - IndyCar President] direction, with the combined expertise and experience of our teams of Dallara, Honda, Chevy and all of our suppliers, we just keep getting better, the racing improves, it's more competitive, and it's all done while being very attentive to managing costs for the team.

Firestone Grand Prix Of Monterey 2019 Start - Polesitter and Rookie Colton Herta leads the field through the short chute between Turn 3 to Turn a - Firestone Banners stack up and act as a photo tunnel and back drop - Ken Manfred (2019)

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So on the track, what can you say? We do believe it's great competition, probably the most competitive form of racing. The number of cars, as you know, if you follow the sport, has been solid on the grid for IndyCar races, 22 here to 24 throughout the year, and at the Indianapolis 500-mile race, we continue to add to the number of entrants. 36 this year trying to get in, and from my perspective, Bump Day is back, and I think the fans loved it.

Looking beyond that, we have had seven winners so far, seven pole winners and seven wins for Honda and nine wins for Chevy so far, a great balance in terms of the result between the manufacturers.

And for the 14th consecutive year, I'm sure most of you have written this, the championship has come down to the finale, and we're thrilled about that.

Team Penske's Will Power had designs on breaking up the all-American Pole/Race Win/ Season Championship by challenging Colton Herta in the final laps of the Firestone GP Of Monterey. Rookie Herta did not place a foot wrong while under pressur to win his second race of the 2019 season. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2019)

Jay Frye - IndyCar President:
Thank you, Mark. So we've been working on this aero screen since 2016, so I guess you'd call this an overnight sensation. But the real game-changer for us this past year was when we partnered with Red Bull Advanced Technologies.

There's been no stone unturned on this program, this project, from driver cooling, driver expectation, clarity, glare, impact.
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We believe this is an industry-changing total safety solution for driver cockpit protection. We're very excited to get it on the track because we always say the data doesn't drive, drivers drive, so the next step in the process is to get it on track and see where we're at.

The first test will be coming up at IMS on October 2nd. We'll go to Barber on October 7 and Richmond on 10/15. So it's a very aggressive schedule, but the ball is in motion for a 2020 implementation.
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In regards to the hybrid piece, it's very important that we remain true to our DNA, and our DNA is fast, loud, authentic and unapologetic, so when we put together this product or put together an RFP for this product, that had to meet all those criteria. A couple of things we're working on with this piece is one is for safety so the cars will have electric starters, so the driver spins, they stall the car, they'll be able to start the car into 1 so the driver is not exposed. Another will be our AMR guys out there with an umbilical cord having to start the car, so they won't be exposed. Another thing that's really a byproduct of the whole system is hopefully we'll keep the pace of the race going, so there won't be as many yellows, so that will help, too.

But one of the bigger parts, the biggest part in our opinion is horsepower, so our goal, our stated goal is to get over 900 horsepower. This product will give us at least 50 of that, so we remain true, again, to our DNA. We want to have less downforce but have more horsepower. We're excited about this. We've got 10 current RFP's out, so the plan is to have a chosen partner in the first quarter of next year for a 2022 implementation.

These projects are big. I think they're game changers for the sport ... we've got to be who we are, and that's fast, live and authentic.
[ht: NICS]
ENDS

Marco Andretti, Team RC Cola Chevrolet, No. 26 beats out Ryan Briscoe for the pole position by a mere 2/1,000th of a second. Andretti won his second career IndyCar pole position today for the season-ending MAVTV 500. Andretti last won a pole at Milwaukee in 2008. He turned two laps at an average speed of 216.069 mph on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway. This is the second pole position of the 2012 season for Andretti Autosport. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Not since the 15th race of a 15 race 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season, in the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway when we saw American Marco Andretti in a Andretti Autosport Honda take the P1 Pole Award, American Ed Carpenter in a Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet cross the Start/Finish Line first after 500 miles, and have American Ryan Hunter-Reay in his Andretti Autosport Honda finish P4 with a lead in the IndyCar Series championship points of 3 points over Will Power, have we been witness to a Make American Great Again triple (Pole, Race Win, Championship) be captured in the final race of the season.

The end of the 2012 season for Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay (RHR). RHR jumps out of his #28 DW12 as he comes home to win the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship, A.J. Foyt Oval Course Trophy, and first MavTV 500 Auto Club Speedway night time race! Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Twenty-nine changes for the lead, Time of race: 2:57:34 - Average speed: 168.939 mph - Pole speed: 216.069 mph, run under the lights at night.

The Firestone Grand Prix Of Monterey was historic and a grand contest for a finale, but that race above, right there - the season-ender at Fontana? That was a finale that actually was Fast, Live, and Authentic!

MAGA baby, with a larger than 17 race season and a season-ender on the record-holding Fontana, California superspeedway with date-equity in October! It is time to make American open-wheel racing great again - MAOWRGA ... maybe we will just stick with the simple branding that can, at least, be pronounced - as in IndyCar MAGA.

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: NTT IndyCar Series, Open-Wheel, Professional, MAGA, American drivers, Make America Great Again, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Firestone Grand Prix Of Monterey, Josrf Newgarden, Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, The EDJE