The 2012 IndyCar Series thread

Sauber010 · Post by **Sauber010** » 30 May 2011, 14:03

dr-baker wrote:
S951 wrote:wow\!! monaco and the last corner of the 500

And I read on Autosport that Earnhart Jr. ran out of fuel on the last lap while in the lead of last night's NASCAR race...

I just saw some highlights of this race, Earnhart Jr. ran dry of fuel just as he was exciting the apex of the last turn- spookily similar to JR Hildebrand!

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 30 May 2011, 14:42

Sauber010 wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
S951 wrote:wow\!! monaco and the last corner of the 500

And I read on Autosport that Earnhart Jr. ran out of fuel on the last lap while in the lead of last night's NASCAR race...

I just saw some highlights of this race, Earnhart Jr. ran dry of fuel just as he was exciting the apex of the last turn- spookily similar to JR Hildebrand!

Only in that Earnhardt Jr. and JR Hildebrand were both sponsored by the United States National Guard. It was a great finish to what was overall not the best NASCAR race.

dnhrudi · Post by **dnhrudi** » 30 May 2011, 15:28

And just for a little added irony, Dan got canned by Panther and National Guard at the end of last season........
By the way, what put Simona out?

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 30 May 2011, 17:52

dnhrudi wrote:And just for a little added irony, Dan got canned by Panther and National Guard at the end of last season........
By the way, what put Simona out?

Simona whacked the wall early on, came in to repair the car, didn't fix it. But in her case, she can pat herself on the back just by getting that fossil of a car onto the grid on Pole Day.

Update: Roger Penske wants Simona de Silvesto on his team.

dnhrudi · Post by **dnhrudi** » 31 May 2011, 00:25

Cynon wrote:
dnhrudi wrote:And just for a little added irony, Dan got canned by Panther and National Guard at the end of last season........
By the way, what put Simona out?

Simona whacked the wall early on, came in to repair the car, didn't fix it. But in her case, she can pat herself on the back just by getting that fossil of a car onto the grid on Pole Day.

Update: Roger Penske wants Simona de Silvesto on his team.

When will Penske realize that the reason his team hasnt won a championship in so long is driver choice, now I have great respect for Simona but he could do better, what about Dan Roger?......

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 31 May 2011, 01:14

Sauber010 wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
S951 wrote:wow\!! monaco and the last corner of the 500

And I read on Autosport that Earnhart Jr. ran out of fuel on the last lap while in the lead of last night's NASCAR race...

I just saw some highlights of this race, Earnhart Jr. ran dry of fuel just as he was exciting the apex of the last turn- spookily similar to JR Hildebrand!

That'd sound more like Max Papis running out of fuel at the last corner at Michigan in 1999 (I had just finished watching the race yesterday!). On to Detroit!

I only managed to stream the latter part of the race, because my internet was just in shambles, but when I did get it working, I found Bertrand in the lead! I started cheering him immediately (if not for Tommy's sake

), but wasn't yet aware of the fuel situation, so it was rather disappointing that he had to come in. Then J.R. was in the lead, and I found it fantastic that a rookie was about to win the centennial 500! That is, until he wrecked it. I thought he'd make it, and then I saw Wheldon storm past. No problem, because I kinda like Dan as well, this year especially because it's a one-off drive, like Bert.

Simona at Penske? Look out for Schumacher-esque seasons

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 31 May 2011, 01:39

dnhrudi wrote:
Cynon wrote:
dnhrudi wrote:And just for a little added irony, Dan got canned by Panther and National Guard at the end of last season........
By the way, what put Simona out?

Simona whacked the wall early on, came in to repair the car, didn't fix it. But in her case, she can pat herself on the back just by getting that fossil of a car onto the grid on Pole Day.

Update: Roger Penske wants Simona de Silvesto on his team.

When will Penske realize that the reason his team hasnt won a championship in so long is driver choice, now I have great respect for Simona but he could do better, what about Dan Roger?......

Castroneves and Power are not good points racers. They're both excellent drivers, but Castroneves is hero-or-zero, Power is the same, and Briscoe has been a zero for quite awhile.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 31 May 2011, 01:49

I'd hire Sam Bird, Bertrand Baguette and Bruno Junqueira for my team. (Realistically)

I'd hire Kamui Kobayashi, Sam Bird and Pastor Maldonado for my team. (If Only)

dnhrudi · Post by **dnhrudi** » 31 May 2011, 04:38

If I was Roger I would hire Wheldon (knows how to win a title, good on road and ovals, and still hungry), Bourdais (again knows how to win a title, unbeatable on road in a half decent car, and has got something to prove!), and Hildebrand, who looks like the best prospect in the last few years.
I really never understood this Power and Briscoe thing, good drivers both, but Penske? Penske has great drivers, not good ones......

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 31 May 2011, 11:02

Just managed to catch the full race just now, and have to say, had me on my feet nearly throughout. Gave me a chuckle when Taku and E.J. were the first out! When Ryan and Townsend came together, my grandmother (who was watching with me) asked why they weren't given any penalties. I rebutted by saying she had been watching too much Formula 1!

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 31 May 2011, 11:09

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:Just managed to catch the full race just now, and have to say, had me on my feet nearly throughout. Gave me a chuckle when Taku and E.J. were the first out! When Ryan and Townsend came together, my grandmother (who was watching with me) asked why they weren't given any penalties. I rebutted by saying she had been watching too much Formula 1!

It is not true that there are too much penalties in F1. Except if you drive a McLaren and your name is Lewis Hamilton in which case some of then are fully deserved...

But it is true that they tend to let people race each other at the other side of the pond.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 31 May 2011, 11:34

DanielPT wrote:
Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:Just managed to catch the full race just now, and have to say, had me on my feet nearly throughout. Gave me a chuckle when Taku and E.J. were the first out! When Ryan and Townsend came together, my grandmother (who was watching with me) asked why they weren't given any penalties. I rebutted by saying she had been watching too much Formula 1!

It is not true that there are too much penalties in F1. Except if you drive a McLaren and your name is Lewis Hamilton in which case some of then are fully deserved...

I just said it because the stereotype at the moment is that you get penalized in F1 whenever you try to race. Although, to be honest, I'm one of those people who believe in that stereotype.

golic_2004 · Post by **golic_2004** » 31 May 2011, 11:51

Cynon wrote:
dnhrudi wrote:And just for a little added irony, Dan got canned by Panther and National Guard at the end of last season........
By the way, what put Simona out?

Simona whacked the wall early on, came in to repair the car, didn't fix it. But in her case, she can pat herself on the back just by getting that fossil of a car onto the grid on Pole Day.

Update: Roger Penske wants Simona de Silvesto on his team.

Where did you find that info?

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 31 May 2011, 11:59

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
DanielPT wrote:
Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:Just managed to catch the full race just now, and have to say, had me on my feet nearly throughout. Gave me a chuckle when Taku and E.J. were the first out! When Ryan and Townsend came together, my grandmother (who was watching with me) asked why they weren't given any penalties. I rebutted by saying she had been watching too much Formula 1!

It is not true that there are too much penalties in F1. Except if you drive a McLaren and your name is Lewis Hamilton in which case some of then are fully deserved...

I just said it because the stereotype at the moment is that you get penalized in F1 whenever you try to race. Although, to be honest, I'm one of those people who believe in that stereotype.

I agree that it really looks like that at the moment. But I feel compelled to defend those who stand up to bullying tactics and undeservedly get penalized by ending up in the barriers.

Anyway, despite that last grasp crash Hildebrand has been showing talent in Indycar. I will look forward to see how he reacts to this setback...

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 31 May 2011, 13:41

If I was an F1 team boss, I'd be inquiring about the availability of Power. He has been quick since 2006, when he made his debut in the champ cars for Dereck Walker's underfunded outfit, and has been the class of the field consistently on road courses. And would everyone stop Briscoe bashing?!! Texas is next, and he's been on pole there the last two years in a row, and usually goes well on the ovals (with Indy being a otable exception to this). As much as I admire Simona, I highly doubt that Roger Penske would consider hiring her in place of his established driver lineup, but if he did, Dan Wheldon would be a prime candidate, as a two time Indy winner, who has the drive to succeed and the experience of racing with top teams like Ganassi and AGR in the past. Considering he's alos finished second at indy twice, he is a very underrated driver in my opinion.

PS will somebody see sense and give Bertrand Baguette a full season? He did brilliatly as a rookie driving for Conquest Racing last year (who are one of the Indy equivalent of HRT) and yet finishes 7th first time out this year with little testing for another one off outfit. Imagine the shock if there had been just the shortest of cautions, and Bertrand would have been able to pull it off. Yes Vitaly Petrov is quick, but I believe Renault seriously missed out when they dropped Betrand and chose the Russo instead (for monetary purposes!)

S951 · Post by **S951** » 31 May 2011, 16:07

Cynon wrote:
dnhrudi wrote:And just for a little added irony, Dan got canned by Panther and National Guard at the end of last season........
By the way, what put Simona out?

Simona whacked the wall early on, came in to repair the car, didn't fix it. But in her case, she can pat herself on the back just by getting that fossil of a car onto the grid on Pole Day.

Update: Roger Penske wants Simona de Silvesto on his team.

I dont watch irl at all cynon can you explain fossil car?

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 31 May 2011, 16:30

Fossil because the pre-2012 range of machinery has not really changed since 2003, everyone has been in a Dallara chassis with a Honda engine, hence the uproar when the "new" range will come from the exact same chassis-engine combo (with the odd Chevy or Judd).

Most of the teams are able to get fresher versions of the same chassis from Dallara, but for the likes of Simona, and most of the Indy one-off-ers, they were lapping Indy in cars that are two years away from "classic" racing, the cars that have seen 8-9 years worth of tarmac rush under their firestones.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 31 May 2011, 18:02

Simona certainly did well as I believe the newer Dallaras are a shade lighter, therefore can place ballast better, plus she qualified ahead of many established drivers while she had 2nd and 3rd degree burnsto her hands. That's impressive, but let's see how she would shape up over a whole season...

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 31 May 2011, 18:09

jpm wrote:PS will somebody see sense and give Bertrand Baguette a full season? He did brilliatly as a rookie driving for Conquest Racing last year (who are one of the Indy equivalent of HRT) and yet finishes 7th first time out this year with little testing for another one off outfit. Imagine the shock if there had been just the shortest of cautions, and Bertrand would have been able to pull it off. Yes Vitaly Petrov is quick, but I believe Renault seriously missed out when they dropped Betrand and chose the Russo instead (for monetary purposes!)

Well Baguette was actually in serious talks with sauber, after an impressive test, but they decided they wanted an experienced driver. Wrong choiche as the cowboy turned out to be a decent leading driver and de la rosa wasn't bringing the input peter sauber wanted, but peter sauber couldn't have known that. Also sauber has a good experience with world series drivers: kubica and vettel... But now with the mexicans, i don't see sauber picking baguette again. More to the point, i don't see anyone picking him again unless he can show his worth on indycar. Renault just has too many drivers under its belt, so he wouldn't stand a chance. And the only sponsors he's got are the belgian car federation, who put all their money on finding a good drive for the 500. Probably his good indy 500 will open opportunities in indycar. This guy's got a big future, but i doubt it will be in F1
still i hope he could be the lowlands next luyendyck

S951 · Post by **S951** » 31 May 2011, 23:29

cheers adx wow didn't know they used them for that long

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 01 Jun 2011, 00:01

You know, having watched so many CART races (on to Mid-Ohio now), and especially after just watching Michigan 1999, this is what I miss at 500-mile ovals:

Great looking cars, fantastic sounds. As much as I would like to reuse the stereotypical saying "*insert swear here* Tony George!", one has to admit that CART screwed its own self up. It had all the teams, pretty much all the tracks, all the sponsors, and they just messed up beyond belief. What a shame.

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 01 Jun 2011, 10:36

I would argue the 2001 season was even better. Sure it didn't have Montoya, Tarso Marques and Greg Moore, or a tie on points, but it did have a few F1 Rejects like Shinji Nakano, Tora Takagi, Roberto Moreno, the returning Alex Zanardi, Kenny Brack who shifted over from Indycar, and saw the emergence of star names like Scott Dixon, and Oriol Servia.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 01 Jun 2011, 10:42

jpm wrote:I would argue the 2001 season was even better. Sure it didn't have Montoya, Tarso Marques and Greg Moore, or a tie on points, but it did have a few F1 Rejects like Shinji Nakano, Tora Takagi, Roberto Moreno, the returning Alex Zanardi, Kenny Brack who shifted over from Indycar, and saw the emergence of star names like Scott Dixon, and Oriol Servia.

Well, I'm going to watch the races all in order. So I'll finish 1999, then go on to 2000 and 2001. I have, however, watched the Rockingham and Lausitzring races in 2001. Fantastic stuff, especially the latter. It was a bloody shame what happened, happened. But the racing was fantastic. Kenny Brack's save was the stuff of legend, and Mo Nunn's humour made me chuckle (Gary Gerould: Mo, you have Tony and Alex leading the race now. What have you done to make this possible? Mo Nunn: Well, basically the **** setup is suddenly working for us). Kenny Brack IMO should have either stayed in IRL or gone to CART straightaway, because he was no longer a 'European' driver when he joined Team Rahal in 2000. He had become 'Americanized', as demonstrated in 2001, where the main reason why he failed to beat Gil was because he often struggled on the road courses.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 03 Jun 2011, 12:40

IndyCars to use Motegi road course due to damage on oval from Earthquake.

Should be another crashfest with the double file restarts and the effective hairpin for a first turn.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 04 Jun 2011, 16:40

jpm wrote:I would argue the 2001 season was even better. Sure it didn't have Montoya, Tarso Marques and Greg Moore, or a tie on points, but it did have a few F1 Rejects like Shinji Nakano, Tora Takagi, Roberto Moreno, the returning Alex Zanardi, Kenny Brack who shifted over from Indycar, and saw the emergence of star names like Scott Dixon, and Oriol Servia.

1991-2001

An era in Champ Car that I remember VERY fondly -- the racing and the competitive level was so high it basically told F1 to piss off. It doesn't hurt that I actually downloaded most all the races from that time frame to this computer... :mrgreen:

Especially Robby Gordon's two wins and his AWESOME drive at Cleveland in 1999 in that AWESOME paintjob...

2003-2007: The weakest era in American open wheel racing. Still enjoyable because of the fail in Champ Car.

Wizzie wrote:IndyCars to use Motegi road course due to damage on oval from Earthquake.

Should be another crashfest with the double file restarts and the effective hairpin for a first turn.

If you think the IRL drivers fail with double wide restarts, you missed all the chaos that happened when NASCAR did them for the first few times... and NASCAR doesn't even race on tracks with funnel turns such as turn 1 in St. Petersburg, Long Beach, AND Sao Paolo...

I hated double file restarts in NASCAR, I still hate them, and I hate them on road courses in the IRL.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 07 Jun 2011, 10:42

Cynon wrote:1991-2001

An era in Champ Car that I remember VERY fondly -- the racing and the competitive level was so high it basically told F1 to piss off. It doesn't hurt that I actually downloaded most all the races from that time frame to this computer... Especially Robby Gordon's two wins and his AWESOME drive at Cleveland in 1999 in that AWESOME paintjob...

Having just finished watching 1999, I can see your point completely. It's a shame really that CART mismanaged itself to the point of self-destruction. The only real bad thing that came from The Split, in my opinion, was probably the fact that for the first few years, drivers and teams had to choose between The Greatest Spectacle and The Greatest Series. I guess in some way, it's good that CART/CCWS committed suicide, in that everyone came back together, but I'd much rather have seen the turbos still in use. The sound and their looks were fantastic...

Is there any chance, Cynon, that you could send me the 2000 CART season races? I'd very much appreciate it. :mrgreen:

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 07 Jun 2011, 14:23

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
Cynon wrote:1991-2001

An era in Champ Car that I remember VERY fondly -- the racing and the competitive level was so high it basically told F1 to piss off. It doesn't hurt that I actually downloaded most all the races from that time frame to this computer... Especially Robby Gordon's two wins and his AWESOME drive at Cleveland in 1999 in that AWESOME paintjob...

Having just finished watching 1999, I can see your point completely. It's a shame really that CART mismanaged itself to the point of self-destruction. The only real bad thing that came from The Split, in my opinion, was probably the fact that for the first few years, drivers and teams had to choose between The Greatest Spectacle and The Greatest Series. I guess in some way, it's good that CART/CCWS committed suicide, in that everyone came back together, but I'd much rather have seen the turbos still in use. The sound and their looks were fantastic...

Is there any chance, Cynon, that you could send me the 2000 CART season races? I'd very much appreciate it.

There's many ways to get in touch with me since I use many messengers. Check the buttons under my avatar.

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 10 Jun 2011, 12:52

Texas this weekend, and I'm tipping Helio to finally get the ball rolling on his season. Can't wait for the random grid draw for race 2, and I just hope that Wade Cunningham can get a good result (he's been consistently the best Indy Lights oval driver for year upon year but has always been looked over for a drive, and has won a record breaking 3 Freedom 100s at Indy). Danica ran well here last year; could we see her second win? I'd also love for Paul Tracy to be up the front, particuarly after Dragon Racing's dismal month of May with Scott Speed and Ho-Pin tung.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 10 Jun 2011, 23:52

Tagliani on pole again! I'm glad to see someone from the the ex-CART/CCWS brigade other than Power doing well!

JohnMLTX · Post by **JohnMLTX** » 11 Jun 2011, 00:35

OK, I'm going to the Twin 275s tomorrow, and I'm incredibly excited. Sato starting 4th, Tags on pole, Power 3rd, looks to be a fantastic pair of races.

Also, at the autograph event held at a Dallas Macy's store, I got Takuma Sato to sign my Super Aguri shirt, and then got a picture with him!
[img=http://www.babairan.com/mypic.aspx?file=c9a3ac3146.jpg&thumb=1]

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 11 Jun 2011, 12:15

JohnMLTX wrote:Also, at the autograph event held at a Dallas Macy's store, I got Takuma Sato to sign my Super Aguri shirt, and then got a picture with him!
[img=http://www.babairan.com/mypic.aspx?file=c9a3ac3146.jpg&thumb=1]

I am jelly beyond words.

LionZoo · Post by **LionZoo** » 12 Jun 2011, 04:08

Drawing starting positions out of a hat has to rank as one of the most Rejectful ideas ever.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 12 Jun 2011, 05:16

LionZoo wrote:Drawing starting positions out of a hat has to rank as one of the most Rejectful ideas ever.

Agreed, I bet Dario is pissed like hell right now. Of course, Will thinks otherwise! Congrats to him on winning his first oval!

BTW, who gets the first box in Milwaukee? Tag or TK?

LionZoo · Post by **LionZoo** » 12 Jun 2011, 05:30

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
LionZoo wrote:Drawing starting positions out of a hat has to rank as one of the most Rejectful ideas ever.

Agreed, I bet Dario is pissed like hell right now. Of course, Will thinks otherwise! Congrats to him on winning his first oval!

BTW, who gets the first box in Milwaukee? Tag or TK?

I thought it was interesting that Will Power celebrated like he had won the race when he drew 3rd on the grid. He probably figured he was halfway there already with his closest rivals mired in the muck of the field.

ADx_Wales · Post by **ADx_Wales** » 12 Jun 2011, 08:45

Drawing from a hat.

Ideal for club racing, even better for V8 Utes.

For Indycars? Even though I havent really botherd watching the texas twins (wrong kind of twins to grab my attention), Clutching at straws, and they need to.

pablo_h · Post by **pablo_h** » 12 Jun 2011, 14:53

I'd love to know where you guys find this.
From memory I followed CART before F1, but switched to F1 when Champ cars was boring with a standard engine and Bourdias winning everything. I think it was montoya moving across that made me move across, I followed both for a time after, but just lost interest in champ cars.
So of course I know nothing about anything because I don't know history or have seen any old or current races of anything other than whats on TV now (just F1 for open wheelers). I did have an RU account once, got deleted due to no activity for a while when I was on holiday back packing. So pretty much only current F1 is the only thing I know about.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 13 Jun 2011, 09:35

ADx_Wales wrote:Drawing from a hat.

Ideal for club racing, even better for V8 Utes.

For Indycars? Even though I havent really botherd watching the texas twins (wrong kind of twins to grab my attention), Clutching at straws, and they need to.

In friendly karting outings we do a qualifying run to decide the grid. We could draw since it would be cheaper, but somehow we think running a 15min qualifying is fairer...

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 13 Jun 2011, 13:10

They should have reversed the grid like in BTCC and had Wade on the front row while Charlie Kimball wrecked everyone behind him.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 13 Jun 2011, 13:19

jpm wrote:They should have reversed the grid like in BTCC and had Wade on the front row while Charlie Kimball wrecked everyone behind him.

+1

Seriously, in my opinion, reverse grids would have been the best option.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 13 Jun 2011, 15:27

LionZoo wrote:Drawing starting positions out of a hat has to rank as one of the most Rejectful ideas ever.

If you consider how hard it was to pass, yes, but if you look at the history of the IRL @ Texas, it makes a bit more sense. If that race had one caution, then Dario might have finished second or third, but it went caution free, and therefore he didn't. In fact, had this happened ... two years ago, the random draw wouldn't have mattered.

Reverse grids would have been a bit more fun if you ask me, because Kimball and Cunningham would have been at the front. Kimball is a wrecking ball so far this season, but in the pace department he's already matching Rahal barring Indy. Regardless, the random draw has a lower chance of producing a massive accordion effect on the first lap and causing a massive fail. I agree with Dario's sentiments, but he made himself look like a MAJOR tool.