IndyCar: Pocono Grand Prix Discussion Thread

[Nick Hill]

Little Al and Mike Andretti were earning 6-8 mio back in the days. So this days the top guys still for sure earn some millions... maybe 2-4 but still millions.
Nothing compared to Schumacher who made over 260mio a year but thats a different story.
And I like the 3 guys way better than what we had at Eurosport back in the days.

Wow, I had no idea they were making that kind of bank back then!

 

[Brandon Wright]

Depends on the F1 race. At the Canadian GP if you go on the Thursday before practice, you can get driver autographs, and pit lane is open for a bunch of fans to go to for free. I'm not sure what COTA does, but Circuit Gilles Villeneuve provides a really great experience for fans overall. Just make sure to leave pretty early in the morning, because the track is notoriously hard to get onto since the bridges are usually swarmed with fans, and they have to take you on the track by bus to get to the paddocks.

I've been, 2010 addition. I found it hard to do much at all there because there were so many people crammed on that little island. We were there Friday through Sunday and it was packed all three days from the time the gates opened until they closed. I never even got within sight of the paddock area. Probably an easier to manage crowd on Thursdays, for sure.

Ha, watching pre-race - for obvious reasons, safety is the topic du jour, but Paul Tracy says "this is why these guys get paid millions". Millions, huh Paul? I'm not sure Indy drivers got paid "millions" even back in your day, they sure as hell don't now!

I do enjoy PT, though. Townsend needs to shut the hell up sometimes and let someone else talk.

I had a similar thought when I heard that comment. Half the grid makes at least a million a year but only a small handful make "millions".

https://racer.com/2018/07/05/miller-wheres-the-payday/

I've the opposite opinion about Townsend, he's my favorite of the bunch and he usually has to talk so much just to correct all the wrong stuff PT said. Those three are easily the best American racing commentators right now, IMO (they're actually my favorite of all current racing commentators). Listening to PT and TB toss shade back and forth is very entertaining.

 

[NikiGouda]

Interesting topic, the salaries of Indycar drivers. Here a similar
article like the one above, originally published in 2015, though.
https://eu.indystar.com/story/sport...h-indycar-drivers-paid-risks-racing/27618257/
To look a bit deeper into the topic, read this article published one
year ago. Besides Indycar it also covers F1 and NASCAR. This
isn't so much about how much money the drivers get but more
about how they (drivers/teams/whole organization) make their
money.
https://www.thedrive.com/accelerato...llion-dollar-payouts-of-f1-nascar-and-indycar
I'm pretty sure we can now assume Alex Rossi is not only an
elite driver but also an elite $ earner in Indycar. I would guess
his new contract with Andretti could bring him a salary of maybe
even in the ballpark of Scott Dixon which is estimated at 2,5 - 3
million $ per year.

To the major crash at pocono: I still think Sato is to blame.
OK if you watch his onboard he didn't steer to the left but poor
Rossi got squeezed between Sato and Hunter Reay and i think
Sato had enough room on the outside so that it seems unnecessary
to make it this tight. Besides that it was the first lap of an 500 mile
("endurance") race and at insane speeds of probably more than
340 km/h (210 mph). Dangerous and completely unnecessary.
Luckily nothing worse has happened.

 

[Ryno917]

To the major crash at pocono: I still think Sato is to blame.
OK if you watch his onboard he didn't steer to the left but poor
Rossi got squeezed between Sato and Hunter Reay and i think
Sato had enough room on the outside so that it seems unnecessary
to make it this tight. Besides that it was the first lap of an 500 mile
("endurance") race and at insane speeds of probably more than
340 km/h (210 mph). Dangerous and completely unnecessary.
Luckily nothing worse has happened.

He is absolutely to blame for it; obviously he didn't do it intentionally but it was his fault 100%. As far as not turning the wheel to the left, in an oval setup the cars turn to the left with the wheel straight; they're set up that way. Same for NASCAR stuff. Every driver knows that; they'd have to, because they have to steer to the right to keep the car straight.

I like Sato, and this hasn't impacted my opinion of him at all - it was a driver error, everyone makes them. It wasn't malicious, and it wasn't incompetence (there's no pattern of that, as far as I can see). Glad it didn't turn out worse.

 

[Brandon Wright]

He is absolutely to blame for it; obviously he didn't do it intentionally but it was his fault 100%. As far as not turning the wheel to the left, in an oval setup the cars turn to the left with the wheel straight; they're set up that way. Same for NASCAR stuff. Every driver knows that; they'd have to, because they have to steer to the right to keep the car straight.

I like Sato, and this hasn't impacted my opinion of him at all - it was a driver error, everyone makes them. It wasn't malicious, and it wasn't incompetence (there's no pattern of that, as far as I can see). Glad it didn't turn out worse.

Agree. Regardless of steering wheel movement, going the highline with that much speed into that corner with cars below you was never going to work and he's one of the most experienced drivers on the grid so he should know that. But then again, it's these kinds of bold attacks that made me a Taku fan in the first place, so it is what it is.

Looking forward to seeing them in person at Gateway this weekend. This will be my fifth IndyCar race of the season, that's a record for me! Indy GP, Indianapolis 500, Detroit race 1, Road America, Gateway.

 

[Ryno917]

Looking forward to seeing them in person at Gateway this weekend. This will be my fifth IndyCar race of the season, that's a record for me! Indy GP, Indianapolis 500, Detroit race 1, Road America, Gateway.

Nice! I think my record was three; Toronto, Barber and Sonoma. Practically the three furthest from eachother but it just sort of worked out that way hahaha

 

[NikiGouda]

He is absolutely to blame for it; obviously he didn't do it intentionally but it was his fault 100%. As far as not turning the wheel to the left, in an oval setup the cars turn to the left with the wheel straight; they're set up that way. Same for NASCAR stuff. Every driver knows that; they'd have to, because they have to steer to the right to keep the car straight.

I like Sato, and this hasn't impacted my opinion of him at all - it was a driver error, everyone makes them. It wasn't malicious, and it wasn't incompetence (there's no pattern of that, as far as I can see). Glad it didn't turn out worse.

Ehhh....thanks Ryno.... for explaining me how the drivers have to steer on
an oval but i've watched my first Indycar race in 1994 as an eleven years old
kid, so i really didn't need that. I think it's very obvious what i meant with
"didn't steer to the left". He held his line, you can see that through his onboard,
and reading all the comments in the net many people see it the same way.
That is an important point because the first reaction of many, including myself,
was that Sato steered into Rossi. Meanwhile, i tend to call it a racing accident,
and Sato, as well as Hunter Reay, are only to blame for making it this tight
for Alex Rossi in my opinion.

edit: changed "most" to "many", i admit "most people" was a bit exaggerated

 

[Brandon Wright]

Nice! I think my record was three; Toronto, Barber and Sonoma. Practically the three furthest from eachother but it just sort of worked out that way hahaha

Yeah, that's quite a big travel triangle! All mine this year have been within driving distance, 30 minutes to Indy, 4 hours to Detroit, 5 hours to Road America, a little over 3 hours to St. Louis this weekend. St. Louis is almost 100% interstate travel which is nice, I'll set the cruise control 10 minutes after leaving my house and ride it until I get to the track.

 

[Ryno917]

Yeah, that's quite a big travel triangle! All mine this year have been within driving distance, 30 minutes to Indy, 4 hours to Detroit, 5 hours to Road America, a little over 3 hours to St. Louis this weekend. St. Louis is almost 100% interstate travel which is nice, I'll set the cruise control 10 minutes after leaving my house and ride it until I get to the track.

Define "driving distance" LOL Barber was a drive; 14 hours IIRC. We did it in one shot (basically; stopped 45 minutes short of the circuit 'cause it was the closest hotel we could find when we booked). Also had the worst meat hangover when starting the drive. Lesson learned: Don't go to a Brazillian steak house the night before doing a 14 hour drive. Food is amazing, but if it's the all-you-can-eat style and you have little self control, you will feel it the next day!

 

[bigfoothunter]

I'm glad that no one was hurt.
Sato needs to sit out a race or two. Sato said that he "thought" he was clear. He probably ended Rossi's chances for the title.
I don't think it's fair for people to blame the track because of what's happened in recent years. J.W. died because he got hit on the head by a wheel (I think it was a wheel). Wickens had a horrible crash, but it could have happened at Indy.
It would be a shame if it's not on the schedule next year, but it probably won't be.

Justin got hit with the nose part of the front wing. I was there when it happened. A freak accident. Think about it, the chances of that small nose cone hitting him on the helmet after coming through the turn, the odds of that happening were probably 1 in a Million, ????

 

[Brandon Wright]

Define "driving distance" LOL Barber was a drive; 14 hours IIRC. We did it in one shot (basically; stopped 45 minutes short of the circuit 'cause it was the closest hotel we could find when we booked). Also had the worst meat hangover when starting the drive. Lesson learned: Don't go to a Brazillian steak house the night before doing a 14 hour drive. Food is amazing, but if it's the all-you-can-eat style and you have little self control, you will feel it the next day!

Ok, "reasonable" driving distance. Which for me is anything under about 5 hours. Dad and I drove to Montreal for the GP in 2010, straight through, 15 hours one way. THAT was a chore! Funny you mention the food hangover, the hotel I'm staying at has a fancy breakfast buffet and I was considering hitting it Sunday morning before I left for home, but then decided spending 3.5 hours in the car with a belly full of breakfast buffet probably wasn't a smart idea.

 

[Ryno917]

Ok, "reasonable" driving distance. Which for me is anything under about 5 hours. Dad and I drove to Montreal for the GP in 2010, straight through, 15 hours one way. THAT was a chore! Funny you mention the food hangover, the hotel I'm staying at has a fancy breakfast buffet and I was considering hitting it Sunday morning before I left for home, but then decided spending 3.5 hours in the car with a belly full of breakfast buffet probably wasn't a smart idea.

hahaha yea, especially a hotel breakfast which can be pretty dubious sometimes

I miss my race track road trips. Buddy and I did one every year for a few years; Watkins, Mid-O, Barber... I did Portland last year, which is I think a 5 hour drive after a two hour ferry. I was really hoping to get to Laguna for the historics this year but sadly it wasn't to be... Maybe next year.

 

[Brandon Wright]

hahaha yea, especially a hotel breakfast which can be pretty dubious sometimes

I miss my race track road trips. Buddy and I did one every year for a few years; Watkins, Mid-O, Barber... I did Portland last year, which is I think a 5 hour drive after a two hour ferry. I was really hoping to get to Laguna for the historics this year but sadly it wasn't to be... Maybe next year.

Well, this is at the Westin so it's a fancy, tasty breakfast, but I still don't want my gut full of it on the ride home. haha. It's right across the street from Busch Stadium, this was my view from the hotel room last year. Barely 10 minutes from the track.

Race road trips are great, some people plan their trips around baseball parks but I'd love to just travel the country visiting all the different race tracks. I'm lucky to have a few good ones within a few hours distance, if IndyCar ever goes back to Kentucky I'll be able to add another one to the road trip agenda.

 

[Ryno917]

Race road trips are great, some people plan their trips around baseball parks but I'd love to just travel the country visiting all the different race tracks. I'm lucky to have a few good ones within a few hours distance, if IndyCar ever goes back to Kentucky I'll be able to add another one to the road trip agenda.

Agreed! When my ex and I did California a few years ago I made sure I got to Sonoma for Indycar and PWC. When we did Europe a couple years ago I made sure I made it to Spa for the 24hr

Some people go on trips for food, or museums, I go for race tracks and mountains.

 

[farjam]

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B1epUSxHCv6/?igshid=lg2xwuei9ms3
Seems like a legit analysis on sato-hinch-rossi crash!

 

[NikiGouda]

LOL. This image at 13 secs with all these red arrows and lines seems quite
accurate in my eyes. But seriously if someone takes everything into account,
including ALL camera views, then you simply can't come to a definite conclusion
if Sato is really responsible for that big crash (or the only one who is to blame).
In such cases the phrase "racing incident" is probably the best expression to use.
A similar opinion is also expressed by two 4-time Indycar/Champcar champions
called Dario Franchitti and Sebastian Bourdais.
https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/franchitti-bourdais-pocono-wreck-explain/4515796/
Franchitti:

“Glad everyone walked away from yesterday’s crash. Every angle tells a different story, on such a wide track it’s impossible to stay totally straight due to lack of lines to give the driver visual clues, add seams on the tarmac & disturbed air, both of which move the cars around.

“Looks like 2 move 1 way [Rossi and Hunter-Reay] and 1 another [Sato]. With cars running mm apart, you get the accident we saw. That’s my view from watching replays (with a reasonable amount of experience in such situations). I totally understand that the drivers involved have differing views from each other!”

 

[Brandon Wright]

LOL. This image at 13 secs with all these red arrows and lines seems quite
accurate in my eyes. But seriously if someone takes everything into account,
including ALL camera views, then you simply can't come to a definite conclusion
if Sato is really responsible for that big crash (or the only one who is to blame).
In such cases the phrase "racing incident" is probably the best expression to use.
A similar opinion is also expressed by two 4-time Indycar/Champcar champions
called Dario Franchitti and Sebastian Bourdais.
https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/franchitti-bourdais-pocono-wreck-explain/4515796/
Franchitti:

I've seen so many camera angles and photos that I'm fairly convinced all three of them kept it straight and I'm quite puzzled how they came together in the first place. It certainly doesn't look like Taku moved down into them, if anything maybe Rossi's and RHR's cars slightly drifted right due to some slight aero tug or perhaps the seams in the track or something. But you can see from this angle on RHR's twitter that both he and Rossi remained in a straight line. It's like some invisible force just pulled Sato and Rossi together, weird.

https://twitter.com/RyanHunterReay/status/1164193145585917953?s=20

 

[Ryno917]

Side draft could be fairly strong at those speeds

 

[Brandon Wright]

That combined with the stagger, and maybe a slight assist from the seams in the track, is what I'm thinking was probably the culprit. Pretty good interview with Sato about the incident here.

https://www.indystar.com/story/spor...crash-and-backlash-he-faced-after/2084713001/