IndyCar Season Preview

            It seems like just the other day when the IndyCar Season came to a horrific end last October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was on that day that Dan Wheldon, one of IndyCar’s most popular and successful drivers, was killed in a crash early in the race. That day was not just the end of the 2011 season, but it was also the day that ushered in a new era in IndyCar.

            
            That new era begins tomorrow at St. Petersburg, Florida. In the time between that fateful day and now, so much has changed in the IndyCar Series. There are brand new cars, drivers on different teams, new race tracks, new officials, and new engine manufactures.

New Car

Gone is the previous Dallara race cars introduced in 2003.  Now, the brand new model, the DW12, takes its place. The DW12 also brings in different engine manufactures into IndyCar for the first time in nearly a decade. Previously, only Honda supplied engines to the teams. They will now be joined by Chevrolet and Lotus. Nobody knows for sure how the new cars or engines will perform in race conditions. Although we do know that the new car is faster on the street/road courses. That is evidenced through testing and was further proved when Will Power broke the track record today in qualifying.

The new car is also easier to drive because of the down force produced by the new bodies. This is something that is not appreciated by the drivers, esp. after what happened at Las Vegas. Equal cars create pack racing on ovals and makes it harder to pass on all tracks.  One of the aspects I hate about NASCAR is that nearly all cars equal. Dozens of drivers having an equal chance to win a race doesn't always produce exciting racing.

Schedule

11 of the 16 races of the schedule will be on street/road courses. Cue the complaining!!! Believe me, people have been complaining nonstop. It’s important to know that IndyCar President, Randy Bernard, is working diligently to get more oval tracks on the schedule. For now, the road courses are something we all have to live with. The first oval race is the Indianapolis 500 on May 27^th. An oval track will also host the final race of the season. That track is the Auto Club Speedway in California.

First four races of the 2012 season: 3/25- St. Petersburg. 4/1- Birmingham. 4/15- Long Beach. 4/29- Sao Paolo.

Drivers

One of the biggest stories in the IndyCar season is the addition of Rubens Barrichello to the KV Racing Technology Team. Barrichello is an 11-time winner in Formula 1 and one of the most popular drivers in the world. He has over 1 million Twitter followers so you have to figure at least 25,000 of them will be tuning into each race to watch their favorite driver. That kind of exposure only helps the IndyCar Series. You will also notice a certain female driver not racing in IndyCar this series as she moved over to NASCAR.

The roster of drivers may be one of the most competitive and well-rounded IndyCar has had in a long time. There are about eight drivers that have a legitimate chance to win a championship. Then there’s around ten or twelve drivers that could win on any given day.

Engine manufacturers

As I said earlier, nobody knows how the engines will perform in each race. Honda and Chevrolet are expected to have an advantage over Lotus though. That’s only because they have more cars and a better roster of drivers. 

Here's a breakdown of each manufacturer and their drivers:

Chevrolet: Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Carpenter, E.J. Viso, Rubens Barrichello, Tony Kanaan, J.R. Hildebrand, Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, Will Power.

Honda: Mike Conway, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Graham Rahal, Charlie Kimball, James Jakes, Justin Wilson, Takuma Sato, Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden.

Lotus: Alex Tagliani, Katherine Legge, Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia, Simona de Silvestro

New officials

Last year, chief steward Brian Barnhart received a lot of heat for some questionable decisions he made during races. He was removed his head of race control position but remains as the president of operations and will oversee safety development and event logistics. Taking his position will be Beaux Barfield. IndyCar also hired former drivers Arie Luyendyk, Johnny Unser, and Gary Barnard to assist Barnhart and Barfield.

Championship

The obvious favorites, Dario Franchitti and Will Power, combined to win nine races last year. Franchitti won his fourth championship last year and is chasing A.J. Foyt’s record seven championships. Power has never won a championship but has finished second the past two years. Franchitti’s Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon is also hungry for a championship. Dixon won his last championship in 2008 and has finished second, third, and third the past three years. Power’s Penske teammates, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe, will also be looking to win the championship this year. Briscoe is a good driver, but he always been considered the third-best in the Penske lineup.

Other drivers to watch: # 26 Marco Andretti, #27 James Hinchcliffe, #28 Ryan Hunter-Reay, #38 Graham Rahal, #83 Charlie Kimball, #20 Ed Carpenter, #8 Rubens Barrichello, #11 Tony Kanaan, #22 Oriol Servia, #4 J.R. Hildebrand, #98 Alex Tagliani

IndyCar Debacle

            Oh IndyCar, you make it so hard to be a fan of your league. Just when you think IndyCar is taking a step forward, it takes two back, literally. On Sunday, it was announced that the new cars planned to debut in 2012 will have to wait until 2013. Then on the same day, the race at New Hampshire Speedway ended in complete chaos.

                
             IndyCar President Randy Bernard said the reason for the delay of the cars is money. Numerous team owners have said that they will not be able to afford enough cars to run next season. In a recent vote to decide if the cars should be used next season, owners voted 15-0 against using them. Bernard said “…we don't want to go from 27 or 28 cars (in the racing field) to 16 cars because it's cost-prohibitive. If we'd have had 16 cars, (the kits, or cars) would have been the excuse. It could have been the demise of our sport." I understand the move but it’s disappointing to have to wait another year to see the new cars in action.

                
            The part I don’t understand is how Indianapolis Star writer Curt Cavin says “Every team will have new cars; the Dallara prototype debuted last week at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course…” Every team will have new cars? Will they be new cars but with the current body? Chevrolet and Lotus will also be a part of the series next year, but again, I’m not sure how.

                
            Now, to get to the actual on track action. The race at New Hampshire was dominated by points leader Dario Franchitti until about halfway through the race. Franchitti and Takuma Sato made contact after a restart and caused Dario to crash. After that it was a three-way battle for the lead between Servia, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Scott Dixon.

                
            With 10 laps (Lap 218) to go the cars were preparing for a restart.  Several of the drivers were pleading with their spotters and crew chiefs to let IndyCar officials know the track was had moisture on it and was too slippery to drive on. The chief official, Brian Barnhart, said he never knew about the drivers wanting a red flag thrown. So the green flag was waved and cars went everywhere. Danica Patrick immediately lost control and slid into Will Power, and then Takuma Sato and Ed Carpenter crashed into Will Power. After Will Power got out of the car he flipped the double bird, on live TV, in the direction of where Barnhart was stationed at above the track. After the crash IndyCar decided that the track was in fact too wet and the race was red flagged.

Will Power in all his glory

               
            After the damage had been done, IndyCar decided they would revert back to the results before the caution came out. That meant the winner was Ryan Hunter-Reay but Oriol Servia took issue with that because on the restart on Lap 218 he had gotten by Hunter-Reay before the caution was thrown for all the spun-out cars. Scott Dixon said after the race “I was thinking Oriol won the race, Ryan Hunter-Reay deserved to win the race, but if you go by how we normally race he didn’t win. I’m not racing USAC or racing on the dirt… the caution laps count”.

               

                
            It’s safe to say that Sunday was the worst day for the IndyCar series this season. Dedicated fans to casual racing fans to newcomers had to be disappointed by the delay of the new cars. Then those fans had to be even more disappointed to see their league act like it doesn’t know its own rule book and doesn’t respect the opinion of its drivers. There have been several instances this year that have brought into questioning of how the officials of IndyCar handle situations and penalties. After this season rules need to be created, eradicated, or be made clearer so the drivers, teams, and fans can all understand what is allowed and what isn’t.

This picture taken during the race at New Hampshire was symbolic of the weekend IndyCar had. IndyCar race cars crashing in front of a NASCAR banner.