IndyCar

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Indianapolis 500: Once in a Lifetime

indycar-2013-indy-500-kanaan-victoryThere were so many storylines heading into the Indianapolis 500. There was Dario and Helio’s drive for a fourth Indy 500 victory. The Andretti Autosport cars were dominating practice with Marco Andretti and rookie Carlos Munoz looking particularly strong. And the single-car effort of owner/driver Ed Carpenter beat all of big teams to score the pole.

But as the 500 tends to do, the pre-race storylines get thrown to the wind. It was a race that ran green for a long stretch but saw the field stay fairly bunched and tons of passing as a result. It was only fitting that the race was won on a daring three-wide pass as Tony Kanaan won his first Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

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IndyCar – Indy 500 Qualifying: Long Day and Long Shots

indycar-2013-indy-500-qualifying-ed-carpenter-poleA week of practice led us to believe that the Chevys were going to be fastest but the Hondas could stay in touch and star up front. However, when wheels were turned in anger, it was all Chevy, all day. Surprisingly, though, it wasn’t the Penskes or Andrettis who had been dominating practice who won the pole but Ed Carpenter who will start P1 for the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsport.

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IndyCar – Sao Paulo Indy: Re-Elect Hinch

indycar-2013-sao-paulo-hinchcliffe-victoryIt used to be that we didn’t expect much passing from a street race but that’s changed since the introduction of the DW12. That was never more evident than yesterday in Sao Paulo when an absolutely epic IndyCar race ended with a pass for the win on the final turn of the last lap to give the Mayor of Hinchtown, James Hinchcliffe, his second win of the season.

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IndyCar – Long Beach GP: Break On Through

indycar-2013-long-beach-sato-victory-laneIt’s been almost twelve years since Takuma Sato last won a race. That was the legendary Macau Grand Prix in November 2011. AJ Foyt Racing hasn’t run a race since an oval race in Kansas in July 2002. All it took for the two to break their losing streaks was to find each other as Takuma Sato picked up his first IndyCar win by taking the chequered flag at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

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IndyCar – GP of Alabama: Bouncing Back

indycar-2013-barber-hunter-reay-victoryThe first round of the season at St. Petersburg didn’t go well for many of the expected championship contenders. Will Power’s race was derailed when he was hit by J.R. Hildebrand. Dario Franchitti was the first car out after hitting the wall on cold tires. And Ryan Hunter-Reay had a mechanical problem that relegated him to an 18th place finish.

This week at the Barber Motorsports Park, two out of the three were able to turn their seasons around. Franchitti finished 25th for the second consecutive race but Power was able to finish fifth. However, it was the defending champion Ryan Hunter-Reay who picked up his first win of the season.

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IndyCar – GP of St. Petersburg: Vote Hinch for Victory Lane

James Hinchcliffe, No. 27 Andretti Autosport ChevroletHey look! We’ve added IndyCar coverage this year on the blog. Regular readers know that I’m a passionate fan of American open-wheel racing. I watched CART long before I ever watched Formula One or NASCAR so I think it’s about time that I brought some IndyCar posts to the blog. It’s a bit of a work in progress but for now, our IndyCar coverage will be similar to the race and news recaps we do for F1.

And what a week it was for us to start writing regularly about IndyCar. We saw Will Power dominate the weekend only to get literally run over during the race. Two drivers made us go “Danica who?” during the race. One was Simona de Silvestro who ran in the top five for all but the final lap. The other was the man who scored Go Daddy’s first IndyCar win as the Mayor of Hinchtown, James Hinchcliffe, scored his maiden IndyCar victory.

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Who Is Canada’s Next Racing Hero?

Now that the Formula One season is over, it’s time for us to look ahead to the future of motorsport. In Canada, we have an amazing motorsport history. Formula One’s best and most exciting driver, Gilles Villeneuve, hailed from Quebec. His son, Jacques, won the Indy 500 and IndyCar championship before becoming the Formula One World Drivers’ Champion. The most exciting F1 is consistently the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal. West Hill’s Paul Tracy is one of the winningest drivers in Champ Car (formerly CART) history.

But who is left for Canada to cheer for now. No one is at the top echelon of the sport right. But that isn’t to say we don’t have some potential racing heroes waiting in the wings. So here’s a look at the future of Canadian motorsports. Continue reading →

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Despite TV Ratings, IndyCar Is On The Right Track

Normally, I wouldn’t respond to posts on another blog but I couldn’t help but note an oversight of facts in an Awful Announcing post about IndyCar’s ratings on the NBC Sports Network. While noting that IndyCar’s ratings are down by 27% on NBCSN and 17% on ABC compared to the 2011 season, author Joe Lucia suggests IndyCar’s management needs to consider big changes heading into the 2013 season to right the course.

There’s one big problem with that suggestion: IndyCar’s brass has already made it the best North American racing series on-track. Continue reading →

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2012 Edmonton Indy Wrapup

Sunday marked the second of two trips that the IndyCar Series takes to Canada. After the Toronto Indy, the stars of IndyCar had their second of back-to-back Canadian races in Edmonton on the temporary circuit at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. Twenty-five cars and their drivers took to the track on one of the series’ fastest road courses and the year’s only race on an airport circuit. Continue reading →

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2012 Toronto Indy Wrapup

The top level of open-wheel racing in North America went to Toronto for the 26th time this weekend. This weekend was a complete change from the previous IndyCar races around Exhibition Place in Toronto. The car was new, the engines were new and the crew in race control were new. Twenty-five cars raced around the streets of Toronto for the first of two Canadian stops on the IndyCar calendar led by Canadian drivers James Hinchcliffe and Alex Tagliani. Continue reading →