OT: Racing 2011 (Spoiler Alert)

[toonarmy]

Scary crash this morning in IndyCar warm-up in Baltimore. Almost miraculous that neither Castroneves nor Kanaan was hurt:

Underpants check for both drivers. Love the safety features of these cars and tracks.

[toonarmy]

Great win by Power at Baltimore today. He pulled out a must-win and likely needs to win in Japan to have a shot at the championship. Only 5 points away from Dario. Been a fun season thus far.

[Gurantsu]

Back from Baltimore, watching the recording of the TV broadcast now.

All I can say is that the promoters put on one hell of an event. Considering the fact that they basically shut down the center of a major American city, everything ran smooth as silk. We had no problems at all; plenty of food, restrooms, grandstands, general admission areas; to be honest I don't know how they did it. The logistics of it all just blow my mind.

All of the races were very good, and two things that seemed to be echoed by most of the teams and drivers was that the track was very good for a temporary street circuit, and that they could not believe the crowds that showed up. There were a TON of people there, even on Saturday the stands were full for the ALMS race. Certainly a lot of people were not regular race fans, but Baltimore loves a party (I don't think 80% of the people who go to the Preakness ever see a horse), and even after the racing was over on Saturday they had an outdoor nightclub set up that ran until who knows when. Just a fantastic atmosphere for a race weekend.

I was thrilled to finally see the ALMS guys run, holy cow that Corvette is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. And also neat was the fact that in the middle of a rock concert/souvenir tent city/food stall area, you would see drivers just zipping by on scooters, saying hi as they went on their way (Will Power just about crushed my nephew, which is all good since Mario Andretti almost ran over his father at Indy a few years ago). Just a fantastic weekend, and a no-brainer for me to return to next year.

[pk500]

Glad you had a good time, Grant! There were more problems with the organizers leading up to this race than a dysfunctional family reunion, but I'm really happy to see they pulled off a successful inaugural event.

[Gurantsu]

I'd love to hear about the problems sometime, but I'm glad that they worked through them and ended up with a top notch event. It really was like a giant party that the citizens of Baltimore threw, and oh by the way there's a race going on!

We're thinking about getting a hotel room looking down on the track for next year. We all had a blast, and are planning on bringing more friends with us.

[toonarmy]

Back from Baltimore, watching the recording of the TV broadcast now.

All I can say is that the promoters put on one hell of an event. Considering the fact that they basically shut down the center of a major American city, everything ran smooth as silk. We had no problems at all; plenty of food, restrooms, grandstands, general admission areas; to be honest I don't know how they did it. The logistics of it all just blow my mind.

All of the races were very good, and two things that seemed to be echoed by most of the teams and drivers was that the track was very good for a temporary street circuit, and that they could not believe the crowds that showed up. There were a TON of people there, even on Saturday the stands were full for the ALMS race. Certainly a lot of people were not regular race fans, but Baltimore loves a party (I don't think 80% of the people who go to the Preakness ever see a horse), and even after the racing was over on Saturday they had an outdoor nightclub set up that ran until who knows when. Just a fantastic atmosphere for a race weekend.

I was thrilled to finally see the ALMS guys run, holy cow that Corvette is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. And also neat was the fact that in the middle of a rock concert/souvenir tent city/food stall area, you would see drivers just zipping by on scooters, saying hi as they went on their way (Will Power just about crushed my nephew, which is all good since Mario Andretti almost ran over his father at Indy a few years ago). Just a fantastic weekend, and a no-brainer for me to return to next year.

The drivers all seemed to really like the technical nature of the course, but almost to a man said that next year they need to add a couple of spots for overtaking. They also seemed very impressed with the fans. Overall, it was cool to see so many people at the race and it looked as if it was a festive atmosphere. I never would have guessed that Baltimore would be such a resounding success for an Indy Car event. Kudos to the city for supporting ALMS and Indy Car.

[Rodster]

I know I can't say it enough how spot on the FIA got the current F1 qualifying format. When I first started watching F1 back in the early 90's, I found it frustrating how the teams and drivers played chicken strategy at the expense of the qualifying show. It got to the point where it would take 30 minutes into qualifying before you saw someone exit the pits and those who backed that format praised the buildup and strategy.

Then the replacement format was absolutely horrible, IIRC 3 laps per driver - solo on the track. This format from start to finish oozes with pressure and time of the essence for grid slots. What's hurting the current format is teams trying to save their tires for the race. I wish the FIA would allow for more tire allocation per team, per race.

[Rodster]

For those that care ESPN3 is showing Live ALMS coverage from Monterrey starting @ 6:20 pm.

[F308GTB]

Catching the replay. Laguna Seca is one awesome course. GT class cars look spectacular on it.

[toonarmy]

Great to see Power move into first in the standings after Motegi, even if it is a slim lead. Ovals certainly favor Dario over Will, but anything can happen in the final races. Dixon looked strong last night.

[Gurantsu]

I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Chip has his sit-down with Dario.

[pk500]

I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Chip has his sit-down with Dario.

I think you'd be disappointed, as Chip's volume probably would remain normal. Dario has won Little Floyd two championships and a 500 in the last three years. He's all but bulletproof at TCGR.

Plus Chip's satellite team is the red-headed stepsister of that organization. Chip probably would have done his best Vesuvius imitation if Dario took out Dixie, but I don't think he'll be that volcanic about taking out Kimball and Rahal except for the crash damage costs. Kimball and Rahal are the B Team at Ganassi, in every way imaginable.

I was glad to see INDYCAR Race Control finally penalize Franchitti for his stupid move on Briscoe. It was his first penalty this season, from what I recall. Could have easily been his third.

[fletcher21]

http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_ ... 3088594121

[Gurantsu]

Petit Le Mans just started on ESPN3. 10 hours of racing goodness!

[toonarmy]

Horrible luck for Power today at Kentucky, but otherwise one of the best races of the year. Carpenter with his first win, by .0098 secs to boot. The final 10 or so laps with Dario had me on the edge of my seat -- side by side every lap. Kentucky Speedway is f-a-s-t. Great stuff today.

[Rodster]

Question, has F1 become boring or predictable again with the domination of Red Bull and do you think the same will play out next year?

[Jimmydeicide]

Question, has F1 become boring or predictable again with the domination of Red Bull and do you think the same will play out next year?

Red Bull and Vettel yes its an unstoppable combo at this point but out side of that pair the racing has been really entertaining for the most part. Webber is in the same car as Vettel and he seems to find ways to keep it close.
Button has been unbelievable this year so far his driving style suits the new tires for sure while Hammy is cutting them to bits in the same stints.
The Rule changes have brought it to life for the most part because it was getting boring to me the last few years and i wasnt that pumped for this season but the racing has sucked me in and ive really enjoyed it.

If we could only get rid of that AI robot Vettel.

[Gurantsu]

Yeah, I couldn't believe the end of that race, what a finish! Carpenter had a great car, and he and Dario kept it clean while not giving an inch to each other. Glad to see Sarah Fishers team get a win also.

Horrible luck for Power today at Kentucky, but otherwise one of the best races of the year. Carpenter with his first win, by .0098 secs to boot. The final 10 or so laps with Dario had me on the edge of my seat -- side by side every lap. Kentucky Speedway is f-a-s-t. Great stuff today.

[toonarmy]

Yeah, I couldn't believe the end of that race, what a finish! Carpenter had a great car, and he and Dario kept it clean while not giving an inch to each other. Glad to see Sarah Fishers team get a win also.

I too was glad to see Fisher's team get the win. Hopefully Dollar General will reconsider withdrawing its sponsorship and pony up for next season. Dario is sitting pretty now and the only thing that will keep him from being champ will be something catastrophic happening to his car in addition to Power placing in the top few in the final race. I wish things were more neck and neck in points going into Vegas, but it should still be an interesting race.

[toonarmy]

Question, has F1 become boring or predictable again with the domination of Red Bull and do you think the same will play out next year?

F1 is not boring at all right now IMO. Other than Vettel, it's really hard to predict who will finish where. Who knows if Red Bull will continue its dominance next year. I'm sure several of the other teams will make a strong effort to overtake Red Bull. Red Bull is certainly the class of F1 at the moment, however I think that Vettel is just showing how much talent he possesses. If a driver other than Vettel was in the Red Bull perhaps the driver's championship would be interesting right now. The dude is in a zone.

[Dave]

It was great to see Carpenter and Fisher's team get the win. Hell of a finish.

Power hasn't had much luck, what an awful job by Dreyer and Reinbold sending Biatriz right into Power's sidepod. Overall pit lane was a disaster the entire race.

I'm looking forward to the Vegas finale, Randy Bernard is throwing the kitchen sink at promoting it.

[GB_Simo]

I was expecting today's racing highlight to be either Suzuka or Bathurst. I was wrong. I enjoyed them both very much, but I should have been looking a bit closer to home.

You must, must, must find a way of watching the final race of the British Superbike Championship from Brands Hatch today. I won't spoil it, just in case any of you have been following the series, but the final two laps are absolutely staggering.

[pk500]

You must, must, must find a way of watching the final race of the British Superbike Championship from Brands Hatch today. I won't spoil it, just in case any of you have been following the series, but the final two laps are absolutely staggering.

Thanks for the tip! I'll find it through "alternative means."

I hope Hopper was a winning part of the drama!

[Rodster]

Post the Youtube video Adam.

[GB_Simo]

Post the Youtube video Adam.

There isn't one, mate, at least not one I can find. The BSB organisers do post little highlight videos, which are lifted directly from the summaries British Eurosport do at the end of races, but they only last about 2 minutes. You'll be needing more than a 2 minute highlight package to really appreciate the race in question.