Let’s be honest, St. Petersburg was a huge letdown for almost everyone involved in IndyCar. The fact that the cars ran and there were no engine parts scattered along the track were the only real positives to come out of the weekend. So, when I sat down to watch the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday I, honestly, wasn’t expecting much. Barber is a track designed specifically for motorcycle racing, so passing in an IndyCar had been a rare commodity. Combine past performances at Barber with the new cars performance at St. Pete and the stage was set for a parade and not the good kind that include Moon Pies and beads. I poured myself a (strong) Fuzzy’s Vodka + SunDrop soda adult beverage thinking a good buzz might make a boring race tolerable.
Credit Marshall Pruett SpeedTV.com
First, the drivers all deserve credit for finally learning how to line up double-file correctly and not wad up their cars in Turn 1. The start of the race was beautiful. However, before all the cars had made it through Turn 5 on the first lap, Alex Tagliani’s Lotus had died. Most issues with the Lotus engines had stemmed from issues with the engine control unit and not from a major mechanical failure. More of a “wilted Lotus” than a dead one if you will. New NBC Sports pit reporter and driver Townsend Bell gave a great explanation of just exactly what has been at issue with the Lotus engines. Because Lotus engine builder Judd has very few engines assembled and ready, they have the ECU tuned to “protect” the engine vs. let it run at 100%. If the ECU detects an issue with the engine, it cuts the engine off. This keeps a small issue with the engine from becoming a smoking, fire spewing explosion saving valuable parts and pieces.
On the restart, the drivers, once again, did a masterful restart. But, those expecting the parade to begin would be in for a shock. Cars began passing each other…a lot. It should be stated that NBC Sports Network did an amazing job not only showing passes as they happened but also showing replays of passes for position all through the field. The best part of the coverage focused on battles deep in the field. Instead of showing leaders Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon parading around the track NBC Sports Network spent laps following battles with Marco Andretti and EJ Viso as well as Sebastien Bourdais and Rubens Barrichello later in the race. I guarantee that ABC would have higher ratings over time if their coverage was on par with NBC Sports Network. Sunday’s coverage made the poor showing at St. Pete by ABC look even worse. Also, Bob Jenkins cracks me up. He trips over his tongue more than a redneck trying to speak Spanish, but it is pure entertainment. My only nitpick is Simona’s last name is pronounced “dee” Silvestro, not “day” Silvestro. Oh, and is he drunk during telecasts?
Watching Marco Andretti battle EJ Viso in the early stages of the race was great. Andretti was driving like a madman. It wasn’t pretty, but he was hustling the car attempting passes and getting runs all over the track. Viso, obviously the slower of the two cars, was driving defensively but not obviously blocking. Major kudos goes to Beaux Barfield for allowing drivers to defend, but putting rules around blocking. There is a difference and it was visible in the racing. Most likely Viso’s driving on Sunday would’ve been called blocking in past years, but it was just great racing now. The rules in place force the drivers to time their moves better and creates more of a “dance” where the former rules created passing, but it wasn’t real racing.
Credit Marshall Pruett SpeedTV.com
Contrasting Andretti’s rough and tumble hustle with Viso is Bourdais and Barrichello. Exchanges with Bourdais and Barrichello were, frankly, beautiful to watch. Clean, well-timed, technical passing and racing by two excellent racers. Though no more or less entertaining to watch, Andretti’s driving looked more GED to Bourdais’ and Barrichello’s Ph.D. Despite the less than ideal situation and circumstances with Bourdias, his driving has been stellar. He proves, once again, that real talent can still shine through in poor conditions. Although Barrichello is in a better team situation that Bourdais, he is technically a rookie in many areas in regards to how IndyCar races work. But, his ability to drive a car is obvious despite the learning curve.
Green flag conditions would reign from lap 4 until lap 67 when the yellow was brought out for a spin by Katherine Legge. Legge, while trying to move over to allow faster cars to pass, got into the marbles in Turn 9, spun, and stalled in the gravel pit. Yes, for the second week in a row Ms. Legge brought out a yellow, but in her defense, her learning curve is the steepest in the field. It must be noted that watching timing and scoring on-line showed that her lap times improved through the race and were on par with the back 1/3 of the field by the time the checkered flag fell. Slow, steady improvement is what is needed and is being accomplished.
Credit Marshall Pruett SpeedTV.com
Right now, I am shocked at the less than stellar performance of Justin Wilson with Dale Coyne Racing. On Sunday, his car was looser than Jenna Jameson after a few cocktails. I believe he spent the majority of the race in opposite lock. Actually, loose doesn’t even begin to describe how evil his car looked. His tires seemed to have been made out of ice cubes. He managed to hold on most of the race, but ended up spinning in front of Marco Andretti. Luckily, he didn’t bring out the caution or do any damage. I am expecting more from Justin in the next few weeks than what has been shown thus far.
At the restart, none other than Will Power was up front. After starting 9th, Power methodically worked his way up through the field with a fast car and great pit stops. To the surprise of no one, Power would end up stepping out to a 3.37 second lead in the final 15 laps to win at Barber for the 2nd year in a row. Scott Dixon finished 2nd for the 3rd year in a row, and Helio Castroneves finished 3rd. Big shockers, right?
One thing is for certain, the race was great. The tires went away at just the right amounts through the runs. There was enough differentiation between the setups, the engines, and driver talent to create real, exciting racing. The key word being racing. The DW12 proved to have what it takes to be a real racecar.
Like the rest of the motorsports world, IndyCar takes Easter weekend off before heading to Long Beach for one of the most famous races on the schedule, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Tune in to NBC Sports Network (please!) at 3:30 ET to catch all the action.
Ross (@therossbynum)
