How Bizarre

Last week's Indianapolis 500 was one side of IndyCar: fast, heart pounding, edge of your seat action by some of the best drivers in the world.

This week's Dual in Detroit was another side of IndyCar: sloppy, chaotic, confusing, and whatever Sage Karam was doing, but ultimately unpredictable and (mostly) entertaining.

The downpours both Saturday and Sunday threw any semblance of order out the window, and the end result was two winners no one expected: Carlos Munoz and Sebastien Bourdais. They got there in two different ways.

Saturday's race saw the seemingly unprecedented move of teams pitting for rain tires before it actually rained. Prior to that, it had been an entertaining scrap that started in the wet, turned dry, then looked like it was going back to wet before it became too wet to continue. Munoz won by being the last to pit for rain tires. Marco Andretti was 2nd after looking like he would be the last to pit. It didn't quite work out, but it did give us the amusement of Marco's dad calling him into the pits, and Marco ignoring him. Damn kids.

That second race? Oh boy...

Let's quickly dispense with the first half: It was boring. Then the Coyne rent-a-driver had his inevitable encounter with the tire barriers and the chaos was on. Most of the field came in and changed to slicks, save Conor Daly, Hunter-Reay, and Power (who had pitted to change his steering wheel earlier), who didn't pit, and Dixon and Helio, who pitted but stayed on wets.

The decision to stay on wets looked great when Luca Filippi and Stefano Coletti separately crashed. Soon enough though, it became clear the track was plenty dry, and when Conor pitted (during a yellow for a nasty Newgarden crash), Bourdais inherited the lead. The simple version of events is that Bourdais handled challenges first by Montoya and then Sato to win the race. What happened between those events will be talked about for a while.

To get to that finish, we had four cautions, a red flag, a timed race declared, inconsistent officiating, and a shortened race by two laps. All the yellow and the two less laps were needed by the podium, who went the final 30 laps or so on fuel. Multiple drivers had a chance to be in the catbird seat if the leaders faltered, but they were the ones that fell by the wayside. First Charlie Kimball took out his teammate Dixon to win the Dumbest Move by a Ganassi Driver award (in a huge upset over at least three actions from Karam). Then Power got caught up with Tristan Vautier and accidentally took out Helio in the process. It was just enough for Bourdais, Sato, and Graham Rahal to complete the podium, with Vautier hanging on for a fantastic 4th. The one guy who ran out of fuel at the end was Montoya, who fell to 10th. He was the only Penske/Ganassi car to finish in the top 10. In a chaotic mess that was this race, that seems fitting.

Other Thoughts On the Weekend

Yesterday's decision to initially go yellow for lightning instead of straight red was a harbinger for today. Today's box score indicated three penalties issued for blocking. Vautier and Rahal were told to give up one position. Daly was ordered to the back of the field. Why? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There was also the possibility that Sato and Rahal jumped a restart, allowing them to get by Montoya (who was mighty hot afterwards). Then you had the red flag call and the timed race call. It all felt very dartboard-ish.

Sage, Sage, Sage, what are you doing? He is clearly still pissed about Indy, and he showed it on Saturday with some of the most bush league blocking I've ever seen on Sato. Today he punted Jack Hawksworth twice. Did he think that was the 14 too? I still think he's talented, but he has to calm down fast, because Chip isn't going to be patient much longer.

Speaking of Chip, between Sage's activities and Kimball's brain fade, I wish someone had secretly Periscoped the team's post-race debrief.

More craziness in today's results: Conor comes back from caution ruining his strategy to finish 6th, Hawksworth comes back from being double Karam'ed to take 7th (giving him a double top ten), and Gabby Chaves gets his first career top ten with a 9th.

Also according to the box score, Bourdais earned $30,000 for his win today, with money being earned down to 12th, all of $2,000. I know, the Leaders' Circle program is basically the prize money, but if the bonuses are that low, why bother publishing it? It's just embarrassing.

Fantasy IndyCar Jinx of the Week: This was in full swing Race 2. My team: Munoz, Power, Castroneves, Sato. 1 out of 4 ain't bad!

Next Up

Texas! The first oval since Indy and its aero and flying car issues. Now add the track that drivers have the most apprehension with. This won't be dull (well, unless they take away too much downforce). It will be the nightcap to a pretty good non-traditional sports day with the Belmont, Champions League final, and start of the Women's World Cup.

Post-Indy Deflation

The Indy 500 is a bubble in many ways. At its most obvious, it's a bubble due to the enormity of attention it gets compared to the rest of IndyCar. The Indy 500 is hyped up as this huge thing, which it is, but a few days after it's over? Silence from the rest of the world, and once again, it's just us diehards following this thing.

I imagine that because of this, the 500 feels like a bubble to those most directly involved: from the drivers to the teams to IndyCar personnel to the regular IndyCar media. For those two weeks, it's more attention and demands on one's time than many of them probably get the whole rest of the season. Maybe I'm projecting, but that has to be a somewhat surreal feeling. There have been many debates on whether all this attention on one race is good for the series as a whole (almost certainly not), but for the moment, that's the reality of the situation.

The 500 also feels like a bubble to the city of Indianapolis, at least it felt like it to me as a visitor. I was staying downtown, and throughout race weekend, it was definitely a party atmosphere. The streets Thursday through Sunday night were packed. Then came Monday and it was a ghost town. While the holiday surely had a lot to do with it, the place had the feeling of sleeping off a giant hangover. The bubble had deflated and the party was over. By Tuesday afternoon when I left town, things had a "back to normal" vibe about them.

For me, the bubble deflated today, as I went back to work. That was the official "Vacation is over, back to real life" moment. While in Indy, all my worries and anxieties melted away, as if they no longer existed. The race and everything around it had become an escape in a way I didn't even notice until it was gone. It was truly a different world for me.

Luckily for us, there's racing this week. Yes, 90% of those who watched the 500 are gone. Yes, it's at Belle Isle, which is liking going from filet mignon to high school cafeteria Salisbury steak. However, it's IndyCar and it's two races in one weekend. There are worse things in this world.

Emptying the Notebook on the 99th Indianapolis 500

My apologies for the radio silence this past week. I am the possibly the last person of my generation to not own a smartphone or tablet. Thus, I was unable to provide updates while in Indianapolis. I’m back home now, and my first thought is: What a race! There’s no need to recap the race, so below are thoughts that popped into my mind during the race and things I’ve developed in hindsight. I did attempt to watch the rebroadcast in Indy Sunday night, but mostly was too exhausted to gain much insight there.

It feels like a contradiction when you look at the box score. From my position at the track (on the front stretch just past the yard of bricks and the pylon), it felt like the cars could separate themselves more, especially during long green flag runs. It also felt like the lead car was capable of getting somewhat away, at least compared to recent years, and lead 10-20 laps in succession. In the end though, there were 37 lead changes, second most all-time after the insane 2013 race. This points to the early separation (again, in comparison to the rest of the DW12 era) possibly being a result of the leaders racing patiently in the early going. That clearly went out the window in the frenetic closing laps, and by closing laps, I mean the final 50. It will be interesting to see how the racing is next year as the aero kits further develop.

What a job by Juan Pablo Montoya. Even after his crew replaced his rear wing and he fell to 30^th, did anyone doubt that Montoya would charge through the field and be a player at the end? For a while, he was gaining a position a lap, and suddenly, there was Montoya in the top 10 again. It was a fantastic drive, especially during the white knuckled conclusion, and a well deserved second Borg-Warner Trophy. Was JPM the first person I would have picked to win the 500? No, but that has nothing to do with it.

This is a different Montoya than the guy who won 15 years ago. The young man who won in 2000 was cocky and brash. Of course, when you can back it up in the form of 167 laps lead, it works. This Montoya is now a husband and father, and while I’m guessing he’s still confident, there appears to be some more humility and wisdom in him now. There’s also something to someone who wants to win as bad as he still does despite having to be a millionaire many times over. This win makes it clear, not that there should have been any doubt, that Juan Pablo Montoya is one of top racing talents of the last 20 years.

(As an aside though, it was tough realizing that Montoya’s 500 win was literally half my lifetime ago. Oof.)

It was sometime in the middle part of the race that I realize that Penske and Ganassi had a lock on the top seven, and 8^th was well back on the track. Using that invokes quite a bit of moaning, but on this day, it was cool to see these two titans duke it out with everything on the line. Would I like to see that every 500? No, but this time it was fun to watch. On the other side, it was another difficult day for Honda, with Graham and Marco often being the only Hondas running in the top 10. They certainly earned their 5^th and 6^th places respectively. The third best Honda drive of the day in my opinion was Gabby Chaves. He had quietly worked his way into the top 10 before some late issues dropped him back to 16^th. At 21, add another one to the pile of exciting young guns in IndyCar.

The best car doesn’t always win, and add Scott Dixon 2015 to that list at Indy. The late pass by Montoya where it appeared the cars touched (shades of 2000 at Michigan) killed Dixon’s momentum and took him out of the final battle for the win.

Auto racing can be a cruel, cruel sport, as the fates of Sage Karam and Conor Daly attest. This tweet from Karam’s dad describes Sage’s day in a nutshell. For Conor though, to work that hard for that long and not even take the green flag…I can’t even imagine the heartbreak. It was good to see him get the #5 ride for this week at Detroit.

After the drama of the past few weeks, the most important thing is that there were no flying cars. That said, we still had the close call for Sebastian Saavedra. He’s very lucky that a dislocated foot was his only injury after being hit nearly broadside by Stefano Coletti (who had nowhere to go it must be said). We also had Dale Coyne Racing crewmember Daniel Jang suffering a broken ankle during the three way DCR tango in the pits. The race was overall a win for safety, but as always in this sport, the margins are very very tight.

The thing about the Hawksworth/Saavedra/Coletti crash was that at the time it sure felt like a wreck was coming. Just before, the front of the field had collectively turned insane and was dicing all over the race track. It was a litany of hold your breath moments, and there were still 30 laps to go! The final restart to the checkered flag was comparatively tame. I’m still not sure what caused that crash, but Hawksworth took full blame at the banquet.

I went to the race wearing my Tony Kanaan hat and Simona de Silvestro shirt, and that clearly brought neither of them luck. Simona ran into the back of Montoya at the beginning to set up his charge, but was otherwise a complete non-factor (and sadly, not for the first time at Indy on race day). As for TK and his crash, the only good part is I didn’t see it live because I was in the bathroom. Before then, he looked as prime to win as anyone at the front. When he went from 3^rd to 1^st in less than a straightaway, I turned to my companion and said “Want to know why TK is so beloved here? That’s why.” So at least there was that.

I’ll leave my non-race specific thoughts for tomorrow, because this has gotten long enough as it is.

What Indy Means To Me

Recent events and posts here have titled towards the negative side, which is both understandable and unfortunate. However, tomorrow I fly out to Indianapolis for my 7th Indy 500, and that means apprehension aside, it's time to get excited and remember why this race is so important to me and the hundreds of thousands that attend. I've always found it hard to express what it is about the Indy 500 that gets me in a way that nothing else does. After my friends and family, the Indy 500 is the thing I love most in the world. These are the some of the reasons why.

It's about watching practice online for 4 hours at work, followed by coming home and watching the last hour of practice.

It's about watching qualifying on a beautiful May weekend and not regretting it for a second.

It's about listening to the Trackside/Talk of Gasoline Alley doubleheader every day, either live or the next day podcast, and about learning something new from the incomparable Donald Davidson every time.

It's about watching the old Delta Force intros just to get pumped up.

It's about attending the Carb Night Burger Bash (I've been to all of them save 2011 and 2012) and being impressed on how it grows every year.

It's about watching the parade in all its Midwestern corniness.

It's about the Saturday night tradition I've made of eating my weight in meat at Fogo de Chao.

It's about the amazement of being able to bring your own cooler (with booze!) to the race.

It's about taking in the carnival atmosphere on Georgetown Road on race morning. It makes it clear from the get go of why the event is truly a spectacle.

It's about having a turkey leg and a tenderloin before 10 am, because why not? You've been up since 6 and barely slept the night before out of excitement anyway.

It's about entering the Speedway gates and feeling a chill go down your spine, overcome with awe at all those that came before.

It's about walking about the Speedway before finding your seat, just to take as much of it in as possible.

It's about the pagentry of the pre-race ceremonies, with its combination of reverence for the fallen and build-up to the command.

It's about cheering for every driver during introductions, no matter how well known or obscure they may be.

It's about Gomer Pyle singing an unofficial state song with everyone going crazy, a sentence that makes no sense anywhere except at the Indy 500, where it makes perfect sense. (and for this year, it's about assuming Straight No Chaser will do a great job)

It's about "Ladies and Gentlemen..." going from being a novelty to being expected and accepted. It's, of course, also about the command itself and the goosebumps it produces.

It's about the electricity of the arena during the pace laps, culminating in the crescendo of engines and cheers when the green flag drops.

It's about the ebb and flow of "500 miles on a Sunday afternoon in Indiana."

It's about 33 drivers with 33 individual stories of sacrifice to get there, knowing that only one will see their dreams come true.

It's about Johncock over Mears, Spin and Win, Big Al's fourth, Emmo vs. Junior, Mears on the outside, the closest finish ever, the Beast, Hornish over Marco, Helio climbing the fence, Wheldon winning in Cinderella fashion, finally putting TK's ugly face on that trophy, and Hunter-Reay clipping the grass.

It's about sticking around long enough to see the winner drink the milk, take their victory lap, and kiss the bricks.

It's seeing people that have been going for decades and hoping that someday that's me.

It's about getting back to the hotel in time to watch the rebroadcast, in order to get details missed while at the track.

It's about waking up Monday morning with the bittersweet feeling of knowing the next one isn't for another year.

Writing this list (and I could probably go on), to me I guess the Indy 500 is about a lot of small things rather than one big thing. However, those small things add up quickly to make up the reasons this race is so special to me. The only thing that makes it better is having someone with me to share it. This year I'm bringing a 500 rookie, and in future years I hope to take my little sister. I can only hope they end up seeing the race in some way like I do, even if just a little.

It's almost time to go racing. Here's to another unforgettable Indianapolis 500.

When Excitement Turns to Apprehension

"Are you excited?"

It's an innocent question that I was asked today at work. I suspect it will not be the last time I'm asked that this week. After all, we are less than 6 days now from the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500, and I make no secret in my daily life of my love for that race and this sport. I can't imagine my friends see it as anything but quixotic, but other than occasionally getting it confused with NASCAR, they tolerate it.

The problem of course is that the events of this week make the "Are you excited?" question difficult and complicated to answer. Normally I'm almost giddy at this point, and becoming giddier the more into Race Week we get. This year though that sense just isn't there. It's been replaced with apprehension at best, nerves in the middle, and flat out dread at worst.

The reason is simple: three cars have gotten airborne this week, and there is still no indication that anyone at IndyCar knows why or how to fix it (or they can't fix it now because it's the undertray). James Hinchcliffe's crash today (#GetWellSoonHinch) was more straightforward in that a suspension broke, but even then the car ended up on its side before landing on its wheels.

The decreased boost and increased downforce got qualifying out of the way without major incident. However, on Sunday it will be 33 cars on the track at once, and if today's practice is any indication, the racing will be a lot like the last three years. What if a car gets airborne in the middle of a pack of cars? What if debris gets into the crowd? What if more than just debris gets into the crowd? The consequnces are unthinkable. What's happened so far puts these possibilities in the foreground instead of the back of the mind where they should be. "I'm glad my seats are not in a turn" is a thought I've had, and it's disconcerting.

Look, I'm not trying to be overly negative about the race. The Indy 500 is the one thing in my life I try very hard not to be negative about. I also fully understand that racing will always have risk. At the start of every 500, my heart is in my throat, both in exhilaration and in nervousness wondering if they all can make it through turn 1 without wadding it up. That will never change no matter how safe they make these cars. However, the risk could be above acceptable levels right now, and IndyCar has yet to show they can get it right in time. You put it all together and it's hard to be excited for the race.

Personally, here's hoping that I can get that anticipatory thrill back by the time I arrive at the Speedway Sunday morning. Above all else, let's hope for a safe, exciting race where all 33 drivers come back at the end of the day. We'll all be winners if that happens regardless of who takes the checkered flag. That's all I want out of this anymore.

Monkeys Screwing Footballs

The title of this post says it all right now regarding IndyCar and the situation at IMS. You could also go with goat rodeo or cluster*bleep.* The point is this has been a disaster, and unfortunately there is no assurance at all that anything has been rectified.

Basically, once Ed Carpenter got upside down this morning, IndyCar went into full Drudge siren panic mode. Meeting after meeting took place with little to no communication from up high. That was frustrating, but the press conference with Mark Miles and Derrick Walker was infuriating.

In response to today, IndyCar mandated that teams must run the same aero setup in the race that they run in qualifying. They've also reverted back to the boost levels that will be used in the race. This leads to two questions right off the bat: Does that mean teams can't change anything in the set up for next week, and more importantly, how does dropping the boost back help things? Helio and Newgarden's crashes both occurred in race trim.

The overall problem is that the powers that be clearly have no idea what is causing the cars to get airborne, and thus have no idea how to fix it. Thus, the perception is that they are scrambling and essentially throwing darts to try and solve the problem. Maybe they have solved it, although that seems unlikely. Either way, unless they can figure it out before Sunday, there's going to be a layer of apprehension surrounding race day. What if one of the cars gets airborne in traffic, or goes into the crowd?

If there is a root cause to all this, it's the fact that the superspeedway aero kits had little, if any testing, before May 3rd. In hindsight, that's completely ridiculous, but again, those with decision making power should have known that ahead of time. The crazy thing is, I sort of believed Derrick Walker when he said this won't happen next year, because they will have had the time to get it straightened out. They didn't give the cars that time this month, and this is the result. Testing before hand might have discovered this and given them time to fix it, instead of the haphazard desperation we see now.

Meanwhile, practice has just started. Qualifying has been shifted to ESPN News. Of course, this being IndyCar, rain remains in the forecast potentially starting shortly after qualifying is to begin. In all this, someone is going to win the pole, and someone is going home, which feels doubly cruel. At this point though, I think everyone just wants to get through today in one piece. Hope might be all we have to go on with that, since we're clearly lacking a concrete plan.

A Reminder: The Indy 500 Qualifying Points Are Insane

Admittedly, this isn't anywhere close to the biggest story line going into Indy 500 qualifying weekend. The talk starts with the big accidents this week, the ever changing aero parts, and figuring out exactly how this whole thing will work. However, you're not really an IndyCar blogger until you complain about something, so it's time for me to pull off the rookie stripes, and this has been bothering me ever since I was reminded of it.

The points allocation for qualifying is ludicrous. In case you've forgotten, here's a primer from Motorsports Talk. Basically, whoever tops the charts tomorrow gets 33 points, with everyone else getting one less point for each position down to a single point for 33rd. Sunday's Fast Nine then have up to 9 additional points available: 9 points to the pole winner down to 1 point for 9th. In theory, someone could earn 42 points this weekend. Last year, someone did in the form of Ed Carpenter.

Keep in mind, for a "normal" (i.e. no double points) race, second place is worth 40 points. IndyCar has set up a distinct possibility that eight laps will count for more points than a second in a full race. The eight laps are the most stressful of the season for the drivers, but it's still eight laps. This didn't affect last year's title, but the 500 qualifying points did help Helio hold on to second. In the end, he beat Dixon by just 5 points. Helio made the Fast Nine, started 4th, and earned 37 points. Dixon qualified 14th on Saturday and earned 20 points.

Yes, this is the Indianapolis 500 and thus nobody gives two craps about the championship right now, and rightly so. However, there will be ten more races after the 500 and a champion to be crowned. This system creates the potential of the next two days being the difference in crowning that champion, and as important as Indy 500 Time Trials are, that puts a little too much importance on it.

Other Thoughts Going into Qualifying:

• With Fast Friday relatively quiet due to conditions, it's hard to tell exactly who the pole favorites are. That said, I'm pretty confident it will be a Chevy. I'm guessing it's between the Penskes, the top two Ganassis, and Carpenter (and Ed only because you can't write off the two time defending polesitter). If I have to pick one, I'll pick Dixon.
• Likewise, I suspect Chevy will have most of the Fast Nine. Hondas I could see sneak in there are Munoz, Hinchcliffe, Rahal, and if he can keep up what's been an impressive week, Gabby Chaves.
• At the other end, barring someone walling it tomorrow, it's hard to see anyone but Buddy Lazier being the odd man out. The team ran just eight laps today at a top speed of 216 mph. In contrast, Pippa Mann went out right at the end of the day in a rebuilt car and topped 225 in three laps. Since this weekend doesn't look like it's going to be pretty for Buddy, so let's take a quick look back to when he did something special on Bump Day.
• If Buddy can find the magic, then the most likely candidates to be bumped are each of the Coyne cars (Pippa because of the rebuilt car, the 19 because of the driver timeshare, and Huertas because he isn't that fast), followed by Clauson. Darkhorse: Tagliani, who hasn't run much and hasn't been particularly fast when he has. Huge darkhorse and potential shocker: Bourdais, who's been down on the speed charts all week, almost as down as Clauson.
• Please stay away rain. You saw how complicated the process is now? Imagine if rain takes a bite out of track (and TV) time.

Never Forget IMS Can Bite Back

Good news everyone, the 500 got some mainstream publicity today! The bad news, of course, is this was the reason why.

(Photo credit: AP)

Luckily, Helio walked away, and even more incredibly, got a few laps in the backup car before the end of the day. However, this was a terrifying crash, both in pictorial and video form. I'm far from an engineer, so I have no idea what caused it, but I will point out that the DW12 has had problems getting airborne in the past at IMS. It could also have had something to do with the aero kits (maybe the new piece from Chevy?), or something else.

The one thought I had looking at the crash is that it's a good thing that the cars will likely be more separated on race day than they have been. A crash like that the last three races could have resulted in a Vegas-like disaster. Heck, it already could with a car that high up approaching the catch fence. Going forward we'll see if anything is done.

Helio's incident got the national press interested, but we all know that hasn't been the only problem the last two days. Poor Simona ended up in a Car-Be-Que *again.* What did she do to piss off this place, and do we fans of her have to sacrifice a tenderloin or something to make it stop? If nothing else, she'd definitely be Beavis's favorite IndyCar driver.

The final hour of practice today saw Pippa Mann crash hard into the attenuated barrier on the pit wall. Once again, the crash looked bad, but the driver was alright, a testament to the safety of these cars.

What today's incidents reminded me of is that IMS is dangerous, and the possibility of disaster is always looming in the background. The last few Months of May have been relatively safe, at least nothing as frightening as Mike Conway's crash in 2010.

Obviously, no one wants to see incidents like today's or any severe injuries, but as Paul Page said in the 1991 Delta Force intro:

"Danger has always been a passenger. Like the track and the speed, it is a constant. Ever present, it too is a part of the lure. Without that risk, the men are just ordinary."

Add women to that, and as much as we want to put the danger out of our heads, it remains just as true today and it was in 1991. The danger is part of what gives racing its thrill, going hand and hand with the speed and competition. It's the unstated thrill, but it's not going away and it never will. That said, let's hope Helio's wild ride is the worst we see for a long, long time.

Now, for some other thoughts on practice so far.

• This might be an unpopular opinion, but I'm not sure there's a whole lot of value in the no-tow report, at least not this early. On race day, how often do cars run by themselves? Not much, if at all. On Friday with the extra boost, the no-tow speeds might tell us who has a shot at the pole and who is in trouble, but on these first few days? I'm not convinced it's telling us a lot.
• Last year, speeds didn't hit 230 until Fast Friday. Today? Carlos Munoz ends the day with a 230.121 mph bullet. 
• Chevy still has the majority of the top 10, but Honda is clearly competitive. Chevy's biggest advantage at this point may be as simple as having Penske and Ganassi in their corner.
• It's possibly a one day blip, but KV Racing was well down the order today. For Clauson, that's been an all-week problem.
• What's going on at Foyt? Sato has run quite a bit, but Hawksworth didn't get going until today, and Tagliani has run all of 10 laps this week. I wonder if three cars is spreading them thin.
• Individually, all the decisions regarding the 19 car makes sense. For James Davison, it makes sense to take the Indy 500 ride, even if his PWC commitments mean he can't qualify the car. For Tristan Vautier, it make sense to take on the qualifying duties, since it keeps his name out there for future rides. For Dale Coyne, it makes sense to take the biggest check (not that Davison is a crap driver by any means). Combine it all together now and it just adds to the farce that is 2015 at Dale Coyne Racing.

The Grand Prix of "Meh"

No need to bury the lede on this one. The Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis was far from the most exciting race ever. It wasn't terrible by any stretch, or even the worst race of the weekend (I fell back to sleep watching the Spanish Grand Prix), but anyone looking for edge of your seat excitement was left wanting.

None of that takes away from the performance of race winner Will Power, who looking back was never really threatened. A couple of things had to go his way, but this one wasn't in much doubt. Graham Rahal, however, once again had the drive of the day with his second consecutive runner-up finish despite Honda's well-documented issues.

I'm still trying to figure how to approach these post-race entries. For now, here are the things that caught my eye.

First lap DERP of a different kind

It was supposed to be different this time they all said. By moving back to a rolling start, we wouldn't have a melee like last year.

Nope.

It started with Helio hitting Dixon from behind. It ended with chaos in mid-pack and half the field taking the oval course backwards. Just like that a front row starter, the last race's winner, and (presumably at the time) Honda's top gun had their races ruined. To the field's credit, this was the only incident of the day, but damn was it embarrassing.

We need to talk about Honda

How is Graham and Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan doing it? The only other Honda to finish in the top 10 was Takuma Sato in 9th. This of course happened after Jack Hawksworth was the only Honda to even make the Fast 12. This is after only Graham and Hinchcliffe made the Fast 12 at Barber. The Rahals have gotten a lot of crap on social media in recent years (now is not the time to debate how much of it is deserved), but credit where credit is due, they are the only Honda team not completely out to lunch right now.

As for the rest of the Honda contingent? Oof. Andretti Autosport was lost all weekend, especially Marco. The other teams weren't much better with the possible exception of Foyt, who got the aforementioned top 10. Obviously with reintroducing differentiation, there was always the risk that this would happen, and unless IndyCar starts hyper legislating this, there's not much the Honda teams can do. By all accounts, Honda most of their eggs in the Indy 500 basket. We'll find out in the next two weeks if that pays off.

The Penske appear to defy basic math

I was confused when I saw the leaders begin to pit on lap 20. I'm far from an engineer or strategist, but it was an 82 lap race. Thus, pit on lap 20, then lap 40, then lap 60, then oh crap. What was more odd is just about every car that didn't intentionally go off strategy was in the same boat save for Rahal and the Schmidt cars (whose tires got so worn it ruined any advantage they might have had). So, when Helio pitted with 24 laps to go, and Power and Montoya pitted with 23 laps remaining, I'm thinking they had to save and this was Graham's chance.

What actually happened is Power had no trouble and won by a comfortable 1.5 seconds. In the post-race press conference, Will indicated that they had not been doing a full stint previously, which makes sense. That's why they're doing strategy during races and I'm yammering on Twitter after drinking three beers.

One thing that could've helped Graham though was not pitting when Newgarden did. Graham was complaining of being held up, and one would think that pitting one lap after Newgarden would've given him a chance to lay down a big in lap that could've gotten him closer. Judging by when his other pit stops happened, he had the fuel to do so. It probably doesn't change the outcome, but it might have made it a little more interesting.

Broadcast and Attendance

The broadcast was what we have come to expect from ABC, an energy less slog. As usual, they missed thing and tended to stay with the leaders holding station than the fights going on farther back (although in fairness they did catch some nice TK passes). Poor JR Hildebrand didn't get mentioned until the Up to Speed segment, and he was running 6th at the time!

I'm sure those at the race had a blast. For those watching at home however, the broadcast has a responsibility to show as much of the action and the story of the race as possible. ABC is consistently sub par in this.

As for attendance, whatever. I have no idea how one can determine by looking around, and IMS doesn't announce the figures. Just add 10,000 to whatever Robin Miller estimates and that's probably close to correct.

Fantasy IndyCar Jinx of the Week

I have been terrible at the new Fantasy IndyCar game on IndyCar.com. This week my jinx came up in the first corner for poor Hawksworth. Later in the race, a bad ECU ended Pagenaud's day. Luckily for me, my other picks were Power and Bourdais, which at least salvaged me some points.

Miscellaneous

Good for Charlie Kimball is getting a top 5, and even better, not being hit for once...TK and Coletti had some battles going on. Coletti definitely races like a guy with a lot of GP2 experience...Bummer for both Hildebrand and Justin Wilson, as mechanical problems ruined both their races...One year after being on pole here, Sebastian Saavedra was arguably the most invisible driver of the race, not counting the Coyne duo...Speaking of the Coyne duo, Dracone finally let the leaders by without incident. It was on camera and everything!

Next Up

As Mark Knopler once said, we truly are "on to Indianapolis, Indiana in May." Nothing further needs to be said.

Yet Another IndyCar Blog

Hello IndyCar world! After months of thinking about it, I've decided to jump into the blogging world. Despite that thought, this a spur of the moment decision, which is why everything looks like its still under construction (fitting in a way in the year of the aero kit and whatever Dale Coyne is doing). Let's start with the obligatory introduction entry.

Who are you?

My name is Eric. On Twitter, I'm known as @NegativeVORP. While that is a baseball term, I do tweet a lot about IndyCar, especially during races. I am the rarest of rare breeds: an IndyCar fan in his 20s who is not from Indiana*. Even rarer, my formative years came during the nastiest of the split era. The first 500 I remember watching from flag to flag? 1995. Yet here I am.

*although the 20s part only applies for a few more months, unfortunately

What do you bring to the table?

Other than a new addition to what has sadly become a rapidly shrinking market recently? I don't know yet. I don't have much if any technical knowledge, nor an encyclopedian level of IndyCar history. My hope is I can keep it interesting enough for you all to keep reading. Only one way to find out!

Let's get the biases out of the way. Who are your drivers?

Currently: TK, Simona, Hinch, Josef. All-time: Zanardi

What races have you attended?

Nazareth in '95 and '96. Cleveland and Mid-Ohio in 2007. Baltimore all three years that ran (2011-2013). Indy every year since 2008 except 2012. I will be at this year's 500.

Why "Need More Grip?"

It was the first semi-witty yet applicable name I could think of. Suggestions for something different are welcome and encouraged.

Will you write about other forms of racing?

Perhaps. I watch most of the major series in some capacity, albeit not nearly as the obsessive levels I do IndyCar. The same goes for the Road to Indy. I try to keep up, but don't always succeed.

When can you get started?

Soon presumably. It is the Month of May after all, which means there's plenty to talk about.