Mid
Ohio. It will
likely be the place where Scott Dixon put himself back in the championship
(though problems for Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves helped as well).
Still, going into the final three races, we have an exciting championship
battle.
Also, before I start, one
comment that I wasn’t sure where it fit: I love that I actually am able to
watch a race and have to beg that they go to a commercial so I could make a
personal “pit stop” so I won’t miss much. You don’t get that when watching a NASCAR
race. There are plenty of opportunities. Believe me.
Pre-Race: Like a majority of the
pre-races have been on my local ABC affiliate this year… pre-empted for local
programming again! So my review of the pre-race is nonexistent. Personally, I’m
not a big fan of tuning in and them going to Mid-Ohio just in time to see the
start.
The Race Broadcast: While this race was broadcast on ABC due to coverage
of the Olympics, the on-air talent was similar to what fans see when they tune
into a broadcast on NBC Sports Network. Actually, it was who they see on NBC
Sports Network (except for Robin Miller). Due to NASCAR’s top two national
series (both the Cup and Nationwide series are being shown on ESPN/ESPN2/ABC
now) along with the NHRA running in three different states, the on-air
motorsports talent (or “talent” according to some people) was committed so the
NBC Sports crew was brought in.
I really have no major
complaints about the quality of race coverage at Mid-Ohio. Yes. The camera
angles could’ve shown more action in the back of the pack (because that’s where
it was). But I have seen worse race coverage on ABC this season and this was
not one of those races.
The Race: While Mid-Ohio wasn’t as
exciting as it could’ve been (I think part of it had to do with the delayed
“push-to-pass”), but all of the drivers did race clean for the most part and
the championship battle got even more exciting with one contender winning, one
finishing second, one running in the back most of the day, and one losing an
engine. Other than that, I nearly fell asleep until there was a mention of Ryan
Hunter-Reay having troubles (more about that in a bit) leading me to tweet, and
I quote, “I’ve sort of woken up now.”
In
conclusion, not the best race but the points standings afterwards have me
extremely exciting for Sonoma.
French Connection: While the top two were
familiar, usual frontrunners and they didn’t really fight for the lead on the
track (just on pit road), the battle for 3rd at times was a heated one between
INDYCAR’s pair of Frenchman – Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud.
Bourdais,
who was almost Jimmie Johnson-like in Champ Car, has had a very up and down
season with Dragon Racing. He started off the year in a Lotus (but the team
switched to Chevy just before Indy) and was then bumped from a full-time to
part-time schedule after one of the two full-time cars was dropped in favor of
one full-time car split between him and teammate, Katherine Legge (he would run
on road and street courses while she ran the ovals). He also has had several
potentially good races go sour due to mechanical issues or crashes that have
usually not been his fault. But Mid-Ohio was a different story. Bourdais ran up
towards the front of the pack most of the race and finished a solid 4th, the
team’s best result since 2010 when Gil de Ferran was involved with the team.
Pagenaud’s
run at Mid-Ohio showed again why many have been so high on the rookie most of
the season. It also just about cemented “rookie of the year” honors for him (he
has to finish 8th or better at Sonoma
to clinch). But going back to Mid-Ohio, it was Pagenaud’s third podium finish
of his career (all at tracks where he has American Lemans Series experience).
He has still completed the most laps out of any driver this season (but does share
that stat with Helio Castroneves). But really. What else is there to say about
Pagenaud that hasn’t already been said this year? He ran well again at Mid-Ohio
after a bit of a slump.
Pantano Fills In and Has a
Decent Day: For those who didn’t know
the story going into Mid-Ohio – during the test the week before at the track,
Charlie Kimball was involved in a crash and suffered an injured hand that
required surgery. That left the 83 Ganassi team in need of a substitute driver.
Enter, Giorgio Pantano, who
was one of the drivers who filled in for Justin Wilson after his back injury
last year. Pantano proved at Mid Ohio that he deserves some consideration for a
full-time ride next season. He hasn’t been an INDYCAR-style car since Motegi
last fall and hadn’t driven the DW-12 until the race weekend. While he only
qualified 24th, he ran a fairly decent race and ended up 14th. He could very
well be a part of the silly season talk for 2013.
Hunter-Reay, Castroneves Struggle: While Will Power pretty much led the entire race
until the final pit stop, his closest championship rivals – Ryan Hunter-Reay
and Helio Castroneves – had multiple issues that gave Power the points lead and
have given Scott Dixon a chance to win his third INDYCAR championship.
While Hunter-Reay started 7th
and was running in the top 10 most of the race, his engine began to go south.
He did try to complete all 85 laps but eventually parked the car on lap 79, a
nice strategy if you think about it because he will not have to suffer a
10-grid spot penalty at Sonoma
(unless, of course, he ahs to change to another engine race weekend). He left
Mid-Ohio with his third DNF of the year (all due to mechanical issues) and 5
points out of the championship lead.
But Castroneves arguably had
the worst weekend out of the championship contenders. After winning at Edmonton and moving to
2nd in the points standings, he was never a factor for Mid-Ohio. It all started
with a test the week before when he was caught up in an accident with Ed
Carpenter and had little track time. Then during Saturday morning practice,
Castroneves made contact with Mike Conway and suffered an injured hand/wrist.
The injury, though, was not severe enough for him not to race and he was
quickly cleared. Then he qualified 13th and took a 10 grid-spot penalty for an
engine change. On top of all of that, he was also fighting a summer cold.
Despite the setbacks, the Brazilian still managed to bring home the car in one
piece with a 16th place finish but went from 2nd, 23 points out of the championship
lead, to 3rd, 26 points out.
I do have to give credit to
both drivers despite their rough races – Hunter-Reay and his team for smart
thinking when it came to their mechanical issues and Castroneves for simply
finishing the race.
Other Notables: For the second race in a row, there were no cautions…
Will Power led the most laps of the race with 57 and finished 2nd, reclaiming
the points lead from Hunter-Reay… Tony Kanaan overcame illness and made up 12
spots to finish 6th… Marco Andretti finished 8th, his best finish of the year
on a road or street course… Hunter-Reay was the only DNF of the 25-car field…
Dragon Racing’s second car will return at Sonoma
with Katherine Legge behind the wheel.
After the Checkers – Dixon Wins Another and
Puts Himself Back in the Title Hunt: While Power dominated the race, the final round of
pit stops ultimately gave the victory to Scott Dixon. It was his second win of
the year and put him within 28 points of the championship lead. Seeing Dixon win at Mid-Ohio has
become a common thing in the last several years and the win helped in his bid
for a third INDYCAR championship. He’s 4th in points and is, along with
Castroneves, the title contender with the most experience when it comes to
fighting for championships.
There
is one lurking issue when it comes to his title hopes, though – mechanical
reliability. Dixon
(and the entire Ganassi team) has had some issues when it comes to engines,
mechanical gremlins, etc. Not to mention he is on his sixth engine (one more
than the allowed five-engine rule). Should he have to change engines at any
point between now and Fontana,
he will suffer a 10-grid spot penalty regardless of situation. Thankfully,
though, his championship rivals are all on their fifth engines now and will
suffer the same penalty.
Next Race: August 26
GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
Sonoma
Sonoma, CA
4:30 PM ET (3:30 PM CT) –
NBC Sports Network
Defending Winner: Will
Power
INDYCAR 36 – August 25
Featuring Simon Pagenaud
7 PM ET (6 PM CT)
following Sonoma
Qualifying - NBC Sports Network
Replays at Various Times
Throughout the week
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