2005 IndyCar Series Race Previews

[mlittle]

Bundy, good posting. As I told julian once before, ESPN has a Pacific Rim broadcasting channel which runs in Australia/New Zealand; they may have the IRL races there(probably on same-day tape delay). Watch and enjoy what is(in my opinion) the most-competitve open-wheel series on the planet.

[Kapel]

Nice thread Mlittle.Very well detailed
Its sad that ESPN doesnt show us these races,so i'm not aware of it.Will try to follow ur post & check up the website.

Well done Patrick for pole,sad couldnt get the best result in the race.But 9th is still not bad,considering her problems.

[mlittle]

Kapel, if its' possible, see if you can pick up ESPN's Star Sports-India sports channel; they may have the IndyCar series races there(most likely, same-day tape broadcast).

In case anyone is wondering, here are some of the channels where the races are broadcast:
United States--ABC(domestic TV), ESPN/ESPN-2
Australia & New Zealand--ESPN Pacific Rim
India--ESPN Star Sports India
South Africa--ESPN Atlantic via DSTV

The series website: www.indycar.com
All the available links to anywhere on the site are along the top; there's a news section, results/points listing, tech info, photo gallery, etc. Its' a great website, kapel; check it out if you get the chance.

[Bundy]

thats a bit sexist kappy

oh you meant with the car...sorry old chum!!

[Kapel]

Yes Bundy

Mlittle,Espn star sports doesnt show it They just give a news coverage for all american racing.

[mlittle]

That's a shame, kapel. When or if Patrick eventually wins her first race this year, it'll be the lead story there, regardless of what else is happening that day.

[Julian Mayo]

Yes Bundy

Mlittle,Espn star sports doesnt show it They just give a news coverage for all american racing.

We get a replay, some times at 1am, thru to 4am or any time tween on the monday night

[Kapel]

[mlittle]

Here's a bit of bright news for everyone to digest. Prior to sunday's race at Kansas, the highest TV ratings an IndyCar Series race had(other than the 7.+ rating at Indy this year) was at Texas back in early June, a 1.0.(Don't ask me what the Nielsen ratings mean, cause' I have no earthly idea... )Well, the TV ratings for Kansas were released today, and Kansas 05' now holds the high rating, a 1.1. There are two reasons for this:1--Patrick winning the pole for the race, and 2--The 1-2-3 finish btwn. Kanaan, Wheldon and Meira. Enough said.

[mlittle]

While the IRL IndyCar Series takes the week off, here are some brief details of rounds 9, 10 and 11(which are all back-to-back the rest of July).

Rd. 9 takes the series to "Music City U.S.A.", Nashville, Tenn. for the Firestone Indy 200 at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway. With a concrete track-surface, 14-deg. banked turns, and 6-9 deg. front and back-straights, this track provides unique challenges to both the drivers and teams, where setups and handling will take precedent over horsepower.

Rd. 10 takes place at the oldest continously-used racetrack in the United States--The Milwaukee Mile @ the Wisc. State Fairgrounds in West Allis, Wisc. for the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. The low-banked(9 degree banked turns)1-mile track has hosted both ChampCar and IndyCar series events, and everyone brings their "A" game to this hallowed venue. Last year was the IRL's debut in Milwaukee, and AGR driver Dario Franchitti took top honors, winning last year for Andretti-Green Racing.

Rd. 11 brings us to one of the series' three 2+ mile superspeedways(the others are Indianapolis and Fontana), the Michigan Intl. Speedway, in the Irish Hills of cent. Mich. for the Firestone Indy 400. Last year saw Rahal-Letterman Racing's Buddy Rice win in what amounted to a fuel-strategy race btwn them and AGR's Tony Kanaan. However, two of the three race winners here(Tomas Scheckter in '02, Alex Barron in 03') have won close-finishing victories at this track, and w/the race scheduled when it is, the fight for the 2005 series title will be a major storyline here.

Here are the dates for each race:

July 16-Nashville, 7:00 PM EDT(23:00 UTC)
July 24-Milwaukee, 2:45 PM EDT(18:45 UTC)
July 31-Michigan, 3:15 PM EDT(19:15 UTC)

As always, I'll provide a mid-week preview of each race, plus qual. and race summaries, as well as commentaries, observations and whatever else comes to mind. Thanks, and enjoy.

[mlittle]

Alright, everyone, we're now at the mid-point of the 2005 IRL IndyCar Series season, and it's all downhill from here, starting w/round 9 of the 17-race schedule. The calender takes us to Music City USA(a/k/a Nashville, Tenn.) in central Tennessee for the Firestone Indy 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway. The 1.33-mile track has 14-degree banking in the turns, 6 & 9 degrees of banking on the front-and-back straights and is one of two tracks on the schedule w/a concrete track surface.

Unlike the Milwaukee Mile(Rd. 10), the surface here at Nashville is a lot more bumpier than the billiards-smooth concrete in Milwaukee, so handling will take precedent over horsepower(which helps as well, though not as much). Teams that can set up their cars for the bumpy, grinding concrete will have a distinct advantage over those who have trouble.

Here are the mid-week storylines that have appeared so far:

1--Which teams will bring their "A" game to Nashville? Three; Andretti-Green Racing, Rahal-Letterman, and Marlboro-Team Penske. Two of the teams have won here before(Kanaan w/AGR in 2004; Gil de Ferran w/Penske in 2003). In addition, current Penske racer Sam Hornish, Jr.(runner-up in 2004) has done reasonably well here, posting 3 top-10 finishes in four starts at the track(6th-2001, 3rd-2002, 11th-2003 and 2nd last year).

2--Will tire wear be an issue here? Possibly; the abrasive surface is similar to the former NASCAR oval in Rockingham, NC in that it will eat up tires at a far faster clip than an asphalt surface will. Expect teams to make additional pit stops to change tires more often.

3--Has a second racing groove emerged finally? Doubt it; every year, that question is asked, and it has yet to emerge. With most oval tracks, there are at least two "grooves" or racing lines that cars can use to drive along. Nashville's concrete has yet to develop that second, outer line, so any racer brave enough to attempt an outside pass better make it stick,or they'll soon end up drifting into the outer wall.

As always, I'll provide a qualifying summary on July 15, w/a race summary to follow after the conclusion of the race on July 16, plus any observations as they come along.

[Julian Mayo]

And a competition?

[mlittle]

It's on the way, julian. Be patient, grasshopper...be patient.

BTW, I am considering an open-wheel trivia competition(sent a PM about that to the site admin last night) similar to the one that lemon has for Formula 1--may not be as many questions but it should be as challenging as lemon's.

If(and when) I do a competition outside of that, the choices will mostly likely be:1--who qualifies P1, 2--the three podium finishers(1-2-3) and 3--who will have the fast lap of the race?

I'll probably think of some other items, but I hope these suffice. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Julian Mayo]

It's on the way, julian. Be patient, grasshopper...be patient.

BTW, I am considering an open-wheel trivia competition(sent a PM about that to the site admin last night) similar to the one that lemon has for Formula 1--may not be as many questions but it should be as challenging as lemon's.

If(and when) I do a competition outside of that, the choices will mostly likely be:1--who qualifies P1, 2--the three podium finishers(1-2-3) and 3--who will have the fast lap of the race?

I'll probably think of some other items, but I hope these suffice. Thanks for the suggestion.

Thank.........you............................................................master.

[mlittle]

Your welcome, grasshopper....