Gateway tomorrow night! (IndyCar)

Nick Hill · Aug 24, 2019

Who else is pumped?!? This oval along with Iowa, for my tastes, is right in the sweet spot for these cars and field size. In my opinion, super speedways can get a bit dull, but you get pretty steady action start to finish with these smaller ovals.

Newgarden looking tough to beat, though the championship is still mathematically up for grabs...pulling hard for Rossi myself, but ultimately I'm happy to have the entertainment and to see the series moving in the right direction (F1 shouldn't blindly copy, but they also shouldn't ignore completely - Indy's figured some things out that F1 seems to struggle with).

What do you guys think? Who's watching?

johnnymat · Aug 24, 2019

Nick Hill said:
Who else is pumped?!? This oval along with Iowa, for my tastes, is right in the sweet spot for these cars and field size. In my opinion, superspeedways can get a bit dull, but you get pretty steady action start to finish with these smaller ovals.

Newgarden looking tough to beat, though the championship is still mathematically up for grabs...pulling hard for Rossi myself, but ultimately I'm happy to have the entertainment and to see the series moving in the right direction (F1 shouldn't blindly copy, but they also shouldn't ignore completely - Indy's figured some things out that F1 seems to struggle with).

What do you guys think? Who's watching?

I agree with you. Gateway, Iowa, and, in my opinion, Texas, provide some really exciting racing. Newgarden is going to be tough to beat but Scott Dixon is quietly moving up the points ladder. He's always a threat to come out of nowhere and take the title. I watched qualifying yesterday and had to feel for Conor Daly. He had the misfortune to be the first out on the slick track. I also had to laugh at the continuing attempts by RLL racing to justify Tako's banzai move at Pocono. I haven't seen anything which absolves him of his responsibility for the crash.

Nick Hill · Aug 24, 2019

To be blunt, Sato has to be stupid, crazy, or careless (or some combination). I would not want to be on a race track with him until he shows me some acknowledgement/contrition.

Nick Hill · Aug 25, 2019

Absolutely mad race, that was crazy!

A lot of people (self included

) wanted to see Sato get a couple race timeout...and he goes out and wins the race (in dramatic fashion, no less!)

And then Rossi gets Newgarden by inches, wow. Both guys way down the order, so not a big points differential, but psychologically I think that's still a big boost for Rossi (if nothing else, the episode had an "anything can happen" vibe).

johnnymat · Aug 25, 2019

Nick Hill said:
Absolutely mad race, that was crazy!

A lot of people (self-included) wanted to see Sato get a couple of race timeout...and he goes out and wins the race (in dramatic fashion, no less!)

And then Rossi gets Newgarden by inches, wow. Both guys way down the order, so not a big points differential, but psychologically I think that's still a big boost for Rossi (if nothing else, the episode had an "anything can happen" vibe).

That was about as unpredictable race as you could want. I got a laugh out of Miller's comment about the "senior citizen" podium. I thought Ferrucci was also impressive. I'd like to see more bullrings like Gateway added to the schedule.

Nick Hill · Aug 25, 2019

johnnymat said:
That was about as unpredictable race as you could want. I got a laugh out of Miller's comment about the "senior citizen" podium. I thought Ferrucci was also impressive. I'd like to see more bullrings like Gateway added to the schedule.

Heartily seconded, these tracks produce some great action. This particular one is well attended, too (though I'm sure Bommarito puts on a major ad blitz, might do some promo deals too...but still fun to see full-ish grandstands at an Indy race).

Ferrucci damn near could have won the race, that would have really been something. I'm not sure where the rookie standings sit right now, but as far as the eyeball test goes, Ferrucci has been the best rookie IMO. Sure, Herta got the COTA win, that was fun/cool, but none of the other rookies (Herta included) have shown me the combination of consistency and measured guts Ferrucci has.

The funniest part for me about Ferrucci is that I came into this season ready to hate the little punk's guts after his little F2 act he put on! Tell you what, this kid is either a really convincing actor, or he's gotten some kind of message through his head loud and clear, because I can't find an instance where he's put a foot wrong either on or off track. I'm pulling for him to keep it going, for sure!

As a caveat, I know Newgarden was pretty peeved with Ferrucci on the final turn. To be honest, even though I've enjoyed my fair share of oval racing in my life, my knowledge of oval racing etiquette is nowhere near enough to comment intelligently on where any blame lies. Even if that was a sloppy move by Ferrucci, my comments would still stand - the overall body of work has been awesome.

Nick Hill · Aug 25, 2019

Got curious - Ferrucci now leads Rosenqvist by 2 points.

Herta and Ericsson are a ways back from those two, so it looks like it'll come down to Santino or Felix.

Ericsson has looked good at times on the road courses, but really seems out of sorts on the ovals. I think the skills can be learned, but there is something special to be said for those like Ferrucci who just seem to take to it intuitively.

NikiGouda · Aug 25, 2019

Nick Hill said:
And then Rossi gets Newgarden by inches, wow. Both guys way down the order, so not a big points differential, but psychologically I think that's still a big boost for Rossi (if nothing else, the episode had an "anything can happen" vibe).

Rossi was already 1 lap behind Newgarden because he pitted
at 20 laps to go under green. "Only" Pagenaud and Daly benefited
from Newgarden's mistake. Newgarden finished 7th but Rossi only
finished 13th with 1 lap down.

gamer19 · Aug 26, 2019

Well, he "put foot wrong" here.
https://www.nbcsports.com/video/josef-newgarden-upset-santino-ferrucci-dangerous-move-gateway
On and OFF the track, as you may see. ahm.
Not a foot, all of his limbs if you asking me. I just can't help but wonder...
what kind of punishment would be for this in F1 ?

I mean... the kid is fast no doubt but pretty reckless, obviously.
Only care for himself (kinda reminds me of Verstappen

), which this incident proves and also THAT ...ugly racial saga in F2 with his own team mate ?!? Which in a way involves his father too !?!

He can be as fast as Michael Schumacher in his best days but for me this one rotten family all over.