IndyCar: Texas Motor Speedway Discussion Thread

[Paul Jeffrey]

Welcome to the central discussion thread for the IndyCar DXC Technology 600 from Texas Motor Speedway.

The second oval event of the 2019 NTT IndyCar series following the jewel in the crowd race at Indianapolis last month sees the field head to Texas, a short and sharp 1.44 mile 20 degree banked oval in Fort Worth, Texas.

An event that has an unbroken record of holding IndyCar racing since 1997, this oval venue is a favourite with fans and often produces close racing.

Last time out at Detroit saw Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon take top honours, but with the unpredictable nature of IndyCar racing this year, any one of the top 15 cars could realistically be in with a shout of taking the chequer at the end of 600 miles of running on Sunday afternoon.

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[BrettSinclair1]

There should be more (50%!?) ovals on the Indycar schedule!
They are both the (partial) root of the series and offer some amazing racing.

ps:
Being European, I cannot watch this race live. Damn...

 

[Stig's Portuguese Cousin]

Hoping Ericsson does better in this one, the guy is getting better and better in Indy, hoping he returns to F1 some day

 

[Ryno917]

ps:
Being European, I cannot watch this race live. Damn...

I'm in Canada and I can't watch it live, either, unless I pay over $90/mo for a cable package I don't even want just to get the obscure channel Indycar has been shoved on.

 

[PoopMan]

I'm in Canada and I can't watch it live, either, unless I pay over $90/mo for a cable package I don't even want just to get the obscure channel Indycar has been shoved on.

Don't be a criminal now and watch it illegally

 

[BrettSinclair1]

I'm in Canada and I can't watch it live, either, unless I pay over $90/mo for a cable package I don't even want just to get the obscure channel Indycar has been shoved on.

That's horrendous! What's the point of having cars run in circles if the people cannot watch it?

 

[Slowdive]

I'm in Canada and I can't watch it live, either, unless I pay over $90/mo for a cable package I don't even want just to get the obscure channel Indycar has been shoved on.

Hopefully when they realize no one is paying 45 bucks a month for Indycar Gold, they'll make it more accessible. Even Robin Miller was joking that no one is watching the channel.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

Indycar Gold is a setback for the sport. Here they are, struggling to build a following and things are set up in a way that makes it difficult or expensive to do so.

 

[Isaac Chavira]

I'm in Canada and I can't watch it live, either, unless I pay over $90/mo for a cable package I don't even want just to get the obscure channel Indycar has been shoved on.

Being American, I can't watch a full race of Blancpain. It always ends 2 laps before Race 1 ends. And I cannot set up recording times for that series either for some reason. All I can select is 'Record New Episodes'.

 

[Ryno917]

Being American, I can't watch a full race of Blancpain. It always ends 2 laps before Race 1 ends. And I cannot set up recording times for that series either for some reason. All I can select is 'Record New Episodes'.

Is their Youtube stream geoblocked? AFAIK all Blancpain stuff is live streamed for free through their YouTube account worldwide.

 

[Michel Forest]

I can’t watch it, as I live in Canada and we all know the rest of this story... However, I wouldn’t watch, even if I could. Over the years, I’ve come to think that these open-wheel races on short, highly banked, ultrafast ovals make no sense and are nothing more than death traps. A bit like that crazy bike race on the Isle of Man. I fully understand that this is not an opinion that will be popular on this website, but that’s just how I feel. I still remember the death of Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas and the death of Greg Moore at Fontana. (And before you ask, I don’t feel this way about the Indy 500, because that track was designed for Indycars. Texas was designed for NASCAR.)

Sure, motor racing is risky, but there are risks, and then there are unnecessary risks. To me, a race like Texas falls into the second category.

That’s not a moral judgement, or anything like that, it’s just the way I feel. Maybe I’m getting softer with age...

 

[Ryno917]

Hopefully when they realize no one is paying 45 bucks a month for Indycar Gold, they'll make it more accessible. Even Robin Miller was joking that no one is watching the channel.

Indycar Gold is a setback for the sport. Here they are, struggling to build a following and things are set up in a way that makes it difficult or expensive to do so.

I'd happily pay $45/yr for high quality live streaming (with no commercials). That's a steal imho. It's almost impossible to get a cable package for that little per month here.

I wish WEC would bring theirs back, too. I'd buy into all the series I like for a similar price, each, if they offered it. Would wind up being a hell of a lot cheaper than cable and I'd actually get to watch stuff legally.

I can’t watch it, as I live in Canada and we all know the rest of this story... However, I wouldn’t watch, even if I could. Over the years, I’ve come to think that these open-wheel races on short, highly banked, ultrafast ovals make no sense and are nothing more than death traps. A bit like that crazy bike race on the Isle of Man. I fully understand that this is not an opinion that will be popular on this website, but that’s just how I feel. I still remember the death of Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas and the death of Greg Moore at Fontana. (And before you ask, I don’t feel this way about the Indy 500, because that track was designed for Indycars. Texas was designed for NASCAR.)

Sure, motor racing is risky, but there are risks, and then there are unnecessary risks. To me, a race like Texas falls into the second category.

That’s not a moral judgement, or anything like that, it’s just the way I feel. Maybe I’m getting softer with age...

I understand your premise, but I don't understand your distinction between Indy and the other ovals. Indy is the fastest of all of them and has the same catch fencing. The fact that Moore and Wheldon were killed somewhere other than Indy is chance and nothing more. Indy is not inherently safer than any of the other ovals they race at all. And the claim it was designed for Indycars is fallacious at best, too; It was designed and (poorly) built in the early 1900s, "Indycar" wasn't even a thing. In fact, the first race to be held at the track was for motorcycles. Not to mention what constitutes an "Indycar" has changed immeasurably over the years. Aside from a couple different surfaces and walls added, the track itself has remained basically the same since its inception.

That's not coming from a fanboy position defending Indycar/oval racing or anything, simply an observation of your comments - just doesn't make sense to me, objectively. I'm not an oval fan at all, really, and only started watching the oval races again last year.

 

[Michel Forest]

I understand your premise, but I don't understand your distinction between Indy and the other ovals. Indy is the fastest of all of them and has the same catch fencing. The fact that Moore and Wheldon were killed somewhere other than Indy is chance and nothing more. Indy is not inherently safer than any of the other ovals they race at all. And the claim it was designed for Indycars is fallacious at best, too; It was designed and (poorly) built in the early 1900s, "Indycar" wasn't even a thing. In fact, the first race to be held at the track was for motorcycles. Not to mention what constitutes an "Indycar" has changed immeasurably over the years. Aside from a couple different surfaces and walls added, the track itself has remained basically the same since its inception.

Everything you write makes sense. I think my reaction is more irrational than anything else. I just feel an uneasiness watching Indycars at Texas. I used to watch that race, but now, I always fear a fatal accident will happen eventually. I think it is the configuration of the track and the high banking. Indy is more like a rectangle and the turns are flatter. But you are right to point out it’s just as dangerous. As I said, it’s just an irrational gut feeling on my part. I certainly don’t blame anybody for enjoying the race!

 

[CreamyCornCob]

Watching live on Gold (theres ways) - Herta just did a whopping 222.4mph, albeit a big tow.
So the top guys are doing 220 with no tow.

But Nobody's going to touch what the big boys in CART were doing, not even close.

Paul Tracy / 236.678 mph, lap of 22.542

 

[Will Mazeo]

The human body cant stand these speeds in this track so what's the point

 

[CreamyCornCob]

The human body cant stand these speeds in this track so what's the point

Actually, they can. Today's indycar's slug around Texas at an effortless 220mph, no issues at all for the drivers.

Its when CART ran there with their incredible speeds, that the drivers were complaining of 'seeing dark spots' and partial black outs from sustained high G levels.

 

[BrettSinclair1]

Actually, they can. Today's indycar's slug around Texas at an effortless 220mph, no issues at all for the drivers.

Its when CART ran there with their incredible speeds, that the drivers were complaining of 'seeing dark spots' and partial black outs from sustained high G levels.

Which makes this a historic event: For arguable the first time, the squishy bit was the one that didn't stand the "quality" testing.

 

[michelforest]

Actually, they can. Today's indycar's slug around Texas at an effortless 220mph, no issues at all for the drivers.

Its when CART ran there with their incredible speeds, that the drivers were complaining of 'seeing dark spots' and partial black outs from sustained high G levels.

I vaguely remembered that, so I checked out the Wikipedia page. It was in 2001 and the race was cancelled. It was supposed to be a 600 mile event.

From Wikipedia:
"By late Saturday afternoon, concerns were rising about driver safety on the track Patrick Carpentier went to the medical facility to have his wrist checked (a previous injury he had suffered in a crash at Long Beach.) As an aside, he mentioned that he could not walk in a straight line for at least four minutes after he got out of his car. An impromptu survey was taken during the private drivers' meeting and 21 of the 25 drivers in the starting field reported suffering disorientation and vertigo-like symptoms,including inner ear or vision problems, after running more than 10 laps (or 20 laps). They also claimed that they had had virtually no peripheral vision and limited reaction time. This was due to sustained g-loads as high as 5.5--almost double what most persons can endure, and closer to what jet pilots usually experience in shorter time intervals. Veteran racing reporter John Oreovicz later said that the Saturday practice session was one of the few times he could recall fearing for the safety of the drivers and fans in what at the time was a quarter-century of covering races. By then, at least one driver, Franchitti, doubted that the race would go on as scheduled. Later, Bräck recalled that when the drivers' meeting concluded, only he and Tracy were in favor of racing the following day."

You could always count on Paul Tracy to do the insane thing!

 

[Will Mazeo]

Actually, they can. Today's indycar's slug around Texas at an effortless 220mph, no issues at all for the drivers.

Its when CART ran there with their incredible speeds, that the drivers were complaining of 'seeing dark spots' and partial black outs from sustained high G levels.

I meant the CART speeds.......

 

[Slowdive]

I'd happily pay $45/yr for high quality live streaming (with no commercials). That's a steal imho. It's almost impossible to get a cable package for that little per month here.

Well you can get that through the NBCSN website. Get that and a VPN and you're good to go. It's only Indycar though.