Race #10 The Honda Indy Toronto – Recap

Ok, wait a minute…was it not supposed to be now the moment that Will Power would leave everyone on the dust with 5 straight road and street races? Well, it surely started that way but with so many twists (pun intended!) in the race the win fell in Ryan Hunter-Ray’s lap like a kitten. He has now won THREE races in a row…yes, the AMERICAN RACE CAR DRIVER, is in the Championship lead by 37 markers. So much for Graham and Marco being the American heroes!!! We can certainly write (and be relieved!) that Dario Franchitti is done for this year’s championship as he is now 107 points out with 5 races remaining. It is just too much ground to make. Read the Official Box Score here.

Career Best for Charlie Kimball (USA) as he finishes in 2nd.

The storylines are as follows:

• Engines – we can safely say that the THREE engine manufacturers are pushing the limits and it is also creating havoc in the races. Today’s race featured engine failure to Scott Dixon (Honda), Simona de Silvestro (Lotus), and James Hinchcliffe (Chevrolet).
• The Sebastian Bourdais Watch – Sebastian is coming back after taking the oval portion off the schedule (commitments in 24-hours of Le-Mans) and was knocking on the win (he was 3rd at the last restart) but got pushed to the wall and ended one-lap down in 14th. I would bet that SeaBass will be a winner before the season ends. He showed his team is ready to provide him the best car possible.
• The Ryan Briscoe Watch – Ryan once again was robed of at least a Top 5 finish when he was pushed toward the wall during turn 3 scrimmage and got into Dario Franchitti ending his race. He just cannot get a break. Maybe a win at the Season Finale at Fontana will erase all bad memories.
• TV Partner and Ratings – as usual, ABC missed a restart, some passes (at least they went back to replay them), and there were some names misspelled by the whole crew up and down. They were off their game a bit…I would expect a 1.0 rating with a 1pm start. Hopefully it finishes at 1.2 and that should be the upswing INDYCAR needs.
• Will There Be Some Issues at the Race? – with Toronto there are ALWAYS issues on track as Simon Pagenaud, who has raced very clean this year, just was awful blocking going into turn 3 and destroyed Josef Newgarden’s race. Josef also got into Will Power, Graham Rahal into teammate Charlie Kimball, Charlie Kimball into Sebastian Bourdais (although Charlie was not at fault but SeaBass had another perspective!) and Tony Kanaan had a run into a tire in pit lane. Great all-around action!!!

Race Winner: Due to my grandma’s passing I was not able to do this race’s preview and I did not pick a winner but RHR would have not been my pick. Yet, he has shown that he is poised to be reckoned with the Championship run. He was my pick at the start of the season to finish a close second to Will Power. If he wins it…I will not complain!

Ryan Hunter-Reay wins his 3rd consecutive race.

Engine Winner: Another Chevy win…Honda got the other two podium spots!

Highest Rookie: It looks like Josef is soooo close to being at the podium in every race but something happens (by him or into him!) that just destroys his great effort and potential results. Simon has his worst day even after leading 23 laps. His mid-pack racing left some bad taste after blocking a couple of times.

INDYCAR Fan Series – Steve Wittich

This is the 5th installment of the INDYCAR Fan Series I have created in order to get to know as many INDYCAR fans as possible. I ask some questions and these fans will reply as much as they want you to know them. No editing from my part. Our guest is Steve Wittich (he has an impressive IndyCar fact-producing twitter account and races frequent flyer!)

What is your name, current residence city, and how long have you followed IndyCar?

Steve Wittich, Indianapolis, Indiana

“I went to my first race at Mosport in 1978 and started religiously following CART in 1986.  The Honda Indy in Toronto will be my 100th in person race.”

Which are your favorites: driver, track, team?

“I don’t have favorite drivers any more.  I was a huge fan of Greg Moore and made a vow to my self to be a fan of all drivers after his death.  

“My favorite track is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Nazareth, Road America & Portland are other favorites.”

“My favorite current team is Bryan Herta Autosport.  Bryan and Steve (Newey) have stuck to their plan and built a really strong team that is easy to cheer for”.”

Which are your all-time Top 3 races; those which you will like to see at any time every hour?

“1986 Molson Indy Toronto… first race in Toronto and the one that got me hooked for life. 

1992 Indy 500… my first 500

1995 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland… epic battle between Robby Gordon, Michael Andretti, Bryan Herta & Jacques Villeneuve over the last 10 laps.”

When not into IndyCar, what TV Series and sports you like to see?

TV Series: “The Closer, The Mentalist, Mad Men”

Sports: “almost anything with 2 or 4 wheels, hockey and college basketball”

Any sports or activities you practice in your spare time?

“I have a small business that keeps me very busy and limits my free time but my wife and I do rescue English Bulldogs and enjoy going to concerts”

What has been the best book you have read?

“From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman.  I pretty much only read history related books.”

Finally, who are you rooting for the IndyCar Series Championship this year?

“I’m not really rooting for anybody… I just want to see good clean racing.  If you forced me to choose somebody for the championship this year it would be Scott Dixon.”

Thanks to Steve for being so kind in accepting this invitation. I’m always interested in Steve’s tweets and IndyCar facts. His 100th attended race coming at Toronto on July 8th will be celebrated at this blog with commentary from Steve!

Follow Steve on Twitter handle @stevewittich 

James Hinchcliffe – Is He The Next IndyCar Legend?

As I read and celebrate James Hinchcliffe’s selection as the next driver for the GoDaddy #27 Dallara/Chevy IndyCar, I wonder how similar his path could be as Helio Castroneves fortunes in 1999.

We all know that Roger Penske had signed Canadian Greg Moore for the 2000 season before he lost his life on the season finale at Fontana Speedway on October 31st, 1999. The Captain rushed toward Brazilian Castroneves and signed him basically on the spot. Thank God for that move as it made Castroneves career a Hall of Fame one. Could had he achieved what he has done without Penske colors? Probably double-digits wins and one Indy 500 at most.

Hinchcliffe and Castroneves have quite the same personality – friendly, always smiling, fans magnets, sponsors dream – which make them great spokepersons for INDYCAR and the brand. What intrigues me most with Hinchcliffe is that since I followed his path back in 2009, he seemed poised to get to this position. His self confidence and positive attitude made him shine wherever  he was. On Indy Lights his career was booming when he decided that he was ready after a runner-up finish in 2010. I always thought he rushed his skills toward an IndyCar seat, even when Newman-Haas was the team. As the season went by, he showed the promise everyone was talking about and at the end got his Rookie of the Year award (I was pretty sure JR Hildebrand would win it!).

If James can accomplish what Castroneves has done, well my friend, GoDaddy, IndyCar, Andretti Autosports and the Indianapolis 500 are going to blossom at the right moment. In fact, it is my wish that after one year on the #27 car he makes everyone forget Danica Patrick drove that race car.  Looking this signing as a business (as I always do) there was not a better time to make a change from Danica to James than 2012 (sadly Dan Wheldon would have been very impressive!). With new powerplants on the grid and more challenges on the schedule, Danica’s brand would just kept going down and IndyCar’s value would plummet. Hinchcliffe has shown he can race well in all venues and Andretti Autosports is quite adept in running good teams.

Having James Hinchcliffe on the Andretti Autosports #27 GoDaddy Dallara/Chevy will help create a masterful marketing platform on a driver that already has it’s own website based on his charisma and personality. Can you imagine Hinchcliffe on a GoDaddy Super Bowl ad next month, at Indianapolis, with high heels and a bikini or shorts? That exposure and brand is what INDYCAR needs to grow the sport. Not Danica crossing over to cabby land and not knowing if she is an IndyCar driver or not!

I think that based on equipment and skills Hinchcliffe could get to 15-20 wins, 1 Indy 500 and 1 championship when his career is done.

Is James the next IndyCar legend? Probably not right away, but the future is very bright!!!