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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Mid-Season Report Cards
Ah, the mid-season IndyCar report card. It’s guaranteed to make some people happy and others cringe or cuss. Or both.
How did the Andretti Autosport team, amongst others, fare on Miller's mid-season report card? Read on! (LAT)
Ah, the mid-season IndyCar report card. It’s guaranteed to make some people happy and others cringe or cuss. Or both.
No matter how many times you tell someone it’s not personal, they take it personally.
So far the IZOD IndyCar series has featured some entertaining races like Iowa, Indy, Milwaukee and Brazil with five different winners in nine races.
But mediocrity has out-numbered superlative performances, as this report card, with some notes in the margins from Marshall Pruett, will show.
GRADE A
BRYAN HERTA AUTOSPORT: One start, one big win, one great story. Bryan Herta and Steve Newey put together a small but mighty lineup of Dan Wheldon, engineer Todd Malloy and chief mechanic Don Lambert to chase the big dogs out of Victory Lane last May. Wheldon passing the crippled National Guard car charging to the checkered flag was possibly the sweetest piece of open-wheel irony ever.
(Right team, right driver, right place and right time. We might never see anything like it again, which made the win so astounding.)
DOUBLE FILE RESTARTS: Randy Bernard took a lot of flak from the drivers and got little support from TGBB but it’s proven to be the best reason to watch an Indy car race since Juan Montoya.
DAN WHELDON: From his second Indy win to his first stint with VERSUS, it’s already been a great year. He’s the best analyst Indy car has had since Uncle Bobby was scolding Sam Posey in the early ‘80s. Wheldon doesn’t want to be in the TV booth yet and that’s certainly understandable but he’s laid the groundwork for another career after driving.
(After beating up Wheldon more than once for remaining silent over winter, the Brit served me a cold plate of “Told you so!” at Indy.)
GRADE B
GANASSI/TARGET: How can a team with three wins that leads the standings be anything but an A? Because they screwed up the Indy 500 in qualifying and again on Race Day. Dario Franchitti, who has led 588 laps out of 1,233, continues his brilliance and is drawing a bead on a 3-peat while Scott Dixon has managed to overcome some bad luck/execution to move into third in points.
(The best closers in the series are beginning to hit their stride at just about the same point where the 2008, 2009 and 2010 championships started to come their way. Franchitti, whose Indy car career started while Kanaan and Castroneves were still in Indy Lights, appears to be getting stronger with age. Dixon is more motivated than ever but has yet to turn the fire in his belly into a win this year.)
NEWMAN/HAAS: The “Team that almost wasn’t” has been a study in professionalism and perseverance as Oriol Servia and rookie James Hinchcliffe have been the feel good story of the first nine races. Mr. Dependable (Servia) is fourth in points and Hinch has proven to be just as quick as he is personable.
(If he keeps it up, it’s hard not to see Penske and Andretti inquiring about Servia’s services…and Telemundo sponsorship for 2012. The same can be said about Hinch, who seems genetically predisposed to drive fast while keeping sponsors smiling.)
GRADE C+
TEAM PENSKE: Will Power gets an A, Ryan Briscoe a B, Helio Castroneves a C but their no show at Indianapolis must figure into their overall grade. Power has matched Franchitti in the win column (3) but unforced errors on pit stops may wind up costing him the title. Briscoe has been quick but victimized by other people’s mistakes while Helio hit everything but his marks in the first few races.
(The team was once known for its ruthless pursuit of victory, but sentimentality and an odd desire to maintain the status quo looks like it has set in since expanding to three cars. By this time last year—nine races down--all three Penske drivers had won races. They’d won six of those nine races, actually. In 2011, just one of the three drivers has found the Winner’s Circle. Strange days.)
ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT: Impressive victories by Marco Andretti and Mike Conway offset by the May Meltdown and consistent inconsistency. Danica Patrick’s last hurrah on the circuit has been a mixed bag so far while Ryan Hunter-Reay would like to start 2011 all over.
(If things are strange at Team Penske, it's getting downright bizarre at Andretti Autosport. I would have been given a sobriety test at the beginning of the season if I’d suggested Mike Conway would be the first to win for AA, Marco Andretti would earn their second win, Danica Patrick would rebound strongly after disappearing in 2010 and Ryan Hunter-Reay would find himself winless and 20th in points by the time we got to Toronto. Going forward, if Andretti’s win at Iowa told us anything, the addition of engineering guru Allen McDonald back into the mix shouldn’t be underestimated. For the first time in a good while, the team is on the rise.)
GRADE C
KV RACING: Dallara’s favorite group isn’t crashing any less but they are running better. Despite not having a ride until they said start your engines at St. Pete, Tony Kanaan has responded like the pro he is and ranks fifth in the standings (despite throwing away a win at Milwaukee). Takuma Sato remains fast and furiously maddening while E.J. Viso’s two-year crashing demonstration is getting expensive.
(If only IndyCar races were shorter. Knock 50 to 100 miles off a few races this season, and KV has three wins. Kanaan was a longshot to win this year, but he’s jelled faster than I imagined. On a street course or on the Loudon bullring, it just might happen. Sato is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a Dallara. No clue on what it will take for him to have an "Aha!" moment, but if it happens, the guy can win. Viso looked like he was on the path to enlightenment...yet he's the lowest-placed full-time veteran in the championship, just three spots ahead of James Jakes.)
SAM SCHMIDT MOTORSPORTS: The fastest one-car effort in the IZOD INDYCAR series stole the show and the pole at Indianapolis and Alex Tagliani backed that up with qualifying first at Texas despite losing engineer Allen McDonald. Pace not as good in the races but making progress.
(Schmidt acquired FAZZT’s well-oiled machine, but Sam’s talents as an owner will be put to the test as he tries to settle the ship with McDonald gone and Tagliani’s tenure reportedly drawing to a close.)
No matter how many times you tell someone it’s not personal, they take it personally.
So far the IZOD IndyCar series has featured some entertaining races like Iowa, Indy, Milwaukee and Brazil with five different winners in nine races.
But mediocrity has out-numbered superlative performances, as this report card, with some notes in the margins from Marshall Pruett, will show.
GRADE A
BRYAN HERTA AUTOSPORT: One start, one big win, one great story. Bryan Herta and Steve Newey put together a small but mighty lineup of Dan Wheldon, engineer Todd Malloy and chief mechanic Don Lambert to chase the big dogs out of Victory Lane last May. Wheldon passing the crippled National Guard car charging to the checkered flag was possibly the sweetest piece of open-wheel irony ever.
(Right team, right driver, right place and right time. We might never see anything like it again, which made the win so astounding.)
DOUBLE FILE RESTARTS: Randy Bernard took a lot of flak from the drivers and got little support from TGBB but it’s proven to be the best reason to watch an Indy car race since Juan Montoya.
DAN WHELDON: From his second Indy win to his first stint with VERSUS, it’s already been a great year. He’s the best analyst Indy car has had since Uncle Bobby was scolding Sam Posey in the early ‘80s. Wheldon doesn’t want to be in the TV booth yet and that’s certainly understandable but he’s laid the groundwork for another career after driving.
(After beating up Wheldon more than once for remaining silent over winter, the Brit served me a cold plate of “Told you so!” at Indy.)
GRADE B
GANASSI/TARGET: How can a team with three wins that leads the standings be anything but an A? Because they screwed up the Indy 500 in qualifying and again on Race Day. Dario Franchitti, who has led 588 laps out of 1,233, continues his brilliance and is drawing a bead on a 3-peat while Scott Dixon has managed to overcome some bad luck/execution to move into third in points.
(The best closers in the series are beginning to hit their stride at just about the same point where the 2008, 2009 and 2010 championships started to come their way. Franchitti, whose Indy car career started while Kanaan and Castroneves were still in Indy Lights, appears to be getting stronger with age. Dixon is more motivated than ever but has yet to turn the fire in his belly into a win this year.)
NEWMAN/HAAS: The “Team that almost wasn’t” has been a study in professionalism and perseverance as Oriol Servia and rookie James Hinchcliffe have been the feel good story of the first nine races. Mr. Dependable (Servia) is fourth in points and Hinch has proven to be just as quick as he is personable.
(If he keeps it up, it’s hard not to see Penske and Andretti inquiring about Servia’s services…and Telemundo sponsorship for 2012. The same can be said about Hinch, who seems genetically predisposed to drive fast while keeping sponsors smiling.)
GRADE C+
TEAM PENSKE: Will Power gets an A, Ryan Briscoe a B, Helio Castroneves a C but their no show at Indianapolis must figure into their overall grade. Power has matched Franchitti in the win column (3) but unforced errors on pit stops may wind up costing him the title. Briscoe has been quick but victimized by other people’s mistakes while Helio hit everything but his marks in the first few races.
(The team was once known for its ruthless pursuit of victory, but sentimentality and an odd desire to maintain the status quo looks like it has set in since expanding to three cars. By this time last year—nine races down--all three Penske drivers had won races. They’d won six of those nine races, actually. In 2011, just one of the three drivers has found the Winner’s Circle. Strange days.)
ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT: Impressive victories by Marco Andretti and Mike Conway offset by the May Meltdown and consistent inconsistency. Danica Patrick’s last hurrah on the circuit has been a mixed bag so far while Ryan Hunter-Reay would like to start 2011 all over.
(If things are strange at Team Penske, it's getting downright bizarre at Andretti Autosport. I would have been given a sobriety test at the beginning of the season if I’d suggested Mike Conway would be the first to win for AA, Marco Andretti would earn their second win, Danica Patrick would rebound strongly after disappearing in 2010 and Ryan Hunter-Reay would find himself winless and 20th in points by the time we got to Toronto. Going forward, if Andretti’s win at Iowa told us anything, the addition of engineering guru Allen McDonald back into the mix shouldn’t be underestimated. For the first time in a good while, the team is on the rise.)
GRADE C
KV RACING: Dallara’s favorite group isn’t crashing any less but they are running better. Despite not having a ride until they said start your engines at St. Pete, Tony Kanaan has responded like the pro he is and ranks fifth in the standings (despite throwing away a win at Milwaukee). Takuma Sato remains fast and furiously maddening while E.J. Viso’s two-year crashing demonstration is getting expensive.
(If only IndyCar races were shorter. Knock 50 to 100 miles off a few races this season, and KV has three wins. Kanaan was a longshot to win this year, but he’s jelled faster than I imagined. On a street course or on the Loudon bullring, it just might happen. Sato is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a Dallara. No clue on what it will take for him to have an "Aha!" moment, but if it happens, the guy can win. Viso looked like he was on the path to enlightenment...yet he's the lowest-placed full-time veteran in the championship, just three spots ahead of James Jakes.)
SAM SCHMIDT MOTORSPORTS: The fastest one-car effort in the IZOD INDYCAR series stole the show and the pole at Indianapolis and Alex Tagliani backed that up with qualifying first at Texas despite losing engineer Allen McDonald. Pace not as good in the races but making progress.
(Schmidt acquired FAZZT’s well-oiled machine, but Sam’s talents as an owner will be put to the test as he tries to settle the ship with McDonald gone and Tagliani’s tenure reportedly drawing to a close.)
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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