The Craziest End to an Indy 500, Let Alone Race, Ever

First, as a disclaimer, I want to apologize if anyone made any bets on the race based on my predictions!

The 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 saw the craziest end to a race I have ever seen. Not just among Indy 500s. Not just among IndyCar races. Nay, this was the craziest end to a race I've seen in the ten years I've been a racing fan.

The end of the race was actually getting rather dull. I was about falling asleep. Then two cautions came in the 160-numbered laps. The way they were placed, it was clear that the winner will have saved a LOT of fuel to make it to Victory Lane. Danica took the lead with about twenty laps to go, but was clearly off the pace in an effort to save fuel. Bertrand Baguette, a Belgian running for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, took the lead with about ten laps to go. I had no idea when the last time he had pitted, and wasn't sure if he needed fuel to make it to the end.

While Baguette was leading, Dario Franchitti started dropping through the field in order to save field, which gave JR Hildebrand the lead, an American rookie running for Panther Racing. All I wanted to see from this race was a car without Target sponsorship or run by Roger Penske to win the race, and it appeared I was about to get my wish.

On the last corner of the last lap, Hildebrand came up on the car of American rookie Charlie Kimball, who was way off the pace. Closing very quickly, he made the split-second decision to pass Kimball on the high side. Unfortunately, he got just a little too high, and caught the marbles above the groove (if you don't know, marbles are little chunks of rubber that come from the tires in the corners, and are in the gray area of the track above where the track is darker). This meant he lost grip, and wound up in the wall.

However, it seemed there was still a chance he could win the race! He hadn't stopped when he hit the wall, and continued skidding along the wall down the front straight. Just as I thought he had done it, I saw two cars passing him just as they got to the start/finish line. I figured they were lapped cars, as there was plenty of lapped traffic near the front since the race had been green for about thirty laps.

When you don't know the results of the race, it seems to take an eternity for the results to come on the scoring pylon. After what felt like a millennium in the stands, the results were on the scoring pylon, and I did not see the #4 of Hildebrand's car in spot one, but rather, the #98. I was very confused. Who was running the 98?

Then the message was on the video board: "Congrats Dan Wheldon!" I was in total shock! My arms were up above my head for the last four laps, and I could not believe that Wheldon had won the race! My brain needed so much extra blood to process this information that by hands became numb. Wheldon was running a one-off for the race for Bryan Herta Autosport. He is a former Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion, but after BHA's struggles last year at the 500, I did not anticipate Wheldon winning the race!

In the end, though, I got my wish. There was only one car (Scott Dixon) in the top ten that was run by Roger Penske or had Target sponsorship. I also walked away much less sunburned than I normally do, another added bonus!

With the disparity in the results this year, I am greatly looking forward to next year, the first 500 with the new IndyCar!

Laying the Foundation

I know I have had a lot of IndyCar related posts lately, but lots of news has been spewing from the world of IndyCar.

Randy Bernard, IndyCar CEO, spent the first week and a half of September in Europe, talking to potential engine manufacturers and F1 teams trying to garner interest in the series, inviting any and all manufacturers to supply engines and/or aero kits for the new spec coming in 2012, as well as introducing himself. From the sounds of things, people were very receptive and welcoming of him and his vision for the new IndyCar. Hopefully good things come from this, and we will again have several engine suppliers and several aero kit providers! Brief article about his trip can be found here.

Also, Tony Cotman, the man who is in charge for writing the technical details for the 2012 car, has also been working very hard. He started a blog on Racer which will encapsulate his work and give details as they are announced. His first blog states that they need to get the size of the engine compartment specified in the next 30-45 days, that way, potential engine suppliers will have plenty of time for development. Cotman is hopeful they can begin on-track testing in September 2011, which means Cotman will have his work cut out for him.

Another thing I found interesting about his first post is that he has his mind on driver comfort. The current cars are fine for the short drivers such as Danica Patrick (5'2") and E.J. Viso (5'5"), but the tall drivers like Justin Wilson (6'3") and Graham Rahal (6'2") really have to fold themselves up and pack themselves into the current cars. Justin often reports bruised elbows and knees from being packed into the current car and being subjected to 3+ G's for a substantial period of time. Cotman notes that next month, they will fly drivers out to Italy (Dallara, the company manufacturing the standard IndyCar safety cell, is based in Italy) to ensure that all drivers will be able to fit into the new car. That's a true engineering mindset, thinking about more than the obvious! Cotman's first post can be found here.

Just two months ago, the 2012 IndyCar was nothing more than a few computer models. I am very excited to see the project actually gaining momentum with some actual facts, figures, and photos arriving in the coming months!