Two 2010 Seasons Conclude

This weekend saw the conclusion of both the regular season in MLB, as well as the final race of the year for the IZOD IndyCar Series. Seeing as these are two of my favorite sports EVER, naturally, I'm going to talk about it.

First, the MLB. My Cubs finished in 5th place in the NL Central. I was impressed, however. They only finished 12 games below .500, and had been as low as 22 games under. The youth of the team put together a really good streak toward the end, and I'm excited to see what they can do next year. I think that it was obvious the players had given up on Lou Piniella, as the team really excelled after Lou's departure. I hope that Ryne Sandberg is hired as the manager starting next year. He is a great baseball personality and a true student of the game. If the Cubs don't pick him up, someone else will, and it would be terrible for the Cubs to lose Ryno.

I'm thinking it's gonna be a Rays/Phillies World Series. After coming so close last year to winning, and due to the relative inexperience of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Phillies will come in and take the series in 6. That's about a month away though.

Saturday night saw the final race of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. First off, it was immediately clear why the series will not be returning to Homestead next year, as there couldn't have been any more than 5000 people in the stands, and that is a VERY liberal estimate. You're only as strong as your weakest link, and Homestead has definitely been one of the weakest links for awhile.

I was disappointed with the way the season ended. Will Power entered the race with an 11 point lead over Dario Franchitti for the championship, and just had to finish ahead of him to ensure a championship, but could have been within a couple spots of Dario, depending on where he finished. Dario dominated the race, and wrapped up the two bonus points fairly early in the race for leading the most laps. Will, as he is seemingly prone to do, choked under pressure, got the car in the marbles, and hit the wall about two-thirds through the race. From there it was Dario's championship to lose, but he finished the race and brought home the championship.

First off, this is a great string for Dario. He has won the 2007, 2009, and now 2010 titles. These are the last three seasons he participated in, as he took a year off in 2008 to try his hand in NASCAR. When you consider the fact he's won the championship each of the last three years he's tried, it's quite an impressive feat.

I am also starting to fear for Will's racing career. He had a seemingly insurmountable points lead just one month ago, and Dario was able to topple it relatively easily. A couple years ago, Will was running away with the race at Surfers' Paradise, his home race in Australia, when he stuffed his car in the tire barrier. He really needs to gain composure under high-stress situations in the car. He has amazing talent and is quite possibly the best IndyCar racer since Rick Mears, but he doesn't have anything to show for it.

This leaves one year left with the current spec until the new car comes in 2012. While next season will surely be much of the same Penske and Ganassi domination, I am hopeful other teams could be more competitive. At the very least, there will hopefully be some new(ish) names up front. Graham Rahal has secured funding for a full season next year, and should be near the top, no matter which team he runs for. Justin Wilson also did a fantastic job making something of nearly nothing in his drive with Dreyer & Reinbold this season. No matter where he winds up next season, it should be a step up from where he currently is, and I look forward to seeing what he is capable with better equipment under him.

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!