Posts by Drew Bennett68

This race is really dragging on, isn't it? I have a feeling we're going to see a Safety Car soon. If things go right, Fernando Alonso might just snatch a podium spot, though honestly, I think a win is probably out of reach for him today.
As for the start, I wouldn't be surprised if Fernando manages to pull a fast one on the Buttplug. It’s also going to be fascinating to watch the battle for positions 9 through 14—there could be some serious chaos in that mid-pack scramble.
I’m expecting Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean to have a "good" showing, mostly because they seem to be under the microscope with the stewards lately.
Then you've got Kamui Kobayashi, who’s sitting pretty low on the grid right now; he might just try to make a bold move and dive into a gap.😉

It’s just pure chaos—first the heavy hitters take the points, then those bikes come flying in, and now we’ve got Alonso right in the thick of it.

Ali soundtrack: YouTube Playlist

YouTube Playlist

Sunshine (Adagio In D Minor)

YouTube Playlist

Heat

YouTube Playlist

Conan The Barbarian - Theme

YouTube Playlist...eature=related

...now, if you'll allow me a moment, I really must tell you about those glorious days of pure, unadulterated adventure...

The right stuff

YouTube Playlist

It was already in motion, and honestly, the whole thing played out like a high-stakes thriller right up until the very last second.

Qualifying Results (Penalties Included)

Quoting:

1. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 216.069 (Interestingly, his opening lap clocked in at 217.9, which actually stood as the quickest pace we've seen all week so far!) 2. (2) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 216.058 3. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 214.877 4. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 214.749 5. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 214.684 6. (8) Rubens Barrichello, Dallara-Chevy, 213.527 7. (6) Katherine Legge, Dallara-Chevy, 213.308 8. (22) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 212.533 9. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 211.999 10. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 210.619 11. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 210.134 12. (19) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 208.056 13. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 215.940 14. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 215.919 15. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 215.391 16. (98) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 215.226 17. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 214.409 18. (38) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 214.015 19. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 213.726 20. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 213.282 21. (15) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 213.222 22. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 212.773 23. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 211.531 24. (14) Wade Cunningham, Dallara-Honda, 209.526 25. (18) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, No speed recorded 26. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Lotus, No speed recorded

The penalty for an engine swap is going to hit:

Hunter-Reay
Power
Castroneves
Dixon

Honestly, you just know there's going to be plenty of drama. 😉

Here’s a look at the champions from the last decade or so:

Year:

😎

The latest spotter guide just dropped, and honestly, it’s pretty much business as usual—just the standard 26 cars on the grid.

http://www.indycar.com/~/media//File...N-SpotterGuide

And if you need to get a better handle on the layout, here is the track map:

http://www.indycar.com/~/media//Indy...6-FON-TrackMap

cosmichawk12 said:It’s probably going to be a fascinating race—given how razor-thin the points gap is right now, plus the fact that I’ve heard WP struggles quite a bit on ovals...

Anyway, looking back at that last race in Baltimore, everything was fine until—good grief—the pace car came out more times than I can count. It honestly drove me a little crazy...

Power really does struggle on the ovals; his average finishing position is sitting at about 13th, and let's not forget those times he fails to finish the race entirely.😉

RHR is significantly stronger here. Even though I don't doubt WP will qualify well, we're looking at a 500-mile grind—250 laps of pure attrition—so anything could happen.

Andretti Autosport actually brought in a young kid, Sebastian Saavedra, for this specific race, meaning they'll have four cars on the grid, which might just be the deciding factor.

Penske will stick to their usual three cars, while Ganassi is running four. They aren't in the title hunt, but they are definitely going to be a major factor, particularly
that "A" squad.

Then you have all these other solid drivers who could easily throw a wrench in the works for the leaders (think Sato, Carpenter, Tagliani, Wilson, Pagenaud...).

It’s going to be a chess match between the championship contenders, their wingmen, fuel strategy, and pit stops. I honestly can't wait!👍

And yeah, Baltimore was absolute madness. RHR drove like a man possessed! One of the perennial issues with IndyCar seems to be that they simply don't have enough trackside equipment—cranes, tractors, you name it—to cover the whole circuit, which explains why we saw so many yellow flags. That said, you have to hand it to the medical crews; they are top-tier and get on the scene immediately.

The IndyCar season finale is happening down in Fontana this Saturday.

neonfox65, you interested in checking this out?

Man, what an absolute rollercoaster of a race. 🙏
Red Bull Racing is sitting at just -17 points now.👍

A virtual tour through Baltimore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tnYP...eature=g-all-u

Everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place, so now I can only sit here and hope I don't run into any unexpected trouble during my trip to Baltimore this weekend.

Bourdais mentioned that he’s never experienced a collision quite this violent; apparently, a gearbox from another car tore loose and slammed right into his shoulder. On top of that, the chassis is cracked—it's a total loss.

It’s going to be a massive weekend with a double header: Spa and Baltimore. 🙂

I don’t really follow Top Gear, but I hear this is actually Richard Hammond hanging out with Sebastien Bourdais here.

http://ow.ly/i/SzYI

Alright, here’s the track layout—I went ahead and made a few tweaks to things along the way.

Check out these qualifying results! It looks like the top seven are all heavy hitters fighting for the championship, mixed in with a few seasoned veterans who still have plenty of pace left in them.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101979

Results:

Schedule:

Sonoma, Aug 26th. Green flag at 10:30 PM

Baltimore, Sept 2nd. Green flag at 8:30 PM

Fontana, Sept 15th. Green flag at 2:30 AM (it’s a night race on the West Coast, which explains why it's such a late one—but hey, at least it falls on a Saturday!)

A little bit about the tracks.

Now, Sonoma ought to be one of those "boring" races by IndyCar standards, right? But then again, Mid-Ohio was supposed to be dull too, and look how well that turned out.

Then there’s Baltimore—an absolutely fantastic street circuit with plenty of room for passing maneuvers. But here? Expect yellow flags popping up left and right. It’s basically a game of roulette at this point.

And finally, Fontana. It’s that massive super-speedway classic to the Indy series, the very spot where these cars clocked their all-time record speed of 241.426 mph (241 miles/h), set by Gil de Ferran back in 2000.

I’ll admit, I’ve let my "specialty sector"—IndyCar—slip a little bit from my radar lately.

Here is how the landscape looks after 12 races:

1. Will Power (Penske) sits at 379 points, with 3 total wins

2. Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) has 374 points, also with 3 wins

3. Hélio Castroneves (Penske) has 353 points, with 2 wins

4. Scott Dixon (Ganassi) follows closely with 351 points and 2 wins

If we’re being objective here, these four drivers are going to be locked in a dogfight for the championship until the very end. Sure, a few others might have a theoretical mathematical chance, but let's be honest—that's basically entering the realm of science fiction at this point, isn't it?

We have three races left on the schedule: Sonoma, Baltimore (the street circuit), and Fontana (the big 500-mile oval).

What’s interesting is that none of these drivers have been truly consistent; they’ve all dealt with these wild swings of incredible highs and frustrating lows.

Take Will Power, for example. He had an absolutely electric start with three consecutive wins, only to seemingly vanish into thin air for much of the season, before finally resurfacing recently with a couple of podium finishes.

On the flip side, Ryan Hunter-Reay has had almost the exact opposite experience. His hot streak of three straight wins just happened recently, whereas he spent most of the first half of the season just hovering around the top ten.

Hélio Castroneves had a solid start—a win followed by a podium—and then maintained steady momentum with a long string of top-ten finishes that kept him right in the hunt. That recent win of his really signaled that he's officially back in the conversation.

Then there's Scott Dixon, who has arguably had the worst luck of the bunch. He’s suffered through so many retirements while running in prime positions. However, thanks to a win in the last race and some questionable form from his rivals, he’s clawed his way right back into title contention.

My predictions:

Will Power is a beast on street circuits and standard road courses, but he’s only mediocre when it comes to ovals. This year's calendar should have been practically tailor-made for him, but he somehow managed to squander that advantage.
I don't see him taking the crown. He’s going to need massive results in Sonoma and Baltimore just to stand a fighting chance once they head to the oval at Fontana.

Hunter-Reay has been the real surprise of the season. He’s performed well across the board, but I find myself lacking faith in him and his team right now; I can't help but feel he might have already used up his best run of form.

As for Castroneves, the old fox... he could very well snatch this in the final race. The only hurdle might be the fact that he and Power are teammates. On the plus side, he is phenomenal on ovals and is easily the most seasoned veteran among the top four.

And finally, looking at Dixon, it feels like he’s already paid his dues in bad luck for the entire year. Isn't it about time the universe gave him something back?
He’s got the best crew in the pit lane, a very focused environment within the team, and he performs well everywhere. I have a nagging gut feeling that he might just pull this off and become the champion.