Had I
drawn Justin Wilson’s name from a (10-gallon?) hat before Saturday’s race at
Texas, I would not have been too excited. Shows what I know.
Dale
Coyne Racing traces its roots back to 1984, when Dale Coyne himself was doing
the driving. (According to my 1985 CART media guide, Coyne's first start was in 1984 at Mid-Ohio. The box score shows him finishing 14th in what's listed as a Dale Coyne Racing 1982 Eagle/Chevrolet. I wonder if this is the same car that Mike Mosley attempted to qualify for Dan Gurney for the 1982 Indianapolis 500.)
As an
aside, someone needs to get Coyne some team gear to wear on the pit stand. Not
that there was anything wrong with his shirt per se, but it reminded me of a
dad coach who came late from the office and didn’t have time to change into his
jersey before the game.
How
Coyne has managed to answer the bell for so many years is one of those
overlooked sources of amazement in IndyCar history. It would be interesting to
figure out how many open-wheel teams (CART, IRL, etc.) have come and gone since
he started.
Certainly
Wilson benefited from Graham Rahal pancaking the wall late in the race. But
like at Indianapolis, Wilson was at the front of the field most of the night. A
nice upset win to break up the Penske-Ganassi train. I like Wilson’s demeanor
and common-sense attitude. IndyCar should groom him as a possible steward (like
Wally Dallenbach in CART) when his driving career is over.
Rahal himself
took advantage of the spin and wreck of a dominant Scott Dixon. This was unbelievably
uncharacteristic of Dixon, who could’ve taken a big bite out of Will Power’s
points lead.
Speaking
of Power, I thought his penalty for blocking Tony Kanaan was justified. I also
liked the way it was handled – a review of the incident followed by quick
application of the drive-through. Kudos to Power, who perhaps could’ve won the
race, for admitting his mistake.
And
also thanks to NBC Sports Network for broadcasting post-race interviews with
the key players even though the race had gone past its allotted time.
Once
again, the new cars raced very well on an oval – the packs were broken up, while
managing tires, strategy and timing a pass all came into play. Good stuff, and just what was needed - for a lot of reasons.
Photo credit: Shawn Gritzmacher /
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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