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Photo credit: Tim Holle/Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi staged a thrilling duel in the closing
laps of last Sunday's 103rd Indianapolis 500.
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Wrapping up the 103rd Indianapolis 500 …
Qualifying Worked … For the Most Part
If the intent was to jam as much action as possible into the two qualifying
days as possible, then job well done. If the intent was to establish the
fastest 33 cars, then a bit of a tweak of the format is needed. To recap, this
year the first 30 spots and the Fast Nine were locked in after the first day,
with the pole, the order of the Fast Nine and the last row decided on the
second day.
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My worksheet got quite a workout
on the first day of qualifying.
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As it turned out, one car posted a speed on Sunday that was among the
fastest 33. One way to avoid this is to fill all 33 spots the first day, then have
bumping (and the Fast Nine) the next day.
I like the idea of one attempt for the Fast Nine contestants – no need
to drag that out. The bumping part of the show can be a bit longer – maybe an
hour or two.
Except for the practice periods on Saturday, which just about no one
used, the track was active pretty much the whole day. It was so busy, I didn’t
even have time to go grab a tenderloin, much to my chagrin.
McLaren’s Woes
Fernando Alonso of McLaren Racing was indeed one of the 33 fastest
qualifiers. His failing was not posting that speed on the right day. Still, the
two-time World Champion had SIX attempts overall to make the field, which seems
more than ample opportunity.
The whys and wherefores of the McLaren debacle already have been
debated endlessly, and likely will continue to be a hot topic the rest of the
year and into next year, if McLaren decides to enter the NTT IndyCar Series
full time.
If McLaren is intent on fielding a team on its own and without a
substantial technical partner, as it did with Andretti in 2017, it needs to
take a page from Penske Racing (who else?) in terms of being better prepared
next time.
During the infamous split, Roger Penske took a measured approach in his
return to Indianapolis. In his last appearance in 1995, both his cars, driven
by Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi, failed to qualify. Penske couldn’t
afford a similar embarrassment, especially against what was considered lesser
or inferior competition in the Indy Racing League.
His first step was to be involved with Jason Leffler’s entry in 2000. This
car technically came out of the Treadway Racing stable, but Penske provided
sponsorship in the form of his United Auto Group entity. He also sent his top
lieutenant, Tim Cindric, to oversee the program. This afforded Penske the
opportunity to get the lay of the land and begin building a base of
institutional knowledge as it pertained to operations, the equipment and so
forth.
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Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Helio Castroneves' climb to glory in May of 2001 started
at the IRL race in Phoenix, which Penske entered as
preparation for that year's Indianapolis 500.
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The next year, Penske entered cars for Helio Castroneves and Gil de
Ferran for the Indianapolis 500, and they dominated with a 1-2 finish. What’s
forgotten, however, is that Castroneves and de Ferran competed in the IRL’s
season-opening race at Phoenix that year. The results for each were poor –
Castroneves finished 18th and de Ferran was 24th. But the
knowledge gained from this race was invaluable to Penske’s team, as the
crewmembers gained familiarity with the cars, how to work on them, procedures
and so forth as the chassis and engines in the IRL were quite different from
those in CART. All in all, those lessons flattened the learning curve
considerably.
Once May rolled around, Castroneves and de Ferran took advantage of as
much track time as possible, even flying in after the CART race at Nazareth,
Pa., to participate in the first day of practice.
It should be noted that in 2001 there were nearly two full weeks of
practice and four days of qualifying as opposed to four days of practice and
two days of qualifying this year. This reduced track time, condensed further
after Alonso’s crash, put McLaren in a bind quickly.
Like Penske, McLaren can rebound from this embarrassment, but the
preparations need to begin soon. Enter a couple of races this year, select your
team members and get to work.
Alonso can run up front, as proved in 2017, and potentially winning. As
Penske might say, Effort Equals Results. But you need the right effort to get
the desired results.
McLaren Backlash
One thing I didn’t understand was how some were almost giddy over this
failure. I understand the David vs. Goliath aspect of Kyle Kaiser and the tiny
Juncos team knocking out Alonso and McLaren made for a great story, and full
credit to Kaiser and Juncos. Hopefully this becomes a springboard for success
for them.
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Photo credit: Matt Fraver/Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Hopefully McLaren returns next year with
better preparation, leading to much better results. |
The Indianapolis 500, though, is enriched by participation of marques
like McLaren, returning to Indianapolis as an entrant for the first time since
1979. In some ways, you can trace the design of today’s Indy car to the 1971
McLaren, which was the first to sprout large front and rear wings.
That year, Mark Donohue was unofficially breaking the track record
nearly every day in practice with Penske’s Sunoco McLaren before Peter Revson
surprisingly topped Donohue in qualifying with his works McLaren. Part of the
reason Revson was able to snatch the pole is because Penske insisted on
complete transparency with McLaren. He valued the relationship so much that
Donohue, who had qualified earlier, (unwittingly?) shared information with Teddy
Mayer, then leading McLaren’s efforts, who applied the knowledge to Revson’s
car.
During the final day of qualifying this year, with McLaren frantically
trying to wring more speed out of Alonso’s car, I wondered if Penske would
again provide the magic formula to McLaren.
I hope McLaren returns next year - with a fully Papaya Orange car and
results befitting its heritage.
Pagenaud Dominates 103rd Indianapolis 500
Simon Pagenaud, who went from being potentially on the hot seat to
being fitted for a king’s throne over the course of May, dominated Sunday’s
500. The affable Frenchman led 116 laps – the most since Dario Franchitti’s 155
in his 2010 victory – in becoming the first pole sitter to win since Helio
Castroneves in 2009.
Pagenaud held off a determined charge by Alexander Rossi in the closing
laps, edging the 2016 winner by 0.2086 of a second. It was the seventh-closest
finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
"It's amazing. It's another dream come true, and the biggest dream
of my life come true," said Pagenaud, a 35-year-old native of
Montmorillon, France. "It's hard to fathom, really. It's really hard to
process it right now, but I'm just filled with a lot of joy."
Pagenaud and Rossi swapped the lead five times in the closing laps, the
last when Pagenaud roared his yellow No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet
outside of and past Rossi's No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda heading into Turn 3 on
the 199th lap.
The victory was the 18th in the Indianapolis 500 for Penske.
It's a total 13 more than the next nearest owner.
"Simon wasn't going to be beat today," said Penske, who
naturally confirmed Pagenaud’s return for 2020. "He raced clean, and
that's what I have to say about Rossi also. The two of them for the laps that
they ran side by side was as good of racing as you've ever seen here."
Like last year, Rossi’s ability to charge through the pack had the fans
buzzing.
The Andretti Autosport driver was in first place on the final race
restart on Lap 187, following an incident involving six cars that included an
18-minute red-flag stoppage, but Pagenaud bolted ahead by the time they'd
reached the iconic yard of bricks at the start/finish line to complete the lap.
The duo exchanged the lead twice on Lap 189 before Rossi swept back in
front on Lap 198 heading into Turn 1. On the ensuing lap, Pagenaud made a
similar outside pass, this time going into Turn 3, to take the lead for good.
Rossi attempted several overtakes over the last one-plus laps but was thwarted
each time. Still, his second-place finish marked the Californian's fourth
top-seven Indy 500 result in as many tries.
"We were flat in that final lap coming to the flag - we just
didn't have enough," Rossi said. "You can't take anything away from
the (No.) 22 guys. They were on pole, they led a lot of laps, did a good job
and had a fast race car.”
