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Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg


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#1 Andrew Hope

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 03:40

gay

WE INDYCAR NOW!

gay

WE MONTOYA AGAIN!

 

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Put away your flasks and your crack pipes ladies and gentleman: the only racing series on the planet routinely captivating to a sober mind has returned, this time with 40% more Columbian and 80% more chance of fiery mayhem.

 

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Verizon IndyCar Series

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

28-30 March 2014

 

Coverage begins 3:00pm EST on ABC/a computer

Green flag 3:20pm EST on 30 March 2014

 

All the Important ****!

(links will be updated as they become available)

And so it begins.

 

A lap of the track:

 

 

Last year's race:

 

 

"Now wait just a cotton pickin' minute here! VERIZON IndyCar series!?"

 

Yeah, I thought Verizon was a Bruce Springsteen song too. Turns out they're some kind of cell phone company, which I guess is better than Izod, who were just some kind of company.

 

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"IndyCar sucks! They aren't as fast as F1! Why should I watch?"

 

With the new season looming on the horizon, inching ever-closer like the dawning realization of our own insignificance, let's get this complaint out the way in pre-season testing. I've been searching all off-season for ketamine, and also for the perfect description of IndyCar to someone approaching the series from the narcissism and snobbery of European racing, and I think I have it. The answer.

 

IndyCar is what Formula 1 fans think Formula 1 used to be. It's not representative of any single era in Formula 1, but rather every rose-tinted hallucination of what an F1 fan thinks his sport was like in the mysterious long-gone Golden Years rolled up into one. IndyCar is full of colorful personalities who require nothing from you the fan other than to bury any questions of "Why the hell would you dedicate your life to this series?" in order to enjoy the spectacle. It's the blank in every fevered cry of "THAT'S NOT REAL RACING, REAL RACING IS _________!". All the fights for the lead, close championship battles, little teams fighting the big teams and occasionally winning, female drivers actually doing respectable things and not just good-for-a-girl patronizing bullshit, on tracks yet to be butchered to unrecognizability by chicanes and tarmac runoffs... everything F1 thinks it used to be is what IndyCar is now. Breathtaking, hilarious, mesmerizing, ridiculous, saddening, embarrassing, joyful and captivating: this is what IndyCar is. The series routinely paints a picture with every emotional color on the pallet. It's everything fans say they want in a racing series but sadly quite a lot of what they don't want too. IndyCar is a pizza with everything on it. It touches you in places a drunken uncle with 9 rolls of duck tape and a two-week camping trip couldn't find. It's invigorating to experience an IndyCar race and each event follows the number one rule of attraction to a tee: it always leaves you wanting more.

 

The only problem is it goes on to break rules 2-986, which is just MAKE SURE EVERYONE WHO MIGHT LOVE YOUR SERIES ACTUALLY KNOWS IT EXISTS, ASSHOLE! over and over and over again.

 

But it's getting better. Slowly.

 

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"Why would you make the thread 2 weeks before the race!? Now I'm just gonna notice the wait even more!"

 

This is true, but if my motto wasn't "Never stick your penis anywhere you wouldn't stick your finger" it would be "Always be prepared". Yeah, the race isn't for 12 more days, but Christmas isn't for 9 more months, and only one of those things requires you to cut down a tree and fake enthusiasm. Preparation is very important: you can now give any and all social acquaintances fair warning that if they try and take you out to bowling alley on the last weekend of March they are surrendering their right to live into April. Those of us on shoestring budgets will be able to save some pocket money for race snacks and licquor, and those of us "I guess I don't really need BOTH my kidneys" budgets have time to find a dark alley, a steak knife, and a man born in the former Yugoslavia. You wouldn't get mad if a girl told you on the 18th she was going to give you a handy on the 30th: you'd say "Thank's m'am!" and use that time to prepare for the show.

 

And sweet zombie Jesus, have we got a show in IndyCar this year.

 

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"Well fine, but I've actually got a bank account and bought my whiskey and Cheetohs a month in advance. What do I do to pass the time?"

 

You may have noticed that there are no great racing sims out there right now, and even the good ones kinda suck. In this respect racing simulators may actually be a feminist conspiracy to remind us basement dwellers that you can lock your bedroom door all you want, but everything you do is going to be kinda like girls. Even the good ones are still kinda shitty. But never fear: your old pal Andrew has got you covered, with the 2014 IndyCar Simulator. You don't even need to drop half as much as a used car costs on two parts from a fake car to race! Take that, Logitech!

 

You too can play the 2014 IndyCar Simulator to kill the time before St. Pete, just by following these easy steps: fill up your bathtub with the hottest water an angry faucet can create. I mean water so hot you could serve your rubber ducky with a side of mashed potatoes. You then enter your bathtub by a cannon ball of such fearsome power Lotus couldn't make an engine that exploded that forcefully if you gave them a thousand years to do it. As you sit there in the tub, observing how your entire body seems to be melting, turn to face your shampoo and conditioner and wave in acknowledgement of the fans. The discomfort of sitting inside an active volcano is a beautiful recreation of the emotional distress and intense discomfort felt by IndyCar drivers who have achieved their life's dream of becoming legitimate racing drivers in America's premier open-wheel series, and yet still being less well-known to the general public than Gary Brolsma, the internet's first real superstar.

 

Now the fun really begins. Take a deep breath and make your race car sound. Don't bullshit me, we've all got one. You didn't waste all that time playing with Hot Wheels to forgot how to make an engine noise. Growl and spit in imitation of an IndyCar engine like your life depended on it. Down into 1st, hard left! Up into high 3rd/low 4th for the Carousel, depending on the gear ratio! To fifth! To sixth! Fast approaching the Kink! Don't lift, pussy! 180! 190! 195! Brrrrrrrrmmmmmm! Canada Corner coming up now, don't brake too...late. Nice job idiot, you're in the gravel trap. Now God damn Dixon will win.

 

At this point, the IndyCar Simulator really kicks into high gear. Turn around 180 degrees to face the wrong way and pour a bag of kitty litter into the bathtub to better simulate your predicament, all the while twirling your finger in the air in kingly beckoning, in the hopes some fat men in orange suits will burst through the door and get you restarted again. I could swear I was really an IndyCar driver!

 

Once your lips start to hurt from the engine sounds or the water gets cold, crouch on your tippy toes and then dive out of the tub, colliding headfirst with your bathroom wall in a sickening crunch, as your neck vertebra are introduced to your teeth. This is what it's like to restart next to Will Power.

 

Anyone can be an IndyCar driver. All you need is a little imagination and an out-of-focus cat.

 

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The off-season is cripplingly tough on us all. The racing fan has to develop unique strategies to pass the lonely winter months until the flowers start blooming brightly enough you may actually notice them being obliterated by shiny new Firestones when someone overcooks it in pre-season testing. There are no bad ways to pass the time. I for one focused my winter months on self-improvement via kettlebell excercises, in the amusingly misguided belief I wouldn't be tired most of the time if I was sore all of the time. Some of you may have chosen an opposite path, finally realizing your dream in these brutal off-season months by attempting to become the world's fattest racing fan. Maybe you decided your calling in life was to get blackout drunk while listening sentimentally to sad songs from the 1980s, so drunk you've become nostalgic for a time you weren't even alive to know. That might be the definition of a race fan right there. Dad never had time for you, the ship sank with all hands on deck, you need somebody to love, noodly instrumentals presumably about a girl named Jessica, homeless people get into street circuits for free, Cecilia is breaking your heart, and on and on it goes. Maybe you wrote IndyCar fanfiction to pass the time, and your first novel regarding Will Power and Scott Dixon's strange compulsion to join their cars in fibreglass matrimony is due out in May.

 

Whatever the hell you did, it was the right thing to do, because as an IndyCar fan there's no wrong way to pass the time. To be a racing fan at all in this day and age is a tremendous test of one's patience, and a sense of humor is key to provide a healthy buffer zone between your world and whatever the hell planet IndyCar is living on. Racing fans must be on constant alert, always preparing to smear and libel any drivers, team members or bigwigs in head offices they don't care for while simultaneously defending the objects of their own fandom from mudslinging launched by other fans. In this respect, racing threads on discussion forums are little more than practice for the real world outside our windows. Haven't you read The 48 Laws of Power? Reputation is everything. Sometimes you feel that you may get better conversation if you just talked to some worms in the ground, which is handy since if you in 2014 even have any shred of capability to love American car racing left in your body you will be spending a lot more time with your head buried in the dirt than you want to admit. The irony is not lost on any of us that while car racing may cease to exist entirely 50 years from now and all we will have left to us is our memories of the sport, the same sport seems determined not to provide us with anything worth remembering anymore.

 

IndyCar has been on the upswing in the two years and change since that sad day in Las Vegas. Only about six people on the planet have noticed, but improvement is improvement nevertheless. Anyone who has ever tried to lift weights knows that. But in order to truly appreciate where you are, you need to understand where you came from, and IndyCar is riding elegantly off an excellent season with all of the inspiring highs and terrible lows we've come to expect from it.

 

So, what the hell happened last week month year?

 

You remember! First wins all around. James Hinchcliffe won the season opener in St. Petersburg and took two more wins at Sao Paulo and Iowa. Takuma Sato won in Long Beach, Simon Pagenaud the second Detroit race and the return to Baltimore, and Charlie Kimball tasted unsweetened victory at Mid Ohio.

 

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For a time it seemed Takuma Sato would mount a real shot at the title, but by the time the summer came the big dogs had woken up. AJ Allmendinger took his chance to return to a paid drive in IndyCar and used it to throw his Penske into the wall on lap 1 of both races in Detroit. Tony Kanaan won the big race in May ahead of an incredible second place for Carlos Munoz. Mike Conway, Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves and James Hinchcliffe won the next five races until Scott Dixon ruined everything for everyone by dominating Pocono and Toronto in such a way that cracked-out mayors and douchebag ski people could only stand in awe. Will Power took the final two races of the year including popping his Fontana cherry, but Dixie (as people who are perhaps a little too secure in their sexuality call him) had done enough to leapfrog Castroneves to raise the Izod IndyCar Trophy or whatever it's called above his head. The title fight was not overshadowed but it was certainly lessened by the unfortunate accident in Houston that ended the career of Dario Franchitti, the DW12 holding up well to the severity of the crash but sadly not well enough. Franchitti's impressive career came to an abrupt end, but fortunately he is alive and well today. We've had to say tougher goodbyes.

 

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In brighter colors, Will Power took great care to murder Scott Dixon at every opportunity during the 2013 season, and Dixon reciprocated by taking out Power's pit crew at Sonoma. If either driver hadn't been a giant bitch, fisticuffs may have been seen, but then again ifs don't mean anything. If a Honda won the title it would've been a Chevrolet. One can only hope the brutal on-track aggression and sickening off-track civility swaps around this season.

 

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2013 saw an encouraging number of one-off drives serving to distract us all from the discouraging lack of full-time drivers. Sports car legend Lucas Luhr drove a second car for Sarah Fisher Hartman at Sonoma, while Katherine Legge drove a third car for Schmidt at the 500, her 26th-place finish not nearly as impressive as exhibiting remarkable self-control not to spin Sebastian Saavedra when she had the opportunity. Michel Jourdain and Buddy Lazier returned to Indianapolis and Pippa Mann ran a few races for Dale Coyne. There was even a surprise appearance from Justin Wilson's brother. Let us hope this fine tradition of finishing your IndyCar audition in the mid-20s continues.

 

Takuma Sato and Ryan Hunter-Reay are expected their first child any day now.

 

The final standings saw Dixon take the title on 577pts. 2nd Castroneves (-27), 3rd Pagenaud (-69), 4th Power (-79), 5th Andretti (-93).

 

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Eugh.

 

Before welcoming new drivers to the series for 2014, we must say goodbye to many of our old friends. Some of our favorite one-offs will surely show up sooner or later, and with full-time and part-time rides appearing and disappearing like some sort of fancy science particle, it's impossible to be completely accurate when saying hello, goodbye, welcome back or good riddance. But if I know anything, it's how to be shockingly innacurate.

 

Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra move from Dragon Racing to KV for 2014, taking the seats of Simona de Silvestro (who had an offer she couldn't refuse) and Tony Kanaan (who wants to spend time around Chip Ganassi for some reason).

 

A sad sayonara to...

  • ...Dario Franchitti (injury/retirement)
  • ...Simona de Silvestro (PR stunt/Switzerland)
  • ...E.J. Viso (government corruption)
  • ...Tristan Vautier (abundance of accent/lack of speed)
  • ...J.R. Hildebrand (loss of sponsorship/loss of potential)
  • ...Luca Filippi (no funding/sideburns too obscene for cable TV)
  • ...James Jakes (Acorn Stairlifted right of a drive)

 

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But an enthusiastic aloha or welcome back in Hawaiian to..

  • ...Juan Pablo Montoya! (returning for the full season to Penske from NASCAR)
  • ...Mikhail Aleshin! (joining for the full season Schmidt Peterson Hamilton from Formula Renault 3.5)
  • ...Ryan Briscoe! (returning for the full season to Chip Ganassi Racing!)
  • ...Jack Hawksworth! (joining Bryan Herta Autosport from Indy Lights)
  • ...Alex Tagliani! (Indy 500 only with Sarah Fisher Hartman)
  • ...Kurt Busch! (Indy 500 only with Andretti Autosport)
  • ...Jacques Villeneuve! (Indy 500 only with Schmidt Peterson Hamilton)
  • ...Mike Conway! (splitting road courses and ovals with Ed Carpenter Racing)
  • ...Martin Plowman (rounds 4-5 with A.J. Foyt Enterprises)
  • ...Oriol Servia (rounds 2-5 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan)

 

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With the new season of course comes calendar changes. Texas, Iowa and Pocono see their races lengthened to 600km, 300 laps and 500 miles respectively. We are also saying "Get lost!" to Sao Paulo and Baltimore, "Hello!" to the Indianapolis road course, and "Yeah, that's right, stay the hell away!" to Road America.

 

2014 will be a good year for IndyCar: it can't not be. Short of someone hitting it out of the park and landing a car in the stands at Indy we're set for a compelling season. Self-described outlaws, weirdo Canadians, jet dryer-slaying Columbians and a thousand other lunatics will take to the track this year and will hopefully continue the trend of recent years. All the big teams are stacked to the God damn teeth, but Justin Wilson was 2nd-fastest for Dale Coyne in pre-season testing.

 

Do you remember what IndyCar feels like?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The feeling is back.

 

As is customary, IndyCar gives us all seven months to forget it exists and then tries to do an entire calendar in two weeks. The season opens on March 30th, with two races in April, three in May, four in June, four in July, and four in August, then leaving us seven more months to play in our bathtubs until 2015 rolls around. But it's worth the wait: I painted mine blue.

 

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Edited by Andrew Hope, 27 March 2014 - 02:44.


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#2 Disgrace

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 04:48

 

As is customary, IndyCar gives us all seven months to forget it exists and then tries to do an entire calendar in two weeks. The season opens on March 30th, with two races in April, three in May, four in June, four in July, and four in August, then leaving us seven more months to play in our bathtubs until 2015 rolls around. But it's worth the wait: I painted mine blue.

 

As awesome as it is during the summer, is there a good reason for the schedule being this way?


Edited by Disgrace, 19 March 2014 - 04:49.


#3 DanardiF1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 04:56

Such long

Many links

Much inform

Wow.



#4 loki

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 05:02

gay"Why would you make the thread 2 weeks before the race!? Now I'm just gonna notice the wait even more!"

 

 

 

 

 

Probably because it will take that long to digest this epic opening post....



#5 Zeroninety

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 05:41

As awesome as it is during the summer, is there a good reason for the schedule being this way?

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#6 Disgrace

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 05:48

Wow.

Such ignorant.

Very shame.

So amaze.


Edited by Disgrace, 19 March 2014 - 05:49.


#7 klyster

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 06:04

Go Scotty!!!



#8 DanardiF1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 06:39

http://en.wikipedia....r_Series_season

 

So this is the current entry list as it stands... some real quality there as well as some interesting newbies, Aleshin being one (he's shown to be a capable enough driver in Europe having been a FR3.5 champion) as well as the very rapid Munoz going full-time this season!


Edited by DanardiF1, 19 March 2014 - 06:40.


#9 DanardiF1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 06:41

Must say as well, it's going to be very strange watching IndyCar without Dario around... I've been watching him in CART/Champ Car/IRL/IndyCar since 1997! Hope he enjoys his retirement, even if it was rather enforced!

 

EDIT: one more thing. Andrew, it's OP's like this that make me glad this is a popular forum, because people will see and read it who may not have considered IndyCar before, and they'd be stupid not to give it a try after your 'impassioned plea'!

 

It REALLY is some of the best racing you will watch anywhere in the world right now, and that's no slight on the quality of F1/WEC/Aussie V8's/BTCC/anything, because all of it is damn good. It's just that IndyCar is in a real purple patch of racing entertainment, and the only real problem they have is no frigger except us 'hardcore' (I like to think of us as 'Pagers' :p ) watching!


Edited by DanardiF1, 19 March 2014 - 06:46.


#10 DanardiF1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 06:50

As awesome as it is during the summer, is there a good reason for the schedule being this way?

 

I think it's a good idea actually, because if you're a motorsport fan that watches a lot of different series, I think it's quite hard to follow all of them with a certain level of intensity when they're all drawn out over the year with clashing weekends, large gaps between certain races etc.

 

A compressed season, short on breaks between action, would keep the series in people's minds more easily IMO. You've just watched a great Indy race and you want to watch the next, now is it better that it's only a couple of weeks (or even just one!) away or 3-4, especially when you've got the next Grand Prix/Aussie Triple-header/6 Hour race coming up soon as well?

 

Sure, it means that there's a large gap between season end and new season start, but motorsport fans fill that time with other series anyway.


Edited by DanardiF1, 19 March 2014 - 06:51.


#11 aray

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 07:06

almost read 'Flintstone'...BOVYRfl.gif



#12 LuckyStrike1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 07:32

We Pre Race Indy Car NOW! We Cat Post Now! We Like Now! 



#13 MightyMoose

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 10:46

Mr Hope, rather like keeping a camera on Will Power after a wreck, when your name pops up as a thread initiator good things happen.

 

Sure it's early, sure it's edgy and might offend some but rarely can more have been done to entice interest in a season, it may have been 7 months in the planning but it was worth it.

 

PS:  As the schedule is packed, at least let the races finish before beginning the next post please :p

 

PPS: Power for the title. (Jinx set).



#14 Andrew Hope

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 14:32

I appreciate it. It's honestly not as much work as it looks, it took far longer to find and resize pictures than to actually write anything. We're all just trying to get through the day.



#15 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 14:48

Dude. Mahir was the first internet star

 

I kiss you!



#16 Option1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:00

Quality post, Andrew.

 

This struck me:

 

 

Put away your flasks and your crack pipes ladies and gentleman: the only racing series on the planet routinely captivating to a sober mind has returned, this time with 40% more Columbian and 80% more chance of fiery mayhem.

 

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And left me wondering if the St. Petersburg organizers are also of a like mind in predicting fiery mayhem.  Or perhaps they're looking to up the ante with EXPLODING mayhem.  One hopes not.

 

Neil



#17 paulb

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:05

I only read a fraction of the OP and I have to say genius, and not in a special olympics way.

 

I can't wait for lunch to feast on commentarial brilliance.

 

Btw, what a horribly boring race poster. Just saw Neil's comment. Is that you Nostradamus?



#18 artista

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:05

almost read 'Flintstone'...BOVYRfl.gif

Nice to know, I'm not the only one :blush:



#19 jrg19

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:09

Will Putin be present? 



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#20 nosecone

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:14

good effort Mister Hope :up:.



#21 whitewaterMkII

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:21

Nice job.

I'm actually somewhat interested in IndyCar this year, if I can steal the time for it from outdoor activities. 

Pretty sure that I read somewhere JPM was 2nd on the time sheets at the last practice sessions, so it looks like he may be getting the handle on this again.

Got my tikkys to the LBGP coming, anyone else here going to some races this year?



#22 paulb

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 16:05

Nice job.

I'm actually somewhat interested in IndyCar this year, if I can steal the time for it from outdoor activities. 

Pretty sure that I read somewhere JPM was 2nd on the time sheets at the last practice sessions, so it looks like he may be getting the handle on this again.

Got my tikkys to the LBGP coming, anyone else here going to some races this year?

I'm up in the air still about Long Beach.  I'll try to go Friday at least I think.  Last year, I went on Friday for free since a coworker was a volunteer and gave me his passes. :smoking:



#23 PayasYouRace

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 16:40

With all these familar names coming back to the sport, here's a provisional entry list.

 

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I may not be Paul Page, but this is Indycar Racing too.



#24 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 16:44

Andrew Craig, but no Mark Plourde? We need to start a form of Indycar racing that gives deserving Americans their overdue chance.



#25 PayasYouRace

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 17:32

Plourde's Canadian isn't he? Anyway, the No.95 Papyrus Racing entry has no driver since I deleted John Smith's details.



#26 LuckyStrike1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 18:18

It is a very good OP. Very good. But it could have mentioned Mark Plourde. Especially as the team has signed a new sponsor for 2014 and also has a very successful female driver who seems to have an either quite healthy or scary unhealthy relationship with the teams owner and superstar driver - http://markplourderacing.com/



#27 DanardiF1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 19:11

Andrew Craig, but no Mark Plourde? We need to start a form of Indycar racing that gives deserving Americans their overdue chance.

 

I read through that entire post and got the end and thought... where's Mark Plourde... but alas you beat me to it :(



#28 loki

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 19:33

I'm up in the air still about Long Beach.  I'll try to go Friday at least I think.  Last year, I went on Friday for free since a coworker was a volunteer and gave me his passes. :smoking:

Look around the So Cal area in the weeks prior to the race and it's likely you'll find free Fri tickets from participating stores.   Perhaps the local Firestone stores will have some and some of the local affliate sponsors may also have them.  Traditionally Fridays at the street circuits are primarily free tix and for us diehards that get 3 day passes.  I spend my Fridays in the paddock (which won't be free) sizing up the situation, listening to the radios about any setup issues and such a team may be having and getting some pics when it's not too crowded.



#29 king_crud

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 19:38

With all these familar names coming back to the sport, here's a provisional entry list.

 

 

 

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I may not be Paul Page, but this is Indycar Racing too.

 

Gil DeFerran is from Paris, France? Well there you go



#30 Victor_RO

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 19:42

Gil DeFerran is from Paris, France? Well there you go

 

Actually...

 

http://en.wikipedia....i/Gil_de_Ferran

 

:p

 

He may be Brazilian, but it seems like he was actually born in Paris. ;)



#31 Andrew Hope

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 20:47

Lap from Newgarden in testing:

 

 

Barber is one of the best tracks on the calendar I think.



#32 dweller23

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 21:54

I know it's a bit early but all the best to Jacques. If only this move sticked, world would implode:



#33 Buttoneer

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 23:20

So how does an indy-ignorant Yoorpeen from the city of En-gland get to watch this?  Do I need a new TV box or an Amurcan friend who can send me the VHS tapes three weeks later?



#34 DanardiF1

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 23:28

So how does an indy-ignorant Yoorpeen from the city of En-gland get to watch this?  Do I need a new TV box or an Amurcan friend who can send me the VHS tapes three weeks later?

 

BT Sport/ESPN is the broadcaster for IndyCar on these fair shores. Keep an eye for any last-minute channel swapping shenanigans, they've been guilty of that in the past, moving the race onto a different channel from advertised.

 

If you can't get BT Sport... you're delving into the murky waters of JP's Nigerian Streaming Club.



#35 Vitesse2

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 23:31

So how does an indy-ignorant Yoorpeen from the city of En-gland get to watch this?  Do I need a new TV box or an Amurcan friend who can send me the VHS tapes three weeks later?

It will rattle around the various BT Sport channels. Or Mr Pollak's famous Nigerian Streaming Service - YOU PAY NOW!!! - can no doubt oblige. Other (real) streams are (apparently) available. But we don't talk about those ... :smoking:

 

http://indycaruk.wee...car-season.html



#36 Buttoneer

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 23:35

Ah now BT I have, so no new piece of black plastic required, thank you.



#37 Rob G

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 23:59

Got my tikkys to the LBGP coming, anyone else here going to some races this year?

I'm driving from NC to Chicago in May and am hoping the weather cooperates enough for me to stop and enjoy a practice day at Indy. I've been to the facility twice, but I've never been there when the track itself was open for business.

#38 teejay

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 00:28

I want to see Marco and Montoya punch on at least once.

 

On the other hand, I want to see them both win.

 

JV with a come from behind 2 laps down 500 win, then to take a giant crap on anyone and everyone in auto racing during press conference.



#39 Garagiste

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 00:35

St Pete's is an easy enough drive, I think I may have to point the 'stang in that direction.

I'm guessing that GA is a dead loss, can anybody in the know recommend where to watch from? Be nice to bump into JPM again.



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#40 DanardiF1

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 00:39

I want to see Marco and Montoya punch on at least once.

 

On the other hand, I want to see them both win.

 

JV with a come from behind 2 laps down 500 win, then to take a giant crap on anyone and everyone in auto racing during press conference.

 

I am almost certain this will happen.



#41 Andrew Hope

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 01:16

I don't have anything I wouldn't trade to see it.



#42 whitewaterMkII

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 01:24

 

JV with a come from behind 2 laps down 500 win, then to take a giant crap on anyone and everyone in auto racing during press conference.

 

:lol:

And no doubt he would do a helluva job at it as he walks off with a million bucks!



#43 Deluxx

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 01:24

Might qq about missing tickets to the race, just ignore me if I do.

 

Anyways, nice post Drew. 

 

If Montoya wins, Hope gets to pick my new avatar



#44 whitewaterMkII

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 01:29

If Montoya wins, Hope gets to pick my new avatar

Nice bet, anything but what is up there now.

When the Danica wins, you can pick mine....



#45 Indy1988

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 04:06

Watching that Newgarden lap makes me hope and pray there are more permanent road courses on the schedule for 2015 (road america, laguna seca, possibly interlagos?? :up: ) rather than adding more street courses. Don't get me wrong I love Toronto and Long Beach because of the history, and have grown to tolerate St.Pete but man do these cars look & drive so much better on real courses. 

 

Lap from Newgarden in testing:

 

 

Barber is one of the best tracks on the calendar I think.



#46 PayasYouRace

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 07:44

St Pete's is an easy enough drive, I think I may have to point the 'stang in that direction.

I'm guessing that GA is a dead loss, can anybody in the know recommend where to watch from? Be nice to bump into JPM again.

 

Just mind your camera this time.


Edited by PayasYouRace, 20 March 2014 - 07:46.


#47 Vibe

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 09:42

Never watched IndyCar before,never thought I could actually because it just seemed like a poor mans F1 to me.After seeing that onboard of De Silvestro in the OP I got interested and watched a race,2013 Sao Paulo GP.

I have to say I am overall impressed,this is good racing and I'll be following IndyCar from now on.I have to get used to some things though,I don't like the coverage too much,a bit confusing and the races are chaotic,seems like you can be on the back of the grid and still fight for the win depending on other things.There's so much commercials,I hate commercials.Yellow flags and safety cars...

But I can look past all that because as I said this is good racing.It also seems very popular,there are a shitload of people at these events,seems more crowded than F1.Those cheers when Kanaan passed Hunter Reay for the lead were fantastic,last time I rememember cheers like that in F1 was when Vettel car stalled in Valenicia.

 

Anyway,I'm now watching the Long Beach GP,some guy uploads HD 3 hour videos of IndyCar races so there's plenty of catching up to do,will watch the entire 2013 season.I hope I don't read any spoilers,all I know about IndyCar is that Franchitti had a crash and had to retire.Everything else is yet to happen :D Now I'm in the process of finding my favorite.

 

Interesting that Indy also has it's own version of DRS in therms of overtaking aid,but I think I like the PTP better.You can use it 10 times whenever you want to,just seems much less artificial than DRS.Other driver can also defend with it,not just sit and watch getting passed.

 

All in all,IndyCar  :love:


Edited by Vibe, 20 March 2014 - 10:00.


#48 stewie

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 09:59

Never watched IndyCar before,never thought I could actually because it just seemed like a poor mans F1 to me.After seeing that onboard of De Silvestro in the OP I got interested and watched a race,2013 Sao Paulo GP.

 

Bloody hell, you picked a great race to watch with the battle between Hinchcliffe and Sato at the end - and that pass on the last corner!!!

 

Indycars is a throughly enjoyable watch, yes it isn't quite the technological feast that F1 is but the racing is so much better, closer and competitive. I can't wait for the season to start, I think it'll be even more interesting than F1 this season.



#49 Prost1997T

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 12:06

Seems like you can be on the back of the grid and still fight for the win depending on other things.

 

You're mistaken Vibe, as no road\street race was won from lower than 9th on the grid (almost all were won from the top 6). Ovals are a completely different ball game, they play out more like endurance racing.

 


Indycars is a throughly enjoyable watch, yes it isn't quite the technological feast that F1 is

 

 

Lack of gadgetry is sometimes a good thing. No power steering here, and that makes it further oriented towards driver skill\ability. There's very little margin for error on most tracks, a slight mistake can mean terminal damage and a DNF.



#50 Muppetmad

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Posted 20 March 2014 - 13:02

Never watched IndyCar before,never thought I could actually because it just seemed like a poor mans F1 to me.After seeing that onboard of De Silvestro in the OP I got interested and watched a race,2013 Sao Paulo GP.

I have to say I am overall impressed,this is good racing and I'll be following IndyCar from now on.I have to get used to some things though,I don't like the coverage too much,a bit confusing and the races are chaotic,seems like you can be on the back of the grid and still fight for the win depending on other things.There's so much commercials,I hate commercials.Yellow flags and safety cars...

But I can look past all that because as I said this is good racing.It also seems very popular,there are a shitload of people at these events,seems more crowded than F1.Those cheers when Kanaan passed Hunter Reay for the lead were fantastic,last time I rememember cheers like that in F1 was when Vettel car stalled in Valenicia.

 

Anyway,I'm now watching the Long Beach GP,some guy uploads HD 3 hour videos of IndyCar races so there's plenty of catching up to do,will watch the entire 2013 season.I hope I don't read any spoilers,all I know about IndyCar is that Franchitti had a crash and had to retire.Everything else is yet to happen :D Now I'm in the process of finding my favorite.

 

Interesting that Indy also has it's own version of DRS in therms of overtaking aid,but I think I like the PTP better.You can use it 10 times whenever you want to,just seems much less artificial than DRS.Other driver can also defend with it,not just sit and watch getting passed.

 

All in all,IndyCar  :love:

You've picked a truly wonderful series to follow this year. The racing in the past few years has been wonderful (you'll enjoy watching all the races through from last year, there were so many crackers!), and it only promises to continue producing the same this year. Formula 1 may have the history and the "best drivers", but it is IndyCars which has captured my heart in recent years because it is, as you say, pure, unadulterated good racing.


Edited by Muppetmad, 20 March 2014 - 13:02.