933 replies to this topic

[maximilian]

Yes, it's time again for that long-honored tradition of IndyCar at COTA.  Nobody knows what prompted the organizers to dub this one a "Classic" on its first running, but one can only surmise that they expect the race to be one for the ages.  Knowing IndyCar usually delivers, that's a likely outcome.

 

Since Cotathreadiphobia appears to be strong still - on the very day Practice is about to begin already! - I am facing down all fears to get at least a rudimentary thread going, so the world may resume spinning.

 

We COTA now! (unauthorized use of VEACH font)

 

 

(Some) Flags of "the Americas" (with my apologies to Mexico, the only "the Americas" missing here that's represented in IndyCar this week)

 

Blatantly ripped off from Motorsport.com's article, which is my excuse for the shoddy formatting of this OP.  It's good to have an excuse for doing a hurried job:

 

Note: This schedule is subject to change. All times Central.

For list of international carriers of IndyCar broadcasts, click here. 

 

(I was going to make a cynical comment about the international broadcasting snafu here, but decided not to, since Robin Miller told us all to STFU!)

 

Friday, March 22

9.00-9.45am, Indy Lights first practice (Road To Indy TV, IndyCar Radio)
10.15-11.00am, IndyCar Series first practice (NBC Sports Gold, IndyCar Radio + affiliates)
11.15-11.50am, Global MX-5 Cup first practice
12.20-12.50pm, Stadium SuperTrucks practice 
1.20-1.50pm, Indy Lights first qualifying (Road to Indy TV, IndyCar Radio)
2.05-3.05pm, IndyCar Series second practice (NBC Sports Gold, IndyCar Radio + affiliates)
3.10-3.40pm, IndyCar Series pitstop practice
3.55-4.30pm, Global MX-5 Cup second practice
5.00-5.30pm, Stadium SuperTrucks Race 1

 

 

Saturday, March 23

8.30am-6.00pm, USAC Quarter-Midgets, Heats and Mains - Lot H
9.15-9.45am, Indy Lights second qualifying (Road To Indy TV, IndyCar Radio)
10.00-10.45am, IndyCar Series third practice (NBC Sports Gold, IndyCar Radio + affiliates)
11.00-11.25pm, Global MX-5 Cup qualifying
11.55-12.15pm, Stadium SuperTrucks practice
12.45-1.45pm, Indy Lights Race 1 (NBC Sports Gold, IndyCar Radio)
2.00-3.15pm, IndyCar Series qualifying (NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Gold, IndyCar Radio + affiliates)
3.30-4.20pm, Global MX-5 Cup Race 1 
4.50-5.20pm, Stadium SuperTrucks Race 2
[Muse concert starts at 7.30pm at Austin360 amphitheater]

 

Sunday, March 24

8.00-10.00am, USAC Quarter Midgets, Mains - Lot H
8.05-8.55am, Global MX-5 Cup Race 2
9.10-10.10am, Indy Lights Race 2 (NBC Sports Gold, IndyCar Radio)
10.40-11.10am, Stadium SuperTrucks Race 3
12.36pm green flag, NTT IndyCar Series IndyCar classic, 60 laps 
(NBCSN coverage 12.00-3.00pm, IndyCar Radio + affiliates)
 

 

IndyCar Radio Network broadcasts

The IndyCar Classic race airs live on network affiliates, Sirius 216, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the IndyCar Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. All NTT IndyCar Series practices and qualifying are available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the IndyCar Mobile app, with qualifying also airing on Sirius 216 and XM 209.

 

NBC Sports Gold Live Streaming

All NTT IndyCar Series practice sessions and qualifying will stream live using the IndyCar Pass on NBC Sports Gold. In addition, full- broadcast, same-day replays of IndyCar races, live streams of Indy Lights races, edited cutdowns of IndyCar races and Indy Lights races and more will be available.

 

The Circuit (of the Americas) Map:

 

 

 

Lots of talking points... as always...!

 

 

- COTA ~ the Circuit (of the Americas) - one of the better TilkeDromes... how great will the race be?  How empty will the grandstands look?  How often will we have to explain the slower lap times with how much less $$$ is spent (some math genius figure this out, number of seconds slower divided by billions of dollars not spent... I think we come out ahead in the entire exercise?)

 

- SATO!!!!!11!!   All signs point to Sato this time, as we determined previously ample SURE THING proof based on impeccable anagram science (COTA anagram CATO, which is basically SATO, COTA anagram TACO, which is basically TAKU - end of story, nuff said, I rest my case) - in other words, PICK HIM in the Fantasy Game!  Not in the Fantasy Game yet?  You poor soul.  Join now!

 

https://www.fantrax....07em&isSubmit=y

 

- PATO!!!!  Future legend and current duck Patricio O'Ward starts his long and storied IndyCar career "fo' real" here - this weekend.  It's history in the making.  Don't miss it!

 

- JNEW!!  Will (one of) The Young American(s)™ win again?  Will he run away with the championship?  (hint: NO!  This is IndyCar!)

 

- KYLE!  The return of Juncos Racing, with Kyle Kaiser at the helm.  Yes, yes, we miss Rene Binder much.  No Binder... who do we get to make fun of?  Not even Charlie Kimball is in the field!  But I digress... the much-deserving Kaiser is in tha house!

 

- OUCH!  Ed Jones will be racing with a broken bone in his hand.  In fact, it's the distal fourth metacarpal in his left ring finger.  No, there won't be a quiz later.  60 grueling laps without power steering.  IndyCar is where the real men race!  Oh, and some real women, too.    Gotta love it. Good luck, Ed!

 

- RAIN?  Will it, or won't it? 

 

- WILL!?  Will Power, or Won't Power?

 

(4-letter word section ends here, but feel free to add your own below)

 

 

- the Texans!  We are in Texas... will SUPER TEX's team finally get their act together and contend, or will it be another episode of falling off the bulldozer?  

 

- the SWEDES:  Felix and Marcus.  Marcus and Felix.   Well, OK, mostly Felix.  But Marcus is alright.  Isn't he?  Speaking of Swedes in COTA, here is an appropriate completely unrelated thing all this reminds me of... a Swede with DotA:

 

 

 

 

If you didn't know this song before, you're welcome!

 

- unnecessary Danica mention here, since she has been mentioned lately.

 

- extremely necessary Robert Wickens mention here.  This man deserves mentioning at any time.  Keep at it, Robbie... we miss you!

 

Spotter Guide!

 

 

I'll leave it at that for now, partially because I am scared all this stuff will disappear while I am typing, never to be seen again, and partially because I just wanted to get the thread going... y'all are awesome at filling in the zillions of exciting little details that make every IndyCar race an instant CLASSIC!        

 

See you in COTA!!

Edited by maximilian, 23 March 2019 - 16:41.

[Afterburner]

maximilian, on 22 Mar 2019 - 12:54, said:

- KYLE!

[red stick]

From Marshall Pruett's pre-race preview in RACER, re tire wear at COTA:

 

Quote

 

TIRE LIFE

Most drivers and engineers are convinced the INDYCAR Classic at the Circuit of the Americas will be a 60-lap marathon spent trying to avoid torturing their tires. It was the big topic during the recent open test, and as Dale Coyne Racing engineer Michael Cannon explains, it has little to do with the quality of Firestone’s tires.

Austin’s a great place if you’re looking for music; less so if you’re looking for grip. Image by LePage/LAT.

 

 

“The type of aggregate they use [in the track surface at COTA] is very weather worn,” he said. “If you go to racetracks in Florida, you’ll see a lot of sea shells in the aggregate; it’s broken up and sharp. At COTA, the rocks and the pebbles in the aggregate are very polished. It makes for a very slick track.”

Lacking the sharp aggregate to dig into tires and provide a high degree of natural grip, Firestone’s primary black tires and its faster alternate reds will be asked to shoulder most of the performance burden. As a result, tire life and usable grip could be at risk.

“With the reds, remember we have 20 corners in a 3.4-mile track; Road America is four miles long and has 14 turns,” Cannon adds. “You pick up a tenth per corner and the reds will be a huge difference. Come to the race, and durability? That’s anybody’s guess.”

 

https://racer.com/20...-ahead-of-cota/

Edited by red stick, 22 March 2019 - 13:45.

[red stick]

$100,000 bonus for winning pole and the race.

 

https://www.statesma...first-cota-race

 

Cycling through the photos is kind of interesting, as the "most intriguing rookie" is Colton Herta (Rosenqvist, Pato?) and the IndyCar practice photo shows Indy Lights cars.  Local sports coverage of IndyCar is generally amusing.

Edited by red stick, 22 March 2019 - 14:00.

[Andrew Hope]

I don't have any way to see this race, so.. gonna kill myself probably. Been a pleasure, tell Jamie Little I love her.

[maximilian]

There are always many ways in the Circuit of the Africas 

[PayasYouRace]

Looks like Pat O'ward (Pato Ward? Too many O's in there) isn't shown as being there on the fantasy league, but you can still pick him for 15 dollarydoos.

 

Meanwhile my fantasy team has changed sponsor. Poor Energy didn't have any cash. I've done a deal with Wish On Minnow, but the media tells me the source of that money is fishy.

 

 

maximilian, on 22 Mar 2019 - 12:54, said:

 

- the SWEDES:  Felix and Marcus.  Marcus and Felix.   

 

[red stick]

PayasYouRace, on 22 Mar 2019 - 14:19, said:

Looks like Pat O'ward (Pato Ward? Too many O's in there) isn't shown as being there on the fantasy league, but you can still pick him for 15 dollarydoos.

 

 

I wasn't sure what to do with that--it looks like you can put him on a team, and they'll figure it out on the back end?  Doesn't give me the most confidence in this operation. 

[MattK9]

Pato is in my team as i had $15 left and he fitted the bill nicely. Im hoping that when they upload the scores it will just sort out whether he is available or not and just score points for me anyways. Fingers crossed!

[Joseki]

COTA is great, but I just realized we are ony 1 month away from the Indy test. Time sure flies!

[ezequiel]

I'm rooting for KYLE

[Andrew Hope]

Joseki, on 22 Mar 2019 - 14:55, said:

COTA is great, but I just realized we are ony 1 month away from the Indy test. Time sure flies!

It does during the season. The offseason is br00tal. I don't like that my favorite racing series has an offseason which could fit an entire second on season in it. Between Sonoma and St. Pete every year are long minutes. Artillery barrage and pregnancy test minutes.

[PayasYouRace]

red stick, on 22 Mar 2019 - 14:38, said:

I wasn't sure what to do with that--it looks like you can put him on a team, and they'll figure it out on the back end?  Doesn't give me the most confidence in this operation. 

 

I'm hoping that you can actually pick any driver, and the only reason they have that indications is to stop people who aren't fully up to speed from picking someone that isn't actually racing.

[maximilian]

PayasYouRace, on 22 Mar 2019 - 14:19, said:

Marcus/Felix

 

 

 

So close!!   

[prommer]

Well done MAX! Now I'm off to catch up on P1, which I apparently just missed.

[AustinF1]

maximilian, on 22 Mar 2019 - 12:54, said:

...  How empty will the grandstands look?  ...

Marshall Pruett went into this a bit in his article, comapring COTA to Indy in terms of looking empty when there is a decent crowd. 

 

But when you're looking at the COTA IndyCar crowd this weekend, just remember that the grandstands in use for the weekend only hold a little more than 30,000 reserved seats. Judging a COTA crowd is not quite like looking at Indy, which has something like 10x as many seats. If a crowd looks bad at COTA it's a bad crowd.

 

From pre-race indications & things I've heard, I don't expect a big crowd. COTA moved the Muse concert from the Superstage to the much smaller 360 Amphitheater, and local word is that ticket sales have been very slow.

[Afterburner]

MattK9, on 22 Mar 2019 - 14:52, said:

Pato is in my team as i had $15 left and he fitted the bill nicely. Im hoping that when they upload the scores it will just sort out whether he is available or not and just score points for me anyways. Fingers crossed!

I miss the statistic they used to have where they'd show you what percentage of players had picked a certain driver, if only so I could be that asshole laughing at the 70% of players who picked Josef Newgarden when he walled it on a restart.

[prommer]

So apparently Herta's Honda went blammo during FP1.  Add that to the two at St Pete (Bourdais, RHR)...

[paulb]

Where is the O’Ward versus Herta sub-thread?! Runs.....

 

Great job, Max! It will be interesting to see how the tire story unrolls.

[red stick]

AustinF1, on 22 Mar 2019 - 16:21, said:

 

Marshall Pruett went into this a bit in his article, comapring COTA to Indy in terms of looking empty when there is a decent crowd. 

 

But when you're looking at the COTA IndyCar crowd this weekend, just remember that the grandstands in use for the weekend only hold a little more than 30,000 reserved seats. Judging a COTA crowd is not quite like looking at Indy, which has something like 10x as many seats. If a crowd looks bad at COTA it's a bad crowd.

 

From pre-race indications & things I've heard, I don't expect a big crowd. COTA moved the Muse concert from the Superstage to the much smaller 360 Amphitheater, and local word is that ticket sales have been very slow.

 

 

That's too bad.  I've been twice for F1 and it's epic.  Big crowd.  Long lines.  The feeling that you're at an EVENT.

 

Then I went for the Lone Star LeMans WEC/IMSA weekend.  Great racing, but I've seriously been to vintage events with bigger crowds.

 

I hope Indy draws well enough to make this a go, but I'm also kind of hoping it's enough of a fail that COTA will rethink the pricing/parking/paddock pass situation and make it more user-friendly.  Think Barber.

[Frood]

Why is Helio in the two-seater? He needs to be in the race proper, damn it!

[Myrvold]

red stick, on 22 Mar 2019 - 13:58, said:

$100,000 bonus for winning pole and the race.
 
https://www.statesma...first-cota-race
 
Cycling through the photos is kind of interesting, as the "most intriguing rookie" is Colton Herta (Rosenqvist, Pato?) and the IndyCar practice photo shows Indy Lights cars.  Local sports coverage of IndyCar is generally amusing.

"Error code 16
This request was blocked by the security rules"

Okay then!  I guess the site doesn't like Europeans and the GDPR.

[Myrvold]

red stick, on 22 Mar 2019 - 13:58, said:

$100,000 bonus for winning pole and the race.
 
https://www.statesma...first-cota-race
 
Cycling through the photos is kind of interesting, as the "most intriguing rookie" is Colton Herta (Rosenqvist, Pato?) and the IndyCar practice photo shows Indy Lights cars.  Local sports coverage of IndyCar is generally amusing.

"Error code 16
This request was blocked by the security rules"

Okay then!  I guess the site doesn't like Europeans and the GDPR.

[prommer]

Practice 2 starting NOW

[red stick]

Myrvold, on 22 Mar 2019 - 18:58, said:

"Error code 16
This request was blocked by the security rules"

Okay then!  I guess the site doesn't like Europeans and the GDPR.

Quote

IndyCar drivers have 100,000 reasons to win first COTA race
 
By Chris Bils

Posted Mar 21, 2019 at 6:53 PM Updated Mar 21, 2019 at 6:55 PM

The stakes have been raised for the inaugural IndyCar Classic at Circuit of the Americas.
Upon their arrival Thursday, drivers were greeted with the news that there is an extra $100,000 bonus up for grabs if somebody can win the pole during Saturday’s qualifying and then take the checkered flag Sunday.
COTA Executive Vice President Rick Abbott unveiled the prize during the pre-race press conference Thursday, with a giant check as proof.
“Sweet, that’ll be a nice bottle of wine,” said James Hinchcliffe, a Canadian who competes for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

...

With an extra $100,000 at stake, the chance for carnage has been raised along with the stakes.
“A bit of a mess,” Ericsson said Thursday when asked what he expects from the first turn. “Hopefully we come out on top of it. Every start here, there’s always people bumping into each other, so I’m expecting something similar on Sunday.”

 
The text, though no photos, for our European friends.

Edited by Afterburner, 22 March 2019 - 19:17.
Edited out the irrelevant bits, so we don't find ourselves on the receiving end of some Texas copyright justice.

[Clrnc]

Starting to take an interest in indycar, but forgive me for this amateur question. Looking at the spotter guide why are there no 2 cars from one team that have the same livery? Abit confusing to me

[Andrew Hope]

Clrnc, on 22 Mar 2019 - 19:18, said:

Starting to take an interest in indycar, but forgive me for this amateur question. Looking at the spotter guide why are there no 2 cars from one team that have the same livery? Abit confusing to me

Individual cars have individual sponsors. It's not unheard of to have multiple cars on the same team the same livery, just none right now.

[red stick]

MattK9, on 22 Mar 2019 - 14:52, said:

Pato is in my team as i had $15 left and he fitted the bill nicely. Im hoping that when they upload the scores it will just sort out whether he is available or not and just score points for me anyways. Fingers crossed!

 

This afternoon there's finally a checkmark by Pato's name signaling his availability.  Fantrax is slow, but it gets . . . . . . . there.

[red stick]

Afterburner: 

 

I think traditionally there's no law west of the Pecos (River), but east?  Can't be too careful. 

Edited by red stick, 22 March 2019 - 19:52.

[maximilian]

Clrnc, on 22 Mar 2019 - 19:18, said:

Starting to take an interest in indycar, but forgive me for this amateur question. Looking at the spotter guide why are there no 2 cars from one team that have the same livery? Abit confusing to me

 

Well, the Arrow cars are both running almost identical liveries for Schmidt-Peterson (5 & 7), as do the ABC Supply cars for AJ Foyt Enterprises (4 & 14).  The 20 and 21 for Ed Carpenter racing are very similar.  The two Rahal cars 15 & 30 share some of the same line work patterning, as do the 31 and 59 Carlin cars.  All 4 Andretti cars have the same silver nose.  I find it to be one of the charming quirks of IndyCar that teams don't necessarily carry all the same paint schemes.  It makes for a lovely colorful grid. 

Edited by maximilian, 22 March 2019 - 21:15.

[PiperPa42]

Clrnc, on 22 Mar 2019 - 19:18, said:

Starting to take an interest in indycar, but forgive me for this amateur question. Looking at the spotter guide why are there no 2 cars from one team that have the same livery? Abit confusing to me

That’s why they publish a spotterguide
And the livery of a driver can change from race to race as well. Look at Dixons 2017 cars for example.

[PayasYouRace]

red stick, on 22 Mar 2019 - 19:52, said:

Afterburner: 
 
I think traditionally there's no law west of the Pecos (River), but east?  Can't be too careful. 

Well if you keep going west eventually you end up east of where you started so...

[PayasYouRace]

maximilian, on 22 Mar 2019 - 20:57, said:

Well, the Arrow cars are both running almost identical liveries for Schmidt-Peterson (5 & 7), as do the ABC Supply cars for AJ Foyt Enterprises (4 & 14).  The 20 and 21 for Ed Carpenter racing are very similar.  The two Rahal cars 15 & 30 share some of the same line work patterning.  All 4 Andretti cars have the same silver nose.  I find it to be one of the charming quirks of IndyCar that teams don't necessarily carry all the same paint schemes.  It makes for a lovely colorful grid. 

One thing I like about the Foyt cars is how the livery is the same but the red and blue is reversed on each car. I prefer the No.4 arrangement.

I liked the different metallic colours on the SPM cars too, especially the pink/purple one that’s usually driven by one of the random English drivers.

[paulb]

who else got the fantrax offer to pay $ for an add-free version of the site?

[red stick]

PayasYouRace, on 22 Mar 2019 - 21:14, said:

Well if you keep going west eventually you end up east of where you started so...

I don't think I've ever been that far . . .

[Frood]

PayasYouRace, on 22 Mar 2019 - 21:17, said:

One thing I like about the Foyt cars is how the livery is the same but the red and blue is reversed on each car. I prefer the No.4 arrangement.

I liked the different metallic colours on the SPM cars too, especially the pink/purple one that’s usually driven by one of the random English drivers.

 

I particularly liked the chrome green one at Indy last year. Unfortunately Jay Howard didn't manage get it on the TV very often.

[maximilian]

Frood, on 22 Mar 2019 - 22:04, said:

I particularly liked the chrome green one at Indy last year. Unfortunately Jay Howard didn't manage get it on the TV very often.

 

Yeah, the set of all 4 SPM cars was spectacular together!

[Vitesse2]

PiperPa42, on 22 Mar 2019 - 21:10, said:

That’s why they publish a spotterguide
And the livery of a driver can change from race to race as well. Look at Dixons 2017 cars for example.

I still can't get used to Dixie not being in the red Target car ...

[jonpollak]

Just arrived in Austin.
The airport was full of race fans from all over the world.
Mind you.. it IS a tiny airport.

Gonna hook up with StraightEdge when he gets a minute.
He’s a busy boy right now.

Jp

[PiperPa42]

Vitesse2, on 22 Mar 2019 - 22:27, said:

I still can't get used to Dixie not being in the red Target car ...

I'm glad I got a Target shirt at Sonoma in 2016, now I just need to get him to sign it.

[jonpollak]

Local weather forecast just got a whole lot better.
Jp

[AustinF1]

No track limits exiting 19.

 

Stupid.

[Clrnc]

maximilian, on 22 Mar 2019 - 20:57, said:

Well, the Arrow cars are both running almost identical liveries for Schmidt-Peterson (5 & 7), as do the ABC Supply cars for AJ Foyt Enterprises (4 & 14).  The 20 and 21 for Ed Carpenter racing are very similar.  The two Rahal cars 15 & 30 share some of the same line work patterning, as do the 31 and 59 Carlin cars.  All 4 Andretti cars have the same silver nose.  I find it to be one of the charming quirks of IndyCar that teams don't necessarily carry all the same paint schemes.  It makes for a lovely colorful grid. 

Thanks all    got it. Basically all the teams have no constructor championship, it's more of an engine championship and the cars can be individual, like one team with 4 cars one team with 3 or 2 cars?

[Frood]

Clrnc, on 23 Mar 2019 - 08:10, said:

Thanks all got it. Basically all the teams have no constructor championship, it's more of an engine championship and the cars can be individual, like one team with 4 cars one team with 3 or 2 cars?

Yep. Andretti have 4 cars for example (plus a technical hand in running Harding Steinbrenner); whereas Juncos only run one.

[noriaki]

Yup you have got the jist Clrnc. Although I would still say teams matter more than they do in, say, DTM where the competituon is almost purely manufacturer-based. Whereas here the Penske v Ganassi v Andretti rivalry is one of the main longterm storylines of the sport.

[Peat]

AustinF1, on 23 Mar 2019 - 05:17, said:

No track limits exiting 19.

 

Stupid.

 

Yep. When IMSA were there and they did similar, it just looked really amateur.

[Clrnc]

One last question, what are the random numbers 463.0214 etc beside their nationality on the spotter guide? 

[PayasYouRace]

Clrnc, on 23 Mar 2019 - 08:59, said:

One last question, what are the random numbers 463.0214 etc beside their nationality on the spotter guide?

I think that’s their team radio frequency, so anyone with a scanner can tune in at the track.

[Vitesse2]

Just a heads up for those with Sky subs or who are navigating the jungle - Sky Sports F1 will be showing qualifying from COTA at 19.00 GMT.

 

maximilian, on 22 Mar 2019 - 12:54, said:

 

(4-letter word section ends here, but feel free to add your own below)

No! He said COTA - not CATO!

 

[MadYarpen]

Any way to watch the race tomorrow in the EU?