Toronto Race Review

Well, I didn't get to catch the race live, but, thanks to the channel I moaned and groaned about not getting, which made many IRL races unavailable to me, I was able to watch most of the replayed race as soon as I got out from my lacrosse game.

And thank the Lord I was able to see most of it. I'm a road/street course fan, and I make no secret of that amongst many oval enthusiasts who read this blog. But even at the beginning of the season, I would had told you that atleast one of the two most exciting and best races this year would be an oval.

Now, I haven't seen every race myself, but, so far, among all the races I've seen, Watkins Glen and Toronto are both at the top of the list (Iowa is a close third). These races included passing! What a novel concept, one car going past another, for position, out side of the pits. There has been drama at both races, racers have put on some great driving, decent car counts, and no sense of knowing who would win.

Of course, Toronto, being my home track and seeing two Canadians running 1-2 part way through the race, it was special. And seeing PT picking off car after car at turn 3 was priceless. It's too bad Helio and PT got together, because they were both having a good run. I don't think there is anyone to blame, but Helio should had known PT wasn't going to give Helio the spot. PT isn't racing for points or a championship, he was racing for a win. I recall PT running down the inside of Bourdais at Denver in '06 with the same mentality.

And what a treat to see Tags run up front most of the race. You've got to feel good about seeing Alex Tagliani and Eric Bachelart having a good day. They scrapped everything they had together just to get out to the track for Toronto and Edmonton, and they are probably done after that. Hopefully they can have another good run and woo some sponsors for 2010. Only bad part about today was Tags taking out Scheckter on a dumb move. It sure did get Mona-Vie some airtime though.

Anyone have any objection to calling turn 3 in Toronto one of the most exciting right turns of the circuit? Did you see Dixon pass Wilson on the outside of turn 3? That takes balls to put your car out that close to the wall on the exit of turn 3.

Big day for Ryan Hunter-Reay who finally got a full race under his belt and came home with a 7th place finish. I'm sure that 7th place feels like a win after all he has been through this year.

At the end of the day though, I'm happy with the way things shaped up. Sure, the top five included 4 Penske and TCGR cars, and there was no PT or Tags involved in the podium ceremony, but, one of those Penske's was Will Power, and it was nice to see him run well. Also, seeing "Bad Ass" Justin Wilson run in the top 5 again was wonderful. DCR was running some Canadian sponsorship this weekend as well, with Leon's on both wings.

I enjoyed the race, and it seemed like a pretty good crowd was on hand, you could tell from all the boo's Helio got after the Tracy incident. But, it felt good to have the race back in Toronto and seeing the Indycars running down Lake Shore Boulevard again. I might had missed it this year, but I made a promise to my girlfriend that we'd do our best to keep next year's race weekend open so we could make it out there. I can't wait.

Been a nice month

Well, I haven't been around as much as I have wanted to be to blog away. I have fallen off the pace of some fellow bloggers and am not happy about it. The past few weeks with lacrosse have been pretty hectic, hell, I had to miss the 500 because I was on a bus to the middle of nowhere to play a team we beat 18-1. Whatever, over the last little bit, I've missed lots of things to blog about.

So, I missed the chance to tell everyone how excited I am that I finally get TSN2 up in Canada, so I should be able to watch every race, relatively close to the actual time is it run. That means either more live blogs or some hardcore twitter time which is good news because I'd like to be more interactive on the race days if you guys are interested in it.

I didn't get a chance to talk about Carb Day and Wade Cunningham taking home his second Freedom 100 or Ana Beatriz taking one of the hardest hits I've seen from an IPS car at Indy. I don't like talking about the taxi cabs on here, because this is an anti-taxi cab blog, but, does anyone else think that Ana's crash was a bit like the crash Jeff Gordon had at Vegas in '08 where he hit the angled inner wall at a 90 degree angle? Ana hit a part of the inner wall that was not parallel with the outer wall, which means she hit it a sharper angle, causing higher G-Forces and greater chance for injury. This should be fixed for next year.

I didn't get a chance to talk about PT's extension to do both Canadian races for the KVRT which is good news. The tickets probably sold at a much higher rate in Edmonton for the race then it would had earlier. I bet the tickets at Toronto picked up big time once he was announced. However, over at ChampCarFanatics.com they are probably laughing their asses off that their hero is being sponsored by the engine company they hate the most in Honda.

I missed a crash filled race. I've seen highlights and heard stories about the race, but it seemed like an average 500. Now, mind you, an average 500 is better then a good Kansas or Iowa, simply because it is Indianapolis, and Indianapolis makes everything better because of the history and the show they put on around it. And seeing Helio take the checkered flag is great. No one else deserved it more then him, thought I would had been happy to see just about anyone win, it was still a nice little touch to see Helio climbing the fence (to someone's dissapointment) then to see him in jail. He adds so much to the series outside of his publicity and talent. He is just an all around great guy. I don't like Penske Racing all that much, but I was happy to see him win even when he is in a Penske car.

How about T. Bell? He walks in second week and puts the KVRT #8 Herbalife car in 4th place? Not bad for a one-off. Maybe he will be lucky and talk Herbalife into sponsoring a second car at HVM for next season maybe? That would be sweet. Townsend Bell has, in my mind, with that drive, put himself on the list of drivers we should have in the series. Unfortunately, he seems to have lost William Rast sponsorship and is only hope right now is Herbalife. However, this is one guy who has proven he can go out and make friends with the higher ups which is good for his future.

My boy Tags wins Rookie of the Year at Indy which is nice. This decision might be more about the cheque accompanying the award then the award itself as it is a little extra cash flow for Conquest who is hurting.

Anyways, I doubt you folks want to read through all of this, I was just doing my best to catch up on all the news I haven't been able to blog about. I'll throw something up about the #14 car tonight and my opinions on who should or will get that drive. I'm also stopping by the bar tonight for a chit chat with the bartender. Hopefully he has some news from the weekend.

Full Throttle

The Month of May has finally hit full throttle (don't worry, no Charlie's Angel's sponsorship, although that might not be a bad thing come to think of it) with the track open to all cars finally. All rookies have completed their ROP and with the green flag for practice, 28 car-driver combos have seen the track this morning.

At one point early in the session, Quattro and Meira held P1 and P2 for a few minutes which was nice to see. I'm sure Tex snapped a picture of the scoring tower for future reference.

Scott Sharp and Paul Tracy, my two one-off bets, are running respectively in the top ten early.

As for one-offs, it is safe they say they have the sexiest livery's on pit lane. I mean, it seems every one-off has a refreshing paint scheme to it, and is a nice change from the red and white we are used to seeing.

A bit concerned as to where Will Power and his number 12 car is. He is yet to take to the track this morning.

And as I type, HCN just broke 223.

I'll be back on later for more updates.

The Other Side - Poll of the Week

Alright, after neglecting my weekly poll function the last few weeks, mostly due to my horrific exam schedule, I've decided to throw up a new question. I'd appreciate it if all you fine folks throw down your opinion. This weeks question is about the affects of Helio's freedom, the affects it has on the media circus called Team Penske. Basically, Ryan Briscoe and HCN are both safe through the end of the year at minimum, but now Will Power could possibly lose his ride, while sitting second in the point standings, the highest placing Penske driver in points.

Now, we know Penske has entered WP in the 500, but he hasn't committed to anything else involving WP. The latest rumors are that Verizon will be coming on board as a sponsor with the IRL, and will stay on with WP for atleast selected events, but this is not confirmed at all.

So basically, I want to know what my readers think. Scroll down the page and find the poll on the right and vote, and if you feel like it, leave a comment about the situation in the comment section. I'm interested into hearing what you guys think will happen.

Helio Acquitted of Tax Evasion

Helio has been acquitted of Tax Evasion, but the jury is still hung on the Conspiracy charge.

On the live feed during practice, the announcers are talking about them setting up a third car for Helio for this weekend. There is a press conference being organized.

Here's the article.

It's A Big Week

Well, turns out I was right and PT will be announced in on friday. Damn good thing I was right or I would had been in the tire wall and looked stupid while doing it.





This week we just got an announcement from Rubicon and Conquest announcing what had already been announced, that Rubicon Racing would become Rubicon Sports Agency and that they will oversee the commercial side of Conquest Racing. Maybe that means a second car for Conquest with Buddy Rice in the seat, or maybe that means we see some LifeLock sponsorship on Tags car for the rest of the season. Whatever the case, this sounds like the team will be a little more stable, and you can probably pencil in Tags for the remainder of the year at Conquest.

We also just found out today that Tomas Scheckter won't be at Team 3G. Cavin reported this earlier today. Stanton Barrett will drive Team 3G's sole entry at Long Beach. Apparently they are still working towards running Tomas at Kansas and for the remainder of the year, but nothing is done yet. Rumors also have Tomas looking at Coyne with his Rockstar Energy Drink money.

The I500 entry list will be coming out very soon, and will have Paul Tracy at KVRT as one of the entries. I have updated my 93rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race entry list here. This should add a bit of pizazz to the upcoming Long Beach Grand Prix as it will just us bloggers and the media a bit more to talk about.

Another name that might or might not end up on that list is Helio Castroneves who very well could find out his future this week. Either he'll be wearing wearing a shade of orange, and possibly a nice suit covered in sequins. Hopefully for all involved, he manages to get out of this one and he'll be ready to go by Long Beach. But will Helio be ready to race at Long Beach if he is found innocent? We have heard stories of how mentally drained he is, and if he is found innocent on thursday, would he be ready to race on Sunday? I doubt it.

And to end the week off, we have the first IRL sanctioned event at Long Beach. If last weeks results were any indication, it should be a fun time indeed. Long Beach will probably shake up the order once again as the old CCWS drivers and teams will most likely be more prepared for this track then any ICS team. This will give drivers like Alex Tagliani and Justin Wilson another shot to put one past the big guys, and will give NHL Racing another chance to prove they belong with the Big 3.

Also, expect to see some Z-Lines signage on the Dale Coyne Racing car by Long Beach. If the deal comes together, then this should help them get to two cars from the I5oo on.

It should be an interesting week, and by the way, DanicaFan is already proclaiming Danica Patrick this weekends winner on the streets of Long Beach. I whole heartedly disagree with this. She will be lucky if she finishes ahead of Stanton Barrett in my opinion.

Back in 10...

Im sorry for those of you who actually follow the site regularily, but I'll be out of commission for a bit. I'm heading off for a lacrosse trip for 10 days or so.

I'll be doing my best to run into Darren Manning and Wheldon and Wilson and Conway as I'll be in Manchester, England for the trip. We'll be playing a few games and heading to London and a few other locations for tours and such.

Anyways, I don't know if you can do without my writing for a while, if you're having trouble, check out my fellow bloggers for the time I'm away. I'm sure they will be covering the fun stuff like Helio's trial, a Barber open-test (which is diminishing in cars by the day), and the fancy new website they are launching on the 24th (which is a special day I won't be around for... special for another reason...), and hopefully some driver announcements.

Anyways, wish me luck, I'll try to throw something up if I find the time, if not, talk to you in about 10 days.