2023 – Ground(ed) Effects

2023 Post-race and The Greatest 33 Update

There is a moment when renewing one’s Indy 500 tickets each year that is bitter and sweet, but seems to shade a bit more to the bitter side. Once again we catch our breath from a race that we love for the moments of breath it draws from us, only to return to a sense of normalcy and realize we’re over 350 days away from the next 500.

As tradition is a hallmark of the Indy 500, I return to the annual numbing coolness of bland columns and rows of race statistics to soothe a head that aches with restarting the 51-week cycle of anticipation all over again. First, let’s have a quick look back at my experience of this year’s classic.

The 2023 Race Weekend – Rather unexpectedly, and without a definite cause to my knowledge, there was a definite sensation that the attendance at IMS events during race weekend was notably higher than recent years and nearly paralleled 2016. Race day especially, and 2016 aside, there were more people at the track earlier than I’ve seen in a long time. When I really think about it, I may have to go back to the mid-1990s, but with so much of the event schedule changed since, it’s difficult to compare.

Welcome Race Fans! – Many of you likely already are aware of my race-day alter-ego and friends who join in the fun. As we are basically just average people, we strive to be approachable and are more than happy to take pictures with other race fans. Our primary desire, to extend goodwill and positive vibes on raceday, is especially enjoyable when we encounter people who reveal that this is their first race. This year we also encountered a greater number of race virgins than in years past and we welcome them and try to celebrate them just for being at IMS. Hopefully we added to their enjoyment of raceday. Also new to our seating section were two fans who’ve never been and while it’s comforting to see those make the pilgrimage each year, it’s also a positive sign to meet and interact with new fans who are often awed by all of it. It truly is a world-class, mega-sporting event.

We also met a good number of international fans again and we’re only happy to wish them well and hope they come back again. Our international list keeps growing and meeting fans from Wales, Denmark, and Sweden were new additions.

I’m willing to keep this silliness up as long as I have my crew with me, although we were diminished a bit as Mr. Bricks was out this year due to injury. He was missed by us and by fans alike who’ve seen us in years past. Hopefully he can make a full recovery for 2024.

The Greatest 33 – As a quick refresher, IMS put out this list for the 100th anniversary in 2011 and fans could vote on their Greatest 33 drivers of the Indy 500. Wanting to put more than a cursory and superficial effort in choosing, I created a select batch of statistics to help make my choices then and since have maintained this list every year via a spreadsheet with annual updates based on results. Active drivers after the Indy 500 are shown in green. When time permits, I’ll consider adding a category for Total Miles Completed and updating the list, but until then, here it is in all it’s row-and-column insouciance:

All active drivers gained another 10 points for another race start plus one point for any lap lead this year. Palou’s Pole position pushed him up the list and Newgarden’s win of course vaults him up the leaderboard, as most of the notable movement comes from mid-list. As it stands, Dixon remains the highest scoring single-winner on my Greatest 33.

The Last Row Party – Some may notice the last three faces in my Greatest 33. The list is essentially a top 30 plus the 3 best to never win it. In an homage to the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation Last Row Party, the 11th Row consisting of Michael Andretti, Ted Horn, and Rex Mays currently occupy it. Essentially this leaves Clark on the ’30th place bubble’ for winners of the 500. It also takes very little to see how the lone remaining active Andretti could join that row.

Very little changed at the top of the sheet this year, but it gets quite a bit more interesting with the gaggle of drivers hovering at the ‘cut-line’. As current non-winners go, if Marco races just once more and not win, he’ll supplant Rex Mays in the 33rd spot. If he wins, however, his minimum points haul of 301 to his current 544 would elevate him into 27th, trailing Takuma Sato and bumping everyone behind, including Jim Clark out of the top 30, and off my Greatest 33 list. Here’s the standings around the cut-line:

As you can see, there are several active drivers around Marco who stand to make a big jump as well should the racing gods favor them with the next 500 win. A first win for Carpenter, or second wins for Newgarden, Rossi, Pagenaud, Power, and Hunter-Reay would see them join my Greatest 33.

Winner, Winner – The checkers fell to the newest first-time winner – Josef Newgarden. The nature of my list shows that winning is a huge points premium so my Greatest 33 list contains all multiple winners of the Indy 500. Being a one-time winner doesn’t begin to meet the elite of the list without having many races, poles, and laps lead to distinguish them.

**Photo (c) 2023, Indycar.com, Joe Skibinski**

In total, 75 drivers have won the 500 – 55 are one-time winners and 20 are multiple time winners accounting for 54 (basically half) of the 107 races run. Top 5 finishes for Newgarden, Ericsson, Ferrucci, Palou, and Rossi all boosted their standings. .

Miscellany – One thing I miss most about the new scoring pylon versus the old one is the average race speed shown at the top of the stack. The Indy 500 qualifying field surpassed the previously quickest qualifying field of 2022. In addition, the weather was just gorgeous for raceday, so the conditions existed to have a race among the fastest as well. With an average speed of 168.193 and clocking in at 2:58:21.9611, it was the 10th fastest race of all time, including 27 laps of yellow and three red flag delays. Not coincidentally, the fastest race of all-time in 2021 had the fewest laps under yellow with 18, and no red-flags.

In Conclusion – The drivers in the Greatest 33 change very little, although several of the youthful and newest generation of Indycar drivers look set to march steadily up this legendary list. Can the established guard hold onto their dominance or will a new wave begin to make their presence known on an annual basis? Newgarden’s win as a bridge member between the younger and older generations perhaps suggests, as does the officially-official (seeming) retirement of TK, that the new wave is here to stay and will begin to put their mark on this great event.

Time is running out for the current greats, but unlike generations many years ago, they still have competitive equipment and will be contenders as long as they’re able and willing to try. This sets us up for great races in the years to come and, perhaps even more now, I can’t wait for the next 500. Which active driver would you like to see pop up into The Greatest 33?

Special Guest Appearance By…

With its many maladies of unhealthy mental nature, one of the few things I’ve come to appreciate about social media is the opportunity it gives to also have a positive interaction with someone you might haven’t otherwise. Unless you managed to muster the ability to introduce yourself in-person, while sharing an appreciation for a common interest or event, the ability to share things we enjoy most with relative strangers used to fall on the off-chance of ‘right place, right time’. Speaking directly to another human was, at one time, the only way.

The era of social media has allowed for interactions with multitudes of others, for better and worse. Today’s post is a result of one of my positive social media and Indycar interactions, and I’ve invited that person as a special guest to post here.

Many would recall a former handle, @OpenWheelMom, from Twitter or a blog named ‘Open Wheel Mom’ from an time I’d call the “#Indy500OrBust” era of Indycar. If you know, you know, as the kids say.

A brief conversation recently has convinced Amy to return to writing and I’ve invited her to post here, so please allow me to reintroduce my special guest blogger, Amy Woedl, back to the Indycar blogosphere. As Sid Collins might have said, “Take it away, Amy!”

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has an undeniable, almost living presence of her own. One only needs to take a walk down the front stretch when the stands are empty, and the track is sleeping to feel the ever-present energy that gives goosebumps and chills. She is an entity like no other, and The Month of May, and the Indianapolis 500 ARE her heart and soul.

She gives, and she takes. She will be surprisingly generous to some, and utterly devastating to others all in the same moment. She chooses who basks in her glory, and who gets shut out in the chill of the Pagoda’s shadow.

It seemed that Graham Rahal was the first to be shut out into the chill by IMS this year after being bumped during qualifying. The absolute heartbreak as he cried and hugged his daughter made all of us feel for him, fan or not. He even went so far as to say: “I’m not meant to be in this race. I’m not a super religious person, but I’m a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason, and the 2023 Indy 500 was not in my cards.” He knows the give and take of IMS, just as his father Bobby did, when he was bumped from the race 30 years earlier.

IMS was certainly not done with her taking after she’d had her first taste. The very first crash this month at the 2.5 mile oval track occurred on the Monday following qualifying, and it was devastating. Katherine Legge ran into the back of Stefan Wilson in T1, causing both cars to shoot upwards and violently crash into the wall. It was about 10 minutes before the safety crew could carefully remove Wilson from the wreckage. It was discovered that he had broken the T12 vertebrae his back, and would need surgery, thus ending the solid month he and his crew had worked so hard for.

After this; IMS must have decided it was time for some surprise giving in light of what had happened to Wilson.

After his bump from the starting grid, Rahal was given an unusual opportunity to step in and race in Wilson’s place. Why so unusual? Because Rahal is a Honda driver, and Wilson races for Chevrolet. Crossover is almost unheard of. Another twist in the fates, perhaps, as Wilson’s older brother Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal were former teammates. Justin was tragically killed in a 2015 accident in Pocono, and following his passing, Rahal organized a massive charity auction for Wilson’s wife and daughters.

Who knows what surprises and heartbreaks lie ahead this weekend at the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. IMS is an unpredictable and wild place, and she has already chosen her winner out of the 11 rows of 3. Will your favored driver be her pick as well? Will they be the one to bask in glory, wear the wreath of 33 Orchids, and drink the milk- or will they be left in the chilly shadow of the Pagoda, hoping for another chance next year?

Thanks again Amy for dipping a toe back into the Indycar blogosphere and we hope there might be more to come in the future.

Amy, unfortunately, had a recent physical mishap which meant a much anticipated return to IMS and the Indy 500 this year will need to be put on hold, pending a prognosis for treatment of a back injury. After a brief discussion, she decided perhaps, while likely being laid up for an extended recovery period, she could return to writing, being virtually impossible to further injure oneself with that activity.

In addition to blogging Indycar, she also was an active and great ambassador for Indycar families in the real world, co-hosting IMS tweet-ups. She also maintains an active interest in F1 and IMSA which she shares with her 17-year-old son Gage. Amy aims to continue blogging and can even admit to foreseeing the possibility of a Tweet-up reunion someday, if the fates align.

Meanwhile, if you want to reconnect with Amy, or just wish her well on her recovery, she has provided a current Twitter – @amy_ranee_ Email – IndyCarAmy@gmail.com and TikTok – @IndyCarAmy.

Tomorrow, I will return for my Indy 500 and ‘Greatest33’ preview. Only a few more sleeps – the Indy 500 awaits…

Once Upon A Track: The Original Texas Speedway

Next up is Race #2 on the 2023 Indycar schedule – Texas Motor Speedway. The 36th series race in their 27 year relationship, Texas remains as the only other super-speedway race on the schedule outside of the Indianapolis 500.

Super-speedway races are loosely defined as a larger (1.5 miles or over), higher-speed oval that requires the use of the lower drag and downforce chassis settings, most easily recognized by the wisp of a rear wing, compared to the more common, higher-downforce road/street/short oval wings compared below (graphics from Indycar.com spotters guide):

I think it’s fair to say that Indycar’s relationship with Texas Motor Speedway has been a somewhat tempestuous 27 years and often issues with race formats, safety, and promotion have all-too-easily been spilled into the media. Serious matters should be handled professionally behind the scenes, instead of playing ‘one entity against the other’ publicly, which only sours the fans on both, serving neither’s interests.

Despite the often public wrangling regarding events at Texas Motor Speedway, the series has kept at least one event there each year since the track’s opening for top-level racing in 1997, the longest tenure following Indy for any series venue.

Approximately 200 miles southeast of TMS, and 24 years prior, the state of Texas hosted Indycar racing (through the USAC sanction) at another facility known as Texas World Speedway outside College Station, Texas. Opened in 1969, TWS held 10 USAC Gold Crown/Championship (aka Indy-) Car races from 1973 through 1979.

The track’s original ownership group constructed TWS in 1969, but was in trouble financially as soon as late-1971. While assorted groups worked to keep the facility functional after a complete shutdown in 1974-75, the condition of the racing surface and facility had deteriorated enough by the end of the 1970s that the high-speeds of Indycars were at best, a very questionable proposition. Also at this time, the influence of USAC had waned greatly against the dominance of the upstart Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) sanction. TWS was eliminated from the USAC/Champ Car schedule and never taken up by CART whose direction involved scheduling more diverse tracks than ovals.

In its time though, Texas World Speedway was a mighty speedway beast and was one of eight American super-speedways at the time joining Indy, Daytona, Talladega, Pocono, Fontana, Ontario, and Michigan. Built closely to the specifics of already popular Michigan International Speedway (MIS), the two-mile, D-shaped oval had bankings in the turns of a higher degree than MIS, making it a hotspot for high-speeds.

As early as the October 1973 race, Mario Andretti, in his qualifying run, set the fastest TWS track time of 33.620 sec = 214.158mph – a speed not even seen officially at Indianapolis until twelve years later when Scott Brayton set a one-lap qualifying speed record of 214.199 at Indy during his four-lap qualifying run. During a one-off private Indycar testing session in 1993, Mario’s time would be surpassed, but the newer times weren’t considered official.

TWS start 1973 (c) Elias555 (via Flickr album)

(April 1973 TWS Race – Green flag; (c) Elias555 (via public Flickr album)

Texas World Speedway developed a road course configuration and hosted some sports car racing and club racing through the 1990s-2000s, but was officially shut down and reached its end as a race course in late 2017. Real estate developers purchased the land and ground broken on a new planned residential development in spring of 2018.

As I have started a historical Google Earth folder of former Indycar tracks from 1947 on, you can follow a Google Earth link here to see remnants of the speedway from the image dated 4/1/2022. Speedway turns 1 and 2 are totally gone, nearly all of the road course, and sections of the remaining track are missing. All of the stands and nearly all of the track’s buildings are demolished.

Time marches on, but the short-lived yet impressive records of the Indycar races at Texas World Speedway can be found here at ChampCarStats.com.

In future, I plan to do more recaps of former Indycar tracks, especially ones that no longer exist. Let me know which you’d like to see in the comments below!

Buy, Sell, or Hold

In the way of a power ranking, or any other subjective (/schlocky) analysis tool, this feature aims to be a representation of my thoughts on whether the rated subject is expected to rise from this point (a ‘buy’), fall from this point (‘sell’), or continue with a possible rise or drop currently hanging in the balance (‘hold’). With any luck, I’ll manage to throw in a humorous comment.

Each subject has an associated link to help make your own assessment. I would love to hear your takes on these subjects in the comments.

Since our season is underway, let’s have at it.

The Carb Day Concert – An oft beloved/maligned Indy 500 tradition has, I fear, reached a vital turning point in the offices of Penske Entertainment (PE) at IMS. The recently noted belt-tightening of PE in management of Indycar may very well trickle over into IMS and the event budgets. With the 100th Race weekend seeing a massive crowd for Carb Day on such a monumental weekend, I feel this event could be considered a ‘Hold’ as I see some unmet potential with regard to annual funding, proper talent-seeking, and promotion. Meeting the lofty attendance that showed for Journey in 2016 only takes $$$ and perfect weather. Something within the purview of IMS superhuman Mr. Doug Boles, no question.

I’d love to propose to the Indy 500 event brass that more of a one-day music festival type of show that included local bands, a mix of genres, and a prime headliner would be suited for Carb Day success, adding 5,000-10,000 people to IMS on the day that wouldn’t otherwise be there. Until that phone call comes however, I fear the stagnation of potential and as we race fans know, if you aren’t progressing, you’re falling behind.

When the current Snake Pit ™, with all of it’s new-gen swag, announces lineups and can sell tickets off that months ahead, the Carb Day concert often feels more an afterthought by comparison. My fear as a fan of live music and Indycar is that this budget line item will ultimately get the ‘red-ink treatment’ soon. As many great Carb Day experiences and stories I could share, I’m tempering myself for when the Carb Day concert axe falls.

Carb Day Concert verdict = SELL.

Juncos Hollinger Racing – This team gained much-needed backing and support in the off-season allowing them to take a few steps up in professionalism and competitiveness with the rest of the Indycar paddock. I am an unabashed fan of the ‘plucky underdog’ and perhaps no team has better represented this title over the last 10 years.

After the new logo and livery reveals in January of 2023, and much ballyhoo about investment into the team, there is much excitement surrounding this team despite only one race for 2023 behind us on which to judge. In all, this sophomore season by the impressive Callum Ilott, and solid St. Pete debut by Argentinian rookie Agustín Canapino (who has an impressive TC2000 CV to his name), will do nothing but keep fans’ (and competitors’) interest in their progress.

For someone like myself, who is a sucker for a great livery, the look of these cars alone makes me a fan. What they’re building, however, is certainly worth my time and interest. I’m eager to see how these ‘up-and-comers’ perform.

Juncos Hollinger Racing verdict = BUY

Andretti Autosport – Michael Andretti’s operation has been a stalwart of the Indycar paddock over the last 20 years, yet I think we all could agree that they could be considered to have not fully met their potential in terms of on-track success when compared to the likes of Ganassi and Penske.

This fresh-faced stable of newer Indycar talent like Herta, Grosjean, Kirkwood, and DeFrancesco however almost reminds me of a time when the stable featured names like Wheldon, Kanaan, Franchitti, and Herta. Certainly never short on resources, I have a feeling the newest version of chemistry and energy in this squad vaults them back into serious championship contention. The only caveat that keeps me from making AA a ‘Buy’ is a result like we saw at St. Pete where Michael’s carbon fiber bill from wrecked chassis might more resemble the GDP of a small nation than a weekend bender in Ibiza.

This team could use several races where at minimum 3 or all 4 cars finish, then serious momentum will begin for them in mounting a serious title challenge. Of course winning the Indy 500 never hurts either, but with double points bonus gone for that race, true consistency will be rewarded over the 17 races.

Andretti Autosport verdict = HOLD.

The Thermal Club – From this fan’s perspective, holding a two-day spring training 1,900 miles away from your home base of Indianapolis on a gated, private, country club track seems a fair bit, erhm, ‘exclusive’. Nathan Brown’s coverage and article for the Indy Star explains the club and the Indycar connection deeply enough that fans bothered to read can see why this location became the destination.

Strictly from my selfish fan’s standpoint however, I envision a 3-4 day spring training that more closely resembles stick-and-ball sports where the fan access to drivers, teams, and garages, although really second to none during the season, is unprecedented and in a locale that most fans east of the Mississippi River would visit at the time of year anyway. Something akin to a ‘can’t miss’ annual calendar event for dedicated fans approaching the level of the Indy 500. Maybe that’s asking for too much, but it couldn’t hurt to ask, right?

What the Thermal Club provides that most other locations don’t currently is nearly-assured prime weather for Indycar testing, and an eager audience of people with a few more zeroes before the decimal point in their bank accounts than a plebian fan such as me. Even southern Florida is subject to near daily rain showers and sub-70 degree temps aren’t uncommon. The potential for getting Indycar up close and personal with the eyeballs of people in The Thermal Club stands to be a net positive for teams and drivers in ways that the average fan doesn’t add. Fair enough I suppose.

I’m eager to see if this location for spring training becomes an annual event, and what may come from it. Enough so that I can’t outright dismiss it as excluding ‘the fan’ and earn a ‘Sell’ rating here.

The Thermal Club verdict – Hold

I’m interested in your takes on the Carb Day Concert, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Andretti Autosport, and The Thermal Club. Let me hear them in the comments!

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

Yes, THAT Jay-Z song is slapping away in my cranium while I write this, but regardless, I don’t know if you remember me or not. I used blog about Indycar related stuff on occasion. Also, remember blogs? All the rage circa 2006.

I also used to be rather active and having fun on Twitter until “Space Karen” (aptly named by a friend) began doing his level best to ‘improve’ Twitter by buying it, taking it private, firing most everyone who had anything to do with its technical success to date, creating unwanted policies, and generally trying to solve problems that didn’t exist. That’s one way to be self-important I guess, but it definitely soured me on the format, I didn’t feel the need to participate so actively there anymore. I digress.

“and you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?’ “

This blog originated in 2008 as a personal writing exercise and choosing a subject of interest, I thought, would aid in my desire to continue to exercise my writing muscles. It did and it didn’t, but what it and my twitter interactions gave me was the feeling of connection to people with a similar interest in Indycar.

I always liked that, but I also felt a bit of pressure to consistently produce something notable which also drained the fun from it. I also had become overloaded with everyday life things which meant that any unneeded stresses were to be reduced or eliminated, this included.

The time in space is agreeable now to return and perhaps espouse some truths, half-truths, and pure conjecture again, all under the banner of ‘opinion’ writing.

Take that for what it is, but I will always approach this exercise first from a fan’s perspective, and never would I flatter to deceive that I am in any way a journalist. There are several very talented, hardworking (and underpaid) individuals already doing that job and far too many in the blogosphere who deign to project themselves as ‘journalists’ who are actually not.

I am not that, nor ever aim to be, despite having several friends who are or are former journalists. I’m here for the fan-to-fun quotient and just maybe it also gives other fans something to enjoy that they haven’t yet seen. I can tell you right now that I’m much more enjoyable in-person than here, and the many I’ve known on twitter who I’ve met I believe would largely agree. I enjoy talking with Indycar fans from the virtual world. I also have a penchant for song lyrics and movie quotes so don’t be surprised if that theme continues here from years past.

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, This ain’t no fooling around”

Let’s also reintroduce Indycar back into the fore of our autosport consciousness after the (what seems interminable) off-season. No amount of practice/pre-season provides the energy of a real, race calendar, points-paying event. It only takes watching a qualifying session to see how much more about-the-business the teams and drivers are, and that adds to the anticipation.

So must I also now plug what a value the Peacock streaming service is in providing the ability to see the event practice and qualifying live, and later on-demand as your schedule allows.

This season’s curtain opened fully against the relatively new, and fully finished backdrop of the sport’s true first full-season following the pandemic and the Penske Entertainment purchase. 2022 was a more fuller step back into life in the post-Covid era.

Especially at the Indy 500, where things were declared ‘fully open’ again, the palpable sense of total ease wasn’t fully evident. Fair enough. We live in a different world and hopefully with a more mature and greater care for our fellow humans and ourselves as one, rather than the ‘me’ and the ‘everyone else’.

Not totally without connection, I believe the Indycar community is experiencing a greater need to be ‘one’, largely because F1 is rattling its sabers (rather effectively) once again within the shores of the US. What that ‘oneness’ is to be is always the sticking point.

Some believe the status quo is, while not perfect, still pretty great with only moderate tweaks needed. Others yearn for a time when more openness in design and evolution and pushing envelopes of performance, while more costly and less competitive overall, is still the hallmark of true greatness that endeared itself to many more people than today’s version. Still others are just learning what the sport is about and get to know rather quickly the disparate sides of fandom that believe they have the best idea of what the future needs to be. A topic for another time, perhaps.

“here’s your ticket, pack bags, time for jumping overboard…”

Race one, turn one wrecks are maybe the worst possible way to begin the new season for the viewers as well as the teams. We made it to turn three this time, but to me, it didn’t feel unexpected and not necessarily down to complete ineptitude of some young driver taking out a veteran. It was hard, committed racing less than one mile into the new season, but as we Indycar fans have come to expect, the championship will be a well-fought and very close battle all season long. We know what’s at stake every race and so do the teams.

Each position from qualifying through the checkered flag comes from hard work, craft, guile, (yes money too), and a bit of luck. Every race is significant and results that fail to meet expectations instantly begin to accumulate in the form of pressure on the remainder of the schedule, and intrigue for attentive fans. What more could we really ask for from sport?

As any grizzled, aging veteran fan knows, there is a vast history of how Indycar has been run and what it produced over the decades. I still have to remind myself that ultimately only what matters is the here and now. The rest is history, gone forever, no matter if one year ago or 100.

Can the sport learn from the successes and mistakes in its history? Absolutely. I also feel that Indycar perhaps could easily paraphrase the new-to-town basketball coach Norman Dale in the movie ‘Hoosiers’, while the locals chant for a revered player not on the team; “I would hope you would support us for who we are, not who we are not… This is your sport.”

Indycar still feels like home to me. Plenty others have the energy to analyze and opine about the minutiae of this sport. As for me, I’m just glad it’s still here and I look forward to some convivial Indycar interactions with you all again.

“Home – is where I want to be
But I guess I’m already there.
I come home – she lifted up her wings.
I guess that this must be the place…”