View Full Version : Fernando Alonso
I just saw on Twitter that Fernando Alonso is going to miss the Monaco GP in order to race in the Indy 500! Checked Autosport and apparently it is true!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128926/alonso-to-race-in-2017-indy-500
Has the world gone mad?
I haven't watched the Indy 500 since Villeneuve won in 1995 but I may watch this, at least for a bit. The article says he is racing a McLaren entry run by Andretti. Jensen Button may replace him in Monaco. What a bleepin' mess, but it has made me be interested in Indy for the first time in forever.
I'm not a big Alonso fan mainly because of the antics during his first stint with McLaren but I've always thought he is one of the most talented racers I've ever seen. However he has no experience with any of this. When will he test? Where? How much? Wonder how much they're (and who are "they?") paying Andretti to do this? As much as I'd like to see him smack there butts (real polite version of what I wanted to say) I don't see him doing particularly well here with absolutely no experience. Things like restarts are crucial; remember the bad restart that cost Mansell a win there?
Whaddya think?
Mary
opinionated ow
04-12-17, 07:58 AM
Well bugger me...
gerhard911
04-12-17, 09:13 AM
No, bugger Fred :shakehead:
Well, this is a surprising development. Given Honda's anemic performance in F1 so far in 2017, could this be an attempt by Honda to appease Alonso and keep him from jumping ship midseason?
indyfan31
04-12-17, 09:42 AM
Well, this is a surprising development. Given Honda's anemic performance in F1 so far in 2017, could this be an attempt by Honda to appease Alonso and keep him from jumping ship midseason?
That's pretty much what Sky Sports (http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24184/10831335/will-fernando-alonso-commit-to-mclaren-after-indy-500-chance) is guessing..
Insomniac
04-12-17, 09:43 AM
Well, I was surprised to see a thread with his name in this forum.
It won't be like the CART invasion days for Alonso, but he made sure he had a good car at least (I assume). I still won't watch, I nearly :yuck: when I see promos for IndyCar in F1 coverage. My goodness, those cars...
nissan gtp
04-12-17, 09:45 AM
Rossi won last year with no oval experience, so Alonso has a chance.
muskoka fan
04-12-17, 10:02 AM
From Alonso's website: "...it’s of course a regret of mine that I won’t be able to race at Monaco this year. But Monaco will be the only 2017 Grand Prix I’ll be missing, and I’ll be back in the cockpit of the McLaren-Honda MCL32 for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in early June"
Let's hope so, Fernando, let's hope so.
TKGAngel
04-12-17, 10:07 AM
Rossi won last year with no oval experience, so Alonso has a chance.
While Rossi's done a fine job driving, Herta's strategy was a significant factor in that win. Since Herta is now calling Marco's races, who knows how Alonzo will fair.
Given Honda's anemic performance in F1 so far in 2017, could this be an attempt by Honda to appease Alonso and keep him from jumping ship midseason?
And Honda support could explain how Mikey is able to afford another car for Indy.
http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/139540-the-key-to-alonso-s-indy-deal-stefan-wilson
Sounds to me like Indy Car and Honda/McLaren strong armed Stefan Wilson into giving up his seat...
Insomniac
04-12-17, 10:18 AM
Rossi won last year with no oval experience, so Alonso has a chance.
I though he won by conserving fuel. It's a way to win certainly, but I don't think it's the strategy from the outset.
Gosh, I hope he's fast enough to make the field. :gomer:
stroker
04-12-17, 12:07 PM
935
Insomniac
04-12-17, 12:56 PM
Someone was smart enough to do that with only a side view!
Ed_Severson
04-12-17, 03:44 PM
Not much that happens in the paddock stays a secret for very long, but this one took me by surprise.
Add one to the "fast cars we have to try to beat" tally ...
Has the world gone mad?
Yes
stroker
04-12-17, 07:27 PM
http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/139540-the-key-to-alonso-s-indy-deal-stefan-wilson
Sounds to me like Indy Car and Honda/McLaren strong armed Stefan Wilson into giving up his seat...
"It's an amazing story," said Miles. "Fernando wants to go for the Triple Crown [Le Mans, Indy 500, Monaco], and McLaren is returning after a 38-year absence and all that history."
McLaren returning to run a Dallara is hardly a triumphant return for a manufacturer... :shakehead:
"It's an amazing story," said Miles. "Fernando wants to go for the Triple Crown [Le Mans, Indy 500, Monaco], and McLaren is returning after a 38-year absence and all that history."
McLaren returning to run a Dallara is hardly a triumphant return for a manufacturer... :shakehead:
run what ya brung...
BiGirlFan is going to flip out. :D
After this experience, I expect Alonso will appreciate his "slow" Honda F1 seat a lot more. :gomer:
Pilgrims Drop
04-13-17, 05:08 PM
Everytime I see or hear this mentioned I look at todays date... but nope... it's not the 1st of april
Everytime I see or hear this mentioned I look at todays date... but nope... it's not the 1st of april
That is EXACTLY what I thought too. I actually checked this on a few other sites before I posted it because I couldn't really believe that it was true.
Mary
935
Aren't they running turbos again? If so, why the airbox?
Mary
Aren't they running turbos again? If so, why the airbox?
Mary
yes, they are running turbos, as far as why, consider the source
nissan gtp
04-14-17, 04:52 PM
Aren't they running turbos again? If so, why the airbox?
Mary
they're getting rid of the next year (the airboxes, that is)
cameraman
04-14-17, 06:26 PM
935
Sean Bull must not be an American because there's no way Johnnie Walker and Chandon will be on the car.
Hard Driver
04-14-17, 06:34 PM
Rossi won last year with no oval experience, so Alonso has a chance.
And sure the win was a fuel mileage one, but he was fast and running up front. Even had a pit problem and had to fight his way back. So I'm sure Alonso thinks he can do as well.
Gotta give Alonso credit to run Indy with no Indycar experience. Takes some decent balls. I think he will do well.
And sure the win was a fuel mileage one, but he was fast and running up front. Even had a pit problem and had to fight his way back. Yep, anyone who thinks he backed into that win ignores the fact he was the fastest rookie all month and turned in some of the fastest laps of the race (including THE fastest lap) before Herta made the brilliant call just past halfway to stretch their fuel windows.
Gopeddle
04-19-17, 04:42 PM
I'm sure Alonso will do well at Indy, he's very experienced and very talented. I just hope he doesn't pull a Piquet, that would be tragic. At any rate, I'll be watching to see how he does. At the least he won't have to be focused on the pathetic McLaren / Honda for much of the month of May.
nissan gtp
04-19-17, 08:13 PM
How ironic would it be if his engine blows up. "Alonso is slowing on the back stretch".
I hope he smokes 'em just like Montoya did.
Fernando Alonso confirmed his preparations for the Indy 500 began last year.
'You are not exactly aware where you are,' Alonso, 34, said reflecting on the incident.
'You are just flying and then you see the sky, the ground, the sky, the ground and you don't know.
'Then I didn't know where I was because I was so far from the track. Everything happened slower than on the outside.
'You want to stop and it doesn't stop, it keeps going and going and going. It was quite scary.'
-Fernando Alonso, March 20, 2016
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-3502672/Fernando-Alonso-luckiest-man-alive-McLaren-driver-flies-home-surviving-horrific-200mph-Australian-Grand-Prix-crash.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x45fLUTHCuk
I won't call this a spoiler alert since it probably won't be a surprise, but Alonso just DNS'd the Russian GP and is waiting on his airplane to arrive so he can fly to Indy. He's eating ice cream to pass the time.
Mary
opinionated ow
05-04-17, 08:59 AM
Sounds like Fred didn't embarass himself. Ran 222.548 with a tonne of downforce on it. That would have qualified him ahead of Buddy Lazier last year. And Bryan Clauson the year before.
Without Clauson the 500 will be a bit less this year. He was a bloody brilliant driver.
I was (and in some ways still am) interested in how Alonso will do at Indy. So much so that I professed interest in the race itself for the first time in over 20 years. It has taken me a week to get through about 3 hours of his first time out on the speedway and frankly, I skipped through most of it. No, I wasn't silly enough to try to catch it live, but I couldn't even make it through the re-run. Gosh, I just can't stomach the koolaid. I don't think I can sit through an actual race broadcast. This was painful. Really, really, painful.
I'm not going to pick on Mario or Lone Star JR, but the anchor guy said something right at the start that just turned my stomach. No, I don't remember what it was, but it was some gomer-approved dribble that yucked me out. :yuck:
In a way, I was looking forward to getting over the hate. I'm too old now to carry 22+ years of hate into my old age. I don't really want to fight the Indy wars again; I sorta miss Indy car racing, but I guess I may have to go back to YouTube videos for my fix. I thought I could do this, but now I have doubts.
Mary
Hard Driver
05-15-17, 09:40 PM
I was (and in some ways still am) interested in how Alonso will do at Indy. So much so that I professed interest in the race itself for the first time in over 20 years. It has taken me a week to get through about 3 hours of his first time out on the speedway and frankly, I skipped through most of it. No, I wasn't silly enough to try to catch it live, but I couldn't even make it through the re-run. Gosh, I just can't stomach the koolaid. I don't think I can sit through an actual race broadcast. This was painful. Really, really, painful.
I'm not going to pick on Mario or Lone Star JR, but the anchor guy said something right at the start that just turned my stomach. No, I don't remember what it was, but it was some gomer-approved dribble that yucked me out. :yuck:
In a way, I was looking forward to getting over the hate. I'm too old now to carry 22+ years of hate into my old age. I don't really want to fight the Indy wars again; I sorta miss Indy car racing, but I guess I may have to go back to YouTube videos for my fix. I thought I could do this, but now I have doubts.
Mary
Not back to what CART was, and never will be. But Indycar has moved on from the split and have decent racing on road, street and ovals. Lots of foreign drivers, people cheering a Spaniard coming. Cars are still pretty ugly, but not flying wings of death crapwagons anymore. Next years cars almost look decent. Getting rid of the air scoop and going for a CART roll hoop.
Basically, you could claim the IRL lost, because although it was able to kill Champcar, it did so by adopting everything Champcar. It waS a merger and Champcar dominated the joint company. No talk of ovals only. No talk of dirt track stars making their way up. No dislike of foreigners. I think they even credit past Champcar champions as past Indycar champions. The IRL is dead as far as what it claimed it stood for. Tony George is was basically humiliated, stripped of power, and is now hidden away somewhere with a title and stock.
Racing has gotten pretty good. I can't stand Eddie Cheever in the booth, such a gomer. Scott Goodyear isn't much better. Ignore the broadcasters and it is decent racing.
nissan gtp
05-16-17, 06:20 PM
Not back to what CART was, and never will be. But Indycar has moved on from the split and have decent racing on road, street and ovals. Lots of foreign drivers, people cheering a Spaniard coming. Cars are still pretty ugly, but not flying wings of death crapwagons anymore. Next years cars almost look decent. Getting rid of the air scoop and going for a CART roll hoop.
Basically, you could claim the IRL lost, because although it was able to kill Champcar, it did so by adopting everything Champcar. It waS a merger and Champcar dominated the joint company. No talk of ovals only. No talk of dirt track stars making their way up. No dislike of foreigners. I think they even credit past Champcar champions as past Indycar champions. The IRL is dead as far as what it claimed it stood for. Tony George is was basically humiliated, stripped of power, and is now hidden away somewhere with a title and stock.
Racing has gotten pretty good. I can't stand Eddie Cheever in the booth, such a gomer. Scott Goodyear isn't much better. Ignore the broadcasters and it is decent racing.
Good summary, i'm in agreement. And the NBC announce team is really good.
cameraman
05-18-17, 11:03 AM
Alonso wrote an article on why he is running Indy.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ferna ...
It mostly comes down to he never paid any attention to CART or the IRL or the Hulman clan or any of the steaming pile of ******** that is American racing. He doesn't care, it carries no baggage, it's just a famous race. (that he never even saw until a couple years ago)
indyfan31
05-19-17, 12:58 AM
Alonso wrote an article on why he is running Indy.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ferna ...
It mostly comes down to he never paid any attention to CART or the IRL or the Hulman clan or any of the steaming pile of ******** that is American racing. He doesn't care, it carries no baggage, it's just a famous race. (that he never even saw until a couple years ago)
Really? That was your takeaway? :confused:
cameraman
05-19-17, 01:31 AM
Really? That was your takeaway? :confused:
He wants to run the Indianapolis 500, the race Graham Hill won in 1966. He doesn't give the tiniest damn about anything else IndyCar.
Does he even know what Indy means? :tony:
My biggest takeaway from being behind the wheel was just sheer excitement. I can’t wait for May 28.
Sounds like a nice way to say...
"My grandmother could drive these cars"
stroker
05-19-17, 03:55 PM
I'd almost pay money to hear what BiGirlFan would have to say... :eek:
nissan gtp
05-20-17, 07:25 AM
I'd almost pay money to hear what BiGirlFan would have to say... :eek:
he's on twitter
opinionated ow
05-20-17, 11:07 AM
he's on twitter
DOes anyone know if ALonsol will be apearing anywhere liek a KRogers or a bowling ally to sign autographs? (https://twitter.com/BigIrlFan/status/864921252082974720)
Insomniac
05-20-17, 12:14 PM
I was (and in some ways still am) interested in how Alonso will do at Indy. So much so that I professed interest in the race itself for the first time in over 20 years. It has taken me a week to get through about 3 hours of his first time out on the speedway and frankly, I skipped through most of it. No, I wasn't silly enough to try to catch it live, but I couldn't even make it through the re-run. Gosh, I just can't stomach the koolaid. I don't think I can sit through an actual race broadcast. This was painful. Really, really, painful.
I'm not going to pick on Mario or Lone Star JR, but the anchor guy said something right at the start that just turned my stomach. No, I don't remember what it was, but it was some gomer-approved dribble that yucked me out. :yuck:
In a way, I was looking forward to getting over the hate. I'm too old now to carry 22+ years of hate into my old age. I don't really want to fight the Indy wars again; I sorta miss Indy car racing, but I guess I may have to go back to YouTube videos for my fix. I thought I could do this, but now I have doubts.
Mary
Not back to what CART was, and never will be. But Indycar has moved on from the split and have decent racing on road, street and ovals. Lots of foreign drivers, people cheering a Spaniard coming. Cars are still pretty ugly, but not flying wings of death crapwagons anymore. Next years cars almost look decent. Getting rid of the air scoop and going for a CART roll hoop.
Basically, you could claim the IRL lost, because although it was able to kill Champcar, it did so by adopting everything Champcar. It waS a merger and Champcar dominated the joint company. No talk of ovals only. No talk of dirt track stars making their way up. No dislike of foreigners. I think they even credit past Champcar champions as past Indycar champions. The IRL is dead as far as what it claimed it stood for. Tony George is was basically humiliated, stripped of power, and is now hidden away somewhere with a title and stock.
Racing has gotten pretty good. I can't stand Eddie Cheever in the booth, such a gomer. Scott Goodyear isn't much better. Ignore the broadcasters and it is decent racing.
The war is long over for me. But they haven't brought me back to care. My last hurdle is probably the cars. Glad they aren't "flying wings of death crapwagons" anymore. But every promo for IndyCar I see watching F1 and I just don't like what I see. Move away from NASCAR (I was always a snob about NASCAR, it's inferior).
Cheever & Goodyear are killing me. Turning to the Preakness at 5:00 (it is 4:19 as I type this). Ya'll are right that these cars are ugly, really ugly.
Mary
stroker
05-20-17, 07:22 PM
Seabass :eek: :(
Whut?
This is as bad as I can recall...
https://i.gyazo.com/ca42685bc7709f4841e827ccccb516b5.gif
But the outcome sounds better than anyone could imagine
https://mobile.twitter.com/DaveFurst/status/866065988239994880
:edit:
MEDICAL UPDATE: Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastien Bourdais was diagnosed with multiple fractures to his pelvis and a fracture to his right hip following an incident today while attempting to qualify for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
According to INDYCAR Medical Director Dr. Geoffrey Billows, Bourdais will undergo surgery on his pelvis this evening at IU Health Methodist Hospital. Bourdais was on the third lap of his qualification run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when his Dale Coyne Racing No. 18 GEICO Honda made hard contact with the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier.
Statement from team owner Dale Coyne: “Sebastien is in good hands here at IU Methodist Hospital with the staff and now we just wait for him to recover.”
Additional updates on Bourdais’ condition will be released when available.
TKGAngel
05-20-17, 08:14 PM
Eeek. Bourdais has multiple pelvic fractures and a hip fracture. Surgery tonight.
https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/866083196940595200/photo/1
devilmaster
05-20-17, 08:22 PM
that was Gordon Smiley-esque. :(
:( dang. Mechanical failure?
edit: back end stepped out on him, and when it hooked back up he was pointed straight at the wall. Even for Indycar, that was a shockingly violent crash. Jesus.
stroker
05-21-17, 10:39 AM
Damn, that's a shame. There goes his 2017 season, at minimum...
opinionated ow
05-21-17, 11:23 AM
0Wf0eqXegpk
If you look right at the start this car is running asymmetric downforce. There's a kind of flap above the left Kardashian that's not on the right. Could that be the cause? Was there supposed to be 2 and maybe 1 fell off?
0Wf0eqXegpk
If you look right at the start this car is running asymmetric downforce. There's a kind of flap above the left Kardashian that's not on the right. Could that be the cause? Was there supposed to be 2 and maybe 1 fell off?
It looks like there is something on the left that is missing on the right, but I'd need to see a better picture. Love the description, however. Very apt.
Massive crash; Seabass didn't exactly walk away, but he will recover and that is a relief. I saw a clip of this and saw him moving in the car afterward, so I didn't really think he was hurt badly. When I later read the full story, I was both surprised and not surprised but mainly relieved. When they were first created, I thought the "safer barriers" were just a smoke screen for the IRL & NASCAR not addressing a number of issues, but I was converted a long time ago seeing the effect they have there. (BTW, I know they were an Earl development, not a NASCAR one.)
Mary
opinionated ow
05-21-17, 12:52 PM
Just suffered through 5 minutes of crapwagon practice...Penske cars don't run the right winglet above the Kardashian either. So it wasn't that.
I'm watching the top nine qualifying now. I guess they changed this at some point in past 22 years. Anyway, I noticed the left-side flap thing, too. Alonso is being very, very, gracious. He is bringing them a level of attention and respect that they haven't had in years, no decades.
Cheever is driving me mad. I am about to break the mute button on my remote.
Mary
TravelGal
05-21-17, 06:53 PM
Cheever is driving me mad. I am about to break the mute button on my remote.
Mary
Even mild mannered TravelGuy was about to punch the screen out to get Cheever to shut up. Thank heavens we don't really need the sound, or at least the sound of their voices, most of the time.
stroker
05-21-17, 07:19 PM
Just watched Alonso's run on YouTube. Dozens of fans! Literally DOZENS! I could almost feel the eggcitement!
Ed_Severson
05-21-17, 11:48 PM
If you look right at the start this car is running asymmetric downforce. There's a kind of flap above the left Kardashian that's not on the right. Could that be the cause? Was there supposed to be 2 and maybe 1 fell off?
No.
chop456
05-22-17, 01:49 AM
Very thoughtful of Dr. Cheever (or was it Dr. Goodyear?), to let us know immediately after the car came to rest that "He's fine". I hope they were able to discuss with Sebastian at length exactly how fine he was while they were doing their rounds Sunday morning.
Racer magazine says it was a 100G impact. I can forgive the happy talk from Dr. Cheever and Dale Coyne promising a 100% recovery. Seabass is alive. That is the best news I've heard out of IMS in 20 years.
Racer magazine says it was a 100G impact. I can forgive the happy talk from Dr. Cheever and Dale Coyne promising a 100% recovery. Seabass is alive. That is the best news I've heard out of IMS in 20 years.
This report says 118 g. https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/bourdais-feeling-good-after-surgery-908971/
But I've also read that the g force sensors can 'only' register up to 100 g.
The HANS device saved his life, no doubt.
chop456
05-22-17, 07:34 AM
The HANS device saved his life, no doubt.
Agree. I'd say that had more to do with it than the wall did.
Insomniac
05-22-17, 09:37 AM
Agree. I'd say that had more to do with it than the wall did.
Depends on the crash structure of the car, but the wall helped tremendously regardless against no wall. Both of those innovations have been crucial to driver safety.
No doubt the wall and the car structure protected him from more severe injuries (if this occurred even a few years ago, his legs would have been heavily damaged) but only the HANS protected him from a basilar skull fracture which in all likelihood would have ended his life quickly.
stroker
05-22-17, 10:16 AM
In all fairness, I have to give Dallara credit that the tub didn't fail in that heavy an impact.
But it's still a Crapwagon.
opinionated ow
05-22-17, 10:33 AM
Why does the SAFER barrier stop? Surely they can afford to build it along the entire track. I mean NASCAR has done it...
TKGAngel
05-22-17, 11:12 AM
In all fairness, I have to give Dallara credit that the tub didn't fail in that heavy an impact.
But it's still a Crapwagon.
This was brought up on yesterday's broadcast. The tube has been reinforced twice in the past few years - once after Wilson broke his pelvis and again after Hinch's accident.
And as if Indycar PR wasn't having enough to do these past few days, they now have to deal with the story of Franchitti, Dixon & Mrs. Dixon getting robbed at a Taco Bell drive thru last night (http://fox59.com/2017/05/22/pole-winner-scott-dixon-dario-franchitti-robbed-at-gunpoint-in-speedway-taco-bell-drive-thru/). All are well and the robbers were caught, but good grief. :shakehead:
The robbers were 14 & 15 years old.
What a way to start out in life.
The robbers didn't recognize their victims?
Between them they've won eight Indycar championships and four Indy 500s.
Inconceivable. ;)
In all fairness, I have to give Dallara credit that the tub didn't fail in that heavy an impact.
But it's still a Crapwagon.
Yes. She still ugly, but apparently she's no longer a back-breaking, foot snapping, flying through the air, POS.
Yes. She still ugly, but apparently she's no longer a back-breaking, foot snapping, flying through the air, POS.
Most of the back breaking accidents were tail first contact with the wall, 180 degrees opposite of this one. Had Sebastien hit the wall tail first at the speed he did it might have broken his back also.
Insomniac
05-22-17, 12:43 PM
I'm fascinated they were at a Taco Bell drive through to begin with.
I'm fascinated they were at a Taco Bell drive through to begin with.
Me too.
gerhard911
05-22-17, 02:05 PM
I think the pole winner got coupons this year :p
SeaBass is up and around
https://twitter.com/BourdaisOnTrack/status/866765656255070208/photo/1
:thumbup:
that was Gordon Smiley-esque. :(
Someone on YouTube actually did a side-by-side video of the two crashes. Eerie how similar they were. :\
devilmaster
05-22-17, 06:55 PM
Someone on YouTube actually did a side-by-side video of the two crashes. Eerie how similar they were. :\
I remember reading an article about smiley (robin miller maybe) about how Smiley tried to correct the same thing in practice before and the other drivers told him not to do that, just let it swap around... Gordon's car continued to turn into the wall a bit more so the angles were different to I would say 15° or so.
I was talking to a friend of mine and told him the angle at which Seabass hit was probably very close to Earnhardt's angle of impact. (apples and oranges, yes but i was describing the angle hit)
Came here when I saw that paul tracy had posted that twitter message to his instagram. At more or less the same time that I read about nicky hayden. :(
SeaBass is up and around
https://twitter.com/BourdaisOnTrack/status/866765656255070208/photo/1
:thumbup:
Amazing. :thumbup:
Wheel-Nut
05-23-17, 01:42 PM
The robbers didn't recognize their victims?
Between them they've won eight Indycar championships and four Indy 500s.
Inconceivable. ;)
The younger generation just doesn't know what Indy means.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DAnnI1PXsAAeK2J.jpg
https://twitter.com/bourdaisontrack/status/867478550454120448
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thum bup::thumbup:
I'm gonna keep saying it...Amazing. :thumbup:
nissan gtp
05-24-17, 06:26 PM
yeah, that's awesome
The younger generation just doesn't know what Indy means.
:rofl: Crime isn't funny, but this is.
Mary
opinionated ow
05-27-17, 11:27 AM
So I sat down tonight and watched the Freedom 100. You know it wasn't actually all that bad even if the field was way too light for a superspeedway. I was more impressed by the size of the crowd. Yes I know carb day used to be a sell out etc etc but there had to be 50k in the stands on a work day. In this era that's pretty good really. The pit grandstand was packed. The turn 1 and 4 stands were packed. Most of the rest was empty but to quote the Blues Brothers..."we'll never fill this place it's a f***ing barn."
Given a straight choice I'd rather have been at IRP for Silver Crown and then at Anderson Speedway for Little 500 Bump Day Qualifying but heck it's a start. Maybe in my lifetime Indy can go back to what it was.
TravelGal
05-27-17, 06:47 PM
Maybe in my lifetime Indy can go back to what it was.
I could have sworn you were more than 10 years old. Meaning (for the sarcasm challenged), it's highly unlikely in any foreseeable time frame, IMHO, of course. I will agree that it's a bigger than it was during "the split." Last year was a total sell out (no pun intended) so I'm following attendance figures this year to see how many they duped into returning. :tony: Edit: On rereading even MORE explanation is needed. I'm making a joke at the expense of Indy. I'm not attacking OOW. Whew.
gerhard911
05-27-17, 08:34 PM
I could have sworn you were more than 10 years old. Meaning (for the sarcasm challenged), it's highly unlikely in any foreseeable time frame, IMHO, of course. I will agree that it's a bigger than it was during "the split." Last year was a total sell out (no pun intended) so I'm following attendance figures this year to see how many they duped into returning. :tony: Edit: On rereading even MORE explanation is needed. I'm making a joke at the expense of Indy. I'm not attacking OOW. Whew.
Why not BOTH ??? They deserve it! :gomer:
stroker
05-28-17, 12:00 AM
Looks like rain tomorrow. They'll blame that for the aluminum.
opinionated ow
05-28-17, 06:18 AM
I could have sworn you were more than 10 years old. Meaning (for the sarcasm challenged), it's highly unlikely in any foreseeable time frame, IMHO, of course. I will agree that it's a bigger than it was during "the split." Last year was a total sell out (no pun intended) so I'm following attendance figures this year to see how many they duped into returning. :tony: Edit: On rereading even MORE explanation is needed. I'm making a joke at the expense of Indy. I'm not attacking OOW. Whew.
I remain eternally optimistic; pretty much none of the destroyers are left in play. When I'm super rich and I take over things will be good.
Why not BOTH ??? They deserve it! :gomer:
Ouch :rofl:
TKGAngel
05-28-17, 01:15 PM
Alan Bestwick deserves the "massive understatement of the year" award for calling that Dixon wreck bizarre at first. I'd call it terrifying, but I'm glad to see Dixon walk away.
A few random thoughts on my first Indycar race since CCWS and my first Indy 500 since 1995:
1) Glad Dixon is okay; that was scary.
2) I'm actually thrilled by Alonso doing so well. I hated the way he acted in his first stint with Mclaren; totally turned me against him but I've felt sorry for him the last few years (yeah, I know he is crying all the way to the $40 million/year bank). Jenson didn't take good care of his car today, though (you had to see the F1 race to get this).
3) I haven't watch any sort of race in years where I had no idea of who was in what. I know some of the drivers (old dudes from CART) but I don't recognize many of the sponsors and can't really match them up. Glad Mclaren went back to their old orange; makes them easy to spot.
4) Alan Bestwick has always been a Caspar Milquetoast to me, but sometimes that is okay. Cheever and Goodyear are still killing me, however. They're not giving totally bad info; maybe it is my gomer-hate bubbling to the surface. It is too bad they don't do that thing they used to with having a commentator in each corner. It would give me a break, if nothing else. Paul Page, wherefore art thou?
5) Crowd shots look good including aluminum people and their aluminum families.
6) I realize that these days I have the attention span of a road runner on crack, but gosh, it isn't even half way yet (lap 80 as I type this). I do watch NASCAR, now I know why I don't pay much attention to the big part in the middle.
7) Third yellow for debris.
8) Tony George looked thin and old (yeah, I don't look like I did 20 years ago either) but it was a bit shocking. I haven't seen him in a long time. When did Jim Nabors stop singing Back Home in Indiana? I just checked to see if he was still living; I remember Florence Henderson died.
Back to racing....
Mary
Insomniac
05-28-17, 02:22 PM
Just saw the Dixon wreck on espn.com. Holy crap is he fortunate to be alive (and basically unhurt). Being launched like that in the air into the fence (posts) and on top of the barrier is very bad.
It's over, I made it and I'm not totally crazed. Nice ending and I'm happy for the winner (no spoiler here) but don't plan on watching next weekend. If someone really interesting enters the Indy 500 again, I'll probably tune in whenever that happens (I'd be SHOCKED if Alonso is back in 2018; Mclaren isn't going to completely implode) but I don't find my interest in the series stoked.
My first time watching the day of racing in a long time. Monaco was dullish, Indy was better but I got tired of the wrecks, now on to the Coca Cola 600 which can be the biggest snooze-fest on earth. Hoping for something better.
Mary
Gopeddle
05-28-17, 05:57 PM
Watched the 500 to see how Alonso would make out. It was fun watching him and Rossi battle at the front. I wish they'd put the drivers in cars with consistent paint schemes though. I've watched a few races this year and I still can't tell who's in which car because they seem to change sponsors or paint design for each race.
The winner was an Indy only sponsor they just picked up. Sort of like last year when NAPA was onboard for only a few races. Hard to get consistency like that.
HA! Alonso must be cursing his Fhonda engine, bet he can't wait to get back to his F1 car! Oh, wait...
TravelGal
05-29-17, 12:39 AM
HA! Alonso must be curing his Fhonda engine, bet he can't wait to get back to his F1 car! Oh, wait...
:laugh: Good one.
A tale of two drivers:
Dixon (lucky he was not killed): I was hoping Jay was going to stay up at the wall. I had nowhere to go. You just hold on and have faith in the safety advances that we've had over the years."
Howard (out of the race but no biggie): "I let Ryan Hunter-Reay go, I was trying to be a nice guy, and when I tried to slot in behind him he tried to push me out into the marbles, and the rest is history. To say that I'm unhappy is an understatement."
What a tool. I hope Howard is never in another race, anywhere.
TravelGal
05-29-17, 12:46 AM
Mary, the fact that you made it to end of the race is a testament to your pluck. Not to defend them but I can't remember so many yellows for so much time. That was brutal. We customarily add 2 hours to any sports event recording time and we used up a full hour of it today. I'm waiting for attendance figures but there were a lot more people there than I expected to see. Much more than it had been for several years (until last year). Either as OOW says, it's attracting more people or they just wanted to see Alonso.
opinionated ow
05-29-17, 05:50 AM
:laugh: Good one.
A tale of two drivers:
Dixon (lucky he was not killed): I was hoping Jay was going to stay up at the wall. I had nowhere to go. You just hold on and have faith in the safety advances that we've had over the years."
Howard (out of the race but no biggie): "I let Ryan Hunter-Reay go, I was trying to be a nice guy, and when I tried to slot in behind him he tried to push me out into the marbles, and the rest is history. To say that I'm unhappy is an understatement."
What a tool. I hope Howard is never in another race, anywhere.
I think the Howard quote was more that Hunter-Reay left it so long to go under him. Let's not take the quote out of context.
Mary, the fact that you made it to end of the race is a testament to your pluck. Not to defend them but I can't remember so many yellows for so much time. That was brutal. We customarily add 2 hours to any sports event recording time and we used up a full hour of it today. I'm waiting for attendance figures but there were a lot more people there than I expected to see. Much more than it had been for several years (until last year). Either as OOW says, it's attracting more people or they just wanted to see Alonso.
The crowd was pretty good. Last year was the first I had watched in at least a decade and yes there was some more aluminium across the back side of the track but it was still a much bigger crowd than say Daytona 500. There is still the kernel that could blossom if given the right opportunities.
When Alonso's Honda expired there was a standing ovation and you could hear the crowd on the broadcast. He certainly brought a lot of attention to the race and it reflected really well on F1. He was really competitive and it may well see a few more cameos over the coming years.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.