Indy Grand Prix Of Alabama

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Originally Posted by jimispeed

Did Simona run out of fuel? I thought she was in 11th up to the end??

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She spun.

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Originally Posted by EagleEye

FYI, Danica apologized to Lloyd after the race.

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Wow, that's new - an apology. But based on Lloyds twitter, he wasn't too happy.

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Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior

That was a very crappy call. :down:

Also, congrats to Danica for posting a solid Top 20. And boo on Stoopid Alex Lloyd for not getting his car out of her way, so she wouldn't have had to run into him.

Jokes aside, too bad for Simona. Not sure how she did that. But she had a good race going. If all that's being said about her instincts, race craft and mechanical understanding are true... she's going to be a real threat in the near future. Maybe, FINALLY, we'll have a female driver that won't be seen as a female first... just a damn good (legitimate) racer. Simona certainly seems (almost) poised to fill that role.

And as much as it makes me almost throw up in my mouth to say it, Marco Andretti ran a darn good race today too. Maybe that time in A1GP was good for the lad. That's not an easy track to drive and he did really well. Nice job... ya lil punk! :p

Also, the Versus presentation was pretty good. The announce team is worlds better than ABC/ESPN, though not in the same league with the SpeedTV F1 crew (which, to me, are the best ever). But if Versus ever starts posting lap-by-lap gaps and lets the viewers know that driver B is catching driver A by .5 seconds per lap (or whatever), they'll really have something. But still, it was good. This was a good race. :up:

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The call on Dixon on the start was legit. Rules say you have to be in Grid order at the line, but the timing and scoring had him 2 positions higher. Transponders in the car make the call an easy one. VS showed the overhead from the chopper and you could see Dixon suck by 2 cars on the way to the line. If it was a restart, and not the start of the race, he was ok, but you cannot pass BEFORE the line on a start in the IRL. Hence the penalty and they allowed him to let the two guys by and no real penalty was assessed.

As for the rest of your post Jag, spot on stuff as per usual.

Oh yes..as for Danica, again, if she had learned something in the last decade instead of preening for the cameras, she would learn how to pass. At this point in her career, she better be apologizing for that brain dead move.

At some point, people will wake up to the fact she is fast enough by herself, but has no race craft and she cannot set up a car. That isn't enough to justify the hype, and maybe...just maybe someone will grasp it in the media and call her out on it.

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Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior

That was a very crappy call. :down:

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Well, he certainly passed Marco before the line so he had to let Marco by. Problem is, Helio was between them. The pass on Helio may have been legitimate, but the only way he could let Marco by was letting Helio by. Tough luck but a good call.

I remember how pissed I was at the start of the 2007 Houston Grand Prix. Bourdais shortcut the chicane to pass the pole-sitter Power, who got out of shape so Wilson passed him as well. Tony Cotman ruled Bourdais had to give up one position. So he did let Wilson by, but not Power.

All in all, Bourdais commited a foul against Power but was still ahead of him after the penalty. IMO, it would have been more fair if Bourdais had to give two positions. Wilson would have been given a free ticket, just like Helio was yesterday, but at least justice would have been done.

Simona goofed on a downshift and pulled the paddle once too often and got 1st instead of 2nd. Result a spin.
Probably just getting a little tired. She hasn't driven that many races of that length. Barber looks like a physically demanding track.
Milk and Donuts looked pretty silly getting passed on both sides, not once but twice!

I haven't had a chance to watch the race I taped yesterday. But watching Speed Report last night, Robin Miller issued a mea culpa about his saying there would be no passing at Barber and yet there apparently was. So what about the rest of the nay sayers HERE? I haven't seen any such admissions yet in this forum. Just sayin'...

Gary

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Originally Posted by garyshell

I haven't had a chance to watch the race I taped yesterday. But watching Speed Report last night, Robin Miller issued a mea culpa about his saying there would be no passing at Barber and yet there apparently was. So what about the rest of the nay sayers HERE? I haven't seen any such admissions yet in this forum. Just sayin'...

Gary

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I taped it...started watching about an hour or so late.....watched the first third....then had to leave

it was a snoozer

listened to the final 15 laps on XM...more of the same

talked to a buddy later who said there was some passing mid and back pack



also read there was some big marbling issues by the end of the race.....maybe dont bring the reds in 2011

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Originally Posted by Easy Drifter

Simona goofed on a downshift and pulled the paddle once too often and got 1st instead of 2nd. Result a spin.

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You can pull the wrong gear with a paddle shifter? I mean, even if she didn't need 1st and only 2nd, it would still have been a rev\throttle matched down shift. I guess it's doable but still a surprising excuse these days.

Marco appears to have found some talent again. Great fuel economy by Helio and Team Penske. He may have the same size gas tank as everyone else but I think his fuel line winds through his cool suit. I thought Dixon may have had something for him but no, too little too late.

Such a shame Tracy can't get a drive after looking at the KV roster.

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Originally Posted by Dr. Krogshöj

Well, he certainly passed Marco before the line so he had to let Marco by. Problem is, Helio was between them. The pass on Helio may have been legitimate, but the only way he could let Marco by was letting Helio by. Tough luck but a good call.

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Pretty simple solution to these issues: Standing starts. :D