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For your information Fontana is not a cookie cutter oval.... That term is used for 1.5 mile speedway ovals built or rebuilt by Burton Smith. Fontana is a 2 mile Super Speedway of which there is only one other like it and that is Michigan.... It's a shame people just don't know the difference or they don't care.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonyvop
'dinger was hanging out at Dragon today. Not sure if it's for a ride next year or because he wanted to flirt with Legge. =)
Jaques Lazier was a guest of TCGR. Stefan Johansson, who was using crutches, was also there with Scott Dixon (is he Dixon's manager?).
The stands were empty. I think more people bought and used the pit/paddock passes ($25 on top of general admission) than the ones that stayed in the grandstands.
Wilson's car has blank black sidepods. I didn't see it but I'm assuming he crashed.
Simona de Silvestro is great with the kiddie fans. She stopped a conversation she was having with a crew member to kneel down and sign some stuff for a couple of kids and had a short conversation with the kids.
Not sure which fans are more passionate, the Japanese (whole families decked out in Sato or Kanaan gear) or Hinchtown's female residents.
This year seemed a lot more disorganized. I'll attribute it to the last few years not having IndyCar.
The pit/paddock passes are more restricted than the last time. You can't get close to the cars in the pits or go on the roof of the pit suites. It's a lot harder for a fan to get a good place for taking pictures of the cars on the track.
I bought a Saturday ticket too, but there are no refunds. I'm not sure if I want to drive another 2 hours back up to the track. Today was hot and I did a lot of walking to and from the pits to the grandstands. Spent $24 on Gatorades ($4/bottle) because I was so dehydrated. Despite drinking all that, I didn't have to go pee for over 7 hours.
I'll post some pics soon.
Didn't Cunningham trigger the accident last year too? Though having said that, it was very nearly Tagliani a couple of laps earlier (which would have resulted in even more carnage and perhaps multiple deaths), and would have been someone else a couple of laps later if that hadn't happened. It was clear from lap 1 how that was going to end.
Hopefully it'll be a good race though, there hasn't been any pack racing on ovals this year, which is good, although I still find that crash at Indy frightening.
Viso's threatened to quit on Twitter now E.J. Viso (EJVISO) on Twitter
Might just be a bluff to try to get the series to increase downforce for the race rather than actually pulling out though.
California is neither "high" banked or cookie cutter and I'm glad to finally see Indycars back on a real oval track they should have never left. Fontana was BUILT for Indycars unlike the 1.5's that were built to be NASCAR tracks.Quote:
Originally Posted by FIAT1
Marco Andretti on the pole for this race.
Agreed? I did say should never race on high banked ovals.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigelred5
A lot of high banked short ovals (not this one, but many others) , and a lot of street courses just makes this series not very interesting for me, I know a lot of people that think like this.Quote:
Originally Posted by booger
I am no fan of ovals, don't care a lot for them, just not my cup of tea, but at least in the past, you had more tracks like Eurospeedway Lausitz who proved to me you could have real passing on an oval instead of just pressing your accelerator (that track also proved how dangerous ovals are).
I love circuits, but not the street circuits we pretty much have in Indy Car, I'm not saying I dislike temporary circuits, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Parque Fundidora in Monterrey are great examples, you build a real track inside a park, but just close the park during race weeks, I even like street circuits like Albert Park Lake, but most of our street circuits look more like Monaco than Albert Park Lake.
I bought tickets to Austin's F1 the first day of the presale, I watch every single F1 race, I have not watched every Indy Car race this year, the re used to be a time where I would attend a few races and I would watch every single CART then Champ Car race.
the 500 miler at Fontana would be more palpable if there were other 500's on the schedule aside from Indianapolis. As it is, it's a one off oddity of sorts, unlike the rest. It's akin to the superbowl being played ironman style instead of how the rest of the season has been played. Either way...
Credit and Kudos to Jimmy Vasser for (I believe) still holding the record for the fastest 500 miles in history. It was not at baja, at California in 2002, driving the Rahal entry Lola Ford sponsored by Shell. I was there that caution free day and I hope we have a caution free day today.
I also pray that Conway isn't the man who ended up being correct by reading the writing on the wall of impending doom. As evidenced at long beach, these cars are frisbees. frankly they suck, but no one is listening. I had a dream that one of them was updated with a featureless raised nose (like the 1994 ish benneton) with a new aero kit.
the good old days, men were men because race cars were race cars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by p1bump
Good post, and it was Gil de Ferran not Vasser.
2000 CART Fontana - Gil de Ferran's Closed Course Record - YouTube