Round 8 - Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX
"Helio's Hoedown" - Adrian Rickard
Intro
Races have been held at the Texas Motor Speedway since 1997 (under various guises and series) and has established itself as one of the most important races for Indycar outside of Indianapolis, not to mention one of the highest crowd attendances and on track speeds. It is a track that I have been to for the past couple years, and despite the heat is easily on of my favourite places to visit.
Qualifying
Took place in the high heat of Friday afternoon, saw Will Power storm to pole with a blistering 2-lap average speed of 219.182 mph, he was joined on the front row by Marco Andretti with a somewhat distant 217.553, and behind them Ryan Hunter-Reay (217.524) and Dario Franchitti (217.504). For someone who hasn't had the best of luck / results on ovals, Power nailed it and the opposition!
To listen to Will Power’s press conference, click below.
Races have been held at the Texas Motor Speedway since 1997 (under various guises and series) and has established itself as one of the most important races for Indycar outside of Indianapolis, not to mention one of the highest crowd attendances and on track speeds. It is a track that I have been to for the past couple years, and despite the heat is easily on of my favourite places to visit.
Qualifying
Took place in the high heat of Friday afternoon, saw Will Power storm to pole with a blistering 2-lap average speed of 219.182 mph, he was joined on the front row by Marco Andretti with a somewhat distant 217.553, and behind them Ryan Hunter-Reay (217.524) and Dario Franchitti (217.504). For someone who hasn't had the best of luck / results on ovals, Power nailed it and the opposition!
To listen to Will Power’s press conference, click below.
For the full qualifying results, please click the below.
| firestone_550_qual_results.pdf |
Pre Race
Texas gives us big steaks, big cars and big entertainment, including this! Spanky Jr Stunt Jump... which I am not sure went to plan or not! http://twitter.yfrog.com/f1slbnxvdamzfpirmlcvolgiz?sa=0
Texas gives us big steaks, big cars and big entertainment, including this! Spanky Jr Stunt Jump... which I am not sure went to plan or not! http://twitter.yfrog.com/f1slbnxvdamzfpirmlcvolgiz?sa=0
Photo: Russ Miller
Mike Hull (Ganassi Racing Managing Director) tweeted that you can expect during the 228 laps, 5 pit stops for fuel and tyres (approximately every 51 laps), on average there have been 35 laps run under yellow, and a green flag pit stop can cost up to 2 laps!
Two Oklahoma school teachers, Jennifer Simmonds and Anna Canaday (who helped save children’s lives in the recent tornado) gave the command to start the driver’s engines.
Two Oklahoma school teachers, Jennifer Simmonds and Anna Canaday (who helped save children’s lives in the recent tornado) gave the command to start the driver’s engines.
Race
The green flag fell at 20:50 local time (an enjoyable time close to 2am in the UK).
The race got away to a clean start with a few cars jostling for positions; with the usual suspect Tony Kanaan making up a couple of spots. Scott Dixon was the biggest loser as he was ‘fairly’ chopped by Ed Carpenter, and lost five places. At the front, Marco Andretti passed Will Power for the lead.
After only four laps we had our first caution of the race as team mates Andretti and Hunter-Reay were battling for the lead, the Dale Coyne 18 entry of Pippa Mann was slowing on the back straight, first view we could not tell what was wrong with the car until it had passed the camera and tell tale signs of smoke and a flicker of flame came from the engine compartment, unlucky for the part time entrant from Ipswich who had impressed with a top 10 in final practice.
A few of the cars near the back of the field took the opportunity to pit and top up on fuel.
The race restarted on Lap 15 once safety crews had cleared the car and checked the track for any oil spills. There were concerns for Dario Franchitti who was down to 12th with possible handling problems on his No 10 Ganassi car. With the change in aero package removing around 300lb of down force the cars were beginning to spread out. Charlie Kimball was being told by his spotter not to leave the bottom line open, he was losing too many places.
25 laps in and Franchitti was once again the attention as he was losing positions, on the radio complaining of balance and under steer problems, adversely the driver with the most gains, Simona de Silvestro, up 8 places.
With the nature of higher banked 1.5 mile ovals, the leading cars can lap at a greater speed in clean air, and we see Andretti lapping Graham Rahal who has had a torrid start to the season with crashes and reliability issues with his new (and father Bobby’s) team.
A key issue raised by the drivers was the tyre degradation, and after 37 laps E.J. Viso was on the radio saying he needed to pit with the lap of grip from the tyres and was losing places to Franchitti, Justin Wilson and Sebastian Bourdais. After 41 laps Sebastian Saavedra made the first green flag pit stop, suffering a faulty weight-jacker, which controls the break balance of the wheels. Hunter-Reay came to pit road for a stop and lost control and slipped back onto the track, luckily avoiding any oncoming traffic.
By lap 50, the sun which was covering turns 2, the back stretch and turn 3 was completely off the track, and the lights beginning to take over.
Lap 52 and the leader Andretti pits, has a problem with refuelling which costs him a few extra seconds and dropped him down to 9th. There were bigger problems for Scott Dixon, as he leaving the pit lane after he made his stop, driving out had a problem with his driveshaft and was coasting around the back of the track, he was unable to make it back and the yellow was thrown, our second caution of the night. More slightly comical pit stop incidents, Carpenter was in, had an adjustment to his front wing, but the pit crewman had his glove stuck and couldn’t get it off in time, and disappeared off onto the circuit, this was recovered on the next lap.
Back to green on lap 62 with Kimball battling Hunter-Reay, not for the lead, but to unlap himself. For those new to oval racing, being on the lead lap is key, a yellow flag allows you back into the lead group and in with a chance of making up positions.
Andretti was making moves forward after his poor pit stop, until his got behind Bourdais, whom he was lapping and had a few issues, at 205mph made some Italian style gestures and using selective language on the radio complaining, his race engineer Kyle Moyer tells him to calm down, Texas isn’t the place to lose your cool on track.
The green flag fell at 20:50 local time (an enjoyable time close to 2am in the UK).
The race got away to a clean start with a few cars jostling for positions; with the usual suspect Tony Kanaan making up a couple of spots. Scott Dixon was the biggest loser as he was ‘fairly’ chopped by Ed Carpenter, and lost five places. At the front, Marco Andretti passed Will Power for the lead.
After only four laps we had our first caution of the race as team mates Andretti and Hunter-Reay were battling for the lead, the Dale Coyne 18 entry of Pippa Mann was slowing on the back straight, first view we could not tell what was wrong with the car until it had passed the camera and tell tale signs of smoke and a flicker of flame came from the engine compartment, unlucky for the part time entrant from Ipswich who had impressed with a top 10 in final practice.
A few of the cars near the back of the field took the opportunity to pit and top up on fuel.
The race restarted on Lap 15 once safety crews had cleared the car and checked the track for any oil spills. There were concerns for Dario Franchitti who was down to 12th with possible handling problems on his No 10 Ganassi car. With the change in aero package removing around 300lb of down force the cars were beginning to spread out. Charlie Kimball was being told by his spotter not to leave the bottom line open, he was losing too many places.
25 laps in and Franchitti was once again the attention as he was losing positions, on the radio complaining of balance and under steer problems, adversely the driver with the most gains, Simona de Silvestro, up 8 places.
With the nature of higher banked 1.5 mile ovals, the leading cars can lap at a greater speed in clean air, and we see Andretti lapping Graham Rahal who has had a torrid start to the season with crashes and reliability issues with his new (and father Bobby’s) team.
A key issue raised by the drivers was the tyre degradation, and after 37 laps E.J. Viso was on the radio saying he needed to pit with the lap of grip from the tyres and was losing places to Franchitti, Justin Wilson and Sebastian Bourdais. After 41 laps Sebastian Saavedra made the first green flag pit stop, suffering a faulty weight-jacker, which controls the break balance of the wheels. Hunter-Reay came to pit road for a stop and lost control and slipped back onto the track, luckily avoiding any oncoming traffic.
By lap 50, the sun which was covering turns 2, the back stretch and turn 3 was completely off the track, and the lights beginning to take over.
Lap 52 and the leader Andretti pits, has a problem with refuelling which costs him a few extra seconds and dropped him down to 9th. There were bigger problems for Scott Dixon, as he leaving the pit lane after he made his stop, driving out had a problem with his driveshaft and was coasting around the back of the track, he was unable to make it back and the yellow was thrown, our second caution of the night. More slightly comical pit stop incidents, Carpenter was in, had an adjustment to his front wing, but the pit crewman had his glove stuck and couldn’t get it off in time, and disappeared off onto the circuit, this was recovered on the next lap.
Back to green on lap 62 with Kimball battling Hunter-Reay, not for the lead, but to unlap himself. For those new to oval racing, being on the lead lap is key, a yellow flag allows you back into the lead group and in with a chance of making up positions.
Andretti was making moves forward after his poor pit stop, until his got behind Bourdais, whom he was lapping and had a few issues, at 205mph made some Italian style gestures and using selective language on the radio complaining, his race engineer Kyle Moyer tells him to calm down, Texas isn’t the place to lose your cool on track.
After struggling earlier in the race, Saavedra was making moves, picking up 3 spots in a couple of laps. Dixon was back in the pits, with an exploding brake line with spilt oil onto the pit box, later taken back to the garage, his day was done. Three crew members suffered burns but were released by the medical centre later that evening.
After 88 laps, the cars are now heading towards their 2nd pit window, and requests from the drivers for changes to down force and some struggles with the tyres. Some cars, such as Andretti, Wilson and Sato were well, Wilson up 17 places since the start of the race. 90 laps into the race and the lights are now taking over the track, and the great sights of the cars gleaming as the lap the track at over 210 mph. Hunter-Reay pits from the lead on lap 94, which puts Andretti and Helio Castroneves to the lead. Andretti, Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden pit. On the track Castroneves is still staying out, something of a baffling decision as he has gone over 55 laps since his last stop, but his lap speeds have dropped under 200 mph. Cars are beginning to unlap themselves as they have changed to new tyres. Onto lap 113 and the situation plays straight into Castroneves hands as Servia spins just in front of him and causes the third caution of the evening, allowing him to pit and maintain his position.
Lap 114 and we are half way, the top 10 looks like this – Castroneves, Wilson, Viso, Power, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Andretti, de Silvestro and Kanaan.
Looking back at the pit stops, Castoneves was very lucky, he nearly hit his pit wall as he turned in, he blamed the lights getting in his eyes...
Green flag racing gets underway and de Silvestro is called for a 30 second penalty after passing the pace car upon leaving the pits, this costs her any chance of getting a high placed finish in this race. Viso is also through the pits for a drive through after he hit a tyre leaving his pit box.
With 100 laps to go and the top 5 looks like this – Castroneves, Power, Hunter-Reay, Wilson and Carpenter.
After the last caution, the cars are now settled in on a cooling track, with some good clean passing by the mid field. On lap 145, the Team Barracuda Racing entry of Alex Tagliani makes his way to pit lane, not having a great day in the twenties after good performances in practice and qualifying. As strategies are now playing out approaching the end of the race, Hunter-Reay is told to start saving his tyres. It must be noted that the drivers requested that the tyres weren’t so good like last year and started to degrade sooner. Castroneves is still leading, he is tuning in laps in the 205 range, around 3-5 mph quicker than those trying to catch him.
Last weekend’s winner Simon Pagenaud gets dicey on the back straight with his Texas rookie team mate as he was overtaking him, looks as his they touched. Helio Castoneves is dominating this race, lapping cars for fun, lapping on the high lane with ease, leading by over 7 seconds over his team mate Will Power.
Andretti and Kanaan pit for the fourth time, and with new tyres start to unlap themselves and make their way up through the field, but is this charge too late or will their tyres last long enough? Castroneves pits for the final time, along with Power, Carpenter and Franchitti whose early race gremlins have been sorted and back in the top 10.
50 Laps to go (Lap 178) –Top 10 – Castroneves, Kanaan, Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Newgarden, Power, Carpenter, James Jakes, Sato and Franchitti.
Approaching lap 200 and the leaders are about to take their final pit stops, Castroneves and Hunter-Reay have one set of new tyres left. Stops are made with no issues and the top 5 with 5 laps remaining – Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Carpenter, Kanaan and Franchitti. Kanaan is making great use of his tyres and is moving up the field into third, still 16 seconds behind the leader, Catsroneves.
Second place Hunter-Reay is catching the leader but ends up trying to lap Power, it could be said he made it hard for the current champion in the attempt to catch Powers team mate. Lap 228 and the white flag flies, Tim CIndric, calls for Helio to take it easy, has a lead of 20 seconds (give or take 10)...
The last lap safely completed and Helio Castroneves win the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway for the fourth time!
After 88 laps, the cars are now heading towards their 2nd pit window, and requests from the drivers for changes to down force and some struggles with the tyres. Some cars, such as Andretti, Wilson and Sato were well, Wilson up 17 places since the start of the race. 90 laps into the race and the lights are now taking over the track, and the great sights of the cars gleaming as the lap the track at over 210 mph. Hunter-Reay pits from the lead on lap 94, which puts Andretti and Helio Castroneves to the lead. Andretti, Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden pit. On the track Castroneves is still staying out, something of a baffling decision as he has gone over 55 laps since his last stop, but his lap speeds have dropped under 200 mph. Cars are beginning to unlap themselves as they have changed to new tyres. Onto lap 113 and the situation plays straight into Castroneves hands as Servia spins just in front of him and causes the third caution of the evening, allowing him to pit and maintain his position.
Lap 114 and we are half way, the top 10 looks like this – Castroneves, Wilson, Viso, Power, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Andretti, de Silvestro and Kanaan.
Looking back at the pit stops, Castoneves was very lucky, he nearly hit his pit wall as he turned in, he blamed the lights getting in his eyes...
Green flag racing gets underway and de Silvestro is called for a 30 second penalty after passing the pace car upon leaving the pits, this costs her any chance of getting a high placed finish in this race. Viso is also through the pits for a drive through after he hit a tyre leaving his pit box.
With 100 laps to go and the top 5 looks like this – Castroneves, Power, Hunter-Reay, Wilson and Carpenter.
After the last caution, the cars are now settled in on a cooling track, with some good clean passing by the mid field. On lap 145, the Team Barracuda Racing entry of Alex Tagliani makes his way to pit lane, not having a great day in the twenties after good performances in practice and qualifying. As strategies are now playing out approaching the end of the race, Hunter-Reay is told to start saving his tyres. It must be noted that the drivers requested that the tyres weren’t so good like last year and started to degrade sooner. Castroneves is still leading, he is tuning in laps in the 205 range, around 3-5 mph quicker than those trying to catch him.
Last weekend’s winner Simon Pagenaud gets dicey on the back straight with his Texas rookie team mate as he was overtaking him, looks as his they touched. Helio Castoneves is dominating this race, lapping cars for fun, lapping on the high lane with ease, leading by over 7 seconds over his team mate Will Power.
Andretti and Kanaan pit for the fourth time, and with new tyres start to unlap themselves and make their way up through the field, but is this charge too late or will their tyres last long enough? Castroneves pits for the final time, along with Power, Carpenter and Franchitti whose early race gremlins have been sorted and back in the top 10.
50 Laps to go (Lap 178) –Top 10 – Castroneves, Kanaan, Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Newgarden, Power, Carpenter, James Jakes, Sato and Franchitti.
Approaching lap 200 and the leaders are about to take their final pit stops, Castroneves and Hunter-Reay have one set of new tyres left. Stops are made with no issues and the top 5 with 5 laps remaining – Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Carpenter, Kanaan and Franchitti. Kanaan is making great use of his tyres and is moving up the field into third, still 16 seconds behind the leader, Catsroneves.
Second place Hunter-Reay is catching the leader but ends up trying to lap Power, it could be said he made it hard for the current champion in the attempt to catch Powers team mate. Lap 228 and the white flag flies, Tim CIndric, calls for Helio to take it easy, has a lead of 20 seconds (give or take 10)...
The last lap safely completed and Helio Castroneves win the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway for the fourth time!
Click below to listen to Helio Castroneves post race press conference interviews
Results & Race Assessments
1 Helio Castroneves @ 228 Laps
Near perfect race for the championship leader, most laps lead too.
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay 228
Strong performance all race long, very much in contention for wins.
3 Tony Kanaan 228
In a rich vein of form with a very strong finish, tip for another win very soon.
4 Ed Carpenter 228
Another strong performance from the oval expert despite problems in his pits stops.
5 Marco Andretti 228
Strong start but refuelling issues put him back and could not fully recover to the front.
6 Dario Franchitti 227
After early struggles with performance, strong finish, maybe a return to form for Ganassi?
7 Will Power 227
Great qualifying performance and a strong race, seems to be stronger on ovals each race.
8 Josef Newgarden 227
Excellent result for the young driver, it can be win or bust, but it is looking up for Josef
9 James Hinchcliffe 227
So-so race, not had a great run since his Brazil win.
10 E.J. Viso 227
Another race goes by, solid finish.
11 Takuma Sato 227
Solid race, consistent season.
12 James Jakes 227
Improving every race, leading the Rahal team this season, picking up media attention too for the right reasons.
13 Simon Pagenaud 226
Engine change put him back, did well to make up positions and avoid the wall after his team mate got close.
14 Sebastian Saavedra 226
Early problems put him back, found solutions and maintained midfield running for most of the race.
15 Justin Wilson 226
Some promise mid race for a repeat win, but fell away towards to the end, as did most of the Honda’s.
16 Simona De Silvestro 226
Penalty cost her a top 10 result, otherwise strong oval performance early on making up positions.
17 Charlie Kimball 226
Lapped early and always hard work to catch up, finished which is an improvement from the past years.
18 Tristan Vautier 225
He finished, that is what he wanted, even with a kiss with his team mates car!
19 Oriol Servia 225
Spin took him out of the equation for a higher position, first time out in his new team replacing JR Hildebrand.
20 Sebastien Bourdais 224
Never really in the running, not Marco’s best friend either after blocking when being lapped.
21 Graham Rahal 223
Another race to forget, need something lucky to break for them soon.
22 Alex Tagliani 223
Another tough race, the car doesn't seem to have the pace to last the whole race.
23 Scott Dixon 61- Out – Mechanical
After a good start, great pit stop, things went wrong with drive shafts, and gear boxes.
24 Pippa Mann 2 – Out - Mechanical
After a strong final practice, when your engine doesn't play along after only 4 laps, it’s not your day.
For full classified results and more statistics click the file below
1 Helio Castroneves @ 228 Laps
Near perfect race for the championship leader, most laps lead too.
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay 228
Strong performance all race long, very much in contention for wins.
3 Tony Kanaan 228
In a rich vein of form with a very strong finish, tip for another win very soon.
4 Ed Carpenter 228
Another strong performance from the oval expert despite problems in his pits stops.
5 Marco Andretti 228
Strong start but refuelling issues put him back and could not fully recover to the front.
6 Dario Franchitti 227
After early struggles with performance, strong finish, maybe a return to form for Ganassi?
7 Will Power 227
Great qualifying performance and a strong race, seems to be stronger on ovals each race.
8 Josef Newgarden 227
Excellent result for the young driver, it can be win or bust, but it is looking up for Josef
9 James Hinchcliffe 227
So-so race, not had a great run since his Brazil win.
10 E.J. Viso 227
Another race goes by, solid finish.
11 Takuma Sato 227
Solid race, consistent season.
12 James Jakes 227
Improving every race, leading the Rahal team this season, picking up media attention too for the right reasons.
13 Simon Pagenaud 226
Engine change put him back, did well to make up positions and avoid the wall after his team mate got close.
14 Sebastian Saavedra 226
Early problems put him back, found solutions and maintained midfield running for most of the race.
15 Justin Wilson 226
Some promise mid race for a repeat win, but fell away towards to the end, as did most of the Honda’s.
16 Simona De Silvestro 226
Penalty cost her a top 10 result, otherwise strong oval performance early on making up positions.
17 Charlie Kimball 226
Lapped early and always hard work to catch up, finished which is an improvement from the past years.
18 Tristan Vautier 225
He finished, that is what he wanted, even with a kiss with his team mates car!
19 Oriol Servia 225
Spin took him out of the equation for a higher position, first time out in his new team replacing JR Hildebrand.
20 Sebastien Bourdais 224
Never really in the running, not Marco’s best friend either after blocking when being lapped.
21 Graham Rahal 223
Another race to forget, need something lucky to break for them soon.
22 Alex Tagliani 223
Another tough race, the car doesn't seem to have the pace to last the whole race.
23 Scott Dixon 61- Out – Mechanical
After a good start, great pit stop, things went wrong with drive shafts, and gear boxes.
24 Pippa Mann 2 – Out - Mechanical
After a strong final practice, when your engine doesn't play along after only 4 laps, it’s not your day.
For full classified results and more statistics click the file below
| Firestone 550 Results |
Final Thoughts
Since the introduction of the DW12 we have seen some fantastic racing on all types of tracks, although this wasn't a classic Texas race, like last year. But you can't always have those races with close fighting at the front, the midfield certainly provided a lot of entertainment and was enjoyable to watch how drivers dealt with their tyres and differing strategies.
Without sounding hypocritical over the tyre management that played out for a lot of the race that in my opinion is playing too large a role in F1, I feel this added something to the race here, it was requested by the drivers, and they got it, and they had to work hard for their results!
Again Honda weren't really at the races again on the ovals, we are now in a run of them and need something to turn around soon to keep their drivers on the coat tails of the Chevy's.
From a UK perspective, again, despite ESPN having three channels and coverage starting at 1:30am, this was not live but shown the following morning. And looking at the US, the commentary aspect, yeah enough has been said about that.
Back on track, Helio Castroneves put up one of his best race performances in a while, I noted down early in the race, ‘3 is on it’ and he never let up, could this finally be Helio’s year? Maybe, just maybe it could.
You can follow Adrian on Twitter - @rkid84 & @IndycarUK
All audio appears via Indycar Media Releases / IMS Radio Productions, Photos via Team Chevy & Russ Miller
Since the introduction of the DW12 we have seen some fantastic racing on all types of tracks, although this wasn't a classic Texas race, like last year. But you can't always have those races with close fighting at the front, the midfield certainly provided a lot of entertainment and was enjoyable to watch how drivers dealt with their tyres and differing strategies.
Without sounding hypocritical over the tyre management that played out for a lot of the race that in my opinion is playing too large a role in F1, I feel this added something to the race here, it was requested by the drivers, and they got it, and they had to work hard for their results!
Again Honda weren't really at the races again on the ovals, we are now in a run of them and need something to turn around soon to keep their drivers on the coat tails of the Chevy's.
From a UK perspective, again, despite ESPN having three channels and coverage starting at 1:30am, this was not live but shown the following morning. And looking at the US, the commentary aspect, yeah enough has been said about that.
Back on track, Helio Castroneves put up one of his best race performances in a while, I noted down early in the race, ‘3 is on it’ and he never let up, could this finally be Helio’s year? Maybe, just maybe it could.
You can follow Adrian on Twitter - @rkid84 & @IndycarUK
All audio appears via Indycar Media Releases / IMS Radio Productions, Photos via Team Chevy & Russ Miller
