The Mid-Ohio Honda Indy 200 last Sunday was all about Alexander Rossi. The 26-year-old Californian won the pole, led the most laps, and took the checkered flag to collect his third career IndyCar win. All eyes, however, were on Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden and their battle for the championship point lead. Newgarden finished 4th and Dixon held on for 5th. Rookie Robert Wickens took 2nd place, and Will Power was 3rd. Rossi led 66 of the 90 laps. Dixon turned in the fastest lap of the race. There were no yellow light producing incidents on the track.
Rosst’s team has to be congratulated as they were the only team to complete the race on 2 pit stops. Everyone else had to pit at least 3 times.
The qualifying session on Saturday was rough. Sebastien Bourdais spun into the tire barriers and had to start last. He raced hard and finished 6th, however.
With 4 races left on the schedule Rossi has made it a 3 way battle for the championship. He is now in second place in total points behind Dixon. Newgarden is currently 3rd. Honda has a pretty solid lead in the manufacturer’s point lead with 1,109 points to Chevy’s 917.
As the last 4th of the season begins, here are some observations.
1. How is Marco Andretti still in a race car? He does not race, he drives. Of course his dad is his team boss and maybe Michael thinks it’s important that an Andretti be in the field.
2. Will Simon Pagenaud stay with Penske Racing? The Frenchman has great talent but he is obviously third man on the totem pole. He has just 2 podium finishes this year.
3. Will Tony Kanaan retire after this season? Tony has found out that AJ Foyt Enterprises is a disaster. Poorly prepared cars. No pit crew team work. Kanaan’s best finish was a 6th at Toronto. Tony is 43 and at this point in his career, he doesn’t need this kind of grief.
4. Rookie Robert Wickens has emerged as a bonafide star. He has 4 podium finishes and is currently 6th in the point standings He’s running away with the Rookie of The Year award and it’s only a matter of time before he wins a race. Will he stay with Schmidt/Peterson?
So the IndyCar boys have 2 weeks off before they meet at the Pocono Raceway on August 19th for ABC Auto Supply 500. Lets hope it’s a competitive and safe race.
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