Alexander Rossi, starting from 2nd place, grabbed on to the first lap and never let go. The 27-year-old Californian’s Andretti Motorsports Dallara Honda ran perfectly, his pit crew executed his pit stops masterfully, and his strategist called an ideal race plan. It was a textbook example of how to dominate and win an IndyCar race. Rossi has three 2nd place finishes this season, including the Indy 500, and was simply tired of having to eat Team Penske’s dust at the finish. He led all but 1 of the races 55 laps.
The pre-race hoopla was about 19-year-old Colton Herta becoming the youngest driver to win an IndyCar pole to go along with his youngest IndyCar winner title. Once the green flag dropped, the usual suspects once again took control. Scott Dixon suffered a bump and spin out on the 1st lap and that put him in last place on the 2nd lap. The defending series champ had to drive with all the stops out just to get back in contention.
The race was for the runner-up spot then. Will Power drove into the 2nd position and stayed there, hoping that Rossi or his crew would make a mistake. Of course it didn’t happen. Point leader Josef Newgarden cruised along in 3rd and held the position until the checkered flag. Graham Rahal drove a smooth, careful race and got the most out of what his car had to give. He finished in 4th place. Scott Dixon charged back into 5th spot with a hard grinding drive.
As to Colton Herta, the youngster tried to stay in contention with some wild and crazy driving. He bumped other cars and drove off the track into the grass trying to stay in the 5th position. On the final lap Dixon caught him. Dixon so unnerved the kid that Hinchcliffe and fellow rookie Felix Rosenqvist were able to slide by him before they got to the finish line. Herta dropped from 5th to 8th on the final lap. Simon Pagenaud and Takuma Sato rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Newgarden and Rossi are still the top 2 in the points race for the series championship with Pagenaud and Dixon behind. Will Power has yet to win a race this season. His 2nd at Road America is his best finish of the season. It’s also only his 3rd podium finish of the year.
The IndyCar crowd has a weekend off before going to Toronto and the Exhibition Place Road Course on July 14th.
Pacer’s Draft
Who is Goga Bitadze, other than a head scratching “who’s that guy?” called out on draft night and bemoaned by Pacer fans who had hoped Romeo Langford would be available and devastated when Langford was taken by Celtics at pick 14. He is, of course, the 6’ 11” and 251 lbs. center selected by the Indiana Pacers as their number 1 pick in the 2019 draft. Bitadze hails from Sagarejo, a town in the Republic of Georgia. He is a polished product of East European basketball. The team sees him as a swing backup at center and forward. The media experts have applauded the pick and called Bitadze the best available talent when the team picked at 18. While not a sexy pick he just may be a useful one.
The Pacer’s traded their 2nd round pick for a 2020 2nd round pick. The team has also signed some rookie free agents.
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