IndyCar Update
n last week’s IndyCar article I made one mistake. I wrote the Team Penske cars had taken all ten of the poles during the qualifying sessions of the previously run races. This was wrong as Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing won the pole at the Indianapolis 500. With Simon Pagenard winning the pole at Fontana that means that now all of the Team Penske drivers have won at least one pole, with Will Power capturing five. Team Penske cars have taken ten of eleven poles in 2015.
Graham Rahal won the Fontana race with a hard-charging drive, fighting off Tony Kanaan for the victory. Marco Andretti finished third and has completed every lap of competition this season. The 250 lap event was the third of the 500 mile races this season. The high-banked wide turn and straightaways made for some thrilling — and even frightening — race as cars were often four abreast and bunched in groups of ten or more, reminding the drivers of the Dan Wheldon situation at Las Vegas. There were 80 lead changes, an IndyCar record. The definite downside was that there was only a bit over 5,000 in paid attendance and somewhere around 7,500 spectators in total. The Series is going to have to consider this if they want to keep scheduling events at facilities that are literally out in the middle of nowhere with no cities of any size close by.
Rahal has been driving competitively all season with two second place finishes and a third, so a win was probably going to come sooner or later. This was Rahal’s second career win. His first came at the 2008 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg so it had been awhile. His win moved him into fourth place in the championship point standings and he is the top-ranked Honda driver with Rahal driving with Steak & Shake as his sponsor. It’s hoped that they will use him in their commercials and totally drop the ones they currently broadcast. Rahal-Letterman is the top ranked team. Honda seems to be picking up just a bit. Let’s hope this makes for more competitive and more watchable racing.
There are five races left on the 2015 schedule with the next one at the Milwaukee Mile on July 12. Last week I said that there were no more road course events scheduled and that was wrong. There are two: Mid-Ohio near Cleveland on August 2 and the last race of the season on August 30 at the Sonoma Road course near San Francisco. There are only two months left in the season, and Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power are first and second. Power has collected a number of qualification and laps lead points. He has one win. Scott Dixon currently ranks third.
Pacers Draft
With the 11th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers selected Myles Turner, a 6 ft., 11 in., 238 pound center from the University of Texas. It was known that Turner was one of three college players that the team was interested in. Turner is 19 years old and completed one year at Texas where he was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. During his high school basketball career at Euless Trinity in Texas, he was a McDonald’s and Parade Magazine High School All-American and among the most highly recruited high school senior in 2013. The Pacers hope that he can move into the pivot position for the team in a few seasons.
With their second pick, which was the 43rd overall pick, the Pacers selected Joseph Young a guard from Oregon. At 6 ft. 2 in., and 180 pounds, Young has played both point and shooting guard. He played a year at Houston before transferring to Oregon. He was the Pac12 player of the year last year. He is the son of former NBA player Michael Young. He will probably start out on the point for the Pacers.
The NBA Summer League starts next week, so Mr. Turner and Mr. Young will get their feet wet right away.
High School Football at the Vic
Victory Field has announced that they will host two high school football games this coming 2015 season. On Friday October 2nd, the Indiana Army National Guard will present the 1st Annual Victory Field Gridiron Classic that will feature Indianapolis Cathedral going against Hamilton County Fishers. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
On Friday October 16, Brownsburg will meet Hamilton Southeastern. Again, kickoff will be at 7 p.m. Tickets will go on sale on August 3rd and will cost $8 with kids under 2 years old getting in free. This will be the first time that football of any kind has been played at the Vic since the facility opened in 1996.
snicewanger@yahoo.com