Will Power is Showing A Lot of….Well…Er… Will Power
The Honda Prix of Toronto has pretty much followed the same script that all but three of the IndyCar races have followed during the 2016 series so far. A Penske driver once again takes the checkered flag. The first five events of the series saw Frenchman Simon Pagenard dominate with three wins and two second places. However the last four events have seen Aussie driver Will Power become the driver to beat. Power has three wins and a second place. Power has looked almost unbeatable during that stretch. Other than the glitch at Indy during May, Team Penske has been the story with seven wins and nine pole positions. Pagenand, Power, and Helio Castroneves are 1-2-3 in point standings. Juan Pablo Montoya is current 13th in the point standings. After winning the opening race at St. Petersburg, the Colombian driver has had some hard luck. Finishing 33rd at Indy, he has finished 20th in his last two starts.
Scott Dixon started from the pole for the first time this season and led the most laps of the race. The New Zealander is the 2015 defending champion. Driving for Chip Ganassi, he has seen Power outrun him in the last three races, after his last pit stop it put him back in the field. Dixon faded to 8th place. The worse luck of the day went to Josef Newgarden. After dominating at the Iowa Oval last week, the young Tennessean found that trying to master the Toronto street course was difficult. Maneuvering his car with his broken hand and the pin holding his shoulder together put a lot of strain on his body. On lap 57 Newgarden hit the curb in turn 5 and bounced into the retaining wall. This put him in 22nd and last place. Coincidentally, the 2015 Toronto Race was the occasion of Newgardens first career IndyCar win.
For local driver James Hinchcliffe it was a solid day. The Toronto born racer made the home folks proud with a solid third place finish. This ties his best finish of the season. He also held up Honda engine honors as he was the top placing Honda finisher. Tony Kaanan was fourth, Takuma Sato brought his Team Foyt Honda home in fifth place, and Hinchcliffe’s teammate Mikhail Aleshin grabbed 6th place in his Sam Schmidt Honda. Marco Andretti grabbed a 10th place finish — only the second time this season he has been able to score a top ten finish.
Power is second behind Pagenand in points, but don’t be surprised if he takes over the point leadership within the next race or two. He’s got his mojo working and he and his crew seem to be on the same page, finally. The concussion that kept him out of the first race of the season at St. Petersburg seem to have had no long lasting effect.
There are five races left in the 2016 series, counting the completion of the aborted Texas 600 with 177 laps to go. The next time the IndyCar boys meet will be at the Mid Ohio road course on July 31st in Lexington, Ohio.
Wow the Brickyard is Here
So, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s second biggest race is finally here. As of this writing the big story is whether or not Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be behind the wheel of his number #88 Chevrolet in this coming Sunday’s Crown Royal Brickyard 400. Earnhardt suffered a concussion and did not compete at New Hampshire last weekend. If he doesn’t run, Jeff Gordon will be behind the wheel. Yeah, I know. He is retired and all that, but the Brickyard is his favorite race and he didn’t rule out an occasional appearance when he retired. He also owns five Brickyard 400 victories. This is supposed to be Tony Stewart’s final appearance at IMS, but you never know. Jimmy Johnson has four Brickyard 400 victories. Since April at the Toyota Owners 400, Johnson hasn’t had much luck. A Brickyard win could get him back on track.
Kevin Harvick is the series’ point leader and has one win and a series of point finishes. I really don’t look for him to win, however. His Brickyard victory was 13 years ago. He finished 3rd last year. Defending Champ Kyle Busch is always a threat. Brad Keselowski is in second place in points and has the most wins this season with four. He definitely is a favorite. Joey Logano is driving for Penske and that team owns the track, although a Penske car has yet to win at the Brickyard 400. They may be due.
A Toyota powered car won for the first time at the Brickyard last year. They also won the Manufacturers Championship for the first time in 2015. Toyota powered cars have won 9 races so far in 2016 to lead the engine makers. The race should be lots of fun. Who knows? Danica Patrick may improve on her best finish of the year which was a 13th at Dover Delaware on May 15th.