Last Saturday’s inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis will go down as a success for the Speedway. After the opening debacle with pole setter Sebastian Savaadra stalling his car and then being rammed by rookies Carlos Munoz and Mikhail Aleshin, the race settled into a competitive affair. As usual with the road course events, the pit stops played a more important role in the race than the driving, but on the whole there were still some impressive driver moments in the race. Ryan Hunter-Reay was dominant throughout the race and finished second. Most everyone concerned agreed that the improvements to the road course section worked out and it was a much more competitive track.
Winner Simon Pagenaud handled his #77 with a bit of real racing skill and kept himself in contention all race long, but in the end it was the well planned fuel stops by his crew chief that got him the win. Pagenaud has genuine talent and will be a force to be reckoned with come the 500. Anyway it was really good to see a team other then Penkse or Ganassi take home a win. Rookie Jack Hawksworth put on a very impressive show. Driving the #98 car for Brian Herta, he started second, took the lead at the green flag, kept it for the first 31 laps, and held on to take a seventh place finish. He will be a strong contender for the Speedway Rookie of the Year. There were several contact incidents on the track during the course of the race and flying debris was a danger to driver and spectator alike. James Hinchcliffe was hit in the forehead by a piece of Graham Rahal’s wing on lap 50 and suffered a concussion that may keep him out of the Indy 500. Mayor Greg Ballard who was the honorary starter, was hit by debris in the Savaadra mishap and suffered cuts on his cheek and chin. He did get some international press coverage for his injuries, however. You can’t say our Mayor doesn’t recognize a photo opp when he …FEELS… one!
Danica Patrick’s Best NASCAR Finish
Danica Patrick pulled in her best finish as a NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor with a seventh place finish at Energy 400 in Kansas City, Kansas last weekend. It was Danica’s second top ten finish in 57 starts as a Cup driver. Jeff Gordon scored his 89th career victory in the Energy 400 and currently leads in the Sprint Cup points race but all the media attention was on the 5’ 2”, 100 pound, 32 year old driver from Beloit, Wisconsin. Danica has been driving professionally since 1998 and the media glow has always shown upon her. Her willingness to exploit her good looks and shapely figure for publicity has always been a source of admiration from most of the casual motor sport fans and sports fans in general, but an irritation bordering on outright hatred by some auto racing purists. In 2012 she was voted the most popular driver on the Sprint Cup circuit. It’s possible that some day Danica will score a victory, but as I heard someone say, if a male driver had only two top ten finishes in fifty-seven starts for a racing team, he would be out of a job.
For the first time since 2003, there will be only one female competitor taking the green flag in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 mile race. England’s Pippa Mann will be driving a Dallara Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. It will be the third start at Indy for the 30 year old driver. In 2013 she drove for Dale Coyne and both started and finished in 30th place. She drove 46 laps before making contact with Sebastien Bourdais. Switzerland’s Simona De Silvestro who had competed in the last four Indianapolis 500s and was the 2010 Speedway Rookie of the Year, has joined the Sauber Formula One Racing Team.
Colts Watch the First Round of the 2014 NFL College Draft From the Sidelines
Before our Indianapolis Colts were able to select a player, 58 players were taken in what many experts are calling the most talented and deepest draft in a decade. That player was Ohio State offensive lineman Jack Mewhort. Mewhort is a strong pick who will most likely be plugged into either the right guard or tackle position and the Colts were lucky that he was still available at pick 59. As the first round rolled along and names like safeties Deone Bucannon, Jimmie Ward, and Lamarcus Joyner along with offensive linemen like Joel Bitonio and Weston Richburg were called (players that could have really helped the Horseshoe), the Colts were on the sidelines as observers. They lacked a fourth round pick as well, so they had just two picks among the first 165 players selected. Unfortunately GM Ryan Grigson tenure will by defined by the Trent Richardson trade with the Cleveland Browns last fall during the regular season. That trade is already being referred to as one of the ten worst trades in NFL history.
The 2013 Colts draft was lackluster, as none of the rookies selected really distinguished themselves. Number one pick Bjorn Werner tried to learn the ways of a NFL pass rushing linebacker, but was slow to pick things off and saw little action. Third round pick Hugh Thornton had 12 starts at right guard but was generally ineffective and may be replaced this season. Fourth round pick, center Khaled Holmes was held back with injury problems, but he is being penciled in as the starting center for 2014, however.
As I said, Mewhort is a sound pick and will get a long look at the right guard position. In the third round the Colts picked up wideout Donte Moncrief from Ole Miss. Moncrief is a big guy at 6’2” and 221 pounds. Some scouts had him listed as a possible first round pick but this year’s college class was rich in wide receivers. Moncrief is being looked at by the Colts as a possible replacement for Reggie Wayne down the road.
The rest of the Colts draft looked like this: On the fifth round Ball State Defensive End/Linebacker Jonathan Newsome, 6’3” and 236 pounds. He’ll get a look at the pass rushing linebacker spot. On the sixth round they selected Andrew Jackson, a linebacker from Western Kentucky. The Colts’ seventh round pick was Ulrick John, an offensive lineman from Georgia Tech. The Colts signed 19 free agents from among the undrafted collegiate players last Sunday, so they could uncover some unpolished gems among them. As is always the case, time will tell about the Colts 2014 draft. If the Big Blue can uncover a few solid players who can help the team, it will be considered a successful one.
snincewanger@yahoo.com