Indianapolis 500 Nine Fast Facts
After it was all said and done, Will Power got to “drink the milk”. But there were several other interesting things that took place in Indianapolis. Winning is all that matters when it comes to the 500 but let us not forget, there is also a championship to be won. Also what about the one-off’s, who finished well? We know that several teams are looking to build into full-time or part-time teams. Here’s a special Fast Nine Facts from the Indy 500:
#9 Impact on the Points
The Indy 500 is a double points race. Say what you will, like it or not, finishing 2nd-33rd matters for full timers. The one who obviously benefits most is Will Power who now leads the Championship at 243 points. Rossi falls back to second with 243 and the Josef Newgarden rounding out the top three with 233. In order from 4th to 10th: Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Wickens, Bourdais, Pagenaud and Hinchcliffe. Yes, despite missing the race, Hinch is still in the top 10 in points.
#8 Crashes
There was a high number of wrecks on Sunday. What was surprising was the similarity in most of them. In watching the replays it seems that the rear end of the car just washed away. Danica Patrick was dumbfounded by her crash, and just didn’t know how or why it happened. Same thing happened to Helio Castroneaves, Ed Jones (who had to be transported to hospital for concussion like symptoms), Sebastien Bourdais, Sage Karam and Tony Kanaan. All of them just “lost it”, where the back end wanted to be in the front, and that doesn’t work too well at 220 mph.
#7 Rahal Charging to the front. Again.
If Graham Rahal didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. At least in qualifying. The Rahal Letterman Lannigan driver has struggled all year when it comes time to setting his place on the grid. What he’s done better than almost anyone, is redeem himself on race day. Graham started 30th and finished 10th. At one point in time was actually leading and salvaged himself 41 points toward the championship. I don’t know how he does it, but it sure is fun to watch.
#6 Danica Patrick Farewell
It’s never good to watch someone crash. I take no joy in watching a human being slam into a wall at over 200 mph. You shouldn’t either. Especially when that human is in their final profesional racing event. Danica’s career ended in pieces. Love her or hate her, you have to respect her. Danica was good for IndyCar and young women all over the world. Unfortunately she backed it into the wall on lap 68. Distraught and immediately an after thought on the world’s largest racing stage. A sad end for who some would argue, one of the pioneers for women in motorsport.
#5 Alexander Rossi=cruise missile
Rossi, like Graham Rahal, had a s*it starting position. Bump Day was no simple task (ask James Hinchcliffe) but the NAPA Honda was a monster on The Speedway. Honda really had nothing for Chevy all month long. But Rossi went from 32nd to 4th and earned himself 65 points. Due to the double points of Indy, he lost his lead but is still 2nd in the standings. I think this may be his year.
#4 Helio.Goodbye?
Helio is a legend only few can dream of in IndyCar, let alone the Indy 500. One of the few to win the race three times, he was delegated to the Penske Acura sports car team in IMSA. Roger Penske gave Helio a ride for the 500 and he was competitive most the day. Unfortunately coming out of turn 4 Helio blasted the inside wall, ending his day. He later begged Roger for another shot, but The Captain didn’t confirm nor deny his request. Time will tell the fate of America’s favorite Brazilian.
#3 One and Done?
There was finally bumping at Indianapolis. That was largely due to the influx of new teams making an attempt at making the show. One of those teams that has made it known they’re building toward something long term is Scuderia Corsa. Scuderia Corsa is based right here in my backyard in Las Vegas, NV. Currently they run a Ferrari race team in IMSA and has expressed serious interest in running an IndyCar team. Same can be said for Thom Burns Racing who gave fan favorite, Conor Daly a ride with the U.S. Air Force on board. Mike Shank, Juncos Racing are the others. Did they earn enough money to re-invest into the business and grow? Could we see another one or two new teams at Spring Training at Sebring in 2019?
#2 The Lack of Passing
This is rare to say in regards to IndyCar but: it wasn’t all that exciting. According to Unofficial results there was 41 passes for the lead. How many of those were on pit road? Probably a lot. The Chevy’s were just so much faster than the Honda’s, especially at the front of the field. Not what we’re used to as fans, but hey, not every race can be pure insanity.
#1 Stef Wilson Led
After losing his ride to Fernando Alonso last year in a deal that Michael Andretti simply couldn’t refuse, Stef Wilson got his shot in the 500. A one-off drive for sure, but in the closing laps Wilson was leading with just 8 laps to go. Seeing his car up front, after losing his brother and be voulan-told he wasn’t driving last year, it was just special to see him leading the field at that stage in the race. They took a chance on fuel mileage, but unfortunately it didn’t play out, forcing him to pit. But the three minutes we got to wonder “What if he wins” was really cool to see. Hopefully Wilson gets more chances in the future.
So there you have it! Nine Fast facts from Indianapolis. What do you think of the race? Is there possibility of more new full or part-time teams? Do you think we’ll see Helio next year? Is Danica really going to go out like that? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or Facebook.
