PRUETT: Watkins Glen Rewind
If Pocono is known as the "Tricky Triangle," I officially submit "The Ridiculously Quick Road Course" as Watkins Glen's new moniker. I can't think of back-to-back IndyCar events where such frightening speeds were produced in less than a week.
From swarms of cars going as much as four wide while travelling over 210mph at Texas to drivers nearly averaging 150mph around The Glen's full and twisty 3.4-mile circuit, America's open-wheel racing series put on an eight-day, two-state festival of speed and Lord, am I thankful for what took place.
Direct comparisons aren't possible with NASCAR's Sprint Cup series because they don't use the full Watkins Glen circuit, but we can compare Scott Dixon's record-shattering pole lap to IMSA's visit with the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in July.
Tequila Patron ESM's Johannes van Overbeek turned a 1m35.207s in a Ligier JS P2-Honda, which set a new record for the Prototype class thanks to the repaved surface, and with its first visit to the circuit since 2010, and the obscene downforce and grip made available through aero kits and Firestone's tires, Dixon knocked almost six seconds off the previous IndyCar record with a 1m22.526s in his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara DW12-Chevy.
That's a difference in pole times, set in similar sunny conditions, of 12.68 seconds. I can't come up with the words to adequately describe the silliness of that figure.
HANS AND FRANZ
Team Penske's 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion had been out of the car for a little over an hour, but looked like he was intentionally flexing his muscles. Power blamed the raw and relentless nature of lapping the 4.0-mile road course at average speeds approaching 150mph.
"I'm not doing it on purpose, it's the track that does it to you; your muscles get so pumped up driving the car around here," he added. "It's mental."
THE ENGINEER'S PERSPECTIVE
Ganassi's Chris Simmons readily admits he's one of the more fortunate race engineers on pit lane. He's gone from earning championships with Dario Franchitti to working with Tony Kanaan to scoring another championship in his first season working with Dixon in 2015.
Watching Dixie take total command of the event and work his magic, according to Simmons, never gets old.
"It is easy to get spoiled," the Indy Lights driver-turned-engineer said in Victory Lane. "I've worked with some really good drivers in my engineering career. Tony, Dario, Scott, certainly three of the best right there. Nothing Scott does surprises any of us, he is that good. He is the real deal. We know if we give him the right tools he can make everybody look stupid."
THE REFEREE'S SHOW
Part of the art of qualifying is finding a gap. Part of being a good citizen is doing all you can to keep from screwing the other drivers on a flying lap. And part of the job from an official's standpoint is to avoid meddling in a live sporting event. It could just be me, but at some point, it felt like the doling out of penalties turned into a proactive search for infractions.
And while the rapid-fire penalties for impeding felt a bit excessive, it's also worth noting there were no more than 12 cars on the 3.4-mile road course at any point in time during qualifying. I'm left wondering how or why we had so many actual (or alleged) instances of blocking and impeding on such a large track with so few cars.
Whether it was on track or in Race Control, things got a bit out of hand Saturday afternoon. I can't wait to hear what comes out of the driver's meeting at Sonoma Raceway on suggested improvements at the championship finale.
MONZA 1993
An unexpected highlight of the weekend came Saturday morning when I waited to interview Michael Andretti as he and his father Mario finished watching qualifying for the Monza Formula 1 race.
As the last American to stand on a grand prix podium 23 years ago at Monza, F1's annual visit to the historic Italian circuit tends to raise the topic as a point of conversation for Michael.
That ill-fated season driving for Ron Dennis with Ayrton Senna at McLaren has been chronicled countless times since 1993, and while Andretti recalls the year with less affection each time we speak, he smiled when the subject of driving in F1 during its final season of computer-controlled active suspensions was raised.
Racing an F1 car with the suspension carrying out optimized changes – all on its own – during every second of every lap increased straightline speeds as downforce was shed, shortened braking distances as downforce was maximized, increased cornering speeds as vehicle dynamics were manipulated to move forces across every axis throughout every cornering phase, and helped acceleration by moving the car's dynamic weight onto the rear tires. It also left Andretti, his engineers, and every other driver with active suspension buried in exhaustive debriefs.
"They were amazingly long because you literally dissected every corner," he said. "OK, when you get into braking, I want to see if you could still keep the back and adjust the ride height when you are braking. As you turn in, you want the front end to come up and then you want it to come down as soon as this happens... it was amazing what you could do."
As one might suspect with computerized suspensions that came about before the advent of Windows 95, the active systems were prone to software-related mistakes.
"The problem is sometimes it was good and sometimes it was bad," Andretti recalled. "There was still a learning process with it. There was always all kinds of stupid glitches and it seemed like they were always on my car. A good example is we were at Imola and the last turn when you come out you would hit the curb, and the computer would sense that you raised the car, so it would lower it.
"And then all of a sudden it would bottom out and I spin. Ron Dennis was really pissed at me because it happened in front of him. He was scolding me, and then Senna did the exact same thing right in front of us. Ayrton crashed his car, so we had to share mine for qualifying. I had to do my two runs and then he gets in it. The active suspensions were pretty trick, but they could also bite you."
Asked if he'd welcome the day when he's no longer reminded of being the last American to earn an F1 podium, Andretti says it could be a while before his annual reminders come to an end.
"It would be great but it is so different," he added. "Americans, first of all, have more choices over here in racing. In Europe it is number one but when you are here Formula 1 is actually number three, and so a lot of drivers go the route of NASCAR or IndyCar. If you took our best of those two and put them over there, they would be competitive, no question about it, but they chose to be here."
KENNY'S BACK
"He worked for us on Briscoe's car at the Speedway a couple of years ago, he was Mario Andretti's tire guy at Lots, with Senna there, and he's been a great friend for many years," he said. "We're fortunate he was available to work with us again."
PREACH, BROTHER HELIO
Helio Castroneves spoke the truth last weekend when he said "Watkins Glen is the DNA of open-wheel." Add Road America to the list. And Barber Motorsports Park. And the Long Beach Grand Prix. And Mid-Ohio. And Sonoma Raceway. Then add the ovals at Phoenix, the granddaddy of them all at Indy, Texas, Iowa, and Pocono, and you have a calendar that's loaded with amazing venues.
There are some other stops on the 2017 schedule that have been (or could be) great, and altogether, they contribute in some shape or form to open-wheel's DNA. Compared to some of the forgettable schedules we've seen in recent years, or during the IRL's formative stages, it might be time to acknowledge how good it feels to go to places where, barring one or two events, Indy cars are meant to perform.
VERIZON LEGENDS IS A WINNER
"The Verizon's Lunch with Legends series has been a great extension of our season long Inside Indy platform, which gives fans and Verizon customers unprecedented access to the thrills and excitement of IndyCar," Verizon manager of sports and entertainment Steve Williams told RACER. "From the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, to highlighting the history at Elkhart Lake and Watkins Glen, the stories, insight and spirited discussion from these true IndyCar legends has provided a real insider's view on what it is like to compete at IndyCar's most storied tracks."
Plans are afoot to bring the lunches to the web in real time, which would be a genuine treat for those who aren't able to attend the live event.
MISCELLANEOUS
⦁ Ryan Hunter-Reay made his 200th Indy car start at Watkins Glen.
⦁ Tony Kanaan said his friend and fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa, who recently announced his retirement from Formula 1 will come at the end of the season, will not join him in IndyCar. "I asked...he said it isn't happening," TK confirmed.
⦁ The IndyCar community extended its usual care and support to longtime series official Brian Barnhart whose father Bob, also a staple in open-wheel racing, recently died.
⦁ The Samsung livery on Spencer Pigot's Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy (below, IMS photo) was simply gorgeous. Well done.
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