PRUETT: Notes from the Harvest GP

Well, that was a doubleheader filled with more drama than most would have anticipated. Before we get to the variety of talking points that emerged, let’s open with unexpected quality of Friday’s race versus the comparatively subdued Harvest Grand Prix closer on Saturday.

The difference in entertainment between Round 1’s 85-lapper and Round 2’s 75-lap race was remarkable, and we can credit the extra 10 laps on Friday for the all the wonderful passing. Thanks to the intersection between fuel-stint length, tire degradation, and a wide array of pit stop options presented by the 85 laps, teams had a huge range of scenarios to play with in Round 1. Some stopped early, some went long, and the results gave us a field full of drivers who were rarely on the same strategy at the same time.

Think of it like pulling onto the highway and having one car going slowly in the fast lane, another charging in the middle lane, and the slow lane being empty. For those of us who view such things as passing opportunities, the varying speeds of the cars surrounding us makes for a fun commute as creative overtaking takes place.

Round 2, with its shortened race length designed to accommodate NBC’s tight broadcast window, all but stripped the strategic creativity from the contest, and with most drivers pitting within one or two laps of each other, the quality of the racing was nothing like Round 1’s offering. It was the dreaded scenario of merging onto the highway to find the cars in every lane are doing the same approximate speed, having few options to cut left and right to weave your way forward, and being locked into a boring drive where passing rarely presents itself as an option.

Like the NBC broadcast window, IndyCar will always have external constraints placed on the lengths for most races. But the difference in 10 silly laps on the IMS road course served as a reminder of how crucial race length – and the freedoms or restrictions the lengths place on strategy and fun – can be to the quality of its product.

Newgarden's championship hopes look a lot better after a couple of days at the Brickyard. Cantrell/Motorsport Images

In standalone stories, we’ve covered the championship points situation, Will Power’s recent rise, the fortunes of the three returning veterans, the $1 million Leaders Circle race, and more, leaving us to close the Harvest GP with miscellaneous thoughts from the 12th and 13th races of the 14-race IndyCar season:

* I’m reminded of the 2015 IndyCar season with how the championship is shaping up leading into the final race. Five years ago, Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya won the opening round, took the lead in the standings and held it for the entire year, only to have a surging Scott Dixon come out ahead at the last race to score his fourth title.

With Dixon taking the opening three races in 2020, we’re facing an identical situation where the Chip Ganassi Racing driver has led the entire way, Penske’s Josef Newgarden continues to erode Dixon’s lead as we head towards the October 25 showdown in St. Petersburg, and the momentum has shifted in the challenger’s direction. With Montoya and Dixon, the two ended up tied on points, so the championship was settled by which driver had more wins, which fell in Dixon’s favor by 3-2. In both regards today, Dixon leads Newgarden by 32 points, and in the win column 4-3. The last parallel of interest is how Dixon trailed Montoya by 47 points entering Sonoma in 2015. It was a double-points race, which certainly helped his cause, but if we cut that number in half to make it fit with the Oct. 25 single-points finale, we’re talking about a 23.5-point deficit. Newgarden’s 32-point shortage means he’ll have to create greater separation between himself and Dixon, but like we saw five years ago – when the CGR driver went into the championship closer holding third in the standings behind Graham Rahal – there’s a slim, but real chance the title could change hands.

Karam's struggles clearly illustrated the challenges facing a part-time team in 21st century IndyCar racing. Image by Levitt/Motorsport Images

* The difficulties of turning up for occasional road racing events and being competitive was illustrated by Sage Karam and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team. The 2014 Indy Lights champion qualified 21st for Round 1 and finished 23rd in the 25-car field. Round 2 was no less of a challenge as he qualified 22nd and placed 24th. Rather than point to any specific shortcoming within DRR for what occurred, I’d put the outcomes down to the brutal level of competitiveness put forth by the full-time teams. The days where part-time teams could turn up and have half a chance at a decent result seem to be at an end. If there’s a desire, and a budget to support such a thing, forging a technical alliance with a full-time Chevy-powered rival might be the smartest route to consider.

* Airing Round 1 on the USA Network offered a few laughs between the action. Based on the advertiser rotation, it was rather obvious that those who might be inclined to consume a televised automobile race were not the expected audience. Instead of the familiar car and motor oil ads, we had Revitalift anti-aging and anti-wrinkle skincare products; Elvive Dream Lengths restoring shampoo; Nature’s Bounty Hair, Skin, and Nails Chewables; and other goodies that might have missed the target demographic that tuned in.

* MR INVISIBLE, Round 1: Simon Pagenaud. Alexander Rossi has finally returned to form as his team’s speed has been rediscovered, and finds himself just six points behind Pagenaud in the championship. It’s as if the racing gods decided the first half of Rossi’s season would be absolute trash, and once he’d reached his tolerance for misery, the tragedy would be transferred to Pagenaud. Like Mid-Ohio Round 1, Pagenaud was an afterthought on Friday at IMS, coming home 16th as Power claimed sixth and Newgarden took the win. He’d improve to 10th on Saturday, but once again, his presence was rarely felt as Newgarden finished fourth and Power won. Just as we’re trying to figure out why Dixon is lacking for speed of late, the same has been true – for a longer duration – with Pagenaud whose pace has been fleeting since the Indy 500. The performance gap between Penske’s two leading performers and Pagenaud makes no sense.

* What a delightfully unexpected demonstration of pole-winning road course speed from Ed Carpenter Racing. Strategic use of Firestone’s faster alternate tires through Friday gave Rinus VeeKay a chance to mingle with the series’ biggest stars, and he was rewarded with third – his first podium – and his third top-five finish of the year. A heavy reliance on the limited number of red-striped alternates prior to Round 2 meant VeeKay would pay a competitive price on Saturday, and with a start of 14th and a finish of 17th, he earned the The Jekyll and Hyde Award for producing the greatest difference in results during the doubleheader.

* He’d rather be racing, but if the worst-case scenario for Tony Kanaan involves commentating for NBC Sports in the future, we’ll be fortunate to have his humor and modern insights IndyCar driving on the broadcasts. And while we're at it, what a pleasant surprise to hear our man Miller in the booth with TK and company on Thursday.

* Let’s acknowledge the quietly impressive string of races Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey has assembled. In his first year as a full-timer, the Briton has delivered six top 10s in the last nine races, closing with a season’s best of sixth at Round 2.

Harvey and MSR have been quietly putting together a string of solid performances. Levitt/Motorsport Images

* Of all the things Santino Ferrucci brings to IndyCar, the leading item is his inability to be boring between green and checkered flags. Whether it’s running up front and jousting with the leaders, or being buried in the middle of the pack and drawing considerable attention or ire – or both – from his rivals, the Connecticut native rarely finds himself without something  dramatic attached to his performances for Dale Coyne with Vasser Sullivan Racing. At the Harvest GP, his name was called more than any other, and it was said with sneers, criticisms, or ALL CAPS. On Friday, it was a continuation of the Mid-Ohio dance party with Colton Herta, a new run-in with Ryan Hunter-Reay, and pissing off Conor Daly.

* To get things rolling, Ferrucci seemed to forget the costly lesson Herta provided in Ohio to avoid placing himself on the outside of a tightening corner where he can be thrown onto the grass. Attempting to get by RHR rounding Turn 1, Ferrucci received the same handling Herta delivered last month, and the ensuing collision ruined their respective days. The treatment he received at IMS spoke to being raced by his reputation, rather than Ferrucci doing anything wrong towards RHR in the moment. And, as I wrote after Mid-Ohio, there’s a strong chance that if it had been Ferrucci’s teammate Alex Palou, or any other driver on RHR’s outside in Turn 1, the Andretti man would have been more charitable in the encounter. But, it wasn’t a different driver, and Ferrucci’s reputation – rightly or wrongly – led to another harsh outcome and a second straight scramble into the grass. (It’s also worth noting Robin Miller reported last week that Ferrucci was offered the chance to buy RHR’s Andretti seat for 2021… awkward!) From RHR: “He made a late attempt at a pass around the outside and got about halfway up alongside, at best. He was still at my corner and he just decided to keep his foot in, and he went off track. It took us both out. It’s becoming a common theme with him – it happened at the last race at Mid-Ohio when he took out several cars.”

* Halfway through Round 1, Ferrucci, running 15th, put up a strong defense when Herta, in third, was trying to get by. In the brief effort to impede Herta, Ferrucci made an error, blew Turn 1, and Herta motored away. Thanks to the TV producer’s decision to include the Andretti driver’s radio transmission during the back and forth with Ferrucci, we were gifted with Herta’s commentary of ‘Ha-ha, wanker,’ once the pass was complete.

* And there was more radio commentary offered about the driver in question as Daly unloaded on Ferrucci after the start to Friday’s race: “Santino just drove me STRAIGHT OFF THE TRACK! How does that idiot get away with it, honestly? It’s just a shame to see such questionable driving standards.” Like I said, he’s never boring.

Ferrucci has multiple rivalries in the making. Cantrell/Motorsport Images

* Finally, watching Ferrucci on starts and restarts is one of those scenarios where you want to avert your eyes, but it’s impossible to look away. Rocketing from 11th to sixth on Saturday was yet another example of his fearless approach to gaining ground when the field is in a tight formation. Despite the hits, spins, and grassy adventures, excitement is almost guaranteed when Ferrucci’s on the attack, and with the animosity growing towards him in the paddock, he’s close to becoming IndyCar’s version of UFC fighter Colby Covington. Covington, whose exceptional talent drew minimal fanfare in his early days, made a calculated turn from babyface to heel to solve the problem. With prodigious talent to back up his I-know-you-love-to-hate-me persona, the MAGA hat-wearing fighter has become one of the UFC’s bigger names, and it’s all because of the bombastic character he’s become in and out of the ring. Whether it’s with red hats or verbal taunts, Ferrucci just might benefit from embracing the hate.

* MR INVISIBLE, Round 2: Takuma Sato. If Pagenaud’s strange absence from the lead pack has been noteworthy, the bizarre disappearance of the Indy 500 winner certainly can’t be overlooked. Spinning his chance to post a fast lap on Firestone’s alternate tires – along with the rest of Round 1’s first group of qualifiers – away into the gravel trap ruined any hope of a decent race on Friday. Finishing 18th wasn’t a surprise, but after starting 17th and placing 14th on Saturday, all while teammate Graham Rahal had a competitive run to seventh, certainly highlighted the odd separation between the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entries. Since hitting the wall and falling to ninth at the end of Gateway Round 2, Sato’s produced finishes of 17th, 18th, 18th, and 14th. Rahal, meanwhile, has gone P4, P4, P7, and P7. That thing, where Dixon and Pagenaud are looking for something that’s gone missing? Add Sato to the list.

* Rahal, BTW, gets a 9.8 from the American judge for his 360-degree spin and continuation in Round 1.

* Now that they’ve learned to peacefully coexist on track, we need at least one segment of every race where Herta and VeeKay fight over the same piece of track. Having watched ESPN’s SportsCenter Friday night, and viewed its Top 10 Plays of the Day, I’m at a loss to how the wild Herta/VeeKay moments weren’t included.

Take a deep breath: The season’s over in less than three weeks and then we head into an off-season that’s guaranteed to be filled with surprise moves.