Rossi blew it

He made a similar mistake at St Pete too.

Rossi's feeling the pressure of being a guy in the championship hunt. Someone new to that feeling makes the kind of mistake he made yesterday.

I just got my tickets to TMS this weekend.

That could've been catastrophic. He got out quick.

Excellent race to see in person. Dixon was not going to be denied - he had a phenomenal car

He absolutely had the car to beat as the track cooled down. Wickens had something for him from he showed early, though.

Minor talk we could be losing Phoenix (ISM Raceway), and replacing it with Laguna Seca. Also murmurs of a possible GP in San Antonio.

numetalbizkitaggie said:

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Minor talk we could be losing Phoenix (ISM Raceway), and replacing it with Laguna Seca. Also murmurs of a possible GP in San Antonio.

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Another race in Texas is only a good thing!

That would be pretty cool. Those races are so much fun in person.

Tip: if they do it and you live close by, see if you can volunteer. I did at the Houston GP in 2007 checking wristbands at a hospitality tent. I volunteered for morning shifts so I could spend the rest of the day walking around. The tent was by the Newman-Haas part of the paddock. In the span of a half hour one day, I got to see Justin Wilson (RIP), Seabass, and Paul Newman himself up close. They also gave us free tickets for the weekend for volunteering.

Yesterday was pretty bland, but hey, every race can't be barn burner. Good win by Newgarden and RHR is really picking it up lately.

Phoenix confirmed gone, unfortunately. IndyCar CEO Mark Miles said the calendar will have 17 races next season, so likely just a plug and play for Laguna Seca at this time. SA won't happen until 2020 at the earliest. I'll end this with good news that Road America signed a 3 year contract extension through 2021.

Thoughts: Richmond seems like a better oval replacement, but would likely have to be after the 500 in May, leaving no ovals before Indy. Homestead alleviates that, but the proximity to St. Petersburg and short window after the March race would probably leave it sparsely attended.

Talks of a Dixon-Alonso driver swap, Alonso full time with Ganassi would definitely boost attendance

DallasAg01 said:

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Talks of a Dixon-Alonso driver swap, Alonso full time with Ganassi would definitely boost attendance

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If I'm Dixon, I don't want to drive that crap mclaren even if it is a seat in F1

The Dixon-Alonso swap came from the angle that Honda has a poor relationship with Fernando, however, the Honda bigwigs have said they would like to have him as a driver in IndyCar. IMO, that deal is a two car McLaren IndyCar team with Dixon and Alonso. No way is Dixon going to F1. He's about the same age as Alonso, and McLaren has Lando Norris waiting in the wings who is much younger.

I could see that, Alonso wants the triple crown

In the end, I think Dixon uses this for a better deal at Ganassi. That would definitely kick off silly season.

FYI, I have all the races through Road America on a post halfway down the first page.

Wanna get to this Toronto race at some point down the road.

Nice use of the chrome horn by a couple of guys today. I'm sure Tracy approved.

Toronto added to page 1. Sounds like its down to Richmond International Raceway, Fontana (AutoClub Speedway), or Homestead-Miami Speedway to replace ISM Raceway. Laguna is a straight swap for Sonoma, (and an upgrade imo).

Another win for Rossi with a ballsy strategy. I'm still new to following IndyCar outside of the 500, so I'm curious who some of y'all's favorite/least favorite racers are. Rossi is probably my favorite - he is quickly becoming a villain, which is always good. My #2 is Power, while #3 is probably Dixon. Sato hooked me, but I have a running gag now on when he is going to crash... Veach is going to be a star soon IMO.

I liked Newgarden last year but his "All American" schtick has gotten old for me. I now root against him. I've never liked Helio. And Bourdais soured me because 1) he's French 2) He used his intro at the 500 to plug a sports drink.

Most other drivers I'm pretty neutral on

Mid-Ohio is almost always a lock for some great action. This race was even better than most.

Don't really have any favorites or enemies. I just like to see good racing.

It was a really good Mid-Ohio race. Who says open wheel cars can't pass on a narrow track?

I guess if I had to give a list of favorites from the full time drivers it would be the following:
1) Bourdais - He just does things in the car that amaze me. He can drive the hell out of any kind of race car. The fact he contends for wins in an underfunded Dale Coyne effort is quite amazing. Elite talent, though has a rough personality, which probably limits his ability to get an elite ride, other than his age.
2) Ryan Hunter-Reay - The modern Danny Sullivan/Jimmy Vasser, but a touch faster, and truly a nice guy.

Oriol Servia is my favorite out of the part-time or full-time guys, because he's exactly what I would imagine an Aggie as a driver. Very fast, consistent, and cerebral in the car with a Mechanical Engineering degree. Absolutely one of the most approachable and friendly drivers on the grid.

Edit: I can't stand Penske or Ganassi (except Ed Jones).

I really enjoy the road racing and I like to see the small teams do well. It's been fun watching Wickens in the Schmidt entry. How does Marco still have a seat? Oh yeah, his last name is Andretti.

Mid-Ohio now on page 1.

Holy crap!

That was horrible.

Good that PT pointed out Wickens's tub was intact. I hope it's not just cautious optimism.

Thank God re: Wickens.

Thank God he was awake and alert!

Got curious about the track at Trenton after the prerace stuff and what I've read by Robin Miller and found this. That backstretch was wild.

This guy is good and fun to watch. He can win on fuel or just flat out speed. Andretti Autosport has stepped their game up with these setups.
Joined the race late so didn't see the Wickens incident but the replays were scary. A little troubling that there haven't been any updates.

Spine stuff is scary

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/2018/08/19/indycar-robert-wickens-sustains-multiple-injuries-pocono-crash/1039208002/

Closer look at the replays showed that RHR was in serious peril. I didn't notice at first the damage to his roll hoop.