Bump day has come and gone, and given us more drama and excitement than two seasons of "boys have at it" stock car racing. I tuned in around 4:15 Indy time to a track that might not get dry, with Danica Patrick on the outside looking in, among other stories.
Sure enough, the track got dried and Danica went out and got in the field. It became obvious that Mike Conway (Not the series most recent winner, as I suggested in my last post. He won two races ago at Long Beach.) wouldn't make it, which was a disappointment. The action really heated up the final available minutes. I was surprised to see Alex Lloyd have the speed (it sounds like he was, too), but more surprised his times didn't drop off on subsequent laps. Marco got out just in time and bumped his way back into the field-at the expense of his teammate, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
I like RHR. A lot. I don't understand why it took so long for him to get a regular, top-flight ride. It seems like he's won in everything throughout his career, which is saying a lot. So I'm disappointed he won't be in the show. I'd be less excited about Marco making the field, but he has shown a lot more maturity lately and is always good at the Speedway.
Bottom line, it will be an interesting race. I'll save my predictions for later in the week, but I think it would be wise to keep an eye on Oriol Servia and the Chip Ganassi A-teams. Provided they hire a new fueler.
I think that we may have a 1995-level Classic on our hands come Sunday. Given that the 5 cars that most experts said had a 99%+ cumulative chance of winning qualified 2nd, 5th, 9th, 16th and 27th, that alone means that we're going to see something at least a little special. All of those guys, barring maybe Dixon, will have to do at least their fair share of mid-pack drama dodging, and some less than optimal pit positions won't help their causes much, either (though I think we won't know pit assignments for another day or two). Add in that we've got 4 drivers in the front 3 rows who have 1 career win or less, some talented rookies, some big names starting near the back, and we've got no shortage of storylines for our 100th Anniversary running. I may sleep a total of 4 horus in the next 5 nights.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. My mind is swimming with the possibilities Sunday may bring. I'm working on a detailed statistical analysis of the starters, their history, and the race's history so that I can discard it and choose the winner by dart throw in a near-future post.
ReplyDelete