The 86th Indianapolis 500

[pabs]

Did anyone watch it?? What a RACE!!  

Way to go Helio: 2 for 2 at the brickyard. And he's the only driver ever to have accomplished that.

I feel bad for Paul Tracy, but oh well...that's racing. Still, he drove a magnificent race and it really made for a nail-biting finish. Twice, the race leader had an accident. My god, I needed a fit of actual racing...

They are showing the Monaco GP now on tv...I guess it's time for more calm racing as I unwind from Indy

[beefburger]

Yea I got to watch it, Paul Tracy was unlucky. Team Penske knew Castroneves didnt have enough fuel to finish but instead of bringing him in and losing the win anyway they gambled on another yellow, it came at just the right moment, if the crash happened one second later Tracey won. Tracey sized him up and actually overtook him, but the yellow's came out literllay about a second before then. Bad luck but nice one Castroneves.

Got to say Junquera was putting up a great race until the disasterous pit stop and then finally ending in his car expiring.

And the other driver who deserves a mention is of course Jody Scheckter, he inherited the lead from Junquera but then was flying, held the lead for 86 laps but then unfortunately dont know if it was his fault or what happened but he planted it into the wall.

BTW, there have been 3 other occasions of back to back wins in Indy 500. The last one being Al Unser in late 70's, no idea who the other 2 are, one pre war, one just after the war (2nd) then Al Unser, now Castroneves.

Good race though.

[pabs]

I think you mean Tomas Scheckter beef  

And you are right about the back-to-back wins. But this is the first time ever that a person has won back-to-back in his ONLY 2 appearances at Indy. Quite remarkable....

[Henrik]

Just finished watching the Indy 500, and although it was a good race, I still have a few negative comments to make about it.

First of all, it lacked the intensity and excitment that we saw in the Michigan 500 in the past years, as well as that of Fontana. The CART cars certainly put on a more tight field in their 500 mile races, and I can never forget the end to end excitment seen at Michigan.

As for the result, I can't help but seeing a controversy with regards to the current IRL vs CART war. I have no doubt that Tony George would be ready for almost anything to avoid being insulted yet again by a CART driver winning his crown jewel race. Clearly he can't do anything too controversial, but it just seemed so convenient to quickly wrap up the end result with Helio as the winner. I have not seen a clear enough picture of how and when Tracy passed Helio, but in reading the Team Green's protest, it does seem obvious that Tracy did pass before the yellow.

If the IRL can sport a winner this year from their own "clan" it will certainly help them strengthen their position in the war against CART, and that is what we saw today. I'm only glad that it was Helio, as I still consider him as a CART driver, and I love to see him climb the fences.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for the result of the protest, but regardless of the proof that Team Green may present, I honestly don't think the IRL officials will give them the victory.

[Topcontender]

Hen- i cheered for ol Helio and Gil becuase i knew you wantd them to win. I went to the race and i must say that Gil was much faster than helio. However, Gil had tyre trouble. Helio got lucky but that is racing and he won.

I must admit these 2 guys have to be the funniest people i have ever heard. They were on the local radio show "bob and tom" and they had me rolling.

[Henrik]

TC,

Thanks! I suppose your cheering helped!

You are right though, Gil looked to be the fastest of the two out there. I thought Kanaan was looking really strong too until he hit the oil left by Junquera. Actually, I was surprised they were so slow in the getting the yellow on after his engine blew. It was obvious he was spraying oil everywhere, especially when seeing the in-car shot from Michael's car!!

P.S. I suppose you can call losing your wheel "tire trouble" LOL.

[Henrik]

So the protest was thrown out. Well, I can't really judge on the matter myself as the images we saw on TV does not show the critical pass.

Nevertheless, they can now appeal to Tony George directly....Good Luck!!

[Topcontender]

Local news and Helio have said that the Warning light inside Helio's car went off before the track lights did and that is the reason for the decision

[greg99]

So ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??

What kind of a lousy excuse is that? In view of the interests at stake, I can't help but draw a parallel here..... ok maybe I shouldn't.


Batman vs. Spiderman......

[Topcontender]

What we are getting is that the race was yellow flagged and that the cockpit light indicating a yellow was on but the track light was slow.

[greg99]

Sorry TC, but since when the lights in ONE car mean anything?? How the hell could Tracy know about what is going on in Helio's car?? or anyone for that matter?? Sorry I don't buy that  

I know you are not taking sides here and neither am I , I was torn between Paul Tracy (actually Tony Kanaan until he crashed) and Helio, whom I still consider "CART", but I am a bit annoyed at this kind of comments, not from you of course, but from officials.