Indycar-Top Stories of 2012 Part 2

In the first installment in this series, I broke down what I considered storied 6-10 of the 2012 IZOD Indycar Series. We talked about Rubinho, Mike Conway, the Detroit Pothole, Hinch’s fast start and Ed Carpenter winning the final race yet again. Now it’s time to wrap up the top 5 stories of the 2012 season. Story #5-The finish of the Indy 500 As the laps counted down during the 2012 Indianapolis 500, Tony Kanaan found himself in the lead late in the race. Unable to hold off Franchitti, Dixon…

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IndyCar – Firestone 550 Had it All, and Then Some

On Saturday we were treated to the second of our five ovals on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule, and man was it awesome! This was truly a race that had it all! We had great racing that did not require cars to be all over each other for the full race, and we had mechanical failures, meaningful passes, and some drivers a little hot under the collar when it was all said and done. INDYCAR was able to do something though that I have been preaching for the last…

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IndyCar – State of the Series Rebuttal

It was just around an hour ago that Randy Bernard and the heads of INDYCAR delivered their State of the Series address. The event was a little bit cheesy but at the end of the day was a fan experience. The main purpose of this address was to layout the very short term goals and accomplishments the series has been able to achieve. I will say that seeing the leadership and some drivers/team owners was a breath of fresh air given the way we left them in 2011. While in…

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INDYCAR – Bernard Takes Hit for Duels

In a nice article put together by Racer Magazine, Randy Bernard has taken blame for the ‘gimmick’ that was the Texas Twin 275s. Many were left a bit conflicted on what we saw last weekend and Bernard was quick in the article to point that future duel events will see different formatting. Bravo good sir! Many fans of the IZOD IndyCar Series were critical of Dario Franchitti and his post race comments. Many blamed him for being a sore loser but at the end of the day, Franchitti was 100%…

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Firestone, staying for now

Just a week after Firestone Tires announced they would not return to the IZOD INDYCAR Series following 2011, the company and series have now agreed to an extension that will run to the end of the 2013 season. The terms agreed upon are those the tire maker offered in January. The cost of tires will increase for teams, also the brand will no longer sponsor the “Lights Series” following 2011. The deal keeps the maker for the first two seasons of the new car which debuts in 2012. After meeting…

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Indy Hump Day Report, on the bubble: Double File Re-Starts (AGAIN)

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadLunch with Randy and Simona This past Monday’s trip to Charm City was quite the informational voyage. Aside from the fact HVM had an amazingly tasty lunch spread in the middle of an announcement. They also was plenty of opportunity to talk with Simona de Silvestro, and IZOD INDYCAR Series CEO Randy Bernard. The Baltimore media was the dominant media in attendance, but was more a silent observer aside from a few obvious (and somewhat overused questions for female drivers). Myself; and the local…

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INDYCAR – “It’s a New Track Record”, PR Bluff or Potential Reality?

Nothing tends to stir up a gaggle of Indy 500 fans more than hearing a recording of Tom Carnegie’s iconic pipes announcing another amazing feat of man and machine. Well, except that no new speed records have been set at Indy since 1996 maybe. Arie Luyendyk set the single lap record at 237.498 mph and the four lap average record at 236.986 that year. And since then, there has been a constant dialog between fans, series officials and media about whether 237+ is safe at IMS for the drivers and…

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IndyCar – It’s the fans, stupid!

Randy Bernard gets what no one else is the sport has for decades. To paraphrase James Carvalhal’s famous 1992 campaign slogan, “Its the fans, stupid!” For so long, the league participants and its leadership have been focused so much on pleasing sponsors and team owners, that fans and the on-track product has suffered. One great thing about having new blood in the leadership of the league is the lack of respect for how things have been done in the past. Seriously, let’s look at where the way things have been…

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