pressdog.com

Notes Taken During the 2012 IndyCar Race at Belle Isle

Notes taken during the ABC/ESPN broadcast of Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Streets of Belle Isle, on June 3, 2012.

pressdog® DRINK, ye BASTARDS™ Beer of the Race is St. Peter's India Pale Ale, St. Peter's Brewery Co Ltd in Bungay, Suffolk, England. Get your DRINK, ye BASTARDS drinkware here.

Distraction? No. Let's Get it All Out There

So the whole Randy Bernard vs. Some Owners thing is rearing up a little more.

Read the latest from the Associated Press below. I, for one, am glad people are actually talking on the record. People like Chip Ganassi, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti and others. Good. All this "sources have said" and "this reporter has heard rumors of" and that kind of stuff just gets tedious. We've had about a decade of that. If you're going to talk, talk on the record. If you got issues that you're not getting anywhere with behind closed doors, take the bar fight into the public.

After a decade of all kinds of rumors of this and that and blah blah blah, let's try a public brawl for a while. It sounds like the owners have some valid criticisms. Costs are 40% higher than promised. That's a valid issue. "Racing is expensive" is, frankly, a bullshit answer to a 40% cost overrun. This doesn't mean I think the owners are right, but it does mean I think Randy shouldn't be the only public voice in this debate.

Read it here.

NASCAR Nationwide on ABC from Charlotte Gets a 1.7 Final Rating

From ESPN PR --

ABC’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 26, earned a 1.7 national rating, averaging 2,571,551 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company.

The rating was up from a 1.6 for the 2011 race and from a 1.3 for the 2010 race

Carpenter and Newgarden Talk about the DW12, Belle Isle

Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden shake down the Dallara DW 12’s performance based on their month of May with the car.

The upshot from both drivers: the car preformed well, the show was great, but there is still much to work on. Among the concerns was the car’s behavior in crashes. As an owner/driver, Carpenter had issues with what he called a Dallara monopoly on certain parts of the car that owners previously could have made themselves or sourced from other suppliers.

Overall, there was praise for Dallara’s work on the car and their response so far to issues, along with a caution that development has to continue. Newgarden said the car is almost too forgiving in some cases, and that he prefers a car “that is a handful.” His point was that having a car that is harder to drive creates an opportunity for driver skill to shine and become a separating factor in the race.

 Finally, the two talk about heading to Belle Isle. Carpenter received wide-ranging praise for his improved performance at Brazil, and for him Belle Isle is a chance to continue that improvement.  For Newgarden, it’s a chance to “finally get it right.” Read their comments below.

Carpenter and Newgarden Have Mirror-Image Indy 500s

For Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden, it was the tale of two Indy 500s — one a mirror image of the other — and the story of how peaking at the right time is critical to winning the most famous race in the world.

Newgarden and his team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, started May practice for Indy strong only to run into issues too late to overcome them before the race. Owner/driver Ed Carpenter’s story was just the opposite — a slow start that led to a strong finish.

Uncle pressdog's Fireside Chat -- Shit Storm Edition

Oh my God. Dude. What happened to you? You got globs of shit in your hair. Haven't seen that in a while. You must have been reading about this "rebellion" shit storm from the owners etc. etc.

Come on in. I just poured out a Coors heavy (the Banquet beer) proving I can still connect with the $12 twelve pack people. It is goooood. Sit. DRINK, ye BASTARD.

OK, let me talk to you directly here. I been in the business. Nine years as a real-life, doing-it-for-a-living newspaper reporter. Here's what I think about this huge shit sandwich ...

Transcript: Kasey Kahne Meets the Media

Interview from 5/29/12. Transcript courtesy of NASCAR PR ...

THE MODERATOR:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Welcome to today's NASCAR teleconference.  Today we are joined by Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 hendrickcars.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Kahne won last Sunday's Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup series start.  Marked his 13th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in his first 400 motorsports.  Kahne has made 16 starts at Dover International Speedway posting one top 5 and four top 10s.

Kasey, after celebrating Hendrick Motorsports 200 wins last week with the other drivers who have won for the organization, how does it feel to post one number 201 and get your first one for the team?

Danica Patrick on the Cover of ESPN The Magazine's Women in Sports Edition Due Out June 1

From ESPN PR ...

ESPN The Magazine: Women in Sports; “Defining Danica” Patrick

After a successful run in IndyCar, Danica Patrick began transitioning to NASCAR in 2010 and had a rocky start. She wants to win, but she’s also out to gain some credibility. A lot of haters think she’s only where she is because of how she looks. Is that unfair? Or is it part of racing—perhaps the only sport where connections and money can get you a spot in the competition?

In ESPN The Magazine’s first-ever “Women in Sports” issue, on newsstands Friday, June 1, Patrick discusses her switch to NASCAR, her fatigue with the “women driver” storyline and why she does those risqué ads.

Trackside Big Indy 500 Recap Show Tonight

"Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee" returns to its weekly Tuesday night slot from 7-9 pm eastern tonight on 1070 The Fan (WFNI-AM) in Indianapolis and via the internet at www.1070TheFan.com and through the 1070 The Fan app on mobile phones.

The researchers and production staff have dug deep exploring potential topics and content for tonight and have decided to recap the 96th Indianapolis 500.

Donald Davidson will also join the show for a bit to update some historical notes concerning this year's 500.

Questions and comments are encouraged at Kevin@1070TheFan.com or via Twitter at @KevinLee23. A podcast will be available at www.1070TheFan.com/Trackside or via iTunes.

ABC Ratings for Indy 500 Improve in National Numbers, Up 7.7% from 2011

IndyCar PR reported the "fast national" rating for the Indy 500 on ABC was 4.34 (6,857,100 viewers), up 7.7% from the 4.03 rating for the race in 2011. The number makes the 2012 race the highest rated Indy 500 since 2008.

The fast national number is a service provided by Nielsen ratings that delivers a more accelerated reading of final ratings. Final ratings, expected Thursday, are not expected to change from the fast national number.

The national rating was also an improvement from the 2012 race's overnight rating numbers, which were down slightly from 2011.

The 2012 numbers represent the second consecutive ratings increase for the Indy 500. The 2011 Indy 500's 4.0 final rating equated to 6.711 million viewers, up 11% in ratings and 16% in viewership from 2010. The 2010 rating, however, was the second-lowest TV rating for the 500 since 1972, according to Sports Media Watch.

Overnight ratings for the pre-race show this year were up 46%, getting a 1.9 this year compared to a 1.3 last year.