Notes taken during the ESPN broadcast of the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville on Sunday, July 15.
Super props and shout out to my girl Amy Konrath of the Indy Racing League PR posse who is super sidepod worthy for sending me a DVD of the race after I TOTALLY choked taping the race. pressdog owes the Aimster a track beer.
Welcome to the rain-delayed Nashvull race. We're on the air and the warmup laps are already going on. This may cut down on the amount of pre-race quippiness and conviviality that the broadcast crew have time for. My viewing may not be enhanced.
presdog beer of the race: Red Seal Ale from North Coast Brewing Co. in tony Fort Bragg, CA.
Marty Ried: Welcome to Nashville. "We may be a day late but we're certainly not a dollar short. (??)"
Starting lineup: Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Sam Hornish Jr., Dan Wheldon, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Jeff Simmons. Scott Sharp, A.J. Foyt, Tomas Scheckter, Kosuke Matsuura, Ed Carpenter, Vitor Meira, Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher, Darren Manning. 19 cars! Fire marshals huddle up. Much gesturing. Trigonometry. YES, there is just barely room on the track for 19 whole cars! Let's go racing!
Check out Row Two. Tony and Sam are side-by-side at the start. Much discussion of the Unpleasantness after Watkins Glen when a baseball fight broke out in the pits. Tony and Sam were doing some helmeted jawing and pointing when Sam Hornish Sr. gave Tony the two-handed chest shove and one of the AGR entourage, Anthony, went all Spider-Man on everyone and started some wrestling. That caused IRL Security Chief Charles in Charge to deploy himself track side and pull Anthony off the pile like he was pulling a tick off a hound. Order was restored. Do NOT mess with Charles.
Anyway, Marty and Goodyear talk as if maybe Sam will chuck his helmet at Tony or vice versa on the start. Goodyear -- Drivers are drivers and they want to be in front of the person beside them going into Turn 1. Thanks for the revelation, Scotty.
No time to talk now. Let's light this candle. We are ....... green green green. League Kingpin Brian Barnhart, the Iron Hand of Justice, crosses us up and gives us the "green flag, green flag" call. Brian. Standing offer -- say "Let's light this candle" on the air and I'll ship you a crisp five-dollar bill OR a stylish pressdog shirt.
Dario and Dixon nearly touch. Dario takes the league. He's right-sexy! Wheldon and Hornish battle for fourth. In car with Danica as she smokes by Young Marco.
Goodyear -- Cars will be changing over the first 30 to 40 laps.
Jack Arute, Pit Guy -- Race is at noon rather than the expected night race (rained out Saturday night). So most teams added 25 to 30 pounds of down force. Some teams went to the lighter end of that. See if it pays off. (Which teams, Jack? Is that a secret?) Hold on until the first pit stop to see if they guessed right.
Lap 7. Leaders are going 200 mph. Sarah Fisher is going 192. Not so good.
I may have nodded off for several laps here. Welcome to the one-groove snoozefest!
Lap 16. We're reminded that Dario is from Nashville. Like a two minute chopper ride from the track.
Arute -- Sam says his car is loose. Using the weight jacker.
Brienne Pedigo, ICS New Pit Hotty -- Danica up to 6th. I'm tingly about it.
Arute said "weight jacker" so that activated Scott Goodyear to explain what all the tools inside the cockpit are. Time for beer number two.
Lap 21 -- Vince Welch. Wheldon in dirty air. When Wheldon had a run on Dixon he came down and closed the door (welcome to the Block Party!) then did it again and Wheldon got on the radio and had some issues with that.
Goodyear -- It's one thing to catch someone, another to pass them. (DRINK ya bastards! He said it.)
Lap 25 -- Dario, Kanaan, Dixon, Wheldon, Hornish, Danica, Marco, Helio, Sharp, Simmons.
Lap 26 -- Ray Lito (pressdog homey!) says that Scott Sharp's car is the same as it was last night.
(Insert much LOCK STEP non-action here) Nashville. One Groove! Bring your No-Doze.
Lap 34 -- Tony and Sam don't like each other. Not close. Not quippy or chummy in any sense of the word. Tony on camera: Every time one of my teammates won a race of a friend of mine I was in victory lane. Never saw Sam congratulate anyone.
Sam on camera -- Helio.
We interrupt this vingette to go Yellow Yellow Yellow. Cut back to live action in time to see Kanaan crumpled against the wall pointing backwards. Kanaan goes ASS-around and into the wall. See what happens when you talk bad about people, Tony?
Replays. Tony going around Sarah on the high side. Clear of Sarah the after a couple of seconds just loses it. Ass around. WALL. More replays. You can see Sarah have a major moment after Tony goes around her. Front end of her car suddenly moves about four feet up the track. Sarah's going to need some new underwear after this race. Pretty sure she can't hold her Pigmobile in the groove. Pretty sure God himself couldn't hold it in the groove.
Pitting. Replay. Tony's radio. Tony's spotter: "Yellow flag .... Oh, it's us."
Jack -- Track position is key (welcome to yet another oval race that runs like a street race). Teams will short fill (not put as much fuel in the car so as to make the pit stop shorter and get out in front of other cars. A common tactic on a STREET COURSE0. But, if you come in and have to have a wing adjustment, that pretty much screws any advantage you'd have for a short fill (have to take time to adjust the wing, so you might as well full fill). It's good info from Jack. Just too bad that the only passing is going to happen in the pits on this race.
Lap 41 - We're GREEN.
Simmons in-car camera. MAJOR understeer. Front end looks like it has radar lock on the wall.
Lap 44 -- Danica is closing on Helio. (Remember, it's one thing to catch Helio, another to pass him.)
Helio made a major adjustment in front wing on the last stop and now he's not really on fire about the change. Bad change.
Bre with Tony. Tony -- I think I went around Sarah, track very green (cleaned of rubber) and just lost it. No warning. Just lost it.
Lap 50 -- Dario, Dixon, Wheldon, Helio, Danica, Sam, Young Marco, Sharp, Simmons, Vitor.
Lap 59 -- Dario is up by .6. Hornish is still Loose. Bre says Marco asked for "a ton" of front wing at the last stop. Sarah is now going about 145 MPH.
(Insert a lot of LOCK STEP non-action here.)
Lap 77. Sarah is slow. Holy traffic jam. Vitor goes high around Sarah as a bunch of people are going low. Vitor bounces it off the wall a bit. Then I think he and Sarah have contact.
Goodyear. Outraged. "If she's going that slow she needs to get herself off the race course" instead of creating havoc. Dude, take the two DRR cars (because Buddy is just as pigged out as Sarah) off the "race course" and you got a savage 17 cars. Take all the "back markers" off and you got 10-car race. Wooooo-hoooo. I'd shell out $60 to see ten cars race. Or not.
Buddy in the pits. Nose off. In-car shows work going on. I guess the radio is shot. Marty -- why not just use the pit boards." Because on a one-groove track you need your spotter or it's end-over-end time for someone.
Lap 75 (in here somewhere): Dario, Dixon, Wheldon, Helio, Danica, Sam, Marco, Sharp, Simmons, Vitor.
Lap 84 -- Wheldon passed Dixon. A pass for second while ESPN was focusing on Danica's mirror. Seriously. Danica has a mirror issue. OMG. Gripping video of a guy fixing it with a wrench. By the way, we had a pass for second on the track. Replays.
Vince -- Since Kansas Wheldon's average finish is 10th.
Lap 89 -- Dixon goes under BOTH Dario and Wheldon. WTF? Balls of steel to make that move. Went three wide and jumped from third to first.
Lap 92 -- Dario pitting. Wheldon pitting. Wheldon waved out while still being fueled. Cue the circus music! Wheldon smacking his $50,000 steering wheel. Wheldon got stopped in time to remove the fuel hose.
Arute. Rain drops. Yellow yellow yellow for the threat of rain. Just a few drops so far, so stay tuned.
Dixon montage.
Lap 98 -- 100 is if half way and then it's an official race. (If the race stopped now, would anyone notice?)
Lap 100 -- crossed yellow and checkers. (Race is half way done.)
First time in seven years the IRL had to postpone a race until the next day.
Lap 101. Blue line along base of all is there so you can see it better.
Pits are open. Leaders stay out. Quattro, other back markers come in. Sam come in as well. Sam's car is a pig. Pushing at one end of the track and loose at the other end. It's PIGZILLA!
Jack Arute. In the pit. Close up. His assistant has a cheese grater. I swear. Grating cheese onto the concrete. Now Arute has some balls of candy. Candy balls! Puts them on the pavement to illustrate "marbles." Seriously. My viewing is enhanced. Next up for Jack -- card tricks.
IRL is sweeping the track. Anything to get a second groove. I'm begging you.
Dario has led 88 laps, of which I've been awake for a strong 67 of them. Goodyear -- restart is key (again, just like a road race). One to go until we restart.
Lap 108 -- Carpenter is third in line but one lap down.
Lap 109 -- Green. Marco goes to third by passing Wheldon. Wheldon's pit crew is smacking the pit wall in frustration. (Made that up, but still.)
Danica closes on Wheldon. Welcome to the Block Party! Wheldon makes himself wide. His car "drifted." Whatever, dude.
Hornish is 11th.
Lap 113 -- Vince -- Helio having communication problems. Can't hear his race boss, but can hear his spotter, so that's good.
Lap 115 -- Ed is HOLDING STATION in front of Marco. Bre -- Marco is just strugging to get passed Ed who won't get out of the way. Marco. Pissy. Although, if you think about it, Ed is getting MAJOR air by refusing ot take the wall to let others passed.
Wheldon passes Marco for third.
Lap 122 -- Sharp has a run on Danica. Welcome to the Block Party! Fendi bags everywhere. Finger sandwiches. Sangria for everyone. Danica totally swerved over and threw a block party. Come on, IHJ, I could have called that one.
Dixon leads by .7. Wheldon in third. Got around Carpenter.
Lap 132 -- blue flag for Carpenter. Yeah, right. He's going to pull right over. Or not. Danica has been told to stop "moving around." Pick a line, any line.
Lap 136 -- Hornish goes inside Simmons. He's now up to 8th from 11th. TV is pretty much oblivious to what what could be a march up the field in a one-grove track.
Arute says some short filling is coming up to try to get a spot. Jeff Simmons is dropping back.
Dixon is feathering the throttle. Hornish around Helio for 7th. I'm telling ya, he's charging.
Viince -- Dixon is very happy with his car.
Lap 151 -- Pittting. Dario in. No changes. This series of pit stops is the race.
Lap 153 -- Dixon in. Out. Great stop. Game over.
Wheldon in for a short fill. Up. Short fill. Down. More circus music. The left rear changer didn't get the tire on all the way before the car went down. Car gets jacked back up. Nut tightened. Back down. Car out. A tiny car pulls up and 87 clowns with air wrenches jump out.
No, seriously, props to the air jack operator for getting it right back up in the air, the left rear guy for not panicing and the crew chief for not waving Wheldon out. Could have been a lot worse. It was an extra two seconds and it could have been DIS-ASS-TER.
Lap 157 -- Vitor in. Pitting. Coming out. Dixon passes him on the track as Vitor is getting up to speed. For some reason Marty/Scott think that Vitor is now in second place. Um, maybe he just got lapped. Kind of think so. Yes, Marty/Scott catch up. Vitor is a lap down.
Danica in third. Will she get her first win? Stay tuned.
Dario behind Vitor. Slowing Dario up. Throwing off his mojo.
Lap 169 -- Marco. Bre -- Listening to Marco on the air he's very fiery. Wants everyone to get out of his way. (I think that means Random Screamed Profanity from Marco).
Lap 175 -- Dixon, Dario, Danica, Sharp (!), Marco, Hornish, Wheldon, Helio, Manning (!) Scheckter.
Lap 176 -- Nine whole cars on the lead lap. Hornish up to sixth from 11th. Marching. Nobody notices.
Lap 177 -- Dixon is now up by a day (6.6 seconds).
Lap 181 -- Eight cars on the lead lap now. Danica is bitching on the radio about Ed. Yeah, I'm shocked too.
Lap 186 -- IPS teams may have an advantage because they can sort of scout the track like Busch teams scout for Cup teams. Penske has no IPS team, so maybe.
Lap 188 -- Yellow yellow yellow. Simmons and Matsuura. Goodyear -- That's what we Dario needed to get back in the tail box (!!) of Scott Dixon.
Replay. Simmons on pit road. HFS, he's going too fast, pushes across the grass and back up on the track forcing Matsuura to go to Evasive Maneuver Foxtrot Echo Sierra and go high. But he brushes the wall (dreaded marbles!). Simmons has no contact. Mastuura's right front is a dangling piece of trash, though. He's able to get back around and into the pits.
Kosuke/Simmons montage, including being Sofa King disappointed at St. Petersburg when Simmons SPEARED him out of the race.
Arute. Dario is mad at Vitor for being in his way. Will all non-AGR cars please drive immediately into the all? Thank you.
Bre says Danica is fighting to get Ed out of the way. Team wants her to bring it home in one piece. But it looks liek she's on her way to winning a guitar too (?) Seriously, Bre? In third with about five cars in front of her? She's right on her way to the guitar trophy fo sho.
Arute. Shout outs to Sharp's team. They short filled and moved him up. I swear Arute said "short fill" about 18 times in this race.
Ashley Judd gets air. The hat may be EVEN BIGGER than before. Pretty sure it's to make any photos of her unmarketable. The Ice Mother and Father (Dixon's parents) get air. Bev Patrick gets air.
We're going to restart. Several cars between Dixon and Dario. Then Ed and then Danica. Goodyears says the IRL doesn't move the lapped cars out of the way like they do in NASCAR. Maybe they should.
Why? The traffic is the only source of excitement in this race.
Six to go. GREEN. Danica, Sharp and Hornish battle.
Lap 195 -- Dixon, Dario, Danica, Sharp, Hornish, Marco, Wheldon, Helio, Manning, Vitor, Scheckter.
Goodyear -- be nice if the lapped cars were out of the way.
Three to go. Two to go. Dixon is driving with his knees. Led 103 laps to get a bonus point. Ice Parents get a side-by-side with Dixon on the track.
Dixon wins. Danica third. Sam fourth. FOURTH. He climbed from 11th to fourth on a one-groove track. Dude. Give him a shout out. Someone.
Lap 200 -- Dixon, Dario, Danica (Triple D-light!), Hornish, Marco, Helio, Sharp, Wheldon, Manning, Vitor.
Jack with Mike Hull. Dixon's pit boss. Mike thinks Dixon is fabulous. Takes a versatile driver to win the championship and Dixon is that. "Let's face it, he wants to win." But does he want to win as badly as Danica? NO. She wants to win the very mostest.
Dixon is out of his car. Brandishes the Gibson guitar trophy. Second win at Nashville in a row. The Iceman is on a major roll.
Vince with Icy. Says his car stayed the same while everyone else got worse. Gained 13 points are Dario, so tha's good. Big big day for Enna-gie-zah (Energizer).
Danica -- got the bronze. With Bre. Danica -- I'm frustrated when lapped traffic dictates where you are on the track it's ridiculous. Ed Carpenter. Not real smart on his part. When you're slow just get out it and have a nice day.
OK, sure, but would Danica, who really wants to win, get out of it and have a nice day? I ask myself.
Marty -- IRL may look at getting rid of lapped traffic late in the race.
Dario with Jack -- Dario. Looked pretty good on the start. Passed "Dixie" (!) took off. Struggled in traffic. Dario was OK on his own. Big push when he got to traffic.
Jack -- those guys (lapped cars' spotters) getting deaf up there?
Dario -- Some of them are. Thanks to PJ Cheesen and AJ Foyt for getting out of the way and helping us out. If were' ever in that position we'll make it as hard for them (those who didn't get out of the way) as they did for us.
Dario. Like you'll EVER be laps down. But, you know, hold that thought.
OK, I can see where the perennial back markers, who have zero chance to win, ever, aren't busting themselves to get out of the way of the Pretty Boys and Girls. PLUS, you get out of the way on the one-grove grease track like Nashville and you're in the wall. Have a nice day. Sarah gets out of it, gets high, into the marbles, gets yelled at by Goodyear. Um, screw that. Not going to put the $400,000 car into the WALL so Danica has a chance to win. Asking a lot. Especially if you're chasing the car in front of you for position.
Marco. Fifth. So hard to pass out there. If you want to keep somebody behind you you can. (Just ask Danica.) Block parties everywhere.
A tiny car pulls up and 19 clowns with mops jump out to clean up all the tears in pit lane.
Speaking of block parties, Vince is with Sharp who got 7th. Replay. Sharp about goes into the wall late in the race. Could have been a block party from Sam. Sharp says Sam "chopped down in front of me." Sharp says all of this with the biggest smile on his face ever.
That's it. I had to go unclog my toilet here. Tune in Sunday for the Festival of Short Filling at Mid-Ohio on 1:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC.
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