Compared to the closely-matched F1 title battle the IndyCar championship looks like a one-sided affair at the moment. Australian Will Power leads Britain’s Dario Franchitti by 59 points.
But what adds an interesting dimension to the IndyCar championship is that the remaining four races, to be held over the next five weeks, are all on oval circuits.
Power has shored up his advantage by winning five of the nine road and street course races so far. But Franchitti out-scored him on three of the four oval races this year and there are only oval races left to come.
The championship will likely be decided by whether Franchitti can take enough points off Power in the remaining races at Chicagoland, Kentucky, Motegi (Japan) and Homestead ovals.
Even with IndyCar’s slightly complicated points system (50 points for a win plus bonuses for leading the most laps and taking pole position) it promises to be an exciting run-in to the championship – and one I’ll be keeping a close eye on.
Here in Britain you can see the next race live at 12:30am on Sunday morning on Sky Sports 4. If you’ve not got Sky Sports you can watch the races live on their Race Control site.
Read more: Why you should watch?óÔé¼?ª IndyCar
Image (C) IndyCar / Ron McQueeney
bosyber
26th August 2010, 18:15
Today I found a rerun of the race at Infineon on, I think, Car Channel – jay for dvr with extra channels.
It was nice to see, although I was surprised at just how little information the commenters seemed to get from race control – but maybe that was because they sat in a studio in the Netherlands instead of being at the track. It did make following the race sometimes a bit hard, especially as the director also seemed to have a problem getting the right cars on tv at the right time, even more than has happened in many F1 races.
But, I did agree with the commenters that it helped the action that those wishbones are steel and can take a bit of a beating, making it possible to survive more close racing.
Deurmat
26th August 2010, 19:07
sorry but those oval races are really boring.
f1yankee
26th August 2010, 19:12
and so is monaco
David-A (@david-a)
26th August 2010, 19:47
And every single road race in the history of motorsport is thrill a minute?
Lee
26th August 2010, 22:28
There are more road courses on this years indy callendar than ovals.
And for the record you will see closer racing, more over taking, more tactical thinking in one oval race than the entire F1 season at the moment.
Ignorance is not a reason to go slating other series you evidently know nothing about.
Hamish
26th August 2010, 22:44
I don’t think theres any evidence to suggest he knows nothing about the sport. The man has merely stated his opinion, nothing more.
David-A (@david-a)
27th August 2010, 1:02
I know that there are more road races in Indycar at the moment than ovals, but I was defending those oval races, (unfairly, I feel) labelled as “boring”.
In fact I even pointed out the excitement of the Indycar Series, on road courses and ovals, in a comment below. Evidently you didn’t see it.
Hamish
27th August 2010, 3:13
Me, personally, I like Indycar. I was merely rebutting a rather provocative comment towards someone else.
I don’t see it as European racing vs American racing, but more collectively as single seater racing as a whole. As a result I feel Indycar would slot right in just below F1, way ahead of GP2. 14 different nationalities represented – I think thats more representitive of a “world championship”. I not saying its better due to a spread of nationalities, but I prefer it to the European Gentlemens Clubs we currently have.
The series is only going to get better as time progresses, and the emphasis on road courses is a move in the right direction. Along with that, I have watched Scott Dixon race in NZ since he was a 13 year so naturally I follow the sport.
The cars aren’t slow. Riccardo Zonta set the lap record a few years ago in a Toyota F1, Indy Car a few months later went there and claimed the record back.
David-A (@david-a)
27th August 2010, 4:29
I was also replying to Lee, but I agree with you, Hamish ;)
Richard
27th August 2010, 22:40
Let’s see!
Is it a left turning oval or a right hand oval. It make’s a difference :O). I think right hand ovals have a slight advantage cause that’s the way the drains work in the northern hemisphere.
All tongue in cheek, cause boring it certainly is.
Joey-Poey
26th August 2010, 19:19
Kinda sad it’ll end with all ovals. Barring the 500, they’re really not as interesting as the road course races.
BasCB
27th August 2010, 7:35
Why do you think they will only end up with ovals? They are adding road courses to get a more balanced and interesting calendar.
Maybe i misunderstood when first read, and your referring to the last 4 races being oval only. But it might get exiting, didn’t Power win on Ovals as well, even though he is not as untouchable there?
Joey-Poey
27th August 2010, 16:59
Yes, I meant that the final four races will be ovals. The championship itself will probably get tighter and more exciting, yes, but I’ve watched Indy cars since I was 4 or 5 years old and I can honestly say the ovals don’t have the same thrill anymore for me. Just an opinion.
BasCB (@bascb)
27th August 2010, 20:58
Well, i can very much understand that. I sometimes watch, but it is hard to really enjoy watching more than 2 of them in a row for me as well.
Only doable with a very tight battle for the race and a championship at stake
bosyber
28th August 2010, 8:58
On ovals there is too much overtaking to follow it – sort of – for me. I end up recording it and fast-forwarding every once in a while. Not that there haven’t been F1 races where that would have come in handy, but those oval races just take sooo long. (Odd, because apart from not being able to watch 24h of racing, Le Mans is really great to watch.)
Faraz
26th August 2010, 19:30
Yeah Im sorry but indycar is boring they get as exciting as Bahrain 2010 there is loads of overtaking but its just boring too predictable
David-A (@david-a)
26th August 2010, 19:52
Seven winners in 13 races, and loads of overtaking is boring and predictable. You’re gonna have to do better than that…
Faraz
26th August 2010, 21:37
Its just you dont get the excitement it all looks default
xtophe (@xtophe)
27th August 2010, 6:04
If Ferrari hadn’t pulled their Hockenheim-stunt, we’d be at 6 different winners on 12 races in F1. Think of it that way, it’s not even that impressive.
For me, it misses something. F1 has this grandeur, while Indycar always has this – for lack of better words – toycarish look as a whole. Maybe it’s because I’m less familiar with the circuits or maybe it’s the American style of commenting that sets me off.
BasCB
27th August 2010, 7:40
Goes to show, how good this season is in F!
Personally, I think IndyCar is heading in the right direction. Sure it’s not at F1 level currently and not even close.
But there is a lot to say for how they are going about it and improve the field, calendar and what they are going to do with the cars.
The best years were shortly before it fell apart in IRL (Ovals only) and CART (Road courses and some Ovals) with Fittipaldi, Tracy, Andretti, Al Unser Jr, Bobby Rahal, Villeneuve, Montoya and Mansell.
It will take them a decade to come back to that kind of level.
Joey-Poey
27th August 2010, 17:04
Seconding this. The glory years were the 90’s. The cars didn’t always feel so “toycarish.” They used to look pretty darn close to F1 cars in the early 90’s before the raised noses came about (I’m still curious as to why F1 uses the raised nose, but others don’t. Anyone know what the reasoning is?). Honestly, I wish they’d get rid of this stupid blocking rule and let them RACE as well as bringing back the different manufacturers that CART had. Of all the relics left over from the IRL, the spec aspect of it is the most disappointing.
David-A (@david-a)
27th August 2010, 15:10
I agree with BasCB, Indycar has been doing fairly well for itself in the last few years. It obviously isn’t the pinnacle of anything like F1 is, but in terms of the entertainment, fan friendliness and unpredictable, close racing, it’s hard to beat and definately not the boring series F1 some F1 fans write it off as.
Bartholomew
26th August 2010, 20:32
There is an interesting development : seems like Indycar will be allowing different engine suppliers in the future.
I´ll bet that McLaren and Ferrari have already been talking about setting up a second front of their rivalry over in the States. Both are interested in a presence there : McLaren to promote their brand name to sell road cars, and Ferrari to support the Chrysler Corp.
I wish there where a new Can-Am or the equivalent – whatever, as long as mac anf Ferrari end up competing with other in the States.
Cheers
IndyCar Series officials announced on June 2 that the 2012 platform will allow manufacturers to produce engines with a maximum of six cylinders and maximum displacement of 2.4-cubic liters. The ethanol-fueled engines will produce between 550 and 700 horsepower to suit the diverse set of tracks on which the series competes and will be turbocharged to allow for flexibility.
HounslowBusGarage
26th August 2010, 21:47
But doesn’t the chassis and tub have to be a series approved item?
So the only Mac or Fer bit would be the engine. I think that would be of limited appeal to both entities unless they could enter as Team Maclaren and Team Ferrari/Lancia/Alfa and use their own engines in the spec tubs.
And actually, I would have thought that Team BMW and Team Audi/Porsche might see a marketing interest too.
Miguel
26th August 2010, 21:51
The aerodynamics are free for own design and the chassis and safety cell may be badged. So Ferrari could buy such a chassis, design their own aerodynamics, put their own engine in and name the Ferrari IndyCar or whatever. No one will ever know the drive train is produced by Dallara, it’ll be named Ferrari IndyCar.
BasCB
27th August 2010, 7:42
I for one hope it will get off into that direction.
Not sure about Ferrari risking it, but Lotus Cars certainly seems to be going that way already, and others might follow.
Joey-Poey
27th August 2010, 17:05
Really? They’re allowing people to design their own aero now? THAT is promising!
matt88 (@matt88)
27th August 2010, 20:48
i’d prefer Ferrari and McLaren racing in the Indy 500, that would be profitable both for them and the race itself. Imagine millions of Europeans following the adventures of their heroes on the other side of the ocean, it would be the dream of American broadcasters and right holders with higher revenues for advertising slots.
BasCB (@bascb)
27th August 2010, 21:01
I am right with you. Imagine Lewis and Jenson and Fernando and Felipe mixing it with Schumi, Rubens, Kimi and Juan Pablo and JV as well as Will Power, Dixon, Franchitti and the rest.
A very nice idea.
Bartholomew
27th August 2010, 23:12
This used to happen in the 60s and 70s, with Jim Clark in a Lotus winning in Indy. Also, McLaren I believe has also won at Indy.
There could be 2 or 3 top races in the USA where the GP teams send their drivers over to compete.
This is money in the pocket for everyone
bosyber
28th August 2010, 9:00
Yes, would be great to have that back!
bosyber
28th August 2010, 9:11
One problem with that is that the general shape, nosecone, and sidepods are part of the standard “safety cell”, limiting what can be done (by design, I think, see below).
Another problem for doing this is that they then also have to be ready to provide that self-designed aero package to other IndyCar teams, for a very limited sum of money, if I recall correctly, just 70k US dollars.
Those rules were made to prevent further rich/poor team gaps in performance and limit the costs – an interesting idea to combat that, but designed to be limiting what teams might do, so the economics are a bit off.
But, Lotus is indeed going to do it, Ferrari and McLaren can surely pay for it, and I doubt they would want to buy each others aero – that would just be bad for publicity. So who knows. I would love it.
Miguel
26th August 2010, 21:31
This should be a great finale of the season. Power is far away in front, but Franchitti often excels on the oval. As if oval races aren’t exciting enough, the championship battle should make it even better. No matter who wins it, the champion will have earned it.
And anyone saying IndyCar races are boring, better should stop watching Formula One at all. My god are most F1 races a procession! But on the other hand, why admit IndyCar racing is more exciting? We should have something to complain and feel superiour about, right? Cause it’s impossible to say any more that IndyCar drivers are of low talent…
bosyber
28th August 2010, 9:22
Hm, maybe anyone who finds IndyCars boring should just not watch them and stick to F1 or whatever instead? And not have a too loud opinion on the matter?
I find IndyCar interesting – it has a lot of teams, the cars are much more comparable, and the oval/road course mix shows different drivers at the front, due to differing characteristics of the tracks.
But I do admit that I don’t find watching a full oval race so great – for me there is just so much passing (not really overtaking) that that loses a bit of interest, with strategy being the main remaining point of interest.
But I bet that I would love to be at the track for an oval race, it must be a great atmosphere. Maybe the tv-directors could do a better job of showing it for me, don’t know.
Anyway, as said above already, there have been plenty of F1 races I was glad I also had something else to do – I also still watched them.
pSynrg
27th August 2010, 1:00
They’re both great but I do follow one an order of magnitude more than the other.
Comparing drivers is at best subjective; like comparing Schumacher with Loeb..?
Steve K
27th August 2010, 7:49
It’s funny, I argue for road courses with IRL fans and argue Ovals with F1 fans. They are both great for different reasons.
The ovals are far from boring. The cars literally go wheel to wheel just inches apart at well over 200 MPH. How on earth is that boring?
I think Dario or Dixon will catch Power. He just hasn’t shown Enoch on the ovals.
Joey-Poey
27th August 2010, 17:10
For me, it’s not the fact that 200 mph racing is boring so much as the tracks. If you made the race one huge long straight line where they raced wheel to wheel at 200 mph it’d still be boring to me simply because the track itself is still disinteresting. When I was younger, I did enjoy the ovals, but as I’ve gotten older it’s become harder and harder to find the repetition as thrilling as the challenge of road and street courses.
Steve K
27th August 2010, 7:53
And yes be it espn versus or abc, the tv coverage is terrible. They give no timing and scoring like an F1 race gives and they love to take commercial breaks at the worst times.
I love the show in person. I saw Long Beach and Mid Ohio this year.
Eric
27th August 2010, 8:18
trouble with some of you guys, F1 has been your hobby and you just cant get your head around the difference, shame really because it is great to watch once you get a handle on it.
how many times have McLaren won the Indy 500?
how many times has a British driver won the Indy 500?
how many Indy car drivers have won F1 driver championships?
HounslowBusGarage
27th August 2010, 12:46
Not sure what point you are making with these questions, but . . .
how many times have McLaren won the Indy 500? Three times.
how many times has a British driver won the Indy 500? Four drivers have won five times.
how many Indy car drivers have won F1 driver championships? One, Jacques Villeneuve.
Joey-Poey
27th August 2010, 17:11
BZZZT on the last one. Mario Andretti is another. So at least 2.
Joey-Poey
27th August 2010, 17:36
Also Mansell, so 3.
Eric
27th August 2010, 18:32
you certainly know you motor racing Joey. well done.
point is these drivers and teams had no problem with Indy Cars, swapping back and forward from one code to another, what is it with this generation, it is all motor sport after all.
BasCB (@bascb)
27th August 2010, 21:09
I am not sure the 3rd question actually makes sense. How many F1 drivers have won the championship (you can also look at IndyCar drivers winning that and compare take percentages)?
Now compare that to IndyCar guys who also did F1 and won at least races or even Championships in both and you get a pretty high percentage.
It goes to show these guys were just generally very good.
Take Montoya as an example, never got the chance to win the F1 WDC, but he was close enough. Not everyone of them is a Michael Andretti!
HounslowBusGarage
27th August 2010, 21:18
Sorry Joey, didn’t realise that Mario Andretti actually raced in Indy Car.
As to Mansell, no. It was the other way round, F1 first, then Indy Car. When he won the F1 Championship he was not yet an Indy Car driver.
Joey-Poey
28th August 2010, 15:59
It doesn’t matter which order, he drive both
f1yankee
27th August 2010, 19:55
5 uk drivers with 6 wins:
dario resta 1916
jim clark 1965
graham hill 1966
dan wheldon 2005
dario franchitti 2007, 2010
how many Indy car drivers have won F1 driver championships?
12
alberto ascari
jack brabham
john surtees
jim clark
jackie stewart
graham hill
denny hulme (did not start – fire)
emerson fittipaldi
mario andretti
nelson piquet
nigel mansell
jacques villenueve
HounslowBusGarage
27th August 2010, 21:30
I bow to your superior knowledge about Dario Resta in 1916 – never heard of him. But the number of Indy Car drivers to have won F1 WDCs is totally different. For the most part, these drivers became Indy Car drivers *after* becoming F1 WDCs, not the other way round. The question you have answered is “how many F1 WDCs have also competed in Indy Car?” and that’s completely different.
The original question was “how many Indy Car drivers have won F1 driver championships?” So to qualify for the question, the eligible drivers must have first of all been Indy Car drivers. And thence, of all those who qualify how many went on and became F1 driver champions? Answer is still 1: Jacques Villeneuve.
Miguel
27th August 2010, 21:53
Answer is actually two.
f1yankee
27th August 2010, 23:03
Q: what is an indy driver?
A: one that drives or has driven an indy car.
i think my entire list satisfies that criteria, and is consistent with the context of the original question. had the original question specified “predominantly/originally indy drivers”
i think the correct list would be:
mario andretti
jacques villenueve
as for my superior knowledge, i call it “wikipedia” :)
Joey-Poey
28th August 2010, 16:12
Gonna agree with Yankee here. There’s nothing about the question that specifies they must be an Indy car driver first.
Miguel
28th August 2010, 16:19
You might then also want to throw in the greatest of them all, Rudolf Caracciola. Never drove in Formula One or the Indianapolis 500, but if driving an Indianapolis Car in competition (official training) qualifies as being an IndyCar driver, then he for sure should be considered. And he blew away many of the other Titans in his time.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
27th August 2010, 21:55
If you want to know more about the F1/Champ Car crossover drivers…
bosyber
28th August 2010, 9:25
Thanks for the reminder of that series Keith, it’s a great read :)
Eric
28th August 2010, 8:16
some hell info in there Keith, thank you.
i don’t compare Indy Racing with F1, i personally just like it for what it is. open wheel high speed motor racing with lots of crashes and overtaking, and some very lucky drivers taking a win because of refueling/tyre pit strategies.
the questions i asked were just to wake people up to the fact that some drivers compete in both and enjoy it.
the more racing of this type we have the better, both can learn from each other.