Unlike its more European cousin, Formula One, where the cars go by two by two (each team is required to field two cars in substantially identical livery), IndyCar is anarchic, with teams fielding between one & four cars (full season, many field extra cars for the Indy 500), almost always in individual sponsor livery. Additionally, while F1 circuits vary widely (Monaco & Spa-Francorchamps spring to mind), no racing series in the world races on as diverse a collection of circuits as does IndyCar, everything from the two & a half-mile "Cathedral of Speed" that is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to temporary street circuits that are little more than traffic cones set out in broken, uneven parking lots. IndyCar drivers have to have a diverse skill set.
Though, not always: Mike Conway is an English driver & like most Europeans, America's ovals are his Achilles heel. After several crashes, in 2011 he announced that he wouldn't race on ovals anymore. That would seem to sound the death-knell of his IndyCar career. Enter owner-driver Ed Carpenter. Carpenter, an Indiana native, is an oval specialist. He's markedly improved on proper racing circuits, road & street courses, but he's still at a decided disadvantage to many of the other drivers. In 2014, Carpenter & Conway split the duties in the № 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara-Chevrolet. (All the cars are Dallaras, using identical chassis.) Conway drove on the road & street courses, Carpenter handled the ovals. The time-share arrangement worked out like gangbusters, the duo earning three victories, more than either man would have managed alone.
IndyCar is an entirely more competitive series than F1, though the cream such as triple Series Champion & '08 Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon ('03, '08, '13) of Ganassi (Chevrolet), triple Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves ('01, '02, '09) of Penske (Chevrolet), '12 Series Champion & '14 Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti (Honda), & triple series runner-up Will Power of Penske (Chevrolet) rose to the top as the season progressed.
IndyCar Series
Round 1
Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg
Sunday, 30 March 2014
1st Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti (Honda)
3rd Place: Hélio Castroneves, Penske (Chevrolet)
I knew the F1 cars didn't sound good, but I didn't realize quite how bad they sounded until the IndyCar season opener. Last year, IndyCar's turbocharged V-6s couldn't hold a candle to F1's naturally-aspirated V-8s, but this year IndyCar's wailing turbocharged V-6s knock the socks off of F1's rumbling turbocharged V-6s. This is to my recollection the very first time that America's indigenous open-wheeled series, which I have enjoyed but regarded as F1's yokel cousin, has compared favorably to the globetrotting international open-wheeled extravaganza.
Will Power of Team Penske (Chevrolet), who finished second in the championship in '10, '11, & '12 but had an uncharacteristically lackluster 2013, was back to his classic form, passing pole-sitter Takuma Sato of Foyt (Honda) in the early running & never looking back. The race was pretty clean for a street circuit, lined as they are with concrete walls that provide precious little margin for error, with only one extended yellow late in the day. Here's hoping that augurs well for the rest of the year's street races, though I won't be holding my breath. The next race, the venerable Grand Prix of Long Beach, is also on a temporary street circuit.
Round 2
40th Grand Prix of Long Beach
Sunday, 13 April 2014
1st Place: Mike Conway, Carpenter (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Carlos Muñoz, Andretti (Honda)
Mike Conway of Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet) prevailed at the 40th race around the streets of Long Beach (a history split betwixt F1 & Indy cars), after a reckless passing attempt by '12 series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti (Honda) crashed out both his own car & that of the talented but luckless youngster Josef Newgarten of S.F.H. (Chevrolet). Conway is a wicked fast racer who, after a pair of horrific accidents at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that in a bygone era would surely have killed him, decided that he wasn't going to drive on oval tracks anymore; this cast the viability of his future as an IndyCar Series driven into serious doubt, since the "500" is the marquee race. Ed Carpenter is an Indiana native & an oval-track specialist; for the last several seasons, he's been the only owner-driver in IndyCar; Carpenter has greatly improved his road course & street circuit performance, but he's nowhere near as good at turning both left & right as he is at just turning left. In a brilliant move, a move that showcases Carpenter's seriousness as a team owner, this year Conway & Carpenter are splitting the seat, each driving at the circuits that best suit his skills. Thus far, the Conway-Carpenter combo is paying dividends.
Round 3
Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Sunday, 27 April 2014
1st Place: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti (Honda)
2nd Place: Marco Andretti, Andretti (Honda)
3rd Place: Scott Dixon, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
Commentary: The report on the St. Pete race was published, whilst the Long Beach report was written but languished as a draft, awaiting first the completion of the Alabama report, then the G.P. of Indy, the the 500, & so on & so forth 'til we reached today's omnibus. Though some readers would surely say that no race needs a recap (my love for motorsport does appear to have alienated some of The Secret Base's long-standing fans), even I agree that after all this time not every race needs one.
Round 4
Grand Prix of Indianapolis
Saturday, 10 May 2014
1st Place: Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Peterson Hamilton (Honda)
2nd Place: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti (Honda)
3rd Place: Hélio Castroneves, Penske (Chevrolet)
Round 5
98th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race
Sunday, 25 May 2014
1st Place: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti (Honda)
2nd Place: Hélio Castroneves, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Marco Andretti, Andretti (Honda)
A $1,000,000 prize was offered to any driver who could win all three five-hundred-mile races, Indy, Pocono, & the season finale at Fontana.
Round 6
Indy Dual in Detroit, Race 1
Saturday, 31 May 2014
1st Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan (Honda)
3rd Place: Tony Kanaan, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
Round 7
Indy Dual in Detroit, Race 2
Sunday, 1 June 1014
1st Place: Hélio Castroneves, Penske (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Charlie Kimball, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
Round 8
(Texas Motor Speedway) 600
Saturday, 7 June 2014
1st Place: Ed Carpenter, Carpenter (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Juan Pablo Montoya, Penske (Chevrolet)
Round 9
Grand Prix of Houston, Race 1
Saturday, 28 June 1014
1st Place: Carlos Huertas, Coyne (Honda)
2nd Place: Juan Pablo Montoya, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Carlos Muñoz, Andretti (Honda)
All three podium places were occupied by Colombian drivers.
Round 10
Grand Prix of Houston, Race 2
Sunday, 29 June 1014
1st Place: Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Peterson Hamilton (Honda)
2nd Place: Mikhail Aleshin, Schmidt Peterson Hamilton (Honda)
3rd Place: Jack Hawksworth, Herta (Honda)
Aleshin is the first Russian driver to complete in American open-wheeled racing. As a classically trained European driver, this country's stupid oval tracks are a new challenge for him. "Captain Jack" Hawksworth is a Brit with Indy Lights oval experience, be he is still by far most impressive on proper racing circuits.
Round 11
Pocono IndyCar 500
Sunday, 6 July 2014
1st Place: Juan Pablo Montoya, Penske (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Hélio Castroneves, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Carlos Muñoz, Andretti (Honda)
With the $1,000,000 "Triple Crown" prize now off the table, Montoya & Hunter-Reay were still vying for the $250,000 prize for whomever won two of the three 500-milers.
Round 12
(Iowa Speedway) Indy 300
Saturday, 12 July 2014
1st Place: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti (Honda)
2nd Place: Josef Newgarden, Fisher Hartman (Honda)
3rd Place: Tony Kanaan, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
Round 13
Indy Toronto, Race 1
Sunday, 20 July 2014
1st Place: Sébastien Bourdais, KV (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Hélio Castroneves, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Tony Kanaan, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
Round 14
Indy Toronto, Race 2
Sunday, 20 July 2014
1st Place: Mike Conway, Carpenter (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Tony Kanaan, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
Round 15
Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Sunday, 3 August 2014
1st Place: Scott Dixon, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Sébastien Bourdais, KV (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: James Hinchcliffe, Andretti (Honda)
Round 16
Wisconsin 250
Sunday, 17 August 2014
1st Place: Will Power, Penske (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Juan Pablo Montoya, Penske (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Tony Kanaan, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
Round 17
Grand Prix of Sonoma
Sunday, 24 August 2014
1st Place: Scott Dixon, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti (Honda)
3rd Place: Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Peterson Hamilton (Honda)
Round 18
(Fontana) 500 IndyCar World Championships
Sunday, 30 August 2014
1st Place: Tony Kanaan, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
2nd Place: Scott Dixon, Ganassi (Chevrolet)
3rd Place: Ed Carpenter, Carpenter (Chevrolet)
2014 IndyCar Series Champion: Will Power, Team Penske (Chevrolet).
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