Second half of the race was really entertaining - when the track was green, that is. Indycar needs to calm the fuck down with these yellows - did we really need to stay under yellow for 9 laps to remove one car that was stuck on the grass verge? At that point it wasn't even about getting the cars in the fuel window any more. NBC probably wanted to shoe horn a few commercial breaks there.
Damn good racing at times, slower at times. Felix 8th in the end despite torching the car. Twice.
Yeah I saw him engulfed in flames on his last stop and charging off down pit lane with flames belching until he got up to speed and the flames died.
You are right though re the TV coverage and over long yellows. That with the feed constantly buffering, and interninable ad breaks, given the early am for me I was getting short on patience..... and then the feed died for good as Pags got stuck in with less than a handful of laps to go. I was probably overly negative in my initial post race comments.
Given Pags relative track position with 4 or 5 to go I thought he would not manage it, so was surprised to read the result and apparent ease he cruised past Dixon. I guess it was down to wet (or what they call wet) tyres going off at the end.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
Pagenaud was 2 secs. per lap faster than Dixon once he passed Harvey but Dixon was on pace with everyone else so it was Senna-like drive from Pags rather than Dixon's tires going off. On the other hand Pato O'Ward was 2 secs. slower than even Max Chilton and everyone else which suggests his wet weather pace is downright absymal (he then made a pistop with 5 to go which further extended his gap to winner in the end, he would have finished 40 secs. back on the road without it).
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
Everso Biggyballies wrote: ↑5 years ago
Aaaaah! Just watched two hours of yellows and will it /wont it rain, and ad breaks waiting for some excitement....then 5 laps from the end the feed got taken down by NBC for copyright violation.
Enjoyed the race. Impressive performances by some of the younger members, challenging at the front throughout. And I know Leist popped up through a yellow late on but he held his own.
Also good to see Pagenaud get his 2018 monkey off his back.
Vassago wrote: ↑5 years ago
Pagenaud was 2 secs. per lap faster than Dixon once he passed Harvey but Dixon was on pace with everyone else so it was Senna-like drive from Pags rather than Dixon's tires going off. On the other hand Pato O'Ward was 2 secs. slower than even Max Chilton and everyone else which suggests his wet weather pace is downright absymal (he then made a pistop with 5 to go which further extended his gap to winner in the end, he would have finished 40 secs. back on the road without it).
Apparently, and this may well be Chip trying to downplay the drive by Pags, but Scott had a front-end setting that ate through the tyres, thus the rapid fall-off in pace towards the end. I'll give Pato a pass on this one as we've no idea what his set-up was, and it may have been ill-suited to a wet race.
You know it's a wacky race when even Chilton ran in the top-5.
He did lose a lot of time at the end of the 2nd stint but that was in the relative dry. The final sprint in the wet was like 15 laps but Pagenaud's lap times clearly indicate he was 2 secs. faster than everyone other than those two laps where he sat back behind Dixon. His fastest was like 1:19 and a bunch of 1:20 while others were doing high 1:21s. O'Ward was like 1:25s (Chilton 1:23s ).
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
Nice story behind Aussie James Davison's Tony Gaze (his 'step' Grandfather) tribute crash helmet design for the Indy 500.
Davison pays tribute to legendary airman grandfather at Indy 500
James Davison will pay tribute to his legendary grandfather Tony Gaze by wearing a a Royal Air Force-inspired helmet at the Indy 500.
Gaze is famous for his remarkable service to the Royal Air Force as a Spitfire pilot during the second World War, during which he became one of just 47 men to be honoured with the Distinguished Flying Cross three times.
His Air Force career involved being shot down in France and having to escape back to England via Spain, and he was the first Australian to fly a jet – the Gloster Meteor – in combat.
Davison's Indy 500 lid will recognise Gaze's war time heroics with classic Royal Air Force colours, along with the DFC and Two Bars.
Gaze is also one of Australia's most famous post-war race drivers, having become the first Aussie Formula 1 driver when he started to Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in 1952.
He is credited with having first alerted Freddie March that the RAF Westhampnett base roads would make a great race track, which led to the Goodwood Circuit being built, and once competed at the Monte Carlo Rally in an FX Holden alongside Lex Davison (James Davison's biological grandfather) and Stan Jones (father of 1980 World Champion Alan).
He would later become a key family figure for the next two generations of Davison racers – including Supercars drivers Will and Alex – after marrying Lex's widow Diana in 1977.