Alonso, Phoenix and Dixon

Alonso, Dixon Phoenix and More.

After spending the last week in Las Vegas at a Television Expo and Conference (my real job) what better thing to do than jump in the car and shoot over to Phoenix for two days it’s only a short little drive just a few hours so easy.

Worth it? Heck yes. This great one-mile dogleg oval in the desert is demanding interesting scary and cool all wrapped up into one that’s for sure. Even the pit lane for the IndyCars stretches along the main straightaway and into turn one so some teams are even pitting on a curve. Now that requires focus from the driver that’s for sure. More on that soon.

News surrounding the 101^st Indy 500 seems to be all focused around one thing ‘Alonso’ and anything about him. News from a very good source is that at the Honda simulator test he did last week before heading back to Europe for this weekends Russian F1 Grand Prix he was on it. Not in a little way either he was straight into his work and started really turning good times and positive feedback to everyone at Honda. Naturally of course come May 3rd and his private test at the speedway it might be a different ball game but the gut feeling is this guy could be on the verge of something very special indeed. I watched him last week at Alabama and his associated press conferences and I have never seen him so relaxed, so free to talk and meet the fans and that can only mean one thing to me, take note everyone this guy is here to turn heads and win a race that’s for sure.

Recently in the US Media he commented how amazed he is from the fan base in the US. He spoke of his F1 trips here where hardly anyone knew who he was, while this trip during a flight delay at a New York airport he had masses of people come up and wish him the best and complement him on the road ahead. Such a different thing for him. He is in for many different things in the coming weeks the U.S. media do things different to F1, the fans are different as well and above all the series is different but its one he is welcomed to and one he seems to be very happy with and so very relaxed about the job in hand. It all bodes well for a great showing at Indy that’s for sure. The pressure will really be on for the Andretti Autosport team as the prepare a total of six cars for the 500 that’s a massive undertaking at any time but now with the world watching on around this one driver the task will be no mean feet for the team to cope with along with looking after its regular drivers and the additional fifth car for Jack Harvey which was always planned for.

Now to Phoenix and Dixon the defending winner here and he is firmly after his first win for season 2017. On the podium every race this season but not the top step (yet) but this is a great start for him in the quest for another championship. Clearly the number one at Ganassi as well when you judge it on pure performance over his teammates in my view.

Friday saw a new twist in the Indy Car series a single two-hour practice session and then a two-hour break and then straight into qualifying.

Practice was mid afternoon and it was hot very hot and several dust storms halted the running at times as the wind built but Dixon was strong in this session and rounded out the afternoon in the sixth spot but it was last weekends race winner Newgarden that topped the afternoon timesheets.

Come qualifying and the evening cooled rapidly as the teams lined up for the single car dash. It was Helio Castroneves that simply stunned every one taking pole position "People don't realize that qualifying is extremely difficult. I took it to the limit - I had one eye closed and one eye open. Experience is a big part of this and today was really, really good. The conditions were really difficult today in practice - the gusting winds were horrendous. We worked mostly on the race setup (in practice). My engineer did a phenomenal job and obviously everybody at Team Penske - the REV Group car was really fast. Qualifying is one thing - the race is another - but I'm really confident going into tomorrow."

As for Dixon they slightly miss read how cool it was going to get and he lines up in the eight spot for the race "The ambient conditions changed a lot from practice to qualifying. We found a lot and learned that we were a bit too conservative in qualifying. We came up a little short and we know we can trim out a bit more for the race in the NTT Data No. 9. It was a little bit too easy which means we have room to go faster which is good for the race tomorrow."

Race day dawned another typical day for the area and was in the upper 20s temperature wise. 4pm saw the 100 lap race for the USAC Silver Crown Cars featuring regular visitor to the New Zealand Speedway scene Jerry Coons Jr, he was to finish the race 5^th “The big thing obviously is the change in the back straightaway. When we first started running it, we were kind of used to being really flat. You could run flat-footed through the dog leg and then back up out of it. In first practice with a full load of fuel you could flat-foot it through there, but in practice it was a little bit hairy trying to run through it flat-footed. Our car got a little bit light coming out of it, so that was probably the biggest change, just having to kind of breathe it though there.”

Bobby Santos took the win in a great last 12-lap battle amongst the top 4 cars. It was awesome to see Silver Crown cars return to the track and the history they have with this track and the return of growth to the USAC pavement series.

As the skies darked and the sun set it was time to get into the 250-lap IndyCar race and the fourth of the season for the series. Just as it had the night before as the sun went down the temperature went with it.

It was to become the story of the bright yellow car of Pagenaud that claimed this one and control the race from a pitstop that fell at just the right time. New Zealand’s Scott Dixon battled hard all race and become the “best in class” as he called it becoming the first Honda powered car home in 5^th but the big thing for Dixon fans is the points haul and the fact only Dixon and Pagenuad are to have top five finishes in every race this season. One can kinda sense where this might be heading even now.

So it was the reigning series champion Pagenaud who drove away from the field in the final half of the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix taking the race win by 9.1028 seconds over teammate Will Power and assuming the points lead after four races of the 2017 season. 

He collected his 10th win of his IndyCar career and led a Chevy sweep of the top four positions on the 1.022-mile oval that has hosted 63 Indy car races dating to 1964. It was also win No. 450 for Team Penske in all racing competitions and its 100th on Indy car ovals.

"I can't explain how excited I am," Pagenaud said. "Ovals are not my specialty - I grew up in Europe racing go-karts. I learned about ovals when I was 26 years old so I had to learn the skill and the technique that I didn't know. 

"Man, this is incredible. What a win!"

Pagenaud really took control midway through the 250-lap race, running longer while other frontrunners had to stop for fuel and tires. Pagenaud pitted on Lap 140 with a one-lap advantage on the field under a caution period caused when Takuma Sato's car made contact with the Turn 4 barrier. Pagenaud returned to the track in first place and led the final 114 laps. It certainly is a track that did not provide a lot of passing that’s for sure and there was a lot of talk about the drivers saying let us have more power and less down force here and force us to race harder and pass. Running the road course spec aero on this little oval proved that the grip was there but sadly the passing wasn’t.

Team Penske's four drivers led all 250 laps, the first time a team has paced every lap in a race since Team Penske did the same thing in the first race of Belle Isle doubleheader last year. Power led 59 laps in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet before finishing second. "It was good night considering where we've finished the last few races," said Power, whose best result this season prior to tonight was 13th. "I'm happy to finish second and get some points."

Pole sitter Helio Castroneves led 73 laps in the No. 3 REV Group Team Penske Chevy and finished fourth. Josef Newgarden, the winner of last week's Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, led two laps in the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevy and ran up front most of the night until contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay forced an unscheduled pit stop and Newgarden finished ninth.

JR Hildebrand finished third in the No. 21 Fuzzy's Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet the best result for Hildebrand since his memorable runner-up finish in the 2011 Indianapolis 500 when he crashed while leading on the final lap. Hildebrand was pleased with the nights showing after he sat out last week's race at Barber Motorsports Park while a broken bone in his left hand mended from an April 9 crash in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. "The car was just awesome all day," Hildebrand said. "Excited to get the result for the team, for sure. The car was bitchin'. I think at the end of the race we had obviously one of the top three, but I think we might have had the best car on the track."

Pagenaud now holds an 18-point advantage in the championship over Scott Dixon, who moved up to second in the points table. Newgarden sits third in the standings, 26 points out of first place.

After the race Dixon said "Obviously, it was a tough night for the No. 9 NTT Data car, and all the Honda entries I think. Chevy had a leg up on us here and they showed that tonight. We tried to keep our nose clean but just didn't have anything for them tonight. Hopefully we can get some momentum back at the Grand Prix of Indy next month."

Sebastien Bourdais of Dale Coyne Racing, who led the points entering the night, was caught in a five-car incident on the opening lap when Mikhail Aleshin spun and collected the cars of Bourdais, Marco Andretti, Max Chilton and Graham Rahal in Turn 2. No drivers were injured. Bourdais finished 19th and dropped to fourth in the standings.

The Verizon IndyCar Series heads to an open test on Tuesday at Gateway Motorsports Park, where the series will race under the lights on Aug. 26^th so busy times ahead as the month of May kicks off.

The season is now and truly alive and kicking and now we will see who is strong and can cope and who gets lost along the way.

Phoenix great track that’s for sure just needed some passing added to the mix but as for the venue a gem in the sand that’s for sure.

Photos all David Turner Phoenix  2017

Long Beach IndyCar -- Day 1 Practice

Round 2 of the 2017 IndyCar Series from Long Beach Day .

Friday April 7th Long Beach.  Experience paid off on opening day at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, with all seven past race winners entered this year finishing in the top eight on the combined speed chart.

Will Power, a two-time Long Beach race winner, posted the best lap in the second of the two 45-minute practice sessions. Driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, Power navigated the 11-turn, 1.968-temporary street course in 1 minute, 7.0800 seconds (105.617 mph). The quick lap is within a half-second of the track record set by Helio Castroneves in 2015 (1:06.6294). Kiwi Scott Dixon topping the time sheets in the first practice of the day.

“Sometimes you get it right, like the setup,” said Power, the 2014 Verizon IndyCar champion and Long Beach winner in 2008 and 2012. “You know, it's only practice. (By being fastest,) you can show everybody where they're lacking, they'll go back and study it. I was hoping (other drivers) would go quicker, but they didn't.

“But, yeah, it's a cool track. Enjoy it, street course, just try to put the pieces together.”

Marco Andretti, who ran second today with a lap of 1:07.3576 (105.182 mph) in the No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda, was the only driver in the top eight who hasn’t won at Long Beach. The Andretti Autosport driver’s best finish in eight previous starts was sixth in 2009.

“The UFD car is on edge, but I think that’s where we need to be to be quick,” Andretti said. “I like the predictability of the car. I felt like I could drive it to the limit, which is important to be able to wring it out in qualifying. I’m pleased with the pace and the pace we had all through testing, so it’s good to keep the pace here and back it up. We really need to convert this pace into results, and I really think we can.”

Following Andretti on the speed chart combining both practices were the six other past Long Beach winners: Simon Pagenaud (2016), Takuma Sato (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2010), Castroneves (2001), Sebastien Bourdais (2005-07) and Scott Dixon (2015). All but Dixon logged their fast lap in the second practice, when most drivers opted to use the additional set of Firestone red-sidewall alternate tires provided this season on road- and street-course weekends.

“The (additional set of) reds, that's a new thing this year,” Andretti explained. “I'm a fan of it because it takes the guessing out of it for (qualifying) tomorrow. Being able to try the reds today, I'm a big fan of. I think that way everybody is absolutely rung out and you're not sort of guessing at the balance.”

'What They're Saying' from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Practice Day .

CONOR DALY (No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Chevrolet): "We had a really big improvement in the second session which was nice. Sadly we had an overboost (penalty) and traffic on our fastest lap, so we lost a great deal of time which puts us down the order more than we should have been, but at least we have that in our back pocket, but it was a good improvement. This car still doesn't suit my driving style that well we just have to make a few adjustments or fine tune it for how I like to drive it and hopefully it'll be okay."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "Solid first day for the Arrow Electronics crew. This afternoon wasn't exactly what I was hoping for; the track conditions changed, I think more than we were expecting, which caught us off-guard a little bit. With these really short sessions, it's tough to learn much out there. So we'll regroup and hopefully tap back into the speed that we saw this morning and be in a good position for tomorrow." 

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "I think that today we had a really interesting day. I mean, the first time on the track was pretty legendary. It's a street course, and what we're testing is so specific. We were pretty competitive today. At the end of the day I was on the Firestone reds, and we had quite a few red flags, so we couldn't reach our full potential; I think we'll be able to show it tomorrow."

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Honda): "I think we are all kind of scratching our heads a bit about the practice times today. We're working hard on the balance of the Gallagher car, just like our three teammates. We will go back to look at the data tonight and have a game plan to move forward up the grid tomorrow for qualifying."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 NTT Data Honda): "I was obviously happy with the car this morning, but like I always say, practice doesn't pay anything for winning. In the second session we had a fast NTT Data car as well, but an untimely red flag caught us out on our fast lap which left us down the timing sheets."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Honda): "Today was definitely a busy day for the No. 10 NTT Data Honda. We made some pretty big changes that didn't play out the way we wanted them to but the practice days are the days where you can take those bigger swings. We definitely have some work to do tonight to get the car ready for qualifying tomorrow but I'm confident the NTT Data guys will have us ready to go."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Yeah, you only get a set of reds for this one session. It's really important for qualifying. It's such a different tire, a lot softer. The car feels comfortable. We'll work on it. It kind of sucks if you're quickest because you don't get details, you know. Wish I was fifth or something, it would have been much better. You don't want to show people what you got too soon."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet): "We started pretty good in Practice 1, but we had a few little issues then we made some changes for Practice 2 and it didn't really work. So we have to re-think for tomorrow. Like always the Verizon IndyCar Series is really tight, the times are really close so tomorrow you have to have the perfect lap time."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 PennGrade Motor Oil Honda): "Today was what we will refer to as a character builder. In the first session, I didn't think that we were that bad. We just didn't get a run on the second set of tires. We are definitely challenged for lateral grip, challenged to get the car to bite into the road surface. In the Verizon IndyCar Series right now, it's so competitive. If you are three-tenths (of a second) off, that could be the difference between being first and 15th place. We have to be on top of our game each and every time we go out on track and on Friday I'm not sure that we accomplished that goal. We will work hard tonight and come back stronger tomorrow."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 18 Trench Shoring Honda): "I was really surprised and very happy about the way we unloaded this morning. The No. 18 Trench Shoring Honda was hard to drive but it was quick, and then it just felt like the track was starting to get away from us a little bit. We started losing track of balance and the way things evolved. We've slipped back a little this afternoon and we don't seem to be as strong out there on the reds (Firestone alternate tires) so we are going to have to work on that a bit. Long Beach is a tough place because it evolves very rapidly and you can only get a few changes in, so we're going to have to think long and hard about it tonight and see what we're going to do."

ED JONES (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda): "It's good to be back in Long Beach. It's a great track and event. We've made some progress from St. Pete and this morning went quite well. This afternoon with the temperatures changing so much, the track changed and I struggled a huge amount. (Sebastien Bourdais) was still all right, so we can look at that after the session and fix the issues."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet): "It was fun to be back out on track here at Long Beach. I really enjoy the circuit, but we had a difficult day. We have some areas we need to improve so we'll be working hard tonight to make sure we get going in the right direction for tomorrow."

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Service Chevrolet): "I feel like we have made a lot of progress since the first race. We looked back at St. Pete and saw some things we needed to focus on to make our weekend a bit better. We have also had some tests since then, including a pretty good test at Sebring a couple of weeks ago. Coming here, I felt good about what we had planned and our ability to make the car better. At the end of the first practice today, we knew what we need to improve on. For me, this is still just about making progress over the course of the race weekends. We ended the second practice in the top 10 and our aim is certainly to qualify there tomorrow. We are slowly but surely making our way forward."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda): "It was a good day. It's always good to be back in Long Beach. This is a special event and it's always fun. We had a busy Practice 1 but we got it sorted out, and in the second session, it felt much better. We tried various setups across the car and it was quite a productive day. Today was actually the first time that I tried the red (alternate) tires in practice because I missed the opportunity in St. Pete. It was a good feeling and I feel prepared for tomorrow."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda): "The UFD car is on edge, but I think that's where we need to be to be quick. I like the predictability of the car. I felt like I could drive it to the limit, which is important to be able to wring it out in qualifying. I'm pleased with the pace and the pace we had all through testing, so it's good to keep the pace here and back it up. We really need to convert this pace into results, and I really think we can."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "We seemed to overstep it a little that session, just got a little bit too aggressive with the car. I was starting to protect the entry too much where I'm trying to turn in and the rears always threatening and on a street circuit you just can't drive that way. It's something that we need to pay attention to, make the right decisions and try to guess right for tomorrow. Make it so that I can really hustle the car. I almost felt like in that session it was starting to drive me, I just couldn't attack it. We just need to make some changes and I have faith that if we make the right ones, we can get the No. 28 DHL car in the front row."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Tresiba Honda): "Well, it's not the result we wanted for today. I know the No. 83 team is going to work hard tonight to figure out what's going on and be ready for tomorrow.  We found a little bit of speed at the end there, but we weren't on fresh tires so we'll look at it. I've got a little bit to learn overnight and it's nice to have fast teammates with Scott (Dixon) and Tony (Kanaan) being a little quicker. We'll look at their data and learn from that. I'm a little frustrated because I want to come out and start Friday off right but as Dario (Franchitti) says, it's all about recovery."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda): "It was a mostly positive day. On black (primary) tires, I think, we're in the top-three cars. I missed the balance there a bit on the red (alternate) Firestones, but that's the positive of using the red tires this year in practice - you can have an understanding of what they have to do before you go in to qualifying. If we just adjust that overnight, then the NAPA Auto Parts car will be looking good."

Quotes from IndyCar Media Services and Photo from the David Turner Collection.