Who could end the season on a high?
It may have been another new venue for the season finale, but this time it felt extra special, as the Streets of Long Beach are a jewel in the IndyCar calendar. Even though the result was not unexpected, we still had a fairly dramatic race, which went right down to the wire.
After making a huge mistake on Saturday, when Herta hit the wall in Round 1 of qualifying, ruining any chance of pole, he fought back excellently in the race, to secure his 3rd win of the season. On road courses, he has been in a class of 1, with rather dominant displays at St Pete and Nashville too, although he crashed out at Nashville. This race really showed his skills, of aggressive driving, whilst staying cool and calm. You cannot deny that he got lucky with the yellow coming out when he was the only car on reds, so was able to calve through the field more easily, yet he did hold the others off when on blacks, later on in the race.
Newgarden really did all he could in the race, as his car didn’t look like it was the fastest out there. On reds at the end, he could charge at Herta, but traction looked to be an issue for him all day. Nevertheless, it was a great race for him, especially after a few difficult races, which ruined any chance for him of getting a 3rd title. In a year where Penske did falter slightly, he was still able to get loads of solid results, and maybe deserved to be 2nd in the championship, considering the issues he had at Road America amongst other places.
In some ways, this race summed up Dixon’s year, as he was thereabouts all race, with strong pace, but didn’t produce the same results as we have seen in the past from him. I don’t think by any means that he has lost it, or Palou has him rattled, it was just not his year. Much like Palou, he lacked some luck this year, and it could all change in 2022.
Considering he started 10th, Palou had a pretty good race, as he secured his first ever title. His grid spot was clearly not indicative of his pace, and if a championship had not been on the line, he probably could have moved even further forwards. There were some worrying moments for him, but as we have seen all year, he can keep calm, and ride through any problems he has. He was the clear, deserving champion, as he has been the most consistent by far this year, and handled himself like a veteran. The real question is, can anyone stop him from continuing this run, as we haven’t seen any real weaknesses from him yet?
Pagenaud was at least able to end his time at Penske on a high, with a fairly quiet day, just sat around 4th or 5th throughout. His one moment of action, was when he got very close to Herta as he was passed by him, which could have ended very badly. It is a shame in some ways that he is leaving the team, as during 2016, he looked as though he could dominate the sport with them. However, ever since then, he has never quite been able to do the same again. Rossi staged a similar comeback to Colton, showing that Andretti still have a lot of fight in them, they along with Rossi just need to put it all together.
Harvey ended out his career with Meyer Shank pretty well, fighting back from near last to 7th , as did Bourdais who finished 8th, in what will likely be his last full season in IndyCar. After getting hit on the 1st lap, he pitted early, and some lucky yellows allowed him to climb through the field well. For Power to go from 12th to 10th on a street track, shows how difficult a year it has been for Team Penske, as he normally excels here.
I have been very impressed with how Johnson has ended the year, clearly showing the improvements he has made over the year. I doubt he will be a front runner next year, although he could be consistently in the midpack, given how good Chip Ganassi are at the moment. Unfortunately, Grosjean ended a promising and very enjoyable year with contact, but the future is looking very bright for him, as he moves to Andretti.
Finally, the title hunt ended early for O’Ward, who was hit by Jones at the end of the first lap. It was a clumsy move by the Dubai native, as you do have to be careful when near title contenders, and we have seen this accident before at that turn. If Pato had got the qualifying spot he deserved on Saturday, and been able to complete the race, it is still unlikely he could have overhauled Alex. However, it would have been a nicer way to end the year, especially after what happened in Russia, and would have got him a deserving 2nd in the championship.
It was a race where some drivers got the justice they deserved, and others certainly didn’t, as IndyCar officials continue to make questionable calls, which directly affect the racing. In the future they really need to clean their act up, if they want this to be a reputable sport.
-M
Thank you very much for reading this article! To keep up to date with when they go out, and to see my reactions to races and other news, follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/MeaningofMotor1
Also, if you want to support me, I have a Patreon Page at: https://www.patreon.com/meaningofmotorsport
Meaning of Motorsport 