A Penske domination to start off the year!
In what might be the final race at Texas for the foreseeable future, we got a cracking race, with plenty of overtaking, strategy, and incidents too. If all that wasn’t enough, it ended with a last corner pass, and tight finish.
The rest of the IndyCar field should have taken their chance, to cash in on Penske being weak, more in 2021, as they aren’t giving anyone a hope this year. 3 cars in the top 4 just shows where they are at right now, and with the help of a stronger engine, they could be a true force in 2022. Newgarden had a difficult weekend in St. Pete, so it was important for him to bounce back here, which he did really well. He was quiet for the first part of the race, yet fought through towards the end, and was pressuring Scott until lapped traffic helped him. Scott himself was so unlucky, he did everything right all race long, and came up agonisingly short, his form though is scarily good right now. Power has been consistent to start the year, which is something he has lacked in the past, and could set up his year well.
Ericsson has come into his own in the past 12 months, with a couple of wins, and better pace overall. For him to lead Chip Ganassi this weekend, just shows his speed at the moment. The rest of Chip Ganassi Racing was all in a group towards the front of the order, in fact, it was only them and Penske in the top 7. Dixon and Palou had alright days, but it could have been better, especially given their history here. The most impressive by far was Johnson though, who on his oval debut in IndyCar, showed that experience can transfer across from NASCAR, as he fought up to get his best result by far in IndyCar. He was quiet to begin with, but clearly learnt from his competitors, and got more confident as the race went on, especially with regards to the second lane. Can this momentum transfer back to the road courses?
Pagenaud did not have a bad day, given he was fighting a loose car at the end. Meyer Shank is still in a growing phase as a team, so we should cut them a bit of slack. His teammate was less fortunate, as he was an innocent bystander in a three wide moment, which ended his day. Ferrucci has done incredible things, every single time he gets into an IndyCar it seems, and once again here, with very little notice, he got into Harvey’s car, and bagged a top 10 for them. He wasn’t overly aggressive, he just made his way forwards, and got what he could out of the day.
Veekay was unfortunate in the race, his pace was very much there, and his outside moves were thrilling to watch, he was just caught having to massively fuel save for the second race in a row this year. If they can sort out the strategy, he has a rocket ship under him. Malukas was the best rookie, and did well to keep out of trouble. He hasn’t been talked about much, with Kirkwood and DeFrancesco getting more attention, but he can clearly drive a car well too.
Herta was the last surviving Andretti car, on a day where they didn’t look to have pace either, the situation at that team only seems to be going one way sadly. It almost looks as though Grosjean was better off staying at Dale Coyne, which seems harsh to say. Carpenter and O’Ward did not really impress this weekend, as was the case for Daly, who needs to get his act together soon.
Kirkwood was driving so well until slight contact with Devlin ended his race, I am sure he will learn from that. Devlin himself does have a lot to learn after Sunday too, which is understandable given he is a rookie. After an excellent qualifying, it all came to nothing for Rosenqvist, with a mechanical failure, as McLaren as a whole have a tough start to the year.
There are rumours that this race alone might allow Texas to have another chance on the IndyCar calendar, but if that isn’t the case, at least they ended on a high. Just imagine how good the track would be without the PJ1 from NASCAR! On to Long Beach next, basically the opposite of Texas, but you would still have to expect Penske and Chip Ganassi to be near the front!
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 