Indycars Oval Problem

 Indycars 2024 schedule release had great additions but also some unfortunate losses arguably the biggest addition to the schedule is the return of the Milwaukee Mile in a double header weekend with race 1 being on Saturday August 31st and Race 2 on Sunday September 1st. This of course is a very exciting addition to the schedule with most fans pushing for its return of understandably being ecstatic that it is returning in 2024. Unfortunately the addition of Milwaukee was matched by the loss of Texas Motor Speedway. Now Texas was one of the best races if not the best race of 2023 so this loss is a huge one. INDYCAR has always had an identity problem. They advertise the diversity of the schedule being the only racing series that races on road courses, street circuits, and ovals. But they have been moving away from super speedways other than the Indianapolis 500. The ovals that they will now be racing on are The Milwaukee Mile, World Wide Technologies Raceway, Iowa Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Four ovals with a total of 6 races may seem like a lot but two of the ovals are either a mile or less in length what Indycar needs is a resurgence of super speedways. Indycar needs to either return to faster ovals they used to go to like Pocono, Texas and Fontana. Indycar in my opinion is at its best when it is going FAST. Short tracks lead to great racing and awesome opportunities but there is something about these cars being on the edge of grip at upwards of 200 miles per hour. A part of the reason why the Indy 500 is such a big deal is not only because of the history and the legends that are born but because Indy has also been at the edge of Indycar racing. It is the fastest, most dangerous, most exciting race on the Indycar schedule and while Indycar cannot recreate the Indy 500 at a place like Texas or Pocono they can replicate the speed which we saw at Texas in 2023 where Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden battled so fast and so hard that they lapped every car up to 8th place and were quite simply just in a league of their own. That race showed a lot of Indycar fans who could’ve been either indifferent on ovals or fans who just didn’t like oval racing why oval racing is awesome and how Indycar on ovals is one of the most special parts of racing and it is not because of the history of Indycar at Texas or Pocono like it is at Indianapolis it is simply because of the raw speed that these cars have and ovals like Texas can show off that speed and that ability of the drivers to push these cars to the absolute edge of grip and that speed is what will continue to make people want more Indycar. 

Ken Block

     Ken Block was a man like no other. Founder of DC Shoes and Hoonigan industries. He was an inspiration to many. Myself included

    Growing up with the internet budding I would look around at the stuff that interested me which for the most part was stuff like video games, sports, and cars and I remember seeing this video that said “DC SHOES: KEN BLOCK GYMKHANA PRACTICE” I didn’t know what any of those words meant but I saw a car going off a jump in the thumbnail and just knew I had to watch. What I saw would change my life. Ken Block was going around an airfield in a 2006 Subaru WRX STI and I had never seen anything like this I still remember how it felt to watch him launch at the start and drift around this airfield it was a rush that made me feel like I was in the car with him. 

    Then with Hoonigan Industries and their youtube channel, it opened up a whole new world of cars to me. Being a kid who didn’t come from a family of car enthusiasts I loved watching their videos about the inner workings of cars. The deep dives they would do and the builds like the Hoonicorn, the Hoonitruck, the Hoonipigasus, and my personal favorite Ken’s 1978 Ford Escort Mk2 RS.

    As I grew up it was awesome to watch Hoonigan and Ken Block sort of grow up with me. I watched this company grow and felt like I was a part of it I would look up the updates and watch the trackers of ARA rallies that Ken was taking part in and I grew to love motorsport even more as I learned more about it. 

    I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be where I was without stumbling on that first Gymkhana video which introduced me to a whole new life I knew nothing about. 

    Ken Block was an icon, a legend, an amazing driver, and an inspiration to millions of car enthusiasts around the world and he will be deeply, deeply missed. 

    "Go fast risk every thang"- Ken Block

Ken Block (1967-2023)

The Pitch for the Glen: Jack Gatens

In upstate New York in a town with a population of just under 1,900, there sits a racetrack and fast and flowing track with 11 corners sitting at 3.377 miles. Watkins Glen International is a racetrack that used to host the likes of Formula One, Trans-Am, Can-Am, Nascar, and The IndyCar Series. It is no longer able to host any racing events sanctioned by the FIA due to the fact that it is only a grade 2 circuit under the safety regulations the FIA requires for its circuits. In my opinion, this is a travesty Watkins Glen International is a classic racetrack that always has tremendous racing. In 2022 alone the races that were hosted at Watkins Glen International were some of the best races for those respective series. Nascar had a screamer of a race with 39 drivers taking the green flag to start a 90-lap race on a wet track with changing conditions with Kyle Larson taking the checkered flag with a move on the restart to get past AJ Allmendinger with only 5 laps to go. This was one of the best races of the season in my opinion and the same goes for the IMSA Sportscar Championships 6 hours of The Glen the flowing nature of the circuit with high speed and some high braking zones leads to a lot of really great overtakes. 

Now imagine watching modern Formula One and IndyCars go ripping through Watkins Glen International at speeds that have never been seen at this circuit. Of course, with this increase in speed, there have to be changes made to the circuit itself that will make it safer in the eyes of the FIA. The FIA has requirements for Formula One and the junior Formula series (Formula 2,3 or 4) the FIA requires circuits to be what they consider “Grade One”. For starters, there is no actual checklist…the grade one certification can be quite subjective track layout normally does not change much since the FIA does not have the power to change tracks only to suggest changes for better racing but this normally does not affect the inspection. However, there are parts that are required for driver safety this consists of things like a minimum track width of 12m with an increase to a minimum of 15m for the starting grid. Another section that has requirements is the idea of runoffs and protections. The FIA has to deem that there is an adequate amount of safety runoffs and that the barriers are up to what they consider to be safe. 

I personally do not see a reason why the Glen cannot adhere to these requirements and on top of this, the FIA cannot ignore the fact that Watkins Glen International is an iconic racetrack and one that will lead to some amazing races. 

For IndyCar on the other hand I never really understood why they do not race at Watkins Glen. They race at all different types of circuits ovals, road courses, and street circuits they race on all of them. They however do not actively race at Watkins Glen which I think they should. 

I think it’s time for Formula One and IndyCar to Go Bowling. 

The Possibility of F1s Next Seasons Close Championship Battle

    Everyone who watches Formula One can agree that this championship fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is one of the greatest battles that fans will be looking at and reminiscing on for years to come. It’s a battle of two great drivers and two legendary teams.     The dominance that Mercedes has had in the turbo-hybrid era doesn’t exist anymore. Red Bull caught up and they are now in an insanely close title fight where at the moment it looks like for the first time in seven years we might have a world champion from a team that isn’t Mercedes.     My prediction is that in upcoming years the field will start to close up on each other and won’t just be a fight between Red Bull and Mercedes for the championship. This is for a couple reasons;     First, the most obvious reason is with the new cars for the 2022-2023 season these cars are designed with the idea of closer racing in mind. It has less downforce loss when in turbulent air more than halving the percentage of downforce loss. This means that drivers can be braver on the brakes and can go for late braking overtakes (looking at you Danny Ric). This car is designed with the idea of having as much downforce as possible and as little downforce loss as possible and these cars will be able to race and race hard. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.     Second, all of the engine suppliers which are Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, and the newest addition of Red Bull Powertrain, all have huge plans for next year. Ferrari which supplies Haas, Alfa Romeo and of course Ferrari have consistently been hyping up their new upgrades for next year’s powertrains. Ferrari’s Team Principal Mattia Binotto believes that this engine upgrade plus the new car will put them back into a championship fight. Now with Honda leaving F1 as a supplier and the creation of the new Red Bull Powertrain division which will be supplying the teams Red Bull racing and its’ junior team AlphaTauri, is going to go one of two ways; A) Red Bull will pick up right where it left off and will still be at the front fighting for championships, or B) They will struggle for a bit at the beginning of the season. I know personally I’m pretty optimistic for Red Bull Powertrain to come out swinging. Now Mercedes supplies Mclaren, Aston Martin Cognizant, Williams Racing and of course Mercedes AMG. Petronas Racing will quite obviously be a strong powertrain, as it has been for basically the past decade, but this season their dominance over the field is being challenged and next season with the upgrades from Ferrari and the so far unknown ability of the new Red Bull Powertrain I would expect for this to become even closer.     Third, with the proposed 2022 calendar being a record high 23 races means that there is a higher possibility of late season engine penalties and of reliability issues throughout the season which could lead to unexpected winners of grand prixs and of the possibility of unexpected championship contenders. While I personally believe that there could be a better schedule just based on what is closer and how easy it would be to actually get from one place to the next I’m still incredibly excited for 23 races next season and I know a lot of F1 fans agree with me on that.     The 2021 Formula One season has been a blast to watch and I don’t want it to end, but I’m excited for next season and for all of these changes that could really mean that we see different people standing on that top step of the podium and I can’t wait for that.
    The dominance that Mercedes has had in the turbo-hybrid era doesn’t exist anymore. Red Bull caught up and they are now in an insanely close title fight where at the moment it looks like for the first time in seven years we might have a world champion from a team that isn’t Mercedes.
    My prediction is that in upcoming years the field will start to close up on each other and won’t just be a fight between Red Bull and Mercedes for the championship. This is for a couple reasons;
    First, the most obvious reason is with the new cars for the 2022-2023 season these cars are designed with the idea of closer racing in mind. It has less downforce loss when in turbulent air more than halving the percentage of downforce loss. This means that drivers can be braver on the brakes and can go for late braking overtakes (looking at you Danny Ric). This car is designed with the idea of having as much downforce as possible and as little downforce loss as possible and these cars will be able to race and race hard. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
    Second, all of the engine suppliers which are Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, and the newest addition of Red Bull Powertrain, all have huge plans for next year. Ferrari which supplies Haas, Alfa Romeo and of course Ferrari have consistently been hyping up their new upgrades for next year’s powertrains. Ferrari’s Team Principal Mattia Binotto believes that this engine upgrade plus the new car will put them back into a championship fight. Now with Honda leaving F1 as a supplier and the creation of the new Red Bull Powertrain division which will be supplying the teams Red Bull racing and its’ junior team AlphaTauri, is going to go one of two ways; A) Red Bull will pick up right where it left off and will still be at the front fighting for championships, or B) They will struggle for a bit at the beginning of the season. I know personally I’m pretty optimistic for Red Bull Powertrain to come out swinging. Now Mercedes supplies Mclaren, Aston Martin Cognizant, Williams Racing and of course Mercedes AMG. Petronas Racing will quite obviously be a strong powertrain, as it has been for basically the past decade, but this season their dominance over the field is being challenged and next season with the upgrades from Ferrari and the so far unknown ability of the new Red Bull Powertrain I would expect for this to become even closer.
    Third, with the proposed 2022 calendar being a record high 23 races means that there is a higher possibility of late season engine penalties and of reliability issues throughout the season which could lead to unexpected winners of grand prixs and of the possibility of unexpected championship contenders. While I personally believe that there could be a better schedule just based on what is closer and how easy it would be to actually get from one place to the next I’m still incredibly excited for 23 races next season and I know a lot of F1 fans agree with me on that.
    The 2021 Formula One season has been a blast to watch and I don’t want it to end, but I’m excited for next season and for all of these changes that could really mean that we see different people standing on that top step of the podium and I can’t wait for that.