Why IndyCar now has its own iconic street track
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The highly anticipated inaugural IndyCar race on the streets of Nashville brought a chaotic and memorable event.
Sometimes the game borders on absurd, But for the first attempt, the organizers couldn’t have hoped better.
start as you want
The moment Marcus Ericsson’s Chip Ganassi Racing machine is launched into the air is terrifying.
Fortunately, he didn’t roll over as quickly as Mark Webber did at the 2010 European Grand Prix.
But seeing such an event so early is still worrying.
The Swede ran into the back of Sebastien Bourdais in the restart, which came after early warnings.
As Bourdais slowed to avoid the traffic ahead, Ericsson had nowhere to go – except about three meters above the ground, as the field prepared to turn green.
The rear of Bourdais’ car was destroyed, triggering an immediate DNF.
He was furious with the former Formula 1 driver, reining in his thoughts to the NBC television crew immediately after the incident.
“I wouldn’t even go there because I didn’t want to be a jerk,” he said, gritting his teeth.
Ericsson was awarded a drive-thru penalty by the steward and when he finally drove his car back to the pits, he served.
CGR drivers are in luck when crime time is done.
He cycled to the lead through a period of caution and a fuel strategy.
It’s not a fluke.
He stopped six-time champion teammate Scott Dixon and charging Colton Hertha – until the latter crashed on lap five.
When Ericsson crossed the finish line in first place more than two hours after the collision, Bourdeis had a penny on his mind.
Layout brings challenges
As the saying goes, one prudence breeds another—especially on the street court.
Less than half of the race’s total distance was done discreetly — 33 of the 80 laps, as two drivers were black-flagged.
Jimmy Johnson was disqualified because his CGR team was working on his machine during a red flag, which is prohibited by the rules.
Part-time IndyCar and NASCAR racer Cody Ware pulled over for driving too slowly.
If you squeeze a bunch of racers on a tight track, according to the law of averages, they’re going to hit something, or someone.
IndyCar designed the Nashville track layout to make Monaco look like Daytona.
Surprisingly though, everyone did quite well on the roundabout from the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge.
This is the tightest part of the track, but the layout is smooth.
This gives the driver the opportunity to prepare for the return shock through the bridge and into the braking zone at the end of the bridge.
Much of the trouble comes from the narrow 90-degree apex angle around the pits and finish line.
Of the total 80 laps of the race, 33 were driven with care and 9 drivers were penalized.
Penske problem of power
Given the troubles of the season, Will Ball could be forgiven for wanting to try and make things happen.
The Australian has only two podium finishes to his name and is outside the top 10 of the tournament.
In fact, his boss, Roger Penske, wouldn’t expect much either.
After all, when you’re racing for a captain, you should make things happen.
But he also wants you not to contact his other drivers.
Teammate Simon Pagenaud’s inside dash sent the Frenchman into the barrier and brought out the red flag.
Pagenaud hit Penske to block the field, making downtown Nashville look like an IndyCar parking lot.
lie to me once.
The force was able to squeeze through as the track got blocked and kept going.
Ironically, another Penske rider, Scott McLaughlin, started over after the accident, which is almost forgivable.
lied to me twice.
But what Penske won’t be so forgiving of Ball is that he later dropped McLaughlin from the game.
The 2014 champion tried to sprint inside McLaughlin at Turn 9 when the fast southpaw slid off the bridge.
A driver of Ball’s ability and experience shouldn’t have made such a move — even if McLaughlin left the door open.
Power’s demo derby came after two drivers from Penske’s NASCAR Cup got in touch at Watkins Glen.
Brad Keselowski was a passenger after the spin and it happened that the car he hit was teammate Joey Logano.
The events of the day summed up Penske’s season.
However, needless to say, those race sessions this week should be quite interesting…
big goal before
As Oscar Wilde once declared: There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about
Confusion; shock of race star Colton Herta sticking it to the fence five laps from home; race between sunset and the remaining laps.
Not to mention the confusion in which order the field should start over and the track being overwhelmed at one point.
It all got people’s attention.
Before the game, Mark Myers, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Group, made a bold prediction.
“In the first year, Nashville will join Monaco in the ranks of the world’s top motorsport.” Big words.
Comparison with F1’s fastest street circuits
While IndyCar and Nashville did show that racing on narrow street circuits is possible, another F1 track comes to mind.
The Baku street circuit in Azerbaijan came to life in 2017 after a violent incident in 2016.
Teammates collided, leaders collided, and the Azerbaijani capital was in chaos.
Photo by: Resul Rehimov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
But that makes people look forward to what will happen the next time F1 races there.
One race builds high expectations, and the track usually leads to unforgettable races over the next three races.
By that standard, the IndyCar in Nashville was a huge success.
Yes, there could have been more green flag running, better all-round driving.
But a boring parade game won’t do Nashville any favors.
To be successful in the years ahead, it has to be a chaotic, borderline absurd to build its reputation.
Iconic IndyCar image
F1’s most iconic circuit is Monaco. Everyone has heard of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Nashville will have to go a long way to replace the Indy 500 as the standout event for IndyCar.
The 500 is arguably more important to the outside world than the championship itself.
But while the oval portion of the IndyCar season is dominated by the 500, the road/street portion is not.
No track offers as recognizable imagery as Nashville.
It’s unlikely anyone other than dedicated fans will remember the Long Beach Fountain or the track where St. Pete’s Raceway is located.
The sight of cars rumbling on a bridge suspended 80 feet above the Cumberland River can become iconic.
IndyCar’s roots in Nashville have now taken root. This time next year, we’ll see how much they bloom.
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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Jack usually writes or reads anything related to motorsport – from Formula 1 to NASCAR to British truck racing. His work as a motorsport reporter has been published in prestigious outlets such as Autosport, Motorsport.com and Motorsport News. In addition to racing, he is an avid amateur astronomer, podcast listener, and enjoys walks in the park with his three dogs.
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