DataGrange Motorsport

A Tremendous Blunder by the Red Bull Matadores Opens the Door for McLaren at Istanbul.

In a frenzied Sunday all over the world, Memorial Day did not fail to live up to its billing as motorsport’s most exciting weekend.

F1 Turkish Grand Prix

An outstanding start by Red Bull starters, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, gets both clear of the McLaren runners at the start. Lewis Hamilton (McL) manages to slip past Vettel for P2 on Lap 1, yet slow service for the former on Lap 16 allows Vettel to reclaim the position during the pit cycle. All grow nervous as a large rain cloud approaches the circuit at about Lap 30 (Webber P1, Vettel, Hamilton, and Jenson Button (McL)), yet said threat fades from view as high drama drops in on Lap 40-41. Vettel in P2 takes advantage of Webber’s slower pace to conserve fuel and attempts an aggressive pass on the outside line. Vettel’s verve then immediately devolves into a horrific blunder as his sudden jink right causes contact and both Red Bull cars careen off the circuit. Webber recovers to rejoin the circuit, yet the inopportune shunt allows both McLarens to dash past and away into the lead. The McLarens only add to the thrills two laps later when Button, falling victim to the same fuel conservation trap that victimized Vettel, aggressively overtakes Hamilton with a splendid move. Both teammates allow each other the proper room, and Hamilton then wows observers with a brilliant overtake that pushes Button off the line. Hamilton’s pass results in slight side-by-side contact between the cars, and a frantic McLaren orders the racers to stand pat for a safe 1-2 finish (2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes). As McLaren gleefully enjoys its windfall victory, recriminations among the Red Bull combatants continues into the small hours.

Mike Conway Takes a Horrifying Flight Into the Catchfence During the Final Circuit at the Brickyard.

Indianapolis 500

At Indianapolis, the typical duel between Team Penske and Target Ganassi again dominates the show. Pole sitter Helio Castroneves (Penske) only enjoys sitting at the point for a partial lap until overtaken by Dario Franchitti (Ganassi) just prior to a caution condition. After Penske racers Will Power (pit lane penalty) and Ryan Briscoe (crash) jarringly blunder the way out of the contest, the path stands clear for Franchitti (10 Target Ganassi Honda), who only needs to conserve fuel over the final twenty laps and hold off a charge from Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan to snare his second Brickyard victory. During the final circuit, Mike Conway runs up and over Ryan Hunter-Reay, and the resulting clash sends Conway airborne and spiraling into the outer catchfence. Conway suffers leg and foot injuries in the horrific shunt.

The Blue Penske 2 of Kurt Busch Suddenly Eclipses Jimmy Johnson as King of the Pavement at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Coca Cola 600

NASCAR’s interminable World 600 speeds away into the evening to close out the Sunday racing and Kurt Busch (2 Team Penske Dodge), still running with a full head of momentum after his dominating performance at the Sprint All-Star Race a week prior, easily dusts off challenger Jamie McMurray and the remaining field to claim all honors at Charlotte.

Dario Franchitti and Chip Ganassi Outclever the Field And Snatch Away the IRL Championship From Penske.

The Indy Racing League Championship comes down to the final race event at Homestead with three drivers battling for the championship; Scott Dixon (09 Target Ganassi Honda), Ryan Briscoe (6 Penske Honda), and Dario Franchitti (10 Target Ganassi Honda). Briscoe feels the greatest amount of heat on the afternoon after his blunder at the Twin Ring Motegi on September 18; Briscoe actually held the power in his hands to win the IRL trophy in Japan after catching a break and entering the pit lane just before Race Control issues a caution condition. The move would have put Briscoe back on the track a full lap ahead of the Ganassi cars with no stops remaining in the race, yet in an utterly incredible blunder before the racing world, Briscoe flubs the pit exit, breaks loose, and glances his car against the inside pit wall. The ensuing damage forces Briscoe back into the pit, and the sober grimace spread across the Captain’s visage afterwards speaks volumes to Briscoe’s unfathomable error.

Back at Florida, the race swiftly emerges as a two-car battle at the front between the desperate Briscoe and the oval-savvy Dixon. Briscoe and Penske seem to possess the better setup, yet the Captain seemingly takes his eyes off rival Chip Ganassi and his P3 entry Franchitti, who choose to cruise behind the main battle and implement a counter strategy. Ganassi, noting the lack of cautions during the affair and counting the laps within a fuel window, opts to short pit Franchitti around Lap 100, while Penske, clearly believing that the race could not run out without a yellow, instead chooses to leave Briscoe engaged with Dixon on the primary fuel cycle. Ganassi proves the wiser as the race continues caution free, and observers can hear the groans from the Penske camp when Franchitti executes his final service on Lap 151. Leaders Briscoe and Dixon, both aware of their respective fates, simply make time around the track before their final stops with less than ten laps remaining, and Franchitti afterwards simply cruises to the finish and the IRL trophy, his second career title. As Chip Ganassi celebrates his third series’ championship, many observers cite the Penske strategy as the lesser evil, given that Ganassi held the luxury of two cars in the hunt rather than just one, and that a team simply cannot execute a plan that relies upon a caution-free condition. Others swiftly counter that if Penske had been counting laps and pitted Briscoe immediately after Franchitti, Dixon would also have to pit rather than run the main fuel cycle alone and exposed. Ah, the clarity of hindsight.