2 thoughts on “Podcast 132: Detroit Grand Prix 2013”

1. Hi Guys, I’ve been following both F1 and Indycar and I usually watch both races live although it’s tough to do so especially for Indycar races since its race start time is often 2am to 5am here in Japan.

   I admit current Indycar regulation may not be so attractive in terms of technology, and they often introduce too much artificial excitement, e.g., frequent full-course cautions, two or three wide restart. I personally feel like it’s reasonable because (I think) they are running the series under much lower budget than F1 and therefore it’s difficult to differentiate cars/teams from others. It would have been a dull race if such relatively similar skilled drivers drove one-make chassis with either Honda or Chevy powered engine on one-make Firestone tire, which would mean rare overtake moves. Of course safety must be top priority, but I would say it is on well balanced rules between competition and entertainment so far. I think the race itself becomes simple – the race winners need on-track actions in most cases, not pit stop strategy.

   On the other hand, F1 is so interesting in technology and it looks luxury, but race itself (or even championship) may become boring because some cars/teams are too strong – and they are often because of politics, unfair budget, and restricted technical regulations. It may not be as simple as Indycar – DRS can only be enabled if the car is within 1 sec behind in particular zones, or KERS will be re-charged after one lap is completed but the power is limited by regulations, etc., and pit stop strategy plays too important roles. We need to see live timing even at the circuit during the race to understand what’s going on. But of course, it is still exciting because of dynamics between teams/drivers with different technical elements which often introduce differences of performance in various conditions.

   Honestly, I cannot say which one is better. They are simply different and I like both. It’s funny you guys as Americans do not really follow American Indycar series, but I as Japanese really do even from thousands miles away. 🙂

   As I follow both ones, it’s great to listen to Podcast about Indycar as well as F1 from you guys. Thanks and keep up the good work!

2. Your podcast revived some good memories about old CART days, which followed from 80’s to the Tony George/IRL/CART fiasco. My best memory were attending the Cleveland GP to watch my first race which Mario Andretti won with solid pit strategy over Danny Sullivan. It was by no means the spectacle, which is F1, but you could really see the speed especially the acceleration off the corners. Sitting in the stands, one of the Bobby Rahal family members provided commentary on the friction between Rahal and Andretti. This period was pretty much the golden age of Indy car racing with strong sponsor support, primo television coverage, multiple engine suppliers, and a variety of chassis providers. Like F1, cars were being designed by Lola, Reynard, March, and Penske, which had probably one of greatest chassis; PC 23, which dominated the sport in 94. At times, CART would have engines from Honda, Mercedes, Chevy, Buick,Toyota, Ford/Cosworth, and even Porsche made a brief appearance. As quoted in the movie, Days of Thunder, Unsers and Andrettis had the better equipment and results. But Fittipaldi, Montoya, Zanardi, Villenueve, and Mansell graced the series at different times. Even Senna tested for Penske with Fittipaldi!

   But in 1988, I started to watch F1, got hooked with the Senna/Prost drama! One wonders if CART had stayed on track as the fast series in the world; clocking 250’s down the back straights with the Penske Indy designed Mercedes power plant in 1994.

   There were rumors about Bill France playing a part in the fiasco to open the path for NASCAR. But now, I watched maybe 20-25 laps of the Indy 500. In some ways, its sad to see a strong racing series, just wilt away.

   Keep up the good work guys; really enjoy your podcasts!

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