1. Helio snaps.
After five days, there’s not much that hasn’t been said about Helio Castroneves’ post-race meltdown after a blocking penalty stripped him of a win in Edmonton. But IndyCar has said that they’ll meet with the three-time Indy 500 winner next week and determine a punishment for his actions afterwards, so this isn’t over yet. Castroneves had a right to be angry; he didn’t have a right to start grabbing and dropping F-bombs on IndyCar officials. MINUS 25.
2. Barnhart’s rule.
Just because IndyCar president of competition Brian Barnhart gave drivers fair warning about his rule on blocking — a driver couldn’t be on the inside lane unless he was passing another car — doesn’t make it a good rule. What transpired between Castroneves and Will Power on the final restart was simply hard racing in the closing laps. Read more of my thoughts here. MINUS 25.
3. Power grows title lead.
Until Castroneves took the point from him on Lap 78, Power was turning the Honda Indy Edmonton into another mind-numbing display of dominance. He didn’t get the win, but his runner-up finish bumped his lead up to 50 points in the championship. With two more road courses left this season, it’s time for the Australian to try and put this title away. PLUS 3.
4. KV Racing drivers all in top 10.
Led by Paul Tracy’s sixth-place run, the other KV drivers (Mario Moraes, E.J. Viso, Takuma Sato) grab seventh, eight and ninth as well. And nothing was wadded up in the process! Wonders never cease. PLUS 4.
5. Paul Tracy racks up $100,000+ for charity.
Make-A-Wish Canada must be proud of the ‘Thrill from West Hill,’ who raised money for them at the Toronto and Edmonton rounds by giving fans the chance to sign his race suit for a donation. Final tally: $112,578. Nice job, PT! PLUS 10.
6. New promoter for Edmonton.
Octane Racing Group (the folks behind the Canadian Grand Prix in Formula One) is set to take over the Edmonton race from Northlands, which has had a rough go of it as promoters of the race for the last three seasons. We’ll see if Octane can revitalize the event, which has been losing serious amounts of money. I’d also like them to figure out something to keep Team Penske from turning the race into a stinker again, but hey, one step at a time and all that jazz. PLUS 5.
This week’s tally: -28 beans.
Season tally (after 11 races): +22 beans.
