The stereotypical lumberjack dresses in flannel, is as burly as a grizzly bear and sports a beard that would make Giants closer Brian Wilson blush. But in the IZOD IndyCar Series, the role of lumberjack belongs to Will Power, a relatively thin, clean-shaven Australian that goes to work in a fire-resistant jumpsuit.
And as of his victory three days ago in Edmonton, Alberta, Power is working on chopping down the mightiest redwood in the IndyCar forest: Two-time defending series champion Dario Franchitti. Power hacked away 17 points from Franchitti’s lead with his win on Sunday, and now sits 38 markers behind Franchitti as the series heads for Mid-Ohio in a week and a half. As I mentioned after Toronto – where Power was left fuming after Franchitti spun him out and went on to win the race – there’s too much time left to give the championship to anybody.
Just as Franchitti made up his big gap to win the 2010 title, Power can certainly do the same this year. But now, their duel heads to a track that creates a toss-up as far as picking a favorite to win: Franchitti and Power finished 1-2 at Mid-Ohio last season. Considering how tight and narrow Mid-Ohio is, qualifying and, if necessary, making up spots in the pits, will play a critical role in the outcome.
But then again, so could something that was picked up on Thursday at the 2.26-mile road course. 21 IZOD IndyCar Series drivers turned laps in a test session at Mid-Ohio to prepare for the looming Honda 200.
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While the IndyCar drivers are prepping for Mid-Ohio, another sort of preparation is underway in Baltimore. The 2.0-mile street course layout for the Baltimore Grand Prix is beginning to take shape after cornerstone track walls were set up at the Inner Harbor earlier this week to mark the first stage of construction.
Luckily for downtown workers and commuters, the course work is taking place from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. However, considering that the resurfacing and repair of city streets has already likely agitated them, that may be cold comfort by now. And apparently, there will be more shutdowns and detours on the way as the race gets closer, too.
But hey, at least those streets are finally worth driving on. I’m not sure if I lost a tooth filling on Light or Pratt Street last summer when I lived there…
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Well, it looks like that pre-conceived notion that a .4 was as high as IndyCar ratings could get on Versus has been blown to bits. Last week’s Edmonton Indy scored a relatively decent 0.6 to become Versus’ top-rated IndyCar broadcast so far this season. No doubt that number was helped by NASCAR taking the weekend off, but it still keeps up the positive momentum: Through seven events, Versus has experienced a 25 percent jump over its 2010 IndyCar average. They’ve got the next race at Mid-Ohio (Aug. 7, 2 p.m. ET) before handing off to ABC for New Hampshire.
