Somewhere between cleaning garages and following news about the Baltimore Grand Prix, it turned out that I was forgetting something. It didn’t come into my head until this morning while I was scrubbing an oil spill with degreaser on the second floor…I hadn’t yet bothered to do a ‘Bean Machine’ for last Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway. Only one word described my thoughts at that moment.
Anyway, here it is now, so forgive me and let’s go back to the Heartland for a few moments. This will be a smaller one than normal, since it’s been a few days and everyone’s into their “Indy 500 mindset.”
1. Scott Dixon destroys everyone. Yeah, I think everybody was waiting for that to happen. Even though the on-track action was a bit better overall than last year’s Kansas race, Dixon’s rout made for an anti-climactic affair. MINUS 10.
2. Lapped traffic. A few of the leaders were not thrilled with what they saw as overly tough racing from the lapped cars toward the end of Saturday’s event. We’re not asking for a NASCAR-style “Lucky Dog Pass,” but it’d be interesting to see the IRL institute a double-file restart with the leaders on the inside and the lapped cars on the outside. IRL president of competition Brian Barnhart isn’t keen on the idea and he has his reasons. But if these are truly the best drivers on the planet, then surely, can’t they handle a double-file on whatever track they’re on? MINUS 10.
3. Plenty of good seats available! Saturday’s race had a reported attendance of 40,000 people. I’m not sure whether to laugh at such exaggeration or shake my head at what the Kansas round has become in recent years. FYI, the TV ratings weren’t that great either (an 0.8 on ABC, I believe). MINUS 15.
4. “Big Three” again? Yes, the Andretti Autosport team couldn’t hang with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but Tony Kanaan (15th to third) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (22nd to fifth) did some serious moving to get their top-five finishes and some momentum heading to Indy. And don’t forget about John Andretti hopping into an IndyCar for the first time in almost a year and coming home ninth. PLUS 5.
This week’s tally: -30 beans.
Season tally (after five races): +25 beans.
