2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bull!!

[MattS]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Penske needs to re-evaluate his driver line-up.

Why you think this?

His drivers finished 2, 5, and 8 in the 500. They're sitting 2, 3, & 7 in the points. Power has just missed out on the championship how many times now? Three I think? It's not like they are sucking. While Helio will probably never win a championship, he is still highly competitive in the 500 and by Penske's own admission that is really what he cares about. I see no reason why Power won't keep challenging for championships for the near future and he's improving on ovals. JPM is a very good driver who is still learning the new DW12. Plus and probably most importantly they all have sponsorships. They only two drivers I could possibly see Penske being interested in is Newgarden and probably more likely Pagenaud.

[manurespreader]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I thought Kimi brought that puncture on himself, but maybe not. I see Alonso is complaining about the tires and I don't blame him, he had a lot of problems, especially under braking.

The indy guys are here in Detroit this week coming up and if you haven't been to belle isle, now that the state runs it, it's pretty nice.

[SteveP]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

F1 Documentary on NBCSN right now. The heck with Hawks - Kings.

Great line by Sir Jackie about racing in the 60's - "That's when the cars were dangerous and the sex was safe."

Watched the 90 minutes I recorded. Very interesting, but very disappointing that Cevert got about a half-hour and Villeneuve only got about 30 seconds and a graphic.

[Timothy A]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Why you think this?

His drivers finished 2, 5, and 8 in the 500. They're sitting 2, 3, & 7 in the points. Power has just missed out on the championship how many times now? Three I think? It's not like they are sucking. While Helio will probably never win a championship, he is still highly competitive in the 500 and by Penske's own admission that is really what he cares about. I see no reason why Power won't keep challenging for championships for the near future and he's improving on ovals. JPM is a very good driver who is still learning the new DW12. Plus and probably most importantly they all have sponsorships. They only two drivers I could possibly see Penske being interested in is Newgarden and probably more likely Pagenaud.

Power keeps making unforced errors. At IA a few years ago all he had to do was keep RHR in his sights to win the championship and he plants the car in the wall early in the race. That's the most memorable mistake, but every year he has 2-3 instances where he screws up and it costs him the championship. Helio is a great guy, but as you said, he'll never win a championship. I think the jury is still out on JPM, but his age is not his friend.

[Jimjamesak]

Watched the 90 minutes I recorded. Very interesting, but very disappointing that Cevert got about a half-hour and Villeneuve only got about 30 seconds and a graphic.

I hate this about F1 docs lately. Just a complete gloss over of the turbo era and the 80's in general.

[solovsfett]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Will Power has to be the biggest ******* in the INDYCAR paddock. Why not just take everyone else out of the race to guarantee your success d-bag? First Pagenaud and now Newgarden...This guy (WP) really needs a ride in Nascar.

I'd like to see Penske pay for the repairs on Newgarden's car to be honest. Power had no business moving him off line because he stupidly decided to bonzai that corner. grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[Timothy A]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

One heck of an F1 race this last weekend, though a big thanks for Mercedes for having issues which caused the excitement at the end. Good for Ricardo, bummer for Massa. How far has Ferrari fallen........

I missed the Indycar race, but there was my buddy Power throwing away a win with a speeding penalty again. Good for Carpenter.

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

One heck of an F1 race this last weekend, though a big thanks for Mercedes for having issues which caused the excitement at the end. Good for Ricardo, bummer for Massa. How far has Ferrari fallen........

Even if Mercedes didn't have issues, there was still a lot of interesting stuff going on, not to mention we probably would have seen another Hamilton-Rosberg fight for the win.

Nonetheless, I'm glad for two reasons -- we'll stop hearing the incessant comments about Mercedes having a perfect season (I never cared whether they did or not, but I was getting tired of all the writers and commentators constantly talking about it) and it was great to see Ricciardo win.

It's also great that Montreal signed a 10-year contract with Bernie.

As for Ferrari, they are officially "just another team" now...

[Timothy A]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Nonetheless, I'm glad for two reasons -- we'll stop hearing the incessant comments about Mercedes having a perfect season (I never cared whether they did or not, but I was getting tired of all the writers and commentators constantly talking about it)

I agree. The stupid media pushing stuff like the is a waste of our time, especially so early in the season. Hype if with 2 or 3 to go.

[alfablue]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I agree. The stupid media pushing stuff like the is a waste of our time, especially so early in the season. Hype if with 2 or 3 to go.

it will be even better if this new competition takes the "pressure" off of a Hamilton-Rosberg feud. That was all that was interesting when Mercedes was 1 second faster than the field.

[joecct]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

One heck of an F1 race this last weekend, though a big thanks for Mercedes for having issues which caused the excitement at the end. Good for Ricardo, bummer for Massa. How far has Ferrari fallen........

FYI - Perez got penalized 5 grid places for not taking the racing line in the Massa crash.

[joecct]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

@Sportsnet: Manager says Michael Schumacher has been released from hospital. http://ow.ly/y4XrM

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

@Sportsnet: Manager says Michael Schumacher has been released from hospital. http://ow.ly/y4XrM

Color me cynical, but I find it very interesting that after a bunch of prominent doctors said it's very discouraging that no news has been released by the family for so long, suddenly news is released by the family.

Read between the lines in this latest news. He left the hospital in purely a technical sense. He's no longer in a coma in purely a technical sense.

It's still a very sad and depressing situation and prognosis.

[joecct]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Color me cynical, but I find it very interesting that after a bunch of prominent doctors said it's very discouraging that no news has been released by the family for so long, suddenly news is released by the family.

Read between the lines in this latest news. He left the hospital in purely a technical sense. He's no longer in a coma in purely a technical sense.

It's still a very sad and depressing situation and prognosis.

He's awake and probably not much more than that. I don't think we'll see him in a presser any time soon.

[solovsfett]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

...Given the amount of time w/no news prior to this I really think we won't ever hear from Schumi again. As was stated eloquently below, he may have left the hospital but that's a perfunctory statement at best.

What a terribly sad way for this to end (meaning Schumi ending up with permanent mental and physical disabilities and likely to not be seen in public again)