#xpel375

In what might be the final race at Texas for the foreseeable future, we got a cracking race, with plenty of overtaking, strategy, and incidents too. If all that wasn’t enough, it ended with a last corner pass, and tight finish.

The rest of the IndyCar field should have taken their chance, to cash in on Penske being weak, more in 2021, as they aren’t giving anyone a hope this year. 3 cars in the top 4 just shows where they are at right now, and with the help of a stronger engine, they could be a true force in 2022. Newgarden had a difficult weekend in St. Pete, so it was important for him to bounce back here, which he did really well. He was quiet for the first part of the race, yet fought through towards the end, and was pressuring Scott until lapped traffic helped him. Scott himself was so unlucky, he did everything right all race long, and came up agonisingly short, his form though is scarily good right now. Power has been consistent to start the year, which is something he has lacked in the past, and could set up his year well.

Ericsson has come into his own in the past 12 months, with a couple of wins, and better pace overall. For him to lead Chip Ganassi this weekend, just shows his speed at the moment. The rest of Chip Ganassi Racing was all in a group towards the front of the order, in fact, it was only them and Penske in the top 7. Dixon and Palou had alright days, but it could have been better, especially given their history here. The most impressive by far was Johnson though, who on his oval debut in IndyCar, showed that experience can transfer across from NASCAR, as he fought up to get his best result by far in IndyCar. He was quiet to begin with, but clearly learnt from his competitors, and got more confident as the race went on, especially with regards to the second lane. Can this momentum transfer back to the road courses?

Pagenaud did not have a bad day, given he was fighting a loose car at the end. Meyer Shank is still in a growing phase as a team, so we should cut them a bit of slack. His teammate was less fortunate, as he was an innocent bystander in a three wide moment, which ended his day. Ferrucci has done incredible things, every single time he gets into an IndyCar it seems, and once again here, with very little notice, he got into Harvey’s car, and bagged a top 10 for them. He wasn’t overly aggressive, he just made his way forwards, and got what he could out of the day.

Veekay was unfortunate in the race, his pace was very much there, and his outside moves were thrilling to watch, he was just caught having to massively fuel save for the second race in a row this year. If they can sort out the strategy, he has a rocket ship under him. Malukas was the best rookie, and did well to keep out of trouble. He hasn’t been talked about much, with Kirkwood and DeFrancesco getting more attention, but he can clearly drive a car well too.

Herta was the last surviving Andretti car, on a day where they didn’t look to have pace either, the situation at that team only seems to be going one way sadly. It almost looks as though Grosjean was better off staying at Dale Coyne, which seems harsh to say. Carpenter and O’Ward did not really impress this weekend, as was the case for Daly, who needs to get his act together soon.

Kirkwood was driving so well until slight contact with Devlin ended his race, I am sure he will learn from that. Devlin himself does have a lot to learn after Sunday too, which is understandable given he is a rookie. After an excellent qualifying, it all came to nothing for Rosenqvist, with a mechanical failure, as McLaren as a whole have a tough start to the year.

There are rumours that this race alone might allow Texas to have another chance on the IndyCar calendar, but if that isn’t the case, at least they ended on a high. Just imagine how good the track would be without the PJ1 from NASCAR! On to Long Beach next, basically the opposite of Texas, but you would still have to expect Penske and Chip Ganassi to be near the front!

Genesys 300

Texas in the past has been the scene of some great races, with the high banks promoting close, fast racing, however with the new banking, and significantly the addition of the PJ1 compound, which has permanently scarred the track, the racing has gone downhill! This was evident in the first race of the weekend more than the second, as Dixon dominated and stormed to victory!

After the beatdown he had last year, to start his run of wins, the feeling was that CGR was the favourite here again, and they proved the theories correct! Early on Dixon passed his younger teammate, who himself drove very well given his inexperience on ovals to secure a top 4, to win the race, and Dixon’s only really issue was with traffic, which he managed pretty well! With the lead he has in the championship, as well as the strength of the team around him, it is going to be tough for anyone to beat him! Kanaan’s ability to climb up from the back to 11th, further illustrates the pace the entire organisation has!

Equally as impressive was McLaughlin, in his first ever oval race, finishing second, and although he was helped by strategy, he was not a moving chicane by any means, and was even putting pressure on Dixon. As the year goes on, the Supercars champion could be a contender for wins! Newgarden was also fast today, but an unfortunate collision with Bourdais gave him a penalty, from where he could only fight back to 6th. Whilst you can’t blame Josef much, given how slow Herta was going ahead of him, it is fair to penalise him, when you consider how much it ruined Sebastien’s day, as he was running well!

O’Ward was fast all day, yet was unable to challenge Dixon up front, the pace is clear from the car though, and better was to come in the second race! Rahal and Harvey as we have seen for most of this year, had two quick cars, which almost came to blows late on! It was robust defending by Jack, but he did move first, and gave Rahal some space, so I don’t think a penalty was needed! Rossi, Pagenaud, and Power had average days, collecting some points, hoping for better in the future!

This year has had so much promise for Herta, and the car clearly has pace, yet he was to lose out again, this time due to a wheel bearing failure, which caused the rear right to catch on fire. The only solace this time, is that he wasn’t that near the front when it happened, so whilst some points were lost, it wasn’t tonnes! That being said, the gap to Dixon and Newgarden is already getting very large for him and other drivers, such as Rossi, who need to turn their year around soon!

Xpel 375

Sunday did not produce a turnaround for Rossi, has his poor season so far left him right in the danger zone on the start. As Dixon left it very late to go, it caught out those nearer the back, and took out almost a third of the field! The blame can’t be placed solely on one person, you can see the drivers in front of Fittipaldi went and then slowed down, so he had nowhere to go! The cost for the smaller teams, some of whom lost both cars, could be huge as we move to Indy, and then we need to talk about Rossi’s luck, which has carried on from 2020, he needs a miracle to save his season!

With the field reduced, and some of the exciting drivers out, along with a longer race, the fear was of a worse race than on Saturday, yet that wasn’t to be, as a variety of fast cars, combined with fuel strategy, gave us at least a somewhat interesting end to the weekend!

In the engine department, Chevrolet may not have the power outright, however their fuel consumption is brilliant, and helped them to come on strong in the closing laps. This meant that Arrow McLaren SP, and O’Ward, were finally able to make the most of the pace they have had for a year now, and grab their first win, which was utterly deserving! I think he and Rahal had equal fastest cars, so you can’t say Pato was gifted it, as with the moves he made around the outside of drivers, he was a thrill to watch throughout the race! Incredibly that was the first non-Penske Chevrolet win since 2016, and I believe he and Newgarden are the biggest threats to CGR for this year!

Newgarden made up for his mistakes in the first race, coming home P2, admittedly helped by fuel mileage! He was running around P5, and on pace would have likely finished there, but Penske always make the most of the chances they have! Rahal and Dixon were solid again, stumped by fuel, yet consistent, and looking very good as we look towards the end of May!

Herta managed to finish the race, however the Andretti’s didn’t have the outright pace to challenge for the win at any point in the weekend. Can the team get their season on track for the biggest race of the year? Pagenaud and McLaughlin finished well, the former will still be under pressure until he is able to sign on the dotted line to extend his time with Penske, whereas the latter must be loving life currently, as he settles into his new home!

Power and Ericsson did not finish as well as their teammates had, or compared to the pace they had shown at other points in the weekend. Ed Carpenter Racing had a rather anonymous weekend, which is suppose is better than other teams, yet can’t be pleasing for a team who has won races in the past! What is even more concerning is Dale Coyne’s oval programme, which does not look to be up to scratch whatsoever, at least Grosjean can bring home points on road and street courses!

Andretti Technologies had a second issue with a wheel bearing this weekend, as Harvey retired mid race, and uses Andretti parts on his car! This must be concerning going to Indy, although I am sure they will have it fixed, at the latest by the end of practice for the 500!

As I said at the start, two races at Texas, in its current configuration, was not the smartest move, however it was driven more by politics I believe, than the racing product! Given the difficulties with the track, I don’t think we got away from it too badly. We are now into the Month of May, with the Indy GP coming next, which to be honest could be hit or miss, going off of last year!