Greetings and salutations from Speedway, In., the last night before the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500. It's been a whirlwind two weeks after just being in Monterey, Calif. last weekend for the ALMS race, which was just televised on CBS after being put together by an outside production firm, and now coming back to IMS for the first time since 2008.
I'll get the shameless plugs out of the way early. I'm helping Motorsport.com out for the week and articles so far have covered Community Day, the three women not named Danica, the mix of practice, pit stops and booze on Carb Day, and the highest profile driver not to qualify, Paul Tracy.
Some thoughts on the week. This is my second Indy 500, and I have to say a completely different experience from my first. My first was about taking it all in - much like the rookies - and maximizing the time and all the different events. This is shorter but still provides the great networking opportunities, and for me, particularly, the bloggers who really are the new face of journalism at the Speedway.
Between Paul and Steph (a.k.a. Fieldof33 and 99forever on Twitter) of Planet-IRL, Chris Estrada of IndyRacingRevolution and FOXSports.com, the My Name is IRL and Pressdog crowd, among others, are the fresh blood to get the next generation of fans interested in growing this series. They were part of an open forum this morning with IndyCar PR Amy Konrath and a couple IMS reps to discuss how to better integrate the new media that the bloggers have the handle on with traditional outlets and individuals.
It's completely different for me, too. At 20, I'm one of, if not the youngest person in the IMS pressroom. Yet this new batch of bright-eyed, intelligent, passionate group of individuals add a depth and commitment to growth of the IZOD IndyCar Series.
The other notables I've met include Randy Bernard and Paul Page. Bernard is the first person I've seen in 15 years of watching this series that I can tell just "gets it." Curt Cavin of the Indy Star - and Carb Night Burger Bash emcee - had a great and far more in-depth article on the Indy Racing League, IndyCar Series sanctioning body, CEO than I will have had.
His openness to hear both good and bad, positive and negative, and literally absorb anything and everything like a sponge can only be a benefit to getting this series back on track. Even the veteran Gordon Kirby, a senior member of the media, hinted Bernard was the right person to get IndyCar back on track. Oh, lame puns.
I won't say too much about the drivers other than a couple who have impressed. Simona and Bia are obvious. But one that's caught my eye is Conquest's Bertrand Baguette, the Belgian rookie. Baguette sounds like he understands the limit and challenges of this place. He's come out of nowhere, even despite winning the ultra competitive World Series by Renault last season, and qualified on the first day. He needs a good nickname, though. Him testing a Renault F1 car last year was near perfect, and if he was French, that would be good as well.
Okay, so predictions. I said back in March Ryan Briscoe would win this race, but despite driving for Team Penske, he isn't even in his teammates' same zip code. Hard to be anonymous when starting fourth, but that's the case.
I'm not going to be one of those people who reneges on a pick, so I'll bite it and take the lumps if he doesn't win. But Briscoe is still the pick for me for two reasons.
One, he needs a race for a coming-out party. You don't want to say he's fallen out of favor with Penske, but his countryman Will Power stole the show on the road and street courses earlier this year and Helio has been in another stratosphere this month. Briscoe is still sharp and last year proved he was a demon on the ovals - this could be his time. He's still close enough to the front, starting fourth.
Second, Helio's string of success here needs a break. This track is only good to you so often, and I can't help but think there will be at least one bad pit stop or something to take Helio out of contention. Selfishly, I can't say as I'm thrilled at the prospect of him becoming a four-time winner. It's completely different eras between Foyt, Unser, Mears and now. Not to mention some might say this would only be his third...
If it's not either of those two, Dixon wins, hands down. He's not my official pick but if I was betting on the race, I would bet on him. The six IndyCar races I have done for Motorsport.com since 2008 (Milwaukee twice, Indy, Edmonton, Chicagoland '08 and Mid-Ohio last year), "Dixie" has won four and finished second the other two. Look out, field. I'm here and Dixon is still here, and he hasn't forgotten how to win. Plus, he or Dario would give Chip both major 500 trophies in the same year.
I feel confident in saying Raphael Matos is my dark horse. Matos is very much under the radar, quick in race trim, ran top-5 here before his accident last year, and now has the benefit of working with a veteran teammate in Davey Hamilton and invaluable sage co-owner in Gil de Ferran.
First crash will be Mario Romancini, and the highest finishing female will be... Ana Beatriz. Beatriz has more miles at Indy than Simona and better cars than Danica or Sarah. Either her or Baguette will win Rookie-of-the-Year honors, but I'll take Beatriz.
Check back late Sunday night to see how far off the mark these predictions were. It's out for now, and cheers.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Push to pass... junior year gone
Hopefully, my racing friends will appreciate the title analogy. You see, this school year just completed was a lot like an extra power burst executed by IndyCar drivers for a short time period. The extra horsepower, in theory, gives them enough power to complete a pass, and is over in a blink of an eye.
As it relates to the school year, I needed several short power bursts to make it through what was unquestionably the toughest year at Marquette yet. It was also the fastest – I feel like I don’t even remember enough of it to properly recall things. Just a blur. But, the tough moments made it incredible.
You take a big step as an upperclassman, moving up from the ranks of residence halls and Sodexo-provided cafeteria food. You move into apartments, away from house parties into bars (okay, I haven’t got that far yet… next month), and into another level of responsibility and independence without the RAs there to watch your every move.
For me, I had yet another transition – no shock to anyone who knows me – to go from one roommate to three in a room in Humphrey. And first semester, living with Gags, Swee, and Mark was epic. Can’t relate how awesome it was. Swee went abroad spring semester to Madrid and Pat came back from Ireland, bringing his own story and style. It was different, but still mostly good times.
Academically, it was a challenging year coupling my commitments with the Marquette Tribune and Phonathon with classes. Fall I reported for the Tribune on a new beat, the consumer beat, which I highly enjoyed, and then moved into a leadership role as an assistant editor in the spring. I still consider it a fairly meteoric rise from the ranks of rookie reporter to helping the next group of prodigious talents with their work. I had a lot of fun and really got to appreciate the work of the seniors in their editorial roles.
Campus as a whole was really rocked by three things this year – the death of freshman Andrew Siebenaler, the retirement announcement of University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild, and the ongoing saga that has been the Arts & Sciences dean rescinding.
As a reporter, I had a role in all three stories even if I wasn’t the lead writer on any of them, but that is neither here nor there. What I saw with those events was, for the first few times in my Marquette career, the uniting of the student body in a combined group for a common cause – support for a victim’s grieving family, a president who has still given back immeasurably to this university, and rallying around whether something was done for the right or just reasons.
It was in those moments more than others this year that I saw myself as part of the “We are Marquette” mantra and mission statement, and felt better about the work I personally was doing to accomplish that.
And this is where I have to give thanks for everything I’ve done being able to help me take the next step. Without the Phonathon leadership position, I don’t think I would have been able to become an editor with the Tribune. Without the Tribune, I don’t think I could have landed the role I have helping Michelin in racing. And without all of those, I don’t think I would have an internship to look forward to for the fall with The Business Journal.
Looking back, I think I will feel more nostalgic about junior year as time passes, because so much of it was a whirlwind of getting things done without enough time to enjoy or appreciate everything I really accomplished. That’s probably the best description of the year just passed. Not the most eloquent piece of writing ever, but there you go. Cheers.
As it relates to the school year, I needed several short power bursts to make it through what was unquestionably the toughest year at Marquette yet. It was also the fastest – I feel like I don’t even remember enough of it to properly recall things. Just a blur. But, the tough moments made it incredible.
You take a big step as an upperclassman, moving up from the ranks of residence halls and Sodexo-provided cafeteria food. You move into apartments, away from house parties into bars (okay, I haven’t got that far yet… next month), and into another level of responsibility and independence without the RAs there to watch your every move.
For me, I had yet another transition – no shock to anyone who knows me – to go from one roommate to three in a room in Humphrey. And first semester, living with Gags, Swee, and Mark was epic. Can’t relate how awesome it was. Swee went abroad spring semester to Madrid and Pat came back from Ireland, bringing his own story and style. It was different, but still mostly good times.
Academically, it was a challenging year coupling my commitments with the Marquette Tribune and Phonathon with classes. Fall I reported for the Tribune on a new beat, the consumer beat, which I highly enjoyed, and then moved into a leadership role as an assistant editor in the spring. I still consider it a fairly meteoric rise from the ranks of rookie reporter to helping the next group of prodigious talents with their work. I had a lot of fun and really got to appreciate the work of the seniors in their editorial roles.
Campus as a whole was really rocked by three things this year – the death of freshman Andrew Siebenaler, the retirement announcement of University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild, and the ongoing saga that has been the Arts & Sciences dean rescinding.
As a reporter, I had a role in all three stories even if I wasn’t the lead writer on any of them, but that is neither here nor there. What I saw with those events was, for the first few times in my Marquette career, the uniting of the student body in a combined group for a common cause – support for a victim’s grieving family, a president who has still given back immeasurably to this university, and rallying around whether something was done for the right or just reasons.
It was in those moments more than others this year that I saw myself as part of the “We are Marquette” mantra and mission statement, and felt better about the work I personally was doing to accomplish that.
And this is where I have to give thanks for everything I’ve done being able to help me take the next step. Without the Phonathon leadership position, I don’t think I would have been able to become an editor with the Tribune. Without the Tribune, I don’t think I could have landed the role I have helping Michelin in racing. And without all of those, I don’t think I would have an internship to look forward to for the fall with The Business Journal.
Looking back, I think I will feel more nostalgic about junior year as time passes, because so much of it was a whirlwind of getting things done without enough time to enjoy or appreciate everything I really accomplished. That’s probably the best description of the year just passed. Not the most eloquent piece of writing ever, but there you go. Cheers.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)