Following a very methodical IndyCar series win by Team Penske at Pocono Raceway, here are some impressions and thoughts on the event, the winning team and a few other odds and ends. I figured this was better than the typical mid-season report card because I never did well on mid-terms.
While they can’t win every weekend, Penske Racing is operating at a level that’s higher than every other team right now. The third driver on the team — Juan Pablo Montoya, who returned to Indycar after more than a decade away — captured his first victory of the season on Sunday afternoon.
Listening to Montoya and runner-up Helio Castroneves talk about the “Penske way” of doing things is fascinating. In fact, Montoya may have given away a little too much information in the post-race media conference when he briefly discussed how they map out all possible strategies and options for completing the race, and how they manage their in-race performance to force the hand of competitors. That’s attention to detail.
This year’s race at Pocono was 500-miles long and IndyCar decided to promote it as a triple-crown event with the Indy 500 and the season-ending event in Fontana. With that, they also made the decision to start the competition in rows of three, just as they do at Indy. That was a bad decision for two reasons: 1) That’s one of the traditions that make Indianapolis unique and, unless you have 11 rows of cars like Indy does, it just doesn’t look right; 2) IndyCar barely made mention of this prior to the event. If you want to make something special, then make an attempt to publicize it and have it feel like a big deal. The failure to do so seems to be an ongoing issue for the series.
That wasn’t the only big mistake made this weekend. Just prior to the action at Pocono, Associated Press reported that ticket sales for the event were weak and IndyCar might not return in 2015 if things didn’t improve. The following day, track reps expanded on their original comments and clarified that there was no issue with IndyCar or the relationship, but it was really a ploy to spur fans into buying tickets.
The marketing-by-threatening business model isn’t a way to build lasting relationships with customers. In short order, they will tune out your message and ignore you. If you have a product that is worthy of attention, and the IndyCar series competition is definitely in that category, then it’s up to you to sell that product. Educate fans and treat them with respect — it certainly works a lot better than threatening to take their toys away.
Pocono also proved to be another tough event for Canadian James Hinchcliffe. A pit speed violation early in the race set him back in the field. With only one caution period in what turned out to be the fastest 500-mile race in Indy history, Hinchcliffe had little chance to get back in the hunt.
The pride of Oakville, ON needs a break and perhaps returning to Iowa this weekend where he won in dominating fashion a year ago will help the team get some of their mojo back.
During practice, rookie Jack Hawksworth — who collected his first podium finish at Houston — crashed coming out of Turn 1 and had an extremely hard hit. After being cleared at the infield medical centre, Hawksworth felt poorly later at the hotel and was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a myocardial contusion. He was released Sunday and, in a text message, told me he’s feeling much better.
Whatever the cost, all race tracks need to install impact-absorbing safety barriers. This could have been a much more serious incident if Pocono Raceway didn’t have them.