Random Thoughts on Laguna Seca

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is untouchable because of the Herta family's genetic makeup. The famous track is located near Monterey, California. Bryan Herta won half of his career IndyCar victories. His son, Colton Herta, is now undefeated at the track in an Indycar in two attempts. Colton has not only won both IndyCar races at Laguna Seca, but he also dominated them. He won the pole both times, and led nearly all laps except stop shuffles.

You could see yesterday's box score and see that Colton Herta won only 1.9747 seconds against Alex Palou. One might wonder what that means for dominance. It was yet another dominant performance by Herta at Laguna Seca. This was the same as it was two years back - the last time that the NTT IndyCar Series was there. Herta won ninety-one out of ninety five laps. Romain Grosjean led the four other. That's dominance.

Romain Grosjean's run was the only thing that saved yesterday's race. They tried to convince you that Grosjean would beat Herta at the finish and win the race. Although they can be blamed for making this up, I doubt anyone believed it.

Alex Palou, the points leader, was not helped by any of the champion contenders. Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson were mathematically eliminated. Josef Newgarden was able to overcome his second consecutive poor qualifying performance, finishing seventh. However, that was not enough to save his championship hopes. To win the championship, Newgarden must win the pole, win race, and have Palou O'Ward and Pato O’Ward compete on the first lap. It is possible, but it is highly unlikely.

Pato O'Ward finished fifth and stayed second in points behind Palou. However, he left Laguna Seca 10 points further behind Palou than when he started the weekend, as Palou was second.

However, the race ended and not many people were talking about who the winner was. Colton Herta was expected win. He did not exceed expectations. Everyone was talking about Romain Grosjean (3rd place) and the amazing show he gave in the last stint. Grosjean, who started thirteenth in the race, made 27 on-track passes more than any other driver (27). Grosjean was 2 seconds faster than Palou or Herta for the last 15 laps.

The race's most memorable moment was probably when Grosjean tried to chase Alex Palou down with less than ten laps remaining. Jimmie Johnson drove his IndyCar best race yesterday and was the only car that stood between Grosjean, Palou, and Palou. Johnson was instructed to make Grosjean get it because Grosjean was following Palou, his teammate. Johnson followed orders, and Grosjean was awarded the pass. Johnson went wide, and neither driver was going anywhere. Grosjean was thrown slightly off balance by Johnson's car, but the Frenchman managed to control the car. Grosjean eventually got past Johnson, and both cars continued to go. Race Control called the right call and attributed it to good racing.

This was the most thrilling part of the race. The only drama in the race was the Johnson/Grosjean fight in The Corkscrew. Alexander Rossi's move for the lead against Herta at Lap Two was the only real drama. Rossi was the victim of the drama and fell into Turn Five. Rossi managed to make it back, but finished in twenty-fifth.

It was obvious from the beginning that Herta would win, and Palou would finish second. The real question was, who would finish at the bottom of the podium? Grosjean offered a fascinating answer to this question.

TV coverage: I'll begin this segment by mentioning something that occurred in Friday's practice. Paul Tracy broke out into song with "I believe I can Fly"? Although I can't remember the conversation, he suddenly began singing the song and didn't stop after a few bars. He continued to sing. It was awkward and I doubt anyone will confuse PT with R. Kelly.

Locally, WSMV Channel 4 (NBC affiliate) is the local NBC affiliate. At 2:00 PM CDT, I switched to Channel 4 and left FOX's Rams-Colts match. Although the "info" description stated that it was IndyCar Pre-Race (which was what the screen showed), it wasn't IndyCar. It was instead a nature show that featured tree monkeys from Africa. It was fascinating, but not what I wanted to see at 2:00 yesterday afternoon. Peacock was showing the race so I dialed Peacock to get it on. Channel 4 was on in the other bedroom, so I dialed up Peacock and it was on. I checked the commercial while I was there. Someone had already realized their mistake and switched the channel.

Although I understand that Big NBC can be a great platform for the series, IndyCar fans sometimes depend on local affiliates' decisions. Three races were removed from our local ABC affiliate in 1993 while I was living in Jackson, TN. They were Long Beach, Milwaukee, and Toronto. Long Beach was lost to the Easter Seals Telethon. Milwaukee and Toronto were considered inferior to any ten-year-old movie. My (then) wife drove me and my husband to a Memphis sports bar, about ninety minutes from Long Beach and Milwaukee. We had a friend who had one of those huge satellite dishes in their backyard. They could record Toronto from satellite. My wife came by to pick up the VHS tape and we watched it Monday night.

These decisions made me anxious about the ABC races back then, as I was certain that we would win the ESPN races. It would be Sunday morning before I found out if we would get the ABC race in our area. Yesterday I was able to recall those days nearly thirty years ago.

Apart from Paul's singing, I thought that the NBC crew did a great job. Kevin Lee did have a moment that I think he would like back. He was interviewing Alfonso Ribeiro after the race. Alfonso was in Herta’s pity box during race and sang a slightly regrettable rendition of the National Anthem. Kevin accidentally called him Andre. It was a common mistake, as he had his name mixed up with Andre Ribeiro, a former Tasman Racing driver and Team Penske driver. It was made more awkward by the fact that Andre Ribeiro, who was fifty-three years old, died from cancer in May. Kevin called him Alfonso at the end. It was something that I would do, and I felt sorry for him.

Where was Helio Castroneves? Two-thirds of yesterday's race was completed when one of the leaders passed Helio Castroneves. The commentary booth mentioned it. It was a reminder that Helio was actually in the race. It was easy to forget that he won the Indianapolis 500 in May and went on to win the Music City Grand Prix. He also missed Gateway. He could have skipped the two previous races without anyone being aware. This is what next year will look like. Or is Helio using these races to get used to IndyCar and to become more competitive next season. We'll find out next February in St. Petersburg.

Sato's Incident: I don't always agree to Townsend Bell but I thought he was right in his criticisms of Takuma Sato when he spun in a corkscrew. Scott Dixon was able to see that he allowed his car coast backwards. Situational awareness is a concept that Sato did not seem to have.

Many of you will agree that I don't have the right to critique what drivers do unless I've participated in an IndyCar race. Although I am not a chef, I can tell a good from a poor meal. Bell has already criticised Bell. I agree with Bell.

Over the years there have been many times when Sato has done something that seems incredibly stupid. We watch the replays and wonder: "What was he thinking?" Yesterday was one such time for me.

Drive of the Day As I was watching yesterday's race, it became obvious that Romain Grosjean was the Drive of the Day. Leigh Diffey said the exact same thing on air. First, I thought that Diffey's statement was enough to make me change my mind. Then I realized that Diffey was right and that I didn't need to change mine just to be different.

Josef Newgarden was among the drivers who took more positions in the race but did so with flair and determination that had a direct impact on the race's outcome. Romain Grosjean was awarded the Drive of the Day for his third podium finish of the season.

This was a very typical Laguna Seca race. It was entertaining but not too exciting. Although I love the track, and would love to visit it again one day, it is often a bit slow.

The championship now moves to a track which can be slow at times but offers unexpected surprises quite often. The Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach will be the NTT IndyCar Series' first ever crowning of a champion. Although it is billed as a three driver race, it actually involves Alex Palou and Pato o'Ward. My insistence that experience is what matters in the championship was a mistake. I felt that my youthful exuberance would prove to be a hindrance in the final stretch. My picks for the championship are as reliable as those of my race winners.

It doesn't matter if they were closer than they actually are, I still would choose Alex Palou. I have seen enough of him in the past few weeks to be a believer. Next weekend will be very interesting.