Okay with all apologies to Meesh (the Patriot Act prevented our MNIIRL work visas from being processed in time for the LiveBlog), here is Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo on the Rexall Edmonton Indy.
The Good:
- Will Power drove his snappy looking yellow car to a dominant victory, fending off all challenges from his own teammates and the CGR duo, along with staying well clear of the Conweasel, Mario Moraes and Rafa "the Pinball" Matos. If I was Ryan Briscoe, I'd be looking over my shoulder, mate.
- The title chase is thrown into disarray with Dario's lead deeded over to Mr. Consistency, Dixon.
- Back to 23 cars on the grid.
- Attendance looked solid once again; Edmonton might very well be the biggest stop on the schedule this side of 16th and Georgetown.
- According to the Edmonton Journal the future of the race is "promising" as the upcoming airport closure may result in a permanent racing facility on the site. The IRL's Terry Angstadt proved that he does in fact speak in marketing doublespeak 24/7 with his quote:
"What I think is still a bit of an unknown is the destiny of this specific venue," he said. "They(Northlands) seem reasonably optimistic with the information they've been given so far that we'll be able to find more of a permanent venue here. It would need to be tweaked a bit, but not only remain here, but put in certain aspects of permanently that would allow us to put a stake in the ground and be here for a long time."In other words, a permanent IndyCar facility is a better investment for Edmonton than Dustin Penner.
- Paul Tracy (sixth, highest finishing non-Penske/CGR car) love or hate him, I'm now convinced he needs to be in a car, if only for his superior blogging and name-calling. Tracy gives the series attitude and swagger, along with a Canadian driver of note, and the occasional villain.
- For once, the IRL had the proper time zone to start completely after a N***** race ended (I'm sure it wasn't planned).
- Versus coverage was excellent, with Bob Jenkins a welcome relief after too many weeks of tedium with Marty Reid (who has hopped over to N****** Busch series).
- Rookie Richard Antinucci qualified 18th in what should probably be an engineless showcar.
The Bad:
- When the best battle in the closing laps of a race is Justin Wilson and Robert Doornbos fighting for eighth...
- Rafa Matos - There is no way a car 11 laps down should be dicing for position with lead lap cars. Barnhart should have parked him.
- Mario Moraes and Mike Conway - Unless you have Dallara stock or are cashing checks from their daddies, there's no reason to see them on the track again.
- The shotgun marraige of Ryan Hunter-Reay and AJ Foyt Racing continues to flounder. Hunter-Reay has a rep as a fast driver in a perfect car, but is not as impressive in a work in progress.
- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing overall - Tomas Scheckter put the car on a hook, Conway was umpteen laps down after more first-lap contact.
- Finishing a race under yellow is as exciting as leaving a hockey overtime tie. The IRL needs to adopt a shootout format, now that broadcast time is no longer a constraint.
- Did anyone see Dan Wheldon this weekend except Danica?
The Ugly:
- A complete lack of competition for cars that aren't rolled off the Penske or Ganassi trucks. Even slipping Dario in a blue Vaseline Car couldn't break up the 1-5 train.
- This season has gone from bad to impossibly worse for Tony Kanaan, who was passed AJIV's role as the human torch of the IRL. All joking aside, TK's quick thinking saved a major incident on pit road. One wonders if the rumored reassignment of longtime Kanaan car chief before the race Jeff Simon had anything to do with the grizzly splash and light.
- AGR overall - The inmates are clearly running the asylum. Hope Barry Green doesn't have VS on his boat, because the team is a shell of it's former glory. Not exactly presenting a compelling case for Danica (11th) to return, either.
