Sao Paulo Indy 300 – Race Recap

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Now, THAT was a race! I can honestly say that was the first street (go ahead and throw road in there as well) course race that I actually enjoyed. I think it was a combination of many factors that resulted in the awesome outcome. There was all of the craziness such as the Sambadrome, a small hurricane and a first lap melee. Add in the flat-out extreme and intense racing and the result was a great season opener!

This is the first IZOD Indycar race recap that I have done. The following is the format that I will follow throughout the season. Relive and enjoy!

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner:

Although, I was on the edge of my seat cheering RHR on, it was great to see Will Power bring this home. Yes, it was still a Penske victory, but it was the comeback story of the race (more on Vitor below) and it felt good . After surviving that scary crash at Infineon Raceway, who knew what sort of ‘racing’ shape would be in when he returned. He was the comeback story of the race. Not going to lie, his post race comments about “lying in the hospital bed” was a near tear jerker. I guess all you need is a banana n honey sandwich mid race and your good to go!

Biggest Step Forward:

RHR took the biggest step forward. He had the best car out there the entire day and he continuously pushed it to the edge. I am sure that he raised some eyebrows over at IZOD and I wouldn’t be surprised if the IZOD execs don’t cut a check for the entire season sponsorship before the green flag drops at St. Pete. Could this be the start of the Andretti Autosports turnaround?

Biggest Step Backward:

Initially, I considered giving this to Marco Andretti but he really could have done nothing to prevent Mario Moraes’s car from dry humping his helmet. Instead, I am going to give this to Ryan Briscoe. That sort of mental lapse in judgment is what lost him the championship last year. He is extremely talented but he keeps having these moments. I have a feeling it is going to be another close race for the championship this year, he can’t afford too many of these mistakes if he wants to bring home the hardware.

Wanker Move of the Race:

There is a tie for the inaugural ‘Wanker Move of the Race’ award. I am not sure what Takuma Sato’s plan was but at some point while driving 140mph in blinding dust, in the back of your mind, you must consider breaking for the first turn. The resulting melee ensued. The other Wanker move was made by Dan Wheldon. Although Dan posted a great result for Panther Racing, he punted the hard charging Alex Tagliani right into the rear of the crowd favorite Tony Kanaan, essentially ending the day for both drivers. Both of those drivers were in contention and it was a shame they were knocked out like that. I was very impressed with the initial showing from the FAZZT Race Team. Alex has loads of talent. Wouldn’t that be something if this team sneaked a victory in this year?

Fist Pump Worthy Pass of the Race:

That wild and crazy pass that RHR pulled on Simona De Silvestro while she was in the lead (impressive showing for the female rookie, by the way). He got airborne. Sparks were flying. Bold move. Fits pumps were flying at my house.

TV Coverage:

We have come to expect great things from VERSUS and they delivered once again. Yes, there were a few quirky things said in the booth, a few of the camera shots were blurry at times but given the circumstances (first race of the season, different country, hurricane weather) it was a good showing. The biggest complaint that I read about was that DirectTV still didn’t have VERSUS. We can go ahead and RIP that issue.

Overall Thoughts:

This was exactly the sort of race that we needed to start the season off with. The racing was fast and exciting. There were new faces (with their new teams) running at the top. Some great storylines played out during the race. It was really great seeing Vitor Meira get on the podium and have the best result out of all of the Brazilian drivers. There is no doubt that Foyt Racing made the right decision by sticking with their man. It will pay off and I truly hope to see Vitor get his first IRL victory this year. I am still not sold on street/road courses as I am still a huge fan of oval racing, but if anything, this race has made me a bigger fan of IZOD Indycar racing as a whole.