| January 2022 News |
01/28 - 2022 Racing Season Kicks Off!
01/11 - Upgrade Plans for IMS
01/11 - Upgrade Plans for IMS
| RACE NEWS & VIEWS |
| News Index |
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Upgrade Plans for IMS
01/11 - Penske lays out plans for 2022 to
continue working down his expansive IMS
to-do list.
“Our budget for this year is about $8 million,”
Penske told RACER. “And that has to do with
maintenance [capital expenses] and also things
that we’re trying to enhance. We’re working on
where customers come in at Gate 9, changing
the ticket booths around there to make it easier.
We’re looking at what we can do to add some
more capacity for motor homes in the right areas
and the support for them.
“We’re looking at buying some additional
property. A big thing we’re going to fix is the
curbs for the NASCAR race. We’re going to (do
a) major repaint of the Tower Terrace grand-
stands coming off a Turn 4 on the inside; we’re
painting the whole back infrastructure under-
neath all the way down to the Pagoda. That’s a
huge job. Doing all the stairwells that all the
structures, that’s a big one. We’ve put all-new
carpet in the media center. At the golf course,
we’re putting in four new bridges. So when you
start adding it up, there’s a lot going on.”
“We’re knocking down the old octagon between
Turns 3 and 4 and putting up a new building
there which will be used by us during race
days,” Penske said. “And when we’re not
racing, BMW will use it to promote their
products to their customers, dealers and
employees.
“What it does is it gives us the opportunity to
have something we can use for them, and we
also can use it for the 500 because it’s got a big
deck on top of for viewing. We’ve got a lot of
the major manufacturers that want to be at
Indianapolis to work with us and use the track.”
01/11 - Penske lays out plans for 2022 to
continue working down his expansive IMS
to-do list.
“Our budget for this year is about $8 million,”
Penske told RACER. “And that has to do with
maintenance [capital expenses] and also things
that we’re trying to enhance. We’re working on
where customers come in at Gate 9, changing
the ticket booths around there to make it easier.
We’re looking at what we can do to add some
more capacity for motor homes in the right areas
and the support for them.
“We’re looking at buying some additional
property. A big thing we’re going to fix is the
curbs for the NASCAR race. We’re going to (do
a) major repaint of the Tower Terrace grand-
stands coming off a Turn 4 on the inside; we’re
painting the whole back infrastructure under-
neath all the way down to the Pagoda. That’s a
huge job. Doing all the stairwells that all the
structures, that’s a big one. We’ve put all-new
carpet in the media center. At the golf course,
we’re putting in four new bridges. So when you
start adding it up, there’s a lot going on.”
“We’re knocking down the old octagon between
Turns 3 and 4 and putting up a new building
there which will be used by us during race
days,” Penske said. “And when we’re not
racing, BMW will use it to promote their
products to their customers, dealers and
employees.
“What it does is it gives us the opportunity to
have something we can use for them, and we
also can use it for the 500 because it’s got a big
deck on top of for viewing. We’ve got a lot of
the major manufacturers that want to be at
Indianapolis to work with us and use the track.”
The scoring octagon at the north end of the track
still in use during the 2007 Indy 500.
still in use during the 2007 Indy 500.
There is a scoring octagon at both the north and
south ends of the infield, with race position
information displayed in 4 directions.
They've been there ever since I can remember,
but are not used any more.
The only scoring pylon in use, is the big iconic
one at the south end of the main straight.
With the jumbotrons facing the outside stands,
they do not work so well for those in the infield.
I wish that there were scoring pylons placed
around the track, not only for infielders, but for
all the stands that can't see the one on the front
straight. That would be most of the stands
around the track.
I like to watch the race and be able to glance up
consistently to see what position a car is in.
The car positions get displayed along the top of
the jumbotron screens, but it takes a long time to
get through all the car #s. It gets more irritating
when you keep missing it because you glance
away at the wrong time.
south ends of the infield, with race position
information displayed in 4 directions.
They've been there ever since I can remember,
but are not used any more.
The only scoring pylon in use, is the big iconic
one at the south end of the main straight.
With the jumbotrons facing the outside stands,
they do not work so well for those in the infield.
I wish that there were scoring pylons placed
around the track, not only for infielders, but for
all the stands that can't see the one on the front
straight. That would be most of the stands
around the track.
I like to watch the race and be able to glance up
consistently to see what position a car is in.
The car positions get displayed along the top of
the jumbotron screens, but it takes a long time to
get through all the car #s. It gets more irritating
when you keep missing it because you glance
away at the wrong time.
2022 Racing Season Kicks Off!
Jan 28 - The new racing season kicks off this
weekend with two series racing.
IMSA’s WeatherTech Sportscar endurance
racing series kicks off with the Rolex 24 at
Daytona.
Their biggest and only 24-hour race requires
more drivers per team and attracts drivers from
other series.
There are 12 IndyCar drivers who will be
competing, across several classes. Two teams
in particular are mostly IndyCar drivers:
IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais moved to
Ganassi’s Daytona Prototype International
(DPi) team this year, joining Renger van der
Zande in the No. 1 Cadillac. Joining them for
the 24 hour race is 6-time IndyCar champion
Scott Dixon and 2021 IndyCar champion Alex
Palou! This is sure to be a powerhouse team.
Jan 28 - The new racing season kicks off this
weekend with two series racing.
IMSA’s WeatherTech Sportscar endurance
racing series kicks off with the Rolex 24 at
Daytona.
Their biggest and only 24-hour race requires
more drivers per team and attracts drivers from
other series.
There are 12 IndyCar drivers who will be
competing, across several classes. Two teams
in particular are mostly IndyCar drivers:
IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais moved to
Ganassi’s Daytona Prototype International
(DPi) team this year, joining Renger van der
Zande in the No. 1 Cadillac. Joining them for
the 24 hour race is 6-time IndyCar champion
Scott Dixon and 2021 IndyCar champion Alex
Palou! This is sure to be a powerhouse team.
In the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class,
DragonSpeed has hired three young IndyCar
drivers to join sportscar veteran Eric Lux in
No. 81 entry. Those drivers are Colton Herta,
Pato O’Ward and 2022 rookie Devlin
DeFrancesco.
DragonSpeed has hired three young IndyCar
drivers to join sportscar veteran Eric Lux in
No. 81 entry. Those drivers are Colton Herta,
Pato O’Ward and 2022 rookie Devlin
DeFrancesco.
| Ganassi Cadillac DPi |
Formula E will be racing on a street course as
usual. Their season kicks off in Saudi Arabia.
You can watch it on CBS Sports, if it’s in your
cable TV subscription. It’s not in mine.
I went to Formula E’s YouTube channel and
began watching practice. As I reported some
time ago, I cannot tolerate the high-pitched
whining noise these electric cars produce, and I
found nothing has changed, so I turned it off.
Unless I’m in some vast minority, I cannot
understand how a race series with this vast
amount of money and support, does not do
something about the sound those cars produce!
If they can’t muffle it, they need to cover it up!
For instance, many sporty cars these days have
little 4-bangers that do not produce the V8
rumble that some drivers want. So the car
companies pipe in fake noise to make the cars
seem more fierce. Similarly, perhaps each
Formula E car could have a speaker that
broadcasts loud engine noises that responds to
their throttle, with fake gear shifts at certain
speeds. They could make them sound like a
60's Ferrari V12!
If that cannot be accomplished, then perhaps
CBS can electronically remove that noise from
their broadcast and replace it with a fake sound;
much like they do with canned laughter in
sitcoms. It won't make attending a race toler-
able, but at least I could watch it on TV; well,
if CBS Sports was in my cable subscription!
I will admit that the cars are quiet enough so
that you can hear the tires react when pushed
to the limit, which is cool.
usual. Their season kicks off in Saudi Arabia.
You can watch it on CBS Sports, if it’s in your
cable TV subscription. It’s not in mine.
I went to Formula E’s YouTube channel and
began watching practice. As I reported some
time ago, I cannot tolerate the high-pitched
whining noise these electric cars produce, and I
found nothing has changed, so I turned it off.
Unless I’m in some vast minority, I cannot
understand how a race series with this vast
amount of money and support, does not do
something about the sound those cars produce!
If they can’t muffle it, they need to cover it up!
For instance, many sporty cars these days have
little 4-bangers that do not produce the V8
rumble that some drivers want. So the car
companies pipe in fake noise to make the cars
seem more fierce. Similarly, perhaps each
Formula E car could have a speaker that
broadcasts loud engine noises that responds to
their throttle, with fake gear shifts at certain
speeds. They could make them sound like a
60's Ferrari V12!
If that cannot be accomplished, then perhaps
CBS can electronically remove that noise from
their broadcast and replace it with a fake sound;
much like they do with canned laughter in
sitcoms. It won't make attending a race toler-
able, but at least I could watch it on TV; well,
if CBS Sports was in my cable subscription!
I will admit that the cars are quiet enough so
that you can hear the tires react when pushed
to the limit, which is cool.
| DragonSpeed's ORECA LMP2 |
BROACAST SCHEDULE
Formula E Race 1 Friday 11:30am-1pm CBS Sports
Formula E Race 2 Saturday 11:30am-1pm
Rolex 24 - Saturday 1:30pm - Sunday 1:30pm on
Peacock, USA and NBC
Formula E Race 1 Friday 11:30am-1pm CBS Sports
Formula E Race 2 Saturday 11:30am-1pm
Rolex 24 - Saturday 1:30pm - Sunday 1:30pm on
Peacock, USA and NBC
Other IndyCar Drivers Competing at Daytona:
In the DPi Class:
Marcus Ericsson in the No. 02 Cadillac for Chip Ganassi Racing
Alexander Rossi in the No. 10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing
Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Cadillac for Ally Racing
Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves in the No. 60 Acura for Meyer Shank Racing
In the LMP2 Class, Rinus VeeKay will be in the No. 29 for Racing Team Netherlands.
Rookie Kyle Kirkwood will drive No. 14 Lexus in the new GT Pro class for Vasser Sullivan.
In the DPi Class:
Marcus Ericsson in the No. 02 Cadillac for Chip Ganassi Racing
Alexander Rossi in the No. 10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing
Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Cadillac for Ally Racing
Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves in the No. 60 Acura for Meyer Shank Racing
In the LMP2 Class, Rinus VeeKay will be in the No. 29 for Racing Team Netherlands.
Rookie Kyle Kirkwood will drive No. 14 Lexus in the new GT Pro class for Vasser Sullivan.
Driver(s)
Class
Class
Finish
Finish
Overall
Finish
Finish
Castroneves and Pagenaud
Alex Rossi
Herta, O'Ward and DeFrancesco
VeeKay
Johnson
Ericsson
Palou and Dixon
Kirkwood
Alex Rossi
Herta, O'Ward and DeFrancesco
VeeKay
Johnson
Ericsson
Palou and Dixon
Kirkwood
1st
2nd
5th
6th
11th
13th
14th
22nd
2nd
5th
6th
11th
13th
14th
22nd
DPi
DPi
LMP2
LMP2
DPi
DPi
DPi
GTP
DPi
LMP2
LMP2
DPi
DPi
DPi
GTP
1st
2nd
1st
2nd
5th
6th
7th
4th
2nd
1st
2nd
5th
6th
7th
4th
| IndyCar Drivers Rolex 24 Results |
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