Monday, July 12, 2021

The Unfourth Fourth: Mid Ohio Meanderings

Cause like that ‘Ol Commercial saying goes: “Sometimes You Feel like A Nut, Sometimes You Don’t!”

 

Although this year’s IndyCar Series season has felt like a virtual Rollercoaster to Mwah, I’ve look forward to each ‘N every race, especially with the Depth of Different winners along with enjoying Team Penske’s struggles. Hence, somehow I thought I’d never say this, but! I’m actually looking forward to a month Off of IndyCar’s, Zoinks! Especially since it Dovetails nicely with All of my Company arriving shortly…

 

As I’ll surmise these feelings are largely due to it being Summertime and once again having to Bug Out of my Humble Bungalow By the Sea in order to Not go FUCKING DEAF during Florence’s El Stupidio BOOM BOOM Stupid Fourth ‘O July Fireworks Display! Being just blocks away from where they’ll be Exploding, Sheisa!

 

Along with getting increasingly Peeved with NBC’s Willy Nilly treatment of IndyCar TV Coverage this year, which surely is a sign of things coming, El Correctomundo? Now that Thar Biggest Race of the year’s Done ‘N Dusted, and it somewhat feels like the same Blasé treatment ABC gave to the series during it’s latter years excluding Mother Speedway.

 

As I try “Supporting” NBC/NBCSN buy “Watching,” Err listening to their Gory TV Broadcasts, but lately, especially now that they’ve gotten their “Magnificent” Indy 500 TV Ratings, Tuh Duh! Uhm, like what would you expect after lifting the Indiana TV Blackout? But I digress…

 

First Thar was waiting All day until Nine Friggin’ PM Pacific to listen to the Junior Varsity team’s Call of Road America Qualifying and then another extremely Disjointed Mid Ohio Qualie’ Broadcast.

 

And even though Leigh Diffey was back in the Booth with the Biggest Brain On Campus Townsend Bell, it’s just Not the same without ‘Ol “Sugar Ray Tracy, nee PT’, The Thrill from The West Hill or Mr. Chrome Horn,” , aka Paul Tracy commenting. And thus I elected once again to listen to the race on WFNI 1075 The Fan via Zed Internet instead.

 

The Tape delayed Mid Ohio IndyCar Qualifying started 4mins late by my unofficial Talking Keychain clock. And Seriously? Six

Freakin’ Commercial Breaks during the 1hr programme, WTF? Eating up nearly one third of the Broadcast, as you’re nothing but Greedy Bastardoes Comcast!

 

As they couldn’t even show the paltry 10mins first two Qualifying groups without cutting to commercials in the middle of each 10min session: Start-Stop-Start-Stop, Rinse, lather, Repeat, G-DAMN YOU NBC Sports!

 

Thus we’d endured four commercial breaks in the first 30mins of the Tape Delayed Broadcast! Not to mention Qualie’ being run directly at the same Gory time as Tony Stewart’s SRX race at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis was being shown on a rival Television Network, Oh Never Mind!

 

Ok, if you’re still reading this, you get the picture, Righto? Thus it was better having seven IndyCar Radio Network members calling the action at Mid Ohio vs. NBC’s paltry four, especially since Radio has to actually Describe the Action vs. just Arse-suming the TV Viewer can See what’s happening, which if your Blind, but I digress further…

 

As the IndyCar Drivers decided to make some Fireworks of their own on the race’s first two abortive starts! Bringing out two Full Yellow Cautions for six laps ultimately knocking three competitors out of the race. The first coming when The Mayor ‘O Hinchtown said Pardon Me Playing Thru to Andretti team-Mate Ryan Hunter-Reay, The Dude! With Arrow McLaren SP “Punching Bag” Felix rosenqvist having nowhere to go and BAM!

 

Actually Raymond Hando of For The Love of Indy sez’ that Romain Grosjean “Punted” the Swede! As both Hunter-Reay and Rosenqvist suffered broken Tow links and circulated at the end of the field for the remainder of the race after their respective Pit Crews made repairs.

 

Then following the race’s second start, DJ WillyP’ called Smoke On, or more likely lighted a Smoke Bomb of his own when going Mano e Mano with Scotty “Thee Iceman 2.0” Dixon, who reportedly clipped the Aussie’s front wheel, seeing Will Power do his bestest “Ol Hollywood’ (Danny Sullivan) impersonation with a 360-degrees Ontrack pirouette. Yet Power definitely didn’t “Spin ‘N Win,” as his Smoke Bomb caused a Hapless Ed Jones to not be able to see the stricken Team Penske car and B-A-M! As Power would ultimately be classified 26th and Dead last at Mid Ohio.

 

And it’s funny how I cannot remember the last time I “Watched,” Err listened to a Mid Ohio IndyCar race, since I know for some reason I missed the  2019 event, and I can’t remember last year’s Double Header, although I know Will Power won Race-1 and Colton Big Shot! Herta Race-2, but presumably I suffered from Covid 19 Race Overload-itus, Eh?

 

Although Josef Newgarden effectively led Wire-to-Wire from Pole, it was a pretty entertaining race with All of the competition for positions from second place backwards, excluding the Dixon Freight train as the Kiwi’ seemed to be holding up much of the field All race long! As I chanted to No Avail for Alexander Rossi to get past Dixon, which never happened.

 

But as chronicled elsewhere on Ye Blogosphere, Romain Grosjean, Pato O’Ward, Santino Ferrucci and Takuma Sato All had impressive days by moving up multiple positions to finish P7-10 respectively.

 

And I was chanting at race’s end for Marcus Ericsson to get past Newgarden for another improvable win, which didn’t happen but the Swede finished just a scant 0.8-seconds adrift in second place while current Points leader Alex Palou came home third, one position ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Team leader Dixon with Rossi finishing fifth for his season’s first Top 5 finish.

 

Also much has been made out of the fact of it being the 50th Anniversary of El Capitano’s (Roger Penske) then Penske Racing winning it’s first IndyCar race with Mark Donohue at the Helm at Pocono on July 3, 1971. Whilst I also heard somebody mention it was Penske’s 220th Win! As in 220 Freakin’ IndyCar victories, Aye Karumba!

 

And the Fireworks kept ah-comin’ since everybody in the Media was in a tizzy over Ye Cheepster’s (Chip Ganassi) decision to sell his two car CGR NASCAR team to Justin Marks and Co-Owner Armando Christian Herez, who’s better known as the Rapper Pitbull, which will become Trackhouse Racing after season’s end.

 

As I’m 86% certain that Marks Co-Drove with SuperMario’, aka Mario Farnbacher for Mike, Uhm Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 86 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar GT Daytona Class Championship winning Acura NSX GT3 Evo effort.

 

Which Justin indeed did  in 2019, when closing out his Sports Car career that season as an Endurance Specialist in what’s now known as the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.