Indycar got lucky with Kirkwood’s tire
The tire that flew off Kirkwood’s car weighs about 22 lbs. and was traveling upwards of 200+ mph when it detached and careened (thankfully) over the grandstand and into the concourse. That impact could have been deadly for spectators. Just look what it did to a car it hit.
Indycar got away with one there. While it is unusual for a tire to detach from the car due to the wheel tethers in place to prevent it, I wonder if Indycar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway make any changes as a result of this incident, either with stronger tethers or maybe taller fences in the corners. I wouldn’t want to sit back and hope that it doesn’t happen again.
McLaren was their own worst enemy
McLaren had some of the fastest cars all month long and kept 3 of the 4 in the running for the win until the last stint. That’s when things fell apart.
To start, Rossi took the air off Rosenqvist’s wing and sent him up into the wall. Of course, it wasn’t intentional, but when you’re racing a teammate, you could have the courtesy to postpone that move until the next straight.
O’Ward was poised for a victory being on 10-lap newer tires than the leaders and full-rich on fuel going into his last stint. Then he dove down onto the apron into T3 on Ericsson. He put a tire on the grass and that was it. It’s too bad they didn’t see the race through to the end because both cars really had a shot with their speed.
Pato still lacks patience and maturity
Not to harp on this fact, but Pato O’Ward ruined his own race when he took an unnecessary risk and wrecked out with seven to go. To make matters worse, he still can’t admit his own fault, instead claiming he was “too nice” and “got squeezed” into T3, and then ominously saying he “won’t forget that one”. Call it like it is, Pato: you made a risky move into 3, refused to back out, put it in the dirt, and lost it.
He is making enemies in the series where most drivers are friendly. He threw away another race in Long Beach with a similar “send” which the first time he got away with—ruining Dixon’s race in the process—but the second time didn’t work out and ruined his own race.
If he wants to win a championship (or a 500), he needs to keep a cool head for the entire weekend. The question is: how many chances does he get before McLaren doesn’t want to wait for him to mature. With his talent and raw speed, my guess is he’s got plenty more strikes, but he’s wasting opportunities for good points every time he puts himself in these precarious positions in races.
At a certain point, swerving to maintain the draft isn’t worth it
I was losing my mind when I saw Ericsson follow Newgarden practically into pit lane on the final straight (in fact I thought they were pitting for some reason!) I thought for sure that a deviation off the racing line that dramatic could not possibly be quicker… draft be damned.
So I took a look, and my first thought was to compare them to the guy behind, Santino Ferrucci, who clearly does not swerve on the final stretch and also loses the draft because Newgarden and Ericsson are so far off-line.
Sure enough, he gains on both Newgarden and Ericsson off the exit of 4 to the start-finish line. He gains on Newgarden to the tune of almost a tenth, and Ericsson half-a-tenth. Extrapolating that to Ericsson, he could’ve gained half-a-tenth on Newgarden just by staying straight! He lost by a tenth, so it may not have mattered, but it could’ve been closer!
Maybe next year the driver in 2nd off the final turn will stay straight on the last lap instead of falling into this trap.
The teams need to agree on a red flag restart procedure before the race
It’s fine if Indycar wants to finish under green whenever possible and uses red flags to make sure that happens. But it shouldn’t be a surprise to the drivers and teams!
This is a sport of timing to the ten-thousandth of a second and races decided by centimeters. Yet when the end of the race comes around and they need to decide whether to red-flag or finish under yellow, it feels like they’re making it up on the fly!
I think this is an easy fix and one of the clear takeaways after the thrilling, but unorthodox, one-lap shootout. A couple ex-drivers on the broadcast in James Hinchcliffe and Danica Patrick, as well as both Marcus Ericsson (the chief anti-beneficiary) and Alexander Rossi mentioned how a pit-out to green with no full warmup lap was unheard of. We shouldn’t be dropping that on the field on a whim.
I get that this is entertainment and it’s better for the fans if the race finishes under green. I’m fine with that. But make it a written rule so everyone is always on the same page. The finish at the Indy 500 should be regulated the same way it is the rest of the season, where they traditionally would’ve finished under yellow.
Staturdays 
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