TBK-Light.com

He's working on his fitness and physique, so yes he should fit.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

only road courses would make sense, maybe the 500

Brickyard 400 too. I still hate that he sped on pit road in 2009. Winning with that paintscheme after being the class of the field would have ranked right up there with his Monaco or Indy 500 wins.

Maybe try the double? I mean if he doesn't make it back in time for green flag, not like the team would be running for points. But why not have Roger put him in some Nationwide races next year regardless of track type?

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what's the point?

Penske should return to sports car racing and run Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen with Castroneves/Power/Montoya.

Wasn't Penske rumoured for a Porsche LMP1. I doubt they will do that next year but maybe the year after.

A couple of IndyCar teams have reached out to NAPA about possible programs.

One who's not impressed by Castroneves and Power is Gordon Kirby. I wonder if Penske read this before JPM was signed?
http://gordonkirby.com/categories/colum ... no402.html

Helio is ok, but not as good as he used to be. Power can't cope with pressure, is a road course specialist (useless when your series uses both oval and road) and is prone to hissy fits. The reason he lost titles is his and his alone.

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Yeaa, age is catching up with Helio now. I still think that Dario will retire too, but who would replace him though?

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Yeah, I know he's mad and I don't care. I do not care. I did not care then. I do not care now. I'm here to race him.

I don't think Dario's ready to stop racing, but it's clear he doesn't suit the new car, whilst he had the old one sorted. I can see him going racing with his brother.

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By retire, I do mean just from Indycar. Defo he'll go into sportscars though. He's done plenty of racing that this year.

That'd be, if not the final, one of the final nails in the Indycar coffin. Indycar needs to steal drivers from F1, NASCAR or give young Americans the chance, like Sarah Fisher did with Josef Newgarden and Bryan Clauson. All in the name of popularity. American's love an "American Dream" and doesn't care much for other nationalities, and America is still Indycar's prime market.



I usually agree with Gordon Kirby, but I don't think he's right with calling Helio as "the most lacklustre champion ever" and that Power is a loser. Both are very capable drivers, Helio probably more when in his prime than Power in his prime, but to compare them to Emerson, Mears and Bobby is a bit unfair as the sport is very different now. Those three were World Class; Helio, Power, Franchitti and Dixon may have been that sometime, but Indycar isn't a legit alternative to F1 as it was in their era, it is now a resort for the unlucky, less talented, but as we see those who have failed in Europe's junior formulas are usually nowhere in Indycars as well (Viso, Jakes etc), while who did do really good in Europe did prove to be competitive (de Ferran, Bräck, Bourdais, Wilson).

If Helio is "the most lacklustre champion ever" then what does that make the rest of the 2013 grid that hasn't been able to beat his points total so far this season? Helio would be every bit the deserving champion.

Winning titles is not always about how fast or spectacular you are. Or do we need to remind Gordon Kirby about the tail of the tortoise and the hare?

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Exactly! Is 2013 the most lacklustre year ever then? No. Even the last 10 laps at Baltimore is enough evidence that that isn't the case. As Esben told me, those last 10 laps had enough "AND VILLENEUVE LOCKS UP" moments for a long while...

2013 has been one of the closest and most competitive seasons in many years. How many winners? How many new winners? Taku leading the championship early on, Hinch winning multiple times, Ganassi coming on strong out of nowhere, Marco being solid and consistent, and yet Helio is "the most lacklustre champion ever" because he's risen to the top during this pretty amazing season?

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Some people just like to put Indycar down. That's one of the things it's up against in trying to get back to where it once was, the boo boys.

Bit of a strange article by Kirby. He puts down Castroneves and Power but feels Hildebrand deserves another shot, and with Penske no less. Pretty sure most of us can agree Hildebrand is a mediocre driver at best. The only reason people even remember him is for lucking into and blowing a shot at winning the 500 due to most of the contenders being on a disadvantageous fuel cycle.

Anyway, competition within Indycar is great so I have an interest in watching it but I'm under no illusion that the actual level of competition in the series is even in the same zipcode as the days when it was the top series in America and most Americans and later even quality drivers outside the country strove to be there and looked at it as a viable alternative to F1, even while still at their peak.