2016 Verizon IndyCar SeriesOpen Wheel 

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I know of Greg Murphy though. ;)

Greg Murphy = V8 Supercars Driver
 
👍 Not many people actually know about the Millens. You Yanks should though, after all last time I checked Rhys ran a Pontiac GTO (well, Holden monaro) in the US drift series :dopey:

I heard that Rod Millen was going to compete in this years' Trans-Siberia rally, the same rally he won last year I believe.
 
Welcome back? You damned right! My favorite controversial character in racing is going to bring a little more personality to IndyCar Series even as Paul Tracy didn't want to race any of the "crapwagons" in the IndyCar Series. Welcome back to Paul Tracy and Derrick Walker!
 
👍 Not many people actually know about the Millens. You Yanks should though, after all last time I checked Rhys ran a Pontiac GTO (well, Holden monaro) in the US drift series :dopey:

But John, I hope you were only referring to Kiwis in the States, because if you forgot about Messrs McLaren, Hulme and Amon... tut tut :lol:

Yea I was gonna say, Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon are from New zealand as well.
 
Good to see Walker fielding a car (although it's sort of controlled by tony George), he was one that really supported the CCWS/IRL merger.
 
I wonder what Roger's feeding his drivers before qualifying day. Another pole for Helio.

(how dare NBC air the ALMS race that took place today on tape delay on the same day ABC airs the IndyCar race live, that goes double for Fox/Speed for doing the same for the F1 race)
 
Ryan Briscoe wins the Honda Indy 200!
 
A screwed up day for motor racing (for those without dual tuner PVRs and such).

TSN didn't show F1 live at 6am Mountain Time as they usually do cause they showed British Open golf live instead.

Here's how the schedule went (all mountain time):

SpeedTV shows GP2 (tape delayed) at 9:00am-10:30am
NBC shows ALMS (tape delayed) at 10:00am-12:00pm
ABC shows IndyCar (live) at 12:00pm-2:00pm
FOX shows F1 (tape delayed) at 11:00am-1:00pm
SpeedTV shows WSBK (tape delayed) 11:00am-1:00pm
TSN shows F1 (tape delayed) at 12:00pm-2:00pm
CBS shows MotoGP (live) at 3:00pm-4:00pm

I watched GP2, then ALMS race, then F1 on TSN, watched the last 10 laps of IndyCar, and I'll be watching WSBK tommorow (recorded it) and MotoGP probably sometime later today.


I watched the ALMS race, recorded the F1
 
I watched the "first hour" of ALMS. Then I watched the F1 race. Then later I found the last 35 or so laps of Indycar. They also said who won the ALMS race during that coverage.

I will be watching the rest of the ALMS race later.
 
A screwed up day for motor racing (for those without dual tuner PVRs and such).

TSN didn't show F1 live at 6am Mountain Time as they usually do cause they showed British Open golf live instead.

Here's how the schedule went (all mountain time):

SpeedTV shows GP2 (tape delayed) at 9:00am-10:30am
NBC shows ALMS (tape delayed) at 10:00am-12:00pm
ABC shows IndyCar (live) at 12:00pm-2:00pm
FOX shows F1 (tape delayed) at 11:00am-1:00pm
SpeedTV shows WSBK (tape delayed) 11:00am-1:00pm
TSN shows F1 (tape delayed) at 12:00pm-2:00pm
CBS shows MotoGP (live) at 3:00pm-4:00pm

Add five hours of VS's live coverage of today's 15th stage of the Tour de France and the first HC into the epic Alps!

And some people wonder why I have two dual tuner HDDVRs for the same TV. For weekends like this. :)

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TS
Did anybody else lol at the Danica vs. Milka deal in practice?

I thought what Danica did was completely appropriate... and what Milka did was :lol:

She might as well have been throwing pillows at Danica, it would have at least made for better TV. ;)
 
I thought what Danica did was completely appropriate... and what Milka did was :lol:

She might as well have been throwing pillows at Danica, it would have at least made for better TV. ;)

It seemed to me that Milka wanted a piece of Danica, because she was getting really fired up about it but her team stepped in and broke it up. :(
 
Add five hours of VS's live coverage of today's 15th stage of the Tour de France and the first HC into the epic Alps!

And some people wonder why I have two dual tuner HDDVRs for the same TV. For weekends like this. :)

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Yea what I did was record ALMS and WSBK on my dual tuner PVR. And I watched F1 as well as IndyCar on my other TV. :dopey:

And yea I saw the whole Danica vs Milka Duno thing. I thought it was comical.
 
TS
It seemed to me that Milka wanted a piece of Danica, because she was getting really fired up about it but her team stepped in and broke it up. :(

I don't know... I think she was counting on them to pull her away, and when they didn't all she could come up with was throwing (and pretty pathetically at that) a little hand towel at Danica... but not even at her face... just her arm. And when that still didn't have any effect, she did it again. :lol:

Like I said, I think Milka should have thrown a pillow... while also not terribly threatening, at least it would have made for a better story, and get more teenage boys to watch IRL. :)
 
Here's a big post because I have a lot to discuss including one of my editorials. I didn't see the first hour of action at Mid-Ohio. My congratulations go out to Mr. Ryan Briscoe for the win at Mid-Ohio. My debate question this time has to do with a little trouble among the sisterhood of the IndyCar Series. Now before I ask the debate question, I'll give you some background before making my question available for commentary.





In Perspective: Danica Patrick vs. Milka Duno Skirmish on Saturday
I did a sound recording by hooking a cable (normally used for making MP3 players being able to connect to stereos for stereo-quality sound) to my Line-In to my satellite reciver's audio ports. I tried to make out as much as I could involving the argument between Danica and Milka. Here is a general synopsis of the argument is about. These are not exact quotes. But mostly, the general ideas being expressed.

LEGEND:
DP = Danica Patrick
MD = Milka Duno <<< I personally like her voice

MD: ...
DP: "Do you know what you're doing out there?"
(Milka throws towel at Danica)
DP: "What are you doing?"
MD: "...I seen you. I seen you. I tried to pass you."
DP: "What the hell!? ...that's the trouble. You're slow! You're giving everybody a hard time out there!"

(members of Milka's pit crew intercept Danica)

DP: "I'm just want to talk to her about it. It's happened to me three times this weekend.

(air wrench sound)
(Milka crew member tells Danica to "mind her manners")

MD: "You like slow. You like slow. Go. Far away from here. You like show. You aren't fast because you're not passing, yes? ...what is your problem?"
<<< EDITOR NOTE: I changed "show" to "slow" since I think that's what she's trying to say.

DP: "When you are in the 🤬 corner and you drive down..."
MD: "Oh..."
DP: "Do you see... all I want to know is, do you see me?"
MD: "Please go away. Go away!
DP: "Do you... out of your mind?"
MD: "Go away, you're not welcome here!"
DP: "You know what? Brian Barnhart is going to take care of this."



Milka's response to all of this:

"She (Danica Patrick) came in our pits in a bad way with bad words. If you come in a nice way, perfect. We can talk. If you come in a bad way, you're going to find my bad side. I don't like drama, and I told her, 'go away. You are not welcome.' She can push the guys because they cannot do anything to her. But she can NOT push me." -Milka Duno



So...



John's Debate! - [Verbal] Catfight!
I saw on ESPNEWS about Danica Patrick having another confrontation. This confrontation is a little... how can I put it... a little sibling rivalry in the sisterhood of motorsports. Danica Patrick wasn't very happy with Milka Duno's driving during a practice session at Mid-Ohio. What this resulted in was a little confrontation between Wisconsin native Danica Patrick and Venezuelan Milka Duno. Danica wanted to chat with Milka on her actions on the track, but Milka shown her disapproval and offered foul words to Danica. Who do you think is more in the wrong (and why)? Could this escalate to a new rivalry in the IndyCar Series? Should Milka have been more mindful of who is on the track and in her general direction and let them pass? Could Danica have backed off to avoid accidentally hitting Milka? What disciplinary action could result from this? Who is more justified in their arguments?


I wouldn't be surprised if one of the responses posted include something along the lines of "Milka Duno needs to care more about racing professionally and less about being a nuisance to the other racers."



John-itorial: Will Milka Duno Shine in IndyCar One Day?
I was told to have overrated Milka Duno when I've defended the 35 or 36-year old Milka Duno. I've always thought she was a smoking hot beauty from Venezuela that could drive a race car pretty well. I've seen Milka run some races for the Dick Barbour (then) LMP675 car in the American Le Mans Series in 2001. I've seen her race a Pontiac Crawford in the Rolex Sportscar Series. She was even part of a winning team at one race (Homestead 2004, I believe). Milka says that her love of racing actually came late in her life as she used to be a Naval Engineer. Can Milka Duno shine in IndyCar one day?

I never wish anyone to have a bad season or a bad career. I would love to see Milka Duno have as great of a run as when (no disrespect to her) Sarah Fisher was in her prime placing 2nd back in 2003(?). Or when Danica Patrick won Rookie of the Year in 2005 and when she won her first race back at Motegi. I know Milka best as a road racer. She's competed in sportscar racing and even Formula Nissan (I guess Formula Renault nowadays). So it isn't like she's a "newb" trying to make it big in America's best open-wheel racing series. This will be a checklist for her:

* finish a race
* finish a race on the lead lap
* finish in the Top 15
* finish in the Top 10
* finish in the Top 5
* finish on the podium
* win a race
* win multiple races or races in a row

...and the ultimate goals:
* finish in the Top 10 in the Final Championship standings
* finish in the Top 5 in the Final Championship standings
* win the IndyCar Series Championship <<< elusive goal

Will she get there? Well, she'll have to go up against the best of the IndyCar stars including her fellow South Americans. That means people like Tony Kannan, Helio Castroneves, even the talented Vitor Meira. She's also going up against some of the stars from around the world. Those include Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, and others.

Right now, I think Milka Duno has to learn consistency before even contemplating being even a viable contender in IndyCar. Look at Danica Patrick in the sisterhood of American motorsport. She doesn't DNF from races often or always gets into trouble. The least Danica can do is finish races and finish considerably well. She does that because she knows that every point and position counts. Never mind that she's racing for Andretti-Green. She's even put up good performances racing for Rahal-Letterman in her Panoz G-Force including that magical 2005 Indy 500 performance. She even locked up Rookie of the Year honors in 2005.

Milka Duno knows what winning races is like. She's still very far from winning races in a series as competitive as in the IndyCar Series. Every race builds experience. With consistency, she will shine as bright as her lovely smile. Trying to do this in IndyCar is not going to be easy. She's got to step up and step up big. She'll have to adapt to pressure and find a way to stay true even in the darkest of times. I love for Danica to win races, but I also wish Milka Duno to win. And if she doesn't win a race, I at least want her to put up some great finishes. I'm not going to say that she has no place in this series. She had a vision to compete and to be seen, and I hope she comes alive putting her past racing experiences into fruition to succeed in this major league series. Her time will come, but it takes time. I'll be wishing her the best as she tries to get exposure in this series as well as to be a viable contender in IndyCar. But once again... her time will come. It will all be about if she's ready to make that next step to becoming a true competitor even as she grows confidence in finishing solidly and consistently.



Long post, lots of content. Debate at will.
 
You gotta love a catfight..

Whilst I agree with Danica, she could have done it behind closed doors. She's having a rough mid-season and it seems like it's starting get on top of her.

On the other hand, Milka seemed more the aggressor, ah I dunno, I'll just put myself down for a ringside seat later on this season!
 
Who do you think is more in the wrong (and why)? Could this escalate to a new rivalry in the IndyCar Series? Should Milka have been more mindful of who is on the track and in her general direction and let them pass? Could Danica have backed off to avoid accidentally hitting Milka? What disciplinary action could result from this? Who is more justified in their arguments?

I think Milka was in the wrong on this one, because she totally chopped Danica when she thought that Milka had given her the preferred line to go past her. Even though it was funny and made for some good TV (and will probably boost ratings for the next race at Edmonton), Milka did a piss-poor job at handling the situation and made herself look like a fool.

BUT:

Bee
*snip* ah I dunno, I'll just put myself down for a ringside seat later on this season!

Put me down for 1 too!

Like I've said before, the series should revoke Duno's license. Plain and simple.

She's not as bad as Yuji I.., I uh, er, um mean Marty Roth.
 
I think they should both get better aquainted in Brian Barnard's office. Danica stated "I've never talked to her before, I didn't know what to expect." WHAT?! They've been racing on the same circuits for over a year and haven't talked before? Not even a "Hi, I'm xxx" at a driver's meeting? Sounds like the term "Sisterhood" as someone described, is a far fetched concept. So when you go to meet someone for the first time full of fire and criticism, how might you expect them to react?

In Milka's defense, It's not like it's a well kept secret that she has no business in an indycar. So, what did Danica think she'd accomplish?

When I was racing, I tried to get to know all the drivers running in my class. (Some were even women) It makes for good comraderie and keeps rivalries friendly. I'm sure it's different at the top of the Pros since there's so much more at stake, but drivers ought to get to know each other.

More to come...
 
Add five hours of VS's live coverage of today's 15th stage of the Tour de France and the first HC into the epic Alps!

And some people wonder why I have two dual tuner HDDVRs for the same TV. For weekends like this. :)

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Did no one else watch any of the races(the live ones) on the sites? I remember watching both the Lifelock 400 and the Suntrust Indy 200 two weeks ago from the confort on my room on my laptop. Really helps, especially when you've got times for a series to submit in on that same day as I did sunday.
 
My analysis of this entire issue comes in this huge post which includes analysis and an angry rant. Behold:


In Perspective: Danica Patrick vs. Milka Duno
Let it be known that I enjoy watching Danica Patrick and that I want Milka Duno to succeed in the IndyCar Series. This, however, was a rough moment. I've referred to Patrick and Duno (and even Sarah Fisher) as the "speed sisterhood of the IndyCar Series." In this sisterhood, there was an... internal struggle per se. Personally, the 36-year old former model and former naval engineer turned racer, Milka Duno, was clearly in the wrong with this mix-up in practice. Danica Patrick is clearly a more talented racer than Milka Duno. The usual aspect is that a more talented racer doesn't like being upstaged by a less-talented racer. Milka Duno is learning her way through the IndyCar Series apart from her experience in other open-wheel racing series as well as sportscar racing. So the mindset I have is that as a veteran racer, this is really a blemish on her racing ability. Milka is really a better racer than what she did to Danica this past weekend.

If the IndyCar series had that "Go or Go Home" qualifying aspect that NASCAR has (thank God the ICS doesn't), Milka would consistently be one of those "Go or Go Home" drivers. I don't hate Milka Duno. I've had respect for her in racing outside of being a beautiful Venezuelan (see for yourself at: http://www.milkaduno.com ). But this was really not a good move by Milka. I'm not going to lash out on her like a snake attacking a rabbit. All I'm going to say is that she needs to step up and exhibit better racing ability on the track. I think she's going to find her way on the track eventually. Don't want to say she's an absolute bust and a black eye for the IndyCar Series. All I'm saying is that she's got to demonstrate better racing ability than what she's shown so far. I don't think there's been a single race where I've seen Milka Duno either spin or crash. She's got talent. Milka just needs to use it better in this new challenge for her. If she can race a World Series car and two types of sportscar racing prototypes, then she can pilot an IndyCar quite well.

Milka was in the wrong in her mix-up with Danica Patrick. Danica wanted to pass Milka on the track, and she kept blocking her. I can think of two causes for this: (1) one racer isn't very talented, so one driver tries to prevent other racers from making clean passes; or (2) the driver in question doesn't want to admit being slow and off-pace, so that driver prevents others from making passes. A key statement made by Milka talked about Danica being called slow because she's not passing. Well, Danica WON'T be fast if she's not allowed open opportunity to pass. You have to learn track discipline. Let others pass. You have a very limited threshold with these cars. You can't "love tap" anyone in IndyCar like you can in NASCAR. If you're off-pace, let other cars pass you. I would be upset if I were off-pace in a VIDEO GAME, but NOT reality. Don't make up being off-pace by ruining others' days. You're only going to shine in a sport if you work to improve your abilities. Milka needs some vast improvement if she's to avoid lame duck status in this series. It would be being a bad sport to wish someone never succeeds in a sport. That's not me. I'm just saying that if she's going to prosper in this series, she'll need to do what Sarah Fisher done in her first tour of duty in the IndyCar Series, and especially what Danica Patrick has done.




ESPNEWS had a new segment called "Pregame Aircheck." It was basically an "Around the Horn"-style show where three different commentators are called up to offer opinions on sporting events. The final question involved if Danica Patrick is out of control with some of her mix-ups. Here were the responses by three different people:

Is Danica out of control?

Beto Duran:
who is she to give anyone advice on racing?

Andrew ???:
remarkable restraint from incident as towel thrown in her face; fair game as it's between two women and not a guy vs. a girl.

Kevin Sheehan:
not manufactured drama; will save the IndyCar Series with a new rivalry each month; understands marketing and merchanding




Ready for a Texas-style sound off? I know you are. So here you go, piping hot from Houston's own JohnBM01:

John Sounds Off! - Missing the Point
Danica Patrick can care less about marketing as her and Milka have had confrontation. This is really the damndest shame because some people see this more as marketing hype than actually pinpointing the situation. I'm personally disappointed about what this situation has become as opposed to what this is really and truly about. I'll find a few key point to use in my angry rant.

Marketing Device?
You can't just follow one story and make it out to be a pitch to get the IndyCar Series more exposure. You know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of Jackass "fanboys" on YouTube making asses out of themselves just to be noticed by people who lower themselves to watch these idiots and like what they do. It's like, "do we have to see a little kid get owned by an animal or accidentally hit by an older person? Do we have to keep seeing college frat boys damn near kill themselves pulling off stupid stunts?" Since when did the IndyCar Series need something like this to boost ratings and get attention? This is just a cheap and stupid way to get attention if you see this as an attention-getter. Sure, it was an attention-getter to see Danica and Milka have some disagreements. But I don't think people are going to stop watching NASCAR just to see these two go at it. If both Danica Patrick and Milka Duno both can consistently place in the Top 5, THEN it would be a bigger deal than it already is. An analogy to this issue would be like a Miss Universe winner being heckled by someone who placed dead last or near the bottom. No jealousy or anything was involved. It was simply one driver not driving too professionally and getting underneath the skin of a more talented racer.

That's what's wrong with the media in general (I should know this because I want to be my own motorsports journalist and announcer). We overlook actual facts and only focus on "marketable" elements. You can't keep relying on things like this to offer such opinions on racing series. This is a great series that doesn't need


Danica Out of Control?
Damn it to hell, I'm sick of this bulls:censored: thinking of Danica as a ticking timebomb. We're totally neglecting that Danica Patrick is an immensely talented racer. We're forgetting that Danica Patrick won more races than Milka Duno. We're thinking of Danica as a firecracker, but we're forgetting that she's a very good racer. Not great, but very good. We only focus on half of what Danica really is. Is she Tony Stewart? Is she Kyle Busch? No and no. But still, people make her out and note her as being a hothead. Images of her making that angry stomp on the track as well as Danica having a word with Ryan Briscoe at Indy this year. Like every other racer has a ho-hum attitude about being blocked or out of a race. If that's true, then Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani at San José climbed out of the car to go drink some Labatt Blue and put aside their differences. If Danica were REALLY a hothead, then she would have went after Milka Duno like Ron Artest in the Pistons/Pacers brawl back in 2004. But Danica's not like that. She has class even when she's not having a good day.

Danica isn't out of control; she's just trying to be competitive. This ties into something Danica said once. Because Danica is a female racer, she tends to get a little extra attention because she's a femme. Some people just look at her like she's the "Rowdy Busch" of the IndyCar Series. I hate this to be honest. Danica Patrick is just trying to show Milka Duno the error of her ways, and the media portrays her as this feisty hellcat. I just don't like this, damn it.

And who's this Beto Duran dope talking about who Danica is to give racing advice? She won a race and usually finishes in the Top 10. So who the hell are YOU questioning Danica's racing ability? If she was truly the hothead, she would just be spinning out other racers, right? Ask for her opinion on this incident. She'll probably say that she just wanted to chat with Milka Duno about her racing. Let's not make this just a way for guys in my age range (18-25) to want to watch the IndyCar Series. I NEVER let rivalries get me into racing. I've liked the IndyCar Series well before this incident.


In Closing
This may get casual fans into the IndyCar Series, but don't rely on this to bring in more fans. Danica is only a terrible racer if you keep seeing her as a firecracker. It's the media's fault that she keeps being portrayed as this time bomb. Only caring about moments like these rather than some of the close finishes and intense racing. Is the American economy that bad that we have to market uninteresting aspects to get more viewers? Doesn't that sound familiar? If you're not going to care more about racing as opposed to crashes and incidents like this, get the hell out of motorsports journalism and don't come back unless you actually figure out what's more important.




I just wish more naysayers just shut the f:censored: up. Have your say. Edmonton is next.
 
Just to put my 2c in. I only saw the last 15 min or so of the race and highlights on the Speed Report. Overall, looked like a pretty boring race to me. I think it's comical that the highlight of the whole race was this incident between 2 women drivers. I'd like to see more focus on the racing action. That being said, I remember Coulthard took out Schumacher in the wet at Spa several years ago and Schumacher went to give him a good talking to, that was mildly entertaining.

Anyway, for this motorsport weekend, the MotoGP race and American LeMans Series races provided the most entertainment. The passes in the Corkscrew in the MotoGP race were just insane.
 
Just to put my 2c in. I only saw the last 15 min or so of the race and highlights on the Speed Report. Overall, looked like a pretty boring race to me. I think it's comical that the highlight of the whole race was this incident between 2 women drivers. I'd like to see more focus on the racing action.

The race was fairly exciting, especially the beginning when the track was damp (but ABC decided to air 10 minutes of commercials after the Open championship ended) and there were drivers who started on wets and pitted early and there were drivers who started on wets then promptly changed to drys. But once Briscoe got the lead, things started to spread out.

That being said, I remember Coulthard took out Schumacher in the wet at Spa several years ago and Schumacher went to give him a good talking to, that was mildly entertaining.

Wasn't that the same race at Spa were there was a massive crash that later caused the FIA to mandate the wheel tethers?
 
I remember Coulthard took out Schumacher in the wet at Spa several years ago and Schumacher went to give him a good talking to, that was mildly entertaining.

:odd: You mean when Schumacher drove into the back of a slower moving Coulthard and took them both out???

 
:odd: You mean when Schumacher drove into the back of a slower moving Coulthard and took them both out???
Err yea. My mistake. You're right, it was Coulthard moving far too slowly in the rain and Schumacher took both him and himself out and later went to yell at him for running to slow or something like that.
 
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