These guys can talk a good race, too
All the major racing sanctions held events the past weekend, and there was lots of local racing as well.
Here are driver quotes, good and bad, from some of the winners and losers. It’s not too difficult to determine who had a good day at the race track.
“This is big. Fantastic weekend,” said Takuma Sato after winning the Grand Prix of Portland, the latest race on the Verizon IndyCar tour. “I think this is one of the most beautiful days in my life again.”
But it wasn’t a beautiful day for James Hinchcliffe.
“Obviously, a pretty disappointing day after a promising start,” lamented the Oakville native after starting the 105-lap race in seventh, then getting punted around near the start and placing 22nd.
“It was a kind of classic first lap deal — Zach (Veach) didn’t leave me enough room on the inside of turn 3 there, and we got forced on to a pretty big curb. It kicked the car sideways, and I’m obviously sorry for the chain reaction it set off and ruined a lot of guys days. Ultimately, that’s racing.”
Sato started the race in 20th, and took the lead for good on lap 85 with his Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda. With his win, he is 11th in series points. Hinch managed 76 laps in his Schmidt Peterson Racing Honda at the finish, is now 10th in the standings.
Defending Jack Murphy Memorial Super Nationals Mike
Lichty kept the heat on in this year’s race at Oswego Speedway, but the Innerkip driver who took second could not catch winner Tim Jedrzejek of Ohio in the 60-lap event, the latest on the ISMA Super Modified tour.
“It was a good run. I would have liked to win, obviously,” said Lichty, one of two Canadians who regularly compete with ISMA. “It was fun racing with Timmy (Jedrzejek). I had him a couple times on the outside there and just couldn’t pull it off. It was between lapped cars and I thought I had him cleared a little bit down, and then I drove real hard down in one and kind of skated the nose a little bit. But that’s racing. I’ll take this second and move on to Star (Speedway in NH) next week.”
A good day for Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean at the Italian Grand Prix produced a sixth-place finish and enough points to take fourth in the constructors’ standings.
“It’s great to be in the points again and enjoying a good series of races. It was a good race, but tough,” said Grojean after the race, won by Lewis Hamilton. “I’ve never really had a good race at Monza, but today that wasn’t the case. I’m happy and looking forward to going to Singapore.”
Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen did not have a good day at Monza, citing tire issues with his Ferrari, and finished well-down in 17th. But the Dane still leads in points over Grosjean in eighth in the standings while Frenchman Grosjean is presently 14th. Top Fuel standout Tony Schumacher was trying for his 11th win at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indy over the weekend.
Although he made the show, qualifying seventh, he was out first round, lighting up the rear tires on the 11,000-horsepower dragster.
“What a way to end a frustrating weekend,” said Schumacher
following his exit in 23 career U.S. Nationals. “This is Indy and you want to come out and be your best every day here. Especially today, when everything was on the line. We had a fast race car, but just never got a handle of it this weekend.”
Terry McMillen won Top Fuel for the 64th Nationals. J.R. Toddtook Funny Car, and Tanner Gray won in Pro Stock.
Clint Bowyer did not hold back when his time in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington ended earlier that expected Saturday night.
After about 300 laps in the third stage, driving his Carolina Ford Dealers Ford Fusion, he got into it with Ryan Newman, who Bowyer believed was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I hit the 31 (Newman) really hard,” Bowyer said after the race.” I don’t know. I guess he was pitting or something and it’s a product of this place, I guess. There are lapped cars that are 50 laps down all over the damn place. That’s pretty frustrating. I’m about tired of that.”
Bowyer, who finished 36th in the NASCAR Cup race, won by Brad Keselowski, continued his rant about the event, citing the layout of the 68-year old track could be updated.
“This track is too narrow for cars to be that far off the pace,” he said. “You’re in and out of those guys, diving all over the place, trying to navigate around them, trying to figure out where the hell they’re going.” WEEKEND WINNERS: Georgia’s Bubba Pollard won the 200-lap Pro Late Model event and a $50,000 payout during the Canadian Short Track Nationals at Jukasa Motor Speedway on Sunday. Patrick Laperle of Quebec was top Canadian in fourth, while Cayden Lapcevich of Grimsby placed 11th and brother
Treyten took 12th in the 40-car field. The day previous Brandon
Watson of Stayner won the 100-lap APC Late Model race.