Hinchcliffe and crew focused after missing 500
INDIANAPOLIS – Without a doubt, this is the most grueling time on the IndyCar calendar with this weekend’s Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle and next week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Although there will be a lot of sleepy souls wandering about Belle Isle this weekend, those who overcome that exhaustion and grind out a successful doubleheader can put themselves in prime championship position. Easier said than done.
Here are a few things I think as the Verizon IndyCar Series heads toward the Detroit doubleheader (Saturday and Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC):
Indianapolis 500 hangover is real: Coming off his life-changing win at the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, Will Power is the undisputed king of IndyCar. But with the crown comes the heavy weight of responsibility.
Since his thrilling victory, Power has embarked on a non-stop media tour that has allowed for almost no sleep. He ventured from a multihour photo shoot Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the late-night 500 victory banquet to a whirlwind Tuesday in New York before more media pit stops in Dallas on Wednesday. Power finally arrived Thursday in Detroit, where he’ll try to catch up on his sleep before Friday morning practice and qualifying.
“I’m just trying to get as many naps as I can and just not be too tired,” Power told IndyStar on Tuesday. “Obviously I can’t focus as much as I would like, because normally you go to the simulator and get reacclimated with the street course racing and sit down with your engineer and talk about setup options, but I’ll be able to do that when they get to the track Thursday.”
Remember, fatigue isn’t the only thing Power will be battling this weekend. The bumpy Belle Isle track is per- haps the most physically demanding road course on the circuit.
History suggests Power’s chances of winning his third race in a row are slim. In fact, based on the way past Indy 500 victors have performed at the Detroit double dip, a top-10 finish would be an accomplishment.
Since the inaugural Belle Isle doubleheader in 2013, only Takuma Sato has finished better than 10th (eighth and fourth) among 500 winners.
Hinchcliffe will bounce back: No one has been looking forward to the Detroit doubleheader more than James Hinchcliffe and his No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports crew. After they stunningly failed to qualify for the 500, it’s all they’ve had to think about in the weeks since.
“I’m sorry we can’t be on-track for you Sunday,” Hinchcliffe said in a Twitter note to fans last week, “but we will be pushing hard for wins in Detroit.”
Hinchcliffe enters the race with a new lead engineer, the recently promoted Will Anderson, after Leena Gade and the team elected to part ways.
Anderson, Hinchcliffe and the rest of the No. 5 team will be focused on this reality: While they missed a 100-point race, there are another 100 points up for grabs this weekend. And they are the freshest team in the paddock.
If they can deliver in Detroit, Hinchcliffe could find himself a long-shot contender in the championship chase.
Focus on the championship: With the 500 in the rearview mirror, the championship now sits at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
Following his life-changing win, Power is looking to add a second season title to his résumé and is poised to do so after seizing the championship lead with his 100-point grab at the 500. However, his margin is small and there is a long way to go this season.
The only other driver with three podiums under his belt already this year, Alexander Rossi, sits two points back, and Rossi could be at an advantage given that he won’t be exhausted by the time he arrives in Detroit.
Also capable of jumping back to the front of the pack is the reigning champ and Power’s Penske teammate Josef Newgarden. The Phoenix and Barber winner sits 10 points behind Power and boasts a 15-point cushion on four-time champion Scott Dixon. Despite a slow start to the season by his lofty standards, Dixon propelled himself back into the title hunt with the best month of May of anyone not named Power. He racked up two podiums, finishing second in the IndyCar Grand Prix and third in the 500. Dixon is traditionally a slow starter, so for him to be this close to the lead early in the season could spell doom for his competitors.
Ryan Hunter-Reay rounds out the top five, 57 points back of Power. The Andretti Autosport veteran hasn’t found himself this high up in the championship as the series embarks on Detroit since 2014.
A good weekend in Detroit can turn seasons around, so don’t expect that you’ve heard the last from Graham Rahal (60 points behind Power), Robert Wickens (65 points), Sebastien Bourdais (75), Simon Pagenaud (88) or even Hinchcliffe (99).
Rahal and Pagenaud will split the doubleheader: Rahal conjured up a magical weekend in Detroit last year with a doubleheader sweep, and he’s more than capable of repeating the feat. Rahal told IndyStar this week that a frustrating 500 was the fuel his team needed last year to conquer Detroit.
“We felt like we let one slip away last year,” said Rahal, who finished 12th in the Indianapolis 500 last year and 10th this year. “This year we feel kind of the same.”
Meanwhile, Pagenaud is past due to earn his first win of the season. Each of his Penske teammates have racked up two victories this season, so Pagenuad needs to start catching up. That begins at Belle Isle. The 2016 champion is a former winner on the Detroit road course and has four podiums in 11 tries.
He’s endured some rough luck this season as he and his No. 22 team have tried to find some level comfort with the new car. Pagenaud said before the IndyCar Grand Prix that he feels like they found something ahead of that race and that he’s ready to kick-start his season. While he didn’t win or podium in May, his eighth-place finish in the Grand Prix and sixth in the 500 kept him squarely in the championship hunt.