Verizon IndyCar Series could use old-fashioned rivalry
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Two weeks from now at Iowa Speedway, this will all be water under the bridge, according to Alexander Rossi.
The anger after a couple of racing incidents Sunday at Road America will dissipate, and everyone will just agree to disagree. Rossi likes Robert Wickens and Takuma Sato, so despite the fellow Verizon IndyCar Series drivers saying some things about him he wholeheartedly disagrees with, he can’t imagine it causing a rift in their relationship.
Wickens shared a similar sentiment Sunday after the Kohler Grand Prix. He won’t hold a grudge. He’s known Rossi for too long. They train together and share some of the same friends.
Yes, he was frustrated post-race after an on-track incident with Rossi that he thinks probably cost him a podium finish. But neither Wickens nor Sato — who also got tangled up with Rossi on the road course — sounded as though they will let that frustration bubble over or linger. Move on to the next race and let bygones be bygones.
Two reactions to that:
Good for these guys for being mature and understanding that racing is in many ways a contact sport. Wickens and Sato lost positions, but in the end, no one got hurt.
Bummer, IndyCar is past due for a good, old-fashioned rivalry.
IndyCar has a lot going for it right now. The car is gorgeous. The talent pool is deeper than it’s been in years. New teams are flocking to the series. But if there’s one thing IndyCar is missing, it’s a clash of titans. A pair — or more — of front-runners whose will to win just barely surpasses their need to eclipse one another.
It shouldn’t be about blood lust. There’s already enough danger to go around in IndyCar, but if a few guys want to bang wheels and then get bent out of shape about it afterward …
Of course, the media crave conflict. But that’s because fans crave it, too. And if IndyCar and its new exclusive TV partner, NBC Sports, were honest, they crave it, too. Why wouldn’t they want to market a tug-of-war between its stars.
Rewatch the NBC Sports Network preview of last year’s Watkins Glen race and take note of the top story line it promotes during the broadcast: Josef Newgarden vs. Simon Pagenaud. After Newgarden’s bold pass of his Penske teammate, the very first drivers to appear on the broadcast were Pagenaud and Newgarden.
Pagenaud, however, basically apologized for letting emotions get the best of him, and the hatchet was buried.
Maybe the same thing will happen with these three. Rossi and Wickens go way back, and Rossi and Sato became fast friends during their time together at Andretti Autosport.
But then again, maybe not. While there isn’t a full-fledged fire blazing, there are embers there. When Rossi was asked if he thinks it was fair of Sato to characterize him as “unnecessarily aggressive,” Rossi paused before saying:
“Well, I think it’s a little bit weird to be characterized as that coming from someone whose motto is ‘ no attack, no chance.’ ”
If you want spicy, that’s certainly got some zing to it. As does Wickens reply- ing to Rossi’s mechanical misfortunes Sunday by grinning and saying: “Karma is a (expletive).”
That has some hot sauce on it, as well. But, again, these are highly competitive, passionate people asked to comment in the heat of the moment. Tempers tend to flare and ire rise in those situations. With time, the frustration will likely fade.
Perhaps, Rossi is right then. By the time he, Wickens and Sato arrive in Iowa for the July 8 Iowa Corn 300, the clash at Road America will indeed be water under the bridge. Off track, they’ll be cordial.
But on it, well, who knows? None of them are going to change who they are or the way they drive. Not Sato, not Wickens and not Rossi.
“I’m here to win races and win a championship, and this isn’t a friend competition,” Rossi said. “This isn’t a buddy-buddy type of thing for me. I’m happy to be friends with them off the track and when we take our helmets off, but once the race starts, man, unless you are a teammate of mine.
“I’m not here to do anyone any favors.”