Hildebrand again shows oval excellence
The fourth round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season is in the books. What we learned from Saturday night’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
INDY 500 CONTENDER Team owner Ed Carpenter has said time and time again that his belief in J.R. Hildebrand extends well beyond the California native’s well-known oval capabilities. But let’s be clear: While Hildebrand can be an effective driver on street and road courses, he’s exceptional on ovals.
He reminded the racing world of that Saturday night at Phoenix, notching his first podium finish since his heartbreaking near-win in the 2011 Indianapolis 500. Saturday’s third-place run was even more impressive, considering he did it with a broken bone in his left hand, which he said felt fine after the race.
Hildebrand has not had a fulltime IndyCar ride since 2012 but has run the 500 every year since. In those four races, he has finished in the top 10 three times; he led four laps in last year’s race.
“I think sort of coming away with a good weekend, executing at a high level, getting through everything, definitely builds some confidence going into the month of May, where we’ll hope to do that again,” Hildebrand said.
Though the oval at Phoenix and the one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are different beasts (one is a 1-mile oval in the desert; the other a 2.5-mile square oval with nearly flat banking), Hildebrand proved his prowess Saturday and showed he will have a say in the result of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500.
ROUGH START This is not a good year to be an IndyCar driver bearing a famous last name. Two of the top contenders for most disappointing seasons are Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal.
That’s through little fault of their own. Neither driver even made it through the first lap Saturday before Mikhail Aleshin spun out in Turn 1 and took out their cars and those of two others.
For Rahal, who finished in last place Saturday, it was the second time this season he has been involved in a first-lap incident. Rahal and Charlie Kimball collided in the season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., leading to a 17thplace finish.
“When it rains. It pours,” Rahal tweeted not long after getting knocked out of the Phoenix Grand Prix. “Not sure what else to say. My boys don’t deserve this. We will bounce back. May will be ours. Mark my words.”
After finishing seventh in St. Petersburg, Andretti has endured horrible luck for three consecutive races. Before being taken out by Aleshin, mechanical problems led him to a 21st-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park; and an electrical issue knocked him out of the race in Long Beach.
Heading into the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 13, Rahal ranks 17th in the championship race with 59 points; Andretti is tied for 19th with 57.
PARITY REIGNS For two race weekends and the week heading into the third, the talk of the IndyCar world was the big leap Honda had made to close the gap with Chevrolet. Honda drivers from two different teams won the season’s first two races, both on street courses, and it seemed possible the manufacturer might enjoy the upper hand throughout the season. So much for that. Chevrolets have run roughshod through the field in the last two races, scoring three of the top four spots at Barber’s road course and all four top spots on the Phoenix oval.
“Obviously, some tracks suited the Honda a little bit better,” said Chevrolet driver Will Power, who finished second Saturday. “But, you know, I feel like we’re going to be good. I mean, we were good at Barber. I think we’ll be good at Indy road course. Chevy’s been working really hard to have a great engine for the 500, which I’m very confident in those guys, because they do such a good job.”
Team Penske Chevrolet driver Simon Pagenaud took over the championship lead with his victory Saturday. The standings show four Chevrolet drivers in the top 10 with the top four alternating between the two manufacturers.
While Chevrolet certainly has the momentum and likely will carry its advantage into the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Honda was superior in the 500 the last two years and could have the upper hand come the end of May.
Suffice to say, parity has returned to IndyCar.