MAVTV500 was a big boost for IndyCar
07/03/15
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| Derrick Walker has to stand up to the whining Chevy teams and drivers who lost their advantage with the higher downforce imposed at Fontana. The only thing missing was the tears |
Some racing fans and media heralded Saturday's MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.as one of the most exciting races in the sport's history.
A more than 100 percent increase in overnight television ratings from last year meant a lot more people watched the race too.
The 250-lap event featured an all-time IndyCar-record 80 lead changes among 14 of the field's 23 entries.
"We put on a heck of a show for the fans, that's for sure," third-place finisher Marco Andretti said. "It's definitely crazy. You've got guys that just don't want to back off, guys going forward, guys going backward, inside, outside. I find it quite fun but it is extremely dangerous… That's what we sign up for."
Ryan Briscoe, whose late-race incident with Ryan Hunter-Reay ended the race under caution, echoed Andretti's sentiments.
"It was a really exciting race, to say the least," Briscoe said. "We passed a lot of guys out there, so it was fun to be up front. Coming through the field a couple times – it was awesome. I was really enjoying myself."
The race featured a total of 3,173 on-track passes – 2,537 for position – which accounts for 51 percent of the total on-track passes (6,248) in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season.
And, although there was much concern from the drivers on the "pack racing" and the white-knuckle intensity that was seen throughout the race – at times going five-wide – it will forever be ranked as one of if not the best 500 mile races of any kind.
"To be clear, I think Fontana was one of the best ever IndyCar races. Needs to be October or November day or night for better fan comfort," the legendary Mario Andretti tweeted
To add to the hype, drivers with two of the most recognizable surnames in IndyCar racing shared the podium as Graham Rahal won and Marco Andretti finished third.
Surprisingly, it's the first time in their IndyCar careers that the two – who each now drive for teams owned by their fathers – have celebrated together in Victory Circle. The last meeting on the podium for a Rahal and an Andretti was Sept. 1, 1996, in the Molson Indy Vancouver street-course event. Marco's father, Michael, won that day and Graham's dad, Bobby, finished second.
The MAVTV 500 was the 42nd time in which a Rahal and an Andretti, including Marco's grandfather, Mario, and cousin John, have been on the podium together in an IndyCar race. There were three occasions when Bobby Rahal and Mario and Michael Andretti swept the podium in their careers.
Graham Rahal, who started 19th, moved to fourth in the 2015 championship standings with his fifth top-five finish through 11 races.
"It feels good. I'm most happy for my dad and (team co-owners) Dave (Letterman) and Mike (Lanigan) and all our sponsors that kind of came back and gave us some life this year," Graham said.
"This is a big, big deal for us. There's a lot of people that made a lot of comments about myself and about our team and about our owners and everything else that weren't fair, to be quite frank. So to kind of rebound the way we have all season … this feels good to win.
"I feel like we're starting to find our form everywhere a little bit, and I think that's helping us in the big picture," the younger Rahal added.
Marco Andretti also is experiencing a resurgence of sorts this season. His third-place finish was his fourth top-10 finish of 2015. Andretti advanced one position to sixth in the standings and remains the only driver to complete every race lap thus far this season (1,307).
The Verizon IndyCar Series will be running its next 500 mile race at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 23. Dino Oberto/Standardspeaker.com