Peeking through the fence at IMS

Bourdais leads Andretti in two of the nearly 2,300 laps turned today at IMS
(Greg Griffo photo credit)

Weeks like this are the times it kinda stinks to be a grown up.

The weather was about perfect in Central Indiana today...it felt like a day to go to the track, do a little homework before pole day and learn some of the new paint jobs and driver/car combos.  BUT, work has me traveling for he next few days, so in preparation, I was kinda strapped to my desk today.

As a band-aid to my jonesing to get to the West side of Indy, I put the webcast up in the background of my computer and kinda paid attention to the cars as some found speed, and others are still struggling to find it.

The Team Andretti duo of Hinchcliff and Marco Andretti took turns in a few cars as they tested different set-ups, and I believe, broke in a freshly-leased engine.  Hunter-Reay, Castroneves and Hildebrand all were near the top of the speed charts today, with laps just under Hinchcliff's tow-aided 224+ lap.

It was heartening for me to see Hildebrand and Sato up near the top- as I said today via Twitter, I'd like to see both of those guys get near to their strong showings in the last two years at the most-famous race course in the world.  Another year of experience is under each of their belts, and they both have solid cars underneath them...and they're both staying in the top-10 for speed so far.

Andretti looks like a guy with as much momentum as anyone at this point; Second place in the point standings, a more calm, mature approach, and as always, a great team behind him.  Plus, he's raced strong at Indy.  He's also made awful mistakes here too...but we're not going to focus on that right now.

I was a Mario Andretti guy growing up.  Being a Purdue fan and a Mario fan, at least at Indy, taught me a lot of lessons for later in life; hard lessons: Never get your hopes up too high. Nothing's over until it's over...and don't cry in public.

Now, I've never liked Michael or Marco like I liked their Dad/Grandpa. Like the second generation Rahal, these legacies always have given off the idea of entitlement to me...They whine, they don't have a cool Italian accent...lots going against them.

All that said, I'd love to see Marco win at Indy and break the Andretti curse.

Conversely, I'm OK with not seeing Power or Castroneves win it.  Power typically finds himself in the wrong place/wrong time at Indy time and again...Castroneves overly-emotional bit has become tiresome for me. Plus, I don't wanna see he or Franchetti join the truly-elite crowd with four Indy victories.

Lemme scratch that- now that Ashley Judd is not prancing around pit row, I'd be OK with the second Flying Scotsman winning a fourth race, but I'll be rooting for Dixon or even Briscoe, out of the same stable to do it instead.

Back when I was a kid, I'd rush home during the month of May and watch Legends of the Brickyard on EsPN.  Going to the track with some regularity made me a fan of the race, watching that show brainwashed me, moving out of the state cemented my feelings for IndyCar racing (even in the dark days after the split)...and once again, this May makes me feel like a kid as the race approaches with not enough fanfare (in my opinion), but a few weeks of practice will have to do.

The days of 40+ driver/car combos competing for 33 spots seems to be a thing of the past, sadly. But, hearing drivers from other circuits sniffing around for rides always makes me nostalgic.  Even if it's an unlikable Busch brother testing a car, I still love reading drivers say how special of a place Indy is for them...not turning laps in a big, clunky, fendered car...but a sleek, low (partially) open-wheel machine...that's Indy.

Much like J had a podcast with a fellow hockey fan a few days ago, I plan on having one or two in the coming weeks, but about IndyCar, and specifically the Indy 500. We'll see how schedules line up, and if you care to tune in, pay attention to this site and Twitter for scheduling details.

The Pacers won today and took a commanding 3-1 lead over (formerly) J's Knicks.  I was happy to see it, but didn't care too much.  As I wrote a few days ago, I've kinda grown apart from the NBA (it's not me, David Stern, it's you).

BUT, in spite of stupid business moves and diminished popularity of IndyCar racing, I haven't grown out of my love for this sport...nor this event.  It's my city's crown jewel...it's something the rest of the world truly knows my hometown for...and it's truly an amazing spectacle that never disappoints me.

Monday Gumbo

You Can't Lose What You Never Had

I know, I know, Purdue was all-but-guaranteed to get the services of a transfer from Wright State...can't remember his name right now...but, as we all know too well, guarantees from recruits, whether they're 17 or 22 years old, are about as solid as mashed potatoes.  The guys that want to come to Purdue end up at Purdue, plain and simple. Those that are wishy-washy don't want to come and there's not much else that can be said/done about that.

Many around the message boards and Twitter are piling on Matty right now, saying he's not a closer.  In their defense, there seems to be a pattern forming here- when Painter faces off against slimeballs coaches for big time talent, he doesn't win very often. But the guys who enjoy the limelight, keep taking additional visits and try to wait as long as they can might not be good fits with Painter anyway.  I'll speak from my own perspective for a moment...since that's all I can really do-

If I had a very talented guy/girl say he was interested in working for my company, but he needed to go to a few more interviews before signing on with me, I'd probably be visibly agitated.  That might be why Painter hasn't been able to close out on some of these guys.  OR, maybe, perhaps, the playing field isn't level.  We all know life isn't fair...and watching recruiting battles reminds us of this, and other principles- not everybody operates by the same rules, the good guy doesn't always win (in fact, he doesn't usually win) and you can't ever quit when things get difficult.

One thing Purdue fans can be sure of is Matty is an excellent judge of talent.  Recently, coaches like Teflon John Calipari, Tom Izzo and Tom Crean have all followed in his wake after an offer was given to a kid. I don't know if Purdue will land a five-star guy anytime soon...but those that are coming in the next two years are pretty damned good at playing basketball.

Specifically, the class of '13 is looking better and better.  My hope is that their individual rankings don't get inflated...and the three guys (who actually want to come to Purdue, by the way) continue to work hard with the chip squarely on their collective shoulder.  Bryson Scott started to show a lot during his HS season, Kendall Stephens has done so time and again in the last few months, and just this weekend, Basil Smotherman played at an elite level at an AAU tourney.  While Smotherman was the sixth man on his HS team last season, during the AAU season, that's not the case...and when called upon, he's been answering the bell.

As of now, it doesn't look like there will be any additions to the recruiting class for next year...upper classman, or any other class for that matter...but there are a few guys that have expressed interest in Purdue, so while the doors are closing, nothing's completely shut...yet.

The last thing I'll leave you with is what I've always said- while reading up on recruiting is a good thing to do as a fan, try not to get too enthralled with recruits until they're officially Boilermakers.  There are too many variables that are out of control of Purdue's coaches.  Plus, I like the guys that have chosen to play for my alma mater.  And one of those, Ronnie Johnson will be playing a huge amount of minutes nearly right away.

Definitely coming to Purdue.

Tortoise and the Hare

While slow and steady will win you a ton of contests, the Lotus power plant at Indy doesn't look like it's going to win anything this season...or maybe any other...but they've got the slow part down pat.

While most of those running laps around the famous oval are in the upper-two-teens, the Lotus machines seem to be unable to squeeze anything more than a 208, thus far.  Granted, these teams, and this power plant doesn't have the miles of testing that the other two do, but that doesn't really matter at this point. These cars look like they don't belong...and since there have been so many defections already from Lotus power, I'd bet that there won't be many running this engine by the end of the season.

A couple of 221+ laps have been turned so far...but one was heavily-aided by a tow.  I'm still hoping for a pole of 222 or 223...but the more I watch these cars, the more I think that they just don't have it in them, especially with the boost set up as it currently is.

Teams like Andretti, Penske and Ganassi simply aren't finding top speeds, at least yet...but the rumor is none of them are trimmed out yet, and are just getting the cars shaken down...these three have the best engineers and the deepest pockets, and they know what they're doing. So hopefully, we'll see some shockingly-fast laps by Saturday, if not before.  If you want to follow what's happening at the track during the day, click here.

Until the three big money teams start focusing on qualifying, enjoy seeing new guys like Clauson and Newgarden making names for themselves.

In Case You're Wondering, but Are Too Lazy to Check

John Hart has transfered to IUPUI...and Barlow is rumored to have interest in Iowa State.  BUT, the enigmatic Barlow might end up anywhere for his final year of NCAA eligibility (after sitting out a season).

As of right now, Purdue has 11 of 13 scholarships occupied for '12-'13...and Anthrop (at the very least) will get another year under scholarship unless something dramatic and unforeseen occurs.

Champs!

Purdue's Baseball Boilers clinched a part of the B1G title this weekend...but couldn't get the one additional needed win for the outright title at home this weekend. They'll have three chances to get the sole title versus the six games under-.500 Iowa Hawkeyes on the road...and will also play ISU this week for the last game ever at Lambert Field.

They're currently 39-10...a 40+ win season should help them with their case to get into the post-season.

Thursday Gumbo

The mood about Robert Marve on a few of the Purdue boards has changed because of this article...The way I look at this stuff is it's a pretty big crapshoot. Marve could come to Purdue and be a world-beater, but he could also come in and be beaten out by the unheralded & underexperienced TerBush or Henry. But, competition is paramount for making any team better, before they even hit the field, so I'm a proponent of Marve coming to Purdue.

What I'm not a proponent of is a guy dragging this process on and on...So make up your mind, young fella- either way it's not the end of the world or the second coming of my savior. It's just a kid who seems to be fickle looking for greener pastures. Hope it works out well for him- and if he decides to go to Tennessee as a walk-on, I hope their signing makes up for the lack of schollie.

(oh snap, no he didn't)

I kid Vol fan...gimme a hug.

Rafa
In basketball "news", a Freshman in high school has decided what he'll be doing in four years.

Raphael Davis has verballed to play with Matty and Co. in four years.

I'm told this is a big deal...but I've never seen the kid play, never seen a video of him and didn't watch a ton of eighth grade basketball in '07-'08. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that Raphael likes coach Painter and wants to be a part of the Purdue family in 3+ years, but the last time I remember a Freshman verballing to play for my Boilers, he ended up playing in Bloomington and finally Alabama.

I know this is what basketball recruiting is/has become...but if this guy is as good as some sources believe, he'll have a stack of offers up to his waist by the end of his Soph season...and will have all sorts of impropriety heading his direction as the Calipari and Floyd-types of the college basketball world slither into the picture. Let's hope that neither Worldwide Wes nor any other mythological college basketball mobster falls in love with Raphael in the next few years.

The way I see it, the only way to get these kids to stick to their word is make sure they'll be surrounded with other guys who will be part of their class...Patterson, Teague and Smith-Rivera all come to mind. In my opinion, it's sad that I know the name of four high school Freshman players off of the top of my head.

What I think we all want are guys that will go to class, not get arrested and want to be at Purdue...as Purdue wins more and more games, finding talent that fits that bill should become easier and easier. I don't want to hear about any dealings with crooked AAU coaches and $50 handshakes in West Lafayette; that stuff's not worth it.

Indy
The track opened up today for practice after a few days of it being closed so they could rest the pavement (I guess)...and the radar looks clear. Hopefully guys like John Andretti, Servia and others can find speed...I'd also love to see someone from another circuit get in a car and try to put in some laps in the 11th hour like it was back in the 80s...I know I'm dreaming.

Pole Day Eve

9:00 am, tomorrow, Pole Day begins at IMS...and we get one step closer to my favorite single-day sporting event, the Indy 500.

As of 4:30, 28 drivers have driving laps of 220mph or faster...The fastest were both from Team Penske, getting very close to 226. Penske and his team are consummate pros at the 2.5mi. oval and know how to prepare a car and their drivers are very good at shaking a car down and reacting to the conditions at hand. While Briscoe was faster today, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Helio capture the pole tomorrow.

Just after the Team Penske cars, Ganassi's Target cars were expectedly fast and the AGR team came in just behind them. The guys (girl) who you thought would be fast have been fast...But, I was kind of hoping to see Paul Tracy flirt with a top-10 speed and create a bit of buzz. That said, his situation's far from ideal right now.

Milka Duno, my least favorite driver in recent memory is down near the bottom of the speeds for the day...per her usual performance...and she'll continue this trend through race day, I'm sure. Special thanks to Hugo Chavez & Citgo for making me have to watch her pitiful effort each May...Hopefully, she can stay out of everybody's way and bow out early come Memorial Day.

A guy who I like, just because I loved his Grandpa when he raced is Marco Andretti...he's been fast all week- It'd be a lot of fun for to see him get back on track as he hasn't been too strong, in really more than a season. But, the guy I really want to see win is Tony Kanaan...he's been so close, but hasn't gotten it done- qualifying strong would go a long way in helping him later this month.

Last thing, Danica is still hot...and still can drive at a very high rate of speed.

Loud Day at Indy

Taking a cue from its NASCAR brethren, a movie-sponsored car turned the fastest laps at the world's most famous race track, Tuesday afternoon.
Marco Andretti may look like my brother when he was in 7th grade, but he doesn't drive like a 12 year old. Michael's son, who I think is long-overdue for a victory in Indy Car turned the fastest lap in the first day of full practice at IMS. He went over 226 and the second fastest, Tony Kannan went just over 225. The fastest former Champ Car driver turned a lap of over 223...It's good to see Power, Wilson and Rahal turning fast laps on the big oval.

Like I've said all season, the merger seems to be curing what has ailed open wheel the last few years. 33 drivers got out in 38 different cars...I'm hoping for around 38 drivers before the end of the month to bring some interest back to bump day. Also of note, nearly nearly 1,400 laps were logged yesterday. The Penske cars are meticulously setting up their "T" cars and probably won't get into their primary rides until next week.

Hearing about such a large number of cars on the track takes me back to the mid-80s when another Andretti dominated the month of May...until race day, of course.
Oh yeah, it was loud in Indy for another reason too...Did anyone notice how disinterested Bill looked during Hillary's speech late last night?