Ernhrtfan Racing
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

+9
SpeedDemon37
Alpineopossum
MrDude68
racingfreak1999
Ben Atkins
PackerMan71
mtrimmer365
bigdc48
Lucstar88
13 posters

Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by SpeedDemon37 Fri Mar 09, 2018 5:46 pm

The next chapter begins in the history of American championship car racing, as the much-anticipated 2018 season of the Verizon IndyCar Series kicks off on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida!

The six months of off-season that have passed since Josef Newgarden was crowned the IndyCar champion at Sonoma Raceway have left a lot of time for developments in driver lineups, sponsorship arrangements, and perhaps the most significant change to the series; the introduction of the universal aerokit. IndyCar and its partners have spent the previous couple of years working to produce a car that reduces overall downforce and transfers much of what remains from the body to the undertray, and in doing so, a) puts greater emphasis on driver talent, b) produces more competitive races, and c) allows for a streamlined look that pays homage to cars of the past. Consensus among drivers, analysts, and fans says that they succeeded in the departments of looks and downforce reduction, but only time will tell what changes may be seen regarding the on-track product.

On to this weekend's race, the streets of St. Pete will be hosting its 15th Champ Car/IndyCar race on Sunday. The curbs that were added to the turn 3 complex last year have been removed, returning the circuit to its traditional layout. An entry list of 24 cars includes all of the new teams that will be contesting anywhere from six races to the full schedule this year. With Hélio Castroneves now racing in IMSA, Will Power enters the weekend as the only driver on the grid with multiple wins here (with two in total), and local resident Sébastian Bourdais, racing once more in the Coyne car #18, enters as the defending winner, having scored a popular victory last year after starting the race from last-place. The only other two drivers racing this weekend to have won this race are Graham Rahal (2008) and James Hinchcliffe (2013).

For those who have not been following the silly season closely, I have attempted to briefly outline the major changes to the grid for the new season.

Spoiler:

New cars, new sponsors, and hopefully some more new fans, as well. Ten years removed from the year in which American open-wheel racing reunited, things are looking up for the sport. I'm very excited to see what changes will be seen and where the sport will go as we continue the unending march into the future. But for the moment, it's simply time to go racing!

Coverage begins at 12:30 P.M. EST on ABC.

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 2018-Firestone-Grand-Prix-of-St.-Petersburg-spotter-guide


Last edited by SpeedDemon37 on Fri Mar 09, 2018 6:06 pm; edited 2 times in total
SpeedDemon37
SpeedDemon37
Champion
Champion

Posts : 1791
Join date : 2012-05-11
Age : 26
Location : Michigan, USA

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by PackerMan71 Fri Mar 09, 2018 6:02 pm

PackerMan71
PackerMan71
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2741
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 38
Location : Groveport, Ohio

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by mtrimmer365 Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:40 pm

You know, I haven't been paying attention to the cars that much this offseason, but boy do I regret that now. Some of those are beautiful.
mtrimmer365
mtrimmer365
Development Series Rookie
Development Series Rookie

Posts : 199
Join date : 2017-02-08
Age : 20
Location : sunken into my bed

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by Lucstar88 Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:47 am

Let's go Team Canada!
Lucstar88
Lucstar88
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2719
Join date : 2012-07-24
Age : 28
Location : Canada

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLucstar88

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by PackerMan71 Sat Mar 10, 2018 6:53 pm



Who in the Hell is Robert Wickens?

I've personally never heard of him, but he's starting on pole tomorrow... in his very first IndyCar start.

wat
PackerMan71
PackerMan71
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2741
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 38
Location : Groveport, Ohio

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by PackerMan71 Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:47 pm

Isn't it kind of sad.

We had more excitement in the the first three laps of this race than the last two Cup races combined.
PackerMan71
PackerMan71
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2741
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 38
Location : Groveport, Ohio

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by bigdc48 Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:00 pm

Wickens had this. Great drive all for nothing.
bigdc48
bigdc48
Regular Contender
Regular Contender

Posts : 940
Join date : 2012-10-05
Age : 30
Location : Manchester, NH (near Boston)

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by mtrimmer365 Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:01 pm

I'm not even gonna defend anyone here, that was straight crap

Good job Bourdais I guess
mtrimmer365
mtrimmer365
Development Series Rookie
Development Series Rookie

Posts : 199
Join date : 2017-02-08
Age : 20
Location : sunken into my bed

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by PackerMan71 Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:04 pm

Best race I've ever seen at St. Petersburg. It's not even close.
PackerMan71
PackerMan71
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2741
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 38
Location : Groveport, Ohio

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by Ben Atkins Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:07 pm

Rossi went for the win. Every other driver in the field would have done the same thing. The hate he's going for literally going for the win is just downright unnecessary.

Great win for Seabass and Dale Coyne though! Always great to see them in victory circle!

_________________
cowabunga it is
Ben Atkins
Ben Atkins
Legend
Legend

Posts : 4643
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 28
Location : zura

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by racingfreak1999 Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:35 pm

I totally forgot the race was on until about halfway, but what a way to start the season.

The incident on the final restart was just racing (to me at least).  Rossi made a move for the win and it didn't work. I do feel bad for Wickens though.
racingfreak1999
racingfreak1999
Champion
Champion

Posts : 1130
Join date : 2011-08-11
Age : 33
Location : Long Island

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by MrDude68 Sun Mar 11, 2018 6:00 pm

Wickens was the one who deserved that win, one hundred percent. If only that last caution hadn't come out, he would have had it. At least it was good to see a Coyne car in victory lane though.
MrDude68
MrDude68
Shop Sweep
Shop Sweep

Posts : 24
Join date : 2015-08-24
Location : Rochester, NY

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by PackerMan71 Sun Mar 11, 2018 7:57 pm

PackerMan71
PackerMan71
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2741
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 38
Location : Groveport, Ohio

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by Alpineopossum Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:01 pm

Mindless move by Rossi ruined a great race. It really is a shame for Wickens.

That said, it was an exciting race. I like the new cars, they seem to produce a lot of overtaking. I'm excited for this season!
Alpineopossum
Alpineopossum
Champion
Champion

Posts : 1879
Join date : 2011-08-08
Age : 27
Location : Cleveland

http://ohioperspective.wordpress.com/

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by PackerMan71 Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:00 pm

PackerMan71
PackerMan71
Legend
Legend

Posts : 2741
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 38
Location : Groveport, Ohio

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by SpeedDemon37 Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:36 pm

What a race! It's always great to start the season off with a good one, and I feel that we got our fair share of thrills (and spills) to kick off 2018!

Ben Atkins wrote:Rossi went for the win. Every other driver in the field would have done the same thing. The hate he's going for literally going for the win is just downright unnecessary.

Great win for Seabass and Dale Coyne though! Always great to see them in victory circle!
100% agreed. We saw all weekend long just how skiddish that these cars were under braking for turn 1. Rossi's only chance required him to risk the car stepping out from under him, and it just plain didn't work. I'm sure that he doesn't feel good about the outcome, but when you're going for the win, it's all too easy to overstep the boundary of control.

Either way, it's a terrible shame for Wickens. He drove marvelously all weekend, and even though he's showcased plenty of talent elsewhere before this year, I admittedly was not expecting a P1 Award and a race-winning drive in his very first try. Sam Schmidt's big off-season shakeup appears to be paying off already, and with a couple of very talented drivers at the wheel, we will definitely be seeing them contend for more wins.

And finally, congratulations to Sébastien Bourdais!!! A hometown win for Bourdais, a win for Dale Coyne Racing, and all for the second year in a row! Considering how trying that the second half of the previous year was for both Bourdais (with the crash during qualifying for the 500) and Coyne (with many expensive cars wrecked and destroyed), today's victory is certainly one that they all could have used all the more, I'm sure. I sincerely hope that, this time around, good fortunes will come their way throughout the season!

Also of note, over the previous two years, the average finish for the driver who started from the final position on the grid is 1.5.
SpeedDemon37
SpeedDemon37
Champion
Champion

Posts : 1791
Join date : 2012-05-11
Age : 26
Location : Michigan, USA

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by JMac525 Wed Mar 14, 2018 9:15 pm

Late response here, but that was a stellar way to start off the Indycar season. Felt terrible for Wickens, but Rossi went for the win and that's just how it works out sometimes. Also, I love how these new cars drive and how it looks like they're a bit more of a handful.

Hopefully this sets the tone for the rest of the Indycar season!
JMac525
JMac525
Champion
Champion

Posts : 1313
Join date : 2011-08-13
Age : 31
Location : Indiana

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by Cynon Thu Mar 15, 2018 4:23 pm

I'm still celebrating Bourdais's win, and hoping he pulls a 6 or 7 win season out and gets himself and Dale Coyne Racing a championship.

... I can dream, damn it. D:<

_________________
no

Online Wins: 27
Last Win: ARSS @ Papyrus 2
Nintendo ID (Wii U only): Cyriaan
Catbag wrote:If there were no insanity, it would be necessary to invent it.

Anon wrote:Yeah, but what if Ann Coulter tried bath salts?

Cynon
Cynon
Admin

Posts : 3336
Join date : 2011-08-05
Age : 35
Location : Chicago, Illinois

https://efr1.forumotion.com

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by historyracer Fri Mar 16, 2018 3:33 pm

I blame Rossi. We saw 3 incidents in T1, but he proceeded to do a move anyway.
historyracer
historyracer
Development Series Rookie
Development Series Rookie

Posts : 151
Join date : 2017-01-12
Age : 20
Location : I honestly don't know, send halp

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by gone-sovereign Fri Mar 16, 2018 4:27 pm

I don't always meme, but when I do...

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Robert10

(Leave your opinions of what actually happened at the door, please.)
gone-sovereign
gone-sovereign
Champion
Champion

Posts : 1066
Join date : 2011-08-06
Age : 25
Location : Living in a box under the stairs in the corner of the basement in the house half a block away from Jerry's Bait Shop (You know the place).

Back to top Go down

2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Empty Re: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum