Everything's Bigger in Texas (Especially the Data Entry)

Hello Internet! I love this stretch of the IndyCar season as a fan. Races every week. Ovals. Network Television (that mattered more before this year). IndyCar in Wisconsin (even if I won't be in Wisconsin at the same time...) Point is, I love it. So let's get down to business!


Texas 2012

Here's the Scoring Indy recap of last year's race at Texas Motor Speedway:

Race Finish	Driver	Qualifying	Grid	Laps Led	Laps Completed	A.R.S.
1	Wilson	19	17	11	228	86.41
2	Rahal	3	3	27	228	55.92
3	Briscoe	12	10	5	228	63.10
4	Hinchcliffe	6	6	8	228	49.75
5	Hildebrand	24	23	0	228	79.00
6	Pagenaud	11	9	0	228	48.00
7	Castroneves	17	15	0	227	55.92
8	Power	5	5	24	227	35.27
9	Tagliani	1	1	20	227	22.44
10	Jakes	21	21	0	227	53.90
11	Kanaan	7	7	0	227	22.04
12	Carpenter	20	19	0	227	42.93
13	Newgarden	25	25	0	226	49.79
14	Franchitti	2	2	0	225	0.32
15	Legge	22	22	0	224	35.75
16	Conway	8	18	0	224	14.11
17	Andretti	9	8	0	222	1.45
18	Dixon	4	4	133	173	16.89
19	Viso	16	14	0	129	9.47
20	Servia	13	11	0	89	5.75
21	Hunter-Reay	15	13	0	66	5.95
22	Sato	10	20	0	63	4.13
23	Kimball	18	16	0	29	4.47
24	Barrichello	14	12	0	0	4.00
25	de Silvestro	23	24	0	0	2.00

Here are some things to remember about this recap:

- Last year's scores aren't calculated using the same formula that we use now. Now, we account for average running position.

- Last year's race was an attrition-fest, and I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, but you'll see that only 6 cars went the full race distance.

- Power got penalized for blocking Kanaan, or they both had a chance to finish much higher.

But, looking at last year's scores can remind us of a couple of things as we approach this year's Firestone 550.

- Firstly, it reminds me that there are a metric tonne of laps at Texas. (Looks like I'll be doing data entry during the Canadian GP...)

- Second it reminds us that Eddie Gossage didn't pull "Wild Asphalt Circus" out of thin air. You can make up mega-positions at TMS (see Wilson, Helio, Hildebrand). You can have the car to beat, and lose it because of the lower down-force (see Dixon, Rahal).

- Thirdly, it gives us some quick clues of drivers to watch. I have my eyes on three, who were mid-pack last year, but showed upward mobility (and the chance to grab some RSWC points...): Newgarden, Carpenter, and Jakes.

That, for which I am Watching

Sorry, couldn't bring myself to write "what I'm watching for." I know it's not technically wrong, but putting a concluding preposition in big type like that makes my skin crawl.

So, I'm watching for these things:

- How will the three drivers I mentioned above (Jakesy, Ed, and Josef) do?

- How will the Hondas qualify in the absence of increased boost?

- How will the Hondas perform if they don't all start buried?

- Will a Penske or Ganassi win?

- Will we see another first-time winner?

- Will any of the following drivers finally catch a break: Tagliani, Bourdais, Savaadra?

- Will TK allow me to break out my "Fear the Snail" line again?

Time, and Texas, will tell.

See you Saturday morning for Twitter predictions. Stay tuned to @ScoringIndy on Twitter to see if I continue to make a fool of myself on ovals.

-- Guido