Looking Back -- 2014 Indy Preview

Hello Internet! This is Guido here with a Scoring Indy update. It's race weekend in Indianapolis for the Indy 500, and this transplanted Hoosier can't wait! This week, we'll take a look at last year's 500, as well as a look back at the Chase for My Heart, which will result in me gushing with new-found love for Will Power.


2013 Indianapolis 500

This is what the scores looked like from last year's 500

Finish	Driver	Grid	Led	Completed	Race Score
1	Kanaan	12	34	200	79.74
2	Munoz	2	12	200	62.05
3	Hunter-Reay	7	26	200	69.88
4	Andretti	3	31	200	64.68
5	Wilson	14	0	200	56.36
6	Castroneves	8	1	200	59.11
7	Allmendinger	5	23	200	51.79
8	Pagenaud	21	0	200	59.27
9	Kimball	19	0	200	50.58
10	Carpenter	1	37	200	48.93
11	Servia	13	0	200	47.07
12	Briscoe	23	0	200	49.81
13	Sato	18	0	200	43.36
14	Dixon	16	1	200	43.94
15	Beatriz	29	0	200	44.54
16	Vautier	28	0	200	43.44
17	de Silvestro	24	0	200	35.58
18	Viso	4	5	200	27.34
19	Power	6	16	200	29.49
20	Jakes	16	5	199	21.96
21	Hinchcliffe	9	7	199	23.29
22	Daly	31	0	198	29.25
23	Franchitti	17	0	197	24.27
24	Tagliani	11	1	196	19.59
25	Rahal	26	0	193	25.25
26	Legge	33	0	193	20.77
27	Bell	22	1	192	18.8
28	Newgarden	25	0	191	8.95
29	Bourdais	15	0	178	6.21
30	Mann	30	0	46	6.38
31	Lazier	32	0	44	4.28
32	Saavedra	27	0	34	3.34
33	Hildebrand	10	0	3	0.99

Observations

Three quick ones from 2013:

- I haven't believed in Ryan Briscoe all Month of May here in 2014, but the 2013 results make me contemplate reconsidering. With at three wide start, opening the race in P23 (as he did in 2013) in the middle of Row 8, isn't substantially better than starting P30 (as he will in 2014) outside of Row 10. Can Briscoe contend for a win? I don't think so. But, can he have a day where you look back and say "that was solid?" For sure.

- Looking back at 2013, Simon Pagenaud's result is Briscoe's performance turned up to 11. I firmly believe that Pagenaud has the ability to contend for a race win and pull of the Indy Sweep. Pagenaud starts in the middle of Row 2, and he was just 0.083 mph away from winning the Chase for My Heart. I've got a feeling about the French Fox in this one.

- Finally, Marco Andretti has lead 90 laps in Indy 500s contested in the current Dallara Chassis. That is an outstanding number. And, it does not seem that the switch from Chevy to Honda power has hurt the Andretti Autosport squad. I expect Marco to be strong.

Race predictions for the 500 will be up on Twitter later today.


The Chase for My Heart

The Chase has reached it's conclusion. I have a new (and completely arbitrary) favorite driver. Let's take a look:

Chaser	LBH (Race Finish)	ALA (A.R.P.)	IMS (Race Score)	INDY (Qualifying)
Power	2	3.30	44.55	230.697
Pagenaud	5	7.65	69.64	230.614
Wilson	16	9.00	51.15	230.256
Bordais	14	11.97	59.53	229.847
Kanaan	18	10.96	38.23	OUT
Andretti	8	4.51	30.62	OUT
Dixon	12	4.32	23.06	OUT
Newgarden	19	8.26	19.63	OUT
Briscoe	17	13.68	OUT	OUT
Castroneves	11	13.83	OUT	OUT
Munoz	3	13.86	OUT	OUT
Rahal	13	15.70	OUT	OUT
Hunter-Reay	20	OUT	OUT	OUT
Hinchcliffe	21	OUT	OUT	OUT
Sato	22	OUT	OUT	OUT
Kimball	23	OUT	OUT	OUT
Key:	BEST
	SAFE
	ELIMINATED

- So there it is. Will Power. I, for one, welcome my new Australian Overlord. And, I know that I made the case for each of the last four in my Fast Friday post, but I want to gush about my (new) guy Power. Allow me to take a few bullet points to explain why I'm thrilled about this result.

- I like winners. That's not to say that all the teams I follow win games on a regular basis. I'm a Cubs fan for crying out loud. BUT, I can tell you that I paid MUCH more attention to baseball in 2003 and 2008 (when the Cubs were winning tons of ball games) than I've paid in the last year or two. Will Power wins races, and that's one of the reasons that he has my heart.

- I also like my winners to have to fight for it. I mean, I was there cheering for Dario Franchitti when the Gallant Fox (yes, I know only I call him that) came back to wrench the series title away from Power in 2010 and 2011. This time, I'm firmly behind Power. With having to fight through the heartbreak of three straight runner-up finishes and a disappointing 2013, Power is a veritable Tony-Kanaan-at-the-2013-Indy-500 as he chases down the 2014 IndyCar Series championship.

- Finally, look, just look up there at Power's performance during the Chase. He's been SOOO solid. Clearly, Will Power is the one who wanted it the most. Now, go out there and win another 500 miler, Overlord!

Stay Tuned

I hope you all enjoy the 500 this weekend. Race predictions will be up tonight. If you want to see them, follow @ScoringIndy on Twitter. I also post blog updates. See you on the other side!

-- Guido