Wisconsin 250 Preview

Hello Internet! It's Guido here with another Scoring Indy race preview. This week we'll be taking a look at the 2013 Milwaukee race, and comb those results for some predictive observations for this time around. Let's get to it!


2013 Milwaukee Scores

Finish	Driver	Qual.	Grid	Led	Completed	A.R.S.
1	Hunter-Reay	4	4	65	250	77.11
2	Castroneves	18	17	0	250	80.08
3	Power	3	3	4	250	59.35
4	Viso	5	5	10	250	60.49
5	Hinchcliffe	2	2	0	250	50.34
6	Dixon	11	11	0	250	55.11
7	Sato	15	15	109	250	77.61
8	Franchitti	17	23	0	250	57.79
9	Wilson	13	13	1	249	45.92
10	Kanaan	7	7	0	249	37.76
11	Newgarden	8	8	0	249	36.26
12	Pagenaud	9	9	0	249	35.18
13	Saavadra	6	6	0	248	27.15
14	Carpenter	21	20	0	248	41.30
15	Briscoe	19	18	0	248	31.82
16	Rahal	23	24	0	247	31.44
17	Kimball	22	21	0	246	28.01
18	Jakes	12	12	0	245	12.00
19	Beatriz	20	19	0	242	18.72
20	Andretti	1	1	61	176	5.59
21	Vautier	10	10	0	173	2.37
22	Bourdais	14	14	0	152	3.81
23	Tagliani	16	16	0	146	0.37
24	de Silvestro	24	22	0	69	1.60

Predictive Observations

- I've liked this "4 Drivers to Watch" idea. I'm going to stick with that.

- Ed Carpenter -- Carpenter makes this list, but not for the reasons you'd expect. As the resident Oval Maestro in the Verizon IndyCar Series, you might presume that I'd be touting Carpenter's chances. Instead, I'm recommending caution with predicting a big day for the #20. Milwaukee might be oval-shaped, but in many ways it drives like a road course. And, the numbers back me up on this. Carpenter only has 2 Top 10 performances in 9 IndyCar races at the Mile. In fact, his best ever finish is only P7. You've been warned.

- Ryan Hunter-Reay -- Andretti Autosport owns track. Well, not physically. But Andretti Sports Marketing does promote the event, and Hunter-Reay has won every race contested at Milwaukee in a DW-12 chassis. Expect no less than a solid performance from RHR.

- Takuma Sato & Graham Rahal -- Here's a two-fer for you, but these two drivers share a similar theme. Sato, as he did many times in '13 (and has in '14) ran very well. Sato, however finished back in P7, despite leading over 43% of the laps run. Rahal, on the other hand, qualified poorly, and never really got into a contending position. You'll remember, however that I leveled a similar criticism Rahal's way before Mid-Ohio, and you saw how that turned out. Let's keep an eye out to see it either driver changes their luck this time around.

- Helio Castroneves -- Finally, we turn our attention to the series championship and to Helio Castroneves. It seems that Castroneves is in the midst of what is quickly becoming a traditional late-season slump. In fact, if the season weren't designed to end by Labor Day this year, we might well call it a September Swoon. This is what makes Milwaukee an interesting race for Helio. Look back up at the score up there. Helio ran well (scoring a race-best 80.08), he also finished P2. Now, did this performance come about because of Castroneves' booming confidnece at that point in the season last year, or did it come because he's good at Milwaukee? We may well find out the answer on Sunday.

Stay Tuned

I might just trot the good old race predictions back out after qualifying this weekend. We'll see how I feel. But, to get those, as well as any and all blog updates and general thoughts, be sure to follow me @ScoringIndy on Twitter. I'll see you after the race!

-- Guido