Discussions on the internet are quickly moving away from online NASCAR odds and focusing on the Verizon IndyCar series, what with Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, and Mikhail Aleshin being out at the weekend to run the 24 hours of Le Mans.
Along with the terrible crash on lap 40 (which injured Josef Newgarden), the Verizon IndyCar series has had little choice but to transition the race at the Texas Motor Speedway to August 27th, 2016, where lap 71 will resume.
This postponement has primarily served to rattle the predictions surrounding the 2016 championship battle. Considering that J.R Hilderbrand is the only one that can boast about a top 10 victory, finishing the Indianapolis 500 in sixth-place, Newgarden’s injuries are probably causing his teammates at Ed Carpenter Racing to worry.
Newgarden had a pretty rough start when the year began, his 22nd-place letdown at the start of the 2016 St. Petersburg tour causing some anxiety. Newgarden none the less entered Texas only 98 points behind Simon Pagenaud.
Sufficing to say, Sunday’s nasty accident has put Newgarden’s championship hopes in a precarious position. Conor Daly lost control of his Honda Dallara at lap 40, crashing into Newsgarden, who was running outside of him.
Newsgarden’s car flipped at some point, and while he avoided serious injury, the 25-year-old wasn’t completely unscathed, walking way with a broken right clavicle and a fractured hand.
No one expects Newsgarden to return anytime soon, at least not in time for the June 26 Road America GP. His hopes for the 2016 title have been all but dashed.
In contrast, Simon Pagenaud seems set to dominate, having already tallied three wins and six podiums in eight starts. The Frenchman has built a noticeable championship lead.
Newsgarden already has two finishes outside the top 20. He cannot afford to make any mistakes during the rest of the season. Missing just one race would mean elimination for the 25-year-old.
Not to say that all hope is lost, not with Will Power, who has tallied a win in Belle Isle and finished every race in the top 20. Having missed the season opener due to a misdiagnosed concussion, Will has proven to be far stronger and more consistent than Newsgarden.
Newsgarden wasn’t the only one to come out of the previous weekend with his situation drastically changed for the rest of the season. Because it has now been postponed to August 27th, the championship battle is likely to play the role of the final oval race of the season.
Pagenaud is likely to take the victory in Texas, taking into account all his successes this season, and especially if he continues racing with the consistency he displayed in the first 8 rounds of the four.
Many have called Pagenaud a road-course specialist. He has a lot of victories to boast about on a road course or street circuit. His best oval finish to date is his performance in Phoenix.
Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves still have an opportunity to strike and take the championship, Dixon being a defending winner at Texas and Castroneves having taken third place in the same event.
There is a dark cloud looming over the series. All signs point towards a lot of surprises waiting at the end of August.
