Mid-Ohio - Day two

Sunday is race day, and that's always exciting. The big event of the day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the Honda Indy 200. Before the IndyCars got on track though, the support series Firestone Indy Lights ran 100 miles.

On a warm, sunny day, it was perfect for being at the race track. We took another spin through the paddock in the morning. This time we walked along the balcony of the garage areas so we could look down below at the cars being prepped for the race. It was a new perspective of looking at the cars. I think you can actually see more this way, so it's pretty neat.

We had some time to kill before the Indy Lights race, so we headed into the infield along the big hill around turn four. It's probably the most popular spot for race fans to set up their lawn chairs and coolers to take in the on-track action. After making a purchase at the IZOD IndyCar souvenir tent, we grabbed a bite to eat along the hillside.

Our grandstand seats for the race gave us a great view of lots of spots on the track. There's the main straightaway going into a prime passing zone in turn four. The sharp elevation changes in the track as they cruise down the hill also make the track interesting.

Firestone Indy Lights - start




Watching the Lights race was a good way for us to get acclimated with the cars on the part of the track we hadn't seen before. Martin Plowman for Andretti Autosport was the pole-sitter (with a track record) and the race winner. There was not a whole lot of action with the Lights race, but it was a good warm-up for the IndyCars.

Green, green, green!
A lot of festivities take place before the big race, including the introduction of the drivers as they parade around the track in sports cars. Before you know it, the drivers are warming up their tires on the pace laps.

The wave of the green flag was pretty exciting, and the only miscue was Tony Kanaan taking a little detour through the gravel on his way out of turn four. That's not bad for a first lap where a field of antsy drivers can get themselves into trouble before the race really begins.

IZOD IndyCar Series - start



Being right down by turn four gave us a great vantage point for some passing. It's a perfect spot, and we saw a lot of action throughout the race. Justin Wilson tried to make a pass on the inside of E.J. Viso, but it didn't work out and the two tangled themselves out of the race about 20 or so laps in. On the restart, Takuma Sato came in to the corner too hot and ended up meeting the tires to see his strong race come to a halt.

Watching Marco and the leaders
I was also keeping a close eye on Marco Andretti (who started ninth) all day long. First, he had a good battle going on with Wilson for position, and then he was trailing Simona de Silvestro for most of the race. It looked like Marco was going to make a move on the inside of her a few times as they came down the straightaway, but he wasn't able to pull the trigger.

Will Power, Alex Tagliani and Dario Franchitti each took turns at the front, with Tag seeing an off-pit-strategy gamble pay off so he was able to lead the most laps. Franchitti essentially won the race in the pits, after he came out ahead of Power on the first stop. The pits were tight as it was, as there were 27 cars in the field.

The race really seemed to fly by. Maybe part of it was because spectators had no idea what lap the race was on. The large, electronic scoreboard in the middle of the infield was great for identifying drivers, car numbers, placement and lap times, but it lacked lap numbers. This made it a little difficult to keep tabs on the race progress.

Duno shocks everyone
Probably the biggest surprise was Milka Duno. She is an extremely slow driver and was recently put on probation for failing to keep pace with the leaders during races. Because of her knack for getting lapped and being in the way of other drivers, she usually gets pulled in to the pits just a few laps into the race. And that's after she usually doesn't even attempt to qualify.

But in Mid-Ohio, she actually finished the entire race, even if she was a few laps down. That's not to say she didn't get in the way a few times. She also was pulled into the pits when she was getting too close to the leaders. But she finished and did not hold last place. It's a head-scratcher, I know.

One of the funnier moments was when she was finally passed after a few laps by first-time racer Francesco Dracone. He passed her right in front of our grandstand, earning somewhat of a Bronx cheer.

Franchitti finally wins at Mid-Ohio
The podium winners were Franchitti, Power and Helio Castroneves - the standard representatives of the "elite 5" (drivers from Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing). Tagliani finished fourth, de Silvestro eighth and Marco ended the day where he started - in ninth. I was disappointed that Marco couldn't come up with a pass all day, and seemed to lack aggressiveness.

I had a blast at Mid-Ohio for my first visit. I really hope I have the opportunity to go back again to the beautiful track. Until Road America gets put back on the IndyCar schedule, I think Mid-Ohio will be my strong favorite of places to take in a race.