Imagine, for a moment, a radio call of this Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN) which omitted the names of the drivers and teams and instead asked those on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network to instead only call the race - and perhaps the finish - by car colors.
“There’s the blue and white car, side-by-side with another blue and white car, but a third blue and white car has entered the frame... let’s send it to Jake Query...”
“The blue and white car battle royale rolls through the Tunnel Turn, then into Turn 3, where a blue and white car makes a dive bomb on another blue and white car... Mark Jaynes, bring it home!”
“Get your cameras ready for a blue and white spectacular, photo finish as count ‘em, one, two, three, maybe four blue and white cars run side-by-side to the line at Pocono!”
Such a scenario sounds fanciful... and then you look at the spotter guide for this weekend’s race and realize it’s not far fetched. At all.
There are very few gripes I have with the current Verizon IndyCar Series, but one thing that has consistently irked me all year - among others in the paddock - is the preponderance and overkill of blue and white (and red, white and blue) liveries gracing the Chevrolets and Hondas that make up the 21 or 22-car field.
Granted, this is what happens when the partners involved with most teams have blue and white in their corporate colors. And this isn’t a bad thing because teams need all the partners they can get.
However, there’s something to be said for variety in color schemes up and down the grid and when you have a third to half the field, on average, looking identical or close - it makes it very hard to distinguish and stand out, as well as a nightmare for the spotters or the people tasked with calling the race. Mistakes are far from inevitable and it’s not because the person would get it wrong intentionally; it just happens.
Just for Pocono alone, there are five more new or revived blue and white liveries to add to the litany of blue and white liveries this year.
From the @IndyCar spotter guide, here's all the blue & white and red, white & blue cars. A full 11 of 22 at #ABCSupply500. pic.twitter.com/28bIkcvpiy
— Tony DiZinno (@tonydizinno) August 17, 2017
The pair of NTT Data Hondas from Chip Ganassi Racing take on a new predominately white and blue hue for both Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan to look close to identical, after Dixon’s had a blue and white color scheme while Kanaan’s has been predominately blue only this year.
Takuma Sato, Marco Andretti, and Gabby Chaves, meanwhile, see their cars look nearly identical. Expedite Home Loans, an online division of Ruoff Home Mortgage, will be on Sato’s No. 26 Honda which makes it a light blue and white scheme, super close to Andretti’s No. 27 light blue and white United Fiber & Data Honda, which is close to Chaves’ light blue (can we call it teal?) and white No. 88 Harding Group Chevrolet, back for the first time since Texas.
Since words are meaningless by this point, we thought it a good idea to instead post a picture of every blue and white car that’s raced in 2017. As you can see, this epidemic has spread throughout the grid and is not limited to just one team.
So, without further adieu, here’s a roundup of all the predominately blue, blue and white, or red, white and blue cars that have seen a green flag this year, before the new ones get added this weekend (All photos: IndyCar).
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TEAM PENSKE
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CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAMS
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ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
*We should also note Andretti-Herta Autosport driver Alexander Rossi has had a blue car all season, but with either yellow (NAPA Auto Parts/Curb) or red (ShopAndretti.com) secondary colors alongside the primary blue, the No. 98 Honda doesn’t fall into the all blue or blue and white trap.
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A.J. FOYT ENTERPRISES
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RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING
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DALE COYNE RACING
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ED CARPENTER RACING
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SCHMIDT PETERSON MOTORSPORTS
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HARDING RACING
