What to watch for: IndyCar at Detroit, Race 2 - MotorSportsTalk

WILL POWER VS. SIMON PAGENAUD

Yesterday’s on-track skirmish between Dual 1 winner Will Power and Simon Pagenaud was the second such incident they’ve had this Verizon IndyCar Series season. While Pagenaud suffered terminal suspension damage, Power also says he sustained a sore left wrist.

No penalties came of the incident but for today’s race, they’ll be starting together in Row 4. Will we see more fireworks between the Australian and the Frenchman? Considering the tight confines of Belle Isle, it could happen.

DAMAGE CONTROL FOR RHR

After being on top of the world with his Indianapolis 500 victory, Ryan Hunter-Reay has endured a hard weekend in Detroit. Yesterday, he tagged the wall in qualifying and then finished 16th after a final-lap crash. Then this morning, he once again found the wall and will have to start today’s race on the final row alongside Scott Dixon.

Hunter-Reay’s championship lead is down to three points over Power – and that lead could be gone by the end of today unless he has a stellar drive from the back.

ANOTHER STRATEGY RACE?

You needed a white board to keep track of all the different strategies that played out during yesterday’s 70-lap race, and we may see more of the same in today’s race.

A note to keep in mind: All but one driver – fourth-place starter Mike Conway – will start today on the Firestone alternate “red” tires (faster than the primary ‘blacks’, but not quite as durable). That should mean early stops for the majority of the field.

GOTTA KEEP FOCUS

One full race around Belle Isle is tough enough, but now the IndyCar guys have to do it all over again today. Doubleheader weekends are a physical and mental drain on everyone, from the drivers to the crews. But one mistake from either the cockpit or the pit box can lead to a wasted afternoon.

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

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