What to watch for: IndyCar at NOLA (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN and Live Extra) - MotorSportsTalk

AVONDALE, La. – The second round of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ season, the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, will go green not long after the NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra broadcast window begins at 2:30 p.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. CT local time, this afternoon.

Here’s a handful of items to look out for:

WHAT RAIN-RELATED SONG IS GOING TO DESCRIBE THE DAY?

CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” is one option if it’s dry or drying, or its alternative offering “Who’ll Stop the Rain” will be another option if the rain hits harder. Thus far this morning though, it’s been Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” that’s been the story of the day. The weather forecast ranges from 55 to 75 percent chance of storms from the estimated green flag time of 1:45 p.m. local time. Firestone has allotted six sets of rain tires per car this weekend, and some drivers have noted how much water they push out will be a big factor.

JUMBLED GRID

There was limited rain running in practice on Friday, and limited rain running during qualifying on Saturday before the session was canceled and the field lined up on owner points. There’s a handful of top-10 starters who haven’t looked the part on pace all weekend, and a handful of drivers in the second half of the field of 24 who should be poised to improve – and quickly – when the green flag drops. It’s produced a jumbled grid here. Each of the top seven finishers in St. Petersburg started in the top 10.

INAUGURAL RACE, INAUGURAL WINNER?

With this being a first-time race, will there be a first-time winner? Jack Hawksworth and Luca Filippi start eighth and ninth, and have the best opportunities on the grid to add their name to the list of first-time winners. Others of note… Josef Newgarden starts 12th, Carlos Munoz 14th and rookie Gabby Chaves 17th. The latter three have done well in practice this week.

A PROPER PENSKE VS. GANASSI BATTLE

Team Penske has four of the top five starting positions on Sunday, but Chip Ganassi Racing Teams’ four cars have been stars of practice this weekend. Scott Dixon has been quick, Tony Kanaan has been reborn lately as he enters the race with six podiums in the last eight races, and youngsters Sage Karam and Charlie Kimball have also been on form this weekend. Penske may have the starting edge, but expect the Ganassi Chevrolet quartet to move forward from their respective starting positions.

BOURDAIS BOUNCEBACK?

Sebastien Bourdais has one of the quickest cars here this weekend and had the fastest time in Saturday’s eliminated qualifying session. It went for naught with the washout. Still, expect the No. 11 Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet to be a contender today.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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