Helio Castroneves carries a 39-point lead for the 2013 IZOD IndyCar championship as the series heads for the street course that winds around the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland.
Presented for the first time in 2011, the race was a critical success: ESPN called that initial event the best inaugural street race in America in the last 30 years.
A competitive event did not translate into a financial winner, however, and the 2012 event was left in doubt until Andretti Sports Marketing combined with Race On LLC to successfully take over the organization and promotion of the second race.
2013 finds the 12-turn, 2.04-mile asphalt/concrete circuit ready for Castroneves and 23 other drivers who will contest the Grand Prix of Baltimore presented by SRT Sunday over 75 laps/153 miles.
Castroneves, who finished seventh at Sonoma last week and has recorded 11 top-ten finishes, leads Scott Dixon by his largest points margin of the season.
2012 Baltimore victor Ryan Hunter-Reay is next (-62), followed by Marco Andretti (-70) and Simon Pagenaud (-99).
Hunter-Reay and Dixon have been among the front-runners all season, but despite strong finishes, both pilots are slipping behind Castroneves each week. Hunter-Reay, the 2012 series’ champion has won at Barber and Milwaukee, while Dixon visited victory lane at Pocono and Toronto (2).
Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan could set an Indy Car record this weekend if he starts the race in Baltimore. Kanaan is tied with Jimmy Vasser at 211 consecutive starts in Indy car competition. Oddly, the race course goes past the Camden Yards ballpark where Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed NY Yankee Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games-played record in 1998.
Team Penske driver Will Power scored his first win of 2013 at Sonoma last week when a controversial drive-thru penalty handed-out by IndyCar to Target Chip Ganassi race leader Scott Dixon for hitting several of Power’s crew during a pit stop, helped to secure the win for Power. Dixon finished 15th.
With his first-place finish, Power became the tenth different winner in the highly competitive series this year after just 15 events.
With their win at Sonoma, Chevrolet leads the season’s battle for engine domination over Honda 8-7. But with three of the next four events on street courses, Honda could cut into Chevy’s lead as five of Honda’s seven wins have come on street/road circuits.
Baltimore is race 16 of 19 scheduled in 2013 and 13 drivers are still in mathematical contention for the series’ championship. Any driver trailing the leader by 163 or more points after Sunday will be eliminated from contention.
Three drivers: Luca Filippi, Tristan Vautier and Stefan Wilson will attempt to make their first Baltimore start Sunday. Wilson will join his older brother Justin at Dale Coyne Racing to mark the first time that brothers will compete as teammates in the IZOD Indy Car Series.
Will Power has captured the pole position here in both races and he won in 2011. Coming off his Sonoma victory last week, we’ll have to pick the Team Penske Chevrolet pilot to win again this week on the streets of Baltimore.
SERIES’ NOTES:
• Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan is still without a driving job for 2014. Though he’d like to stay with his present team, KV Racing Technology, money seems to be the main problem, as it is throughout the paddock. The popular 38-year old Kanaan doesn’t feel he should have to bring money to pay for a ride at this stage of his career, especially after winning the 2013 500.
• Many feel that the soon-to-be-announced 2014 schedule will not be too different than this year’s calendar. The main difference is likely to be an early May road-course event at Indianapolis to kick-off the events leading up to the 500.
• The NBC Sports Network’s telecast of the Sonoma race last Sunday drew an audience 27% larger than any Indy Car race on that network this year. No ratings numbers were reported, however.
• Oriol Servia will be back in the #4 Panther National Guard entry for Baltimore along with the remaining three events at Houston (2) and Fontana. He replaces Ryan Briscoe who will be in an ALMS car at Baltimore on Saturday.
• Blue eCigs will be the primary sponsor for Graham Rahal at Baltimore and Houston.
• The pits at Baltimore are not located on the main straight.
• The Grand Prix will be shown on NBC Sports Network at 2:00pm ET Sunday with qualifying at 6:00pm ET Saturday.
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