Thoughts from Mid-Ohio

It was nice to see OW cars navigat a hairpin, even if it was the Keyhole and not THE HAIRPIN at Burke. The weekend was pretty fun. Congratulations to Honda 200 winner Scott Dixon and Acura Sportscar Challenge overall winners Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner. What follows are my thoughts regarding the IndyCar and ALMS races. My thoughts on the Indy Lights and World Challenge races will be posted later after they have appeared on tape-delay TV. I was unable to make it to the track on Friday, so I missed the IMSA Challenge races.

The track was pretty well laid out with the exception of having the finish line on a heavily obstructed straightaway (no viewing mounds or grandstands had any view of it). They should move it to the start line between the Keyhole and the Esses.

The staff was extremely friendly and competent. No complaints here.

The merchandise was also top-notch (especially the plush woodchucks!). The only problem here was the lack of grid sheets for the ALMS and ICS races.

Had a good time wandering around the ICS paddock (not enough time to check out the ALMS garages). I had a chance to talk with some pit crew members, including those from the cars of Justin Wilson, Marty Roth, and Milka Duno, as well as crew members from the Indy Lights team of Dillon Battistini.

I kept thinking how good of a NASCAR course Mid-Ohio would be, then I reminded myself that they'd just end up emasculating it a la the NASGLEN.

By the way, does anyone find the irony in Roth Racing's garage placement next to the restrooms, given their recent fortunes (lack of sponsorship, being forced to shutter the #24 car)?

With all the ethanol being used in these races, I'm shocked there was any corn left in the cornfields surrounding the track.

The viewing areas were packed for the ICS race. I was kinda shocked that they were less so for the ALMS on Saturday.

A tip to anyone attending an ALMS race in person. The lights on the side of the cars indicate the top 3 in each class: 1 light = 1st place in class, 2 = 2nd, 3 = 3rd.

All in all a fun weekend and well worth the sunburn and exhaustion. My next update should be on Thursday with a recap of Wednesday's opening Browns practice. My thoughts on Mid-Ohio Indy Lights (you don't want to miss this one) will be posted on Friday as the races will air Thursday on ESPN2 (2PM).