How to handle anger using anger management
The IZOD IndyCar Series celebrated the 25th edition of the Honda Indy Toronto as though they were holding a street fight. The Toronto track is notorious for being a slim circuit with very few places on which to pass. With its long back straight the track then funnels into a sharp right-hander, a third turn that’s a great place to watch – if you like carnage.
True to form, carnage erupted all around the track with Turn 3 the site of five of the eight cautions during the 85-lap fistfight. And that turn sure wasn’t a nice place for pole man Will Power, whose confrontation with eventual winner Dario Franchitti caused the Australian to unleash all the nasty thoughts he ever had for the Scotsman, who now leads Power in the points chase by 55.
Power and Franchitti touched when the former allowed space for the latter at the entry and then closed the door beyond the apex, leaving Power turned around in Three. He’d later fall out of the race when Indy 500 polesitter Alex Tagliani hit him in the fifth corner.
Local favorite Paul Tracy was part of the carnage twice at Turn 3. Once he was part of a four-car altercation that included Vitor Meira, James Jakes and Charlie Kimball. Another time he joined Danica Patrick, Jakes (again) and Tagliani in a pile-up.
It wasn’t the best day, aesthetically, for INDYCAR but did show the strength of the old Dallara chassis, as even with six cars retiring due to contact, there were still 20 running at the close with 13 on the lead lap.
The first driver to retire due to contact with Tony Kanaan, who got nipped by Ryan Briscoe in T3 on only the second lap. Sebastian Saavedra would stop there on lap 44; Power would complete only 66 laps; Tagliani retired after completing 71 laps; Mike Conway (76 laps) and Kimball were the final drivers not to see checkered flags.
Everyone was angry with everyone else once the street fight was done. Power, as mentioned earlier was unhappy with Franchitti’s driving and that of Tagliani, calling the French Canadian a “wanker”. Locals Tracy and James Hinchcliffe bumped one another and nobody seemed terribly happy with anyone – except maybe Franchitti, who beat teammate Scott Dixon by .7345 seconds at the close. Ryan Hunter-Reay recovered from incidents causing fitment of a new front wing for third, Marco Andretti finished fourth and Meira recovered to finish fifth.
Former Champ Car star Sebastien Bourdais gave Dale Coyne Racing a lift with his sixth-place finish, followed by Briscoe (the highest finishing Penske driver), JR Hildebrand, EJ Viso (he spun, as usual, but didn’t hit anything – wow!) and Simona de Silvestro completing the top ten. Ana Beatriz, Oriol Servia and late-spinner Graham Rahal completed the cars still on the lead lap.
At least there’s a week and a half to get those spare Dallara parts and lick wounds before the Indy cars do it all over again, albeit on the wider expanse of Edmonton. Will tempers have calmed by then? I doubt it.
