2004 USGP

Another USGP down and the results were of no real surprise. Schummi was first, the Sandwich second and Takuma Sato came home third. It was a great weekend though and there were some interesting things about the race. First of all there were as many incidents as I have seen this year. Four cars were out before turn 2, Fernando Alonso lost a wheel and smacked the wall hard and Ralfie hit the turn 13 wall a ton. In fact, Ralfie is still in the hospital here in Indy and his status for the French Grand Prix is in question. The move of the day had to be Schummi’s pit stop when Ralfie crashed on lap 10. He was in perfect position to enter the pits. When he did, he was able to get service and get back out in second position as the field slowed for debris. The Sandwich who might have been able to pit first had to wait another lap to wait for the crew. From there Schummi was dominating. I will say this though, I am getting a little sick of Schummi's blocking move at the start of the race. Yesterday he just about took Sato into the wall. The fucker does it every week. Now I will say this especially to all of you Rubens fans. Last week you may have had a bitch about "Team Orders" but this week, you just weren't as fast as the winner. JPM added to another forgettable day at Indianapolis for the Williams BMW team. Juan’s car wouldn’t fire for the formation lap and he was forced to sprint back to the garage for the backup car. Apparently the car had not been inspected by tech though. 58 laps after starting from pit lane and getting up to third, JPM was disqualified. When it was all said and done only 8 drivers were still on the track. Zsolt Baumgartner got his first points ever and Minardi’s first points in two years. What a weekend though. From the very cool pit walkthrough to Friday’s practice sessions to a very comfortable qualifying and race day the weather was perfect. The fans as always were courteous and knowledgeable. Something you won’t see much of in 6 weeks at the Brickyard. Finally, on a very positive note, a contract extension for two years was signed and Bernie himself went on TV to say how he thought it would eventually become a long term deal.