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No, this is not a political column. So let’s get the first out of the way quickly before we get to the main point: Republicans, who sometimes don’t vote party enough for some party believers, are often referred to by some critics as RINO – Republicans in their name only.
After the NTT IndyCar season opener on Sunday, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, America’s leading open-wheel series now has its own form of RINOs – Rookies In Name Only.
And if their individual and collective Sunday’s performance is an indication of what’s to come this season, Romain Grosjean, Scott McLaughlin and Jimmie Johnson will definitely be the forces to be reckoned with.
While Johnson drew a lot of attention and his first career started with an open wheel – we’ll get to know him in a moment – Grosjean stole the show of the three RINOs in my opinion.
Here’s a guy who saw a terrible and fiery fall in Bahrain last fall r sustained serious injuries when he was in Formula 1. His hands suffered second and third degree burns and for a while it was questionable if he would ever use his limbs to the full, let alone race again.
But when the bandages finally came off and Grosjean realized he was could still drive a racing car, Dale Coyne Racing and Rick Ware made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
He qualified for an impressive seventh place, avoiding the big wreck at Turn 5 on the first lap, drove up to fifth place during the 90 lap event on the Barber Motorsports street circuit and eventually finished a very respectable tenth place on his first IndyCar outing.
Though anything but that, Grosjean skipped two days look easy after his 35th birthday.
Top 10 result, ”said Grosjean after the race. “We can be very satisfied with that. We fought with the top four for a long time and did our best.
« We learned a lot today, so we’ll move on to St. Pete and keep working to improve. » I still have to get used to rolling starts [like in IndyCar, Formula 1 uses a standing start] but it was great fun! “
The French-born looked so hard at Barber that it would be no surprise if he took a podium – even a win – at the next race next Sunday in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Grosjean clearly showed on Sunday that he will drive to IndyCar races as easily as a duck on water.
The Australian Scott McLaughlin, whose takeover by Team Penske for the first time since 2017, will drive four cars in the NTT IndyCar- Series has shown that he has what it takes.
Although McLaughlin failed his first IndyCar attempt at the end of the season in St. Petersburg last year, he – like Grosjean – showed that he has what it takes to compete against IndyCar’s greatest stars, including defense and six-time champion Scott Dixon, Team Penske teammates Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud, and other IndyCar veterans.
McLaughlin was the third highest Penske driver. Power finished second with race winner Alex Palou, Pagenaud was 12th and McLaughlin was 14th after qualifying 12th. Newgarden started the multi-car crash on the first lap and was relegated to 23rd place in the 24-car field.
Like Grosjean, McLaughlin flirted with the top 5 several times during the race. But he drove smart and gave his team, rivals and fans many signs that he would be successful in American open-wheel racing.
And then there is Johnson. He did a decent job for a first try at an IndyCar ride. He stayed out of anger and avoided the large first lap wreck (although he had hit some wreckage that did no harm to his Honda). He was also happy to stay near the back of the field to keep track of laps and finished 19th, three laps ahead of the winner.
« I’m very glad I’m done, » said Johnson told NBC Sports. “There were two pretty scary moments in the race. First, the original start at Turn 5 was chaos. I ricocheted off two cars, but obviously nothing happened to me. So we are very lucky there. Then I spun at (turn) 13 in traffic over the hill and lost a lap at that point. But just a lot of learning over the course of the day.
“I could have done a few more laps. Not fully taxed and the workout worked well, so I’ll get well and prepare for next week (in St. Petersburg). I can’t say too often how different it is and how specialized this craft is and how good the drivers in this series are. «
Although Johnson was the only one of the four Chip Ganassi Racing drivers who didn’t make it into the top 10, team owner Chip Ganassi was very pleased with the efforts of his » rookie « .
» What a great leader he’s what a great guy, « Ganassi told NBC Johnson. » It makes me really angry to know what I’ve been expecting over the years at NASCAR. Now I understand why he won seven championships. The guy is the toughest worker I know and he never stops. He has to climb a hill, but he will. «
All three RINOs will still have a hill to climb but they will definitely be up on Sunday got off the right foot.
Ref: https://www.autoweek.com
