Episode #325: Rule The Roost (2021 IndyCar GP of Long Beach)

And in the second party of our double header, we headed to Long Beach to IndyCar and its season finale at Long Beach. Three men still eligible for the Series Championship and the Astor Cup, Spain’s Alex Palou for Chip Ganassi Racing, Mexico’s Patricio O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP and Josef Newgarden for Team Penske. And just to make it even more fun, Josef snagged pole for an extra point, and O’Ward and Palou had to start from the midfield, even if Palou only needed a Top 11 finish to seal the deal…
….Goddamnit Ed Jones. Of course a Lap 1 spinout essentially poured cold water on the whole thing. But it still gave us a whole lot of fun as Colton Herta had the final word on 2021 in IndyCar with a brilliant comeback to win from 14th on the grid, including some sensational passes on Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon. We sit down and speculate, could Herta be THE guy for the series going forward?
Of course, we also gush over Palou’s Championship win and the fact we don’t think enough people have gone wild about it - I mean, winning the title in Year 2, at Age 24, first year in a big team, in SCOTT DIXON’S house to take the title? Utterly ridiculous and maybe some more proof that Europe isn’t the only way to discover the best talent out there.
We also talk about the bronze medalist Pato O’Ward, and the direction and the future of the series in general. Has the youth movement truly arrived? Are we going to see some of the veterans phased out with 3 drivers under 25 in the Top 5 of the Championship?! Scotty McLaughlin beating Grosjean for Rookie of the Year? And of course, we talk about some of our favourite moments of what’s been a fascinating season to watch.
Thanks for watching our IndyCar coverage in 2021 everyone, and we can’t wait to see what happens next year, be sure to like, comment and subscribe and it’ll be back in February!