It also made Fernando flirt with IndyCar a little. A fan of emojis, the Spaniard tweeted out a simple emoji with a GIF. To break it down for the Robin Miller old guys of the world, he essentially said “that’s cool”, then “maybe I’ll do that. ” What Alonso didn’t say was “NO.” Instead he fueled the speculation that he might come to America to run the domestic series in this country.

IndyCar doesn’t need anyone to provide validity to it being a proper championship. It’s a hard series to win in and we’ve seen some really talented drivers get in cars and struggle. Rubens Barrichello joined the series in 2012 and it took him all season to finally earn a Top 5 finish at Sonoma in the third to final race of the season. IndyCar gets a bad rep outside of the states but it’s a super challenging series.

Alonso is naturally a more talented driver than than Rubens but the struggles are real. Without a doubt Alonso would find the top step of the podium in his rookie season. Hell he could be such a great driver that he just dominates the season. There’s no doubt about his talent, it comes down to where does he actually want to race.

Formula One

Fernando has said this season that Formula One is his main focus. However, without a proper winning seat available could he consider leaving the highest echelon of open wheel racing for IndyCar? Possibly.

McLaren is the best place for Alonso. After giving up last weekend at Spa when the car was just so slow down the straights it’s hard imagine he will want to keep racing there. Unless there is a massive engine upgrade for next year it’s going to much of the same. So McLaren could farm him out to IndyCar for a season to keep him happy until the car is ready to compete in 2019.

Fernando Alonso IndyCar diecast

Bring Alonso to us for a season, we’ll take care of him. If the Spanish want to stage a new Spanish inquisition to promote the good word of Fernando Alonso in the states bring it on. Not like we have much to look up to in this country. Just don’t build any statues, we’re very triggered by statues at the moment.

IndyCar could use a huge international name joining the series. No offense to Max Chilton and Esteban Gutierrez but they aren’t getting anyone outside of their families excited. Get Alonso, dominate the world. Simple game plan for Indycar.

The post How Hard Can Fernando Alonso And IndyCar Flirt? appeared first on Apex Off.

Power played the strategy game and while others like Rossi were stretching their fuel mileage the Indy 500 winner pitted for fuel with 18 laps to go. With enough fuel on board Power literally put the power down and caught Rossi immediately. Rossi pulled over to let Power through thinking of the championship.

With Rossi out of the way, Power cruised to the victory. For a guy that was once terrible on ovals, the Aussie is now an oval savant, winning at another oval. Certainly a complete 180 from how he used to feel/perform on ovals.

What About The Championship Battle?

The battle between points leader Scott Dixon and pursuer Alexander Rossi is down to just 26 points.

Dixon led 145 laps Saturday night and still salvaged third behind some poor strategy calls. That wasn’t good enough though with Rossi finishing second.

Rossi won the two races prior to Saturday Night’s race at Gateway. The third-year driver has found his stride in the second half of the season and has asserted himself as a clear and present threat to Dixon. With Sonoma being a double points race in the finale Rossi could swipe this championship away like Dixon did to Montoya in 2015.

There was one moment Saturday night where the championship battle nearly came to an end. Rossi drove out of some massive oversteer thanks to a nice oppo-lock and phenomenal throttle management.

Portland will be an interesting race next weekend as the circuit should fit both Rossi and Dixon. A fast road course that requires precision, a Mid-Ohio at one end with a simple section at the other.

How Was The Gateway Race?

Once again a super solid race that was intriguing from multiple angles. From the strategy to the championship, to the mid-pack battles Gateway provided again. IndyCar on flat tracks is something we need more of, looking at you people in Milwaukee.

Zach Veach continues to impress as the season winds down. The rookie recorded a 5th place finish on the heels of a 6th place finish last week at Pocono. Veach now has four Top-10 finishes in a row. Spencer Pigot also impressed on the short oval again, after a second at Iowa he came home 6th tonight.

A definitive second lane never fully developed but passing was certainly possible. Gateway should be a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar, the crowd was little lighter than 2017 but still stronger than every oval not named Indianapolis.

IndyCar is back in action in Portland.

The post Will Power Wins At Gateway? appeared first on Apex Off.

And it will never come.

In the 11th hour, the home office of Honda in Japan killed the deal. Honda Performance Development here in the states reached out to the home office for final clearance to announce the deal only to be denied. Collectively killing his deal with Andretti and putting his 2020 Indy 500 campaign in jeopardy.

Time To Find A Chevy

If the two-time World Champion is going to run at Indianapolis in May it will have to be in a Chevy. Unfortunately for Fred, there aren’t many competitive Chevy seats available. In a weird twist of fate his former employer McLaren, who he just separated from, might be his best and only competitive shot for 2020.

Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports traditionally runs three cars at the speedway. McLaren CEO Zak Brown said the team is open to running three cars again this season as the newly renamed Arrow McLaren SP team takes to the track. That third seat is Alonso’s best shot even after McLaren’s embarrassing debacle in 2019 at the Indy 500.

Ed Carpenter Racing and Penske are the two other competitive Chevy teams Alonso’s name has been thrown towards. The biggest issue with that is both teams have already filled all their seats.

Grudge Game Respects Grudge Game

Honda’s apparent hatred for Alonso stems from the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix where the Spaniard called referred to the F1 engine as a GP2 engine. Honda took that as the ultimate slap in the face. Their driver calling their engine subpar at their home Grand Prix.

So Honda sat on that. Alonso ran the 2017 Indy 500 for Andretti with a Honda engine which blew up as he was pressing to make his move. When Alonso came back to the speedway in 2019 he did it with McLaren and Chevy.

It appeared as if the burned bridges between Alonso and Honda had been extinguished. Crossbeams appeared to get replaced, a new road was laid and the ribbon was set to be cut. Then at the last second Honda went all IRA on the deal and blew up the bridge.

A five-year grudge and Honda got their revenge. You almost have to respect it.

What Now?

If Alonso can’t put together a deal with McLaren there’s a strong chance we don’t see him in Indianapolis when May rolls around.

Alonso is coming to win. Running mid-pack with Juncos, DRR, or Foyt isn’t appealing.

The post Petty Wars: Honda Cancels Fernando Alonso’s Indy 500 Deal In 11th Hour appeared first on Apex Off.

Folks, the answer isn’t going to please you. You might even make videos talking about how you want to blow my head off for 87 people to see.

We’re Not Seeing Racing For Awhile

NASCAR

NASCAR tentatively plans to return May 9th at Martinsville. That’s just simply not going to happen. Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam has asked residents to remain in their homes until June 10th. Two full months after NASCAR plans to hold their return race at Martinsville.

With Virginia seemingly shut down until June 10th NASCAR will have to look at other places while changing up the schedule. Bristol, Atlanta, Texas all could be in play but the series won’t be on track May 9th, there is simply no way that happens. Look for NASCAR to attempt their return Memorial Day weekend with Coke 600. From there we’re looking at doubleheaders at Michigan and Dover along with some weekday races.

IndyCar

IndyCar has postponed the Indy Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 to July 4th and August 23rd. Their season opener is now scheduled for May 30th at Detroit. While that may be realistic the series is already looking at postponing that event. If that happens the first race of the season would be Texas June 6th. That seems like a way more likely scenario. Throw in the fact Texas has a governor looking to please our President and we can assume they’ll get back to hosting events sooner rather than later.

F1

Potentially the hardest of the three to predict, F1 may be out of commission for a while. Currently, the season is scheduled to open with the Canadian Grand Prix on June 14th. While that race is in Montreal fellow Canadian metropolis Toronto has banned public events until June 30th. If Montreal follows suit that race isn’t happening. The French Grand Prix June 28th or the Austrian Grand Prix July 5th are the best bets currently.

Europe is likely to open its borders to travel sooner than North America. Assuming Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and the UK get COVID-19 under control of course.

TLDR;

We’re not seeing actual racing until Memorial Day at the earliest, more than likely June.

Sorry guys. Wash your hands, distance yourself, be safe.

The post Realistically When Will We Get To See Actual Racing Again? appeared first on Apex Off.

Every race fan has their favorite series, from NASCAR to Indycar, F1, IMSA, World of Outlaws, hell some even like the W Series. So what is the most popular series in your state? Take a look.

Now that you’ve become enraged with what your fellow citizens have picked, take a look at the break down and reasoning that the fine people at the Public Information and Sports Statistical Society told us.

Alabama

IndyCar’s annual trip to Barber Motorsports Park has really given the series an inroad to the hearts of Alabamians. Talladega is great, and NASCAR was a very close second. But the deep south is IndyCar country.

Alaska

America’s honorary Canadian’s are big fans of the tin toppers.

Arizona

JJ Yeley is the reason Arizone went to IndyCar. He still has a massive fan base in the state.

Arkansas

You really thought the state that elected Mike Huckabee wouldn’t be NASCAR fans?

California

Bit of a shocked that California went to NASCAR. If you’ve ever been to eastern California you’d know why.

Colorado

With all the tech bros that are moving to Denver it’s not a shock the ‘rado is an F1 hotbed.

Connecticut

Hedge fund managers LOVE F1. No shock here.

Delaware

Things Delaware loves, Joe Flacco and IndyCar.

Florida

A Florida man is required by law to like NASCAR.

Georgia

Petit Le Mans has a STRONG pull in the peach state. Sorry Chase Elliott.

Hawaii

Gene Simmons wanted to bring an IndyCar race here. Hawaii was just happy someone remembered them.

Idaho

Brian Scott’s years in NASCAR couldn’t sway Idaho. His wife is going to be PISSED.

Illinois

Illinois does host an IndyCar race but Chicagoland

Indiana

Hoosiers are going to be big mad but numbers never lie. Indiana is a NASCAR state.

Iowa

Iowa host one event all year and it’s the Knoxville Nationals, no surprise here.

Kansas

Kansas Speedway, actually in Kansas unlike their city. NASCAR through and through.

Kentucky

The commonwealth loved their IndyCar races at Kentucky Speedway apparently.

Louisiana

You think those crazy cajuns would like anything other than NASCAR?

Maine

Big DTM fans up north, not sure they even know about IndyCar or NASCAR.

Maryland

IMSA gets another one! Crabcakes, football, and Porsche 911s that’s what Maryland does.

Massachusetts

Lots of libs in Massachusetts, big W Series hotbed in America.

Michigan

Home to Chevy and Ford two NASCAR stalwards, but the fine people of Michigan appear to like German cars more than their own. Sad.

Minnesota

Honest question, does Minnesota even know we race cars in this country? NASCAR fans regardless.

Mississippi

When they get the rabbit ears to pick up the broadcast Mississippians are big NASCAR fans. Remember the proposed Jackson track?

Missouri

Hannibal, Missouri is a huge hotbed for the Japanese Super GT series. Go there sometime.

Montana

World of Outlaws gets another. Solid chance the militias in Montana saw the word “outlaws” and just picked that.

Nebraska

Larry the Cable Guy would disown Nebraska if it wasn’t a NASCAR state.

Nevada

The stats here are flawed. They only asked people on the strip wearing aviators, but F1 was the winner.

New Hampshire

They’re just saying NASCAR so they don’t lose their race.

New Jersey

If there’s one thing about Jersey people it’s that they love getting dirty. World of Outlaws gets another.

New Mexico

After disowning Little Al the only choice was NASCAR.

New York

New Yorkers think the Formula E race in Brooklyn is F1.

North Carolina

NASCAR’s home has turned on them. IndyCar has done a great job infiltrating the enemies territory.

North Dakota

Supercars! The 8 people that answered the phone call all picked Supercars. We aren’t sure why.

Ohio

Big Dave Blaney fans in Ohio, NASCAR was always going to be the pick.

Oklahoma

Christopher Bell has Oklahoma loving WoO

Oregon

Jeff Gluck’s time in Portland really helped grow the sport.

Pennsylvania

You may hate Pocono but Scranton doesn’t.

Rhode Island

IMSA picks up the smallest state in the union. Just happy the society remembered to call them.

South Carolina

How is F1 the most popular? You ever been to Florence, SC on a Sunday morning? Hit up Minnie’s and then come talk.

South Dakota

IndyCar.

Tennessee

Between Nashville and Bristol, NASCAR is dominating Tennessee.

Texas

COTA hosted Supercars one time and it made a LASTING impression.

Utah

Mormons and Southerners have a lot in common, no mistake that they’re both NASCAR fans.

Vermont

IMSA again!

Virginia

VIR host IMSA and the fans have responded.

Washington

The Kasey Kahne effect is still working!

West Virginia

They have a hard time saying Ricciardo and Raikkonen but boy do these hill people love watching them cars zoom.

Wisconsin

Road America is a world class track that needs more NASCAR races.

Wyoming

There isn’t much in Wyoming but they know a good stock car when they see it.

Don’t like what your state picked? Tell us;

The post Breaking Down Each State’s Favorite Racing Series appeared first on Apex Off.

Alex Bowman told his team late in Sunday’s race that he thought he was going to throw up. NBC’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. shed light on the situation. When Bowman ran select races for JR Motorsports, Earnhardt said his anxiety would become almost crippling to the point Bowman would throw up. The pressure Bowman puts on himself to succeed appears to be massive. Throw in an elimination format with Bowman sitting on the cut line and it’s a recipe for massive anxiety.

While most normal functioning humans can sympathize with Bowman, Motorsport.com’s Jim Utter couldn’t. Utter started referring to Bowman as #AnxietyAlex.

Anxiety can be a horrendously crippling condition. We shouldn’t be mocking people for their illnesses. Utter is essentially contributing to the stigma around mental health issues like this. Everyone has anxiety to varying degrees and it’s ok to admit that. Utter likely has anxiety any time he has to speak to the opposite gender. Or when he meets a blocked fan in real life.

Utter is a truly awful person. He has media members cars towed at race tracks, Barstool meme’d Utter to death after he took a shot at the media company. Utter is the worst of the regular NASCAR media corps. His race tweets read more like a guy guessing sudoku numbers than live-tweeting the race.

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