back from Texas

Well, I’m finally home and can relax for a few days and reflect on the weekend that was Houston. From a personal perspective, it was a good weekend. I wouldn’t say that professionally it was my best, but I’ll take it. We had a nice set up at the track, our booth was inside and cool with AC. Tom Michaels, my partner was fantastic and Miss Cleveland Grand Prix Sarah was there doing some pit reporting and she was good. I like it when they have a pit reporter, it makes our operation seem more legit. Everything was close too, so the walking wasn’t outrageous either. Still probably end up walking several miles over a weekend, but that’s the nature of the sport! The pre and post race ceremonies were hectic, as they always are and whenever I have to introduce/interview a high-ranking American military officer, I always get especially nervous for some reason. I keep thinking they will find out I am Canadian, call me a coward and scold me about my hair or something. But, as always, it worked out fine.

The track itself, I thought was cool. Obviously the big discussion was the addition of the chicane and while some didn’t like it, I thought it was necessary and added a pretty cool dimension to the track. I have a feeling that, should this race go on for many years with the current layout, then that particular chicane will become known simply as “the chicane”. The track was very bumpy, no doubt about that, but again, that’s another element to the game. We continually talk about these guys being in top physical shape and talk about the crews having the best mechanics and engineers in the world and a track like that makes all those statements appear true. A bumpy track makes everybody work harder. Makes everybody bring their A game and separates the men from the boys. And I thought the teams did an admiral job handling the tough streets of Houston.

I didn’t get to see much of the surroundings, but I understand there were things to do all weekend either then watching the ontrack action and for a first time event, it really was a first class operation. At least, that’s what it looked like and that’s usually the most important factor.

We knew there would be some yellows, we knew it would be a tough race. The way I evaluate the quality of a race is through my own announcing. Naturally, my job is to keep the folks in the grandstands updated on what is going on as well as “sell” the product, i.e. be enthusiastic and all that good stuff. I judge the race on whether my enthusiasm is genuine or somewhat forced. By that I mean that if it’s a parade, then I am searching for a storyline and sometimes dig deep “watch that battle for 15th spot, they are less then a two seconds apart!!!”. If I have to “create” a storyline, then the race isn’t providing too much. But if I don’t, such was the case in Houston, then I know we have a good race going on. All night, the action at the front was fantastic. Whoever was leading never got away from the pack. It was always close, there was passing for the lead, there were high emotions between the drivers. The teams were fuming, it was great! The drama on the track spoke for itself, instead of me trying to create some. That’s how I judge a good race and Houston was a good race, plain and simple.

I know a lot of people didn’t want Sebastien Bourdais to win again. But this time, I don’t know that people were particularly upset because he earned that win, it wasn’t easy at all. He fought for it. Tracy was very good too in getting second place. And Mario, the only driver who could have ‘ran’ away with it, miss turned 5, but did the nicest recover I have seen in a while to salvage a podium finish. Seriously, that was unbelievable on his part, to stay focused, to not get too upset and recover quickly. Good for him. He gets my “player of the game” award. Forsythe stepped up their game this weekend and showed Newman/Haas that they are going to compete all year with them. Though I must admit, I have no idea what happened with the number 2. Where was it during the race? Junky started fast on Thursday, but was a non-factor during the race. Also, most were surprised by the lackluster performance by Rusport. Yes, they were there at the end, but Justin Wilson will likely want to forget his weekend, or try to forget it once the dizziness goes away. Poor guy was spinning all over the place all weekend. Still, he drove a good race, all things considered. I’m always going to cheer for Nelson Phillipe cause he has really stepped up his game over the last year and is becoming a legitimate driver who is still getting a lot of slack from some people. That may dodge him for a while, considering how he entered the series after a short sting in Barber Dodge. But he’s proving people wrong, he’s so mature for a kid and will do some good things this season.

Alex Tagliani’s incident caught a lot of people by surprise. The gear got stuck and he ran right into that tire barrier on turn 3. luckily it was under a yellow, so his speed wasn’t that high. He did go to the hospital and although I don’t know the diagnosis, Bronte Tagliani knew her husband would be alright because he was complaining a lot at the hospital, a sure sign that Alex is…well Alex.
All kidding aside, I don’t know if he’ll be able to run in Monterrey, but he’s a tough guy who is in top shape, so he’ll recover quicker than most, if there is a back issue there.

I am not going to be attending Monterrey, as my Spanish isn’t up to par, so I will be watching the race on television. This will be a good opportunity to critique the broadcast, as I was looking at the forums and evidently people are not happy with the tv product from Houston.
Also, I shot a “we miss Jimmy” feature and got some Overheard at the Track footage in Houston. Having said that, we share everything at ChampCar, therefore my laptop (i.e. editing system) and my video camera are on their way to Mexico, so I won’t have access to the footage until after next week. Its frustrating, but there is nothing I can do. Its coming, that’s the good news.