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Andrew Kitchener

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Joined November 2013

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The Roar's (self-appointed) IndyCar expert | Sport & sports media | Also: (Ice) hockey, AFL & college football. Tweeting about sport, movies, music and other randomness from @kitchtrips

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Absolutely mind-blowing that Ganassi won’t pay Ericsson, a guy who was one horrendous late-race officiating call away from being a 2-time Indianapolis 500 winner. The good news for the Swede is that there are plenty of others – cough Andretti cough – who will.

Blomqvist will be at MSR in IndyCar next year. Worst-kept secret. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Colin Braun (who drives the Acura for Shank in IMSA competition) in the other one. Pagenaud and Castroneves have woefully underdelivered this season and last. I assume Pagenaud will leave the team completely and also assume Helio will have an Indy 500-only entry with Shank if he wants it. Lot of loyalty to Helio after the Indianapolis win the other year.

Mid-season talking points from the 2023 IndyCar Series

Nigel Mansell left F1 at the end of 1992, after winning the World Championship to try his hand at IndyCar with Newman-Haas at the time. He won the championship in 1993 but did not win the Indianapolis 500. Fernando Alonso was leading in 2017 when he skipped Monaco, before his engine blew. And he was bumped two years’ later in sensational circumstances by rookie Kyle Kaiser and Juncos Racing, a minnow organisation at the time.

2023 IndyCar series: Barber Motorsports Park talking points

Tune in to the Indianapolis 500 in a fortnight. You might be surprised. There is something about Indy and the current cars that nigh on guarantees a great race. And if you do, keep an eye out for me in turn 3! 😁

2023 IndyCar series: Barber Motorsports Park talking points

I would suggest that the main theme of IndyCar is that the racing is top-notch, there are lots of genuine contenders each week and it is the most diverse and currently competitive four-wheeled motorsports series on the face of the earth, with competition as tight as it ever been. It’s a punish watching F1 currently, because there’s basically 2 or maybe 3 cars at best who can win any given race without a lot of rain or some other weird occurrence. Granted, the cars are much more technologically advanced, but the racing is largely devoid of much drama.

Hope you enjoy the 500 in a couple weeks’ time. It should be a belter.

2023 IndyCar series: Barber Motorsports Park talking points

Not bad for a track built for motorcycles, eh? I suggest trying to find a replay of the Texas race. That was as good an oval race as there is. Lots of wheel-to-wheel action. Indianapolis is another beast entirely. If you’ve never seen the 500 before, you’re in for something amazing. Keep an eye out for me in turn three!

2023 IndyCar series: Barber Motorsports Park talking points

Dixon is a pretty quiet guy, which is part of the reason why he might be global motorsports’ best-kept secret. Imagine his talent matched with the personality of…say, O’Ward, Helio or Conor Daly. Watch out world! (Really, that combo is what IndyCar needs!)

2023 IndyCar series: Texas talking points

Bonus Loser – Nebraska: giving Scott Frost a few more million dollars with a new contract and paying obscene money for a guy being pursued by absolutely no one else in college football. Madness!

College Football 2019: Week Twelve winners and losers

I guess we’ll see if it was just a bad day or something more serious.

College Football 2019: Week Twelve winners and losers

The Gophers will now be the Big Ten West’s sacrificial lamb in the conference championship game against Ohio State.

Baylor vs. Oklahoma this weekend – I can see Baylor winning. Their defense is probably the best that OU has seen so far.

College football 2019: Week 11 winners and losers

Looking forward to Iowa and Minnesota. They’ve been playing for Floyd of Rosedale since the 1930s. One of my favourite rivalries.

Wisconsin got caught peeking ahead to the Ohio State game. Wonder how that defense slows Justin Fields and co down?

College football 2019: Week 8 winners and losers

We hear that about Texas every pre-season! They did not look back this weekend.

After submitting this, I saw a path that ends with Boise State making a NY6 Bowl but that’s a stretch. I think SMU is in the box seat, but who knows what’ll happen between now and Thanksgiving?

Oregon’s defense is legit.

College football 2019: Week 8 winners and losers

1. Ohio State. No weakness there.
2. Boise State. Not out of first gear yet, really, and if their freshman QB stays healthy, they get my nod.

Thanks for the kind words!

College football 2019: Week 6 winners and losers

Who’s your second stand-out in the ACC? After Clemson, it’s daylight…

Ohio State are good. At least, they’ve been good against Nebraska, Indiana, Miami-OH etc, which isn’t the most dominant collection of opponents. Justin Fields is a brilliant quarterback, though, and the defense, which was a little off late year, looks fearsome once again. I think we’ll see them slow down a little with Big Ten contests against Penn State and Wisconsin to come. Michigan State this week. That’ll tell us a lot. Sparty can’t score, but their defense looks good. I still think they’re a playoff-worthy team. Just have to avoid the usual October or November horror loss (Iowa in 2017, Purdue last year) that hobbles them.

College Football 2019: Week five winners and losers

Thanks! Very much appreciated.

College football 2019: Week 4 winners and losers

Washington were probably the Pac-12’s biggest chance and they have probably stuffed themselves already. Had little margin for error, and a home loss to an unranked Cal puts them at a serious disadvantage. Stranger things have happened, but they’re on the outside looking in, for sure.

Think you’re – unfortunately – right about the Buckeyes.

College football 2019: Week 2 winners and losers

Against Nevada. Granted, the Pack did beat Purdue in Week One, but there were other performances more deserving than a rout. I’m sure, the way they’re going, Oregon will feature sooner rather than later.

College football 2019: Week 2 winners and losers

Hi, Max. Glad you’re back again – wouldn’t be a college football article at The Roar without your input. Hope the off-season was good to you. Thanks for the page view.

College football 2019: Week 1 winners and losers

I think Rossi has plenty of Indianapolis 500 glory ahead. It looked like the race was falling into his lap due to the fuel mileage. Pagenaud was pitting a few laps before most everyone else, but the red flag cancelled those issues, and I think, in the end, the right guy won.

Yes, rare to see Rossi anything but cool, calm and collected. He was absolutely filthy during the pit-stop snafu. I guess it goes to show how much Indianapolis means.

2019 Indianapolis 500 talking points

Jay Frye and the IndyCar folks have done a mammoth and resoundingly good job ever since the DW12 was introduced. Proof is in the racing pudding, and even at tracks like Barber, which I never expected to be a thriller, has produced great action. I like the leaner iteration we current have, and the fact that – as you pointed out – guys can bang wheels and not have their car fall apart.

More good news for IndyCar as season 2019 approaches

There’s lots that IndyCar could teach Formula One and NASCAR at the moment. I would call the Push 2 Pass button a gimmick to a certain degree, but one that I don’t mind. Anything to promote passing, and some of the strategy around when to use it is always entertaining. It’s not a stretch to say that IndyCar racing is the best four-wheeled circuit racing in the world and I think that testing at Indianapolis will improve the package there on last year, not that the 102nd running was a poor race or anything.

More good news for IndyCar as season 2019 approaches

Great opportunity for IndyCar to grow there,with Dixon showing zero signs of slowing down. I look at Australia’s situation, with Power coming off his Indianapolis win, the increased notoriety that has brought to IndyCar racing, and the decent chance of a race in Australia next year, the series has a chance to really push their brand forward, particularly with the demise of Formula One on free-to-air. It will be interesting to see which outlet carries IndyCar races in this neck of the woods going forward.

As for Brendon Hartley, he would’ve probably been better off staying with Ganassi rather than jumping over to F1. The grass isn’t always greener, though you can’t blame a guy for wanting to try his hand at the top level – even if the racing is subpar when compared to IndyCar’s product.

Thanks for reading & commenting!

IndyCar races towards a season of optimism

They do it every year before Thanksgiving weekend. You can set your watch by it.

College football 2018: Week 12 heroes and villains

Not sure anyone left on Notre Dame’s current schedule (and I sadly include my Trojans) is going to beat them. FSU are hot garbage and probably won’t get within 3 touchdowns.

College football 2018: Week 7 heroes and villains

My Trojans will beat them over Thanksgiving. Just kidding, USC isn’t beating Notre Dame this year. The latest projections have the Irish playing Alabama in a semi-final. That’s like a booby prize, isn’t it?

College football 2018: Week 6 heroes and villains

Thanks. I love NFL, but love the college game more. Fun stuff on a Sunday.

College football 2018: Week 6 heroes and villains

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