by Joe Woods · 07/26/10

Holy Michael Oher Batman!

Edmonton is not a race traditionally earmarked for its "high-entertainment" value or history.  And perhaps 30 laps in there was little on-track to shed this repuation.  I must say I thoroughly enjoy its unique stature on the IZOD Indycar schedule, especially since they no longer race at the Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, OH.  During the race, I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear over the combination of a long straight as wide as a ten lane expressway, spectators having sightlines of the entire course, and the fastest speeds of any twistie on the current IZOD Indycar circuit.  Every driver took a page out of Will Power's How-To Edmonton guide and absolutely attacked the course without abandon this year.  This mattered little as the Toowomba Tornado was once again the class of the field--in practice, in qualifying, and at the beginning of the race.  Simply put, he is better than you and you and you, and especially you.

Given the wide-open nature of the track and the vast amount of run-off available I expected little in the way of caution periods but once the first yellow fell, yellow begat yellow.  Fortunately for the fans, none of these periods fell in the leaders pit-windows leaving us with dramatic green flag pit-stops.  On lap 74, Power and the Verizon crew made a mistake characteristic of the mortal "hume-ANS" I swore they were not.  Power and crew chose to go with black tires while other teams-drivers went with sticker reds.  The choice proved to be devastating as he was quickly inhaled on-track by Helio Castroneves and his far superior tire compound.  

Now we arrive to the part where the dog-poopie hit the proverbial propelled air-cooling unit.  Lap 90...Simona spins...full-course caution...Castroneves leading.  Green Flag, Will Power trys the outside on Helio, fails badly, Dixon passes Power for 2nd, Castroneves maintains lead.  Race over, right? Not even close.  How's a full out "Shock and Awe" campaign at the hands of much-maligned Race Director Brian Barnhart sound?  

With two laps to go the issue is ordered for Helio to serve a drive-through penalty for blocking his teammate, Will Power on the restart.  At this point, I'm cursing Barnhart, his mother, dog, wife, even his ex-girlfriends.  Watching the replay I cannot find anything, I mean ANYTHING wrong with the way Helio took his line.  Helio continued on track, taking the checkers even though Timing and Scoring listed Scott Dixon as the winner.  As Jenkins, Buhl, and Beekhius make sense of the replay, F-bombs, shouts of blood-curling terror, and audible fisticuffs are heard in the background.  

Thankfully the Vs. Director switches to the all out Mexican wrestling match taking place at the end of pit row.  Helio is then seen bee-lining to a randomly selected scoring tower with a full out Jack Nicholson from The Shining intensity on his face.  Thank god no one left their ax in the infield, we may have all been left with the visual of blood spraying from the area where Security Chief Charles head once was.  Thankfully the cooly collected Chief Charles laughed as Helio assaulted his shirt collar, all in all a horrifyingly hilarious scene.  It clearly became a moment where the rules of life, the universe, and everything seemed absolutely suspended.

Wow. Wow. Wow. That was literally my thought process for nearly three minutes.  When I finally came to I was still under the impression that Helio got screwed, then the driver reactions started to flood in.  From what I have read, universally every driver (in the race and on the sideline), has stated that Helio definitely blocked the 2nd place car.  Even Team Penske teammate, Will Power, went on record and said that Castroneves blocked him after the green flag.  It was in these moments, upon return of a normal resting heart rate that it once again became clear that I am a fan, not an expert.  

Watching the replay over and over I have a hard time seeing the block (I've talked myself into seeing it, but I'm not so sure)  but absolutely respect and honor the opinions of his competitors.  Perhaps a major reason why the block is hard for a viewer like me to see is the fact that it is so inconsistently called.  Part of me thinks that Helio was aware of what he did but reacted furiously because he never thought it would cost him the race (though he should know better than anyone, having suffered similar circumstances at Belle Isle in 2008).  

Since then inconsisitencies in regards to blocking, have reigned.  With this call by Barnhart, the stakes have once again been raised, the benchmark has been re-established, the threats are real.  Ultimately, Helio's heat-of-the-moment reaction is excusable, though in the end I trust that the right call was made.  It will cease being the correct call if the letter-of-the-law isn't followed the rest of the 2010 IZOD Indycar season and beyond.

You can find Joe on Twitter @johowo

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