Who had the best and worst race liveries? What about the best and worst races? These are the question that I present to you over the holidays. The categories and my answers to them have been provided below.
SB Nation IndyCar Awards: Best and Worst of 2013
The long IndyCar off-season is in full swing but the end of the calendar year presents an opportunity to discuss the good and bad from an often wacky 2013 season.
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Provide your own answers in the comments section below.
BEST RACE
The best overall race of the season
The Indianapolis 500. The Greatest Spectacle in Racing lived up to the hype for a third straight season and also set a record for lead changes, 68, which is a bar that may never be reached again. While the unpredictable nature of the racing and the inability for anyone to hold the top spot for any more than a handful of laps, the 2013 500 felt like a NASCAR restrictor plate race.
With aerodynamic enhancements coming in 2015, the 2014 race may be the last chance to experience this kind of racing at Indianapolis... and that may not be a bad thing.
WORST RACE
The worst overall race of 2013
The Firestone 550 may have not been the worst race of the year but expectations are at its highest when the IndyCar Series visits Texas Motor Speedway. What is traditionally one of the most exciting races of the season became a yawner when Helio Castroneves passed Marco Andretti on lap 97 and led the remaining 131 laps to win by 4.691 seconds over Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Gone was the pack racing of the IR-05 and gone was the competitive package of 2012, leaving a race that was somewhat marred by tear wear in 2013.
BEST FINISH
The best overall finish of the season
The Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 was an absolute barn burner from start to finish. But it was the final 20-lap dash between eventual winner James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato and Josef Newgarden that made it an instant classic. Sato was looking to score back-to-back victories after winning Long Beach and made several near-block moves on both Newgarden and Hinchcliffe.
But race control let the move stand and the trio raced on. The event was decided on the final corner with Hinchcliffe, using his push-to-pass, got under Sato and led the final 300 meters to pick up his second victory of the year.
BIGGEST STORY
The top news story of 2013
The sudden retirement of Dario Franchitti may be the biggest story of the decade in the IndyCar Series. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time champion was advised by his doctors to step out of the cockpit following a violent crash (see below) on the final lap of the Grand Prix of Houston. The decision opened up one of the most prized seats in motorsports and ultimately saw Tony Kanaan fill the void with Ryan Briscoe returning to full-time competition in the fourth Ganassi Racing entry.
BEST FEUD
The top rivalry of 2013.
The biggest feud in the history of the modern IndyCar Series may be Roger Penske versus Chip Ganassi and it was a rivalry that continued on every level this past season. Once again, it was a Ganassi driver (Scott Dixon) versus a Penske ace (Helio Castroneves) to decide the season championship.
Penske’s Will Power also made his presence felt, winning three of the final five races and nearly costing Dixon a chance to win the title with a block at Baltimore (see directly below) and the tire-hitting accident at Sonoma.
BONEHEAD MOMENT
The dumbest move of the year
Everything about the rollout of standing starts felt knee-jerk and not very thought out. The first intended standing start didn’t even come to fruition at Toronto due to the stalled car of Josef Newgarden and a similar fate befell the first standing start attempt at Houston as well.
It’s a novelty act for the IRL descended IndyCar Series and is fascinating to watch but the cars just weren’t prepared to do it this past season. Here’s to hoping they work on that for next season.
BIGGEST WRECK
The most memorable crash of the season
It was discussed above but the crash on the final lap at the Grand Prix of Houston was awe-inspiring even if it hadn’t ended the career of Dario Franchitti. His car was sent airborne into the catchfence after contact with another car and sent debris into the grandstands. The injuries, which ended Dario’s career, included a fractured vertebra and broken right ankle in addition to a concussion. And visually, it was quite the sight to behold.
BIGGEST OVERACHIEVER
The driver who did the most he could with what he had
The next two categories are hard to select because the IndyCar field was just so balanced and even this year. Parity was the name of the game but the one driver who continues to do the most with the least is Justin Wilson. One can only imagine what Wilson could do if he ever links up with Team Panske, Andretti or Ganassi.
BIGGEST UNDERACHIEVER
The driver who did the least with the most
It’s a shame that the final year of Dario Franchitti’s career will be remembered for the injury and the way he struggled even prior to getting hurt. He just never seemed to adapt to the DW-12, winning only the 2012 Indianapolis 500 and finishing outside of the top-five in the championship standings both seasons.
BEST LIVERY
The best designed car of 2013
This is a tough one. The 2013 season produced a lot of meh paint schemes but the ones that stuck out, really stuck out. The first two that come to mind are those driven by Will Power and Marco Andretti with the concession that the No. 12 was too plain or similar to Castroneves’, while Andretti’s No. 25 is too flashy.
WORST LIVERY
The worst designed car of 2013
The Tristan Vautier Florida Lottery entry from St. Petersburg just didn’t work... unless you’re craving orange sherbet or something.
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