I am watching the Indy 500. Not sure exactly which lap, but low 100s somewhere. Marco Andretti just went low on race leader Tony Kannan in the turn which pushed Kannan up into the wall. and after coming off the wall Kannan was hit in the front left tire by Sarah Fisher. Both Fisher and Kannan are out for the race now. Kannan and Andretti are teammates and they went to Mario Andretti in the pit for a reaction. In addition to being the team owner, Andretti is also…you know…Marco’s Dad, so you could tell it was an awkward situation for him. One one hand, he has his team’s best driver leading the race just past the halfway point taken out by an aggressive pass that one might argue should only be attempted in the last few laps of the race. On the other hand, he has his son, whose new asshole he does not want to tear on national television. In an attempt to be diplomatic, the elder Andretti said it was “a tough call.”
*update*
Andretti just overtook Scott Dixon for the race lead with 79 laps to go.
Anyway, ABC analyst Eddie Cheaver wasn’t afraid to make his thoughts on the incident know when they went to Andretti’s radio communication live.
Marco: “Tell him I’m sorry.”
Crew cheif: “You had a clean run at him. Just focus on the task at hand.”
Cheaver: “Clean run…I’d like to get some clarification on what he means by that.”
Cheaver was fairly obvious in his assessment in real time when he said that “If you do that (pass low in the turn) it gives the driver you are passing nowhere to go but into the wall.”
I pretty much agree with Cheaver that Andretti’s pass was probably unnecessary at this point in the race, but I don’t like Tony Kannan because he looks like Vin Diesel, so I am happy with it.
The biggest loser in this whole thing is poor Sarah Fisher who is not only the driver but team owner and may not be able compete in her next scheduled race due to not having the budget of the bigger teams in the game. In an interview after being medically cleared, Kannan described Fisher crying in the ambulance and trying to console her. Her interview saw her only able to get out a sentence or two before breaking down once again.
That’s racing, I suppose.
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