2012 Motorsport Preview: PART 1

It’s that time of the year. Football season is winding to a close, basketball and hockey are reaching the midpoints of their seasons, and pitchers & catchers report in less than a month. That’s right ladies and gentleman, spring is nearly here and racing season is upon us once again.  In the upcoming weeks we will be providing you with all the information you will need to get caught up with the offseason changes of the major classes of motorsport before the kickoffs of the 2012 seasons. And there is a lot to cover, so lets begin.

Sprint Cup/Nationwide

Testing is underway at Daytona and there are a few main story lines to follow. While no major technical changes have been made for the season as a whole, there are a few changes in place for this year’s Daytona 500.  All the changes address the tandem racing we have seen at larger restrictor plate tracks, in which two cars hook up (with the 2^nd car literally pushing the first) and are quicker than any other combination. The teams adjusted last year to having the drivers communicate by radio to each other and having a single spotter between them, both of which are not allowed this season.  A smaller radiator size should ensure that the following car won’t be able to do so for too long before it needs to step out for fresh air without overheating. In addition, the restrictor plate openings have been increased to increase overall speed in hopes to break the car’s dependency on each other. This has resulted in the fastest speeds we have seen in years, with Kurt Busch posting the fastest lap time so far in testing at 206.058 mph average.

Other things to keep an eye out for (and things we will be addressing in future posts) is Tony Stewart’s chance of the repeat, Jimmy Johnson trying to win another title after not being crowned champion for the first time in what seems like forever, and Danica Patrick running a full Nationwide schedule with a limited Sprint Cup schedule.

Formula 1

Testing of Renault's new R30 Chassis

We are going to hold off on getting too in depth on the Formula 1 scene for now for a couple main reasons.  Testing doesn’t begin until February 7 in Jerez, which means we actually only know what a few team’s cars look like and what type of innovations they are carrying. If you aren’t familiar with F1, each team makes their own car from scratch each season.  Renault is one of the few teams that have shown off their car, but nearly all teams will unveil their 2012 machines leading up to the first test, with the exception of McLaren who state they wont release the new car until the 2^nd test at Barcelona, which seems to have become standard procedure for them. So when we know more we’ll let you know, but it should be another extremely interesting season as Sebastian Vettel goes for his 3^rd world title in a row, and Louis Hamilton tries to not crash into everything but the safety car.

 Izod Indycar Series

   

IRL's new 2012 Car

Without question this is probably the most important year of the series existence.  It is never easy for a series to move past the loss of a driver, but it becomes extraordinarily difficult when it is a situation as public, and graphic, as the loss of Dan Weldon at Las Vegas in last seasons final race.  As they move past the loss of one of their most popular drivers, they must also adapt to the loss of Danica Patrick who has left this season to join NASCAR.  Patrick brought in a broader fan base to Indycar, and it remains to be seen whether those fans will stay with the series, or follow Patrick over to stock car racing.  Finally, the series introduces a brand new car this season, a much safer, and drastically different looking car took the track in pre season tests for the first time on January 23, and the overall response from the drivers has been good. Although it is still unclear how they will be on oval tracks.  The Dallara DW12 cars, named after Dan Weldon who helped the manufacturer test the cars last season, has a body designed to prevent the horrific air born wrecks we have seen in recent years.

It should be a great season across all three series, stay tuned as we go more in depth as we approach the first races of the season.

Where's Peyton?

It is all but decided that the Indianapolis Colts will be releasing Peyton Manning rather than paying his roster bonus of $28 millon. With Peyton off the team, the Colts are expected to select Andrew Luck with the #1 pick in the NFL draft. This leads to possibly one of the biggest free agents in NFL history. Very rarely is an elite QB allowed to test the FA waters unless they are at the end of their career, ala Brett Favre. With that said, Peyton is in a very similar situation to Favre in that he holds the power and will look to join a winning team. My apologies to Dolphins, Browns or Redskins fans who had pipe dreams of #18 wearing their colors. He won't be looking to join a rebuilding team as he only has a few years left and just surgically repaired his neck so he might want a decent offensive line to protect him. I also highly doubt that the Raiders or Seahawks will be on his radar either as they don't seem to be sure which direction they are headed. Here are my front runners and a dark horse for Peyton's right arm:

New York Jets- ESPN keeps floating this idea and I'm sure they would love for nothing more than a little drama in the Big Apple. Jets players have already questioned Mark Sanchez and his work ethic so he doesn't look like a long term solution. What better place for a big time QB like Peyton who loves doing commercials and endorsements than the marketing capital of the US? He would be able to handle the pressure without batting an eye. His Tom Brady rivalry would only increase as they'd be battling twice a year and for the division crown. The Jets are a very solid team already with plenty of weapons and a player's coach (Rex Ryan) at the helm. It seems like a very good fit and one in which Peyton would be able to lay out his list of "demands".

Denver Broncos- Yes, I know Tim Tebow plays in Denver, but I can't see John Elway not at least testing the waters to see if Manning would want to come to the Mile High City. As much as I enjoy Tebow Time, he is not the type of QB that will see prolonged success in the NFL. Elway really wants to find a pro-style QB to lead the Broncos, but can't cause a mutiny in Denver by replacing Tebow. With that said, I do believe that bringing in Peyton Manning would pacify the fans as they would be getting a top 5 QB and a future Hall of Famer who could be sold as a "mentor" to Tebow while making the offense a legitimate threat. Only a Peyton Manning type player would not cause a mass riot in the streets of Denver. Peyton would have plenty of talent around him on offense and would love throwing to a receiver like Demaryius Thomas. The Broncos were basically carried by their defense with Tebow at the helm and Manning would help them evolve into a more complete team.

San Francisco 49ers- Here is the dark horse. Alex Smith has led the resurgence of the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh and being a former #1 pick, he obviously has some talent. He has taken them to the NFC Conference Championship and possibly the Super Bowl depending on this weekend. With that said, would Harbaugh be able to pass up coaching a QB of Manning's caliber? He came to the 49ers from Stanford where he helped to develop Andrew Luck into the best QB prospect since some guy named... Peyton Manning. Harbaugh is a former NFL QB himself and would love to run a top flight passing attack, especially against the weak defenses of the NFC West. The 49ers are a team with a great QB legacy with the likes of Joe Montana and Steve Young. Alex Smith's contract is up after this year so they wouldn't have to deal with releasing or trading him. Peyton would help to get the most out of highly talented, but low output players such as Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis. If the 49ers had a high powered offense to go along with their stifling defense, it would be hard to believe that they wouldn't be a front runner for the Lombardi Trophy for the next couple of years.

A Minnesota Winter Classic

Another holiday season has come and gone, and with it another great NHL winter classic has disappeared as quickly as a rink popped up in the middle of Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia.  So naturally, we decided to think up some scenarios of the Winter Classic coming to the State of Hockey.

Minnesota Wild Owner Craig Leipold says the NHL would, "love to put a Winter Classic in Minnesota. And what I've been told time and time again is, 'Craig, you get marquee players, you become a playoff team, and you've got it.'"

It’s almost impossible to think the NHL wouldn’t want to visit one of the richest hockey markets south of the boarder; but when it comes to the Winter Classic the national ratings rule supreme.  So the Wild will likely need be consistently at the top and get some national recognition before getting the “all go” from the NHL. With the farm system loaded and the Wild currently not looking half bad, all be it not a Stanly Cup contender, the Winter Classic going to Minnesota is likely not as far fetched as some would think.

The possible matchups in no particular order:

Dallas: The old Minnesota North Stars team could come back to town in what is always a good rivalry game. In addition, the AHL affiliate game would be good with the Texas Stars taking on the Houston Aeros. Also, someone would likely be wearing the old North Stars sweaters, which would be nice to see. However, I’m not sure Minnesota fans would react well to seeing the Dallas Stars sporting them.

Detroit: With rumors abound on the high likelihood that Detroit will be rocking next year’s Winter Classic (hopefully to the tune of 100,000+ at the Big House), we probably won’t see this matchup. But Detroit is a big enough name to again draw a large national audience.

Chicago: It makes the most sense, especially after realignment and the renewed rivalry, large market big name squad for national ratings would be enough to please all the big wigs in the NHL front office.

Winnipeg: I included this just as a prediction that Winnipeg will become the Wild’s most hated rival in coming seasons. And if both teams were consistently at the top of the standings for a couple years, if maybe one of them won the cup, if…….yeah lets move on.

Colorado: Good Rivalry again, but likely not enough large market presence for the nation as a whole. However, if the NHL decides to make a huge mistake and do multiple outdoor games in future events, this could be a possibility.

San Jose: Good big name west coast team, also has a good history and a “non traditional” rivalry. But I wouldn’t see it happening unless both teams rise to the top of the league.

The sites:

There are two places the Winter Classic would likely take place, Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins) or TCF Bank Stadium (on the U of M campus). There is little doubt watching hockey from a seating arrangement set for baseball isn’t the greatest, but Target Field would have a higher capacity. The real decision wouldn’t be made until it was certain the TCF Bank site would be able to serve alcohol, under its current agreement it cannot. Sit outside in a Minnesota Winter with no beer? Blasphemy!

Finally, since the Winter Classic has become a multiple game/day event, it would likely fit well into other large hockey events Minnesota already has on an annual basis. Hockey Day in Minnesota is one day in January where select high school boys and girls teams already play outdoors, in addition to a full lineup of Minnesota Golden Gopher and Wild action.  The Winter Classic would be a fitting main event for the weekend. The Gophers also have a small holiday tournament around the same time, which could have the championship game outdoors, and since it is an invitational they could chose some teams from the same area of the squad the Wild end up playing.

All great options, all sound fun, but remember that in a smaller market the Wild must prove to be “national television” worthy before the NHL will even think about bring the Winter Classic to the State of Hockey.