Qualification weekend was not a strong point for Honda teams in the Indy 500. Both of the cars that got “bumped” out of the field were Hondas (Pippa Mann and James Hinchcliffe). And only two of the top 9 cars that ran for pole Sunday were Hondas. In short, Honda got smoked.
What about the race?
No matter what happened in qualifying, the question of the race remains. Examining Honda v. Chevy for the race breaks down like this.
TOP END POWER: Chevy has an advantage. Whether they can use it in the race is another story. For instance, many of the Chevy drivers have been complaining about not being able to pass when the cars are in groups. I have not heard that so much from the Honda contingent.
DRIVEABILITY: How is this a factor? In order to pass into turns 1 and 3 (which are the only places you can really pass at Indy), you have to start 1 or two turns before that. If the Hondas are smoother than the Chevys accelerating out of turns 2 and 4, that can make up for the superior top end of the Chevys.
Overall, I think the Honda v. Chevy thing is 60-40 Chevy. Mainly because I think this year in this race, Chevy has more good cars. If a Honda wins it, it’s going to be someone like Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Alex Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti or Carlos Munoz. The Rahal team and the SPM team is clearly lost. My Honda dark horse is Zachary Claman De Melo.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out. But if the Chevys have gotten their mileage act together, it will be a long day for Honda.
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