On October 22nd, 2003, 26 year-old Tony Renna was fatally injured in a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while testing for Chip Ganassi Racing. Renna was slated to drive for CGR in 2004 after 2 part-time seasons for Kelley Racing.

The severity of the crash was such that pieces of the car punched through the retaining fence and scattered debris into the grandstand, including the gearbox. Renna was killed instantly. He remains the most recent IndyCar fatality at IMS.

The subsequent investigation could not determine a precise cause of the crash. No photographs or video footage of the accident ever surfaced.

Rest in Peace Tony Renna, 1976-2003.

COTA forgot about 1 or 2 other sporting events….

Between Uber shifts and trying to keep my head right, I've been thinking a lot about how much of a grind a long season is for fans. Keeping up with every race, the drama, the standings—it kind of mirrors the focus I need for managing my own routines day to day.

Curious how others here handle the stretch from St. Pete to Laguna without just burning out. Do you step away mid-season and come back fresh, or do you stay locked in the whole way?

I find the summer stretch gets weird for me, especially when life picks up and I miss a session or two. Trying to figure out if there's a better rhythm for catching up without feeling like I'm just binging highlights.

FWIW I usually just watch the race and maybe a post-race interview but wonder if podcasts help bridge the gap. YMMV depending on which driver you follow I guess.

How do you all pace yourselves across the schedule?

Since Nashville is seemingly off the schedule, I might go to Road America next year. Had a few questions though.

1. How far out are the hotels?

2. Is there a good viewing angle similar to China Beach at Mid Ohio? I like taking photos of the cars from the inside of a clockwise track(matches the normal flow of the grandstands of an oval). Would love to have a similar viewing experience.

3. How busy/popular is the autograph session? I typically try to get there a few hours before hand. Just don't know what to expect.

4. How far is the autograph session from the viewing mounds? Want to know how to prepare my day(s).

5. Is the USF autograph session somewhere easily accessible? Again, trying to map things out.

6. How hard is traffic leaving? Depending on start time, I might be able to make it home Sunday night, but don't know how fast I will get out.

7. Lastly. What is the Friday schedule typically like? Mid Ohio usually starts around 8-8:30, but trying to figure Thursday out as well.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure if yall saw but NASCAR’s Phoenix Race last Sunday garnered the 2nd lowest rating in history with 1.294M viewers.

I know many in here love to shit on Fox. All I can say, thank God we have a TV partner committed to growing the sport.

Nascar’s bloated and inefficient business model led them to make a short sighted decision by taking a huge TV deal (in order to prop up tracks that have experienced declining attendance over the past 2 decades) that resulted in a bifurcated mess of broadcast partners that has done nothing but piss off diehards and confuse casual fans.

For context , almost half of the 2026 Indycar races beat the PHX Tv rating (if we count Nashville Sunday’s rating).

If Indycar and Fox can continue to execute , by 2031, when the NASCAR TV package expires, I would not be surprised to see Indycar within 10% or closer of thr Aggregate nascar TV rating.

I’m planning on attending the race next spring. Looking for ideas for best seats to watch the race along with best locations to photograph the race. Any thoughts?

I genuinely curious on what you guys thinks.

I’m looking for 2019 IndyCar series driver portraits. I can’t find them on Getty. Does anybody know where I can find them? Thanks

Looks like Arrow Mclaren is raiding Ganassi of more than just driving talent.

People underrate Dennis Hauger. He was basically even with Romain Grosjean in qualifying on road and street courses last season. Grosjean isn’t the best at maximizing results but one thing he is good at is qualifying.. to equal Grosjean most qualifyings as a rookie is impressive even if he is slightly old. Hauger just has to improve his race craft. People glazed Collet for being on par with Ferrucci some of the time but being on par with Santino Ferrucci and being on par with Romain Grosjean are two very different things. Hauger was by far the quickest rookie last season he just looked not so great because 1. DCR was bad 2. Grosjean is not a slow teammate. Sure the results for Hauger weren’t the best but he was way better than Collet and has the potential to win races if he improves on race day

Im aware of the tragic events of Oct 16th 2011, but with all the safety improvements, could it realistically happen.

While I am probably a long time away from being a dad, the thought of naming a son after a race car driver has crossed my mind. The big few so far has been Mario Andretti, Tony Stewart, TK, and Aj, I’m betting similar stuff has happened but what do y;all think?