Mid-Ohio Day 2: The reception was BETTER THAN YESTERDAY

Those of you that follow us on Twitter know that. Couldn't get any pics out, but saylavee.

Editor's note: Alcohol is being consumed during this writing--exercising Citizen Journalist Privilege. BOOM.

Giddyup...

Means Street: If you've ever suffered a moment of Brain Fade and thought Chip, Roger, Michael, Graham, H3lio, et al, were just regular Joes, take a stroll down Motor-home Row (where you can, here, but you can't at Indy). STRONG.

I'm no Curt Cavin... But if the size of today's crowd on the mounds is any indication, you'll be fighting for elbow room, tomorrow. Nice. Yeah, Honda, blah, blah, blah...

#TheBoys: They work their arses off, and I don't miss my little foray a smidge, from that perspective.

It's a keeper: The fans love Mid-O, the drivers love it, too. We'll see how it plays on the telly, tomorrow, but I hope it's around for a long, long time.

It's not a hill, it's a HOLE: Pit #24, at the far end of pit road (Barracuda), is the short straw. Incredible elevation change and a distinct disadvantage. Sure the others near it aren't a lot better, but I was amazed. Luca's gonna need to deliver a clutch performance. Winky face.

What We'll Be Watching

• When engine changes happen after qualifying, it's ridiculously hard to follow because of the penalties, but... If H3lio--your points leader--rolls off last-ish, tomorrow, instead of 15th, does he take a haircut in points with Dixie (2nd in points) starting 3rd, where he can easily kiss the grass--or whatever they do here?
• Ryan "I was born in America" Hunter-Reay nabs pole. 3rd in points, can he turn the trick and make a magical run for the championship, like he did last year?
• Shout-out to Charlie's boys, Charlie, and the entire Ganassi organization. He stuffs it, they thrash, think better of it and go to the spare in time for qualifying, where he makes the Fast 6 and whoops up on his teammate, Dario, settling for 5th.  
• Speaking of the Franchen-monster, he was more than a wee bit miffed after quals. With the year he's having (P7 in points), I seriously hope it isn't dragging down his desire to race--I want to see him race for as long as possible. My personal opinion.
• I love me some, Tag, but I also enjoy a good underdog story. Luca Filippi isn't from around these parts, but he's shown early speed in his debut IndyCar weekend. Nothing would make me happier than to see him mow down the field. Forza Italia.

Five and five--seems like a good place to stop.

Don't worry about television ratings, don't fret over the number of passes, or even if your fave shoe doesn't have such a stellar day. Relax. Enjoy tomorrow's race.

--Chris

Mid-Ohio Day 1: The reception was PANTS

For a dude that likes to tweet that's...uh...unfortunate. Saylavee.

Let's dispense with the formalities, and get right to it [we never have formalities].

Stream of consciousness observations from an American racing original: The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Go home, Weather, you're drunk: Sun, clouds, spitting rain, wind...but it all went off. YEA.

Key viewing spot: The Keyhole. Not only can you see a nice chunk of track, the height of the viewing mound provides a glorious peek at the stellar Ohio landscape, as a backdrop.

Watch out for the Gators! In keeping with its rural location, Mid-O uses ATV Gators, hauling people wagons, as their shuttle vehicles. Earthy.

Freshen-up: MO needs one. And that's all I'll say about that.

Own it: Saw Kim Green of Green/Savoree fame (proprietors) on site... See above. 

Fan me: Saw several peeps sporting Mid-Ohio T-shirts, etc. Much like IMS, lots of fans of the track. I love that.

"INSIDE": ...Turn 1--another nice area to take it all in.

Stalking victims: A few random celebs we saw. Geoff Brabham (Matthew's dad), Plowey, Conor Daly, and PIPPA.

Did you know? Indycars have convex mirrors? I didn't. At a minimum, Graham has them  on here...

Stacked: Graham Rahal's team has everything in place to be successful.

Nationwide is on MO's side: Pleased to see a company of that stature have such a nice presence on the grounds. Headquartered in Columbus? Not certain.

TGIF: The best day to go to a race track, in my opinion. Plenty of action, not so many of your fellow fans. BOOM.

Rare bird: One of the nice things about Mid-Ohio is that you have a lovely view of the pits from above. Maybe it was just me, but there seemed to be an excess of males panting--er, observing--Hinchtown's pit. Winky face.

Unique whips: Sam Schmidt has a badass wheelchair--trimmed in livery bits from Pagenaud's car. 'Nuff said.

Watch and learn: Incredible what you can see and absorb by just watching the activity in the pits. Next time you're at the track, stand in one place for awhile. You won't regret it.

Thanks to Jessie Ghiorzi and the staff at Mid-Ohio: Tzit.

Like a kid again... Get a wicked buzz out of seeing kids excited about meeting and getting an autograph from an accommodating IndyCar driver. It's just cool.

The bromance is OVAH: Well... at least, it has changed. Against my will, I pressed the flesh with Graham Rahal, today. Frankly, I don't know how to proceed. To be continued...

All I got. As always, thank you for reading.

Stay tuned...

--Chris

Who is James Davison?

Racing is awesome in its own right, but when you know the players, it's twice as nice.

It was announced, this week, that James Davison will make his IZOD IndyCar Series debut in next weekend's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, driving the No. 18 for Dale Coyne Racing.

So, who is he? Let's check his vitals:

Nationality: Australian (Melbourne)

Age: 26

Curriculum Vitae

2004 — Victorian State Formula Ford Championship (Australia) 

• 1 win, 1 pole 

2005 — Formula BMW USA Junior Series 

• 1 win (US Grand Prix, Indianapolis), 4 podiums

2007 — Star Mazda Series (Velocity Motorsports) 

• 2nd in championship
• 3 wins, 3 poles

2008 — Indy Lights Series (Sam Schmidt Motorsports)

• 1 win (Mid-Ohio), 1 pole 
• Sunoco Most Improved Driver

2009 — Indy Lights Series (Vision Racing)

• 2nd in championship
• 1 win (Mid-Ohio), 3 poles, 4 podiums 

2010

• Driver coach for Milka Duno in the IndyCar Series
• Grand-Am Rolex Series debut, 6 hours of Watkins Glen (Starworks Motorsport) 

2011

• Grand-Am Rolex Series race, Laguna Seca (Michael Shank Racing) 
• Maiden IndyCar test with Andretti Autosport

2012

• Porsche Carrera Cup debut, Australian Grand Prix

2013

• Bathurst 12 hour Sportscar race, Class B Porsche GT3
• IndyCar test with Dale Coyne Racing (Mid-Ohio)

If you actually read that, you'll see Davison has won twice at Mid-Ohio in Indy Lights, as well as tested there in an Indycar.

Good luck to James and DCR, next week. 

Get your Mid-Ohio tickets HERE.

—Chris