2017 IndyCar Driver Reviews: Part 2

Okay, honesty time here you guys.

I’ve been procrastinating writing this blog for over a week.

And sitting down to write it right now I’m and just not feeling it. like I’m seriously forcing myself basically just so I can cross it off of my to do list.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love writing, but school is starting to take its toll.

You don’t even want to see what October looks like in my planner.

Yeesh.

And it probably doesn’t help that I’ve been working on writing a paper for a class all week so writing hasn’t had the greatest appeal.

I just wanna take a nap.

And watch Netflix.

And not do things.

Anyways, I’ll stop complaining now.

Let’s jump right into week two of my 2017 IndyCar driver reviews.

Max Chilton

I’ve never been a huge Max Chilton fan.

I don’t love him but I don’t hate him.

I’ve never picked him in my fantasy league, but I’ve never picked him as a first out.

But what I will say is that Max Chilton impressed me more this year than he did last year and I think most people will agree.

His one top five finish of the season came in the form of 4th place at Indy, which I think caught all of our attention.

Along with his one top five finish he accomplished 6 top ten finishes.

I think he raced pretty good this year.

There are no particularly bad moments that stick out in my mind anyways.

Its only his second year in the sport and he’s still learning, he’s figuring it out so I’ll give him some grace.

If I think about it, I’m actually pretty excited to see what he can bring next year.

Don’t disappoint me now, Max.

Mid-term grade: B

Final Grade: C+

Conor Daly

I had such high hopes for Conor Daly this season.

I thought for sure the switch to Foyt would help him skyrocket to the top, or at least make him a serious contender.

Obviously, that wasn’t the case this season.

Foyt racing itself just struggled with lots of changes this season, which I think accounted for part of the reason why its drivers had such poor results.

But I’ll tell you what, Conor Daly took it all in stride, he made the best of a pretty terrible season if I’m being honest.

But I hope that after this season he can come back stronger than ever.

And I really really hope that Foyt keeps him on for next year.

At the end of the season we could really start to see Conor’s potential coming out.

I think if he got some consistency in his team and Foyt hired a senior driver to mentor Daly, Conor’s results would improve significantly.

We all hope Conor has what it takes, we’re all just waiting for the day he shows us what he’s worth.

Mid term grade: C+

Final Grade: C+ (the plus is for effort)

Scott Dixon

If anyone had a great 2017 season and had nothing to show for it that would be Scott Dixon.

Let’s be real, the man drove an essentially flawless season and all he has to show for it is one pole (at Indy which is huge), one win, and third in the championship.

He drove flawlessly all season to capture 16 top ten, and 10 top five finishes AND he competed in every fast six qualifying session this season.

The man is flawless.

I don’t know what else to say about him.

I don’t know why he didn’t win more, I don’t think anyone has an explanation for it.

But one things for sure, Scott Dixon is still proving to be the one to beat in IndyCar, there wasn’t a single race this season where he wasn’t a threat.

He’s still the Iceman.

Mid term grade: A

Final Grade: A

Esteban Gutierrez

I really don’t have much to say about Esteban Gutierrz, but I thought he at least deserved to be mentioned.

He did a pretty solid job filing in for Sebastian Bourdais.

No big crashes (besides Texas, but we’re just not going to count that because it was just that much of a mess).

Out of his seven starts he managed 5 top ten finishes.

I’d say that pretty impressive.

Props to him.

I wouldn’t hate seeing him in a full-time ride.

Mid term grade: C

Final Grade: C+

JR Hildebrand

If there was a person who disappointed me the most this season I would have to say it would be JR Hildebrand.

And anyone who knows me knows that I have a soft spot for JR and should know that it pains me to say that he disappointed me this season.

But he did.

For years I was saying, “someone get JR in a car full time.”

So when Ed Carpenter did I was ecstatic.

I was beyond exited to see him get out there and blow everyone out of the water.

But he didn’t.

Time and time again he failed me.

I had such hope.

I gave him chance after chance and each time he failed me.

JR, you broke my heart.

In his comeback season, he managed only 2 top five and 2 top ten finishes.

What the heck JR?

As devastated as I am to see him lose his ride with ECR I’m honestly not suprised.

JR is known as the guy who crashed on the final corner of the last lap of the 2011 Indy 500 and lost the race, but now, I think he’ll be known as the guy who got his second chance in IndyCar and blew it.

Mid term grade: B-

Final grade: D

James Hinchcliffe

When James Hinchcliffe won the second race of the season I think we were all hoping that it meant it was the start of a stellar season for Hinch.

It didn’t end up being a stellar season for Hinch.

It wasn’t a bad season, but it wasn’t a great season either.

I think we all had higher hopes for our favorite Canadian.

I mean he did manage 3 top five and seven top 10 finishes, but it was all just okay.

And let’s be honest, he didn’t exactly shock in qualifying either.

I love ya Hinch, but you’ve gotta step up your game a bit..

Mid term grade: between C+ and B-

Final grade: B-

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you today folks.

But just an FYI, I really really enjoyed writing this.

Like I was so into it in was writing in the minutes my soup was reheating in the microwave and I had to force myself to stop so I could leave and get to class on time.

Man, writing can really change my mood can’t it? Ha

See ya’ll next week.

xxkaitlyn

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