Yellow flag finish ruins another IndyCar race
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| Chip Ganassi |
"I saw some of the fans walking out before the checkered even fell, and that is just disappointing," Ganassi reflected, after an accident between Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay three laps from home ruined the end of the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway.
"They come to see a show, and they deserve to see a show. They deserve to see a good finish, they deserve to see an exciting finish. I understand the difference between IndyCars and stock cars, and why some people think you can't do it, but I think there's a way to do it. I just think we need to sit down and get our heads together and figure out how to do it so it makes it fair for everybody."
"Obviously, tonight, I wouldn't have liked to be in that situation but, maybe, last week in Milwaukee I would have liked a different situation, so it's going to come and go," said winner Scott Dixon, "I definitely didn't want to have a restart with maybe a white-checkered here because, with the Penske cars behind us, we were going to struggle to hold onto that position.
"But, yeah, I agree totally with Chip. It doesn't seem to happen too often with us, but that's two weekends in a row now where we finished on the caution, and the fans come first.
"That's why we're here. They pay to come see us, and that's the only reason why we can race. If they can do something to help that, I think it's going to be better for everybody, and it's going to work for you one weekend and it's not going to work for you the other."
06/09/08 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon called on Indy Racing League officials to develop a NASCAR-like plan to settle IndyCar Series races under green-flag conditions after his series saw a second consecutive race end under yellow Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR guarantees one chance to finish under green with a two-lap shootout. Dixon isn't sure that's the best model, but he said the fans deserve something. The fans come first. That's why we're here," he said after winning the Bombardier Learjet 550K at a reduced pace. "They pay to come see us, and that's the only reason why we can race.
"If (officials) can do something to help that, I think it's going to be better for everybody."
Dixon's team owner, Chip Ganassi, supported him because of what he saw in the grandstands as Saturday's final six laps passed under caution.
"I saw some of the fans walking out before the checkered even fell, that's all," he said. "It's just disappointing. They come to see a show, and they deserve to see a show.
"They deserve to see a good finish. They deserve to see an exciting finish."
There are several reasons why it's not practical in Indy-car racing, according to Brian Barnhart, the IRL's president of competition. He noted late Saturday that these machines do not carry onboard starters. Also, an extra session disrupts "the fluidity" of the race, he said.
Helio Castroneves agreed.
"In NASCAR, you're stopping on the racetrack, turning (the car) off, turning it on," he said.
"For us, it would be a little bit of a mess (by) stopping in the pits, turning off the cars. You'd have to have everybody checking the cars to make sure nobody touched the cars.
"But hey, it is the rules, and it's something that you cannot change (now)." Indy Star
06/08/08 Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 550 ended with the cars coasting around Texas Motor Speedway at less than 90 mph.
That's a crawl for cars that reach speeds of 220 mph. What a downer.
Scott Dixon, the IndyCar Series' dominant driver, won his third race of the season. He was the fifth polesitter to win in 19 IndyCar races at TMS.
But he won it as the yellow and checkered flags waved together. Some fans were already leaving before Dixon crossed the finish line. It's the second time in a week that a late crash has forced an IndyCar Series race to end under caution.
That should not happen.
It's time for the series to do what NASCAR did a few years ago: go to a green-white-checkered finish.
"I think about the fans," said Chip Ganassi, owner of Dixon's team. "They come to see a show, and they deserve to see an exciting finish. I understand the differences between Indy cars and stock cars and why some people say we can't do it. I think there's a way to do it, and I think we need to sit down and come together and do it."
Dixon had mixed feelings. He wanted a two-lap sprint, a la NASCAR, last weekend at Milwaukee since he was second behind Ryan Briscoe as that race ended. On Saturday, Dixon had Helio Castroneves and Briscoe behind him and was happy to see the yellow.
"But the fans come first," Dixon said. "That's why we're here."
Series spokesman John Griffin said the league doesn't think it's feasible, because the cars don't have onboard starters, and it's time-consuming to restart them. We think that would slow things down and take away from the show," Griffin said. Dallas News