2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

iks · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:27 am

It wasn't entirely Will Power's fault to begin with.

ps - nice avatar lol ^

Gaara · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:41 am

Power can't win, he's been given an official warning for going to early on the second start :lol:

He could be penalised if he does it in future.

No issue at all with the first start however.

De Cesaris fan · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:34 am

It wasn't a smart move from Power. However, I wouldn't say that he did anything wrong. Looked like he was maintaining a steady pace the whole time. Is there a mark where you have to accelerate? Or is it just a case of no passing before the line?

I'm sure he'll think about it differently next time, but so should the following cars.

Also, double file restarts being safer? Come on. I miss the action, but it's a silly thing to say.

ellis · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:04 pm

Quote:

I'm sure he'll think about it differently next time, but so should the following cars.

I keep reading this, but no. The green flag was flying, the green lights were on around the circuit, and the crew chiefs had shouted green to the drivers. The ONLY man who did anything wrong was Power, as he did not accelerate on the green and was far far too slow coming to the restart line. Constant speed doesn't mean much if it's crawling speed.

kals · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:59 pm

Power was slow but it is for the leader to dictate the pace, even if green flags were flying. The spotters and teams that accelerated should have done a better job. But as Gaara said, perhaps a minimum speed rule for restarts should be considered.

gkmotorsport · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:52 pm

I can't find the updated version for St Pete, but the previous iteration of the rulebook says:

Indycar wrote:

7.6.1.3. When the Track is clear for racing, the Safety Car will assist the field in preparing for a restart. At the appropriate time, the flashing lights will be turned off, indicating intent to restart. The leader is required to maintain the pace lap speed until reaching a point designated by INDYCAR near the start/finish line when the leader shall accelerate smoothly back to racing speed and the Green Condition will then be declared. All Car(s) must maintain their respective Track positions until the Green Condition is declared.

The way I read that, both Power and the race director might be in the wrong. Power should've accelerated as soon as he passed the first cone, but I think - based on the not-very-clear sight of the S/F gantry in the replay - that they may have thrown the green despite him clearly not putting on the speed. If anyone has access to a better replay, it might be easier to see.

If they flew a green flag too early, this would explain why Power wasn't even investigated, i guess...

ellis · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:55 pm

I don't believe the leader can dictate the pace after the green. Whilst the leader controls the race after the SC pits, that is only until the green flag. At that point the race is green and you may race. Power not moving confused the cars immediately behind him, whilst the cars at the back could not even see and reacted on the information they had - which was correct in that the race was green.

The spotter cannot keep his eyes on things in 2 different places. There is a good distance between the flagman and the leader, and we're asking the spotter to wait and see if the leader bothers going when the green is waved, before giving the confirmation. An idea in itself which means the leader has a distinct time advantage over anybody else due to reaction times.

Judging by the rules, Power did not accelerate smoothly towards the green, and did not accelerate once the green was flown because he was asleep.

ptclaus98 · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 2:23 pm

kals wrote:

At the end of today Monty should be able to add 'Rahal' to the list of racing dynasties that he's beaten on track... Andretti, Schumacher, Hakkinen, Gordon, Johnson, etc... The fact that it is 'Graham' makes it pretty meaningless though.

I guess he'll just have to wait till the next race.

electrodevo · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 2:34 pm

Gaara wrote:

Power can't win, he's been given an official warning for going to early on the second start :lol:

He could be penalised if he does it in future.
No issue at all with the first start however.

So, the real issue here isn't Power at all. Instead, the real issue might be confusing Indycar rules and officiating.

No surprise there. :lol:

kals · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 3:08 pm

ptclaus98 wrote:

kals wrote:

At the end of today Monty should be able to add 'Rahal' to the list of racing dynasties that he's beaten on track... Andretti, Schumacher, Hakkinen, Gordon, Johnson, etc... The fact that it is 'Graham' makes it pretty meaningless though.

I guess he'll just have to wait till the next race.

That's why I used the word "should" in my post... :thumbsup:

As we're mentioning Rahal, what was the general consensus on his start - Great anticipation of the green flag or humungous jump that deserved a penalty?

@

ellis and gk - thanks for the extra details.

dr dog · PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 5:48 pm

This race drew a 0.6 overnight rating compared to a 3.8 for the cup race. The 2012 race, which was also on ABC, drew a 1.1. Should probably not try to go head to head with NASCAR.

pending · PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:04 pm

Paul Tracy wrote:

Yes it's no April fools joke , I will be in the booth for NBC for 6 races with my boy T Bell.

Well this is gonna be fun

codename_47 · PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:16 am

Damn, if he won't be causing trouble on track then you sure as hell know he's going to be causing it in the booth

Remember how Tommy Kendall was so outspoken during the 2004 Champcar season he got fired?

You ain't heard nothing yet! :thumbsup:

iks · PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:04 am

Yeah Tommy Kendall was great. :lol:

kals · PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:06 am

What were the kinds of things Kendall would say / got him fired?

Juihi · PostPosted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:32 pm

codename_47 · PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:49 am

Juihi wrote:

National guard car that made up about 5 places in the restart, amazing.

kals wrote:

What were the kinds of things Kendall would say / got him fired?

Let's just say he wasn't the biggest fan of Paul Gentallozi (who was?)

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2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

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