The inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis

[woodman]

Did any of you watch yesterday? The inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis....That was something else never seen anything like it...
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... eral-cars/

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Dang, I hate that I missed that. The highlight reel looked like it was crazy. Nice looking track, I must say.

[WB2]

The word 'joke' comes to mind.

[BIG E]

The strange thing is, these DW12 Dallara chassis were designed with standing start functions in place!
I was not at all happy to see such a waste of equipment (and risk of lives!) at the start.
To have such a horrible malfunction like that, warrants a second look at things.
IndyCar also needs to revise the rolling start protocols, most of those were a mess, too!
As stated by both Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever, it's a good thing IndyCars are designed to withstand such huge impacts,
because they have to race within reasonable safety at over 200 mph on superspeedway ovals.
Can you imagine if the driver starting in the last row of a Formula 1 field would have impacted a standing car in the front row?
I wouldn't even want to speculate on the ensuing catastrophe, horrific injuries, or worse.
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis was a huge disappointment for me. Ending in a fuel mileage competition didn't help, either.
I'm glad Indy 500 qualifying is this weekend! I hope there are no disasters during that or the weeks leading up to and through the 500.

-- Ernie

[DAVE]

Well, I have seen more than a few F-1 starts where most of the field ended all piled up in
the first corner. I doesn't matter what type of car, or what type of start, accidents happen.

[BIG E]

Yes, they do. And the F1 guys usually do wait until turn one to run each other over!
I was just comparing the severity of two similar starting grid accidents with an IndyCar vs. an F1 car.
It's true, for me at least, any kind of wreck like that at the start, or "The Big One" that the NASCAR announcers
love to tease the TV audience with during restrictor plate races, kinda ruins the whole event.
Yeah, I'm the guy that goes to the restroom when the fights break out at NHL games, too! :>)

On to the big race weekend -- Monaco, The 500, and Charlotte! -- Enjoy... Ernie

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I've only looked at the new chassis very briefly, but just the look of the new cars was something I really liked. I am a F-1 fan, and haven't paid a lot of attention to the Indy series except for the 500 of course, for years and years. Much as I hate the FIA twits, I still like F-1. But that new chassis sure got my attention, and the fairings to lessen stacked wheels accidents seem very reasonable to me.

Ernie, ya had me until the hockey thing. We moved to where they played hockey when I was only 14 or so, and hockey grabbed me big time. But the other kids told me that fights are part of the game and not to be upset about it. I believed them, and sure enough, by the time I was old enough to realise how I had misunderstood their meaning, I was always looking forward to what Bobby Hull was going to do to Henri Richard the next Saturday night! I'm sooo old...

[slothead]

Are there any forms of American auto racing that have standing starts? Having grown up on local short track racing I'm a big fan of rolling starts, but perhaps some drivers don't have experience with it.

I change the channel during fights in any sport - it's not what I'm interested in. When I do watch NASCAR I turn to something else after 'the big one' knocks out a third of the field. And I'm always done as soon as the checkered flag waves because the mandatory burnouts drive me crazy. What about just going to victory lane and acting like a professional?

Slothead

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yeah, I hate that burnout BS. I can't imagine why that nonsense started. Its spreading to other racing, too.

[BIG E]

[BIG E]