As the president of competition and race control, Brian Barnhart is more often that not the least popular person in the Izod IndyCar Series.
That was obvious in the waning moments of Sunday's MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225. A threat of rain had put Barnhart, competitors, teams and fans alike on edge, and that precipitation ended up being the race's undoing.
When the caution flag flew for moisture on the track on lap 206, many assumed the race would be called soon thereafter, even though it was only raining lightly. The cars kept making laps under yellow until word came over their radios that Barnhart was contemplating throwing the green flag again.
I was begging him, 'Please, don't go green,'" driver Will PowerIt was too slippery."
Barnhart apparently had enough evidence to the contrary, threw the green flag, and Power quickly fell victim when Danica Patrick spun out on cold, wet tires and took Power out in the chain reaction.
After a few more caution laps, the decision was made to end the race on lap 220, five short of the scheduled distance. Barnhart addressed the media following the race to defend his initial decision but also express regret over how it turned out.
But when you get calls from track safety and observer posts throughout the racetrack that report light moisture, the tough decision is to make that call whether to continue the event or not."
Power was not alone in his frustration. Even race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay wondered what the officials were going to do. The rain might have appeared light to casual observers, but to drivers and cars, any moisture can play havoc.
"I could see on the visor it was pooling down," Hunter-Reayof the precipitation.
IndyCar officials made the first step toward dodging the rain by moving the start of the race up a half hour to 3:37 p.m. but could not move it any sooner due to television commitments Speedway general manager Jerry Gappens also felt Barnhart made the right call given the circumstances, especially under the pressure to provide a proper finish for fans both at the track and watching
"I think it's a real man to walk in here as an official of a major league sport and say, 'Hey, I made a mistake,'" Gappens"If you're going to make a mistake, make it be an aggressive one to benefit the fans of our sport."
Gappens was pleased not only with the controversy provided by the finish of the race but also by the 30,000 or so fans that came out to the first IndyCar race at his track since 1998.
Under the contract between the track and IndyCar, Gappens and parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. have until Sept. 1 to review the numbers and see if they want to pursue a spot on the 2012 schedule.
elio Castroneves would have preferred to post a better finish in his 200th career IndyCar start. He spun out on lap 7, suffered some damage and struggled to get back through the pack, finishing 17th in the 26-car field.Hunter-Reay's victory leaves Danica Patrick as the only winless driver this season among the four on the Andretti Autosport roster. Mike Conway won on the street course in Long Beach, Calif., and Marco Andretti was victorious at Iowa Speedway.
IndyCar Randy Bernard announced the new car that the series will debut next season will not have a new accompanying "aero kit" to adapt the chassis to different types of courses. He cited the cost to teams that already must switch over to the new Dallara chassis and will also have a choice between three different engine manufacturers. Once the new car is adopted, the aero kits will be phased in for 2013.
That was obvious in the waning moments of Sunday's MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225. A threat of rain had put Barnhart, competitors, teams and fans alike on edge, and that precipitation ended up being the race's undoing.
When the caution flag flew for moisture on the track on lap 206, many assumed the race would be called soon thereafter, even though it was only raining lightly. The cars kept making laps under yellow until word came over their radios that Barnhart was contemplating throwing the green flag again.
I was begging him, 'Please, don't go green,'" driver Will PowerIt was too slippery."
Barnhart apparently had enough evidence to the contrary, threw the green flag, and Power quickly fell victim when Danica Patrick spun out on cold, wet tires and took Power out in the chain reaction.
After a few more caution laps, the decision was made to end the race on lap 220, five short of the scheduled distance. Barnhart addressed the media following the race to defend his initial decision but also express regret over how it turned out.
But when you get calls from track safety and observer posts throughout the racetrack that report light moisture, the tough decision is to make that call whether to continue the event or not."
Power was not alone in his frustration. Even race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay wondered what the officials were going to do. The rain might have appeared light to casual observers, but to drivers and cars, any moisture can play havoc.
"I could see on the visor it was pooling down," Hunter-Reayof the precipitation.
IndyCar officials made the first step toward dodging the rain by moving the start of the race up a half hour to 3:37 p.m. but could not move it any sooner due to television commitments Speedway general manager Jerry Gappens also felt Barnhart made the right call given the circumstances, especially under the pressure to provide a proper finish for fans both at the track and watching
"I think it's a real man to walk in here as an official of a major league sport and say, 'Hey, I made a mistake,'" Gappens"If you're going to make a mistake, make it be an aggressive one to benefit the fans of our sport."
Gappens was pleased not only with the controversy provided by the finish of the race but also by the 30,000 or so fans that came out to the first IndyCar race at his track since 1998.
Under the contract between the track and IndyCar, Gappens and parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. have until Sept. 1 to review the numbers and see if they want to pursue a spot on the 2012 schedule.
elio Castroneves would have preferred to post a better finish in his 200th career IndyCar start. He spun out on lap 7, suffered some damage and struggled to get back through the pack, finishing 17th in the 26-car field.Hunter-Reay's victory leaves Danica Patrick as the only winless driver this season among the four on the Andretti Autosport roster. Mike Conway won on the street course in Long Beach, Calif., and Marco Andretti was victorious at Iowa Speedway.
IndyCar Randy Bernard announced the new car that the series will debut next season will not have a new accompanying "aero kit" to adapt the chassis to different types of courses. He cited the cost to teams that already must switch over to the new Dallara chassis and will also have a choice between three different engine manufacturers. Once the new car is adopted, the aero kits will be phased in for 2013.
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