A Sad Day in Open Wheel Motorsport
The open wheeled motorsport community of North America got off to a less than stellar start at Homestead on Sunday with the running of the Indy Racing League's Toyota Indy 300. The
two 'main' factions of the community - Champcar and the IRL - have what seem to be insurmountable problems as it is, but when you add a death to a promising rookie driver (30) into the mix before a race is even run (the two-car collision happend during warmup), you have to ask yourself... why?
"Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the (Paul) Dana family and everyone associated with the Rahal Letterman race team," Indy Racing League president and COO Brian Barnhart said in making the announcement at the track. Team co-owner Bobby Rahal said the Nos. 15 (Buddy Rice) and 16 (Danica Patrick) cars would not compete in the race in honor of their teammate.
I always feel, or hope that the next death will spur the IRL into action to do something to stop drivers from getting killed. The IRL says they are constantly trying to improve safety, and to some extent I believe that, but I also ask myself, why don't they just
slow the cars down? The rules at Homestead were changed - in relation to the rear wing angles and wicker bill - to let the cars go faster, yes faster! Lap times, which in the IRL are measured in mph, were in the 213 to 215 mph range. But think about what that really means. The cars slow down in the corners which results in them having to go faster down the straight to keep up the average. I guess on the straights they're close to 220 mph
Folks, this is just too fast.
In a strange way, it seems kind of lucky that the IRL has a small car count. The cars are basically running flat out around most of the ovals, and there is a lot of wheel to wheel action. The final 20 laps of the Homestead race were probably the most intensely fought I have seen, between eventual winner and defending IRL champion Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves. The two nearly touched seven or eight times, by my rough count, which at those speeds could well have added to the death total for the weekend.
Wheldon beat Castroneves to the line by inches, and yet, that was only the ninth
closest finish in IRL history. It also was the best part of the race, because after the first few laps there were only 13 cars racing in front of a sparse - at best - crowd.
The IRL faces many problems, like its counterpart Champcar, and if the two don't get back together soon, open wheel racing will be but a thing in the past for North American motorsport fans.
The Art of the Bump and Run
Bristol was the stop for the Nextel Cup Series, and true to form there is plenty to talk about. The main issue for Bristol and this week at Martinsville is the bump and run. Now, for those of you who may know the term, but don't necessarily know the meaning of it, or the etiquette behind it, here's what is supposed to, or should happen. The bump and run is the preferred passing technique on short tracks. The idea is to lay the bumper to the guy in front of you - and here is the important part - just enough to move him up the racetrack, out of the racing groove. You slip by and make haste before he returns the favour.
The open wheeled motorsport community of North America got off to a less than stellar start at Homestead on Sunday with the running of the Indy Racing League's Toyota Indy 300. The
 |
| No one understands why Paul Dana, a former motorsports journalist with all of three IRL races under his belt, seemed to have kept his foot on the throttle until a few tenths of a second before impacting a spun rival. (Photo: Auto Sport Press) |
"Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the (Paul) Dana family and everyone associated with the Rahal Letterman race team," Indy Racing League president and COO Brian Barnhart said in making the announcement at the track. Team co-owner Bobby Rahal said the Nos. 15 (Buddy Rice) and 16 (Danica Patrick) cars would not compete in the race in honor of their teammate.
I always feel, or hope that the next death will spur the IRL into action to do something to stop drivers from getting killed. The IRL says they are constantly trying to improve safety, and to some extent I believe that, but I also ask myself, why don't they just
 |
| NASCAR driver Robby Gordon feels Indy cars are "too fast for ovals." Now a Nextel Cup regular, Gordon raced open-wheel cars until four years ago. (Photo: Auto Sport Press) |
Folks, this is just too fast.
In a strange way, it seems kind of lucky that the IRL has a small car count. The cars are basically running flat out around most of the ovals, and there is a lot of wheel to wheel action. The final 20 laps of the Homestead race were probably the most intensely fought I have seen, between eventual winner and defending IRL champion Dan Wheldon and Helio Castroneves. The two nearly touched seven or eight times, by my rough count, which at those speeds could well have added to the death total for the weekend.
Wheldon beat Castroneves to the line by inches, and yet, that was only the ninth
 |
| Driver Paul Dana of St. Louis, Mo., enjoyed motorsport a great deal more than journalism. (Photo: Auto Sport Press) |
The IRL faces many problems, like its counterpart Champcar, and if the two don't get back together soon, open wheel racing will be but a thing in the past for North American motorsport fans.
The Art of the Bump and Run
Bristol was the stop for the Nextel Cup Series, and true to form there is plenty to talk about. The main issue for Bristol and this week at Martinsville is the bump and run. Now, for those of you who may know the term, but don't necessarily know the meaning of it, or the etiquette behind it, here's what is supposed to, or should happen. The bump and run is the preferred passing technique on short tracks. The idea is to lay the bumper to the guy in front of you - and here is the important part - just enough to move him up the racetrack, out of the racing groove. You slip by and make haste before he returns the favour.