March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IndyCar and DreamWorks bring the big screen to families with new movie "Turbo"

The greatest thing that happened to my family entertainment-wise in the last decade was the release of an animated movie about automobiles that ran in a stock car circuit akin to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup.

Last year the sequel came out and those two movies are among my three children’s all-time favorites.

But for those parents and children who adore IndyCar racing there haven’t been options to indulge in animated entertainment… until now.

DreamWorks Animation and IndyCar announced this week that they are indeed collaborating on a full-length animated feature film entitled “Turbo,” that is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2013.

The story revolves around an ordinary garden snail who dreams of one day winning the Indianapolis 500. When a freak accident leaves the snail with extraordinary speed, the little fellow sets out to make his dream become reality.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation, explains, “The Indianapolis 500 is a one-of-a-kind live event that has fascinated people of all ages for many, many years and Turbo is a character whose biggest ambition is to add his name to its list of international champions.

“DreamWorks Animation’s alliance with the IndyCar team represents an authentic tie-in between a real-life race and an imagined adventure that is certain to culminate in a thrilling ride for the whole family next summer.”

I’m thrilled that racing will once again be the focal point of an animated full-length feature film. The commitment from DreamWorks Animation to bring this film to fruition gives validity to the sport. It entices an entire generation and more to forge a life-long infatuation with IndyCar racing.

The tie-ins, from collectible cars to bed sheets, keep the current roster of drivers and teams hot commodities to their fan base. This is the best that could have happened to IndyCar.

Randy Bernard, CEO of INDYCAR, enthused, “We’re very honored to work with Jeffrey (Katzenberg), his team, and the incredible star power of the cast to bring the Indy 500 to the world in such a unique and engaging format.

“We believe new and existing fans of all ages will be captivated by the animated depiction of Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as the wonderful characters that inhabit the universe of DreamWorks Animation’s “Turbo.”

The title "Turbo" is relative to IndyCar's new turbo engines, kids will want the action

My children are already scouring the store shelves to be the first to own the Turbo characters and are making plans to attend the movie on opening day.

My father, a life-long IndyCar fan who never misses an Indianapolis 500, will be there as well. A movie that incorporates IndyCar racing with Dreamworks Animation in a family-friendly film is sure to be a hit.

With DreamWorks at the helm and INDYCAR working hand-in-hand with it, “Turbo”is going to delight, inspire, and ignite a passion for INDYCAR racing for those who wouldn’t otherwise be exposed.

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Paul Tracy And Alex Tagliani Nixed From Support By IZOD IndyCar Series – UPDATED

February 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Paul Tracy driving the Ralphs supermarket sponsored Dallara for KV Racing Technology entering turn #9 during the 2011 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

The IZOD IndyCar Series leaves Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani off of the list of drivers and teams that are expected to share in the benefits received through large IndyCar Series advertising and broadcasting contracts. A pool of money is distributed between teams and drivers and since Tracy and Tagliani are not on the list, they will not get the expected subsidy of the approximately $1.3 million dollars each which helps teams to field a driver for a full season.

The program set up to assist teams and drivers is meant to reward teams for both past performance and a commitment to a full season of racing to a driver is called the Leader Circle program. Not including Paul Tracy will impact his chances to put a full season ride together with Michael Shank Racing. It is expected to have less of an impact with Alex Tagliani as the Montreal native already has a full-season sponsorship deal in place with premium sound electronics giant Bowers & Wilkins to support his ride with Bryan Herta Autosport.

The decisions behind who actually receives the Leader Circle program which is limited to only 20 teams has many people scratching their heads.

Alex Tagliani as he sits in his Bowers & Wilkins Dallara while in the pits for adjustments between warm-up sessions at the 2011 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

This excerpted and edited from the Toronto Sun –

IndyCar gives Tracy, Tags cold shoulder
BY DEAN MCNULTY,TORONTO SUN

Oakville’s [a Toronto, Canada suburb] James Hinchcliffe did make the cut with the No. 27 team from Andretti Autosport.

The so-called Leader Circle program is meant to reward teams for both past performance and a commitment to a full season of racing in 2012.

[Bryan] Herta was livid at the news his team — that won last year’s Indianapolis 500 with the late Dan Wheldon behind the wheel — was not among the Leader Circle cash recipients [with the seat being picked up by Alex Tagliani].

“I’m extremely disappointed and angry, it’s a travesty,’’ Herta told SPEED-TV. “We’ve got the only national brand as a primary sponsor and I was always told the Indy 500 was the most important race in the world. But obviously it wasn’t enough to get us into the 20 most important teams.”

In an astounding bit of irony Tagliani’s old team — Sam Schmidt Motorsports — was awarded one of the $1.3 million aid packages based on his performance with that team in 2011 where he won the pole at the Indy 500.

SSM’s money will go, however, to support Simon Pagenaud of France, who has no poles and no wins in his one-season of IndyCar racing [note: Pagenaud was a CCWS Formula Atlantic Champion, edging out Graham Rahal in 2006].

For Tracy — the 2003 Champ Car World Series champion and winner of 31 career races — it is a bitter pill to swallow as it shows that IndyCar is still throwing its established stars under the bus.

For example the list of 20 teams and drivers that were awarded Leader Circle money includes an open spot on the KV Racing Technology team that is being held for Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

This would be the same Barrichello who is out of rides in Formula 1 after a career with no championships and just 11 wins in 326 races.
—-
Barrichello, who turns 40 this season, is only two years younger than Tracy, so it is not as if IndyCar teams are seeking out new and exciting drivers to entice fans back to their events.

Tracy, contacted on Friday, said he was going to wait until all of his options are looked into before commenting on the loss of the Leaders Circle money.

However in typical Tracy fashion he tweeted his thoughts: “People want to know my thoughts on the leader circle, never thought I would get one in the first place, not wasted any time thinking on it.”
[Reference Here]

It is understandable that the IZOD IndyCar Series would want to broaden the appeal of the racing series with strong or recognized names from Europe, but if the limit is only 20 teams, the driver’s past performance, certainly in Paul Tracy’s and Alex Tagliani’s case, should be given a greater weight.

Frankly, to shun these two top Canadian drivers over some of the other drivers mentioned who are receiving the Leader Circle subsidy at a time of formula transition seems a little fool hardy. Fans are concerned about how the new DW12 package will translate to the competition on the track and to not have those with a greater history and traditions of American open wheel racing on the track would be to allow a potential disconnect between fan and series.

UPDATE:

Randy Bernard, CEO of the IZOD IndyCar Series, responds to the questions raised when some good drivers and teams were left out of the subsidy funding provided by the ICS program known as Leader Circle.

Randy Bernard (left) shares a happier moment of camaraderie with Bryan Herta - BHA (right), Dennis Reinbold - DRR (facing) and Keith Wiggins - HVM (from behind) looking on, in the Lotus Group Ltd. booth during the IZOD IndyCar/Lotus team press announcement at the 2011 LA Auto Show. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

This excerpted end edited from Racer.com -

Q & A: Randy Bernard on the eve of 2012 State of IndyCar address
David Malsher, Racer.com – February 11 2012

On the eve of his State of IndyCar address, series CEO Randy Bernard talked with RACER editor David Malsher about some of the major topics brewing in the IZOD IndyCar Series right now.

DM: It’s caused a lot of controversy, so tell us, how were the Leader Circle allocations decided this year?

RB: We said from the start that the top 22 in points last year would qualify. So at the end of the year, those 22 were guaranteed a slot. When Newman/Haas Racing decided to throw in the towel, we decided that, with interest in the series meaning we might have 28-29 cars, what we’ll do with those other two Leader Circle slots, will be to invite all teams to tell us why we should choose them – what are they going to do for the series to bring fans in? Why do they deserve that $1.1m? And they came back with some compelling stories and information. Jay Penske promised 50 million impressions from all his internet websites committing to IndyCar. His presentation was head and shoulders above everyone else’s. And then Ed Carpenter came in with a sponsor that was committed to creating four-week, three-week and two-week marketing strategies in every IndyCar market to help the promoters sell tickets as well as helping us with other areas of promotion. Then we considered also that Sebastien Bourdais is a hell of a driver who deserves to be in the series, and Ed Carpenter won a race last year. So those were the two we chose.

But after that, Lotus DRR [formerly Dreyer & Reinbold Racing] and Andretti Autosport told us they were going to give back one Leader Circle each as they cut a car from their lineups. So we’ve interviewed everyone – Jay Penske wanted another one, as did Ganassi, and then there was Bryan Herta, Michael Shank, Eric Bachelart and Bobby Rahal. But they were so on a par, we didn’t feel it was fair to, for example, choose Herta and Rahal over Ganassi and Shank. It was too close to call, it would get political – and it shouldn’t be about politics. So if no one was head and shoulders above the others, how do we make it fair for everybody? OK, we could have just taken that $2.2m and put it into our bottom line, because we don’t owe anybody anything, but we said “Let’s put it into prize money.”

So there are five places for non-Leader Circle entrants eligible for payouts in each race aside from the Indianapolis 500. The highest finishing non-Leader Circle entrant will get $80,000 through to the fifth non-Leader Circle car getting $26,000. Then, additionally, all entrants in the starting field get bonuses of $35,000 for first place, $25,000 for second, $20,000 for third, $15,000 for fourth and $10,000 for fifth place at each race [not including the Indy 500]. So if you finish first of non-Leader Circle cars, you can do a lot better than you could from the Leader Circle program, and come in second all the time and get the equivalent of a Leader Circle. So I think that what we did was the best thing for the sport going forward because it’s created another storyline. Paul Tracy is a great driver, so if he’s good enough and Michael Shank Racing is good enough, then they’ll win a lot of money.

DM: Why have the Leader Circle scheme at all? Why not scrap the scheme and use the money to substantially boost the prize fund for each and every race? The rich would get richer but so would the poor. Wouldn’t that encourage teams to a) start the season and then accrue further funding by doing well and you’d have a race-by-race meritocracy?

RB: Right, and I think that may be the way to go. If you’re not prepared to race for success and its rewards, what are you in the series for? Are you in it to make a profit or are you in it to win? I read Eric Bachelart’s comments about how he’s been loyal to Indy car racing for 16 years, but to my mind, there are two things he should be saying to himself right now: 1) “Am I in IndyCar to win?” and 2) “If I am and I’m not in the top 22, then I have a problem.” And if he’s in it just to make money, then I have a problem with it. We’re not just about making money: we have to create a great product and show credibility to our fans.

[Reference Here]

Still smells a little like Tony George, lurking in the background, pulling strings.

… notes from The EDJE

 

- Article without UPDATE first published as Paul Tracy & Alex Tagliani Nixed From Support By IZOD IndyCar Series on Technorati -

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IndyCar Reboots With Beaux Barfield

January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The old adage that states: “When all else fails, reboot” applies to IndyCar’s impending announcement this morning that Beaux Barfield will become the new Race Director for the beleaguered series. A new car is still making it’s way through the development stages in order for it to be a solid base to race with, more road courses dominate the 2012 schedule than do ovals and now the series finally has put in place someone who knows what focus really means.

Many fans out there don’t know Beaux Barfield. Barfield has competed in FF2000, has driven in several lower Formulas, most recently was the race director for the American LeMans Series for six years and served as race director for Champ Car’s Formula Atlantic Series-a fact that should make Vicki O’Conner proud having birthed many drivers and owners from her series. I’m sure she’s quite pleased right now.

The 2011 IndyCar season had the potential to have a reasonable ending but that wasn’t to be, the tragic death of Dan Wheldon negated any celebration of a season well done. The 2012 season has to be the “reboot” in the process of recovering a dwindling fan base that had become disillusioned with the IndyCar product. The changes that seem to be in place give the series a chance to do just that, revive itself, recapture a fan base longing for competition and do so with professionalism and venues that are fan friendly.

No one can dispute the level of competition that has risen in IndyCar. The field is now full of capable, fast and well-rounded drivers. The question will be will the fans take notice and tune in. They will if word gets out that there is a real open wheel series in the United States that courts the Western hemisphere and welcomes all of it’s fans to an event, not just a race.

Barfield’s addition is one of the final pieces of the puzzle. Focused race control with a team leader who has repeatedly shown that he actually can run a team of officials who show dedication to their craft. Let’s face it, if you can successfully run a multi-class series like ALMS and not get lynched, you’re pretty damned good.

The new Dallara may not be the perfect car, that’s a debate for another time, but it certainly seems to be farther along out of the box than NASCAR’s COT. That took years to come close to getting it right. No matter, I have faith that they ultimately will get the DW-12 where it needs to be. That’s what competition does for a business, it improves the product.

The rulebook? No doubt Barfield and his team, along with Randy Bernard, will pour over every page until they have a product that won’t be heavy handed but at the same time will have clarity for the competitors. Consumers don’t like uncertainty and racing fans are most certainly consumers.

Congratulations Mr. Barfield.

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Lotus Makes Announcement At LA Auto Show For The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Season

November 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lotus Cars booth art at the LA Auto Show where a new competitive partnership between Lotus and three teams for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season was announced. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

Lotus Makes Announcement At LA Auto Show For The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Season

Just one short year after Lotus Motorsport announced its agreement with KV Racing Technology to supply engines and livery for the 2012 season, Lotus was back at the LA Auto Show Press days to announce a change in their team selection(s) for the 2012 season.

The deal involves three teams for the engine, not just one, and may power as many as four (currently committed) to six cars during the season, including the Indy 500, depending on how many drivers are picked up by the three teams – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Bryan Herta Autosport and HVM Racing.

Owners of the teams who have signed on to the Lotus Motorsport engine partnership for the IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 season. From L to R – Robbie Buhl, and Dennis Reinbold of DRR, Keith Wiggins of HVM, and Bryan Herta of BHA. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

In making agreements with these three teams, Lotus Motorsport shows it is making a commitment to the IZOD IndyCar Series competition that other engine manufacturers have not made to the the opportunity to showcase their mark created by the new approach that Randy Bernard has made possible since the unification of open wheel racing based in North America. Lotus will be joining Chevrolet and Honda as the IZOD IndyCar engine manufacturers to compete in 2012.

Group Lotus Director of Motorsport Operations, Miodrag Kotur said: “At the LA show last year, we announced that we will be an engine supplier to IndyCar and exactly 12 months on, we are here with an all new Lotus engine and three teams, ready to go. The numbers that the engine is already achieving in our dyno testing are extremely encouraging so our hard work is well and truly paying off.”

Group Lotus Director of Motorsport Operations, Miodrag Kotur. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

“These partnerships with Bryan Herta Autosport, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, and HVM Racing mean a great deal to Lotus Motorsport and mark the start of a new chapter for Lotus in the IZOD IndyCar Series. We’re thrilled that these already successful and illustrious teams have chosen Lotus, as we believe that our capabilities as a partner will pay dividends for them in the future. These three teams have immediately become part of the Lotus legend and have joined us in our journey as one of the most innovative and successful sports and racing car brands in the world.”

It is understood through comments made at the LA Auto Show announcement that Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be responsible for a majority amount of on-track testing and off-track research and development activities. DRR is planning to run two cars full time in 2012 with an additional planned entry for the Indianapolis 500 showcase event.

Dennis Reinblod (center) and Robbie Buhl share a moment with Kieth Wiggins during the Lotus partnership announcement at the LA Auto Show on Thursday, November 17, 2011. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

“To enter into a partnership with Lotus as a factory partner team is a huge step for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing,” said Dennis Reinbold, DRR co-owner with Robbie Buhl. “In working closely with the team at Lotus over the past few months, we have had unique access and awareness of their strong commitment to the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Many of our collective efforts are already underway and we could not be more enthusiastic about this offseason’s testing and development program.”

Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) won the 100th anniversary Indy 500 on May 29 with Dan Wheldon, who was fatally injured in a multiple-car crash on lap 11 in the final race of the 2011 season held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16.

Bryan Herta did not have far to drive to attend this announcement since he lives in Southern California. Here Bryan (right side of photo) talks with the rest of his IZOD IndyCar “Loti”, as in plural, mates (L to R) – IndyCar President Randy Bernard, DDR’s Robbie Buhl, HVM’s Kieth Wiggins, DDR’s Dennis Reinblod, and of course Bryan Herta. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

BHA, which served as the official test team for the Dallara DW12 chassis, is expecting to turn their first laps with Lotus power in January. BHA plans to be a full-time entrant in the series in 2012 for the first year. It will announce a driver and sponsorship in the coming weeks.

“Obviously, this is an incredibly exciting step for us,” said Herta. “Our goal all along has been to build our foundation to eventually compete as a full-time entrant in the series. To partner with Lotus, which has such a rich history and tradition in racing including at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is just tremendous. All of us are looking forward to working closely with Lotus to support their efforts.”

As far as which team would sport the livery of Lotus Motorsport green and yellow as KV Racing Technology did last year with its three cars driven by Tony Kanaan, Takuma Sato, and EJ Viso? … after asking the owners of the three teams in the Lotus booth at the LA Auto Show, Keith Wiggins of HVM gave a nod and a smile in the affirmative (after all, he only lived just a few miles away from the Lotus facility headquartered in England).

Kieth Wiggins, Owner of HVM Racing on the announcement of entering into an agreement to race with Lotus engines. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)

“Despite the choices, once it was apparent that Lotus would produce an engine it was a clear decision for us to run with them,” said HVM Racing owner Keith Wiggins, whose team fielded Simona de Silvestro during the 2011 season in the No. 78 Dallara/Honda. “I have great respect, confidence and enthusiasm in the product they will produce. I have good historical knowledge of the companies involved and their abilities. Being the first team to commit reflects this and being an integral part of the Lotus development process is important to the re-establishment of HVM as a leading team, this time in the IZOD IndyCar Series.”

The Lotus V-6 has been designed and is undergoing testing at Engine Development Ltd. in the United Kingdom, a company owned by longtime IndyCar engine-builder John Judd. The engine is expected to make its on-track debut, mounted in a DRR Dallara DW12, in early January.

… notes from The EDJE

 

<Article first published as Lotus Makes Announcement At LA Auto Show For The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Season at Technorati>

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IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 Motorsports Musings

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Memorial three-abreast five lap salute To Dan Wheldon performed by the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway October 16, 2011. Image Credit: LAT Photo

 

IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 Motorsports Musings

The 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season will be the 101st season of American open wheel racing. It is hard to get one’s mind around the beginning of a new season of competition when the previous season ends, in such tragedy, as the 2011 season ending race in Las Vegas played out.

The memorials and auctions in support of all that Dan Wheldon and his family stood for during his career have taken place and are winding down on the internet. The response on eBay in terms of donated items and bidding response was beyond anyone could have imagined. Dan was unique in that he was very independent and corporate at the same time. A trick that held him in high esteem with the top brass in the series and some of the most renegade fans this sport had to offer. He was so unique in this posture, he was probably one of a very few IRL standard drivers fans from the former CART/ChampCar series could relate to and half embrace as their own.

Dan had a large hand in helping to understand and craft the beginning of a new era in American open wheel racing as it enters 2012. So large was his influence, the IZOD IndyCar Series and Dallara have decided to rename the new chassis Dan spent the last months of his life testing with the Bryan Herta Autosport engineering staff based out of Santa Clarita, CA.

The Dallara DW12 IndyCar Safety Cells, ready for their close-up, as they sit next to the “yard of bricks” start/finish line. Image Credit: Ron McQueeney

The new era, as set upon by the ICONIC committee in 2010, will feature the IndyCar Safety Cell monocoque and suspension parts renamed the Dallara DW12 which, instead of being a pure specification car where all of the component parts come from the same manufacturing resouces, keeps the driver encased in a frame covered with a choice of outer composite aerodynamic body work (not at first, but starting in 2013), rolling on tires from Firestone (with discussions of having a potential of at least two manufacturers supplying solutions during future seasons), powered by engines supplied by at least three different manufacturing marks in 2012 (Honda, Chevy/Illmore, and Lotus/Judd). What this brings to a racing series is an element of diversity in the fielding of a competitive entry. This places even greater emphasis on the team’s engineering, and support make up as well as driver talent.

With all of this diversity and evolution of technology in the paddock, one has to ask, what is the IZOD IndyCar Series going to do to meet the support challenges that will show themselves on the track during race events?

The management and negotiation quotient between additional suppliers for body parts, and engines is only a part of the equation … race control has to be considered on the other side. Cars being fielded with a broader diversity of component parts will translate to a greater difference in performance on the track between teams.

Will the current, years old specification template, and staff (with a cobbled together, two series philosophical input flow), stand up to the demands this new ICONIC committee Dallara DW12 approach exact? Given the troubles that exposed themselves this past year (possibly placing the series championship at stake), can the current race control be the standard for 2012 and beyond … or is it time for a change that can adapt to the engine and aero-package diversity that will present itself in competition?

On behalf of the unique approach the ICONIC committee and CEO Randy Bernard have embraced, which recognizes the precept that some potential for technology evolution is a good thing for motorsports, let’s hope that management template evolution can be explored in background series support and race control as well.

… notes from The EDJE

 

<Article first appeared as IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 Motorsports Musings at Technorati>

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Post Dan Wheldon Tragedy Reaction Review To Safety On Banked Ovals

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A memorial to Dan Wheldon is displayed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the British-born driver was killed in an accident on Sunday [click image to launch video of three-abreast lap salute to Dan Wheldon in his passing at LVMS]. Image Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images via guardian.co.uk

Post Dan Wheldon Tragedy Reaction Review To Safety On Banked Ovals

The safety debate centers on the fact that IndyCar Dallara vehicles, which all have the same bodies and engines, can not avoid pack racing at very high speeds on a circuit as small and banked as the Las Vegas track, and this sets up a condition that is dangerous with open-cockpit, Indy-style cars. The wide track bed combined with steep banking and the mushroom shaped vortex wash that comes out from behind the cars, set up a very unstable mix.

Driving the Go Daddy No. 7, Andretti Autosport Dallara, Danica Patrick posted the fastest practice time with a staggering 224.719 mph on Oct. 13. After learning her time, Patrick’s reaction proved prophetic.

“It’s friggin’ fast here,” said Patrick. “Almost a 225 lap is like Indy speeds. The track is nice and smooth and we’ll be three-wide out there, which will be exciting. The race is going to be crazy and the crashes will be spectacular.”

Danica, who will be driving in NASCAR next year, was not the only driver talking up the danger of the course in the days before the race.

“It’s so fast and you’re so close to each other, it’s exciting,” veteran driver, and IMS Radio commentator, Hewlett-Packard sponsored Davey Hamilton told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, also noting that he expected four wide racing. “There’s really no room for error.”

Driver comments after the Wheldon tragedy where 15 cars were collected in a fiery mess confirmed the fear of this unstable mix.

“We all know this is part of the sport,” driver Oriol Servia said of the danger. “We all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat” out on the throttle.

“Within five laps people started to do crazy stuff,” Dario Franchitti said immediately after the accident. “I wanted no part of it. I love hard racing, but that to me is not what it’s about. I said before, this is not a suitable track. You can’t get away from anybody. One small mistake and you have a massive wreck.”

“Now we need to rethink the way we’re doing things,” said Tony Kanaan, who started on the pole.

The Dallara IR-05 was built specifically to be driven in excess of 230 mph and protect its driver in the event of an accident at those speeds. Its carbon fiber chassis was designed to break apart during a collision and absorb the forces of a series of massive impacts while keeping the cockpit surrounding the driver intact.

Since its introduction in 2005, only one driver, Paul Dana, had died behind the wheel of the Dallara before Sunday. In a freak accident during practice for the 2006 season opener in Homestead, Fla., Dana lost control of his car and hit a damaged vehicle that had come to a stop on the track in front of him head-on, at an estimated speed of 176 mph. In a bit of irony, Dan Wheldon went on to win that race. Since then, the cars had been used in 100 races and covered more than 500,000 miles in competition without any loss of life, and few major injuries.

But one thing the vehicles can’t do is prevent an accident like the 15-car pileup that took the 33-year-old Wheldon’s life.

Driver James Jakes, whose car was damaged in the incident, added that “unfortunately, it’s something I think a lot of us thought might happen. We practiced with no more than five or six cars in a group and now we’ve got 34 … there was going to be some trouble.”

During the 15 car collection in turn #2, Wheldon’s car got airborne and came into contact with the catch fence above the wall. The metal mesh fence is designed to keep vehicles and debris from leaving the confines of the track, but can cause additional damage in the process.

“It is one of those things that when you are racing you are always aware that there are risks,” Dan Weldon teammate, Alex Tagliani said. “But you never think it is going to come to that.”

“I am very sad and angry,” expressed Alex. What angered the 38-year-old was that no one listened to the drivers’ fears over the conditions before the race. Tagliani felt that, like NASCAR, when it revolutionized driver safety after the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001 at Daytona International Speedway, IndyCar must look at doing the same in its series.

“If we are going to come back to these (1 1/2-mile banked ovals) we are going to have to change the aero packages to slow the cars down,” continued Alex. “It is just not right that some one has to die to make those changes.”

One thing that Tagliani proposes is that drivers, team owners, track owners and IndyCar bosses get together in the off season to talk about what can be done to make racing both better and safer.

“There is definitely things that need to be discussed and things to look at,” Tagliani concluded. “We for sure have to talk to the series bosses. Right now my mind is so confused. We have to talk about racing these types of cars on these types of race tracks. I don’t think tracks like the mile and a half at Las Vegas is the right thing for us.”

On Friday, IndyCar President and CEO Randy Bernard announced that the series plans to return to Las Vegas for its finale in 2012, and the organization has not yet said if it is reconsidering that decision.

In an interview with Fox Sports in the wake of the crash, former CART/ChampCar driver and current NASCAR star A.J. Allmendinger said, “obviously, with the new car coming in, it needs to be safer, but there are tracks that they don’t need to race at.”

A template situation that IndyCar could have learned from as it relates to high-banked mile and a half ovals happened in 2001. CART/ChampCar, one of the two open-wheel racing series that later combined to form IndyCar, was forced to cancel a race at the Texas Motor Speedwayafter drivers complained in practice about getting dizzy and blacking out from the g-forces created by the high speeds that their cars were capable of on the steeply-banked 1.5-mile oval. In this case the rules were changed to slow the cars down through downforce and engine set-ups at subsequent events held at the track.
(ht: various news services – FoxNews/Huffington Post/Toronto Sun – for quotes and background on the Dallara IR-05)

The two biggest words that stand out the most, if one were to read between the lines, in all of these post Dan Wheldon tragedy driver reactions to safety on banked ovals – Race Control.

Upon reflection … Race Control has been the overriding story (race call miscues effecting championship points standings, recommended car set ups, and venue management) for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship season and the last season of the Dallara IR-05.

… notes from The EDJE

 

[Article was first published as Post Dan Wheldon Tragedy Reaction Review To Safety On Banked Ovals at Technorati]

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It’s Time For IndyCar to Reboot

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The first race held years ago by the then newly formed IRL was nothing short of an eye opener for me. Vern Schuppan and I attended the race and what stood out most of all wasn’t the low roar of the big block V8 engines, but rather the age of the officials. While Vern loved the sound, given his Formula 5000 and Can-Am days, I found it out of place, but not nearly as much as the officials who had been with USAC and around the Hulman family for years.

It struck me as analogous to the Supreme Court. You’re appointed to the position and it’s for life. You can’t begrudge age as a hindrance due to the experience they might bring, but when I refer to older, I mean a great deal older than you would expect. There is a point when age and experience part company on the ability graph. IndyCar is at that point again, though not due to the official’s ages.

Complaints that the long in the tooth Dallara, which will see its last race this weekend, aren’t without merit. The race in Japan is but one reference as to how slow the cars looked and, at this level of racing, proved them unacceptable.

Jump over this weekend and we see the new 2012 car is being introduced, new engine deals are flying around with everyone wondering who’ll get Chevrolet’s or Honda power-plants or if the mysterious Lotus-Judd will ever appear and finally, the new schedule is out with only four races being on ovals. Everything seems exciting until you look under the hood. The same faces still sit in the same seats calling the races and outshining the drivers or the series in controversy.

What good is changing the format, the cars or the engines if the cause of the general malaise still sits in place? When you make these types of sweeping technical changes it’s high time to consider making the human changes that have contributed to the consumer complacency.

Randy Bernard truly seems to have the best interest of IndyCar’s future at heart. I don’t know him, but I know what I see. He’s very loyal and no one can fault him for that. On the other hand any business that has a definable deficit in human capital has to make changes. You either grow or you die in business, to remain steady state is to fall behind.

IndyCar now has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the excitement generated by the newness on the 2012 horizon. Brian Barnhart needs to leave, keeping in mind that whomever takes his place has to be strong enough to replace anyone else under him that doesn’t fit his operational plan.

NASCAR has the most competitive racing its seen in over a decade, but being a spec series that’s so tightly controlled it still sits in lockstep with a weak, anemic economy. The stands aren’t full and it’s television ratings are barely a shadow of what they once were. IndyCar needs to take this lesson into account.

Who should take Barnhart’s place? Beaux Barfield. Barfield is a known quantity that has proven himself in all areas of motorsport. He’s an accomplished former driver of open wheel cars, a former driving instructor, proven official from FF 2000, Champ Car and the ALMS series. The ALMS Competition Director’s position is probably the most telling on how a person is going to conduct themselves as an official in another series. ALMS is a series with multiple classes, multiple manufacturers, multiple venues and personalities that rival IndyCar or NASCAR. If you’re the CEO of a large competitive company then you have to surround yourself with individuals who share the same goal. Excellence. Barfield has done that with a sense of dedication and professionalism in an arena that will spit out those who don’t perform.

It’s true that Beaux Barfield is a friend of mine, however, that doesn’t cloud my desire to see IndyCar rise to a level that gives it legitimacy and respect on a global scale. It’s exactly the right time for Randy Bernard to take the step of replacing his officiating team in order to tackle the next steps of securing proper television viewership. Despite being locked into Versus, the sale to Comcast may give it the boost it needs through the rebranding to the NBC Sports Network.

The bottom line is that rebranding of the network and the resources it can bring to bear for IndyCar do it no good if the product remains weak and unentertaining.

The old adage referring to computers is appropriate here: When all else fails, reboot.

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