The Controversial Call

by Tammy

I had another blog topic picked out and ready this weekend ... but then I watched the IndyCar race at Sonoma. The bump-fest, new-nose-festival, yellow-flag party that was the Go Pro Grand Prix.

And then there was THE CALL.

The two leading drivers, Will Power and Scott Dixon, were pitted one after another. Dixon, in the rear, pulled out first as a crew member crossed between the two cars carrying a tire. The tire in the crew member's hand and Dixon's side pod and left rear tire made contact. The tire spun out of the guy's hand and he went flying into another crew member, who also fell over and dropped the air gun in his hand, which flew over and banged into a third crew member's leg. They're all fine.

The question was, who gets a penalty. Did the crew member deserve some fault for not paying enough attention or for making himself as wide an obstacle as possible? Or did Dixon bear all of the blame because the rules say you get a penalty for hitting another team's equipment? (Here's Jalopnik's funny take on the incident, with a video.)

Cue the wailing and gnashing of Twitter teeth. And the wringing of hands by the television commentators.

In the end, Beaux Barfield up in Race Control penalized Dixon for hitting the other team's equipment. He was (to his credit) available immediately after the race to the media for an explanation, saying that the overhead camera showed Dixon to be in Power's space.

Cue more wailing and gnashing of teeth, because the only lines laid down in the pit lane are for the NASCAR race, and there aren't painted lines for the IndyCar pits. Plenty of calls for crappy officiating, etc.

My opinion is that there are hard decisions to make, ones that not everyone will agree with, and sometimes ones that don't have a right/wrong answer. And one guy has to make them. That's Beaux. He owns them and is willing to explain them. And he knows more than I do about how the pits and the cars and the rule books work. So I'm going with his call.

Also, I live in California where a pedestrian always has the right of way—ALWAYS. Even when they dart out in the middle of the block. The pedestrian is always right and the car driver is always wrong. So I get that even if the crew member was deliberately being an obstacle (which I don't think was the case, I think he just wasn't being as thoughtful as he could have been), the driver who hit him gets the penalty.

But plenty of other people disagree. What do you think? Did you see it? Do you have an opinion?

The Business of Racing

by Tammy

I've said it before, but it's proved again at every race I attend: the business of racing happens at the races.

Sure, people make deals and connections in the off season or the down weeks. But the real activity happens in the paddock on a race weekend. I'm always surprised by how many people I reconnect with, meet for the first time, or ask questions of. But even above and beyond conversations, it's sometimes important just to be seen in the paddock.

That's why racers looking for rides and sponsors show up in the paddock on a weekend they're not racing, in a series they're not racing for (but probably want to be). That's why suppliers show up in the paddock to talk to teams about what their product can do for them.

That's why I walk around the paddock, reinserting my face into the memory banks of the racing world. Reminding people I exist. Saying hello to the people I've met in the past and only occasionally brush up against in social media the rest of the year. (Like Beaux Barfield, above.) And giving away a few copies of my book to some of my subject matter experts, including Joe Foster of Dempsey Racing and Pattie Mayer, safety car driver (with me, below).

And occasionally, I sneak a few minutes with a friend who gives me a vital piece of information for a future book or a great story of real-life shenanigans in the racing world. I won't spill those beans, because they're likely to end up in a future book, with names changed to protect the innocent (by which I mean my informants). But it's true ... truth is stranger than fiction!

Alas, now that the circus racing world has left town, I'm not sure when I'll get to another race this year. Perhaps not until Petit Le Mans. I'll be watching on TV, but it won't be the same. What about you all? What's the next race you'll get to?

Memorial Day

by Tammy

If you don't have barbeques today, than you're probably dealing with a meat hangover from yesterday. Certainly we've all got racing hangovers ... what a day of racing! Monaco, the Indy 500, and the Coke 600. All of that, and I'm focusing on Petit Le Mans for the story I'm writing.

I'm going to keep this brief except for a few shouts-out:

To Dario Franchitti for the Indy 500 win. I saw a tweet from someone saying they were tired of him winning, but I'm more tired of Chip winning. Besides, Dario sure can drive.

To Oriol Servia and DRR Panther Racing who took fourth in the Indy 500 and celebrated (I hear) like it was a win. A great job for a one-car team that isn't one of the big boys.

To Beaux Barfield for officiating his first Indy 500. You keep doing your new job with humor, grace, and skill. Have a great rest of the season. I hope you enjoyed it.

To Mark Webber for the F1 Monaco win. Nice to see him get his first win of the season (because the person I'm really tired of seeing win is Sebastian Vettel).

I'm sure there are plenty of others who deserve recognition for the weekend. Who were you impressed with or happy for?

Your Picks For The Year?

by Tammy

With the 12 Hours of Sebring three weeks ago, Formula 1 two weeks ago, and IndyCar last weekend, we have officially seen the start of the combined racing season. We've gotten a peek at how things might go in 2012.

There are a number of interesting storylines so far, as well as questions they bring up ...

1. FORMULA 1: McLaren seems to have the edge, but can Hamilton and Button retain that advantage to claim a championship? Can Hamilton pull his erratic brilliance together and triumph again? Can Sauber make the podium again? Will Kimi keep scoring points and even win? Will Shumi ever have an impact?
   My vote: The rest of the teams will catch up quickly, and it'll be a free-for-all season (maybe that's just what I hope).
   
   
2. INDYCAR: The Lotus engines seem to be at a disadvantage, which is especially disappointing for fans of Katherine Legge, making her return to the U.S. open-wheel ranks. How will the series do in popularity and viewership with fewer ovals on the schedule? Will the television coverage learn how to handle road/street racing better? How will Beaux Barfield do in race control?
   My vote: Beaux will rock the house and receive good reviews from drivers and fans (I realize I'm biased). I don't think Lotus will catch up significantly this year, but I'm hopeful for next year. I think there will be more ovals in next year's plan.
   
   
3. NASCAR: Danica hasn't been as strong as Danicamania has been, which isn't her fault. Everyone still wants Junior to win (he was up to fourth in the first 20 laps of one race and the announcer said, "could this finally be his race?!"), and he hasn't yet (but hello, he's third in the standings through five races). Stewart still looks good, Kyle Busch has been calm so far, and Edwards hasn't done much yet. All of this will change with 31 more races to go. But will Danica win? Will Junior win? Will Smoke repeat? Will either Busch brother self-implode?
   My vote: Smoke winning multiple races this year is a certainty (he's already won one), and I'd say so is Busch-brother-bad-behavior. I hope the Wonder Twins win (Danica and Junior), but I don't know that I'd put money down.
   
   
4. ALMS: What will the regular season races look like, now that all of the European teams have gone home?
   My vote: One thing's for certain, we'll still have the best racing, hands down, in the ALMS GT class. Take that to the bank.

What are your predictions? Who will have the most impact this year in your favorite racing series?

Ready With Popcorn

by Tammy

Much of the racing world is sitting back and watching IndyCar's new President of Competition and Race Director Beaux Barfield get ready for the 2012 season. He's done a little rewriting of the rule book and is trying to clarify exactly what his position will be. At least, he hasn't quite explained it yet, but he's made it clear that to the drivers (in the drivers meeting) he will make very clear what he consider's blocking. (See a good article on the details here.)

I say, get out the popcorn, because this is going to be interesting.

There were loud complaints from IndyCar drivers, teams, and fans last year about how the rules were enforced (inconsistently, at times), and Beaux has been brought in to make some changes. I firmly believe he's going to pull it off.

See, I've met Beaux and chatted with him a few times. I've seen him in action around the ALMS (where he was race director for the past four years), not only in the paddock, but also in race control. I can't say we're BFFs or anything, but he always has a smile and a friendly word for me (I will forever owe him one for being kind to me when he ran the session of racing school I attended back in 2006). The thing is, Beaux pretty much has a smile and a friendly word for everyone. He's that kind of guy: visible and friendly.

At the same time, he's direct and clear about his opinions. He's also clear that his role is to make the decisions, right or wrong, and to take the blame for bad ones. He does that. I can't speak for the drivers he's had control over, but from my perspective (and I think I've been the lurker-in-chief for the ALMS the last year or two!), he's been as fair as he can be and totally transparent about his decisions. He told me once that it's important to him to be present in the paddock, to talk with drivers and teams, so that no one is unclear on how he communicates, thinks, and interprets regulations.

So, yeah, I'm a Beaux fan. And I'm going to enjoy watching him take this step to a much larger and more visible stage and see what he can do. What about you all? Do you think he'll pull it off? Do you have your popcorn ready for the show?