Long Beach Grand Prix Race Thread

**garyshell** · 18th Apr 12, 21:46

Originally Posted by anthonyvop

And none of them had definitive evidence of contact.....none!

My memory maybe lyin' to me, but didn't we see the rear of Josef's car twitch to the right from contact? I guess the reality is that all we saw was the result and not the actual contact, so in that light you might be right, actual contact was not seen. But EVIDENCE of contact was seen. And that may be why the decision was made to not call it.

Gary

**anthonyvop** · 18th Apr 12, 22:19

Originally Posted by garyshell

My memory maybe lyin' to me, but didn't we see the rear of Josef's car twitch to the right from contact? I guess the reality is that all we saw was the result and not the actual contact, so in that light you might be right, actual contact was not seen. But EVIDENCE of contact was seen. And that may be why the decision was made to not call it.

Gary

Did Dario hit JN? probably!

Is there any 100% proof? Unless Dario was to confess over the radio then No.

No proof. no foul!

**garyshell** · 18th Apr 12, 22:35

Originally Posted by anthonyvop

Did Dario hit JN? probably!

Is there any 100% proof? Unless Dario was to confess over the radio then No.

No proof. no foul!

Yes, I see your point.

Gary

**Marbles** · 19th Apr 12, 00:01

Originally Posted by anthonyvop

Did Dario hit JN? probably!

Is there any 100% proof? Unless Dario was to confess over the radio then No.

No proof. no foul!

Contact or no contact -- no penalty. Did Dario initiate the pass -- no. Did Dario blatantly or maliciously run Newgarden out of room -- no judgement could possibly made on that. It can't be judged any other way than being a racing incident. Do you folks want penalties called every time these guys bump? If so than I want penalties called even when contact is made but no race is spoiled or positions lost. I want a penalty box! That's the racing you want? Let's hire Chris Kneifel as an assistant to Barfield because these guys will be busy.

That sounds harsher than I meant it to be but the point I'm trying to convey is there.

**Civic** · 20th Apr 12, 08:28

From Pagenaud's airbox camera it looked like Dario didn't hit that apex as close as Pagenaud and everyone else did. Everyone's left front tire was all over the candy cane stripes. It looked like the edge of Dario's left front tire just touched the stripes on the edge instead of going over the stripes.

On the other hand, Dario was on the inside and maybe couldn't have held a tighter apex through that turn.

**Nem14** · 20th Apr 12, 23:07

Originally Posted by anthonyvop

And none of them had definitive evidence of contact.....none!

They said they only looked at 2 angles of the contact.

Chief steward Beaux Barfield said his race stewards, including former drivers Arie Luyendyk and Johnny Unser, told him the two camera angles available to them were “inconclusive.”

The video angle I saw in the highlights on YouTube clearly, let me repeat that, clearly show Dario hit Newgarden.

**anthonyvop** · 20th Apr 12, 23:47

Originally Posted by Nem14

They said they only looked at 2 angles of the contact.

Only 2 available at that time from the NBC feed.

Originally Posted by Nem14

The video angle I saw in the highlights on YouTube clearly, let me repeat that, clearly show Dario hit Newgarden.

I have seen many different angles on YouTube as well and have yet see one that shows Dario "Clearly" hitting JN. If you would be so kind as to post the link to that video it would be most appreciated.

**Civic** · 21st Apr 12, 09:46

Newgarden's left rear wheel guard was knocked off. However, I'm not sure if the right one breaking off at the tire barrier had anything to do with it. From what I've seen, it's one long plane/plank connecting both rear wheel guards.

**Civic** · 21st Apr 12, 09:49

View from Pagenaud's airbox begins around 1:43 in the following YouTube clip:
Veja a largada da etapa de Long Beach - YouTube

Upon watching again, I think the impact of the right rear guard with the tire barrier also ripped off the left rear guard.

**garyshell** · 21st Apr 12, 16:21

Originally Posted by Civic

View from Pagenaud's airbox begins around 1:43 in the following YouTube clip:
Veja a largada da etapa de Long Beach - YouTube

Upon watching again, I think the impact of the right rear guard with the tire barrier also ripped off the left rear guard.

I think it is clear there is contact at 2:07-2:08 in this video as you can see the rear of Josef's car suddenly twitch to the right. Avoidable? I don't know since it looks like Josef really pinched Dario down on the apex, which may have been a contributing factor.

Thanks for the video!

Gary

**Marbles** · 21st Apr 12, 17:03

One thing I did notice in this race is the cars seemed to get a nice tow off of one another down the front straight.

**anthonyvop** · 21st Apr 12, 17:20

Originally Posted by Civic

View from Pagenaud's airbox begins around 1:43 in the following YouTube clip:
Veja a largada da etapa de Long Beach - YouTube

Upon watching again, I think the impact of the right rear guard with the tire barrier also ripped off the left rear guard.

Originally Posted by garyshell

I think it is clear there is contact at 2:07-2:08 in this video as you can see the rear of Josef's car suddenly twitch to the right. Avoidable? I don't know since it looks like Josef really pinched Dario down on the apex, which may have been a contributing factor.

Thanks for the video!

Gary

Sorry guys.

I see JN car moving but the Video DOES NOT CLEARLY SHOW ANY CONTACT. The Overhead shot is too far and Pags in-car the alleged hit is blocked.

I am not a Dario fan and I believe he probably did hit JN but there is no Clear proof he did. So you cannot penalize a driver for an incident that you can't prove actually happened.

**Cart750hp** · 2nd May 12, 05:03

Originally Posted by DBell

Good news is the ratings were up 21% from last year. Bad news is that it is still dismal at a .34 overnight. Pressdog has some more detailed numbers breakdown. Bad news that they couldn't even pull a 1.0 in the host city. (LA overnight .80)

pressdog.com: Long Beach Overnight TV Ratings up 21% from Last Year

Hey Cart750, good to see you around. I haven't seen you here in a long while.

Hey DBell, it's really been awhile. But good to see everyone here. I'll drop by again when I get a chance.

**SoCalPVguy** · 3rd May 12, 18:03

Re. Good news is the ratings were up 21% from last year. Bad news is that it is still dismal at a .34 overnight. Pressdog has some more detailed numbers breakdown. Bad news that they couldn't even pull a 1.0 in the host city. (LA overnight .80)

It is going to be a long road to higher television ratings when the show is on channel 1256.

**anthonyvop** · 3rd May 12, 18:28

Originally Posted by SoCalPVguy

Re. Good news is the ratings were up 21% from last year. Bad news is that it is still dismal at a .34 overnight. Pressdog has some more detailed numbers breakdown. Bad news that they couldn't even pull a 1.0 in the host city. (LA overnight .80)

It is going to be a long road to higher television ratings when the show is on channel 1256.

And with little or no on-line presence.