Why the lack of practice time?

[NickFalzone]

Someone explain to me how cutting back on practice time saves money and/or is in any way good for the teams and the sport. These 2-day race weekends are real weak IMO. 60 minutes on a busy track, the day of qualifying, is just garbage. 60 minutes friday, 90 minutes Saturday, that's what we need. The good guys are going to roll well off the truck, but the oval novices need this time to figure out the balance of their car. Cutting back on pre season testing? Ok, I get it. But cutting back on race-weekend practice time is just plain dumb if you ask me. Barnhart needs to grow some balls and tell TG and the rest that track time prior to the event is crucial on the ovals, this is not a place to skimp for a few extra dollars in the bank. NASCAR has way more practice time and most of their tracks are the same boring thing every weekend, plus they can still get around with a crappy setup. IRL cars are much more highly engineered machines that are simply dangerous with a setup that is off.

[SarahFan]

it would seem less practice would increase the chances of a wreck during the race...

gotta cost more to repair a car than run it an extra hour or two..


if cost is the reason then I find the reasoning shortsighted

[Wilf]

it would seem less practice would increase the chances of a wreck during the race...

gotta cost more to repair a car than run it an extra hour or two..


if cost is the reason then I find the reasoning shortsighted

This is not a driver or engineer development series. You need to know what to do when you get to the track. If you don't, you will go slower because an intelligent driver doesn't overdrive the car.

Note how Marco was on the bottom of the charts when they started. He was uncomfortable taking the car to the edge. They worked on the car and he moved near the top of the chart.

The only handicap a team experiences is when they have a mechanical problem. A team might miss an entire 30 minute session if the problem occurs early in a session.

Unlike our government, when money is tight, you make adjustments and cut back on spending.

[SarahFan]

This is not a driver or engineer development series. g.


ttp://www.indycar.com/schedule/pdf/2009 ... hedule.pdf (ttp://www.indycar.com/schedule/pdf/2009_kansas_schedule.pdf)

but but .....the developement series had 15 min less time

[Wilf]

ttp://www.indycar.com/schedule/pdf/2009_kansas_schedule.pdf

but but .....the developement series had 15 min less time

Ok, if you insist; 105 is less than 90.

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS
9:00 to 9:45 (45 minutes) and 11:45 to 12:45 (60 minutes)

INDYCAR
10:00 to 10:30 (30 minutes) and 10:30 to 11:30 (60 minutes)

[SarahFan]

Ok, if you insist; 105 is less than 90.

FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS
9:00 to 9:45 (45 minutes) and 11:45 to 12:45 (60 minutes)

INDYCAR
10:00 to 10:30 (30 minutes) and 10:30 to 11:30 (60 minutes)

The second practice for the lights was split into 2 groups

75 is indeed less then 90

[SarahFan]

10 of the 24 lights cars have already made contact during the race....5 laps remaining

[Wilf]

The second practice for the lights was split into 2 groups

75 is indeed less then 90

AND Indy Lights Practice - Split Groups isn't the same as IndyCar Practice - Split Groups?

[SarahFan]

AND Indy Lights Practice - Split Groups isn't the same as IndyCar Practice - Split Groups?

huh...

[EagleEye]

Someone explain to me how cutting back on practice time saves money and/or is in any way good for the teams and the sport. These 2-day race weekends are real weak IMO. 60 minutes on a busy track, the day of qualifying, is just garbage. 60 minutes friday, 90 minutes Saturday, that's what we need. The good guys are going to roll well off the truck, but the oval novices need this time to figure out the balance of their car. Cutting back on pre season testing? Ok, I get it. But cutting back on race-weekend practice time is just plain dumb if you ask me. Barnhart needs to grow some balls and tell TG and the rest that track time prior to the event is crucial on the ovals, this is not a place to skimp for a few extra dollars in the bank. NASCAR has way more practice time and most of their tracks are the same boring thing every weekend, plus they can still get around with a crappy setup. IRL cars are much more highly engineered machines that are simply dangerous with a setup that is off.

The two day race weekend is a God-send to the teams. They worked hard with the series to reduce some of the races from three day affairs, to two days. Saving an extra day provides a big savings to teams, and the reduced track time keeps everyone from damaging equipment, needlessly.

Ask anyone (except the engineers) and it is a great move.