Bye-Bye Bruno

[Chamoo]

Conquest has dumped Bruno and put Tagliani in the number 36 car which is qualified for the 500.

The Other Side (http://aowrtheotherside.blogspot.com/)

[DBell]

Feel bad for Bruno. You could see this coming regardless what the team was saying right after it was over. Too bad Eric and the rest of Conquest had their head up their *** today or Bruno would still be in the race.

[ChicagocrewIRL]

my respect for Junky and the classy things he had to say after he got dumped have raised his stock as a human being. I wish him the best and hope his courage and heart aren't wasted sitting on the sidelines.

Blackhawks 2 Detroit 5 BOOOOOOO !!!!!

[garyshell]

my respect for Junky and the classy things he had to say after he got dumped have raised his stock as a human being. I wish him the best and hope his courage and heart aren't wasted sitting on the sidelines.

Blackhawks 2 Detroit 5 BOOOOOOO !!!!!


What did he say? I haven't seen any quotes from him yet.

Gary

[truefan72]

this was a travesty

unless the driver is physically unable to drive, I don;t think he should get bumped off the grid for a schmuck who could not get it done. AT and the team should be ashamed of themselves

[garyshell]

this was a travesty

unless the driver is physically unable to drive, I don;t think he should get bumped off the grid for a schmuck who could not get it done. AT and the team should be ashamed of themselves


You are the one who should be ashamed. Did you even bother to find out WHY Tags "could not get it done" as you put it? If you had bothered to find out before you maligned Tag, you'd know that the TEAM, not Alex made a stupid mistake by standing on the Saturday time and pulled Tags out of line TWICE today. It had NOTHING to do with his ability to make the time and everything to do with the stupid mistake the team made.

Gary

[jackmart]

omgosh, wow, feel bad for them what a horrible situation to be in. just wow

Bruno was such a great sport in the interview. I don't know how him and power can be so nice to their teams when they put them in such bad situations.

[ChicagocrewIRL]

What did he say? I haven't seen any quotes from him yet.

Gary

"I want to thank the team and ALL SPORT/BIG RED for giving me the opportunity to qualify their car today," Junqueira said. "I was able to go fast right from the start despite not having a lot of practice and that was very rewarding for myself. I really enjoyed working with Conquest Racing, they gave me a really good car and hopefully I can work with them again the future. It's a shame that Alex got bumped out of the field at the end. I knew coming into this that Alex is Conquest's primary driver and that if something happened to the first car that I would likely give him my place and I completely understand it."

Bruno Junqueira from IndyCar.com

[ChicagocrewIRL]

I just saw Alex Tagliani's reaction when Barnhart told him he wasn't going out. It was gut wrenching. Tags was shaking when he saw he was bumped. I blame his team. They pulled him out of line 3 times. Ridiculous.

[chuck34]

I am gutted for Junky. I've never been one of his biggest fans. But to have something like 5 practice laps, and put up a time like that is amazing. He deserves to be in the field.

I also felt bad for Tags. But this is racing and crap happens. Sure it was a bad decision by the team, not Tags. But, again, this is racing, wear a helmet.

You didn't see Ferrari switching out Kimi and Massa the two times they've pulled the same bone-headed moves.

[nigelred5]

You didn't see Ferrari switching out Kimi and Massa the two times they've pulled the same bone-headed moves.


Only because they CAN'T. ;)

I feel horrible for both drivers. junky threw down an amazing performance with 5 practice laps. He clearly deserves a full time ride.

I feel as bad for Tags having to take the ride from Bruno as I do for an unforgiveable screw up pulling him out of line 3 times when it was pretty darn clear his time wasn't gonna stand.

[Alexamateo]

You feel bad for Bruno, but it's happened before when a primary driver was bumped, and the the Indy one-off driver qualified.

Dick Simon replaced John Mahler back in 1971 or so, and of course Scott Goodyear famously drove up from 33rd to finish second in 1992 because he replaced Mike Groff after he himself had been bumped. Of course, you could just withdraw the car, and Tags would get in as first alternate.

[Gluaistean]

my respect for Junky and the classy things he had to say after he got dumped have raised his stock as a human being. I wish him the best and hope his courage and heart aren't wasted sitting on the sidelines.

Blackhawks 2 Detroit 5 BOOOOOOO !!!!!

Double boooooooooooooo!!!!!!! Hawks forgot the third period ChicagoIRL.

If Dale had a rookie I'd bump him and out Bruno in there. Hey, maybe we can have Comway removed.

Anyway, a guy that comes to qualifying the last day and gets dealt that type of blow is horrible.

Does anyone know if Bruno has an English speaking site?

[Nem14]

Who gets to drive in Indy Car is more about who brings the most sponsorship money to the team than who is the better driver. Or to put it another way, the most marketable driver gets the seat.

Bruno doesn't have the sponsorship or marketability that Alex has or he'd have a full time ride.

Bruno was compensated monitarily for his efforts and to graciously give up the seat, according to the story.

Personally, I think it was morally wrong to take Bruno out of the car. His reward for doing such a good job should have been to have a shot at winning the race. Trouble is the decision was obviously driven by Alex's sponsors.

As far as it being the teams fault Alex failed to qualify? Strategy wise? Probably, but we'll never know for sure because he didn't get to re-qualify yesterday. Just because he was in line doesn't mean they would have made the show.

There is a reason most of the bumping happens shortly after the track opens for qualifying at noon and during the last hour of the day, track temperture and wind. So pulling Alex out of line repeatedly was a calculated risk. Like all forms of gambleing, you win some and you lose some.

Another point. The team relies on the driver to provide feedback on the car's performance so the engineer can make the changes needed to get the car up to speed.

Looks like Bruno is way better at that than Alex.

[Civic]

I bet Bruno was more crushed than Tags was. He just didn't want to burn any bridges.

So how does this work? The actual car that Bruno drove is the one Tags will drive? Or do they switch around bodywork so that Tags' livery goes on the car that Bruno qualified?

[chuck34]

Who gets to drive in Indy Car is more about who brings the most sponsorship money to the team than who is the better driver. Or to put it another way, the most marketable driver gets the seat.

Bruno doesn't have the sponsorship or marketability that Alex has or he'd have a full time ride.



Are you sure about that? I seriously don't know the answer to this question. But from my point of view this is what I see. Tags has Rexall Edminton (TG maybe kicking in some cash???) and King Tut (a museum exhibit is kicking in serious cash???). Those sponsors don't seem like "real" sponsors. Then Junky shows up with All-Sport and Big Red. Those seem like "real" sponsors, and the timing appears to suggest that Junky brought them along. So it seems to me that Bruno has more sponsor money than Tag.

Again, I have no idea if any of that is true or not. That's just what it looks like to this outside observer.

[Chamoo]

Conquest actually found the Big Red/All Sport sponsorship, so Bruno didn't bring anything. Conquest has to keep their full-time sponsor which is Rexall Edmonton Indy.

[chuck34]

Conquest actually found the Big Red/All Sport sponsorship, so Bruno didn't bring anything. Conquest has to keep their full-time sponsor which is Rexall Edmonton Indy.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Do you know what the deal is with Rexall? It just seems strange for a race to sponsor a race car?

[ykiki]

Thanks for clearing that up.

Do you know what the deal is with Rexall? It just seems strange for a race to sponsor a race car?

We'd see race site names on the side of CART/CC cars, but that's a sore subject that I don't want to address.

My guess about the Rexall race is that Rexall (the Edmonton race's sponsor - who happens to be a major Canadian pharmacy chain) might be kicking in some $$$ to get more exposure for their "product".

I'm also interested to see what the final livery of the car will be. Some sort of mix of Rexall Edmonton GP, King Tut, AllSport/Big Red? That makes for some interesting color combinations.

There was bound to be a lot of second guessing going on about Conquest pulling Tag's car out of line while being so close to the bubble - especially after Coyne requalified Sheckter's car in order to assure he wasn't bumped.

[chuck34]

We'd see race site names on the side of CART/CC cars, but that's a sore subject that I don't want to address.

My guess about the Rexall race is that Rexall (the Edmonton race's sponsor - who happens to be a major Canadian pharmacy chain) might be kicking in some $$$ to get more exposure for their "product".

I'm also interested to see what the final livery of the car will be. Some sort of mix of Rexall Edmonton GP, King Tut, AllSport/Big Red? That makes for some interesting color combinations.

There was bound to be a lot of second guessing going on about Conquest pulling Tag's car out of line while being so close to the bubble - especially after Coyne requalified Sheckter's car in order to assure he wasn't bumped.

Ok that makes sence. If it's really all Rexall money then it goes in my "real sponsor" list. Which really doesn't count for anything.

[Civic]

Ok, so Tags drives the car Bruno drove. So what happens to the sponsors on Bruno's car? Are they combined with Tags' sponsors? Is it legal to use bodywork from Tags' car to put it on Bruno's car?

[Gluaistean]

Ok, so Tags drives the car Bruno drove. So what happens to the sponsors on Bruno's car? Are they combined with Tags' sponsors? Is it legal to use bodywork from Tags' car to put it on Bruno's car?

Civic, that's a good question. The same as I asked a week ago when Kanaan qualified with virtually all of Mutoh's car.

The answer I got was that the tub was the only part considered the car.

I'm still confused as always by this scenario.

Someone mentioned awhile back that qualifying should be based on one thing and one thing only. Fastest time. I don't care if it is achieved on day 1 or day three. It's idiotic to see a driver in a higher position in the field while another is with a faster time is down farther.

[chuck34]

You can paint a car however you want. It's not the paint job that's qualified. It's the tub.

[SarahFan]

Someone mentioned awhile back that qualifying should be based on one thing and one thing only. Fastest time. I don't care if it is achieved on day 1 or day three. It's idiotic to see a driver in a higher position in the field while another is with a faster time is down farther.

i disagree.... track conditions and additional tracktime can and do contribute to increased (and decreased) times....

if your suggesting a single day of quals then that is another argument....

but under the current qualfying procedures at INDY it makes perfect sense

[coogmaster]

History lesson: This has happened before. In recent memory:

1992 - A guy named Scott Goodyear drove for a guy named Derrick Walker. The team put driver Mike Groff in a backup car, who qualified solidly, and look out, Mr. Goodyear gets bumped out of the field. But, Mr. Goodyear gets Mr. Groff's seat on raceday because he's the regular driver.

1994 - Same situation. Davy Jones does a hell of a job and puts Kenny Bernstein's backup car in the field. Scott Goodyear, Bernstein's main driver, has been struggling all month and gets bumped out. However, Mr. Goodyear's ass is saved again as Davy Jones is forced to give up his seat for Scott.

2001 - Raul Boesel qualifies Felipe Giaffone's backup car in a solid effort, and Felipe is bumped late in the day. But, due to the fact that Giaffone is the regular series driver and running well in the points, he takes Boesel's seat for Treadway Racing.

[bblocker68]

Sux for Junky. He's good at Indy and would finish better than Tags by a mile. I'm sure it's owner/sponsor related.

That's business, nothing personal :(

[Gluaistean]

You can paint a car however you want. It's not the paint job that's qualified. It's the tub.

That has already been established. Makes no sense since so many other parameters are involved. In effect, the scenario could occur that a car that is faster and bumped than one in the field could have the tub switched.

[Gluaistean]

i disagree.... track conditions and additional tracktime can and do contribute to increased (and decreased) times....

if your suggesting a single day of quals then that is another argument....

but under the current qualfying procedures at INDY it makes perfect sense


I mean all qualifying on the same day. Should just be like F1. They can manage 26 , although it's been awhile since they have had 26 cars.

[Nem14]

I mean all qualifying on the same day. Should just be like F1. They can manage 26 , although it's been awhile since they have had 26 cars.

But then the speedway couldn't sell as many tickets for all the practice/qualifying days.

[chuck34]

That has already been established. Makes no sense since so many other parameters are involved. In effect, the scenario could occur that a car that is faster and bumped than one in the field could have the tub switched.

Happens every year, pretty much. There are always cars that *could* go faster but didn't for whatever reason. It adds a bit of drama and contriversy. Gives us all something to talk about.

I don't know what you are talking about with the tub switch in the last part of your comment? Maybe you don't know, but there is a plate that is fixed in the tub that gives it a number. A bit like a VIN number on your car. You can't just go switch tubs around and not have anyone notice.

You might have a point about "why don't they do it all in one day?" And they could very easily now. But that's not Indy. It's been 4 days for most of the years they've run the race, and that's the way it is. Everyone knows this. If you set out rules at the beginning and everyone plays by them, it's fair. Now if you go changing the rules after the fact (to let Tags in because he's faster, for example) then THAT would not be fair.

Does that make any sence?

[SarahFan]

I mean all qualifying on the same day. Should just be like F1. They can manage 26 , although it's been awhile since they have had 26 cars.


so really your argument is for Indy to go to a single qualifying format


correct?


sure they could do it... not going to happen any time soon

[NickFalzone]

Indy has a more complex and arduous qualifying format than many, or any, other races. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In it's own way, it's just as fair as the others. I could see some team owners complaining about it, but as a fan I like it, I like that one of the biggest races in the world also has one of the most annoying and potentially dramatic qualifying formats.

[Gluaistean]

Happens every year, pretty much. There are always cars that *could* go faster but didn't for whatever reason. It adds a bit of drama and contriversy. Gives us all something to talk about.

I don't know what you are talking about with the tub switch in the last part of your comment? Maybe you don't know, but there is a plate that is fixed in the tub that gives it a number. A bit like a VIN number on your car. You can't just go switch tubs around and not have anyone notice.

You might have a point about "why don't they do it all in one day?" And they could very easily now. But that's not Indy. It's been 4 days for most of the years they've run the race, and that's the way it is. Everyone knows this. If you set out rules at the beginning and everyone plays by them, it's fair. Now if you go changing the rules after the fact (to let Tags in because he's faster, for example) then THAT would not be fair.




Does that make any sence?

Chuck, thanks for clearing up the tub issue. I was not aware of the VIN aspect. I'm just disappointed when I see a very good driver lose his ride in this manner

[chuck34]

Chuck, thanks for clearing up the tub issue. I was not aware of the VIN aspect. I'm just disappointed when I see a very good driver lose his ride in this manner

No problem. I hope that helps a bit.

As for doing it in one day so that good drivers get in, think about this one. If qualifying was all in one day, what would happen had Tags crashed? He would be out, no chance to try again. If you do it in 4 days (or at least more than 1), he has another chance to get back in. I actually think that if you are going to be telling anyone to "go home" from a race, having qualifying over multiple days is more fair.

[Chamoo]

Sux for Junky. He's good at Indy and would finish better than Tags by a mile. I'm sure it's owner/sponsor related.

That's business, nothing personal :(

I would hesitate to suggest that Bruno would spank Tags at the track. Obviously we won't know this year, but Tags has never been in the type of cars Bruno has been. I think if you put them both in the same car, Bruno would have difficulty beating Tags.