Random Grid for Texas

[Alfa Fan]

Story just gone up on Autosport. Sounds interesting... Milka Duno on pole?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89709

[px400r]

I guess the gimmicks haven't stopped...

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I guess the gimmicks haven't stopped...

Fortunately not. It's called promotion. A handful of purists can't make the series prosper...

[FIAT1]

I was fortunate in my lifetime to see real racing with most skillful men won in the fastest and challenged cars to drive. I guess this is what they have to fabricate to appease reality shows fan base and create something that does not have to do anything with reality or real racing. Having said that I'm sure it wil be fun to watch because starting position on oval does not matter much. I will go out of line and predict that Penske or Ganassi will win anyway.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I was fortunate in my lifetime to see real racing with most skillful men won in the fastest and challenged cars to drive. I guess this is what they have to fabricate to appease reality shows fan base and create something that does not have to do anything with reality or real racing. Having said that I'm sure it wil be fun to watch because starting position on oval does not matter much. I will go out of line and predict that Penske or Ganassi will win anyway.

We'll have random grid for 1 race out of 18, on a track type where grids don't matter that much. I don't think the sky is falling.

[FIAT1]

We'll have random grid for 1 race out of 18, on a track type where grids don't matter that much. I don't think the sky is falling.

Thank you for clearification.

[Alfa Fan]

Can a mod fix the horrible typo in my thread title?

[Mark in Oshawa]

It isn't the end of the world. AS it has been said, it doesn't matter as much on an oval. What is more, if the fast guys have to pass a few cars, oh well, there is some entertainment....

Just watch all the fast 2nd week qualifiers over the years at Indy coming forward has been in a sense what could happen here...

Don't want to see this at every track..but once a year it will work.

[SoCalPVguy]

a "random" start is a 'silly' gimmick... If they REALLY wanted to make it interesting, it would be an "inverse" start field, based on the finish order of the first race (now THAT'S a 'good' gimmick).

[anthonyvop]

Personally I find it just a gimmick.


I do have an issue with safety though.

Imagine having an inexperienced noob, who's speed put them 24th on the grid for the 1st race, leading the field into turn one?

[ShiftingGears]

Personally I find it just a gimmick.


I do have an issue with safety though.

Imagine having an inexperienced noob, who's speed put them 24th on the grid for the 1st race, leading the field into turn one?

Bullseye.

[Don Capps]

Not until the latter part of the Thirties did times set during practice sessions determine the positions on the starting grid in Europe, the AC de Monaco leading the way. Starting positions were determined by ballot -- the driver picking a slip of paper with a starting position written upon it. Of course, mass starts did not arrive in Europe until the middle of the Twenties, the AC de France leading the way for that change of pace -- previously the cars had started at intervals.

It would actually be a bit more interesting if both heats used the ballots to determine the starting positions.

If nothing else, the series needs all the help it can get, although I think that this is probably not something I would have suggested.

[px400r]

Right then. Let's do away with qualifying all together and have a lottery instead.

[Don Capps]

Right then. Let's do away with qualifying all together and have a lottery instead.

I realize that the above is meant to be -- and is -- a snide remark, but the practice of using of qualifying times/speeds to set the starting field began in the US and was an established part of American racing long before it was used in Europe. The American approach to automobile racing has always differed in many respects from that of Europe in general, which is why the Texas ploy is simply a gimmick, another sign of the Apocalypse as they say....

[Dave B]

Personally I find it just a gimmick.


I do have an issue with safety though.

Imagine having an inexperienced noob, who's speed put them 24th on the grid for the 1st race, leading the field into turn one?
We've had similar in British Touring Cars when the top ten was reversed for the 3rd race of the day. A "gentleman racer" who finished P9 or P10 could find himself being the first arrival at Paddock Hill bend with championship contenders right up their backside. It has the potential to not end well.

[nigelred5]

The second (sprint) race in superleague and A1GP was also inverted wasn't it?

Why dont' we do heat racing for the A main or Saturday Night Feature?

[Mark]

And that was with touring cars where going door handle to door handle is doable. But this is 'open wheel' and you can't do that!

[NaBUru38]

No lottery or reversing for IndyCar. This should be a serious championship. I'd use the first two laps of qualifying for the heat 1 grid and the second two laps for the heat 2 grid.

[Mr. Mister]

I'm really glad we have Randy Bernard. New fans don't care about traditions, or "seriousness," or any silly adjectives assigned to the sport. It's just a sport, there's nothing serious about it, and all new fans are going to see is if it's entertaining or not. Bernard tries to reach new fans, rather than cater to the small group of stuffy traditionalists who want the series to somehow prosper without doing anything to improve popularity.

[downtowndeco]

Does anyone actually think that the guys complaining about this in this thread will not watch because they think it's too cheesy? No. Is there a chance a few people might just tune in to check it out? IMO, yes.

50/50 odds NASCAR tries this in the next 2 years as well.

[px400r]

Does anyone actually think that the guys complaining about this in this thread will not watch because they think it's too cheesy? No. Is there a chance a few people might just tune in to check it out? IMO, yes.

50/50 odds NASCAR tries this in the next 2 years as well.

I'm not complaining. And I won't be watching.

[garyshell]

I'm not complaining. And I won't be watching.

Which begs the question, why are you posting here?

Gary

[inimitablestoo]

The second (sprint) race in superleague and A1GP was also inverted wasn't it?
Superleague yes, A1GP no. And the likes of GP2, Formula 3 (Euroseries and now Britain too) and various touring car series, among others, run some kind of reverse grid for second (or third, where applicable) races these days.

If it's a double-header event, why not randomise (sorry, randomize - it is the US after all ;) ) the field for race one and simply reverse that same grid for race two. You could still award a point to the fastest driver in a qualifying-style session and, if need be, that session could eliminate slower cars as it normally would.

Personally, I'm looking forward to Formula Psychic, where the grid for race 1 is based on the results of race 2 :D

[px400r]

Which begs the question, why are you posting here?

Gary
Just exercising my right. The slow death of AOWR is also fascinating- just like that accident you must look at as you drive past.

[AussieV8]

This is the sort of thing seen in lower level amateur competitions or an exhibition event. Random grids are not the sort of thing that is done by a top level professional racing series for a points race. I think it just shows how low Indycar has dropped and the level of desparation now setting in.

If they want to try this, why don't they just have an all star night with a $1 million prize and no points? Yes it can be entertaining, but should not be part of the championship.

[Mr. Mister]

Just because it's never been done doesn't mean it shouldn't be or can't be, though. There's nothing about what a top level series needs to be or should be or anything like that. They have to stand out, rather than do what every other series does. Drivers and teams have the security of the first race, and the loss of half-points won't be too bad should this ruin their second race. New ideas and keeping things fresh is a must; what they've been doing hasn't worked, so why keep doing that? Give it a chance, I say. No need to have stuffy notions of what "top level" constitutes. To me, it's all just racing, and to the casual fan, it's the same. You want it to have some significance and not just be a circus, and I don't think this takes it to the circus level at all.