AGR block party

[Komahawk]

I've had enough of Kanaan! He ought to get penalised or even dq'd! That's just poor sportsmanship, by Kanaan, by Franchitti and by the guy who ordered that whole procedure, probably Micheal Andretti! Remember WG? When Scheckter held up Danica for a lap Kim Green went on air live on IMS radio and publicly called Scheckter an "idiot". And this time, basically because they're just too dumb to direct their own cars around their lapped team mates, they block the competition and then make statements like "Oh well that's just racing".
If it was vice versa, Franchitti or any AGR guy getting blocked by Wheldon or Hornish, they'd be freaking out, especially that no good Kanaan! This isn't far from making Schumacher moves, knocking your oponents off the track or even hiring someone else to do it. This needs to stop right here, before it encourages other teams to do so as well!

Kanaan, if you read this (and are actually able to understand it), I hope you'll get blocked for life and never win the championship again, and of course never the 500! And if you really do get the Penske seat next year, I hope Helio squashes you like you deserve it! Oh yea, and don't forget to shave your head!



Nice driving from Franchitti though, until he slammed Marco anyway. He made a great pass on Dixon after the 3rd stop and showed him where it's at. But still, he missed out. Shades of 1999? I don't like Dixon, and I'd like to see a new champ, but after yesterday's block party I'm all against Dario.

Best drive of the day IMO was Helio's. Stayed in touch with the front all day, and snatched Dario and Kanaan within 3 turns after the restart! And maybe with 5 laps more to go, he'd have snatched Dixon as well.

[Subaru WRX]

waw you are too hard with Andrett/Green and Toni Kanaan :eek:

[Alexamateo]

I agree, but I would have felt stronger about it if Sam had challenged Kanaan. It seems to me that Sam never challenged TK and I don't know why. If Sam had been trying hard to pass, then throw the passing flag at TK and/or penalize him. As it was, The only thing that happened was that TK made a decision not to pass his slower teammate.

[harvick#1]

no doubt tat TK was blocking for Dario, everytime you can here TK letting of alot early than everyone else to let Dario get through the corner and back up to speed without any worries.

AGR should be docked points for that and fined heavily as that is not part of racing

[ChampUSfan]

TK didn't block. For me if you wanna block, we will be black fragged. TK did what he has to do and he was good at it.

[woohoo331]

TK was doing the "team" thing he was letting off to make sure that whatever points were left for Dario he could maximize. Look at F1 for an example (just not Ferrari) team order (not orders as we know Michael has never been good at that but not going into the MA thing) is a huge driving factor on intensity of drive and just because you catch someone does not mean u can pass them. For Dario the difference between 3 and 4th is huge but for TK it wasn't. TK did what was best for his team mate. The braintrust in AGR ruined the day for Dario and TK tried not to make it a total disaster for him.

[mark123]

WHILE i AM A BIG DIXON FAN AND I AGREE THAT THERE WAS BLOCKING INVOLVED, YOU JUST WAIT FOR THE NEXT TWO RACES AND SEE HOW WIDE DAN CAN MAKE HIS CAR. BLOCKING IS A FACT OF LIFE AND AS LONG AS YOU HOLD YOUR LINE - ITS ALL LEGAL TEGAL.

[45 Below]

Kanaan still owns the most blatant piece of blocking I have ever seen and interestingly it involved Dixon.

Back in 2002 when they were both driving in CART Dixon was passing Kanaan for the lead at Miami and Kanaan blatantly forced him across and into the barrier.

It was a dumb move, especially after only 20 or so laps. They were easily the two fastest guys in the field and had headed the charts all weekend. It finished Dixon's day and the stewards sent Kanaan to the back of the field for his troubles.

I think Kanaan is a fast and skilled driver but I really question his decision-making at times.

[jso1985]

no doubt tat TK was blocking for Dario, everytime you can here TK letting of alot early than everyone else to let Dario get through the corner and back up to speed without any worries.

AGR should be docked points for that and fined heavily as that is not part of racing


they didn't break any rules so they can't get penalized, that's team playing, Kanaan didn't send someone off the track or something, just played for his team-mate, anyway Hornish didn't look like he actually wanted to pass him...

[45 Below]

You're right - he didn't break any rules as such but it turned the end of the race into a farce. Dixon and Helio had a six second advantage within two laps of the restart and all those cars backed up behind Kanaan looked ridiculous.

If anyone was going to pass it was going to require a three-wide move like the one Helio pulled off and TK wasn't going to fall for that one twice. He rode shotgun very cleverly and the points he saved Dario may be a big factor in the final championship tally.

Apparently Brian Barnhart had warned the teams beforehand about team driving but it doesn't look like they will take any action.

[mark123]

and lets not forget that Dixon was black flagged at Indy least year for blocking - probably cost him a chance of winning the thing. All was ask for is consistency from Brian.

[45 Below]

and lets not forget that Dixon was black flagged at Indy least year for blocking - probably cost him a chance of winning the thing. All was ask for is consistency from Brian.

... and there wasn't much consistency that day.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Brian? HEELLLLLLOOO Brian? Ya...you, could you tell everyone once and for all what the policy is on blocking? ....... Hello? ......HELLO?

Must be like his explanations of fines and penalties, we don't have a right to know...

He must be trying to get a job with NASCAR.

[bones]

Tk never zigged and he definately never zagged. No blocking whatsoever and he followed a clean racing line. I didn't see any "brakechecks" either.

[underpowered]

I don’t like the bad sportsmanship that TK and Dario are in engaged in. The universe tends to punish that kind of behaviour eventually... or in Dario's case immediately.
I think it’s a dangerous mindset that Dario and TK are getting into. They should stop focusing on Scott and concentrate on their own performance…..the stuff they can control. They are trying to control Scott…..with poor result.

[45 Below]

Tk never zigged and he definately never zagged. No blocking whatsoever and he followed a clean racing line. I didn't see any "brakechecks" either.

It wasn't blocking in the usual sense of the word. But whatever you want to call it you can't escape the fact he and Dario held the field back to 1min 20sec plus laps when the pair of them had been running at 1:18 and better all day.

Meanwhile Dixon and Castroneves opened up a six second gap in a matter of a couple of laps. It was a farce.

I just wonder how far TK is prepared to go to help Dario win a championship?

Frankly I think Dario is a big enough person and a good enough driver to do it on his own.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I hate team tactics too, but until the IRL deems blocking to be an offense no matter who does it and when it happens, the nothing will change. Like a football lineman who holds the linebacker rather than blocking him, he will keep doing it until someone calls a penalty.

[mark123]

Bones - your right. there was no zig zagging at all so there should be no penalty. but you must admit - TK was watching Dairo's back which is admirable considering 2nd place in the championship is still a possibility for him.

As I said earlier, wait for the final oval race and check out Dan as he watches Scott's back. (and not a moment too soon!!)

[Komahawk]

It's NOT admirable! It's just WRONG! And Kanaan can STILL win the title. Had he taken second place in Sonoma, it wouldn't even be unlikely.

You know, it wouldn't surprise me if Ganassi entered a third car for the final races, just in order to block Dario.

[mark123]

And if he did, all power to him. Look, blocking involves zig zagging to ensure that the car behind you can not make the pass.

1. no one made a move on TK in the final 10 laps
2. TK didn't zig zag, he simply decided to not make the pass.

Lets be clear on this, any other team would have done the same thing.

I can't believe I am defending AGR here because i would love to see dixon win the championship.

[Komahawk]

Yea, I'm sure if Danica had been in Kanaan's position she wouldn't have tried to pass Dario.

[mark123]

I wonder if Danica is in a slightly different league to TK and Marco. The reason I suggest that is this......if she ignored team orders and went for the win, and really got off side with the owners, they would probably not be able to fire her because she is the only reason Motorola have put all the money into the team. so it may be a case of the tail wagging the dog & Danica doing her own thing in spite of team orders. Same thing with Scott Sharp who bought his own personal sponsor to the team - if it was my money funding the team, i would go for the win at all costs.

Just a thought.....

[bones]

What Dixon did in yesterday's Detroit GP IS blocking (the last 2 laps). This was a clear case of zigging and zagging. He changed his normal racing line several times to prevent Dario from getting by.

[45 Below]

There were so few successful passes yesterday that I don't think Dario seriously expected to get by he was just trying to pressure Dixon into a mistake.

Dixon was trying to do the same to Rice by feinting an inside pass - it's all pretty standard road racing stuff. The move Dixon got called on by race control seemed fairly innocuous - he crossed to the inside line almost similtaneously with Dario. I haven't seen footage of the zig-zag you mention. Any other driver would have been trying to take a look down the inside in that situation.

Both Dario and Scott were a good 2 seconds a lap faster than Rice but couldn't pass because of the narrow track. They have to find better venues if they want to have credible street/road events.