Marco's pass on Kanaan

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Originally Posted by Yankee Racer

Backing off would've been impossible at that point, I think. It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. Making a split-second decision is different. Teammates should be allowed to race, and Marco raced. That's racin'. Kanaan got into the marbles long after Marco was gone.

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While we will never know TK's true reaction to Marco being on the inside of him. Was he surprised? Was he shocked? Was he trying to stay away so they both wouldn't crash?

We do know that Marco being there did force him to change his line.
However, there were many other passes made just prior to going into the corner were the high side car made it through.

IMHO, because he was not expecting Marco to be there, he turned in too late and was never able to get low enough to make it through the corner.

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Originally Posted by Yankee Racer

Backing off would've been impossible at that point, I think. It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. Making a split-second decision is different. Teammates should be allowed to race, and Marco raced. That's racin'. Kanaan got into the marbles long after Marco was gone.

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Do you have ANY clue as to where the marbles begin or what line will carry you into the marbles regardless of how much you attempt to turn in?

Gary

The bottom line is Marco had every right to pass Kanaan. He was down low enough so Kanaan could take his normal line into the turn. Just look at the replays.
According to Dixon Kanaan made his first mistake when he lifted in turn one that gave Dixon the oportunity to overtake Kanaan on the out side and Marco to the inside.

In three I500 Marco has a second and a third and Kanaan a hand full of DNF's.

Let the boys race. 10 years ago this situation would have been forgotten as soon as it happened.

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Originally Posted by garyshell

Do you have ANY clue as to where the marbles begin or what line will carry you into the marbles regardless of how much you attempt to turn in?

Gary

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Why is it that I don't remember so many marbles in years past at Indy? Tony, and others, were obviously still trying to steer away from the wall. So sad to see so much of the track to be just an illusion. Might just as well fill it in with sand - at least that would save the cars and avoid down track secondary accidents. Yep, sand and a crane and let the racing continue.

Softer tire compounds cause a higher level of marbles, doesn't it? The grip on today's Firestone tires is much more than what they were some years ago. This grip is allowing the drivers to "cheat" a bit and make bolder moves. The hard compounds of years ago didn't make as much marbles, and you therefore had a wider expanse of track to use. Of course the speeds weren't as high. I gotta think that when the cars were running 215 back in the day, taking corners wasn't nearly the white knuckle risk it is now, and it probably made for more passing, like the move Emerson Fittipaldi made on Al Unser back in some years back to win the race. You could make a move like that safely and stay within the limits of the car. But now since the horsepower has gone up, and the tires have more grip, it is actually even more risky to make those moves.

Look at what is going on in NASCAR right now, and the harder compound Goodyear tires they are running. the drivers have been spoiled by the grip they used to have, but the car of tommorrow has had an impact on the tires used, and not many like it. Tony Stewart had a temper tantrum recently about them every time someone put a microphone to him, and Goodyear had to put out a statement about it. But I have to believe the the old school drivers are laughing at Stewart and the other drivers; back in Richard Petty's day, if the tires were hard and lacked the grip of today, you learned how to drive with that and not whine about it. If you learned how to drive with those tires better than the next guy, that's what you were supposed to do. It was what made you a better race driver.

To me, Marco drove with what the car gave him, and made a bold but pure racing move. If the tires didn't shed so much, Kanaan could have made the turn and been able to stay in the hunt.

Aside: Isn't nice to talk about the racing, and not the politics?

Tyres are too soft. If you want less marbles and lower cornering speeds without giving them less power, give them harder tyres. Also opens up more lines.

I think Marco made a mistake. But he's young and careless, so he's supposed to make these mistakes.

I agree that the tires should be harder.

I don't think Tony Stewart's complaints were about a lack of grip from the tires, but just a general history of poor quality tires over the last few years.

exactly my observation too regading the possible racing lines. Overtaking was not the easiest and blocking (or almost blocking) could be seen often.
I also say something needs to be done to give at least a second decent line through curves.
There could have been more action into the corners.