I'm confused...

[marcostraz]

I heard a lot of words against pack racing, that many people have indicated as being responsible of Wheldon's death...I have to confess I'm a fan of pack racing...how I said few days before, I'm very confused, because until last Saturday I read a lot of comments about "IndyCar has to be more funny", "we want more exciting race", "IndyCar has too much parades", "we want more fight", "we want more side-by-side", "NASCAR looks better because it has a lot of fights", etc.etc...now I heard that the problem is pack racing, cars too close, too many fights, too many side-by-side...sincerely I'm confued...where are this people before Sunday? Until sunday IndyCar was a parade, and now IndyCar has too much fight? I remember the first oval races of 2009...general comments from fans (and drivers too) were "boring", "no fights", "parade", and IndyCar was forced to make some adjustment to see back cars closer, fights and pack racing...now I'm confused and ask: where is the mistake?

[Xpunk75]

Are you serious?

[Paradise City]

I think pack racing is just people's short hand for IRL pack racing with Dallara aircraft.

People's preference is for CART-type pack racing in which the cars keep a certain distance and the cars regularly stay on the surface in the event of a crash.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

As I have said, take off all the extra downforce and make it a real man's/woman's race, and if you think Indycars lifting and braking is boring, you obviously did not watch Milwaukee, which I thought was one of the best races of the year.

Id also rather see *boring* (AKA no 20 car pack racing rubbish) races than drivers being killed.

[fieldodreams79]

Honestly, I found the pack racing boring...

[Paradise City]

I think pack racing can be outstanding.

[fourWheelDrift]

Personally I hate to see groups of cars running flat out in close company lap after lap, for me this has nothing to do with racing and (as all my US racing is consumed through the TV) if races develop in this fashion I just turn them off.

For oval racing to be interesting it is vital that the drivers have to lift and/or brake at some point during the lap, this brings back driver skill (rather than just cohones) and also means that the cars can't run only feet apart or side by side lap after lap because of aerodynamic effects and the fact that two cars going through the turn side by side have to compromise their lines and run slower. As we have seen not only is this type of racing more entertaining it's also safer than running in a pack.

[Down F0rce]

Looking at Formula One, endurance sportscars and other styles of racing. The racing is captivating to watch because each race tells a story. The start, the accidents, the pit stops, the weather, the safety cars... each race has it's own storyline that unfolds as the laps tick away.

The Indianapolis 500 has this, that's one reason why it's usually the best race of the year. However, the "pack racing" seen on some of the ovals does not have any of this. The drivers are just hanging on until the last ten laps or so, then make a run for the front. A russian roulette to see who wins the race, with usually a very dramatic and close photo finish. And that's the problem with pack racing - too much emphasis on the end of the race, rather than letting the entire race tell it's story.

Obviously there is the danger aspect of it as well, especially with open wheelers in such close quarters.

[marcostraz]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Looking at Formula One, endurance sportscars and other styles of racing. The racing is captivating to watch because each race tells a story. The start, the accidents, the pit stops, the weather, the safety cars... each race has it's own storyline that unfolds as the laps tick away.

IndyCar race have these too...but sometimes it seems like it was not enough...

[marcostraz]

I was on stands at Chicagoland in 2009...I admit that the race was wonderful for me...it was not a "200 laps pack race"...we saw some side-by-side, some three-wide, some cars pull away, some fights between groups of 3/4/5/6 cars...and in the end, 15/20 final wild laps with 12/15 cars so close...but not a "200 laps pack race" with 25/50 cars togheter...what I want to say is: are we sure that are the 1.5 mile ovals, every 1.5 mile oval, the problem or was not just a problem of Las Vegas Speedway?

[Paradise City]

I think pack racing has some of the most thrilling sport that one can witness. There is an element of Tour de France to it in terms of some drivers making the decision to sandbag and conserve their energies for a lightning finish. This can happen particularly in a series with elderly cars with spec rules that every team is familiar with and the performance of each is uniform but if an important part of your measurement of motorsport is bravery, precision, discipline and close finishes then it merits a high rank in these terms.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I always liked a mixture, hence the racing in CART, where the cars weren't going around in one big pack but there would be small packs of cars sometimes 3 wide duking it out, looking for that break to get out of the pack and go and join the next fight.

[mac]

As Will Power said to Robin Miller, "it's just one big dyno test".

That's not racing.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by marcostraz

I heard a lot of words against pack racing, that many people have indicated as being responsible of Wheldon's death...I have to confess I'm a fan of pack racing...how I said few days before, I'm very confused, because until last Saturday I read a lot of comments about "IndyCar has to be more funny", "we want more exciting race", "IndyCar has too much parades", "we want more fight", "we want more side-by-side", "NASCAR looks better because it has a lot of fights", etc.etc...now I heard that the problem is pack racing, cars too close, too many fights, too many side-by-side...sincerely I'm confued...where are this people before Sunday? Until sunday IndyCar was a parade, and now IndyCar has too much fight? I remember the first oval races of 2009...general comments from fans (and drivers too) were "boring", "no fights", "parade", and IndyCar was forced to make some adjustment to see back cars closer, fights and pack racing...now I'm confused and ask: where is the mistake?

I was thinking the same:

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Remember when the 2009's early oval races were extremely boring? Cars were al spread out in a long single file. Then they changed the bodykits and everybody went "cool, now we have racing!"

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Looking at Formula One, endurance sportscars and other styles of racing. The racing is captivating to watch because each race tells a story. The start, the accidents, the pit stops, the weather, the safety cars... each race has it's own storyline that unfolds as the laps tick away.

The Indianapolis 500 has this, that's one reason why it's usually the best race of the year. However, the "pack racing" seen on some of the ovals does not have any of this. The drivers are just hanging on until the last ten laps or so, then make a run for the front. A russian roulette to see who wins the race, with usually a very dramatic and close photo finish. And that's the problem with pack racing - too much emphasis on the end of the race, rather than letting the entire race tell it's story.

Obviously there is the danger aspect of it as well, especially with open wheelers in such close quarters.

Signature length limits need to be removed so everyone can use this in their sig.

Chris

[NaBUru38]

Sylvester Stallone recently said: "Life is a fight, and life is a race". He says that's why he filmed Rocky and Driven. That phrase increased my respect on him.

[icemachine]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Sylvester Stallone recently said: "Life is a fight, and life is a race". He says that's why he filmed Rocky and the movie that shall not be named. That phrase increased my respect on him.

FTFY

[NaBUru38]

:P