2013 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma

[bjohnsonsmith]

Someone needed to start this thread, so here we go.

Franchitti fastest in final practice.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109458

[D.R.T.]

Gannassi 1 - 2.

http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/...%20Results.pdf

[gert]

Dixon just got royally screwed by Race Control.
What a ridiculous decision!

Can someone please sack Mr. Barfield?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by gert

Dixon just got royally screwed by Race Control.
What a ridiculous decision!

Can someone please sack Mr. Barfield?

Sorry about editing your post, my mistake.

Is the race still on?

[fieldodreams79]

It's done. Dixon got hosed.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

It's done. Dixon got hosed.

Bummer, I came home late and couldn't get a feed.

Who won? What happened with Dixon?

[Canada ALMS fan]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

It's done. Dixon got hosed.

Absolutely, what a joke! And I am no fan of Ganassi. Even worse it gives twinkle toes the title. It is a shame to see officials ruining the title. Where was Dixon supposed to go? Lanky, your assessment is spot on IMO.

PS. Viso needs to get parked.

[NaBUru38]

Great win by Power, I'm glad that he's back to the top.

Dixon hit a mechanic who was inside his box. It doesn't matter which way he was walking (it was towards the wall BTW), Dixon should have steered much more to the right. I totally agree with the penalty.

[Teretonga]

Sounds as though the officials are doing some of their own series engineering....

I haven't seen what happened in detail but if its another decision that really means the outcome of the series is affected by decisions that are not the result of competitive on track race incidents they can all save themselves some trouble and put the series in a box at the end of the year and heave it into storage.

F1 is bad enough for political correctness. If Indy car is going to be adjudicated like this its not surprising it has low ratings.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

The Overrated IRL Loyal veteren wins the 500 and Fakeio is gifted the championship. Indianapolis is smiling right now.

[JagtechOhio]

Stop it at 3:44
Look at the distance between the cars...plenty.
Then watch how close the crewman is to Power's car...not far.
Then watch the back end step out as Dixie nails it...more that a little.
You can see the burnout trail after the fact.
If you take off like that in tight quarters and hit something, it's your fault.

If you hit anything in the pits, it has to be a "death penalty" or drivers will hit stuff so long as they don't ruin their race. It's not cool to run over an air hose, even a little. Somebody will do it more than a little, and you have nitro bottles flying.

If Power wasn't even in his box, and the tires were laid out for his pit stop with no crew over the wall, Dixon was far enough over to have probably hit the tire where it sat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDdn6...eature=mh_lolz

[racerxf12004]

I thought it was an exciting race. Close racing & passing. Side by side battles.They made a bad call on the dixon/penske crew member thing, but the race itself was great..........made up for that f1 snorefest at Spa............

[Peat]

Image i made for another forum:


While i agree that it shows that Dixon was technically at fault, would it really be that difficult for ICS to put some tape/paint down so they are visible to everyone?

Yesterdays race has left a bitter taste for alot of people.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Peat

Image i made for another forum:


While i agree that it shows that Dixon was technically at fault, would it really be that difficult for ICS to put some tape/paint down so they are visible to everyone?

That's what I was thinking, otherwise it's all sort of hit and miss, in Dixon's case hit.

[mythoughtsareracing]

Originally Posted by Peat

While i agree that it shows that Dixon was technically at fault, would it really be that difficult for ICS to put some tape/paint down so they are visible to everyone?

Yesterdays race has left a bitter taste for alot of people.

I agree that there should be some markings. Hell, they can stripe the boxes with temporary vinyls or something.


I'm reasonably sure the reason the NASCAR pit stalls are permanently painted on is that it's one of Bruton Smith's houses.

[D.R.T.]

I found Barfields explanation and justification of the penalty quite reasonable and fair.

Clearly marking out the pit boxes for future events is probably something that will come out of the weekend however it doesn't clear Dixon in this instance.

Unfortunate but not the calamity some are making out.

[fieldodreams79]

It is not plainly obvious, but in the screenshot above, you can almost see lines from Dixon's previous box exits very close to his current path further into the pitlane, which indicates that he was exiting as he normally would. As stated, it is difficult to tell the actual pit box lines, but if they are in fact where the banners end, Power appears to be pitted further back in the box, and the tire carrier made himself as large as possible while returning to the pitwall. Also, compare the burnout marks in the rear of Dixon's pits to the ones in Powers; the ones in Dixon's are much further into the pitting area than Dixon's.

While Dixon is not completely absolved from this, I feel he is not totally to blame and see it as an incident where both parties can take equal responsibility, but only one team was punished; it should have been settled on track. However, if Power's team is only guilty of "gamesmenship", the more power to them for giving themselves every advantage possible to win. Just glad the crew members will only be a little black and blue as a result.

[Peat]

Due to the element of doubt in this case, i think it would have been more appropriate to fine Ganassi and then clarify the rules (and take steps like painting lines etc) for future events.

As it is, they have effectively shot the championship fight in the head for a reason that needs to be explained in detail to the fans. It's only us nerds who have analysed it in detail and have accepted the judgement, for the person who switched off the telecast on Sunday and doesn't look at forums, they are still probably crying 'BS'.

For a 'fan friendly' series like ICS, this really shouldn't be the case.

[rantanamo]

LOL@ the excuses for Dixon and Ganassi. If you are really looking at them, and even Townsend Bell mentioned it, Will Power's marks are in the middle of his box, while Dixon's were set further forward to create an easier entry/exit for Dario Franchitti. Dixon was attempting to cut off Power from the inside lane when exiting, so he took a shallow exit. SINCE WHEN were cars exiting the pits so close to the car in front, which the picture of Dixon clearly shows. Dixon's path would have easily hit the rear tire changer. OK if nothing is in that box, but Power was still there. Dixon got caught trying to gain his own advantage and it didn't work. He clearly drove into an occupied pit box that had active service going on. There is simply no excuse for that and its dangerous. As shown on another site, the rear tire changer for Power did the same thing he always does. Tire in the same position. Same walk away at a diagonal to clear the rear wing.

[gomick]

You reckon IndyCar could paint over the NASCAR pit lane boxes - I mean come on, NASCAR can re-paint anytime in the next 10 months... OH&S IndyCar, buy some paint & paint your own boxes!!!

[Paradise City]

Dixon should've been penalised and it was good that he was for the infraction that he committed.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Barfield stands by decision.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109514

[HJJ]

Lots of P.O.'d people.

http://blogs.indystar.com/racingexpe...k-still-abuzz/

[KSR88]

So in review:
It was the Penske team' fault for their pit practices.
The RR tire guy blatently walked into the car.
He could have spun around and Dixson could have been hurt.
It was Beau's fault..he is inconsistent...we need a divorce from him.
Oh-don't forget Will Power pushed Dario off into the grass
Pressure can bring out the best and worst....sadly this kinda reminds me of defendant testimony in a DUI accident trial.
Scott's wheels were straight-no avoiding action on his part. So how does he expect avoiding action from the other guy--all in a blink of an eye.
Pretty sad behavior has blown an accident into conspiracy and the trashing of the series and stewards. Probably why NASCAR fines guys for mouthing off against NASCAR...not in everyones long term best interest. Do it behind closed doors.
A petty example of I AM RIGHT egos.

[gert]

I think the series all has to blame it on itself.

They could have painted lines to mark the pit boxes - or colour taped it, but chose not to.
In a controversial incident they decide to punish 1 party instead of investigating after the race. They still could have punished or fined if needed after the race.

What if after the race they would have figured out that Scott Dixon was blameless?
Wasn't he innocently punished in the past already?
(edit: yes he was, Milwaukee 2012)


Oh boy, the series really want/need a Penske championship. And it shows - just my opinion.