Chris Kneifel: take a pill

[Neil C]

There need not be all the controversy about whether the race at RA (or any other) should be delayed or red flagged for rain. CART should simply do what an old SCCA Race Steward did years ago (1970's).

This wise man had a perfect way of consistently, fairly and objectively determining when to call a race. He would place one standard size aspirin on a fencepost in the paddock area. When it rained long or hard enough to dissolve the aspirin completely, the race was called.

No driver, team or fan would complain because it was done the same way everytime. It sounds like some old farmer solution but it's sure less subjective and more scientific than whatever they are doing now. And less an invitation to second-guess the Steward.

The irony is this Steward was active in the same SCCA Region and at the same time Chris Kneifel was a club racer. He probably remembers this.

...and if you think one aspirin would dissolve too quickly, just use two!!!

Problem solved.

[Mantom]

...and if you think one aspirin would dissolve too quickly, just use two!!!

Problem solved.

The irony is that today the aspirin probably wouldn't dissolve at all due to the new anti-indigestion coatings they put on the pills. You'd need an acid like Hydrochloric acid (as found in the stomach) to get the process going.

[blueflagger]

Just don't use those quick-dissolving Alaverts. Generic aspirin isn't coated.

[Neil C]

You guys have a point, but I think acid rain solves Mantom's problem.

[Jordi]

Puh. Just make them race, it's a road course, cars went off anyway.

[Mantom]

You guys have a point, but I think acid rain solves Mantom's problem.

In that case, it would take a monsoon as the concentration of acid in rain is significantly less than in the human digestive system.

[avsfan733]

i drive for a living (deliver pizzas) and I don't get off when it rains...hell i don't get off when it snows

[Liz]

Or you could simply use the line the Umpires used to use when baseball was a sport and not a bidness: "They ain't balls and they ain't strikes UNTIL I SAY SO. And when I say so, THAT'S THE END OF IT." Make a decision, stand by it, and brook no second guessers.

[Radioshoes]

Originally posted by Liz
Or you could simply use the line the Umpires used to use when baseball was a sport and not a bidness: "They ain't balls and they ain't strikes UNTIL I SAY SO. And when I say so, THAT'S THE END OF IT." Make a decision, stand by it, and brook no second guessers.

Yep, I'm with you, Liz. And if you can't remember from one race to the next what you've done, then for goodness sake, write it down!

Sheesh, how hard is it to be consistant?

Cheers

[gaines]

I've got to tell you, I'm pretty upset with the way CART is managing itself these days. It's no wonder we can't find a buyer. Kneifel is horrible. I read a Robin Miller story today where he chastised CART for horrible calls two weeks in a row and I he was exactly right on all accounts. CART is here at Mid-Ohio this week and I can't go to the race for the first time in years and I was pretty down about it but after the spectacle the last few weeks and all the rain we've had in this part of Ohio this year(It's been like Seattle this year) I'm afraid of what I would have seen anyway.

I get so disgusted because I love CART. CART is a racing purists dream because it does something no other racing organization does and that is prove who the best team is in every circumstance imaginable. All four circuit types plus dry and rain conditions. Unfortunately it's been horrible racing the past few seasons. Last year nobody could pass and this year our management keeps screwing up the on-track product. Their inability to rule the drivers, Pook showing up on pit road asking for meetings, Flagmen starting races green on blatant jump starts, red flags in rain that was very raceable which destroyed the very race that Mario had to save, and Kneifel couldn't run a race anywhere but into the ground. At least when the a-holes like Penske and Ganassi were destroying CART's front office with politics they didn't screw up the product on the track.

I don't know what I'll do. I definitely am not into the IRL much, except places like Richmond where the spectacle of seeing cars on a track way too small for them is both humurous and exciting. I guess I'll just have to be like everybody else and follow NASCAR to the point where I where numbers and sponsors everywhere I go. I like NASCAR, don't get me wrong, but I really enjoy CART, or should say enjoyed CART before it turned to garbage. I'll keep watching as long as PT is still around just like I still choke down F1 to watch Schu and Montoya. However, the F1 racing has been better the past few months than the CART racing has. That's pretty sad. I'm at the point where if the fired Kneifel and Pook tomorrow I wouldn't be surprised. Pook started off well but it's looking bleak as of late. I hope CART stays afloat and works all this **** out and gets back to the sport that I love because right now, this sucks.

[Jay]

Who said that Cart can't find a buyer? Taking a major corporation private is a lot more complicated than buying a CD Player on EBay...especially when there are several different groups and parties involved all with their own interests. I know they're working a million miles an hour to make something happen...it has to happen ASAP though for teams to get sponsorship for next season. The next two weeks will be very telling.

As for the officiating, and Pook's actions in the pitlane... I can't say much. I have no idea why we can't race these cars in the rain. Cart has to work with Bridgestone to produce a tire that will allow these cars to drive in the rain. There's no reason that Road America could not have been run earlier, the rain was light and there was no standing water anywhere on the track (as reported by the drivers). The losers, as always, were the fans.

As for what to do, try to enjoy the racing right now and don't worry about the movers and shakers doing their thing in the background - because there's nothing we can do abotu it (unless you're on the Cart board or one of the interested parties). And we'll see what comes out in the end.

[evo]

I think CART should fire the officials. I bet they could hire guys with less experience that would do a better job. At least they could be consistent. And I bet they could pay them a lot less. That would solve a very small part of the money issue. Hey, I have racing experience. I'm looking for a job. Maybe I could replace Chris Kniefel as CART Chief Steward. I'm sure I'd do it for way less than he's making. And I would have had them running all 60 laps in the rain as scheduled last weekend.

Of course I hope it's not too late. Ever since the fiasco in Australia last year, the officiating has been terrible. I don't know what IRL officials are like, but surely they can't be this bad. Maybe the best option in the long run would be for CART to fold and the IRL to be what CART was circa 1980. I'm sure it would eventually become half ovals, half road courses. Just like the glory days of CART.

I hope it doesn't have to come to that, but if CART doesn't improve, that may be the only acceptible option. If CART becomes F1 Lights, I will be dissapointed. It could have been so much more. Geez, this is depressing. I long for 1993...

[Liz]

Me too, when Senna and Prost were still --- oops, wrong nostalgia ...

Chris Kneifel is weak and inconsistent and is apparently willing to let himself be swayed by badgering and whining. And now everyoen knows it, he is beseiged every time he dares to make a call. I remember watching that interminable race in Surfers and every time they showed his face, he looked absolutely agonized because he could not make a decision.

An official is of no earthly use if he can't make a decision. Even if it is later proven to be a blown call, it must be HIS decision and HE must stand by it come what may. And refuse to be intimidated by (or even permit) complaints from the peanut gallery. There should be a forum for filing formal complaints, but no other complaints should be heard at all.

===========

As for the future of CART, that is not in our hands. All we can do is support the racing, cheer for the drivers we like and boo the ones we don't like, enjoy the tracks, and wait with what patience we have.

So let's go racing.

[BobbyB]

Lets remember among all the criticism of the officials and the tires that many drivers said that it was a simple matter of not being able to SEE what was ahead.... as in, a right turn or a left turn. This has nothing to do with Kneifel or Bridgestone, but with roostertails thrown up by the wet tires which obscured the driver's view. Vasser stated that he couldn't see, and a couple of others indicated the same. Lets quit trying to force the issue- sometimes its best to just pull back a bit and avoid a Surfer's-type pileup due to poor visibility. I think the decisions made were the correct ones.

[Liz]

Well, they've been made and the race is in the books. So all we can do is try to set the rules for next time, I guess. If we hear industrial strength whining on Friday at Montreal, I definitely think something should be done.

[Neil C]

Did anyone see Rahal on "Windtunnel with Dave Despain" this week? He said a race organization cannot be run by its participants (owners and teams). He is right.

In city gov't, some cities have a "weak mayoral" system. The mayor is merely a councilman elected to be the chair of the council, with very little legislative or veto power. That's the position Kneifel is in now. He's beholding to the owners, and as such is a weak decision maker.

The owners must be willing to give up some of their individual and collective influence so a strong Steward can make definitive and objective decisions.

[Liz]

Absolutely! That is the point I was trying to make, only I put the responsibility on the Steward without thinking that perhaps he was not given any power to act.

He should demand the power to act without interference from the peanut gallery or offer to resign.