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Over this past weekend, I saw a post in one of the many IndyCar Facebook groups I belong to. It asked “What change you would like to see in IndyCar in 2024?” Of course, most people didn’t read the question completely, and overlooked the in 2024 part. They chimed in with the usual answers to this type of question like “Go back to Michigan” or “Go back to Cleveland”. Others brought up the obligatory “Get rid of engine leases and run what you brung”.

Even if those were feasible suggestions, I’m not sure there is enough time to get any of them done by the season-opener at St. Petersburg on March 10.

Following the directions of things that can be changed before the season starts, I came up with two things that I believe should be changed and can be changed in the next few weeks. One pertains to the Indianapolis 500 specifically, while the other could be implemented for the entire series. Since I tend to run short of topics at this time of year, I will give one suggestion today and the other on Friday.

When I saw the question the first thing that came to mind was the “snaking” or “dragon move” that has been going on at the Indianapolis 500 since 2019. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is the late-race practice of the lead car weaving back and forth to break the draft of the car trailing behind in second place.

The practice of breaking the draft on the last lap or so is nothing new. Al Unser, Jr. did it to Scott Goodyear in 1992. Marco Andretti did it, to some extent (and without much success), to Sam Hornish just before the bricks in 2006. The thing is, each of these drivers made one move – and that was it.

In the closing laps of the 2019 Indianapolis 500, Simon Pagenaud was trying to fend off a closing Alexander Rossi. Rossi was trying to win his second 500 in four years, but Pagenaud was having none of it. Pagenaud proceeded to weave back and forth down both straightaways. Rossi followed his every move. Consequently, the car behind Rossi (I think Takuma Sato) mimicked every move that Rossi made. It turns out that every car was directly following the car in front of them. From the ends of each straightaway, the train of cars resembled a snake’s weaving path. Rossi was never able to overtake Pagenaud and settled for second.

The following year Sato won his second Indianapolis 500 in four years, and did not really utilize the snake technique to win. The same can be said for Helio Castroneves and Alex Palou in 2021. They may have zig-zagged a little bit to break the draft, but they both swapped the lead in the late stages, so I’m thinking they didn’t use it that much.

Marcus Ericsson and Josef Newgarden used it extensively in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Ericsson used the dragon move effectively to hold off a charging Pato O’Ward in 2022. Last May, Ericsson got a dose of his own medicine – and then some, as Newgarden was the most egregious example of the snake that we have seen to date. I would have called these drivers offenders, but the dragon or snake move is totally within the rules.

I maintain that it should be outlawed before we get to May.

In the IndyCar Rulebook, Rule 9.3.2 states that a driver must not alter his/her racing line to pursuing drivers. One might say that the dragon does not impeded or block another car – it only blocks the draft. Let the rule-makers and attorneys sort out the language, but I think that what the drivers are doing is unsafe. Unfortunately since 2019, it is now becoming accepted.

One might also say that what they are doing is so egregious, that they are actually leaving the racing surface. There is a diagonal line that stretches to the north end of the track from the pit wall at the entrance to the pits. That line is called the “pit commit line”. During the race, when a driver gets to the left of that line, they are signaling to other drivers that they have committed to enter the pits.

As you can see from the photo below from the last lap of the 2023 race, Josef Newgarden (front car) and Marcus Ericsson have both gone to the left or below the pit commit line, indicating their intention to pit. Now everyone knows they are not pitting on the last lap, but does that make it OK to totally ignore protocol? (photo: screenshot from NBC telecast)

Fortunately, both Newgarden and Ericsson came away without incident…this time. They were the only two battling it out at that point. But we’ve seen the dragon used before where several cars were snaking around, one behind the other. Newgarden and Ericsson got very close to the pit wall attenuator, just after this shot. Who’s to say that a third car might be so intent on the chase, that they lose their bearings for a split-second. Ericsson may miss it, but a third car could plow into the pit wall, much like Kevin Cogan did in1989. Cogan was very lucky to walk away from that crash. Cogan first hit the inside wall, which scrubbed off a lot of speed. Next time, a driver may not be so lucky and hit the attenuator head-on.

Not only do I consider the dragon move to be very unsafe – it just doesn’t look good. Rick Mears almost caught Gordon Johncock at the line in 1982, as the two cars were in a drag race to the yard of bricks. It was one of the most famous finishes in the history of the race, and made for some fantastic photos. How iconic would it have looked if the two were going down the track weaving from side to side?

I know some people think it is no big deal, and is a driver doing whatever it takes to win. But I think it is borderline illegal, extremely unsafe and just has a cheap feel and look about it.It gets my vote for the top change that needs to happen in 2024. What are your thoughts on the snake/dragon? Should it stay? Should it be outlawed? If outlawed, how do you think it should be policed and enforced? On Friday, Ill discuss what the second thing that needs to change, that came to my mind was.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on January 24, 2024 at 4:04 am and is filed under IndyCar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.