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Many fans and drivers were upset when IndyCar withheld from throwing the yellow flag when Marcus Armstrong spun late in the race. Josef Newgarden had not pitted yet, or was in the Danger Zone – as Townsend Bell likes to put it. Had the yellow come out the instant that Armstrong spun, Newgarden would’ve pitted and rejoined the field probably around fifteenth-place. Since the caution was withheld until everyone had hit pit lane – Newgarden was able to blend in in second-place.

Many are still smarting from the Push-to-Pass (P2P) scandal from St. Petersburg that involved Team Penske. Newgarden won the race, but was disqualified six weeks later and had the race win stripped away from him. Many fans, teams and drivers did not buy the excuse that it was an overlooked software issue and nothing was intentional. I’m not technical-minded enough to form an educated opinion, but I tend to take things at face value. All three Penske drivers was penalized to some extent, and two crew members – including Team Penske President Tim Cindric – were penalized for the Month of May.

Although Newgarden won a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 in May, he is still languishing in ninth in the point standings at the halfway point in the season. The disqualification has all but ruined his chances of winning a third championship.

Probably the harshest punishment for Newgarden has come in the court of public opinion. Since the scandal, anytime Newgarden is the beneficiary of anything – it is perceived as IndyCar (owned by Roger Penske) is trying to engineer a miraculous comeback for Newgarden. Keep in mind, it was IndyCar who found the P2P discrepancy to begin with. They could’ve easily gone to Penske and said this is what we found, but we will sweep it under the rug. Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Instead, they went public and stripped one of the marque drivers of a race win and all of the points and money that goes with it; causing a huge embarrassment in the process.

I’m not much on conspiracy theories. I don’t think Race Control was trying to set an example then, nor do I think they were trying to create a break for Newgarden on Sunday. But because of the P2P scandal, any time Newgarden gets any type of break – fans and other drivers are going to scream favoritism.

In the case of the yellow-flag, I don’t like the policy of delaying the yellow until everyone has pitted – but at least IndyCar is consistent. If the car (or cars) involved in the incident that initially brought out the yellow are out of harm’s way, they will delay bringing out the caution until everyone that wants to pit, can pit. That’s what happened Sunday, and ikt happens a lot.

Apparently, this is what the teams or drivers wanted a few years ago, when it was decided in the winter meetings that Race Control would follow this policy. Several years ago there were a few drivers that had completely dominated a race, only to have their race ruined by trying to stretch their fuel mileage and having an untimely yellow come out. I remember probably around 2014 or 20105 when Helio Castroneves absolutely dominated a race at Belle Isle. He had led practically every lap by a wide margin, when someone crashed before Helio had made his final stop. He finished fifteenth. This and other examples led to an outcry about how unfair it was that a random incident can ruin an otherwise perfect race for a driver. That’s when IndyCar devised the current policy.

I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. It leaves too much of a gray area, when in harm’s way is left to interpretation. I believe it was Long Beach this season (although I could be mistaken) that a car with the drive still in it was left in what I thought was a precarious position. I thought the car was a sitting duck on the side of the track, as cars were racing by under a local yellow. Had a driver misjudged their position, there could have been a disaster with tragic consequences. Fortunately nothing happened that day, but that’s not to say something couldn’t happen.

Personally, I think that if a full-course caution is to take place, the yellow flag should come out immediately. It is a team and driver’s choice to try and stretch their fuel mileage. It’s a risk they take. If there is no yellow, they are rewarded with a potentially bigger lead. If a caution does come out, they are penalized with poor track position. It happens.

Random events affect races all of the time. They are the X-factor. Blown engines happen from time to time, ending a driver’s day – sometimes while leading. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. After a crash, a shard of carbon-fiber might be overlooked in the clean-up and cause a tire to flatten. Race Control has no remedy to save that driver’s day, why should they be expected to protect the lead of a driver that chose to stay out too long?

While I don’t care for the current policy that allowed Newgarden to pit and come out in second-place on Sunday, Race Control was just being consistent, which is what we always want – consistency. They were not trying to give an advantage to Newgarden. They were just following the rule the drivers said they wanted a few years ago.

The drivers need to pick their poison. If the drivers want the rule changed back to the way it used to be, they need to bring it up and vote on it at the winter meetings before next season. But is someone has their race ruined by staying out too long, they have no one but themselves to blame for hanging out in the Danger Zone a little too long.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on June 28, 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.