FONTANA, California – The spectacular yet frightening style of pack racing returned to the Verizon IndyCar Series in Saturday’s MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway. It featured four-wide and, at times, five-wide racing around the 2.0-mile high-banked oval at speeds reaching 230 mph.
Honda driver Graham Rahal broke a seven-year losing streak by driving to victory in the closest example of pack racing since Dan Wheldon was killed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16, 2011, casting a grim reminder of what can happen in a high-speed IndyCar race on a high-banked oval.
It was a spectacular display of driver skill and bravery, in which the final 10 laps of the race featured two high-speed crashes, including the final crash on the white flag lap where Ryan Briscoe’s Honda went airborne after it was hit by Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Honda coming out of the fourth turn. Briscoe’s car dug into the tri-oval grass, triggering a series of flips.
“It was a really exciting race, to say the least," Briscoe said after he was checked and released by the INDYCAR Medical Staff. "I had a really good car and was able to make the low line work. We passed a lot of guys down there so it was fun to be up front. Coming through the field a couple of times, it was awesome. I was really enjoying myself and I was able to be aggressive.
"With a lap to go, in our position, I had some momentum coming down the front stretch. I was going to take that low line into one and two, and felt like we were going to come home with a top three, for sure. Unfortunately, Hunter-Reay got turned around, I had nowhere to go and she went flying. Thankfully, I'm alright and no big deal. Now we look forward to the next one."
Amazingly, neither driver was injured but there were plenty of strong concerns voiced by Verizon IndyCar Series drivers and team leaders over the return of this spectacular yet dangerous form of racing.
It should also be noted the complaining parties were all from Chevrolet teams as a Honda driver – Graham Rahal – won for the first time in seven seasons. It was also the first time this year that Honda defeated Chevrolet in a straight-up race that was not impacted by rain, a shortened distance because of rain or a fuel mileage strategy that allowed a Honda to make it the distance while the main contenders had to pit for fuel.
The most vocal anti-pack racing crowd was led by Team Penske president Tim Cindric, defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power and this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
“It’s really disappointing because we sat down after Las Vegas (in 2011) with INDYCAR and discussed the fact we could never have a pack race like we had there in terms of the racing that used to go on,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric, referring to that fateful race in which Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-car pileup. “Why we are having a pack race here today I have no idea.
“It was very obvious to us in the first practice here that is the way it was going to be. We voiced our concerns. I’m sure it’s fun to watch but running open wheel cars like this is very difficult.”
Power and Takuma Sato crashed in Turn 4 with 10 laps to go and Power tossed his steering wheel out of the cockpit in disgust. Power angrily pushed one of the INDYCAR Medical Staff after getting out of the car.
“I was hurting because I crashed hard and he grabbed me and I said, ‘What are you doing, man? I just hit the wall at bloody 200 miles an hour,’” Power explained of his pushback.
Sato’s car bounced off of Dixon’s before it took a hard hit into the wall and the race was Red Flagged on Lap 245.
Sato’s team owner, the legendary A.J. Foyt, had a differing viewpoint of the style of racing than Team Penske’s Cindric.
“We had a great car today and he did a great job driving it just wasn’t our day,” Foyt said. “I enjoyed this type of racing back when I was doing it. I think it’s a great race. At least you can race. It just wasn’t our day. When they are three- or four-abreast like that it moves you around and he hit Dixon and then hit Will Power but that’s just racing.”
Cindric countered that the aerodynamic package that was used at Auto Club Speedway did not allow for any driver to breakaway from another.
“We can have real good racing without racing this way and I’m all for real good racing but you have to clear cars around you,” Cindric said. “You see that at Indianapolis. You see good racing where they can get by guys and the package has to be that way. It’s INDYCAR’s job to decide what kind of show they want. It’s up to them what style of racing it should be.
“That was nobody’s fault, there. It was just unfortunate. Sato tried to move and didn’t know anybody was there. It’s nobody’s fault – that accident.”
Power believes the downforce levels that INDYCAR officials allow at ovals is far too much.
“Someone has to take responsibility for how this day has panned out,” Power said. “For as exciting as it is it’s insane because you can’t get away and you have to take massive risks to get track position. It’s crazy racing – crazy, crazy. We just don’t need another incident like we did at Vegas and running like this it will happen.
“We don’t need an incident like Vegas.”
Power came to the United States from Australia and drove in the Champ Car World Series for team owner Derrick Walker, who is now the INDYCAR President of Competition. When asked if he would talk to his old boss about his concerns, Power said he would go over Walker’s head.
“I’m going to talk to Mark Miles (Hulman & Company CEO, the overall head of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) because I don’t waste my time with those guys any more,” Power said. “They never listen because they don’t want to know. The first stint I knew we weren’t going to spread out. You are side-by-side, three-wide, lap after lap after lap. It’s just bad news.
“It’s going to take someone to die before they will listen. Look what happened to poor old Dan (Wheldon) last time. They don’t react until someone is injured or in the catch-fence. They are so inconsistent - constantly inconsistent. Something has to change.”
While the emotion came to the surface with Power, three-time IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon was more diplomatic in his view of the race.
“There were some crazy moves out there,” Dixon said. “It’s hard because we can’t test in this situations. We have new aero packages and today they definitely missed it. At Texas everyone had the option to put more downforce on and we were one of the few that did.”
Dixon went on to win the June 6 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway by over seven seconds.
“Texas helped this race become what it was because everybody knew putting on more downforce was going to help the situation and obviously the created a pack race,” Dixon said. “We shouldn’t be going six- or seven-wide. What happened at Vegas will never be forgotten but right now with this aero package it’s hard to drive because we don’t do the testing that we should do.”
Montoya was the first driver to voice his displeasure with the package during Friday’s practice and qualification session at Auto Club Speedway. He finished fourth in the race and said it was absolutely crazy.
“It’s insane,” Montoya said. “It’s crazy on a place as slippery as this after a tire run you could still be wide open like we were. Last year you could only run at the bottom groove for three laps and today I could do it all day long. They have to learn that we don’t need any more downforce than we had last year especially when we go to the short ovals the next two races. We told them this isn’t safe but all the drivers say INDYCAR doesn’t do anything but then none of the drivers will talk to them.”
The Chevrolet drivers and teams had strong criticism of the race. The Honda drivers and teams enjoyed running at the front for a change.
“It was crazy, yeah, but fun comes with that as well,” said third-place finisher Marco Andretti, a Honda driver. “I had 10 really close calls to be completely honest. It comes with the territory for pack racing. It’s good that Honda won a race and it’s hard to lead still, but we have the handling better on our package.
“It's fun. It's definitely crazy, but it's risk and reward. In my opinion I think a good car should win the race, not one that's just taking the biggest chance, and I'm not taking anything away from Graham Rahal, he drove a heck of a race. But I'm sort of in the middle on it.”
From a positive standpoint, however, there was an IndyCar record 80 lead changes between 14 drivers breaking the previous record of 73 set in the Nov. 21, 2001 CART race at this track. Power led 62 laps the most of any driver in the race and teammate Helio Castroneves was next with 43. Andretti’s Honda was in front 31 times – the same as another Honda driven by Sato.
Chevrolet driver Tony Kanaan finished second and was one of Wheldon’s best friends. Kanaan also realizes the risk that come with being an IndyCar driver and accepts that risk.
“I'm not going to say I had fun - it was a nerve‑racking race,” Kanaan said. “But to me every day on the racetrack is fun. So yeah, I guess I did have fun. Did I like it a lot? No. But there are many things that I don't like that they go without saying.
“Again, I think it was a heck of a show for the fans.”
And that may be the only area of complete agreement on Saturday’s MAVTV 500. Of the small collection of fans that sat out in 89-degree temperatures on a Saturday afternoon in California’s Inland Empire, or those who watched the telecast on NBCSN, it was a thrilling spectacle – a race they won’t soon forget even if many of the drivers involved would like to wipe it from their memories.
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Be sure to catch Bruce Martin's Honda IndyCar Report on RACEDAY on FOX Sports Radio every Sunday from 6-8 a.m. ET.
