Q: Given Greg Moore’s fatal accident, shouldn’t IndyCar have listened to Jack Harvey and his team that he was in no way fit to drive in Iowa’s opening race? Harvey even went as far to say as much after turning a few laps in the race just to get Leaders Circle points.
His hand was forced by the series because IndyCar would not let reserve driver Conor Daly take his place. When a driver has a neck injury and can’t hold his head up, there’s a problem. Jack even said himself that he shouldn’t have been made to start Race 1.
IndyCar should have bent the rules about Conor having to have turn laps in practice in order to drive. I’m sure that the paddock would have been OK if he took a penalty of starting last.
According to Paul Page’s commentary at Fontana, CART’s medical team injected pain killers down to the bone before allowing Moore to race. While the speed differential is different, Harvey could have had a wreck or endangered other competitors.
Harvey said that he knew he was incapable of driving the car during a TV interview after turning a few laps in the race. When he had pain and difficulty turning his neck, IndyCar should have listened to him. Whatever happened to the “when in doubt, sit them out” rule?
IndyCar should have told Harvey that there was no way he would be able to participate prior to practice and had Daly step in. I don’t understand why they wouldn’t let Daly drive because he didn’t turn laps in practice. He’s no slouch on ovals or any track and doesn’t need a refresher. I’m sure he could adapt to hybrid technology, if that’s a reason.
David Colquitt
MP: I hear you on the reference to Greg Moore, but it’s not relevant to IndyCar in 2024 since nobody running the series today and nobody in IndyCar Medical was involved in running CART in 1999.
I spoke to Jack moments before Conor emerged from the Coyne transporter to get fitted to the car Saturday evening and was told he was going in. I believe the team then learned IndyCar Rule 4.3.3.1, which says a replacement driver cannot take part in the race without turning laps in the car, ended that plan, and put the onus on Harvey or the team to pull the plug.
When I spoke to Jack, who’d just come from IndyCar Medical and had Dr. Vaizer with him, he was unable to turn his head and speak to anybody who was outside of his immediate view. I was standing to his left, and when he went to speak to me, he had to rotate his entire body — square his shoulders to mine — because of his lack of mobility. It was alarming to see how much pain he was in a few hours after making those three qualifying runs, and how rigid he was from the waist up due to the back and neck problems he had.
It was bad enough for me to call a friend at the series and ask them to visit Jack and make sure what they saw in person matched the all-clear he was given by the medical team. Jack drove, which tells me the series was satisfied with the decision. I’m obviously not a doctor, and my opinion holds no weight, nor should it, but having spent many years of my life as a crew member and having worked with many injured drivers, my eyes told me this was a guy who needed to watch from the sidelines.
But again, that doesn’t mean my opinion was correct.
Jack drove and his fastest lap matched the laps eventual winner Scott McLaughlin was turning when he pulled in and retired. For the limited period he raced, Jack was able to perform, and perform well, so IndyCar Medical’s assessment was clearly accurate.
As for Daly, it doesn’t matter if he’s a veteran and great at Iowa. He hadn’t driven an IndyCar since May, had never driven on the newly-paved oval, and had no experience with the energy recovery system. This wasn’t about him or the team. That rule is in place for the rest of the drivers as much as the replacement driver. If I was in a car, I wouldn’t want someone with zero laps in a car at the first-ever hybrid oval IndyCar race in the field.
Q: How did Will Power only lose one position on his first pit stop under yellow?
Jeff, near Traverse City
MP: Short track, short pit lane, fast stop, while the field was going slow behind the pace car.
Q: Yeah, it’s clear the Iowa repave wrecked the racing for IndyCar. Not the point of my email.
How about another standing ovation for the aeroscreen? That design with the titanium hoop on top saved Kirkwood from a head and/or neck injury, possibly worse. Malukas giving the thumbs-up is also a great sign. The only better outcome would have been David walking to the care center. Again, the AMR safety team shows why they are the best in the business.
John
MP: And yet people continue to complain that it’s ugly, or should just be the halo without the PPG laminate, which has kept fast flying objects out of the cockpit since 2020.
Q: I wonder how many mechanics questioned their career choices after being put through the meat grinder in Iowa?
John, Seville, OH
MP: Moreso by the end of this week at the conclusion of three weeks in a row. Thankfully, some teams are planning on giving their crew a full week off afterwards.
Q: Despite being responsible for 80% of all on-track passing, Santino Ferrucci still finished outside the top 10. Was it strategy, pit wall or just race pace that kept him out?
Shawn, MD
MP: He dropped four spots on a pit stop, fell to 14th, but improved to 11th after the last-lap crash took out three drivers he was chasing.