Q: Another compelling and exciting Indianapolis 500. However, yet again the ending for me is slightly soured by a ridiculous and dangerous amount of weaving by the lead driver at the end of the race. I am very surprised that IndyCar hasn’t made any noticeable effort to enforce higher standards of driving. I get that these are all professional drivers each trying everything to get the biggest win of their careers, but is there nothing IndyCar can do to limit the number of lane changes a lead driver can make while defending?
At the very least, I can think of one rule that needs to be added for next year’s race. This rule applies only during green flag racing and applies as soon as the green flag is waved. Any driver that crosses the inside white line with all four wheels in between the exit of Turn 4 and the pit entrance and then does not enter the pit lane should be instantly penalized by deducting one lap. Surely that rule is enforceable?
Jules, Edinburgh, Scotland
MP: It’s absolutely possible. IndyCar has the freedom to create a rule and enforce it, if that’s what they want to do. The question here is on the “want” side of the equation.
Q: Have we reached the nadir of using red flags to manufacture green-flag finishes?
Jordan, Warwickshire, UK
MP: You win this edition of the mailbag for the use of “nadir.”
Q: My vote is this race should have ended under yellow. As an IndyCar fan forever, this was a typical NASCAR manufactured finish. Every past winner of the race should now be replayed using artificial intelligence to determine who got screwed and who gets rewarded. If race control is still Arie and Max, I do not approve. Time to change direction.
Dave, NW Indiana
MP: I do wonder what would have transpired if the first red was left as a yellow and the field circulated while a full cleanup was done. I’m guessing we’d have had a few laps left to run under green, and if so, this week’s mailbag would be a lot shorter.
Q: Can you please tell me the last Indy 500 that finished under caution and why? I have been to over 40 500s and can’t recall the madness that happened this year. Are the IndyCar officials turning into that stock car series in creating what they feel is “excitement?” Is stage racing next?
After the Rosenqvist/Kirkwood accident, it should have been yellow until the accident was cleaned up and track cleared for racing. If that goes to lap 200, then whoever is leading is the winner. It could have been Ryan Hunter-Reay or any of the other drivers gambling on fuel strategy, but that may not be good enough for all the big-name, big-money front-runners.
I follow IndyCar and support it at the 500 and other tracks, but I am not a fan of what transpired this afternoon. Who are the officials making these decisions?
Old school Indy 500 fan
MP: Your race director is Kyle Novak. IndyCar president Jay Frye is a common presence in race control. The two driver stewards are Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis.
Q: The application of the red flags at and after about 25 laps to go by IndyCar is a new phenomenon race control and management should not engage. IndyCar does not need to ensure that the race ends under green flag in order for spectators to have a good time. Formula 1 has fallen into this trap (2021 Abu Dhabi), NASCAR since the green-white-checkered and overtime rules. At least NASCAR has a rule for this. IndyCar does not, as far as I know.
If the track is not blocked by debris and the recovery crew is not endangered under full-course yellow, the cars should roll and the laps should count down. This has been the custom for decades and decades.
The last two laps should have finished under yellow flag with Ericsson being the rightful winner.
The starter and the pace car had no opportunity to show the one lap to go signal. This contravened everything before from the past, even in this race!
IndyCar did not want a Swede to win, let alone back to back, while two Americans who never won the 500 were breathing down his neck, with American sponsorship, flag, and carrying the names of Foyt and Penske instead of an obscure chocolate company!
Even the NBC broadcasters did not understand the restart procedure at the end.
I am hugely disappointed in the process and how IndyCar made up the outcome at the end, knowing that the leader up to the green flag was the sitting duck. Ericsson seemingly had this in the bag two laps to go, but IndyCar robbed him.
Adam Lipcsey, Toronto
MP: Ericsson did more to raise the profile of the Indy 500 on a global level over the last year than anyone that comes to mind in a long while. Come on, man.
Q: Will the series make any adjustments to the wheel tethers after Kirkwood’s wheel went over the stands? Will IMS look into a taller catch fencing? That was a super-close call.
Joey Selmants
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MP: I’d be shocked if IMS doesn’t look different when we return. A tether failure occurred, which means IndyCar will dive in to find the root cause and determine if and what improvements can be made.
Q: I thought the race was pretty entertaining. But 1) Thank God that Kirkwood’s wheel did not hit anyone in the stands. Just a guess R.P. will need to have a look at that; maybe a higher catch fence? 2) What is up with the starts and restarts? I’m pretty sure I saw a lot of passing before drivers were crossing the start/finish line. Several drivers indicated they were confused about whether start/restart rules exist anymore, and if they do, they are not enforced. 3) Has Indy ever had a no-warmup-lap restart, ever? That sounds fishy, even though one of my favorite drivers won.
John Becker
MP: Higher fencing seems like a guarantee, to me.