Q: I’m not convinced a one-lap shootout is the way to finish a race, especially on a track where we know the second-placed car has a distinct advantage and a lot of dangerous situations can — and did — occur. IndyCar has always been my favorite sport, but I’m pretty disappointed with the decision. if there’s not time for at least two laps, it should not even be considered.
Brian, Joliet, IL
MP: That’s an adjustment IndyCar should consider for next May.
Q: Officials played a major part in Sunday’s outcome. Choosing to finish the race with a one-lap shootout guaranteed that whoever was in first would not end up in first. It was like NBA officials telling a team losing by 10 points with two seconds remaining in the game that the free throw their star player is about to shoot will count for 11 points.
Bill Branagh
MP: I hear you, but they created an opportunity for anything to happen, even if the odds were very small in favor of Ericsson blowing the restart, Newgarden having a technical issue, or some other factor emerging. Again, whomever was second was primed to pounce, but I’d rather have that than the result guaranteed under yellow.
Q: Seems some of the major gripes are how race control handled Ferrucci’s nearly-errant tire, and the multiple red flags with a handful of laps to go. I had a few thoughts. First, Ferrucci’s team was penalized, just not the race-wrecking NASCAR-style penalty people expected. It’s my understanding that IndyCar traditionally does not penalize team infractions in-race the way NASCAR does. Granted, IndyCar does not pit 8-10 times a race like they do.
As for the red flags, look, to quote Danica, it’s about entertainment. The crowd roared with approval. On the last one, they should have made the call a lap earlier, but it’s tough to do that quickly. In retrospect, the sheer mountain of recriminations that IndyCar would have had to dealt with would have been colossal. For instance, why did they allow Marcus Ericsson to seemingly jump every restart they had? When the yellow light came on could be established, but to decide the race between three drivers, in which the leader didn’t even get to lead the actual restart at the line, would have been quite messy. That’s a rule that makes no sense to me.
Greg in NJ
MP: Pit lane procedural errors are usually handled with a fine. Leave your visor open while refueling? It’s a fine, not a drive-through. The Foyt fine was perfectly in line with the standard.
Q: I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the broadcast of the Indy 500…on radio. I just couldn’t take another minute of Leigh Diffey. But this isn’t a rant about how horrible I think Diffey is; there’s another reason why he needs to be dropped from IndyCar broadcasting.
The chief announcer on a broadcast is the conduit to the audience viewing or listening to the event. We invite him into our homes (or tablets, phones, etc.) for a few hours. He should be a pleasant guest or more importantly, a star. Now this may seem xenophobic, but it’s more common sense: he should also be an American (or Canadian). We’re trying to grow the audience here, and in all big American sports, the announcers are Americans. It’s not just us — can you imagine the uproar if Jim Nance were to be the chief announcer on British television for the FA Cup soccer final? Or Joe Buck announcing the Aussie Rules Grand Final on Australian television? It’s the same everywhere.
If we’re trying to build a broadcast audience for IndyCar racing, a top American announcer needs to be brought in. As I was watching the broadcast from Indy (with the sound muted and the radio on), my thought was: why was NBC Sports’ biggest star, Mike Tirico only the studio host? I know he’s not a racing guy, but he is intelligent and a total professional and could probably pull it off.
He would need to rely more on the analysts during the race, which would in turn highlight their performance (rather than just shouting over them) and make it a true team effort. Having NBC Sports’ biggest star calling the action would bring a ton of gravitas to the broadcast, and the sport. In the olden days, ABC had their biggest sports announcers calling the Indy action, Jim McKay (11 Olympic Games) and Keith Jackson (the voice of college football). Their presence told the audience that this event is of the highest importance.
Having non-Americans as analysts, working with the chief announcer is just fine. Jackie Stewart and David Hobbs gave us decades of great insight and brought lively entertainment to their broadcasts.
I spent many years in the broadcast industry, and one great lesson I learned is that it’s the product that goes out over the air that matters, not how much the insiders might like an announcer as a person or how easy they are to work with. In my memories, I still revel in the broadcast booth duels between Sam Posey and Bobby Unser (and more recently, anyone with Paul Tracy). They might be a producer’s nightmare, but it was entertaining as hell.
In the end, that’s what this is all about. Sports is an entertainment business. If they’re putting the best out on the track, we should have the best and biggest stars in the broadcast booth bringing the races to the audience.
Greg, Santa Rosa, CA
MP: What you’ve written doesn’t “seem” xenophobic. It is xenophobic. Diffey is an American. Became one many years ago. But only real Americans speak with an American accent? The guy who moved to America from Australia to pursue his dream and loved America so much that he became a naturalized citizen and is raising American children with his wife isn’t worthy of calling the Indy 500? Right. Good to know the American dream only applies to those who are born here.
Meanwhile, only 13 of the 33 drivers in the race were American, so we should only interview them and not the other 20, as not to offend the real Americans watching at home? Come on, man.
Q: I have been a die-hard fan of the Indy 500 since 1988. And believe me, it was not easy to be an Indy fan in France back then! No TV coverage, no internet and limited press.
I have a very bad feeling about yesterday’s race and the way it ended. I am convinced that if Newgarden had been leading at the time of the last crash, the race would have ended on yellow. What’s your take on this? I like Josef Newgarden, and he is a deserving winner, no doubt about that. But all this left me a very bad taste in my mouth.
Mathieu, Mulhouse, France
MP: That would mean race director Kyle Novak is a pawn who fixes races. Is that really the rabbit hole we’re wandering down?
Q: Congratulations to Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Penske crew. It was special to see just what an Indy 500 victory meant to him. But I’m growing concerned about the chaotic late-race restarts that many series are adopting. Other examples are this year’s Cup Series race at COTA and Australian GP. Restarts didn’t affect the winner in those cases, but they all saw multiple drivers eliminated from strong positions they’d held all race.
It can make the first 99% of a race seem not worth watching, with fascinating storylines shattered by a silly move with one to go. Yes, we get action, but the moves are just desperate. It puts drivers in a difficult position, with prolonged stress and with pressure to chase a good result or else have one snatched from you.
Enforced green-flag finishes are meant to add excitement, but I think they can be anxious, draining and potentially dangerous. Would it be fairer if we let a race end organically under yellow? What are your thoughts?
Dan, Norwich, UK
MP: I’m fine with the way it ended. Even though it was a single lap, the series did have time to halt the race and restart it to let the drivers settle it among themselves. If we’re going the “organic” route, the Speedway has an apron that would allow the pace car and driver to circulate in all but the worst crash scenarios, and they can go down pit lane if the front straight is blocked, so in reality, there’s never a need to go red if the track isn’t blocked or emergency services aren’t required or major repairs to the barrier are unnecessary. There was no enforced reason for any of the reds, but I do appreciate race control’s commitment to saving laps to give fans a race to the checkered flag.