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Waid's World

A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid

Indy: A few more observations

Jul 29
You don’t have to be told again what a debacle the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was.

Tire wear problems turned the race into a series of 10-lap heat runs from one competition caution to the next. Drivers drove their cars at about 75 percent of full power in the hopes of avoiding a blowout.

It had to be frustrating for the competitors and many of them said so.

It was also frustrating for the fans that paid good money to see a marquee NASCAR event at the nation’s oldest and most revered speedway.

It’s likely many of them said, “I’m not sure what I’m watching, but it sure ain’t racing.”

No, it wasn’t.

And those responsible – among them NASCAR and Goodyear – should, and very likely will, take steps to see what happened at the Brickyard never happens again.

But here are some other observations about the Allstate 400.

Give NASCAR credit for coming down on the side of safety. With its rigid competition cautions in place, it sought to avoid tire failures that could have led to several mutli-car crashes, or worse.

The race provided excellent examples of crew chief and pit crew talent and ability.

Crew chiefs became the ultimate strategists. Among other things, they had to decide if a four-tire change was the proper thing to do and if so, when was the right time to do it?

Or was it best to change right-side tires only and gain valuable track position?

Both strategies were applied throughout the race and perhaps the best example of the right call at the right time was the decision to give winner Jimmie Johnson two right-side tires on his last pit stop.

His crew let out whoops and cheers when it got Johnson out of the pits ahead of Carl Edwards. It accomplished what it had to do.

I don’t think there was a single pit crew in the race that didn’t show us, once and for all, that they are composed of true athletes.

I can’t remember a race where pit crews went over the wall as many times as they did at Indy, working through nearly 10 full sets of tires.

It takes strength, speed and agility to be a good crewman. To have to utilize those traits as often as the guys at Indy did had to be exhausting.

Nevertheless, they did their jobs with few mistakes.

Average Rating: 3.0

Comments

8 responses to "Indy: A few more observations"
  1. 1
    missouriracefan said:
    Jul 29, 2008 at 9:23 AM

    Well said. Do you know anything about the Hamlin crew member that sustains an injury retrieving a tire on the last pit stop?

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  2. 2
    Worm Dirt said:
    Jul 29, 2008 at 10:11 AM

    I think that Mr. Waid is probably a true optimist at heart....and I admire him for looking for a bright side to this whole mess.......BUT!!! under these circumstances, isn't this a little like coming home to find that your house was robbed, the TV and computer gone, the dog and cat missing, car stolen, the wife's jewelry missing, the toilet unflushed, the safe emptied, even your liquor cabinet emptied.............and then getting EXCITED that the crooks wiped their shoes off before coming in and didn't stain the carpet?????? You can't polish a turd Steve. I'm sorry.

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  3. 3
    keith manning said:
    Jul 29, 2008 at 4:18 PM

    I am tired of hearing how we should applaud Nascar for being safe. That is the business there in and they didn't start up last week. The amount of Money Nascar makes from TV deals,ticket prices and the such there was no excuse for what happened. AS for Mr Waids view that it was worth being at the race because the pit crew put on a great show I couldn't disagree more. You don't spent $80 plus for tickets hundreds of dollars in fuel and lodgeing as well as time to get to and from the track to watch the pit crew.

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  4. 4
    Ted Hungler said:
    Jul 29, 2008 at 6:13 PM

    I can't agree more with what Keith states. My family doesn't go to any race to watch a crew change tires or to watch a crew chief. Our tickets were $150 each for five of us not to mention gas, parking and food. Face it this weekend was a complete joke on NASCAR part and Goodyear. One way to protest is to stop buying tires from Goodyear. Quit making excuses for Goodyear and praising NASCAR for a safe race. That was not a race in any sense of the word.

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  5. 5
    del brown said:
    Jul 29, 2008 at 6:50 PM

    Seem to recall that during the F1 debacle Michelin (I think) brought in a different tire as a substitute but FIA wouldn't let the teams use them. That was one difference with Sunday's race. The other difference was the NASCAR drivers didn't head to the garage after the parade laps. Frankly I think they should have. After all the horn blowing and pennant waving NASCAR has done about safety measures (which are very good) I can not understand how a tire that wears out in less than ten laps is safe. It might be better than a harder tire - or it might not be. Point being that the handling problems of the Car Of Today are well known yet there seems to be a sense of apathy (or at least sluggish inertia) at NASCAR regarding a concentrated testing effort to improve the tire situation. It's past time for NASCAR and Goodyear to foot the bill for all teams to conduct tire tests - as many as needed to get a decent fix. The money spent would be repaid by the growth of NASCAR.

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  6. 6
    ray elbe said:
    Jul 30, 2008 at 9:09 AM

    you have lost me as a cup fan i have turned to nationwide series, real cars not C.O.T.'S big names running in it now and better tracks. should of left it alone, you took racing out of the cup series

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  7. 7
    Robin Drummond said:
    Jul 31, 2008 at 12:41 PM

    Seems to me if NASCAR only tested three cars in the spring with cool weather, Goodyear would have taken that into consideration and let the teams test in warmer weather with different tires. I think NASCAR, the teams and Goodyear learned from this. If they learned something, then give them a break for keeping everyone safe and working the crews to prove how important the pit stops REALLY are today. It was a very exciting last ten laps. Just ask Jimmy or Carl.

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  8. 8
    Tom Puzzo said:
    Aug 4, 2008 at 7:09 PM

    When NASCAR doesn't have a good reason about something, they always play the "safety" card. The Brickyard was a joke. Why were all the drivers, crew chiefs, and owners afraid to say so. The Race should have been posponed until the tire issue was sorted out. Did NASCAR not take a cue from F-1 a few years back when all the cars on a certain manufacturer's tire (I don't recall if it was the Michelon or Bridgestone guys) boycotted the race!

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