Just Another Guy Who Doesn't Get It...

If you happen to be a subscriber to Sports Illustrated, as I have been since high school, you probably came across a piece in this week's issue by Lars Anderson, staff writer and resident motorsports "expert," entitled "Up Against the Wall."

The piece details the horrific accident in Vegas and its aftermath, along with some opinions, I assume the writer's, on what needs to be done to improve ("save?") INDYCAR. Without getting into too much detail about Mr. Anderson's conclusions, (I'll touch on those later,) the one thing that the piece is missing is any input from anyone associated with INDYCAR. In fact, the only person cited in the piece REMOTELY connected with INDYCAR is Texas Motor Speedway's uber-promoter, Eddie Gossage.

What I saw were quotes from Jimmie Johnson, not the "revised" quotes he gave out after feeling the wrath of many INDYCAR fans, but the original quotes that got Mr. Johnson into the "doghouse" to begin with. Also quoted was that preeminent INDYCAR sage, Jack Roush, who noted that INDYCAR had just had its "Dale Earnhardt moment." (Of course, what was NOT mentioned was that if Dale, Sr. had hit a SAFER wall and been wearing a HANS device, BOTH pioneered by INDYCAR, he'd probably still be with us.) And, of course, there was a quote from the prodigal son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

My initial reaction was to just write thie piece off as a typical NASCAR-slanted "hit" piece. Then I Googled "Lars Anderson." Most of the early listings about Mr. Anderson pertained to baseball. Then I saw a couple about NASCAR, so I did a little digging. As it happens, Lars Anderson has an extensive history on SI.com, most of it dealing with NASCAR. There was, however, one story that caught my eye. Dated May of 2011, was a tome entitled "Why the Indy 500 is My Favorite Sporting Event of the Year."

(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/lars_anderson/05/24/Indy.500/index.html?xid=shareFB)

To give you the "Cliff's Notes" version, Mr. Anderson makes a case about his exposure to the Indianapolis 500, his first attendance being in 2003. He, like many of us who have been there, describes the emotions, the traditions, the rush of the race itself, acknowledging that even NASCAR drivers Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Robby Gordon consider Indy the preeminent race in the world. (Of course, what would they know: They just raced there and two of them won the 500, with a third coming within a lap of so doing.)

Okay, I understand that Lars' primary occupation is covering NASCAR for SI. But to propose ways to "fix" INDYCAR following the suggestions of NASCAR people is almost akin to asking the fox how to fix the henhouse problem.

Don't get me wrong: some of the things listed there are things that I am sure will be looked at. Suggestion one, however, gives you the skinny: Stay off of high banked ovals. (Again, this was at the behest of that famous INDYCAR expert, one Jimmie Johnson.)

Number two: Reduce the speeds. On this one, I'm kinda scratching the ol' melon. We just finished using cars that are significantly slower than the ones we raced back in the 90's (with turbochargers.) One of the results of this was that everyone was going about the same speed. Up until Kentucky a couple of years back, what did we have? Parades, that's what. No passing, no excitement, pit strategy races that NO ONE cared about. So, after that, we loosened up a little on the aerodynamic limitations and the racing got exciting, at least on the ovals. Now, assuming what we're talking about is reducing the downforce while adding back the turbos, that's fine. When the racing is boring, who's going to watch? (And, of course, sooner or later the engineers will find other wqys to make the cars go fast.)

Number 3: End the double file restarts. On street circuits, why bother? The drivers aren't abiding by them anyway. If we get three rows of two lined up at the "go" cone, we're lucky and we're going green. At Indy this year, they changed the rules to allow the cars to accelerate in the north chute. I was sitting at the end of the main straightaway, and I can tell you they were STILL going two and sometimes three wide going through turn 1. It is, after all, called racing.

Number 4: Raise the SAFER walls. At some tracks this might work. This was mentioned on "Trackside," this week. I'd sure want to look at the sight lines before going there, however, as Curt Cavin suggested. One of the great things about some of the mile and a half tracks is that you can follow the cars all the way around. Take that away at your own peril. We already have attendance issues.

Number 5: Cover the back wheels. Okay, this one is, assuming no changes in the DW12 design, going to happen, at least partially. While a lot of purists did not like that aspect of the design, most have acquiesced after the Vegas accident. If the new design keeps the cars on the ground, this will allow the SAFER barriers to do their assigned task of energy absorption and keep the cars out of the catch fencing.

Look, Mr. Anderson's suggestions are not without merit. What I don't agree with is his dependence on NASCAR drivers to make put forth these ideas. Why wasn't he talking to Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, A. J. Foyt, or Mario Andretti? I saw no indication that he did in this piece. Seems to me, if he wanted to get the straight dope about INDYCAR, he should have talked to INDYCAR engineers or drivers. Therein lies the problem.

A lot of us who have followed this series were overjoyed when Randy Bernard talked about breaking the decade-old speed records at Indianapolis. We can do that, given the qualifiying format at Indy and the addition of the turbos. When the engineers can really "trim" the cars out (because they're going around the Speedway solo,) I think this is very possible. Dealing with the turbulence of running with 32 other cars, however, those same engineers are going to seek stability, at least if they want to be around at the finish.

I have maintained that since Indianapolis will be the first exposure of the new cars to an oval track, there should be some extended multi-car testing before we get to the "15 days of May." Failing that, perhaps the Speedway should consider extending practice for this year only. We all know the havoc that weather can play with Indy's schedule. Wouldn't it be wise that all drivers get as much exposure to the conditions there as possible?