USAC and the IRL ?

[c7]

IIRC USAC sanctioned the first season of the Indy Racing League.

Also IIRC USAC made some "gross" errors of some kind and TG decided that if he was to get the new league going the officiating need to be "in house".

What exactly was it that happened???

I just can't remember. It also may have been an accumlation of things, not just one.

Thanks

[misbehavin]

It was the Texas race that AJ smacked Arie in victory lane, when Boat was first declared the winner and Luyendyke took exception. This broke the camel's back, there had been issues earlier in the season.

[grogg]

Two things that was the trigger.

1. The Green flag/Yellow light on the last lap of the 1997 Indy 500. The green light didn't go back on until Luyendyk and Goodyear was approaching the first turn.

2. The scoring debacle at the end of the very next race at Texas. Billy Boat received the checker but Luyendyk ended up winning. This brought the altercation between A.J. and Arie.

It's been inhouse ever since.

[mnkywrch]

USAC blew the final restart of the 1997 Indy 500 - they waived the flag back to green, but neglected to flip on the green lights around the track.

Then, at the very next race at Texas - a new facility for the IRL - the fella in charge of timing & scoring lines did not do a very good job of running them. IIRC, specifically, it was the pit-in line that was supposed to go from the outside wall to the inside pit wall - it didn't go the full distance, or something like that.

They had T&S problems all weekend that marred qualifying - which, at that race, was a lap at speed, and in-lap, and a pit stop.

So during the race, they somehow managed to lose two of Arie Luyendyk's laps.

So Tony Stewart's leading the race and blows a motor, right at the end.

Billy Boat - driving for everyone's favorite portly Texan - inherited the lead and was flagged the winner - when, in fact, Luyendyk had lapped the field.

So Arie goes down to Victory Lane to share his frustrations.

As you can guess, AJ didn't take kindly to it and slapped Arie into the shrubs, before TG pulled him away.

So they canned USAC as the sanctioning body, brought in a few new folks in leadership, and carried on with the same "little people".

The IRL, real real quickly, wrote a new Timing & Scoring that was (basically) an electronic version of a lapchart. See your driver go past, press this button.

For a while they were taking two entire T&S systems with them, in addition of the electronic backup AND the paper backup - for a total of four timing & scoring systems.

Talk about redundancy.

I think they may only carry one system these days, but they still use the electronic backup and the paper backup.

[c7]

I just couldn't remember the specifics.

Thanks to All.

[Doctorindy]

Originally posted by mnkywrch
IIRC, specifically, it was the pit-in line that was supposed to go from the outside wall to the inside pit wall - it didn't go the full distance, or something like that.

From what I remember, the pit road scoring line, which is supposed to be an extension of the scoring line on the track itself, was counting only SELECTIVE cars, but not scoring everybody. Therefore, when a handfull of select drivers (which the line wouldn't recognioze) crossed that particular line, they wouldn't be noticed, and they wouldn't be seen again until they crossed it on the track, therefore, they'd be scored with only one two-minute lap, rather than two laps of say, 25 seconds, and one min. 35 sec (including the pit stop). After a couple of stops, Arie, and others were quickly falling WAY behind after they'd stop, but somehow nobody noticed when it was happening except for Treadway Racing...

The rest, as they say, was a Texas-Style a$$-whoppin' !!!

[exfasteddy]

originally posted by mnkywrch "As you can guess, AJ didn't take kindly to it and slapped Arie into the shrubs, before TG pulled him away. "

Thank you for a good chuckle on an otherwise bleak day.