A proposal to factor in the rain

[millrace]

Here's one idea-

Practice starts opening day (Sunday) with all non-rookies on track.
Rookie orientation Monday and Tuesday
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - open practice
Saturday - full field qualifying, including provisional pole
Sunday - pole day. Top 11 drivers from Saturday duel it out for the pole.
If Saturday is rained out then all try to qualify Sunday. But only the top 11 have a shot at pole the following day with the stipulation that your original time is fixed unless you beat it on day two. Therefore, one of the top 11 must top the previous day's top speed. If this is not accomplished then the provisional pole is the official pole sitter and places fall based on best attempts by the top 11. With this format you are rewarded for qualifying on the first day and you also have a chance to go again potentially if you are top 11.

Practice - Tuesday-Friday
Saturday - Bump Day. Standard rules apply.
Sunday - optional qualifying day. if any other is delayed/cancelled all get
moved back one day
Monday-Wednesday- Armed Forces Day / Community day / etc.
Friday - Carb Day and final practice + pit stops + Freedom 100 + one final qualifying attempt in a one hour session-
If you want, you can gamble and try to advance your position or qualify on a single attempt after the final practice session, but you have to pull your car from the field to try to advance. If your car is not yet in the field then you get one final attempt unless you already exhausted 3 attempts on Bump Day. Order of attempts starts from position 2 on down. The pole sitter may only attempt on Carb Day if his/her position is displaced, in which case the attempt to regain the pole would be a single attempt and would have to occur immediately after the car is displaced. The caveats are that if you withdraw your car to try to advance in position and fail to qualify in the top 33, you are out of the race and the next highest (34th) car moves in to take the spot. If you make an attempt on Bump Day but do not make the field you may advance into the field via your final Carb Day attempt or via a Carb Day attempt car failing to qualify.
Sunday - race day. Triple the points of any other IRL race are awarded.

What do you think? Pretty sweet idea?

[indyracefan]

...I like the new qualifying format. I don't like that essentially Sunday & Monday of the first week and Monday & Tuesday of the second week are closed for practice.

[Pirate]

to complicated for ims to figure out.

[millrace]

Not complicated really-

its qualifying on Saturday for everyone. The top 11 get another shot at pole on Sunday. Then there's a regular bump day the following week, and on Carb Day there is one final shot for anyone who wants to try. 4 days of qualifying with 4 good reasons to go watch it.

[mp_0610]

I actually like the idea, but not sure allowing more qualifying just 2 days before the race will work. Part of it is the logistics and organizing pit stalls, and allowing teams to practice race setups on Carb day. It would also involve more of a money commitment and money lost for those teams that don't make the show.

The other side that this qualifying wouldn't work is PR. The field has the media tour to New York for the full-field photo shoot, and other media related appearances that would get messed up from not having a full field earlier in the week.

Otherwise, I kinda like it. The Sunday (Pole Day) could be used as practice for those teams that didn't make the top 11 on Saturday. The following Sunday, which would be used for Quals if one day gets rained out, could also be used as a practice day if we get lucky and stay dry during the previous 3 days.

[millrace]

Even if the final Carb Day qualifying run would not work logistically, running all the cars on the first good qualifying day and then having a shootout of the top 11 cars on the next good qualifying day is the jist of what I'd like to see, to prevent cars from waiting and waiting and then sneaking into the field on account of lower car counts and little competition near the bottom of the field.

[F1 and IndyCar]

Not complicated really-

its qualifying on Saturday for everyone. The top 11 get another shot at pole on Sunday. Then there's a regular bump day the following week, and on Carb Day there is one final shot for anyone who wants to try. 4 days of qualifying with 4 good reasons to go watch it.

Sounds too much like the F1 format. (which i love btw) but i really do not think it would work for IndyCar ovals especially TGSIR

[drdisque]

This proposed format makes Sunday pointless if the weather is worse than Saturday for speed (hotter, windier). That could be fixed by having all speeds from Saturday wiped out for the top 11. Any car who qualified on saturday in the top 11 but doesn't complete an attempt on sunday would lineup at the back of the top 11.

I don't support the idea of having any sort of qualifying on carb day. I don't think anybody would use it.

[slompappy]

dude


just open the track to everyone the first two days and open it Monday and Tuesday of this week and none of this would be an issue