NASCRAP yellow flags @ Sebring SPOILER!!

Competiton yellow with an hour to go.

BS.

 

Way too many full course yellows.

 

5.5+ hours under yellow in a dry race is sad.

 

was it really that much? F'ing ridiculous...besides not being on TV

 

When I read the teams complaining about "too many yellows", then I would agree. Until then, I wasn't there, did not see the track surface, so no problem with the yellows.

Before you blame NASCAR, who is really doing the officiating? NASCAR? IMSA?

 

The same utter nonsense seen at NASCAR road course races at Watkins Glen and Sears Point, 20 minute full course cautions because a car spun harmlessly off the track.

They're pointing out that the top eight cars finished on the lead lap as an indication as to
how competitive it is. However, with all these cautions, how many "Lucky Dogs" were
administered to achieve this unbelievably unique feat?

Have no doubt, NASCAR is calling the shots. The NASCAR boys are in a locked room
high above in the race control section of the main tower making these absurd extended caution decisions.

IMSA is there to write and enforce the competition rules. NASCAR is there to dictate
how the rules are administered.

I'm almost glad I didn't go.

BHW

 

I agree Barton, NASCAR has to be calling the shots. this is getting ridiculous. yellows, red flags, competition yellows late in the race, horrible calls (penalties for the wrong car?!? are you ****ing kidding me?!?)

NASCAR is about to discover that sports car fans aren't NASCAR fans, you can't treat them like they're morons. there WILL be a fan revolt. NASCAR/IMSA needs to get their act together, stat.

 

At one point when I was trying to watch the streaming version online, late afternoon,
the commentators had said there was already three hours of caution prompting me to
think that perhaps there would be a Green Park revolt and the "Animals" would storm race
control with pitchforks and burning torches.

If they get enough negative feedback from fans who were in attendance or trying to
watch online, they will have to react and quickly.

BHW

 

Random rants about the (new) IMSA and TUSC

They screwed up before they began with the rules. If they had taken the GT classes and just applied the world standard rules - GT3 and GTLM - this would have been an incredible series. Would have had much stronger manufacturer involvement, stronger fan base, and achieved more of what they were hoping with the merger.

The "GTD" class is foolish. Adds cost, keeps manufacturers away (eg. can you believe that McLaren is racing, but in World Challenge?). PWC is going to have the best GT field.

Rules making for performance is also sort of odd. The Continental Series has remained underground this year, but they are letting Camaros run 6.4l but forcing Porsches to run 3.6. Clearly, no favoritism there.

They have strangled the Prototype class to favor the DP's. You can add enough wait and disable the LMP2 spec cars enough so DP's are faster. Remember, DP's were born out of the birth of Grand-Am. They are serious cars, but the LMP2's are more about technology and performance vs. brute force.

Then to the competition rules...

I will defend the yellows they tossed at Sebring. The parked Whelen DP and the 458 were out of the way, but they needed to be retrieved and the DP was in an impact zone. Having said that, it appeared that the on-track response was slower than I would have expected, they could have been hooked up and towed to a safe spot quickly. Race control did a good thing by letting the drivers try everything to get the cars going again.

However, the "new" yellow rules, like Lemans last year, force incredibly long safety car periods. Half-speed, each lap is 4 minutes.....and then they want to segregate the pits for the classes, so you need at least 3-4-5 laps to cycle the pit opening for each class.

The real worry is the officiating....Daytona and Sebring both. Shows that the rulemaking and race-running are likely less about officiating fairly and more about engineering a specific outcome.

To that point, it was grossly unfair to let the Porsche GTLM car hold the podium and go unpenalized. Making a bad call in a 30min sprint race is one thing, with Sebring they had plenty of time to adjust things.

UGGHHH.

 

great post.

UGGHHH is right

 

Speaking of NASCAR, err NASCRAP yellow flags...with 2 1/2 laps to go at Bristol tonight this happened...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nPZPqbT-Iw]Robin Pemberton explains caution that ended Bristol - YouTube[/ame]

...fortunately it didn't impact the winner but very well could of had rain not prevented a green-white-checker finish.

 

My media colleagues are starting to weigh in.

One says, "It was a cluster-F in three different languages"

That about says it all.

BHW

 

rightfully so. that race was a shambles in many ways

I imagine a few journos are going to have their credentials "reviewed" before Long Beach

 

Also speaking of yellows flags, seemed the ones at Australia were a bit long. Is NASCAR also to blame? Easy to make comments from the peanut gallery if one was not actually there, at the spot of the yellow.

 

lol. everything in racing is NASCAR's fault

although I wouldn't call most of the people on this thread the "peanut gallery", I think the criticism is largely valid. and it mirrors comments I've seen/heard from competitors (drivers and teams) who aren't amused either.

 

I agree with chas. many of us have been involved in the sport or have close friends in the sport...we have some basis for our complaints.

also...nascar ruined us motorcycle road racing too. AMA...look into it.

 

NASCAR's creep has spread into most all other forms of racing, even F-1. They'll
do anything to create what they call "manufactured drama" when all they really need
to do is leave the competition on the track alone and let things play out naturally.

Penalizing the AJR Porsche (ALMS team) instead of the factory Porsche for "avoidable
contact" thus allowing the Magnus Racing team (GrandAM team) through to victory in the
GTD class is inexcusable and a gaffe of such epic proportions that it boggles any sane
mind.

Creating a "competition yellow" within sight of the finish, to create, once again, "manufactured
drama" when the top eight cars were all on the same lap (created by numerous "lucky dog"
shenanigans) are all right from the NASCAR play book.

When the pace car leads more laps than the winning car, we all know something is
wrong. When a local yellow may be deployed to get a car out of the grass and back onto
the track in order to keep the action going rather than a 20 minute full course caution, use it.

What we've known since the inception of this "merger" is that its not a "merger" at all, rather
a hostile take over as NASCAR/ISC themselves have made it clear that they want to control a
monopoly over all of racing and they will stop at nothing in order to attain this goal.

What real sports car fans should be doing is speaking in unison and bringing their demand
to the leadership of the USC is to keep their mitts off of our sport and leave the nonsense and
"manufactured drama" for the roundy-round boys.

BHW

 

Pro racing is entertainment first, sport second, with an objective to maintain large viewership for the entire duration of a race in order to get sponsors what they pay for. NASCAR is obviously better at it than the road racing organizations.

If you REALLY liked racing by racers who do it purely for the sport, you'd go watch club races. Plenty of them around the country, very rare full-course cautions. No traffic or even entry fees to speak of at most events, full run of the paddock to talk to racers, in general a great experience.

But you won't do that, so enjoy NASCAR-ized road racing, as it is clearly the peoples' choice.

 

If people are left with a choice, they'll opt to follow GrandAM's made up "Man on the Street"
and stay away by the droves if their attendance figures were any indication.

It is a sad state of affairs.

BHW

 

you are correct, I love amateur racing, SCCA, NASA, vintage, etc. some of the best racing I've ever seen. I'm always surprised when a "racing fan" has only been to a NASCAR, Indy or F1 race

that said there's a big difference between watching amateurs in slow(er), less well prepared cars and professionals in the latest technology, perfectly prepared and presented. so I don't think it's a direct substitute for professional racing any more than a huff and puff softball league is a direct substitute for a MLB game.

 

Looks like they're listening a little at least.

Changes coming to IMSA Race Control include the following:

- Enforcement of an IMSA rule requiring the display of the car’s number on its in-car cameras.
- Upgraded video review equipment to high definition (HD).
- A new system for cross-checking cars and drivers involved in on-track incidents.
- Addition of a third driver advisor to work alongside the IMSA Race Director and two driver advisors to assist with evaluating responsibility in incidents and other on-track situations.
IMSA also is adjusting its full-course caution procedures to maximize green-flag running time. Changes to the procedures, which will be confirmed by IMSA Rule Book bulletins, are as follows:

- At events where there is only one prototype class in a race, the pits will be opened for that class when the field is packed up and while GT cars are still performing the Pass-Around procedure. This change will expedite the full-course caution process by a full lap.
- The “Lap-Down Wave-By” procedure – which provides a strategic opportunity for cars a lap or more behind to gain a lap back by staying on course while leaders make pit stops – will be more limited in its application. There will be no Lap-Down Wave-By in races less than two hours and 30 minutes in length. For races between two-and-a-half hours through six hours, the Lap-Down Wave-By will be used only once in any 90-minute period after 60 minutes from the start of a race. No Lap-Down Wave-By will be used in the last 30 minutes of a race.
- Efforts also will be made to use “Debris Yellows” where a situation is likely to involve the simple removal of debris or the flat-tow of a stopped car to a safe location. A Debris Yellow includes the Pass-Around procedure, but the pits remain closed until the race is restarted.

- See more at: IMSA | TUDOR United SportsCar Championship | IMSA Introduces Modifications To Competition Procedures

 

Re the 'Lap-Down Wave-By'....the smoke from the cooking brats at Road America alone will make me unable to make sense of this. Who knows what I'll think if I catch wind of an open beer.

I like(d) racing because there were few rules. Can we get an IMSA Mike Pereira?