OPINION: Time for an Indy qualifying rethink
Friday, 20 May 2016
Robin Miller and Marshall Pruett / Images by LAT, IMS Photo It's billed as the opening day of qualifying for the 100th Indianapolis 500 but, in truth, what is happening Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is just positioning for setting the starting lineup on Sunday.
Or, to be blunt, it's a day that confuses the fans and doesn't make a lot of sense in the "risk versus reward" category because it doesn't pay any money or points. It's a glorified practice day where drivers run their cars in the riskiest configurations for no reward. And there's no bumping.
The only thing that will happen during a long Saturday – from the start of practice at 8 a.m. to the close of "qualifying" at 5:50 p.m. – is the top nine drivers with a shot to earn pole will be identified and separated from everyone behind them. All speeds from Saturday will then be erased.
After running on the ragged edge on Saturday to help IndyCar find its top nine, drivers get to come back Sunday and do it all over again. There are only 33 car-and-driver combinations in Gasoline Alley this month; everyone is going to make the May 29 show, so it doesn't behoove a team without a shot at the Fast Nine to spend Saturday pounding around the track trying to improve their position.
It makes you wonder why today's 33 speeds that were set during Fast Friday – with qualifying turbo boost levels – wouldn't suffice. Even more absurd, $10,000 was given to Will Power, Friday's fastest driver, at the end of an official practice session. If Power does it again on Saturday, he'll go home empty-handed.
Months ahead of Indy 500 qualifying, IndyCar knew it would only have a maximum of 34 or 35 cars based on the number of engine leases Chevy and Honda publically stated they would provide. Even with the possibility of one or two cars being bumped, it sure seems like there was a guarantee not much would happen on Saturday.
Sure, the final two hours will be televised on ABC (4-6 p.m. ET) so if you're one of the 11-15 drivers expected to be contesting for the Fast Nine, it's valuable network time for your sponsors, plus the fact you'll be going for the pole position 24 hours later.
"It doesn't make a lot of sense, but there's the TV part to consider," KVSH Racing's Sebastien Bourdais said. "It seems like a lot of risk for not a lot of reward. I think [IndyCar] should consider just making it 33 [cars]. Nobody can really afford to go home these days, so just make it 33 cars, then come up with a new exciting process for one day. Make it very dramatic."
Brett "Crusher" Murray, who put the deal together for Matthew Brabham to run as Bourdais' teammate under the KV/Team Murray banner, is a fan of the Frenchman's plan.
"If I'd have been guaranteed a starting position in this race six month ago when I was putting this program together, I'd have another half-million dollars in sponsorship," the Aussie said. "The sponsor I was talking to said if he knew I was starting in the race, they would have signed the check, but without that guarantee, they didn't. Now that we are guaranteed [to start], we're hoping some sponsors come out and take a look because we have some extra space."
If anything, a team with a smaller budget would seem wise to make one run at any speed and wait until Sunday when it actually determines where you will be starting.
Come Sunday, points will be awarded to all drivers, with 42 going to the polesitter along with $100,000, and the Fast Nine payout is $30,000, $25,000, $15,000, $12,000, $10,000, $8,000, $5,000 and $3,000.
Scott Dixon won last year's pole at 227.041mph after it was decided not to add extra boost or go with qualifying aero packages following three different flips during practice.
Saturday's speeds are expected to be considerably higher and in the 230-plus range, but Arie Luyendyk's 20-year-old, four-lap record of 236.986 mph isn't thought to be in any danger.
In fact, the only thing we're in danger of on Saturday is boredom.