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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Bernard Offers Thoughts On Race Control
We've heard what IndyCar race control steward Al Unser Jr. has to say about about Sunday's race at Long Beach, but what about CEO Randy Bernard?
Randy Bernard, left, gave SPEED.com his thoughts on Brian Barnhart, right, and the other IndyCar race stewards. (IndyCar)
“We’re not going to react to high emotions or when other people say we should react,” said IZOD IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard when referring to the controversial non-calls made by his race directors during Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“That’s not how you run a business. You take your time—not too long—and you evaluate and assess things and then decide whether a change is necessary.”
To be fair, Bernard’s tone wasn’t aggressive or defiant, but after four straight days of reading about an alleged bias from the series towards Helio Castroneves, the outrage from some sectors of the open-wheel community about the penalties that were or were not assessed during the race, calls to relieve his Director of Race Operations, Brian Barnhart, of his duties, and to make changes in the methods used to determine a driver’s guilt or innocence, the open-wheel boss was clearly making an effort to try and douse the growing flames of controversy.
Whether you agree with Bernard’s outlook on the situation or disagree with his perspective, he told SPEED.com that his main responsibility is to look at the big picture surround his series, and not to get caught up in making snap decisions to appease IndyCar’s fans and participants.
“We want to make decisions that are in the best interest of not only tomorrow, but for years to come. And we’re going to be very selective on how we do that. There’s a process on how we make decisions or changes to whatever we determine we need to change. We evaluate everything—I evaluate everything—and if making changes to something is what will serve the series, the drivers, our sponsors and our supporters, I’m going to give it my full attention.”
Bernard, as one would expect of a CEO with employees that are under fire, offered them his full support, but did allude to the fact that a few unspecified tweaks could be implemented for future rounds.
“We have three people in race control: Tony Cotman, Brian Barnhart and Al Unser Jr. They all want to see the series grow and to make the best decisions possible. If anyone thinks there’s favoritism, it’s just not true. Where were those people [questioning favoritism] when the call was made to penalize Helio for blocking at Edmonton last year?
“It’s very important that these three decision makers up there have the confident and belief to make the right calls, and it’s my job to support them. But I also believe that as we continue to grow the series, we must continue to evaluate how our decisions are made, and if there’s a reason to redefine or to clear up any of the issues that come up, we will look at it and make adjustments. And saying that, we’ll do it from a calm process and not from emotions or a because of a backlash. That’s how we try to do everything.”
Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon offered his suggestion to IndyCar on Tuesday regarding adjustments he’d like to see, specifically with the adoption of F1’s penalty alert and review system, telling SPEED.com “Watch an F1 race and when there’s an incident, they say ‘The incident between No. 15 and No. 22 is currently being investigated.’ They let you know what they are doing. They go back, they look at all the videos and they discuss it. And they have a new, current driver invited to every race to help in the decision. And no disrespect to Al [Unser Jr.] about the current driver bit, but they do bring in a guy who is active or something like that, and it takes away anything people might say about bias. And within five laps of reviewing the evidence, they award a penalty, or take away points or positions, or do nothing at all. And I think that’s the way to do it.”
Although Bernard said other drivers have also mentioned the merits of F1’s penalty alert and review system, he refrained from making any comments on its possible implementation until he had more time to research the topic.
One leading open-wheel driver had an interesting take on how constant negativity and pressure directed at IndyCar’s race officiating staff—and particularly Race Director Brian Barnhart—could be affecting how the stewards make their decisions.
“That’s not how you run a business. You take your time—not too long—and you evaluate and assess things and then decide whether a change is necessary.”
To be fair, Bernard’s tone wasn’t aggressive or defiant, but after four straight days of reading about an alleged bias from the series towards Helio Castroneves, the outrage from some sectors of the open-wheel community about the penalties that were or were not assessed during the race, calls to relieve his Director of Race Operations, Brian Barnhart, of his duties, and to make changes in the methods used to determine a driver’s guilt or innocence, the open-wheel boss was clearly making an effort to try and douse the growing flames of controversy.
Whether you agree with Bernard’s outlook on the situation or disagree with his perspective, he told SPEED.com that his main responsibility is to look at the big picture surround his series, and not to get caught up in making snap decisions to appease IndyCar’s fans and participants.
“We want to make decisions that are in the best interest of not only tomorrow, but for years to come. And we’re going to be very selective on how we do that. There’s a process on how we make decisions or changes to whatever we determine we need to change. We evaluate everything—I evaluate everything—and if making changes to something is what will serve the series, the drivers, our sponsors and our supporters, I’m going to give it my full attention.”
Bernard, as one would expect of a CEO with employees that are under fire, offered them his full support, but did allude to the fact that a few unspecified tweaks could be implemented for future rounds.
“We have three people in race control: Tony Cotman, Brian Barnhart and Al Unser Jr. They all want to see the series grow and to make the best decisions possible. If anyone thinks there’s favoritism, it’s just not true. Where were those people [questioning favoritism] when the call was made to penalize Helio for blocking at Edmonton last year?
“It’s very important that these three decision makers up there have the confident and belief to make the right calls, and it’s my job to support them. But I also believe that as we continue to grow the series, we must continue to evaluate how our decisions are made, and if there’s a reason to redefine or to clear up any of the issues that come up, we will look at it and make adjustments. And saying that, we’ll do it from a calm process and not from emotions or a because of a backlash. That’s how we try to do everything.”
Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon offered his suggestion to IndyCar on Tuesday regarding adjustments he’d like to see, specifically with the adoption of F1’s penalty alert and review system, telling SPEED.com “Watch an F1 race and when there’s an incident, they say ‘The incident between No. 15 and No. 22 is currently being investigated.’ They let you know what they are doing. They go back, they look at all the videos and they discuss it. And they have a new, current driver invited to every race to help in the decision. And no disrespect to Al [Unser Jr.] about the current driver bit, but they do bring in a guy who is active or something like that, and it takes away anything people might say about bias. And within five laps of reviewing the evidence, they award a penalty, or take away points or positions, or do nothing at all. And I think that’s the way to do it.”
Although Bernard said other drivers have also mentioned the merits of F1’s penalty alert and review system, he refrained from making any comments on its possible implementation until he had more time to research the topic.
One leading open-wheel driver had an interesting take on how constant negativity and pressure directed at IndyCar’s race officiating staff—and particularly Race Director Brian Barnhart—could be affecting how the stewards make their decisions.
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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