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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Rahal, Walker Weigh In On Beaux Barfield
Bobby Rahal and Derrick Walker know what it's like to have Beaux Barfield as their Race Director, and share their thoughts on INDYCAR's latest acquisition.
Beaux Barfield built a solid reputation in the ALMS, and will replace Brian Barnhart as INDYCAR Race Director. (Dan R. Boyd/American Le Mans Series)
With the IZOD IndyCar Series set to announce Beaux Barfield as its next Race Director, the regime change which began almost two years ago is nearly complete.
Brian Barnhart, who held the position since the formative days of the Indy Racing League, was moved aside in late November as INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard made public the news that had been known for some time: Barnhart’s reign as Race Director would not continue into 2012.
The leading candidate to replace Barnhart had been Barfield from the outset, with the ALMS’ Race Director receiving mostly favorable comments from those who were polled by Bernard. The quest for Barnhart’s replacement began months ago, and included candidates ranging from GRAND-AM champion Scott Pruett to Trans-Am champion Tommy Kendall, but as the only experienced and proven Race Director willing to jump ship, Bernard chose Barfield to lead Race Control during INDYCAR’s transition to new cars and new rules.
While many within the IndyCar Series paddock are familiar with Barfield, the two team principals that field IndyCar and ALMS teams have gotten an advance look at what the rest of the open-wheel paddock can look forward to this year.
Bobby Rahal, whose Rahal Letterman Lanigan team has run BMW’s factory effort in the ALMS since 2009, and Derrick Walker, who took over the factory Falken Tire ALMS program in 2010, have gotten a solid feel for Barfield’s on-the-job performance as Race Director.
Teams and drivers who came over to IndyCar from Champ Car also got a feel for what Barfield had to offer—he was Chief Steward for the Champ Car Atlantic Series and also served under Tony Cotman and Chris Kneifel as a Champ Car steward—but his move to the ALMS was the first time the 40-year-old Texan was thrust into the limelight as a top-tier Race Director.
“I think Beaux did a good job at the ALMS,” said Rahal, who inked an engine deal with Honda as part of RLL's full-time return to IndyCar racing.
“That’s a tough deal there," he continued. "You have all the ALMS manufacturers politicking you like crazy and I’m sure you end up feeling like you have a lot of bosses. I don’t think that’s going to change; IndyCar is very challenging and [always] has been. Dealing with the [IndyCar] owners…there are a lot of people who want their voices heard and oftentimes followed, but I’m sure he’ll be prepared for it.
“He’s been around racing for a long time. He’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly, so he knows what he’s getting himself into.”
Walker, who will lead Ed Carpenter's new IndyCar team in 2012, along with the Falken Tire team, also believes Barfield will succeed upon his return to open-wheel racing.
“I’ve known him since [Walker Racing] was in the [Champ Car] Atlantic Series, so I’ve seen him in a few roles,” he said. “The thing about him, or people like him, is that there are very few with that kind of experience. It’s not the kind of job that many people jump into. It requires quite a lot of experience, and those kinds of people don’t change jobs very often. When you look at it from an INDYCAR perspective, it’s a big gain because to get someone with experience is rather rare.
And on the ALMS side, it’s a big loss because they had someone who could handle that job. He’s very enthusiastic to do the job, and he’s excited to get the job, so I think he’ll apply himself very well.”
Coming from the ALMS where five classes, 60 or more drivers and a highly complex rulebook are the norm for each race, Rahal thinks Barfield will enjoy the comparatively straightforward IndyCar Series experience.
“In some respects, it might be easier because you don’t have so many categories and so many different rules like in the ALMS,” he said.
Walker agreed with Rahal in terms of Barfield finding INDYCAR’s structure easier to manage, but thinks the new Race Director will be in for a rude awakening once the first race weekend gets under way.
“Having been on both sides, he’ll find the ALMS was a picnic compared to what he’s going to now,” he said. “In IndyCar, there’s a different attitude and kind of pressure that comes to bear. The competitive nature in IndyCar breeds a certain ego, or maybe a lack of tolerance for anything less than perfection, and he will have to be on his toes to stay ahead of the pack. One of the things that will be interesting to see is how INDYCAR, as it has changed its structure, also changes the Race Director role as it was when Brian Barnhart held the position. I’m sure it will change a bit, but how much is hard to define until it runs its course.
“And some of it will evolve based on how Beaux tackles the job; it will tailor itself to him a bit, but nevertheless, I think the job will change. It will be an evolution of the job, but he’ll adapt to it. I’ve been to driver meetings in both series, and in the ALMS, it’s easier to play King Kong and tell everybody how you’re going to run the race. There’s a lot more compliance like that in the ALMS…which he isn’t likely to find in IndyCar…”
Barfield knows most of the IndyCar paddock from his time as a driver competing on the open-wheel ladder and, later, from working his way up the race administration ladder in FF2000, Trans-Am and Champ Car, but comes to INDYCAR without any known team or driver allegiances.
Listening to IndyCar drivers and owners grouse about preferential treatment from the Race Director has been an ongoing narrative, and it will surely continue with Barfield at the helm, but if he’s lucky, the volume will be kept to a low din rather than cranked to 11.
“Beaux has worked with many of the drivers and team owners over the years; he’s certainly no stranger to the people who race in IndyCar, but I think IndyCar owners are getting a more level playing field because everybody is starting from the same position with him,” said Rahal. “I do think there was the perception [with Barnhart] that some were given the wink and the nod, while others were not. You just can’t have that. You have to have consistency and transparency, and Beaux can bring that. Certainly in the ALMS, we saw that.
“We knew what he was going to do and how he was going to act, and that’s what you want. You don’t want to wonder what a guy in that position is going to do. You want that confidence, and I think he’ll do a good job with that.”
Brian Barnhart, who held the position since the formative days of the Indy Racing League, was moved aside in late November as INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard made public the news that had been known for some time: Barnhart’s reign as Race Director would not continue into 2012.
The leading candidate to replace Barnhart had been Barfield from the outset, with the ALMS’ Race Director receiving mostly favorable comments from those who were polled by Bernard. The quest for Barnhart’s replacement began months ago, and included candidates ranging from GRAND-AM champion Scott Pruett to Trans-Am champion Tommy Kendall, but as the only experienced and proven Race Director willing to jump ship, Bernard chose Barfield to lead Race Control during INDYCAR’s transition to new cars and new rules.
While many within the IndyCar Series paddock are familiar with Barfield, the two team principals that field IndyCar and ALMS teams have gotten an advance look at what the rest of the open-wheel paddock can look forward to this year.
Bobby Rahal, whose Rahal Letterman Lanigan team has run BMW’s factory effort in the ALMS since 2009, and Derrick Walker, who took over the factory Falken Tire ALMS program in 2010, have gotten a solid feel for Barfield’s on-the-job performance as Race Director.
Teams and drivers who came over to IndyCar from Champ Car also got a feel for what Barfield had to offer—he was Chief Steward for the Champ Car Atlantic Series and also served under Tony Cotman and Chris Kneifel as a Champ Car steward—but his move to the ALMS was the first time the 40-year-old Texan was thrust into the limelight as a top-tier Race Director.
“I think Beaux did a good job at the ALMS,” said Rahal, who inked an engine deal with Honda as part of RLL's full-time return to IndyCar racing.
“That’s a tough deal there," he continued. "You have all the ALMS manufacturers politicking you like crazy and I’m sure you end up feeling like you have a lot of bosses. I don’t think that’s going to change; IndyCar is very challenging and [always] has been. Dealing with the [IndyCar] owners…there are a lot of people who want their voices heard and oftentimes followed, but I’m sure he’ll be prepared for it.
“He’s been around racing for a long time. He’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly, so he knows what he’s getting himself into.”
Walker, who will lead Ed Carpenter's new IndyCar team in 2012, along with the Falken Tire team, also believes Barfield will succeed upon his return to open-wheel racing.
“I’ve known him since [Walker Racing] was in the [Champ Car] Atlantic Series, so I’ve seen him in a few roles,” he said. “The thing about him, or people like him, is that there are very few with that kind of experience. It’s not the kind of job that many people jump into. It requires quite a lot of experience, and those kinds of people don’t change jobs very often. When you look at it from an INDYCAR perspective, it’s a big gain because to get someone with experience is rather rare.
And on the ALMS side, it’s a big loss because they had someone who could handle that job. He’s very enthusiastic to do the job, and he’s excited to get the job, so I think he’ll apply himself very well.”
Coming from the ALMS where five classes, 60 or more drivers and a highly complex rulebook are the norm for each race, Rahal thinks Barfield will enjoy the comparatively straightforward IndyCar Series experience.
“In some respects, it might be easier because you don’t have so many categories and so many different rules like in the ALMS,” he said.
Walker agreed with Rahal in terms of Barfield finding INDYCAR’s structure easier to manage, but thinks the new Race Director will be in for a rude awakening once the first race weekend gets under way.
“Having been on both sides, he’ll find the ALMS was a picnic compared to what he’s going to now,” he said. “In IndyCar, there’s a different attitude and kind of pressure that comes to bear. The competitive nature in IndyCar breeds a certain ego, or maybe a lack of tolerance for anything less than perfection, and he will have to be on his toes to stay ahead of the pack. One of the things that will be interesting to see is how INDYCAR, as it has changed its structure, also changes the Race Director role as it was when Brian Barnhart held the position. I’m sure it will change a bit, but how much is hard to define until it runs its course.
“And some of it will evolve based on how Beaux tackles the job; it will tailor itself to him a bit, but nevertheless, I think the job will change. It will be an evolution of the job, but he’ll adapt to it. I’ve been to driver meetings in both series, and in the ALMS, it’s easier to play King Kong and tell everybody how you’re going to run the race. There’s a lot more compliance like that in the ALMS…which he isn’t likely to find in IndyCar…”
Barfield knows most of the IndyCar paddock from his time as a driver competing on the open-wheel ladder and, later, from working his way up the race administration ladder in FF2000, Trans-Am and Champ Car, but comes to INDYCAR without any known team or driver allegiances.
Listening to IndyCar drivers and owners grouse about preferential treatment from the Race Director has been an ongoing narrative, and it will surely continue with Barfield at the helm, but if he’s lucky, the volume will be kept to a low din rather than cranked to 11.
“Beaux has worked with many of the drivers and team owners over the years; he’s certainly no stranger to the people who race in IndyCar, but I think IndyCar owners are getting a more level playing field because everybody is starting from the same position with him,” said Rahal. “I do think there was the perception [with Barnhart] that some were given the wink and the nod, while others were not. You just can’t have that. You have to have consistency and transparency, and Beaux can bring that. Certainly in the ALMS, we saw that.
“We knew what he was going to do and how he was going to act, and that’s what you want. You don’t want to wonder what a guy in that position is going to do. You want that confidence, and I think he’ll do a good job with that.”
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