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Written by:
Robin Miller
05/12/2008 - 04:49 AM
Indianapolis, Ind.
Rahal is still outside looking in despite a solid Pole Day effort. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Qualifying, like the weather, held no surprises over the weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. One of the Indy Racing League's Big 3 won the pole and it rained.
However, there was a lot more frustration than action as some good runs went for naught and the last hour offered nothing in the way of drama.
That's why this current format needs to either be revamped or rejected.
First off, we understand why the Speedway went to locking in 11 positions each day a few years ago. With the lack of quality and quantity at Indy the past few years, it was trying to create some excitement and this pretty much was a made-for-television move.
Fair enough, it was tough to get anybody to show up for pole day, let alone the other three days of time trials, so it was worth a try.
And, when you were pulling drivers out of shopping malls to fill the field on the final day, it wasn't like anybody was getting a raw deal or left behind.
But with unification last winter, the landscape suddenly changed. There were 32 cars hot-lapping Saturday morning and, by the old qualifying rules, as many as 20-22 likely would have qualified.
Instead, we had what amounted to a 10-driver scrum going for three spots.
Because Pole Day was its usual private party between Target/Ganaasi, Penske Racing and Andretti-Green.
The entire process was about which one of these teams would reign supreme and, if anything, the only surprise wasn't that Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon wound up 1-2 but that Ryan Briscoe is on the front row instead of Tony Kanaan or teammate Helio Castroneves.
Drivers like Bell have no backup car and can't risk crashing on their way to making the field. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
In the "other three spots" competition, Vitor Meira, Ed Carpenter and Tomas Scheckter emerged victorious over Graham Rahal, Davey Hamlton, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia, Will Power and Townsend Bell.
And here's my problem with those guys being outside looking in.
They deserved better because they all earned a rightful place in the race.
Young Rahal did exactly what good drivers do at Indianapolis -- he qualified quicker than he practiced and had one of the most consistent runs of the day. Yet he's got nothing to show for it.
Ditto for Hamilton, who hasn't raced since last May. He hopped into Tony George's third car and turned in a splendid run of 223-plus just like Rahal. He remains a spectator for May 25.
Then there's Hunter-Reay, another 223 mph qualifier who got moved outside the Top 11 (it's insulting to any IMS old-schoolers to say he was bumped) and went back out late again only to crash.
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