I have been going to Indy for many, many years. I have been buying the same
set of 8 seats my Dad first bought in 1958. The seats are about 50 feet past
the start/finish line and about 100 feet back from the track surface. We are
across from the pits, the scoring tower, the celebrities, the announcers, the
winners circle, the whole show, etc, etc, etc.
The starter's elevated tower is just above the start finish line and this is
what you see on TV. As a routine part of the race we keep an eye on the
starter and the flags. The "move over someone is trying to pass" flag was
shown to many more drivers, many more times then I have ever seen it used
before. Many races you will never see the flag at all. There must have been
a session with the drivers about blocking, telling them the flag was going to
be used and enforced.
The flag was used freely and the intent is to tell a driver to move over, not
whether he/she is "blocking". The flag is shown to the offending driver, by
the tower, and the driver must acknowledge the flag by raising a hand. If the
driver does not acknowledge the flag and the same driving action occurs on the
ensuing lap, as the driver approaches the tower again, the starter leans over
the railing, points the flag at the car and waves the flag vigorously at the
car.
If the driver does not move over after the second time the flag is shown to
him/her, the black flag is shown and the driver must do a slow down run thru
the pits. If there are a series of cars, say 2 -5 cars in a tight line, the
flag could be for anyone of the cars. This is why the pits are informed via
radio, if their driver is being flagged. The pits tend to ignore the radio
message and the flag just as the drivers do. When the pit is sure it is their
car, they tell their driver via the radio what is going on. Meanwhile, as you
can see, a number of laps have passed.
In the case of Andretti, Andretti, Hornish, Michael just did not have the
equipment to win. Not all month and not yesterday. Everyone was screaming
for him but he had to give way to Marco with the better car. Remember Marco
is 19 years old and does not have the experience yet. Hornish baited him on
the previously lap and backed off (Marco also shut the door on him, a good
move) and Marco thought he had the better car. Hornish simply backed off a
bit and slingshoted around Marco coming out of turn 4, a classic move and
Marco did not have enough to hold him off. Marco never made a move to block
and could not have been penalized just before the finish line (see above for
the number of laps). Hornish had the best car on the track all month.
Everyone but Marco knew Hornish had the power and the speed. Experience vs
inexperience.
Marco's comment was that had he tried to block, there would have been an
accident. Marco realized too late that Hornish had him. I really felt for
Michael. Mario was heartbroken. Marco will have other chances.
A great race!
Danica drove very well. She stared 10th, dropped to 15th or 16th and kept
fighting, getting back to 6th. She also did not have the car she had last
year but drove a very good race in spite of the equipment. Danica will be a
factor. Would she win with the same equipment as the guys? That's racing
folks.
Fred
63 BJ7
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