Let's Not Reinvent The Wheel With Indianapolis 500 Qualifying

We are all expecting changes to Indianapolis 500 qualifying this year. It's the worst kept secret in the series right now.

Is the change necessary? We already know the television windows that ABC will broadcast qualifying and it all but confirms changes are coming. Most likely pole position will be set Sunday with the fast nine format and Saturday becomes bump day as rows four through eleven are set.

Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 has been set up for two story lines for each day, who is on pole and who isn't going to make the field. Sadly, recent rule changes, lack of sponsors, lack of teams, lack of equipment and sheer lack of interest has seen bumping on the verge of extinction just like the amur leopard.

Qualifying's reduction to one storyline has made pole day the only one worth turning to and Sunday practice only once the nine remaining positions are filled. By flipping pole day and bump day, the story one Saturday would become who can make the top nine while Sunday is all about pole position. While it is understandable, are people really going to be dying to see who is going to be ninth come Saturday at 6:00 p.m.?

It's not the same as the fight for 33rd. If you don't make the top nine and say are stuck in twelfth, you are still in the field, still in top half of the grid, you're fine. But that fight for making the field, it's do or die. Succeed and you have a shot to make history. Fail and make sure the lazy boy is clear or, if it's too painful, make plans to go to a movie or on a long hike in the woods, far from civilization. It's the difference between a payday of at least $250,000 or a deep, red hole that is the debt incurred from running an IndyCar program.

The immediate mothballing of previous chassis and engines is one of the cause of the problem. Sure the last Dallara chassis (IR-03/05) wasn't the prettiest thing to every make a lap at Indianapolis but who would be against seeing five or six those in line to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with a level of balance of performance set by IndyCar that would ensure we'd see a half dozen cars trying to bump their way into the field?

Of course IndyCar has adopted a formula that is twin-turbocharged, 2.2 liter, V6 engines which is fine. But we have seen balance of performance (BoP) be implemented in United SportsCars and while it is controversial, it is a page IndyCar should have considered for the first few seasons of the new car. The previous normally-aspirated Honda V8 engine could of had an air restrictor placed on it with some additional weight ballast added to the Dallara IR-03/05 chassis and maybe regulated a small fuel cell for the IR-03/05.

It would be nice to see IndyCar open up the rule book just a little bit and grandfather in the IR-03/05 for at least Indianapolis and maybe the other Triple Crown races. It would also be nice to see Dallara offer a package for teams that want to retrofit a current V6 engine into the IR-03/05. After all, wasn't Indianapolis known for and aren't there some who are clamoring for the days of "run what you brung?" In my opinion, if a team showed up with an IR-05 chassis and a retrofitted Chevrolet V6, then let them have a go. The chassis is approved by IndyCar and so is the engine. And we know the IR-03/05 had a stellar track record when it came to safety with only one fatality (Dan Wheldon) in over a decade of competition and a few back injuries.

Of course here is where BoP would have to come into play. Would you require the older car run a little extra weight? Or maybe run with a smaller fuel cell? Or a combination of both? Some wouldn't like that but at the same time giving those who run the current chassis and engine competition an advantage wouldn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, I think we can all deal with a little BoP if it meant a half dozen cars trying to bump their way into the field and everyone holding their breathe as the final gun sounds to close Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

And for those fearing a previous generation chassis winning the Indianapolis 500, remember Al Unser's fourth Indianapolis 500 victory was in a year-old car that was a hotel show car a few weeks prior to getting on track for qualifying and over twenty-five years later we call it one of the greatest upsets in motorsports history.