What Could Bumping Look Like in 2018?
There is no secret that this year's Indianapolis 500 entry list likely will have more than 33 entries with as many as 35-36 entries rumored.
Last week saw two more Indianapolis 500 entries confirmed and both were on the Honda side. Pippa Mann will be back at Dale Coyne Racing, meaning the Illinois-based team will field four different drivers from four different countries as the Briton Mann joins Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais, Brazilian rookie Pietro Fittipaldi and American Conor Daly.
Mann wasn't the only Brit to seal an Indianapolis 500 ride. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports confirmed Jay Howard will return for the second consecutive year.
We haven't reached Easter and Honda has 19 entries confirmed for the Indianapolis 500. That has to be the maximum the manufacture could support and other than Chip Ganassi Racing, which has no plan on fielding an additional entry in May, all the other Honda teams have to be at their limits for supporting cars come May.
Whether we have bumping or not all rests on Chevrolet and the manufacture already has ten full-time entries on the table meaning we are five additional Chevrolet entries away from bumping and Chevrolet has said it is willing for field up to 17 entries, meaning possibly 36 entries are on the table.
For a moment, let's put aside where those additional Chevrolet entries could come from and play out a hypothetical situation. It is Saturday May 19, 2018; the first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying. What could bumping look like?
Indianapolis 500 qualifying changed a few years ago and instead of having pole day be the first qualifying day with the second day left for bumping we have had two days of redundant qualifying sessions where everyone qualifies the first day, the Fast Nine is set and the field is set. Then on Sunday everyone qualifies again with everyone tenth to 33rd going again to set rows four through 11 and following that session is the Fast Nine Session to determine who starts on pole position.
Since the change the only year that saw more than 2015 and that was a fluky year in its own way because Saturday was washed out and then because of a few crashes in practices IndyCar made teams run its race aero package in qualifying and everyone had one qualifying run. After that, the bottom three cars and Buddy Lazier were put in a last chance qualifier group to decide who was going home.
We haven't seen what bumping would look like with this format unabridged and I am not sure people know what to expect when qualifying comes. The field will not be decided at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday May 20th but the field might not be set at 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday May 19th either. Let's try to clear this up.
While the plan is for the field of 33 to be set on Saturday, there are provisions in place that could extend the proceedings until Sunday.
Rule 8.4.3.4 for Indianapolis 500 qualifying states:
If a car is unable to complete its Guaranteed Attempt because of a mechanical condition or on-Tack incident and is prevented from making a second attempt during Saturday Qualifying as determined by INDYCAR, the INDYCAR shall provide that Car an opportunity to complete its second attempt on Sunday at a time determined by INDYCAR ("Last Chance Qualifying").Each car gets a Guaranteed Attempt on Saturday but let's use Sébastien Bourdais' accident last year as an example. If there had been 34 cars entered last year and Bourdais had crashed, his entry would have been allowed an opportunity to qualifying on Sunday even if 33 cars had set a time.
Rule 8.4.3.4.1 adds:
The fastest thirty-three cars completing Qualifications attempts on Saturday shall start the race. However, for every Car unable to complete their Guaranteed Attempt, as described in Rule 8.4.3.4, there will be an equal number of temporary positions available at the rear of the starting field.Once again, using Bourdais as the example, if 33 cars had set a time on Saturday and an accident kept Bourdais from making a second attempt then he would get a shot in the "Last Chance Qualifying" on Sunday. Since Bourdais would have been the only driver needing "Last Chance Qualifying" there would only be one temporary position made available. That means the top 32 qualifiers would be safe while Bourdais and the 33rd fastest car on Saturday would take part in "Last Chance Qualifying."
Rule 8.4.3.4.2 describes how "Last Chance Qualifying" works:
INDYCAR shall provide each Car from Rule 8.4.3.4 one Qualification attempt during Last Chance Qualifying, with the order being determined by a random draw. If a Car from Rule 8.4.3.4 can post a time faster than any Car occupying one of the temporary positions, that Car will earn a position in the race, subject to the numbed Car having one last opportunity to prequalify and reclaim a position.Bourdais would get an attempt to bump in. If he were to be faster than the 33rd fastest time then the car that was bumped out would get a shot to reclaim the position and bump Bourdais back out of the field. Bourdais would not get a second chance if he were to be bumped out.
There are two more rules to keep in mind:
Rule 8.4.3.4.3:
All cars earning positions in the Race during Last Chance Qualifying shall be listed in order of speed rank behind Cars that qualified on Saturday.Rule 8.4.3.4.4
If there are open positions remaining at the conclusion of Last Chance Qualifying, these remaining positions will be filled according to Rule 8.4.8.What is Rule 8.4.8?
Special Session - In the event the Qualifications period ends on Saturday May 19th with fewer than thirty-three Cars qualified for the Race after the break in the line and there are no Cars eligible for Last Chance Qualifying, all Car having met the Qualifications requirements shall be locked in and cannot be bumped. INDYCAR shall fill the balance of the Starting Lineup by the fastest Qualified Cars of a special session, with the only bumping taking place amongst the Cars participating in the special session. The following procedure shall apply to the special session:
a) An entrant who wishes to secure a spot in the Qualifications order for the special session must have a representative present at 6:15PM on Saturday May 19th at N1 to draw for a Qualifications position.
b) The special session shall take place on the next available day, weather permitting, prior to Group One and "Fast 9" Qualifying and consist of one Guaranteed Attempt for each Car. any car not presented and starting its Guaranteed Attempt when directed to do so by INDYCAR or not taking the green flag will forfeit its Guaranteed Attempt. The remained of the Starting Lineup will be filled based on Qualifications time during the special session. If the special session does not fill the Starting Lineup, INDYCAR will fill the Starting Lineup.
c) Cars that have qualified in the special session will participate in Group One.
d) In the event INDYCAR determines that this procedure will interference with the preparations for the Race, either due to weather or otherwise, INDYCAR may forego the special session and fill the Starting Lineup in accordance with Rule 8.1.9.2.I am going to save you the time and tell you Rule 8.1.9.2 is setting the rest of the field by entrant points.
Is there a way to simplify this? Yes.
Let's say there are 36 qualifiers, 19 Hondas and 17 Chevrolet, and all make their Guaranteed Attempt and none are prevent a second because of a mechanical issue or an on-track incident then the fastest 33 cars at the end of Saturday qualifying make the race and the three cars on the outside do not get another chance on Sunday.
Let's say there are 36 qualifiers and 33 make their Guaranteed Attempt but three don't, one because of an on-track incident and two had mechanical issues, there will be Last Chance Qualifying and three temporary positions will be held, meaning the 31st, 32nd and 33rd fastest qualifiers will not be safe. The three cars will be a part of a random draw to determine the qualifying order. If "Car A" and "Car B" are faster than the 32nd and 33rd fastest qualifiers then the 32nd and 33rd fastest qualifiers from Saturday will each get an attempt to reclaim a position in the field.
If there are 36 entries you would think a special session would not be necessary as it would mean at least four entries would have to fail to complete a qualifying run on Saturday. That isn't out of the realm of possibility but it seems unlikely.
Going through all this and all the other possible session if a car doesn't complete a guaranteed attempt or if the field isn't full and I have to say there has to be a simpler way for Indianapolis 500 qualifying. The pole position deciding session was moved to be the final round of qualifying to have the most important thing of the qualifying session to be the last thing decided, keeping fans interested until the end. Fantastic but it has created more bullshit than ever necessary and it forced teams to spend an extra day at the racetrack with the post-qualifying Monday practice.
It is easy to say let's go back to the way it was with pole day on Saturday and bump day on Sunday and get rid of the Monday practice, saving the teams some money but I think that ship has sailed especially with the new television deal. If network NBC is going to show Indianapolis 500 qualifying on both days then there better be some qualifying and while we could have frantic bumping this year there is no guarantee that would be the case next year. If IndyCar could somehow guarantee there would be at least 36 Indianapolis 500 entries next year and maybe even bump it up to 38 entries then perhaps it could consider reverting to the old format because bump day is the cruelest day in motorsports and it can be more exhilarating than pole day but if the series can't guarantee that then the current muddled up schedule will remain.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Sebastian Vettel and the snow in Martinsville but did you know...
Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup, Scott Pye and David Reynolds split the four Supercars races from Melbourne's Albert Park. Pye's victory was the first of his Supercars career and it was the first for the rebranded Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies split the World Superbike races from Buriram. Randy Krummenacher won the World Supersport race.
The #61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari of Toni Vilander and Miguel Molina swept the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX races from Austin. The #55 PF Racing Ford Mustang of Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell won the first GTS SprintX race. James Sofronas and Alex Welch won the second GTS SprintX race in the #14 GMG Racing Audi.
Marvin Musquin won the Supercross race from Indianapolis, his second of the season and first since the season opener. Jason Anderson was 21st at the end of lap one but fought for a fourth place finish and holds a 35-point championship lead over Musquin with five races to go and with an off week set for Easter.
Coming Up This Weekend
Easter, which means not many motorsports series will be in action.
However, the British GT Championship is at Oulton Park on Easter Monday.
British Superbikes will be at Donington Park the same day.
