albpilot
Ace of Aces
Red Baron Fight XVIII Champ
I'm not frightened of terrorism, so please don't go and create a police state on my account...
Posts: 1,181
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Post by albpilot on May 29, 2011 21:09:56 GMT -5
Ok, if the yellow is supposed to come out when there is a crash and there are supposed to be no lead changes under yellow, how does Dan Wheldon win this if Hildebrand's car is still under power down the straight? What am I not understanding (and I'm sure it my misunderstanding here).
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Post by Stephen on May 30, 2011 12:00:16 GMT -5
Actually, you understand it quite well. In today's world, the yellow comes out at the discretion of the race officials. This is generally described as... "As fast as we can after we see the situation and determine that the problem is sufficient to warrant a caution."
If that sounds muddy and vague, that's because it's muddy and vague. The field is frozen at the moment the yellow comes out. This, of course, led to the 2002 mess with Paul Tracy and Castroneves which rages to this day. To avoid just such a controversy, race officials let the light remain green in until Wheldon was past Hildebrand in Sunday's race. Yes, it was deliberate. They rehearse and prepare for just such incidents.
In earlier years, the system was different - when the yellow came out, the field reverted to the positions held by each car at the end of the last scored green lap. That is clear and plain. It is objective. Black and white. There are no misunderstandings or questions about where each car was at the exact moment the yellow light came on. It avoids many a mess.
At nearly every short track in America, the old system remains in place. I won a race at Bloomington Speedway once in this very fashion... I was leading on the last scored green lap when a crash occurred halfway through the next lap. The race then went from yellow to red, to checkered and I won without question. So the system works.
I don't know why they went to the system they have now. I guess they think it makes for more excitement on TV, but it's a mess. Under the current rules - which I don't like - Wheldon did win the race and there is no controversy.
Under the old rules, I think a case could be made for Hildebrand because - even after a yellow comes out - cars must finish on their OWN POWER. And since the yellow would have reverted to the last scored lap (Hildebrand leading) and since Hildebrand did finish under his own power (coasting across the line), then I would think that he might have had a claim to the win.
Too bad. I was pulling for him. What a great upset that would have been.
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