Comments on: Should They Ditch The Double-File Re-Starts?

By: George

George — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 03:38:47 +0000

Marco Andretti needs to go back to driving school he’s turning into Paul Tracy
I’m a big Mario and Michael fan but not Marco

By: marcostraz

marcostraz — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:48:48 +0000

It is to consider that, if we want to be precise, double file restart only caused one caution…the other contacts have been caused or at the start (where nothing changed) or after a few corners…

By: SkipinSC

SkipinSC — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:58:25 +0000

I have no problem with the double file re-starts. WHere I DO think there is a problem is with the SLOWED restarts. I am all for keeping the field tighter than it has been in the past, but, to be perfectly honest, if you’re going to have 26 (or 33) cars coming to the flag at 60 mph, some will accelerate fater than others and you’re going to have too many cars trying to occupy the same piece of real estate.

This is a problem which may well be exacerbated NEXT year, when turbochargers are back in the equation.

That being said, what we HAD until this year was not satisfactory either. Too many times you had half the field through the first corner while others were still crossing the line. My suggestion is to add 50-75 mph to the start speed and spread the field SLIGHTLY.

No solution is going to work, however, if the drivers do not exercise a modicum of PATIENCE. You cannot win ANY race going into the first turn of the first lap, but you can sure as Hell lose it. What happened on the start Sunday was two drivers, Marco and Helio, trying to pass too many cars going into the first turn, and BOTH trying to occupy the same piece of ground. Can you say, “Contact?”

By: Edward

Edward — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:17:50 +0000

While I was against the double-file starts at first, I do think the league needs to give it some time to see if things improve. These are supposedly professional drivers, they need to adjust to the rules they are given. I may feel differently if there is carnage every start of every race, but it’s the responsibility of the drivers to use good judgement. Hopefully, they will learn with experience.

By: A.J.

A.J. — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:29:22 +0000

I was against implementing it before the season, but now that it’s here, I’m against junking it just because of some whining from various quarters.

Yes. **Whining**.

Either the league, the drivers, and the fans accept that these are top-notch drivers, or they give in and show the world that they need special rules that don’t apply in other similar situations. F1 starts are double file (admittedly, restarts aren’t, but the huge problem at St. Pete was the blasted **start**). And as someone above pointed out: World of Outlaws.

Normally, for safety’s sake I’d defer to nearly anything (not everything, but close) that a driver complains about regarding safety. But this one’s an exception; to me, the safety aspect is a red herring. This is just change that the drivers and some fans don’t like. The risk has been demonstrated in other open wheel series to be minimal. I’m really sorry to phrase it this way, but: The drivers have to suck it up and make it work. They’re good enough to, they just have to do it.

By: Roger T

Roger T — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:22:51 +0000

The double file restart has been very very good to Simona. Just sayin’.

By: HB Donnelly

HB Donnelly — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:51:31 +0000

You mention that people are wondering what will happen when the tracks get narrower, but part of the problem with St. Pete is the width of the straight. It’s just like the old CART races at Cleveland: the drivers see a car in front of them and on the outside and what seems like infinite space to the inside, and they go for broke. Barber will be better because the drivers should put a little more thought into it and turn 1 there is a large-radius turn that will string the cars out a bit.

By: Christopher Leone

Christopher Leone — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:31:25 +0000

Give Marco and Helio the front row every race and we won’t have a problem.

In all seriousness, no, this shouldn’t be a problem, they can either learn to adapt or crash enough cars that they lose their rides. In my opinion, though, we need to start the season with a track that’s not so tight. Everybody’s still shaking some of the rust off – starting on a street course seems like a recipe for disaster no matter how you look at it.

By: redd

redd — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:48:12 +0000

I thought the field looked organized and awesome both on the start and on the restarts…until they crashed of course.

My thought is some of the drivers thought they could take advantage of other drivers being more cautious than usual in the first turn. And I wasn’t really shocked that it was Helio and Marco.

Maybe they should be “the best drivers in the world when given proper spacing.”

Looking forward to Barber.

By: Tom G.

Tom G. — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:44:26 +0000

Amen. Why do people keep forgeting that the start of the race has always been double file? That’s where the carnage happened at St. Pete, just like last year in Sao Paolo. I put that on the drivers. Jim in Wilmington makes a great point about Sprint Cars. If they can figure it out, so can “The World’s Best Drivers”

The league needs to ride it out for awhile and see how it goes. I think the real benefit might be on the ovals.