Detroit: Indycar blocking rule

[Charlies]

Having watched the Detroit race, although I'm pleased Wilson won and had the pace to do so on merit, it was unfortunate it was decided from race control.

I was hoping someone could elaborate on the IndyCar definition of 'blocking'.

Is it the Champ Car definition; any form of defensive driving, or the 'European' definition of weaving to block an opponent?

If it's the former Castroneves was clearly guilty even though on a road course I think it's a stupid rule; if the latter it was a harsh decision, but I'm not sure which interpretation is correct.

[Alex K]

Wilson didn't even pull up to Castroneves, I can understand that he's lost momentum but his front wing didn't even pull to Helio's rear tyres... I think Justin would be up there all the remaining laps, but Helio didn't do anything wrong IMO.

[NAC]

Quote from ESPN site on that matter

Castroneves dominated much of the race and looked as if he was headed to a second straight victory, but IndyCar officials ordered Wilson's car to the lead after it was determined the flamboyant Brazilian was blocking on the 72nd lap.

Castroneves and his Team Penske crew were less than pleased with the ruling that sent him into second place.

"We did what we did because it was a pretty easy call," said Brian Barnhart, IndyCar Series president of competition and operations. "He had a tremendous run out of Turn 12, and Helio crossed over almost the entire width of the track to impede the progress of the car behind him."

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing...=ESPNHeadlines

[JohnSSC]

Wilson was all over him and Helio "danced" all the way across the track with him, so yeah, he blocked him and then some...

[deejay]

Yeah, it was a block. I thought the ruling was pretty sensible actually, just give up the place rather than a drive through or something which would have been too harsh.

Apparently BB made a clear direction that no blocking would be permitted in the drivers meeting, so Helio can't really complain.

[Alwaysfirst]

I thought it was a great decision. Helio just weaved from one side of the track to the other & then straight back again. Something he knew. I'm just glad that the officials have had the guts to follow their own rules for a change.

[lnin0]

I don't understand Castroneves reaction after the race. He obviously was aware of what he was doing. If Wilson was no threat then why did he move down to block?

It would have been nice if Castroneves was the bigger man but he isn't so nobody will ever know the true outcome. All we know is when it came down to the very good possibility that he was beat Castroneves decided to roll the dice and try to cheat destiny instead of letting things unfold fairly. He knowingly rolled those dice so he has no right to be angry at anyone other than himself when they came up craps.

Kudos for the league in not showing favoritism to Team Penske. A rule is a rule no matter if you are an unknown driver or the top driver on a top team.

[cptkablamo]

Castroneves did seem to weave although I am surprised that no warnings were given although if they were told it was a 1-strike-and-your-out rule then he only has himself to blame.

He wasn't the first in the race so I too was glad to see that teams at both ends of the pit lane had to contend with this rule

[Amar7605]

Yeah it was real clear that Helio was blocking. Fundamentally, I don't like this rule because it takes away from the competitive spirit, but I can understand why the rule is in place. With tracks as narrow as Detriot, you have to have a blocking rule because there is practically no room to pass.

It's a safety issue more than anything. You don't want the lagging driver to force the issue, go too deep in a corner, and take out both he and the driver he's passing.

[gomick]

Great to see Justin Wilson & NHL get a win at Detroit - surely Scott Dixon hasnt gone to conservative is his quest for the title , big pressure from Helio now

[deejay]

Dixon wasn't conservative, his pitwall screwed up the strategy and he got stuck in traffic for most of the race. He was comfortably the fastest car on the track before that.

I'm all for road racing in the IRL but the difficulty in passing at the last couple has been a bit absurd. Really made the championship closer than it should be.

Interesting that Dixon has had (for him) quite bad results on the road circuits this year but got all his points on the ovals. A reversal of last year.

[Rich D]

Helio almost drove Justin into the wall...he moved about 4 car widths to the right. blocking call was more than justified IMO.

[mattcat]

I have a new idea. They should paint a line down the center of the track in all of the overtaking zones, and force the drivers to choose inside or outside before they get to it. Then, if they deviate from the line, they should be penalised.

Oh, wait. Didn't someone do that already? It really incresed the level of excitement in that series.

Blocking is a part of racing. Helio didn't do anything dangerous, and he only did it once. Wilson would have got around him eventually IMO. A poor call by the officials, if you ask me.

[JohnSSC]

There is a difference between defending and going wall to wall. Helio went wall-to-wall and being one of the elder statesmen he really should know better.

Justin had him clean and to be honest, he could have pulled a Will Power on him like Will did to RHR (although RHR was defending cleanly) and just drove right into him. Instead he backed off and Barnhart, et al showed some gonads and called as they said they would.

[Mystery]

Like others above my only suprise in the whole affair was Helio's reaction. It was one of the more blatant episodes of blocking I've seen in a while. What did Helio want to have happen - have Justin not back down taking the pair of them into the wall and make Dixon the champion.

It was a dumb move by Helio - simple as that. He was actually lucky Justin had some common sense because there were drivers out there who wouldn't have backed out and he'd have been crying about being taken out of the championship.

[BootsOntheSide]

I think it was a block, changing direction sharply enough to create a safety hazard on such a tight track. Considering that the drivers had been specifically warned, and Helio had a championship to fight for, I'd say it was a justified penalty. Imagine the controversy if it had been Wheldon trying to pass and a collision had occurred.

[Amar7605]

Well not just Wheldon, Boots. What if there was a collision between Helio and Justin? That would have basically handed Dixon the championship.

Helio should not have risked it in the first place. On the other hand, I don't know what it's like in the heat of battle, so there :-)

[Mystery]

From watching the race back last night interesting to note that earlier in the race Manning (?) was ordered to give a place back to someone for a block and no indication that there had been a warning given previously. If that's the case then the stewards were consistent with other decisions during the race and with the drivers' briefing apparently. Helio just doesn't have a case to moan and can count himself lucky Wilson was a gentleman and didn't take him out.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by mattcat

I have a new idea. They should paint a line down the center of the track in all of the overtaking zones, and force the drivers to choose inside or outside before they get to it. Then, if they deviate from the line, they should be penalised.

Oh, wait. Didn't someone do that already? It really incresed the level of excitement in that series.

What series was this, might I ask.

[mattcat]

Originally Posted by Matt

What series was this, might I ask.

ChampCar, and it made their races unbearably boring.

[Matt]

I don't remember that, lol.