Starting Positions for IndyCar at Iowa Speedway Will be Determined by Heat Races

Festival of Breathing into a Bag here this morning. Woman of pressdog® and Associated Press motorsports reporter Jenna Fryer started the hyperventilating this morning by tweeting that IndyCar will use HEAT RACES to determine starting order at Iowa Speedway this summer. That was later confirmed during presentations at the State of IndyCar meetings today.

This is awesome for about nine reasons. Primarily it's MORE RACING for the dollar for fans. Each heat race will feature a third of the field and go for 30 races. A version of this format has long been a staple at dirt tracks around country and provides a nice opening act for the big show.

Also, even though it doesn't mean nearly as much, three heat races means three winners, which is fun for fans. AND it replaces the stupefyingly dull one-car-at-a-time qualifying format with something far more interesting.

Finally, it shows IndyCar is willing to try new things. That may be the most encouraging part of all for me. That and the fact that Iowa Speedway is 45 minutes from my house and I already have my deluxe June 22 & 23 weekend tickets. Tickets for the IndyCar weekend at Iowa Speedway are on sale HERE. Single-race tickets go on sale Feb. 23. If you are thinking about coming to Iowa for the race, here are some tips about what there is to do and where to stay. Read the IndyCar news release below ...

Heat Races to Set the Starting Grid at Iowa

Practice sessions will take on an entirely new dimension at IZOD IndyCar Series oval event June 22 at Iowa Speedway. That’s when heat races will replace single-car qualifications to set the starting grid for the Iowa Corn Indy 250.

INDYCAR, the sanctioning body of the IZOD IndyCar Series, announced that three heat races of 30 laps each would follow practice earlier in the day. Three groups would be determined by practice times: One group for the top 10 that would set starting positions 1-10, another for odd-numbered practice positions that would set starting positions 11, 13, 15, etc., and a third for even-numbered practice positions that would set starting positions 12, 14, 16, etc.

Beaux Barfield, INDYCAR President of Competition and the IZOD IndyCar Series Race Director, also said that double-file restarts introduced in 2011 will remain part of races except at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway (the high-speed ovals on the 16-race schedule). He also noted that standing starts could be implemented at a few events later in the season.

"I've spent the past five weeks writing rules and I have to write a lot more rules for standing starts," Barfield said. "There's a lot of equipment necessary to get and put into place, and most importantly there's so much development going on with the teams and the cars that I want to be respectful of before I throw a lot of new things at them." 

The new oval qualifying procedure will complement the three rounds of qualifications held on road/street courses, culminating in the exciting Firestone Fast Six.

“In the same vein of implementing double-file restarts, we looked at heat races as something that could add excitement to our races and just improve the product,” said Barfield, who added that 2013 oval events could be a mix of heat races and sigle-car qualifications. “This is the first of a few concepts we’re considering. The build-up we presently have for the Firestone Fast Six has that excitement and we wanted to do something similar for the oval events.

"It's going back to the heritage of short-track races.”

Iowa Speedway, at 0.875 miles, is the shortest oval on the schedule.

“With the addition of three, 30-lap heat races for qualifying, fans who attend the Iowa Corn Indy 250 weekend will get INDYCAR racing on both days – enhancing the overall experience they get at Iowa Speedway,” Iowa Speedway President Stan Clement said. “Our fans already understand this style of qualifying, so we know they will really enjoy it.”

The season finale Sept. 15 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., is the only oval event to follow Iowa Speedway on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule and will continue with single-car qualifications with cumulative time of two timed laps setting the grid. Also, single-car qualifications will continue to set the starting grid at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile. Qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 are four timed laps.

Tickets are on sale for the Iowa event at www.iowaspeedway.com. Single event tickets go on sale Feb. 23.

Comments

[redcar]

Cool for Iowa. But I understand Barfield is reconsidering his reconsideration of blocking rules. I hope he reconsiders. And he's eliminating double-file restarts at the 500, something--just my opinion--that added large excitement value to Indy.

[GeorgeK]

This Q format should be proforma for all the small oval races......the ones that are remaining on the schedule that is.......

[Jeff Downer Indianapolis, IN]

I like this format much more than the two race format at Texas last year.