Four IndyCar races have had their distances changed

indycar.com wrote:Race Distances

Four events -- St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Milwaukee and Mid-Ohio – will feature new race distances this season to discourage fuel-mileage racing. The new distances better match traditional fuel windows at each circuit.

The races with new distances:

St. Petersburg: Increase of 10 laps to 110 (198 miles total)
Long Beach: Decrease of five laps to 80 (157.4 miles)
Milwaukee: Increase of 25 laps to 250 (250 miles)
Mid-Ohio: Increase of five laps to 90 (203 miles)

“Changing the distances at these races will hopefully eliminate the strategy of saving fuel from the drop of the green flag,” said Beaux Barfield, IZOD IndyCar Series Race Director. “That will enable our teams and drivers to race hard for the full distance and improve the event’s entertainment value for the fans.”

flyingturns89 wrote:Here's the new rules for the Iowa story that Antman posted.

Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.

A little confusing, but I get it now.

flyingturns89 wrote:Here's the new rules for the Iowa story that Antman posted.

Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.

A little confusing, but I get it now.

RealRacer4 wrote:

flyingturns89 wrote:Here's the new rules for the Iowa story that Antman posted.

Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.

A little confusing, but I get it now.

A MUCH better format than what we got last year. I'm also liking the idea of increasing/decreasing the race distances to get rid of fuel strategy. I like what they're trying to do here.

The only problem I have really is if they'll actually make the Pocono race 500 miles instead of 400, which I'm thinking it will be unlikely.