http://www.sopwithmotorsports.com/blog/indycar/item/179-indycar-whos-qualified-and-whos-not?.html&fb_action_ids=10151429324426635&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210151429324426635%22%3A481339498568886}&action_type_map={%2210151429324426635%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]
Good read.
For any of you that paid attention to Pikes Peak this year this was at the forefront of discussion, especially in the Time Attack class.
Dave could give you more details, but basically, the rule book has a qualifying rule. I think it says something like within 10 or 15% of fastest class time.
This was first year that it was put into place. Had they actually used it, something like 3 people of the 25 or whatever would have qualified.
So Friday night, right before the big Fan Fest thing downtown, they decided on a new rule that excuded 5-10 drivers. Then a few of these drivers that shouldn't have qualified were put back in as organizer selections, which basically boiled down to drivers that had generated some press or had a lot of twitter followers or ??? There were some pissed off people. Caswell didn't qualify and apparently went to the bar and proceeded to rial up his twittersphere of followers. There were other drivers that OWN companies that provide monetary support in form of sponsorship dollars that didn't qualify. In the end, they changed their mind, let everyone run, the day ran late, ended up gettting shortened, some people ended up having to compete in snow, etc. It was a clusterfuck.
Remember the old seeding system of the SCCA. Where you actually had to do something impressive to move up to higher seeds to qualify for competing in the national championship.
Maybe a qualifying system is REALLY what US rallying needs.
Grant Hughes
