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    AutoRacer5
    Lifetime Points: 83
    Location: Baton Rouge, LA
    Your Vehicle Year 2002
    Your Vehicle Make Chevrolet
    Your Vehicle Model Cavalier
    Your Dream Vehicle Ford GT, either red with dual white stripes down the center or the Gulf throwback colorscheme.
    Favorite Race Indianapolis 500
    Favorite Driver Will Power
    Favorite Track Indianapolis
    Ethnicity American, race shouldn't matter
    Relationship Status Single
    Children Status Maybe Someday
    About Me Love Open Wheel Racing, and I watch some ALMS now and then. I'll tolerate Nascar if nothing else is on.
    Favorite Music Mostly Rock, especially from 1998-2003
    Favorite Movies I'll get to this later.
    Favorite TV Shows Wind Tunnel, Speed Report, Junkyard Wars, Hell's Kitchen, Chuck
    Favorite Books Steve Matchett's books.
    Addictions Women, the internet, racing

    Edmonton Screwjob

    Sunday, July 25, 2010, 11:54 PM [General]

    Well, it seems to me like we've had one of the worst officiating calls ever in racing, and it took place at City Center Airport in Edmonton, Canada.

    The scene was this. There was a restart with a few laps to go, which saw Helio Castroneves in the lead with his teammate Will Power sitting in second place. Will is right behind him heading into the chicane before the start/finish line, and moves to the outside on the main straight to overtake him.  Helio moves slightly to his left to make the arc for the corner without impeding Will's progress, and Will inches ahead slightly in his Verizon sponsored Dallara IndyCar.  Will can't keep his grip up on the track surface, so Helio moves ahead, but Scott Dixon overtakes him going into the second turn.  A few corners later, Bob Jenkins announces that Helio was given a drive-thru penalty for "blocking" another competitor.

    The last time I checked, holding your line wasn't blocking. Helio did not make a block, he did not chop across Will's nose, nor did he try to impede his progress.  They were on an airport runway that is 200 feet wide, so a blocking move would have to be the stupidest thing you could attempt to do.

    The end result is, Helio does not come in for the penalty, crosses the finish line first, and the win is taken away from him and given to the second place driver: Scott Dixon, driving the number 9 Target sponsored car owned by Chip Ganassi.  Helio's madder than A.J. Foyt was when Kenny Brack ran out of fuel in the Indy 500, and was storming towards the race control booth which was in the infield on the main straight.  Helio's restrained, and doesn't give much of a post race interview because he "didn't have anything smart to say."

    And so we have it.  The fans saw a driver cross the start/finish line first, but they are told that what they saw, didn't actually happen.  They are told that what they saw was a lie, that the driver in second place actually won the race.

    This is why Brian Barnhart needs to be released from his duties as Chief Steward and a few retired drives should be the ones deciding penalties.  How about Johnny Rutherford, Arie Luyendyk, and Al Unser Jr.?  That's 7 Indianapolis 500 wins between them, and they've had countless experience in racing.

    3.2 (1 Ratings)

    That boggles the mind. Barnhardt should have been given a warning first before making the blocking penalty call. Helio has a right to be angry.

    Speeddemon787
    July 27, 2010
    1:47 PM

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