We Need Drama – Fixing IndyCar’s Yellow Finishes

After a triumphant return to Phoenix, the IndyCar Series had a lackluster finish under yellow on Saturday night. Needless to say, fans are looking for a solution.

Let’s face it, racing fans were overjoyed when the Verizon IndyCar Series announced that the open wheel teams would return to Phoenix International Raceway. And fans of the series were treated to an outstanding race on Saturday night, even if the finish did not live up to the racing seen throughout the early part of the show. Yet, the ending under yellow in its first time back in the desert speaks to the larger issue for IndyCar – ending races under the caution flag often kills the drama of the final laps.

Consider the final laps this past weekend at Phoenix. Ending the race under yellow for a piece of debris that was visible for many laps prior certainly made many new fans of the series wonder why the quiet ending to what was an exciting race. See the video and judge for yourself:

Needless to say the reaction on twitter was not positive following that decision by IndyCar officials:

At the very least, with ten laps to go at Phoenix, IndyCar officials could have thrown the caution flag followed by the red flag to clean the track and set up a shootout for the win. However, this is not the first and certainly will not be the last race to end prematurely under yellow. Though some races certainly needed to finish under yellow (see Takuma Sato’s last lap crash at Indy years back), others understandably left fans with a sour taste in their mouths.

While controversial, the NASCAR approach could prove beneficial for IndyCar. Certainly the current overtime rule and previous three green-white-checkered finish rule would not be ideal for the series, providing one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish may appease audiences. This provides the fans watching in person and on television the best opportunity to see a full race with a green flag racing finish.

The process would be simple. If a caution comes out late in the race, assure the fans that at least one attempt at restarting the race under green will be made with two laps to go. After that, the next flag can end the race, yellow or checkered, and it should not pose too much of an issue among drivers. In fact, many may even be excited by the idea of a close shootout for the win instead of coasting under yellow to finish a race.

Of course, there is merit to the thought that the race should only run for the allotted distance. Traditionalists will continue to argue that a race is only intended to run it’s advertised distance, while some owners may not be in favor of the move because of the added risk of tearing up equipment. The inherent risk of bunching up a group of drivers for one final sprint to the checkered flag may prove too much for team owners to overcome.

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At the end of the day, however, it is all about the fans and what they want to see out of IndyCar. With so much momentum going into the season, it would be a shame to see the premier open wheel series in North America lose that thanks to less than stellar finishes. And in a time where the voice of the fans becomes amplified thanks to social media and the power of television ratings, it may prove best for those in charge to take a good listen if the pattern continues.