Beyond the Flag
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IndyCar: Top 5 strangest races since 2010

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TX - AUGUST 27: James Hinchcliffe, driving the #10 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda leads the pack late in the race during the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on August 27, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ralph Lauer/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
FORT WORTH, TX - AUGUST 27: James Hinchcliffe, driving the #10 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda leads the pack late in the race during the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on August 27, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Ralph Lauer/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 11: Will Power of Australia, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara Honda and Dario Franchitti of Scotland, driver of the #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 11: Will Power of Australia, driver of the #12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara Honda and Dario Franchitti of Scotland, driver of the #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

#3 – 2011 Firestone Twin 275s

To this day, I am not sure why, exactly, the traditional Firestone 550k became the Firestone Twin 275s in the 2011 IndyCar season, especially given how these two races were conducted.

The starting lineup of the first of these two races at the four-turn, 1.44-mile (2.014-kilometer) high-banked Texas Motor Speedway oval was determined by the traditional single-car qualifying process that IndyCar uses for oval races.

The starting lineup of the second of these two races was determined by a non-conventional (to say the least) random draw. Several rows and columns of Firestone tires were lined up against a wall on a stage, and drivers turned one tire each to reveal their starting positions. The order by which the drivers made their selections was determined by the reverse finishing order of the first 114-lap race.

Championship contenders Will Power, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti were the final three drivers to select their starting positions after finishing the first race in third, second and first place, respectively. Starting positions third, 18th and 28th were still available. Power picked third while Dixon picked 18th and Franchitti picked 28th.

In a tight championship battle, is randomly selecting positions for a race that would end up barely lasting three-quarters of an hour really justifiable?