The new rule at the Indy Racing League (IRL) says the minimum weight for cars will now include the driver. That's good news for Ed Carpenter. At 165 pounds, he's the heaviest driver in the series (if anyone can call that "heavy"). On the other hand, it appears to penalize Danica Patrick -- the petite driver, the lightest in the series, can barely tip the scale over 100 pounds. The IRL insists the new rule isn't targeting Danica. Nevertheless, she's not very happy.
The weight difference is more significant than many think. In fact, it has been estimated that a 65-pound weight difference could mean as much as a 1-mph advantage during a race. To even the field, the new rule will divide the drivers into three categories. The heavy group get weight cut, while the lightest group will get ballast added - to the vehicle's chassis, not the driver's derrière. We don't want to affect Danica's swimsuit modeling career, do we?
[Source: Inside Line, Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Duncan @ Mar 27th 2008 5:14PM
Splitting it into bands is just stupid. Weigh in the drivers after the race like F1 and leave it up to the teams to make sure their car is at the right weight. It's not that frigging difficult. When's the last time you saw a car/driver penalized in F1 for being under weight?
Rip @ Mar 27th 2008 5:32PM
Nice. One of the only sports where the little guy has a possible advantage...or had. Nice.
Duncan @ Mar 27th 2008 10:26PM
@Rip: IRL was one of the only series that didn't weigh the driver and the car together, they're just coming around (sort of) to the rest of the racing world.
It's also not just Danica, Helio Castroneves is no sumo wrestler.
There's still a huge advantage to being small. As others have mentioned, the ballast sits lower on the car than the driver, so you get a lower center of gravity with a lighter driver. In some series you are not required to place the ballast in any particular location, so you can shift it around to alter handling as needed to correct for a track or a particular setup.
The 1mph difference is pretty big on an oval. At last year's Indy 500, that was the difference between Pole Position and starting 6th.
jim @ Mar 27th 2008 11:14PM
Here's a thought: drive better and faster and you will win races.
If it were only about weight, Danica would win every race.
Ed Carpenter weighs more than I do but he would still kick my ass every time. What's Danica's excuse?
Randy @ Mar 28th 2008 2:41PM
So does that mean a 1200 pound person gets a giant handicap? PLUS 20MPH? OMG I'm not a Jockey because I'm 6'3 280. I'm not a runner for the same reasons. Does that mean I can compete with handicaps? OMG They are nuts!
Mallard @ Mar 27th 2008 5:19PM
How is that three categories?
Matt Keller @ Mar 27th 2008 8:34PM
Heavy Band - Weight Subtracted
Medium Band - Nothing
Light Band - Weight Added.
Andy @ Mar 27th 2008 5:26PM
This is just stupid. More evidence that IRL is out of touch and why IRL for the most part irrelevant in Auto Racing.
RJ @ Mar 27th 2008 6:15PM
Why is it stupid?
Try some competetive racing where power to weight ratio matters (shifter kart); a kid who's 100 lbs lighter can easily smoke you even though you're a better driver.
Derek @ Mar 27th 2008 5:31PM
That rule sounds fair, it makes the race more about driver skill and less about the drivers physical size. I can see why Danica isn't happy though. If she needs someone to cheer her up, I'd be happy to help out though :)
YouFaceTheTick @ Mar 27th 2008 5:33PM
One more example of why car racing is silly. Can you imagine if horse-racing required all horses to weigh at least x lbs including jockey? Silly. You shouldn't penalize teams for making a better/faster widget.
dcwf @ Mar 27th 2008 5:43PM
That's tongue in cheek, right? In fact they do. Every track sets weight requirements based on age, ability, and sex of the horse and the distance of the race. That's why jockeys reduce their wieght by puking before each race.
YouFaceTheTick @ Mar 27th 2008 7:02PM
Actually, I've never paid attention to track racing - be it cars or horses as all of it is boring as watching pr0n. Driving cars on a track is a blast - good times - watching other people driving...no thanks, it's just as bland as watching other people f^ck.
Mike @ Mar 28th 2008 1:51AM
Tick,
Watching proffesionals drive is a good way to get faster yourself. The commentary occasionally gives you tips on car setup, driving, etc. that you may not know.
As far as racing being stupid for equalizing weight, if you drive on track, you know the importance of every pound on that car and it's effects on tires, accelleration, and handling- especially at the proffesional level. People spend thousands and thousands of dollars on carbon fiber, etc. only to get left out because they are 6" taller and in the same height/weight proportion as their competitors, that would be stupid.
9394 @ Mar 28th 2008 2:10PM
Actually, it is happening in horse racing. It is called handicap.
http://ask.yahoo.com/20030814.html
HotRodzNKustoms @ Mar 27th 2008 5:35PM
They only complain about this kind of stuff when you start doing really well
rav3 @ Mar 27th 2008 5:40PM
Nothing a set of ridiculously out-of-proportion breast implants couldn't fix...
KanosWRX @ Mar 27th 2008 5:53PM
Sounds perfectly fair to me, it should always be this way.
havoc @ Mar 27th 2008 6:18PM
damn, i was going to field 2 cars this year, and cut myself into 2-120lb drivers.
so much for that plan.
havoc @ Mar 27th 2008 6:20PM
bwa-hahahahahahaha
then she'd prob get cited for improper safety devices.