A Mayor’s Fate

Mayor Hinch's worst Press Conference

In the old days, drivers who didn't make the race (IE, Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2011) would be moved to the back of the field for the start of the race. We understood those rules.

However, today all of the 33 cars are qualifying again. Technically, any car who made the field has to qualify again. So what if Jay Howard, hypothetically, would've been hit by a bus going back to the hotel last night? Or what would happen, hypothetically, if Sam Schmidt moves James Hinchcliffe into Jay Howard's car for today's runs?

IndyCar hadn't considered this possibility when they made these rules. However, as of 5:52 pm yesterday, they started pondering that. As of 11:20 on Sunday, they still don't have an answer.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Schmidt-Peterson might make it easy for them though. The current rumor is that no such replacement announcement will be made today. Which will make Jay Howard's run a moot point entirely.

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And all of this begs the question — if a driver from a well-funded team doesn't make the show, should be allowed to buy out a ride from another team, or replace a team mate? I suspect that some editorials are forthcoming from AR1 staff in the coming days….

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If there is rain today (not expected) then the qualifications will be resumed tomorrow.