TAYLOR: Indianapolis Debrief

What a wild weekend in Indy…

To put it simply, it was a mini-disaster for us, but we were able to come away with a decent finish considering everything that went wrong.

It was a big weekend for our team. Indy is our home race. The shop is based about 20 minutes from the track and all the guys live in the area.

We also had guests attending the race from Konica Minolta, Accenture, TMS, Velocity WorldWide, and Justice Brothers. Needless to say, it was an important weekend for us. Not just from a championship point of view, but from a business point of view.

Our race was pretty much over before it began, going down the front straight getting the green flag. I had a good run on the 01 car, pulling to the inside of him down the front straight, having my left front on his right rear, and coming with some momentum.
He proceeded to squeeze me all the way into the wall (it was a small touch, but just at the wrong angle to cause damage) and, which was a move in reaction to mine, since I was already next to him.

I was able to lift early enough not to make much contact with him, but if I had stayed in the throttle, it would have wiped us both out, and probably a few of the cars starting behind us.

We had damage from the 01 car driving us into the wall the 5 car spun the 42 car in the first corner, but no penalties were called. A GTD car drove into the back of the 4 Corvette at Watkins Glen and spun off, and the 4 car got a penalty!

With the contact with the wall and some contact in T1, we lost most of the efficiency of our rear diffuser, the rear spoiler was broken, and had damage to the front nose. It basically meant we were back to our aero package of Daytona this year, just with some more drag.

We didn’t have the pace to compete at the front, but thanks to the fuel strategy by the guys in the pits, we were able to salvage a fourth place finish.

I am all for having contact and encouraging the ‘rubbing is racing’ philosophy, but the line needs to be clear on what you can and can’t do, and the penalties need to be called when they are warranted.

With the 5 car spinning someone in Turn 1 and me being driven into the wall in a straight line, it makes it seem like we have entered ‘boys have at it’. Drivers need to be given pretty clear rules.

Drivers are like refrigerators. When a driver puts their helmet on, it’s like closing the door, the light goes out.

And then there’s BoP to talk about….I know it’s the Internet, and everything on the Internet is true, but don’t believe everything you read on social media just because it comes from a driver or team.

The only thing I have to say about BoP is, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t talk about it.

We’ve dropped to second in the point standings, but only two points back. With only three races left in the championship, it’s still far from over.

Hope you enjoyed the blog. I’m sure I’ve irritated a few people…