After seeing the chaos that unfolded in the first half of the Music City GP, James Hinchcliffe has suggested that a gentleman’s agreement not to pass until the starting line is needed.
The Canadian was one of nearly a dozen drivers that had to come to a complete stop on lap 20 when the course ahead was clogged with cars that had nowhere to go.
The incident occurred due to Will Power’s ambitious move on the course’s final turn, which sent Simon Pagenaud into the barriers just before the restart line, and prevented the rest of the field from passing.
Power’s move was legal, as drivers in IndyCar are allowed to pass before the flag stand. But some turns are simply not built to accommodate the bold moves often seen during restarts.
Referencing a similarly accident-prone corner at Long Beach, Hinchcliffe has suggested that in the future drivers should agree to hold off on passing attempts until after taking the green flag.
“In Long Beach we’ve had this problem, too, right?,” mused Hinchcliffe after the race. “That was one of the things I said when I was sitting down in turn 11 with my engine off.
“In IndyCar, on the restarts, when the green flag flies, you can pass. Nine times out of 10, that’s not a problem.
“What we were seeing in Long Beach, as the leader comes out of the hairpin, the green flag flies, the guy in 10th dive bombs the guy in ninth. We end up with a completely clogged racetrack.
“We came up with a gentlemen’s agreement to not pass under the hairpin, and wait till the start/finish.
“I think if we did that in turn 11 [in Nashville], said you can’t pass until the start/finish line, you would have eliminated at least one of the red [flags] and another yellow from guys just trying to get cute going into the last corner there.
“There are definitely things we can look at. Look, it was the first time we were doing it, right? There’s always going to be things you can improve from year one.
“For a first crack at it, as an event, this was pretty frigging awesome.”
The corner in question is only a problem for the restarts, because the initial green flag is thrown at the end of the bridge section to allow more room for drivers to navigate the chaotic first lap.
Despite being caught up in the unexpected traffic jam, Hinchcliffe went on to log his best result of season and grabbed a satisfying podium in the inaugural event.
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