Blog

IndyCar

Qualifications for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 requires cheat sheets

Confusing formats are not the way to bring fans back to the IndyCar series.

Edmund Jenks

Edited: Jun 22, 2013, 3:36 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Start: Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport Chevrolet leads

Let's be honest, changing racing formats up to create attention and increase fan interest sounds like a good idea until one recognizes that the elements that have changed will not be televised. That's right, for Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB, the three 50 Lap sprint races (150 Laps total) to be run Saturday evening, used to establish the starting order (with bonus points awarded for positions 1-12 earned) of the official points paying race on Sunday, will not be televised.

The lack of television broadcast options leaves real fans with IndyCar Race Control Timing and Scoring, Smart Phones (IndyCar 13 App) and ... cheat sheets.

This excerpted and edited from IndyCar.com -

The heat races include transfers to Race 3 for the top two finishers in the first two qualifying races.

Positions in the three heat races will be determined by single-car, single-lap qualifying (4 p.m. ET) on the .875-mile, variably-banked oval. A blind draw will determine the qualifying order. Practice (11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. ET) and qualifying also are featured on indycar.com and INDYCAR 13 with Timing & Scoring and the IMS Radio Network call.

Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske Chevrolet and Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda crash

Photo by: XPB Images

Here's the format, which adds the lure of bonus points – from nine points for the Verizon P1 Award winner and descending by one point each position to three points for seventh-eighth, two points for ninth and 10th and one point for 11th and 12th:

Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.

As far as the race is concerned, IndyCar, with its patchwork of television broadcasting of points paying races will have Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB be presented by the network general broadcast outlet of ABC and its affiliates. Anytime IndyCar can appear on general broadcast versus cable only outlets increases access and should be the major consideration for fan base expansion going forward post unification.

The lack of televised coverage (Cable Only or General Broadcast) for the 150 Laps of qualifications racing (more than half of the number of laps to be run in the race itself on Sunday), seems really counter-productive to fan interest development, especially when one includes the complexity of the 3 Heat Race format.

The race will also be available on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM/Sirius 211, indycar.com (IMS Radio Network and Timing & Scoring) and INDYCAR 13 (in-car cameras, Timing & Scoring, IMS Radio Network).

...notes from the EDJE

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Team Penske: Series championship battle continues into Iowa

Next article Penske's Power assumes Iowa pole after Castroneves bumped

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

“I couldn’t disappear” – Oliver Bearman rues “crazy” penalty for Pierre Gasly clash

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

55 min

“I couldn’t disappear” – Oliver Bearman rues “crazy” penalty for Pierre Gasly clash

Is MotoGP’s title fight over after the Australian GP swing?

MotoGP

Australian GP

Is MotoGP’s title fight over after the Australian GP swing?

The one aspect of the 2026 US GP that should be a blueprint for F1 2027

Formula 1

United States GP

The one aspect of the 2026 US GP that should be a blueprint for F1 2027

Joan Mir returns without revealing illness that kept him out for 44 days: "It hasn't been an easy period"

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

Joan Mir returns without revealing illness that kept him out for 44 days: "It hasn't been an easy period"

Feature

Discover prime content

Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game

Feature

IndyCar

Feature

IndyCar

By Joey Barnes

Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game

You Ask The Questions: David Malukas

IndyCar

By Joey Barnes

You Ask The Questions: David Malukas

Top 10 Ganassi IndyCar drivers of all time

IndyCar

By John Oreovicz

Top 10 Ganassi IndyCar drivers of all time

Alex Palou still unstoppable as Nashville win edges him closer to fifth IndyCar title

IndyCar

Nashville

By John Oreovicz

Alex Palou still unstoppable as Nashville win edges him closer to fifth IndyCar title

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts