CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Brian Barnhart is back as the Race Director of INDYCAR after holding that position from 1997-2011 and his return drew support from Team Penske owner Roger Penske and team President Tim Cindric.
Barnhart has made some controversial decisions in the past including some that have gone against Team Penske such as Will Power crashing on a restart in the rain at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2011.
“Listen, I go a long way back with Brian,” Penske said. “He is someone who knows the teams and knows all of the antics with all of us. I think he is a great choice. With Mark Miles (Hulman & Company CEO) and the way we’ve been operating and the success of the close racing and the cars we know he is a good choice. I know Brian’s heart is in it and he has been moved aside and took on other roles and responsibilities but he never distanced himself too far from that Race Director’s spot.
“I’m glad to see Brian back on his feet there. I’ve got a great relationship with him. I don’t always agree with him but I think he’s an asset to this series.”
Cindric also supports Barnhart’s return, which will be different in the past because INDYCAR Race Control uses a three-steward system where two of the three stewards must vote in favor of a penalty before it is instituted in the course of a race.
“I think that was a given because I never heard anybody else’s name in the mix,” Cindric said. “I think it’s good because we have somebody we know and he is somebody who has been around the sport for a long time and sitting there watching somebody else do it you always take notes. It will be interesting to see them use the same concept they have done before with the three stewards and the same technology.
“I don’t expect a whole lot different.”
Barnhart replaced Beaux Barfield as Race Director after he left at the end of the 2014 season to become Race Director at IMSA and its United Sports Car Series.
“I have confidence in Brian,” Cindric said. “He has been there before and is a known quantity. I think bringing somebody else in that we didn’t know before was a bigger question. We understand Brian and he understands us.
“He’s the guy. I don’t see any candidates out there that are any better.”
Cindric believes some of the blame Barnhart has received in the past was unfair.
“You can always say that about anybody who is a race series director,” Cindric continued. “I think in any sport you will have an opinion what is fair and not fair. All we want is consistency as teams and I think he will provide that. Anybody who goes through that process, and it’s one of the most difficult jobs, will wonder if they did their job right or wrong and I think about that in my job, too.”
Any Race Director will get his share of criticism and Barnhart knows all about that and so do many of the teams in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“It’s a thankless job but it puts you right in the thick of it and there is a certain amount of adrenaline and passion you can express in that position,” Cindric said. “But it is a thankless job. I actually prefer a dictator in that position rather than a three-steward approach because as a competitor you want to know where the decisions are coming from and why. You want it to be transparent. For us, that’s the decision and it’s fair to support it. All you want is transparency and fairness and I think Brian will provide that. And in all the controversies he has been in Brian has learned. I would rather go through it with somebody who has learned some of those things than someone who hasn’t been through it and has to do it again.
“I haven’t seen a Race Director yet that everybody supports.”