Press Releases - 1% Parameter Decides Indy Jr Title

1% Parameter Decides Indy Jr Title

Championships are usually won and lost on the road, but the Season 32 Indy Jr Championship seems all but won on account of weather parameters.

Coming into the penultimate round of Indy Jr, title rivals Mack Zaggro and Bo Darville were separated by a mere 11 points as they lined up 2nd and 3rd on the grid respectively at Laguna Seca. And with light rain in the air, both drivers were clearly on differing strategies.

Pulling a very healthy lead, pole sitter Solberg lead a heavy Zaggro who was running long on 1 stop, compared to Bo in third, who seemingly was pushing to complete the race on a conservative no-stop strategy!

However, just a quarter of the way in to the race, Darville hit trouble, and a mistake saw him drop to P8, and stuck in traffic. Advantage Zaggro, who could now focus on a simple podium to swing a healthy points haul in his favour and assume the championship lead.
But the NOVA pit wall had a shock coming, predicting that the rain would not be severe enough to call for wets, Mack could focus on his one stop for dry tyres, which would see him come out well ahead of Darville.

Then, in the most unfortunate and untimely way possible, the weather ticked over the NOVA teams minimum weather tyre usage parameters, by 1%... For two laps...

It was enough to see the British driver default into the pits for wet tyres... And sure enough, as predicted, the sun continued to shine, drying up the track, and leaving a wet tyred Zaggro dramatically off the pace, and lose six positions before a second stop, just a few laps later, for slick tyres once again.

It's likely one of the most significant arguments yet to call for a review of the parameters/usage system that has caught countless drivers out in the past. However, a humble Zaggro was gracious in (almost) defeat...

"What can you do? Bo put together a phenomenal recovery drive for an eventual P2. He has won 6 races to my 2 this season, and had the oval series covered comfortably! I'm a circuit guy, I couldn't match Bo on Ovals! It's just a real shame that a title that has swung back and forth between us this year has to have been decided off the track. We have faced off in 15-Way, Nations, and Indy Jr this year, and looks as though we may both be headed to Indy within a few seasons..."

Zaggros only hope to win the title at the series finalé in Iowa (...an oval) is a DNF for Darville and a Top 2 finish for himself. And true to form, Mack Zaggro will likely go max aggro for the final race to cap off what has been a fantastic season.