No overtake button in the new series?

Did/does the IRL have an overtake button? (push to pass/power to pass)

I thought it was kind of an arcade game type gimmick at first, but I really grew to like it!

Short answer - No

It's not really possible with the naturally aspirated engines.

oh yeah... huh... maybe they should hand out nitrous bottles at the beginning of each race?:rotate:

Thankfully there is no 'push to pass'

i hate the "push to pass" button much prefer the driver to do the work.

It's a gimmick best done without.

Push to pass takes the skill out of racing.

Why try and find that extra tenth to catch up to the guy ahead and overtake when you can just hit a button on the straight and get into his slipstream?

I agree with the folks above - "push-to-pass" is a gimmick best left behind.

It's one of the reasons why ChampCar lost. The fans want a real alternative to the staged gimmicks of NASCAR. Ideally it would be slightly easier to overtake than the current IRL cars allow, but at least the races are genuine.

I liked the flashing light on the back letting you know that the driver was getting on it and trying to make a move, not just killing laps. I think it also created some passing in places where you they normally couldn't pass.

Having the boost seems to have worked well for A1GP!

Now they just have to work out a way to have giant gold spanners flash up on the track and when you drive over one you get a recharge...

And random puddles of black oil tha make you spin on the spot...

well, atleast it made playing CART Fury a little more realistic....

Thankfully no. With all the comments through the years about "contrived racing," that one takes the cake.

It's one of the reasons why ChampCar lost.

Yeah, that P2p was the real kiss of death.:rolleyes:

I agree with you EA, p2p was not the "kiss of death." It WAS an unnecessary gimmick, though.

Anyways - as we saw at St Pete you can have a lot of passing without it - and that is a good thing!

There are two things I will miss about Champ Car:

The sound of a Cosworth turbocharged engine (although I do like the song of the Honda V-8 as well)

The demise of the Panoz DP01, which, IMO, is a gorgeous race car!

Three things that I will not miss from Champ Car:

Mandatory pit windows...it takes away from race strategy...

The requirement to race on one set of "Red Stripe" tires...Let the teams choose the compound that works best for their race car and their strategy....

"Push to Pass"...do it on your own as was said before....

I want my racing straight, with no chaser...I don't need gimmicks to crreate excitement.

I didn't go into this extent in this week's article, but I did state what I liked and did not about Champ Car...

Lots of folks liked the sound of the turbos, including me........but didn't hafta pay for 'em.

As for the DP-01, I've read interviews with the Conquest engineer and Graham Rahal in which the interviewer was trying to goad them into saying the Dallara was a dog and the DP-01 was the greatest thing motorsports has ever seen and neither of them responded even close to saying that. In fact, the engineer said the Dallara was somewhat like the Lolas.

I won't miss any of that other stuff, either, Tim.

I think a lot of you are dilusional about P2P and that it somehow gives a crappy driver an unfair advantage.

How is this the case. If a guy can't lap consistantly with the leaders then 45 - 60 seconds of boost isn't going to do crap for them. Not to mention the good drivers have the same amount of boost.

What P2P does do is allow drivers to overtake on tighter road/street courses where overtaking is sometimes next to impossible. Didn't you IRL guys want to get rid of road/street courses completely for this exact reason? Well, P2P brings some excitement and a little added stratagy back to those races and I thought that is something we all want.

If you want to argue technology that every driver has equal access to somehow makes racing less racing then maybe we should all just vote to stick them back in some old 60s Lotus with no TC, no onboard computers, no spotters, no wings, no nothing - then we would see who the REAL drivers are.

I could make the same arguement against the IRLs fuel settings. Just click a button and my car is saving fuel. No skill with the right foot needed and oh look - I just won a race on fuel stratagy! Yipee for me!

The only thing I would change with P2P is the name. Keep it on the street/road courses but how about "Monster Energy Boost"

P2P is a contrived technological effort that allows a driver to break the race's other rules for 60 seconds or so a race. It's a gimmick that the fan in the stands can't follow. On TV, or on the computer, we can.

I followed the whole Motegi race on the scoring monitor since I couldn't get on the video feed and I could tell that Dixon and the guys up front were running 195s right at the start of the last stint and Danica dropped to 190s. I could tell what she was doing if it was not something wrong with the car, becauase they were pretty steady 190s. That can be understood by the fan in the stands, moreso as it evolves and the leaders pit. Helio had the "go" button on at the start of the stint and had to back WAY off at the end just to finish.

The old saying, sometimes attrib uted to Rick Mears: "To finish first, first you hafta finish."

I think a lot of you are dilusional about P2P and that it somehow gives a crappy driver an unfair advantage.

I could make the same arguement against the IRLs fuel settings. Just click a button and my car is saving fuel. No skill with the right foot needed and oh look - I just won a race on fuel stratagy! Yipee for me!
Gotta agree with him over the P2P is contrived comment, the IRL fuel settings allow a driver to dial up more power and push to set some faster laps at the risk of needing that extra 2 or 3 tenths of fuel or set it back one and get an extra lap. P2P makes spec cars have a better shot of off-the-corner (esp hairpins like LB) passes than series with multiple engine types and engine mapping. Yes it's contrived but so are ALL OF THE RULES, other wise it would be bring whatever you want.

While we could argue a good long while over whether I am delusional or not, I think there is room to discuss P2P vs adjustable fuel settings (which, by the way exists in F1 cars).

My premise is that P2P is contrived (read: gimmick) because it is a temporary horsepower boost with a limited amount of time it can be used over the course of a race. Further, the utilization of same is noted and telemetry made available to fans/media letting us know what a driver has used. While I do not have any details of the what power may be made available using various settings on an IRL car, I do not believe that any single one of them gives a 50 horsepower advantage over the baseline or any of the other settings.

While I agree that all of the rules contribute to the management of car performance i do not agree that there should be a "Happy Button" that gives an instantaneous increase in HP or braking capacity or some suchto give an inferior car/driver the ability to pass a superior car/driver. Its racing. Its not supposed to be "easy."

While we could argue a good long while over whether I am delusional or not, I think there is room to discuss P2P vs adjustable fuel settings (which, by the way exists in F1 cars).

My premise is that P2P is contrived (read: gimmick) because it is a temporary horsepower boost with a limited amount of time it can be used over the course of a race. Further, the utilization of same is noted and telemetry made available to fans/media letting us know what a driver has used. While I do not have any details of the what power may be made available using various settings on an IRL car, I do not believe that any single one of them gives a 50 horsepower advantage over the baseline or any of the other settings.

While I agree that all of the rules contribute to the management of car performance i do not agree that there should be a "Happy Button" that gives an instantaneous increase in HP or braking capacity or some suchto give an inferior car/driver the ability to pass a superior car/driver. Its racing. Its not supposed to be "easy."

doesnt the other driver have it also. so the superior driver can pass them right back. not sure how that makes it easy

So, take it away from both of them and let them drive their race cars. The IRL's version was adjustable rich or lean on fuel mix, NOT horsepower.

I remember an old girlfriend of mine had a small beauty mark on her chin.
I called it a mole.

So, take it away from both of them and let them drive their race cars.and then you have a parade which nobody cares to watch.

But give every driver an equal amount of boost and it opens up passes that normally wouldn't exist on tight street or road course or drag races when both employ it.

Call it contrived but like someone said - what rule isn't? P2P adds a bit of stratagy and makes racing more exciting and it is done evenly so, contrived maybe, but does it diminish skill - no.

Like I said, there are a lot more "gimicks" (ecu, fuel settings, spotters, tc) that lessen the skill a driver needs. P2P does nothing of the sort, it is just something different .

keep the XFE
keep P2p
option tires are good- in the loss of a tire war this is good strategy easy to see on tv and in stands.
so good Bernie needed them

The Panoz is awesome, the new car when it comes can be so as well.

Paul Tracy and someone not afraid to wreck their stuff in order to win once in a while...
hmmm Graham Rahal did just that trying to pass on the outside
wicked kid

The XFE has a turbo, which is additional cost in a cost-containment environment right now.

P2P is ridiculous to add when rich and lean fuel settings already lend that strategy to the show.

Option tires add cost for Firestone and probably the teams and nobody really cares. Why complicate the race any further with this nonsensical expense and headache that accompolishes nothing? And this is the Indy cars, not Bernie, thank heaven.

The Panoz DP-01 is just another rear-engine race car with four wheels, like every other formula car out there. As far as its use anywhere now, I have no clue. It hasn't even been tested on ovals.

Paul Tracy and Graham Rahal in the field? Great.

The XFE has a turbo, which is additional cost in a cost-containment environment right now.

P2P is ridiculous to add when rich and lean fuel settings already lend that strategy to the show.

Option tires add cost for Firestone and probably the teams and nobody really cares. Why complicate the race any further with this nonsensical expense and headache that accompolishes nothing? And this is the Indy cars, not Bernie, thank heaven.

The Panoz DP-01 is just another rear-engine race car with four wheels, like every other formula car out there. As far as its use anywhere now, I have no clue. It hasn't even been tested on ovals.

Paul Tracy and Graham Rahal in the field? Great.Well said. I guess P2P is not so much needed with the fuel settings. Tires and all that only add cost and offer little benefit.

However, Panoz DP-01 might just be another rear engine race car with four weeks BUT its a damn sexy one.

Three things that I will not miss from Champ Car:

Mandatory pit windows...it takes away from race strategy...

But this hasnt existed in numerous years. Not really a huge change from 07 to 08.

The requirement to race on one set of "Red Stripe" tires...Let the teams choose the compound that works best for their race car and their strategy....

"Push to Pass"...do it on your own as was said before....

I want my racing straight, with no chaser...I don't need gimmicks to crreate excitement.

The option tire I think is a great idea. Adds strategy and as Scott Goodyear repeated to death last Sunday "it adds another tool in your tool box".

That aside John, your coming from an enthusiast's perspective when talking about P2P and reds. The sport isnt going to exist or grow on enthusiasts alone. These tools or gimmicks as you call them can provide added interests to your average sports fan. It can also liven up what could be slow or processional race.

Eg. Look at Nascar and it has more gimmicks than the rest of Motorsport combined.

Well, this being an open wheel thread I am not sure that a comparison to NASCAR in re: "gimmicks" is germain. simply put, I really don't follow NASCAR closely anymore because of some of the things they do. Not sure they qualify as "gimmicks" as (to me) they us the "rules" to arbitrarily affect race outcomes...but that is for a NASCAR thread.

What open wheel needs is good, clean, tight racing with a diverse field of drivers, chassis' and engines. Superfluous b/s like P2P only underscores the shortcomings of a spec series. To my way of thinking, P2P was an admission that they were not innovative enough to come up with a rules package that would allow for good dicing between competitors. It added a video-gameish quality to the deal where what was really needed was actual engineering and driver cunning.

While we still have spec racing we at least don't have the video game aspect. Certainly as a fan I don't want to watch a race and think: "Geez, Oswald Stumpledinck doesn't stand a chance here because he has used up his P2P, I guess I will watch something else."

Well, this being an open wheel thread I am not sure that a comparison to NASCAR in re: "gimmicks" is germain.

The NASCAR example was used to show how a series which is full of gimmicks can be highly successful.

What open wheel needs is good, clean, tight racing with a diverse field of drivers, chassis' and engines. Superfluous b/s like P2P only underscores the shortcomings of a spec series. To my way of thinking, P2P was an admission that they were not innovative enough to come up with a rules package that would allow for good dicing between competitors.


Very much agree with first line John. But that isnt a reality as of 2008. Spec series which we had in both IRL, CC and now the merged Indycar all have short comings which stem from everyone having the same thing. Reds and P2P are strategy to overcome this problem in the current spec series formula we live in.

From a purists perspective I fully agree with straight up competition, but in 2008 and even 2009, if option tires and P2P create more overtaking, strategy and excitement I think it would be misguided to overlook them.

I hear where you are coming from: imho, what you are trying to do is come up with ways to attract new fans to the series. Not a thing wrong with that. For the short term it might even be effective.

For the long-haul though, I really believe it has to be about the racing. The old USAC Trail and (dare I say it) salad days of CART managed to give us some variety as well as great racing. No Gimmicks. And the fans came in droves.

Same with the old Trans-Am, Can-Am and IMSA Camel GT series'. Flatout, hammer and tongs racing.

We need to think beyond "spec racing." Set the bar a little higher rather than have people on "option brakes" or "push to corner faster" or some such. I respect where you are coming from but I think it would be a mistake to not take the long view here.

The more elements that you throw into it from a rules or operational standpoint, the more that a fan must grasp to understand it. It's why I understand baseball but don't know a triple axel from a double toe-loop in figure skating or what they're supposed to do with either one to get a good score.

The fan wants to watch the racing, who's leading, who's second, how they pit, his favorite guys and how they're doing. At 200 miles an hour going past him, he isn't going to care or understand or even be able to see a red-striped tire from a whitewall. P2P, you're essentially defrauding him -- the guy in the stands doesn't KNOW when it's being used or when this driver of that one just made a good move to do it. And that fan doesn't care -- and with cost controls, he shouldn't hafta PAY to care -- about what trick widget is underneath the cowl that he can't see. What he/she cares about is Scott Dixon vs. Graham Rahal vs. Danica Patrick vs. Helio Castroneves, etc.

What he/she cares about is Scott Dixon vs. Graham Rahal vs. Danica Patrick vs. Helio Castroneves, etc.Am I odd man out on this? I have never approached the sport of racing like football or baseball or basketball. I don't have a favorite team or driver. I don't wear my ARG jacket around on race day and have never donned a Helio hat. I watch simply to see the best drivers in the world competing in one of the most exciting sports in the world.

Yeah, some drivers I don't care for and others I like a little more but I don't paint a number on my chest for race day like I would if I was off to see my favorite football team. And at the end of the day it is more important I saw an exciting race rather than who won.

I don't even know if all that driver/team attachment is always a positive thing for the sport. It is something NASCAR seems to relish yet where did that leave the sport when Dale died? A few million fans that just turned it off and still may not have returned. Or what about all the JR fans? It is one thing to cheer on the Cubs loosing season after season because that is the thing to do but does that same hold true for racing? At least the Cubs win some games during the year. Have all those JR fans been tunning in consistently for the past three years to watch him not win? I'd imagine many of those fickle driver based fans are lost as well.

Personally I think you need to grow the sport and fanbase of IndyCar racing through competitive exciting races - however that can be achieved. That is what you tune in to see. It doesn't matter if you know all the drivers on a first name basis - if they run a parade for 70 laps nobody gives a crap. And at this point IndyCar doesn't have the name recognition to even pull off marketing drivers short of the one whose name ends in Patrick.

The centerpiece has and always should be exciting competitive racing. The drivers will come and go and maybe there will be a mega star somewhere in between that brings new viewers but what keeps them should be the racing.

Well, that's why you have a race, to find out who wins. As the late Bloys Britt, the longtime AP motorsports writer, once penned, "the first thing done by the second guy ever to buy an automobile was to find the first guy and have a race."

From a purists perspective I fully agree with straight up competition, but in 2008 and even 2009, if option tires and P2P create more overtaking, strategy and excitement I think it would be misguided to overlook them.
One BIG problem is these little gimmicks or "temporary" items, like temporarry taxes, do not go away.

Big Bill France created his freak show by having the same top drivers for fifteen to twenty years, he could change the rules with out really changing the show.
The fact He and ONLY he could do that is shown now that he and the last of the old guard, Earnhardt are gone.

Unfortuanately other series, Trans-Am is the best example, with open wheel being lesser example, tried to imitate Big Bill without the history or collapse of competing series Bill had, and committed suicide for it.

A gimmick is a gimmick, and while the US population are absolute morons concerning mechanical things compated to even 25 years ago, they are not generally complete idiots.

I'm sure there are some who believe that all of CC's ideas should be incorporated into the series. I'm equally sure that there are people, like myself, who think a lot of them were bad and/or costly ideas.

I'm sure there are some who believe that all of CC's ideas should be incorporated into the series. I'm equally sure that there are people, like myself, who think a lot of them were bad and/or costly ideas.

I dont think anyone is saying all of CC ideas should be incorporated into the new IndyCar.

However what is important is obtain the positives from both series and put them into one new super series.

Option tires is definitely one for me, P2P I dont mind but at the same time I can see why some people dont like it.

Indycool, I can agree that P2P, options, standing starts were costly at all to CC.

Option tires -- Cost Firestone or the teams more money, whoever's doin' the payin'. At 200 mph going past, what fan in the stands or on TV is going to notice what tires are on? And why should that fan hafta care?

P2P -- The ICS already has a lean-to-rich fuel variable controlled by the driver. It doesn't NEED P2P.

Standing starts -- That's Formula One. Indy cars come from the tradition of "flying starts" at Indy that are now called "rolling starts." No reason to do it to be like F1. It's not. It's the Indy cars.

If all these things were so good that they had a great impact on anything, CC would've draawn enough attention to maybe stay afloat.

Option tires -- Cost Firestone or the teams more money, whoever's doin' the payin'. At 200 mph going past, what fan in the stands or on TV is going to notice what tires are on? And why should that fan hafta care?

Win on Sunday sell on Monday is why companies, any company related to automobiles went racing in the first place.

Spec. anything brings any series down to amateur club racing level.

Yes, Bob, but white-stripe Firestones or red-stripe Firestones, IMO, do NOT sell any tickets on Monday, even to those few people who ever understood it.

You might add an IMO to your comment about this being amateur club racing level for the current spec. Amateur club racers do not draw 300,000 people to any of their races or millions on television.

I would agree here with indycool on the "spec" comment. There are a number of very entertaining spec series out there such as Star Mazda, Atlantics, GP2, or IPL (to name a few). Spec does not = "amateur" in my book.

Would I like to see more chassis/engine combinations in the IRL (or any top-level series)? Sure! That is going to take some time. Until then l think we need to have good racing without all sorts of window dressing to try and make things more "interesting." It is why I don't like the mandatory option tire rule in F1. Forcing teams to use the option rubber for at least some portion of the race is just dumb, imho.

What I would find interesting is if Firestone provided say, two compounds for the street/road course races (not sure if this is a viable idea for the ovals) and let the teams decide what they want to run. Now that would be entertaining to see who can set up a car better or if changing track conditions might warrant a change in the compound used. But mandating that each compuond be used? No way.

Yes, Bob, but white-stripe Firestones or red-stripe Firestones, IMO, do NOT sell any tickets on Monday, even to those few people who ever understood it.

You might add an IMO to your comment about this being amateur club racing level for the current spec. Amateur club racers do not draw 300,000 people to any of their races or millions on television.
As opposed to how many before?

300,000 and millions. Contrary to what some would like to believe, CART and CC didn't hurt the "500" much at all attendance-wise, although TV ratings DID go down, but not out of the "millions."

300,000 and millions. Contrary to what some would like to believe, CART and CC didn't hurt the "500" much at all attendance-wise, although TV ratings DID go down, but not out of the "millions."
CART didn't do squat the non-variety formula has reduced pre-race attendance by tens of thousands, at the very least, and I got that from the track person.

I was amazed at how honest he was.

Indy is still the big one but it is no where near what it was, and as long as they imitate SCCA spec. formulas it wil remain that way.

Sure hasn't looked like an SCCA race all these years to me and I'm on my 50th one.

I don't believe spec-cars reduces spectator appeal. I'm interested in the racing, and the drivers, rather than the mechanicals. As long as it's single-seater, open wheeled, then that's fine.

...and if you were the only one, what I said wouldn't be true.......

300,000 and millions. Contrary to what some would like to believe, CART and CC didn't hurt the "500" much at all attendance-wise, although TV ratings DID go down, but not out of the "millions."

Attendance is still impressive, but the decline in the demand and eagerness to get 500 tickets, along with qualifying attendance has diminished significantly.

Whether it was CC or the IRL's fault, the result is the same.

As with tv figures, the numbers dont lie, its depressing.

2008 hopefully is the first step to a better future.

Whether that involves option tyres or not, Indycool.

If something is spec, then it decreases appeal for this spectator. It isn't a factor that would make me not watch something, but it can easily make the difference between me having a "fanatic" type interest as compared to "interested-enough-to-tune-in-for-the-races".

This distinction means the difference between 100%-certainly-seeing-every-event (combined with close following of the out-of-race details) and seeing-the-vast-majority-of-events (combined with far less intense following of the the out-of-race details). If my TV was hooked up to one of these viewing-habit gizmos, then spec or not would likely have minimal impact on my addition to viewing figures. There would, however, be a significant difference in my dedication (my long-term consumer stability, or something).

Sure hasn't looked like an SCCA race all these years to me and I'm on my 50th one.I have seen some incredible SCCA spec. formula races, and it is a lot cheaper.
YOU miss the point.

The argument about the IRL being a 'spec' formula is rubbish.
It was never a spec formula.

What happened is that intially there were several manufacturers (Honda, Toyota, GM) involved and up to three chassis manufacturers.

Lola got turned down but G force and Dallara were both involved. Initially constructors were not that interested. Tony then restricted the chassis to two or three (remember Kranefuss) which was when Lola were turned down (because they were also with Champcar?).
The Panoz did not remain competitive with the Dallara so everyone went to Dallara-maybe ugly, but effective. The engine manufacturers lost interest and in the end Tony had to beg Honda to remain involved....

Its not the rules but the failure of the series (and the battle between IRL & Champcar) to maintain enough public interest in the series to justify major manufacturer involvement...

Until that changes and manufacturers CHOOSE to want to come on board the series will remain looking like a 'spec' series...
No one but Dallara builds a competitive car. Tony may have since mandated the Dallara but that was practically formalising what already existed because economically the possibility of Ganassi or Penske building their own car and NOT selling it to others could have killed what little interest there was in the series...

Now the rebuilding process begins, but do not kid yourself you will get a huge turn around in public interest because you have a couple of competing manufacturers...
Don't put the cart before the horse....
The series has to build real public interest before it will attract the interest of several manufacturers...
Imagine opening it up and have penske do what he did with mercedes a decade or two ago.... The loop hole was closed because it would have been destructive to the Indy 500...
It was then and it would be right now...

Bob, qualifying attendance has been "down" longer than the split simply because there were no more milestones to be reached, like 150, 200, etc. The last few years, its' been up. Carb Day is WAY up since they moved it from Thursday to Friday.

And I see a lot of "spec" in NASCAR. Those of us on forums tend to be superfans and look at every little technical thing involved. We are different than the general public, which, as Olive says, pays attention to the drivers. Those of us on the forums are a very small minority of the number of people it takes to reach for this to be successful. I know fans who go to Indianapolis who wouldn't know a 2007 Dallara from an '86 March and enjoy themselves every year. I've not only not heard them say, "oh that airbox is ugly," I've never heard them use the TERM airbox.

The Indianapolis 500 and national championship series has gone through a lot of cycles and will continue to. in the future. We happen to be on the planet in this one.

Bob, qualifying attendance has been "down" longer than the split simply because there were no more milestones to be reached, like 150, 200, etc. The last few years, its' been up. Carb Day is WAY up since they moved it from Thursday to Friday.

And I see a lot of "spec" in NASCAR. Those of us on forums tend to be superfans and look at every little technical thing involved. We are different than the general public, which, as Olive says, pays attention to the drivers. Those of us on the forums are a very small minority of the number of people it takes to reach for this to be successful. I know fans who go to Indianapolis who wouldn't know a 2007 Dallara from an '86 March and enjoy themselves every year. I've not only not heard them say, "oh that airbox is ugly," I've never heard them use the TERM airbox.

The Indianapolis 500 and national championship series has gone through a lot of cycles and will continue to. in the future. We happen to be on the planet in this one.

QUOTE=indycool]Bob, qualifying attendance has been "down" longer than the split simply because there were no more milestones to be reached, like 150, 200, etc. The last few years, its' been up. Carb Day is WAY up since they moved it from Thursday to Friday.That is your opinion. Indy Veterans on other forums, some of whom have been there, or even had connections for decades say the variety that brought many in just to see what showed up totally disappeared in the last five to eight years so there is no reaso to go for anything but the race.

And I see a lot of "spec" in NASCAR.The France boy in charge was going to use a generic engine, Detroit officials told him--you do we are gone. The engine of tomorrow is now on hold. Those of us on forums tend to be superfans and look at every little technical thing involved. We are different than the general public, which, as Olive says, pays attention to the drivers.He is wrong, and in a tiny minority. If type of engine did not matter, Ford and Mopar would not have spent time on engines just for sprint cars, and those fans are more driver followers than any other series. Those of us on the forums are a very small minority of the number of people it takes to reach for this to be successful. I know fans who go to Indianapolis who wouldn't know a 2007 Dallara from an '86 March and enjoy themselves every year. I've not only not heard them say, "oh that airbox is ugly," I've never heard them use the TERM airbox.

The Indianapolis 500 and national championship series has gone through a lot of cycles and will continue to. in the future. We happen to be on the planet in this one.[/QUOTE]
I have no faith that Mr. George cannot make it worse than it already is. What happened to the Copper World Classic the biggest and most spectacular outlaw race in the world could easily happen to Indy as long as TG is in charge..

For what it is worth, a gentleman on another forum, who is at the track, said the atmosphere in the paddock is far more upbeat than it has been the past few years.
Bob

Did/does the IRL have an overtake button? (push to pass/power to pass)

I thought it was kind of an arcade game type gimmick at first, but I really grew to like it!

To answer the original question, the answer is actually YES despite what everybody else has said.

Its not a big deal really, all it does is run the engine on the max power 'full rich' setting - which is the same as setting the fuel trim knob to 'full rich' ( which most people run nearly all the time anyway ). So if you are cruising around with the mixture leaned out to save fuel, you can press the Overtake button to briefly go full rich if an overtaking opportunity arises rather than have to rotate the mixture knob back to the full rich setting.

I find it funny that Robin Miller forgot about that button while he waxed nostalgic over the Panoz being essentially mothballed in one of his online SPEED columns. I believe use of the button is highly discouraged since the idea now is to reduce costs related to engine reconditioning, though I believe it is still available to drivers.

My hope is they go back to using turbochargers since the current engine sounds absolutely horrid at full song.

I think, the one thing TG need to do - restore old CART 1995. Now we have only one main american open wheel serie, and there is no reasons to avoid old Champcars things, like old-style chassi and turbochargered engines. I'd like to see more 500-miles races and new battle for Triple Crown)