INDIANAPLOIS 500 / UPDATE : Bumper Strips, Medians Keep Drivers Honest

Reducing speeds by returning to the original rectangular configuration of Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the reason for putting bumper strips in the corners to keep drivers above the white line marking the inside of the course.

Chief steward Tom Binford, with help from his daughter, Florrie Binford Kichler, has written a book, “A Checkered Past: 20 Years as Indy 500 Chief Steward,” in which he explains why this year’s change was needed. He wrote:

“When the track was resurfaced in late 1988, there was no longer a transition between the track and the safety lane, and the surfaces of both were identical. It became very tempting to drive below the white line, if for no other reason than to take a shortcut around the track.”

A rule stated that, while driving on the track at a normal speed, a car’s wheels must not drop below the white line. There was a penalty for doing so, but Binford soon found it impossible to enforce.

“Before the 1989 race was over, there were 1,700 calls of white line violations--10% of the total number of turns made by every car during the race. By the 25th lap, it became apparent to me that the infractions were coming so fast, the race wouldn’t be over before dark if we penalized them all.”

The remedy was to install bumper strips and a grass median to separate the racing track and the safety lane. The test will come Sunday.

In the field are two father-son combinations (Mario and Jeff Andretti, Al and Al Unser Jr.), one set of brothers (Gary and Tony Bettenhausen) and one set of cousins (Jeff and John Andretti).