Post by Jason White on Jun 8, 2021 7:28:33 GMT
Blue Flag Etiquette on Ovals
Since there appears to be some varying understanding about how to react to a blue flag during USAC races, we wanted to clarify the admins' position here. Blue flags in this series are advisory flags, not compulsory like the yellow or black flag (meaning the game will not penalize you for ignoring a blue flag). Having said that, there is really only one scenario where the admins would expect a driver to willfully ignore a blue flag:
- If you are on the tail end of the lead lap, are about to be lapped by the leader, and you desperately want to stay on the lead lap in case a yellow occurs (if you beat the leader back to the line when a yellow occurs, you can then circle around and join the tail end of the serial, having made up a lap).
In nearly all other cases, basic racing etiquette dictates that lifting the throttle slightly and allowing the faster car to slip by is the appropriate course of action. As we have stated before, we do not want the driver being lapped to radically change lanes or decelerate rapidly; a strategic lift ahead of a turn is often all it takes in most blue flag situations to make way for a faster car coming through.
Several times in this series, we have seen drivers seemingly racing every car they encounter at "ten tenths", regardless of whether an actual position is at stake or not. A cursory scan of Indy car oval races through the years will show that this approach is generally frowned upon, and we would respectfully ask our drivers to keep this in mind for future races.
If anyone needs clarification on these points, please email the series admins.