INDYCAR: Series wants to 'minimize debate'

New IndyCar competition and operations boss Jay Frye wants to "minimize the debate" around races in 2016 by reducing the number of contentious decisions his department makes.

Frye was elevated to the position formerly held by Derrick Walker last month, and he wants to keep race control out of the headlines next year. An "insane" race at Fontana (ABOVE) sparked vocal criticism from drivers in June, prompting IndyCar to tighten rules about driver conduct that league officials insisted was not a "gag order".

While Fontana is not on the 2016 schedule, Frye wants to avoid a repeat in the future.

"Officiating for any league is a challenge, always has been and always will be," said Frye (LEFT). "Every night on television you see some sort of debate on officiating.

"Even with instant replay and challenges that the coaches have, there's still debate on whether the result was conclusive or not. One of the things we want to try to do as a league is minimize the debate.

"We're going to hire the best and most respected people to be part of our steward system. We're going to provide the best possible tools and regular and consistent training to the officials and stewards. We'll create a consistent platform where the infractions have a clear and concise consequence that the competitors understand and are aware of."

Having spent more than a decade as a NASCAR team manager, Frye added he wanted to lead "a sanctioning body that great racers and race teams want to participate in and are proud to be a part of."

"We are making great progress in that but there's still more work to be done," he added. "That's one of our top line goals. Another goal that we'd like to work on is to harness the power of the paddock.

"We have a phenomenal amount of talent, knowledge, experience in the IndyCar paddock. We need to tap into this on a more regular and consistent basis."

Originally on Autosport.com