Yikes!!!

Dang, got to get with the program here!!! No updating this thing in more than a month.

Well Sea-Bass won the Champ Car championship, smoking Bruno in Mexico City. Well, I will be back with more material.

Random Thoughts on Champ Car Australia Broadcast.

Watched CCWS on Brasilian rede tv. Geez they do a heck of a good job. Bigtime Bruno boosters of course. But it was a joy hearing them generate excitement over lap time differences. i am not being facetious, that is how you really cover road racing.

Rede TV Site


Watching Spike re-transmission, damn what a difference. To begin with the audio plain sucked, you couldn't hear what the broadcasters were saying. . I thought I was going crazy till I saw other people online complaining.

The feed itself - from Ozzie TV- was good. Much better camera work and production than some, if not all the domestic races.

But beyond that, how about the editing of the broadcast itself?. You have an hour and 45 minutes broadcast on a race that lasted how long? about 1 hour and 30 minutes? How about cutting out some of the crap like FCY, and filling it in with the podium ceremonies and post-race interviews at the end. Or for that matter, can't they when they cut out for commercials for the re-broadcast? Someone with TIVO could have done it better. , even with time for edits. And I don't GAF about Bronte and Kangaroos!!! Stop wasting time!

A lot of folks get their imression of the series by what they watch and hear on TV. If you can't hear the broadcast crew - who aren't that stellar to begin with, you think you are watching crap. Fix it people, put some money into this, or else you won't make money.


Something else that has annoyed me for a while too.

That Champ Car Spike commercial with RHR and the kid. The kid is supposed to be playing a racing game, and the sound effect sounds like he's playing a Space Invaders straight out of 1979.
But what a crappy editing. Too much time spent on yellows, missing stuff on commercial breaks. Someone with TIVO could have done better.



Dave Phillips Saturday Notes

Dave Phillips Saturday Notes

Dave Phillips Race Story



The JPM victory was great, I kept on waiting for something to get effed up, but nothing did. Awesome lap times

Cancun Updated

I am slowly beginning to think this may be for real.

From Autosport:

Mexico to join F1 calendar
New race track in Cancun to be added to grand prix schedule for 2006

Mexico last hosted a Formula 1 grand prix in 1992

Mexico is set to win a return to the Formula 1 schedule in 2006 following the successful conclusion of talks with sport supremo Bernie Ecclestone for an event in Cancun. Official confirmation of the news, which was exclusively predicted by Autosport last year, is expected on Monday.

Talks between Mexican representatives and Ecclestone have taken place for more than 12 months but it now appears that agreement has been reached for the event to be handed an official slot on the calendar – a factor that will likely put further pressure on the British Grand Prix to justify its position.

From ITV, and they say Bernie might be there. If he shows up in Mexico City on Monday I will be more convinced.

Mexico could rejoin the F1 calendar in 2006, according to officials.

Mexico City already boasts a track, which hosted a number of grands prix up until 1992, but the plan is to build a new facility near Cancun.

The track, which would be near the international airport, would be funded almost entirely by local businessmen.

Artemio Santos, tourism minster for Quintana Roo state, said: "This benefits us in every way and gives Cancun an endless number of extra attractions.”

[B]Bernie Ecclestone is expected to fly north from Interlagos following this weekend's Brazilian GP to meet with the officials.[/B]

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=31420

Video: "How To Be a Success In The IRL'

Click here for video

The CCWS Schedule According to Anonymous

This is a good post by one of my buddies , taken with his permission. It is a good summary, based on press accounts of what the schedule is shaping up to be. With the 2005 schedule release within a week, here's a little round-up of what I've managed to squeeze out of various press reports. When will it be released? - Several previous reports have today (21st) as the release date. Still possible. - According to Marcie, San Jose has scheduled a press release event on Tuesday the 26th, indicating a announcement at that time. - And third, the 28th has also been mentioned, as it is the deadline for the Molson races to sort themselves out. Bob Singleton's quote about the Edmonton/Calgary debate: "...And we know we still have until the 28th so we're not rushing it." Also, the TV announcement is supposed to be on the 28th. What's on it? Confirmed Dates & Races: April 10, Long Beach (Confirmed by LBGP Site) August 14, Denver (Confirmed by SPEED Rally schedule) Sept 24, Las Vegas (Confirmed by CCWS/CTS schedule) Confirmed races w/o dates Portland (Confirmed by 2004 CCWS contract) Jimmy the Greek's Locks of the Week Mexico City Toronto Surfer's Severe stuff would have to happen to get rid of these Cleveland Milwaukee Monterrey Mex Montreal Vancouver The rest Road America Laguna Seca The Major Proposals Edmonton/Calgary San Jose Brazil Buenos Aires Welcome to the Rumordome Poland Manchester China Dubai (wheee! I own a web site and can say anything!) South Korea (see above) Silverstone (see above above) AR1 claims to have seen a "first draft" schedule with these dates: March 20 April 10 (Long Beach) May 1 May 22 June 4 June 19 June 26 July 10 July 24 July 31 Aug. 14 (Denver) Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 18 Sept. 24 (Las Vegas) Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Nov. 6

Is Defender Starting To Lose The Faith

Is desperation starting to creep up on of EARL's biggest internet shills?


http://www.mikescomputersllc.com/fo...der=asc&start=0


Wow, is he actually revising his revisionist views?

Quote:

In a nutshell, c^rt was trying to control the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and they were largely ignoring Anton. Anton took offense. Instead of acting like adults, c^rt further self immolated themselves over and over again and the sport into oblivion. Meanwhile, Anton, being a fairly narcissistic and mostly clueless and inexperienced 'executive' ratcheted up his network of good 'ol boys and turned Indy racing into a small private club while NASCAR blossomed into something that rivals the NFL as 'America's sport.'

Some more repressed anger at Anton!!

Quote:

I've stated many times the buck stops on Anton's big ass desk. I've also stated what he needs to do to improve the areas of deficiency. I am, as a matter of fact, preparing a fresh laundry list for him. Will it have any effect? Probably not. He listens, then he keeps on doing whatever he wants. Personally, I don't see how a series with sub-1.0 television ratings can cut it. If he doesn't get those numbers up, I'm all for having the league sold, or having Anton hire someone like Eddie Gossage, who CAN get the important numbers up, to run the show.

__________________

Recent Goings On

Well, some juicy tidbits


EARL ran there race at Texas, Helio won, yeay!!! WGAF No more EARL carnage for the rest of the year.

Mexico there is all sorts of noise that Cancun will have a GP for 2006. I will believe it when Bernie shows up for that press conference.

Seven EARL races to be on ABC, wow! Big advantage there. Same as CCWS.

Carpentier, no deal with Cheever, left to Australia with nothing in his pocket. Hope the powers that be at CCWS cut a deal with him over there.

This weekend, Surfers is going to rock, and the Brazilian Grand Prix. Should be cool doubleheader.

Oh well, I will update with some cool links, maybe tomorrow.

A new and mysterious 'rumors' page has appeared on the web, many juicy tidbits from the IRL.


link to new rumors page

Dario Break Bone In Leg At Texas IRL Race

Well, even before the wreckage begins at the IRL race in Texas, someone has already had a bad wreck. Dario breaks a bone in his foot.

Franchitti’s No. 27 Andretti Green Racing Honda-Powered Dallara spun and hit the SAFER barrier in turn two during the Saturday morning practice session. He sustained a fractuire of the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, IRL medical officials said, but he has been cleared to drive in Sunday’s Chevy 500k. However, Franchitti and AGR officials said they weren’t sure if he would compete in the race.

Speed Story

Autoweek On TV Deal & Schedule

Unlike the Reuters article they say only six races instead of seven. Nothing new in the schedule department, its all 'maybe's' However, as far as TV is concerned, the article does say it all is really close to completion. Still no confirmation of whether it will be Speed TV or not for the remaining races, but there is this item:

Champ Car's pending domestic television package includes six time-buy broadcasts on CBS, with an option to increase the number during subsequent seasons. Remaining races in 2005 will be televised on a CBS/Viacom cable affiliate like USA or Spike, or on former cable partner Speed.
<>


Autoweek Article

CBS Deal Details Come Out

Seven races a year, on CBS for next couple of years. The creative part of the deal is that Ford gets an incentive to buy commercials during Champ Car broadcasts, by cheaper rates for NFL on CBS. Look at the ratings that NFL on CBS gets, clearly that is a huge incentive.

Link to Reuters Story

In exchange, Champ Car will get to sell advertising time. Leading Champ Car sponsor Ford Motor Co. will likely shoulder much of the costs, but not without collecting an added perk: discounted advertising time inside CBS' expensive NFL coverage.

Now for the NFL ratings.

RANK PROGRAM NAME NETWORK DAY RATING AUDIENCE
1 NFL MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ABC Mon 13.0 14,268,000
2 CBS NFL NATIONAL CBS Sun 10.6 11,589,000
3 FOX NFL SUNDAY-SINGLE FOX Sun 9.5 10,459,000
4 CBS NFL REGIONAL CBS Sun 6.5 7,156,000

Schedule and TV News

Finally some 'semi-official' news about the TV Package, and schedule, it simply confirms what many of us knew for some time. CBS for six races, the rest on SPEED.

Link To ESPN Story.

CBS time-buy agreement
A source familiar with the negotiations revealed to ESPN.com that Champ Car management has reached a basic time-buy agreement with CBS that will see at least six races televised live on the network in 2005, growing to as many as thirteen races in 2007. The Long Beach Grand Prix may be added as a seventh network race if logistical differences can be ironed out. Scheduled on the final day of The Masters (a CBS institution), the Long Beach start could be moved up to as early as 11 a.m. to facilitate live coverage. The event could be shown on a tape-delay basis or shifted to Champ Car's cable partner, which is expected to be SPEED Channel. Champ Car's 2005 race schedule is slated for release on Oct. 21 while an announcement of the TV package is being planned for Nov. 1 in New York.

Lola's Aborted Entry Into The IRL

Indycoolest on a Trackforum thread gives a pretty good history, with quotes, of how Lola got screwed out of entering the IRL as a chassis builder. He is smacking down Jim Wilke in the process which is always good.

link


The fact that CART was exploring the concept of a "common" normally-aspirated engine formula at the time in an effort to facilitate a merger with the IRL has no bearing on the chassis formula. It would be a relatively simple matter to adapt any such engine to existing Champcar chassis; there was no need (or sense) in using IRL chassis. So, this "reason" for the IRL turning down Penske and Lola's application doesn't wash.

How about a link verifying Dome's submission of an application to supply a 2003-2005 spec chassis to the IRL?

The IRL wasn't concerned about Penske's ability to service and support its chassis -- Barnhart specifically said it -- so why was this a concern with regard to Lola? Both the Elan Group (aka Panoz G Force) and Dallara supplied chassis to other racing series in 2002, so why wasn't this a concern for them as well?

Barnhart stated that: "Factors the league is considering in applicants [to supply chassis] include experience with the Indy Racing League, financial stability, production capacity, technical support ability and plans for use of the chassis in other racing formats."

In turning down Penske's and Lola's applications, not one of these factors was cited. The league chose instead the untried start-up company, MK Racing, which had NO experience in supplying anything to the Indy Racing League (Ken Anderson had no more experience in this regard than dozens of other designers, including several at Penske and Lola), shaky financial stability (it went bankrupt), NO production capacity (it never delivered a Falcon capable of running under its own power), ZERO technical support ability (Falcon's first employees were mostly family and friends), BUT it had no stated intention of supplying chassis to CART.

The importance of the last factor was made apparent in the league's acceptance announcement of MK Racing: "Now, MK Racing has made the same commitment that Dallara and G Force did in 1996, and our competitors and fans will benefit from the competition of these three manufacturers." Exactly what was that commitment? Certainly not supplying chassis to other series. Dallara supplied chassis to Formula 3 and the Nissan World Series among other open wheel series in 2002 and Panoz is the self-proclaimed "largest manufacturer of racing cars in the world." Perhaps it was only the commitment NOT to supply CART?

In turning down Penske's application, Barnhart stated: "The league acknowledges the high level of product and excellent customer service that Penske Cars has provided in other series, but we have decided we will not consider its application further."

You say, once again: "Lola took that [i.e. question about supplying other series] to mean choose one or the other and withdrew their application to the IRL." Link please. Lola no more withdrew its application than Penske did. Reynard filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2002. The IRL rejected Penske's application on April 23, 2002. But Lola thought it was still in the running until the IRL announcement of approved chassis manufacturers on May 25, 2002.

Lola issued a statement in response to the IRL rejection on May 31, 2002: "Lola was unable to come to a mutually acceptable agreement with the Indy Racing League regarding 2003-2005 chassis construction within their time deadline. As you might expect, we had gone a long way toward construction, committing nearly $1 million in design and development and were on the road to producing another Lola oval winner.

"Ben Bowlby and his design team produced an excellent car, one which had superb figures in wind tunnel testing. Based on that, Lola had verbal commitments in hand from several teams for our new Indy Racing chassis.

Given the likely implications of this loss of business...."

In other words, Lola was still negotiating when "their [IRL] time deadline" expired, it cost them $1 million, and it resulted in an unanticipated "loss of business." None of these are indicative of a company which withdrew its application, as you insist on repeating.

Additionally, the "several [IRL] teams" who verbally committed to buy the Lola chassis weren't questioning if Lola would "not follow through with needed support? No updates, no spares or tech folks at the track because everybody was at a CART race?"

All of which still begs the question of why the IRL chose to reject Lola's genuine application in favor of a vaporware enterprise cobbled together at the last minute?

I've talked with Lola representatives at races who indicate that they believe it was because, as you say, "Lola took [the IRL] to mean choose one [series] or the other." Why can't they state definitively, one way or the other, what the IRL's intentions were? Because nobody but the IRL knows for certain what they were. Penske, for example, was told: "The Indy Racing League is moving forward in its selection of approved chassis suppliers [without Penske] based upon what it believes is in the best interests of the league and its participants," Barnhart said.

Sports Illustrated "10 Dumbest Moments in Sports" #7 is.

SI's Top 10 Dumbest Moments in Sports, Number 7


Sports Illustrated Just came out with “Ten Dumbest Moments in Sports” (subtitled “it’s true someone has to win and someone has to lose, but nobody has to make these kinds of colossal blunders”)…

EDIT This is the Real Number 7 …

MEMORIAL DAY Lest's see - The Indianapolis 500 is a beloved institution run damn near every Memorial Day since 1911. So in 1996, open-wheel racing splits into two factions, CART and IRL. As a result the best drivers leave for a race no one cares about, and the race people care about is left with no drivers. Gentlemen, start your angina. For no good reason you've ceded motor-racing supremacy in this country to NASCAR. True, CART and IRL appear to have patched things up, but that's a bit like Hall patching things up with Oates. Will anyone still care?

Not as drastic as initially suggested. The worst part was the 'patching up' angle, not true at all. But the rest of the article clearly shows the split as being dumb for everyone concerned.

It was one of the biggest sports blunders ever. The fact that not many people talk about it as such, is simply due to how irrelevant the whole thing has become for it to even be considered a topic for discussion.

It was a stupid, stupid, mistake. The timing of it could not have been any worse: when the series was still thriving and Indy still was the biggest thing in town.
Lets thing about how big a blunder it was with the benefit of some hindsight.


Did it protect the Indy 500?: No, the 500 is not even the biggest race at that track, much less natioaally.

Did the league promote American short track drivers to get to Indy: No, the Yeley's, Kahne's, and Walkers are going elsewhere. Part of the reason had to do with the fact that equipment wasn't really all that affordable.

Did it contain costs? No, costs gradually rose to the point where they are roughly comparable to pre-split CART.


Did it promote oval racing? No, since both the series as well as CART have been forced to cut back from many domestic ovals for economic considerations. It now embraces road and street courses.


The PPG Indycar World Series operated well enough with Indy at its center. Without having to deal with the dilution of the sport and the fans, that the IRL's creation caused, a single series would have been better off with all resources in one boat.

Not to say it would be bigger than NASCAR today - which it probably wouldn't. But we would be in much better shape.



CART screwed up afterwards, because it still had re-unification fever, and put off too many crucial decisions thinking some deal could be sruck with George. But regardless the series continues to this day, and seems to be on a proper track.
Now Tony could have fixed this blunder by agreeing to some sort of re-unification when he had the chance all the way up to 2001. Seems like time ran out on him though.

Where Some Trackforum Exiles Are Now.

Howard Dolan from Trackforum, who I would refer to as a Paleo-Lemming, i.e. on e of the original oval-centric, IRL apologists from back in the day, has had his racing page for a while. Together, with Racewriter, he one of the first ones to figure out where Tony's vision was leading. Seems the Trackforumites left, consider them "Doom and Gloomers' now that they aren't so high on the current 'vision'. It does seem that Racewriter at some points does appear to be trolling over there, but then again I also remind myself of all the times that Indycool and Wilke would do the same, so screw 'em.
Now him and the other 'Paleos' like Carl S., who also tired of the George regime a while, post at this site more actively. Valid critiques of the current vision, which the Trackforum crowd, who at this point are simply a Tony George cult, cannot stomach. Also there is some real reporting on whatever short track races they go to, which is actually interesting to read, since I secretly dig the stuff. Good way to keep up with future Cup stars I guess.

Its worth a bookmark, and definitively a weekly look. Defender and Racewriter do go at it quite a bit, which is always entertaining. Its Trackforum without the restraints.

Link To Dolan's Web Site

WHAT THE VISION WAS -TONY GEORGE 2001 INTERVIEW IN AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE

I Got this beauty from #2 at the Speed OW Board which has become a free fire zone. Gomers getting smacked down on a daily basis. Guess the Kool Aid wore off on the sensible ones, and all thats left is the bizarro cultists like Wilke and Defender.


Anyway, FTG apologists everywhere are quick to cite the old manifesto that said that road courses were a possibility in the future. But there was a heck of a lot of quotes, in which the vision was clearly in promoting an oval-centric series, where American drivers could go from the short tracks to Indy.

So from the April 2001 issue of Automobile Magazine, entitled “One Brick at a Time,” and subtitled “Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George and Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever discuss the state of racing in the United States.”

EC: Michael Andretti is uniquely talented. But no matter how long he tested with McLaren [before his abortive F1 season in 1993], there were certain things he didn’t know—that he couldn’t know. It’s like racing on ovals. A road racer turns up at an oval and sees it as four different corners, which is the wrong way to look at it. Kids in midgets and Silver Crown cars race on ovals 200 times a year. They’re always turning left. It becomes a habit. They get used to starts and passing and running in traffic. They can develop a driving style without spending exorbitant amounts of money.

TG: That’s one of the problems with guys who come up from driving schools or road racing: They’ve learned how to drive, but they haven’t learned how to race, because the cars tend to get strung out. The guys who come out of midgets and spring cars are used to eight-lap heat races and fifteen-lap semis and thirty-lap features, where positions—and the racetrack—change all the time. This really teaches you to change your style, your line, the way you attack the track. And, all the while, you have to stay aggressive.

TG: Now that the league is established, we have to focus on developing drivers. The support systems in Europe and Brazil create ladders to help drivers advance. They also get sponsorship very early on. We’re not just looking at driver development programs; we’re looking at driver development series/ And we want to find a sponsor who’ll help support it. People forget that, for a while, NASCAR struggled with where its stars of tomorrow were going to come from. Then Bill Davis picked up Jeff Gordon and opened everybody’s eyes to the pool of racing talent in USAC. At the time, given the road-racing orientation of CART, a lot of those USAC drivers had soured on CART. That’s one of the reasons we formed the Indy Racing League—to fill that vacuum and create opportunities for American drivers.

TG: Right now, we’re seeing young drivers capitalizing on the opportunities available to them in NASCAR. But, eventually, we hope once again to get open-wheel drivers who aspire to Indianapolis to consider the Indy Racing League a destination. I think we’re going to see the Indy Racing League and CART continue to move in different directions. We’re very narrowly focused on ovals, and we’ve developed a formula specifically for that purpose. CART tries to be all things to all people. We’ve had discussions with them about a common formula, but we’re not interested in compromising our engines or chassis.

EC: IRL should do ovals. CART should do road racing. There’s a market for both.

TG: Back in 1994, when we announced that we were going to start running a new series in January 1996, we were committed to developing a product that would be entertaining both on television and in person. Ovals make it easy for the fans. They can see most of the action from their seats. It also makes for easier, more productive coverage on television. And, obviously, there is a much greater opportunity for close side-by-side racing.

Time To Get Busy Here!!

All right kids, its time to get busy with this space. I figured out that since I write so much garbage anyway, the best thing to do was to save anything worthwile and put it here. Call it my collected ramblings. The first attempt was lame, this one will be good.

IRL at Fontana, .1 Rating, No One At Track!!!

Here is the big news, EARL race at Fontucky gets hardly 15,000 people at the track. Guess what? Championship can be decided then and there. Yet not only do they get 15,000 at the track, they get a .1 rating on ESPN!! So here's some thread I started at the Speed Boards OW section. How on earth does the EARL get a .1 rating for a race in Fontana??? Wow. Its easy, they don't have any fans left.

http://insider.speedtv.com/viewtopic.php?t=55891

What .1 And 15,000 At The Track Mean..

Its over for a lot of fans.


You know, at some point the IRL had some actual fans, who were into the whole 'vision' thing. at least for a while. They actually bought into the idea that the cheap, hideous formula cars, with the underpowered and foul-sounding engines, were the beginning of something new and cool for the Indianapolis 500 and oval racing in general.

There was some real hero's to look up to finally!!!! Man, if you heard the IRL fans at the time, you'd think that Buddy Lazier, Greg Ray, Scott Sharp, were what the U.S. public had been clamoring for since Tex, Gordo, and Lone Star JR retired. Of course many of us on the other side of the fence, had the good sense to know that these guys couldn't hold a candle to the likes of Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, and Greg Moore. There was one true superstar in the IRL, who could keep up with just about anyone in the country, but he was destined to leave.

But hey, whose to worry, there were still lots of new hero's at Indy!! How about the unoficial 'dean' of IRL drivers, the one and only, Eddie Cheever, "Bubble-Boy", Billy Boat, Robbie Buhl, Jeff Ward,Davey Hamilton, Mark Dismore, Robbie McGehee. How about another Lazier, and then to top it all off, the female phenom hersel!! And even the 'furiners' seemed pretty American, specially when you are under the influence of the Kool Aid. Heck, Kenny, Goodyear, and Arie look pretty American to me Isn't Roberto just another way of saying 'Bob' ? Hey, 'Salad Bar' lives in Miami right? And the 'Shigster' has to be from Hawaii.

But no matter where these hero's were from, they all took their Formula 3 knockoffs, racin' Indy-Style at all sorts of places. And the faithfull, watched on television as their hero's went wheel to wheel at tracks across the nation. And this was all a big prelude to the magical Indy 500, where even more of the All American boys would put on their show in front of 200,000 plus spectators.

Hey, all was well in EARL land, the fans had their drivers, and the kind of racing they lilked. And those big bad CART days were over. This was American hero's who lived to race on ovals and to win the big prize, the Indy 500. When you have that, who cares just how good those CART guys are!!! Seriously, Long Beach doesn't seem like Indy? Plus who wants to follow a series, whose champion is named "Alessandro" and who cares about some foreigner like Gil, Adrian, or Juan Pablo ? Heck, they had Buddy, Scott, Greg, Eddie, Billy and Sarah!!! And guess what, each fan had favorite drivers!! You could tell from nicknames at message boards that there were Cheever fans, Lazier fans, Sarah Fans. And they actually debated the merits of their favorite drivers, wore T-Shirts with their names, and sent them get well cards to the hospital when they were doing their inevitable sheet time.

We all know how the rest of the story ends. Lets just say that starting in 2000 and 2001, teams and drivers from CART start filtering back to the Speedway. Of course they trounced the IRL regulars at the 500, but that could be explained away somehow or another. But more worrying was Penske coming back. And before you knew it, Ganassi, Andretti-Green, Fernandez and Rahal - the cornerstones of the hated CART- were part of the IRL. And they came in with the backing of Honda and Toyota. And these manufacturs wanted these teams to bring their drivers from CART with them, since they had proven themselves in the other series.

Suddenly, we find out that those small teams that gave many of these 'hero's a break, became uncompetetive when the big boys showed up. Front-runners became backmarkers almost overnight. If you are a fan of a Buddy Lazier it must not have been good to see him being lapped. Other drivers simply couldn't get the sponsorship and were dropped .

All the while the flashy kids from CART with the big teams and powerful engines, imposed a new order in the series. Last year it was the Toyota and Honda year. This year, it has been a Honda year.

So who is watching??? Nobody. Did CART Fans follow these teams over to the IRL or the drivers? Absolutely not. Did many of the old school IRL types suddenly develop a new appreciation for Tony Kanaan? Not quite, some guy who was a Buddy Lazier fan since 1996 wants to see Buddy out here, and could care less about Kanaan. Same goes for the Fisher fans.

The larger point is that four years ago, a core-IRL fan was motivated to follow the Championship because his favorite driver was there in his favorite series. Now, his favorite driver is no longer in the series, due to cost increases brought about by teams that came over from a series he dislikes. And when these teams bring over their drivers, he has less of an incentive to root for any of them. To make matters worse for him, the championships have simply become battles between these same multi-driver teams and their drivers. Had they given a race seat to HIS driver he would've followed them. Since they brought their foreign driver from CART over, he resents. that. This guy might not even watch the race, and maybe he is no longer even an IRL fan.

That is one big reason why the championship deciding race at Fontana got 15,000 people in the stands, and a .1 rating. The IRL fans have left the ship already. Go take a look at Trackforum, there were more fans discussing Sarah Fisher's performance in an obscure Busch race, than there were discussing the championship battle. They have no one left to root for, and many of them simply don't care anymore. This is what happens when the Kool Aid wears off.

Bitching About Tony George, Part 10

For all the problems CART had with its management by committee, it did do a lot for
Open Wheel racing, as TG himself pointed out. It brought back OW racing in the US during the 80's when F1 withdrew, USAC imploded, and SCCA screwed up every series it touched. In the 90's it made the Indy Car World Series a formidable stand-alone racing series, with great crowds in Long Beach, Cleveland, Phoenix, Surfers, and Toronto, and world wide attention, as well as domestic sucess" Long Beach delivered a 3.0 rating in 1995.

Was NASCAR coming?? You betcha it was, and that steamroller was inevitable. Was the fall of Open Wheel racing, created by Tony George alone? No, nothing happens in a vacuum. But does Tony George bear any responsibility for what happened next. He bears the majority of the blame.

He publically decided to start a spin-off series, leveraging it with the Indianapolis 500 which was the crown jewel at the center of CART.
Remember, though, that this was the Indycar World Series, George started the Indy Racing League. So in effect, when Open Wheel racing was on solid footing, George started something that immediately diluted the very name "Indycar". Not only that, he also locked out the best teams, by his stupid 25/8 rule, and the effect of the attention that got, was akin to the bad publicity suffered by MLB during the 94 strike.

A lot of fans were ticked off, and more damaging the casual fans, knew that Tony was putting on a sham. And the ratings showed, TWO WHOLE RATING POINTS, THEY HAVE NEVER RECOVERED. At that point it was game over for the Indy 500, those who turned of, did not return.

As for CART, its decline was linked to both losing out on Indy, as well as the very dilution of its name as a race series, since it was no longer Indycar. But then again the IRL has suffered through that same problem, with the resulting confusion the last couple of years reducing both series to a niche in the United States.
The damage is done. And NASCAR not only filled the void, it capitalized. Had things been different OW Indy Style racing, could be united and healthy -- as much as it can be in this economy. Now its split and the future is uncertain.

--And in the final analysis, Tony George is responsible, because his actions directly caused the dilution of the value of both series that have been associated with his track, in a period of time where Open Wheel needed to be united. And in the long run that has probably mortally wounded his own signature race, which is the second most seen race at his own track. And after this disaster, who the #### wants this fool in control of all Open Wheel racing. Not me.