American Open Wheel Racing's Split Ends

[RJ O'Connell]

Full article here (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/george-kalkhoven-lay-out-unification-plans/)

I'm sad to see the Champ Car/CART/PPG Indy Car Series' demise, in its prime years before the split and for at least five or six years after, it was truly the most competitive racing series around.

But them's the breaks. Both TG and KK couldn't have kept their respective series going at this rate. There's a lot of die hards at what used to be Crapwagon that are obviously not happy that the Champ Car series is gone - but in truth, the sport as a whole is going to be a lot better for it.

[zargz]

yeh, sounds good!

but this?

“The interest level is clearly high at this point in time,” Barnhart said.
“You could see anywhere from eight to 12 cars on the grid beginning with the Homestead event.
That’s absolutely the best-case scenario we could be looking for.”


eight cars?

sounds like wipEout!!! :D

[RJ O'Connell]

Let's not go making Arial Tetsuo/Danica Patrick comparisons now O_O

[Lance]

Man, I am so disappointed [?]; I thought this thread was going to be about that hair problem that so many shampoo+conditioner companies say that so many girls have.


[stereotyping. yes, I know.] ;)

[infoxicated]

Barnhart is talking about "eight to twelve" cars from former Champ Car teams making the grid, joining the regular IndyCar Series teams, which gives a grid in the mid to high 20's.

I don't imagine we'll see more than 24 - espeially since there's been radio silence from Forsythe thus far. Would be a shame if he took his ball away and went and played in the ALMS or something, because I'd like to see Paul Tracy run some more ovals before he calls it quits. If only for the carnage! ;)

[RJ O'Connell]

Man, I am so disappointed; I thought this thread was going to be about that hair problem that so many shampoo+conditioner companies say that so many girls have.
Bravo. (golf clap) XD

I don't expect Forsythe leaving unless he gets a real raw deal in the next couple of seasons. I'm a bit worried about some of the journeyman road racers coming in from CCWS like Enrique Bernoldi - I see the potential for a bad wreck happening out of inexperience. Hopefully we won't see that, but you never know...

[infoxicated]

Remember that Nigel Mansell had never driven an oval until he went to CART and he was stronger on the ovals than he was on the road courses in 1993.

Those who pick it up will do so quickly - if Milka Duno can keep out of the way and avoid an accident then I'm sure those with more open wheel racing experience than her can do the same.

[swift killer]

Its about time common sense prevailed, it is clear that Champ Car would have slowly rotted and grinded to a hault if this did not happen, I think IRL was actually gaining momentum, the big downfall of Champ Car and the whole reason for the split between the two was Champ Car moving away from oval racing which is what Indy Car is all about and gets its name from.

[Spaceboy Gajo]

Thanks RJ for creating this post. Was going to ask foxy privately what he thought about the merger since he's been the most vocal that I know of on the Indy series.

Disappointed about the merger only because the race here in Toronto looks like it won't happen. At least for this year, so the talk goes. Heard it was because of the scheduling. Hopefully it'll come back next year and that me and foxy get to the Thrill from West Hill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tracy) race in one more racetime in his home town.

That said it'll be interesting to see Tracy get into a few more fights with other drivers. That'll attract more of the NASCAR demographics :D Although Danica can hold her own ;)

Also, I'm glad they kept one out of the two airport races (Edmonton). Not only for the Canadian content (since they cancelled Toronto and Mount Tremblant), but I always loved watching them race in an airport when it was Cleveland and then later on in Edmonton.

Quick question before I go, are we going to see Ashley Judd in this new series or did she and her husband go to NASCAR? Only because she could calm me down whenever I see Dario. He's got history with PT and well, if you couldn't already tell I'm a bit of a homer.

[Lance]

When Paul Tracy retires, it's gonna be a sad day for those who love that extra dash of entertainment both in the racing itself and in the peripheral activities once they've got out of the cars.

---------

I like the road courses, so I'm hoping that they will be a big part of the unified racing schedule. But my hopes are not high, since it appears that Indy will be dominating the show.

[rageagainstgeorge]

This is excellent news. I think the new series will get off to slow start but then pick up once the kinks are ironed out. They've bought themselves loads of free publicity just by merging anyway so that might give the series a kickstart.

I'm a roadcourse fan primarily but Indycar wouldn't be right right without ovals. They should do maybe 50/50 ovals to road courses.

I hope they keep Surfer's Paradise and Road America. Always have been my two favs.

[RJ O'Connell]

They've said the series will retain an oval bias - but now it looks like it will be a very, very slight one.

And it appears as if Paul Tracy's immediate future in the IndyCar Series is on hold. (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/forsythe-championship-racing-ceases-operations/) Damn shame that is.

[infoxicated]

That's not a shame, as such - Forsythe was so bitter that I didn't think he'd take his team to IndyCar, so I was worried they'd go to ALMS and Paul would go with them, but by folding they've released Paul to do a he pleases.

"Right now, I need to quickly regroup, regain my composure and then start looking for another ride – and I mean in IndyCar. The team may be done, but I’m ready to go racing." - Paul Tracy

'ataboy, Paul :+

Somebody give this man a ride!

If he shows up in a Vision car that would be a bitter pill for the Champ Car Fanatics of the world. He's been the torch bearer for all things Champ Car, so to see him running for Tony George's team would be delicious irony.

There's another seat still available at RLR, and Conquest haven't announced a second driver yet, either, so a big name like PT could have options. :)

[swift killer]

Forsythe Racing has had to close down! :eek I can only hope that they're back in 2009.

[infoxicated]

Rumour has it that Paul Tracy has circa $10 Million personal sponsorship via Monster energy drink. I expect him to have a new ride by Monday. :D

[swift killer]

One thing for sure, with or without Paul Tracy, this season has alot of potential to be an absolute classic, so many unknown factors and so little to choose between the competitors in the field.

Another thing, what is going to happen to championships like a the Mazda Star Series and Trans Am which usually tour with Champ Car, im guessing they would have to jump on the IMSA/ALMS band wagon?

Also, you recon Lewis Hamilton would be able to win in IRL?

[RJ O'Connell]

It's safe to say Star Mazda will follow suit with Atlantics. And Trans-Am has been defunct for at least three years already. Hard to believe, I know. T_T

Lewis Hamilton, I think, would certainly win races in the IndyCar Series. But he's well set in Formula 1 - you think he would want to switch over with the money McLaren is paying him? ;)


There's another seat still available at RLR, and Conquest haven't announced a second driver yet, either, so a big name like PT could have options. :)
RLR will likely snatch up Graham Rahal as quickly as humanly possible given the family ties, and that program hasn't been very relevant since Buddy Rice won the 500 four years ago. Conquest is even worse off, I believe - they've been on the fringe of going under for three years now.

[infoxicated]

I'm not a huge Bobby Rahal fan, but RLR were doing just fine three years ago when Danica clocked up several poles and put it on the front row for the Indy 500, then finished fourth with team mate Vitor Miera second. That's pretty relevant in my books!

In 2006, the death of Paul Dana in the opening event put a cloud over the whole season for RLR. They also suffered, as all the previously Honda exclusive teams did, due to the old Toyota teams being better at trimming their cars out. Plus they switched from Panoz to Dallara part way into the season and never really caught up with the rest of the field. Danica was the highest finishing Panoz at the Indy 500, though, so they were making the most of the equipment they had.

Last year Jeff Simmons was simply awful for them and Scott Sharp wasn't much better - when Ryan Hunter-Reay stepped in for Simmons he was top ten in his debut race and scored some good finishes as the year progressed, so I'm expecting their years in the wilderness to be put behind them this year.

As for Graham Rahal, well - he is still a Newman Haas Lanigan driver and that's where he'll stay for this year, although NHL is partnering with RLR to help learn the oval package for the Dallara. So who knows, maybe Graham will drive for his daddy at some point down the line. His ambitions are apparently in F1, though, so maybe he wont be around for long if he can make the transition.

Plus, it doesn't necessarily work that driving for a family member pays off. Okay, Ed Carpenter is doing alright with Vision, but AJ Foyt IV was sucking it up driving for Foyt because the pressure on him to succeed was huge.

It's not as if Marco has lit up the world driving for his dad, either - his one win was rigged by the team, and he threw away the Indy 500 by sucking it up through turns 3 & 4 of the final lap! :D

[RJ O'Connell]

With Dario Franchitti in NASCAR now, Marco will see an increased role with AGR.

Which means - hello - more wins in the future!

[infoxicated]

Why?

Is Dario leaving going to stop Marco sucking at the 1.5 mile ovals?

Is it going to stop him making rookie mistakes in his third year?

The kind that led him to cause that huge crash at the Indy 500 last year.

I see another character building year for Marco as Mutoh quickly eclipses everything he's achieved to date and Danica takes over as #2 behind Kanan.

[RJ O'Connell]

I'm just saying - we know how much team orders really matter in this discipline of racing. In my mind I see Andretti Green Racing trying to put Marco in the best position to win every race. But I see your point - how many times has a driver been put in the perfect position for success and then gone on to squander his chance out of incompetence?

[infoxicated]

I think there are three other drivers on that team who wouldn't likely just roll over for Marco. TK is a fierce competitor, and Danica brought 20 million dollars of sponsorship from Motorola alone, so she'll be expecting a win, too.

AGR have indeed engineered a win for Marco in the past, but I think it's pretty far fetched to think they'd try to do it at every race.

[RJ O'Connell]

The point I'm trying to make, though, is not that they'll put MA in a position to win every single race - because what happens if he wrecks on lap 1? But he'll be given better chances than last year more often, that's what I'm trying to say.

Homestead promises to be an interesting opening race...