Outrun

This plane allegedly flew over St. Petersburg during the IndyCar race. I'll try to find confirmation on whether or not this is real.

Knestis

But it will be cool as hell to see those cars on a REAL road course.

K

xtrac1

iTrader: (2)

Hate to admit it, but the IRL put on a good show.

Sean O'Gorman

It was real, some of the guys who did it post at a Champ Car forum I'm at.

The race was ok (for a street race), but it just makes me angry that the entire sport was destroyed by Tony George just so he could make it into CART minus the fans, sponsors, and stability.

Knestis

That is an extremely narrow - if popular - view of how things transpired, frankly.

I was wondering what it was that I thought was so cool about those cars on a street course until it dawned on me that they have airboxes! It reminded me of the old LBGP when F1 ran on the streets of Long Beach.

K

TeamSlowdotOrg

I really enjoyed the race. There were a few Gasp! moments and IRL cars are neat looking. It was funny hearing the commentators talk about Scheckter being too aggressive and having a really good day if he could manage to finish, and lo and behold he outbraked himself all alone and drove into the tires.

Sean O'Gorman

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Knestis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That is an extremely narrow - if popular - view of how things transpired, frankly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I never said Champ Car (or CART) would do any better of a job.

The fact is, the ROI in the IRL doesn't justify the extremely high costs that Honda and Toyota are faced with to win, and it wont be long before the engine manufacturer subsidies are gone and there is no sponsorship to replace them. CART couldn't survive when they were forced to fund most of their grid in '03, I don't know if Tony George has enough money left to subsidize an entire grid yet again.

It is a real shame that both series are being run by guys who are molding Champ Car and IRL into what they want, not what potential fans and sponsors want.

turbohappy

Man, I don't like Tony George. I've met him several times, he was even given an honorary degree during my college graduation. He's an ***.

trigun7469

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I never said Champ Car (or CART) would do any better of a job.

The fact is, the ROI in the IRL doesn't justify the extremely high costs that Honda and Toyota are faced with to win, and it wont be long before the engine manufacturer subsidies are gone and there is no sponsorship to replace them. CART couldn't survive when they were forced to fund most of their grid in '03, I don't know if Tony George has enough money left to subsidize an entire grid yet again.

It is a real shame that both series are being run by guys who are molding Champ Car and IRL into what they want, not what potential fans and sponsors want.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hey Sean how did Danica do

xtrac1

iTrader: (2)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> makes me angry that the entire sport was destroyed by Tony George just so he could make it into CART minus the fans, sponsors, and stability. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Makes me very angry because I've always wanted to work at Cosworth. Even had an open invitation to work there by the higher ups. When Ford said it would cost more to shut down Cosworth than to keep it operational, I said to myself no way can I ever work there. Way too unstable for me. Can't wait till Honda pulls out of the IRL.

Knestis

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sean O’Gorman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... It is a real shame that both series are being run by guys who are molding Champ Car and IRL into what they want, not what potential fans and sponsors want.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Now THAT is a statement I can get behind - A reality that has hurt a LOT of US racing series over the years. This is why I like the current DP/GT GrandAm rules so much, since they seem to have done a deal that makes sense rather than satisfying some rich guy's image of what the class should look like.

K

Sean O'Gorman

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Knestis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now THAT is a statement I can get behind - A reality that has hurt a LOT of US racing series over the years. This is why I like the current DP/GT GrandAm rules so much, since they seem to have done a deal that makes sense rather than satisfying some rich guy's image of what the class should look like.

K</TD></TR></TABLE>

Indeed. Grand-Am is probably the greatest thing to happen to North American road racing in 25 years.

At least they understand that since the racing is funded primarily by the competitors, it should be structured so that it is something they want. Something that seems lost on the ALMS and its fans who hate Grand-Am for the stupidest reasons.

Open wheel racing is either going to have to structure itself similarly (a tough sell since no open wheel owners like to dip into their pockets at all to fund their racing) or find a way to create some sort of value for the sport. How IRL and Champ Car have managed to survive with the costs they have and the sub 1 TV ratings and virtually nonexistant presence in the public eye is beyond me.