You know, I am sort of glad I waited until today to write the IRL post season wrap. Yesterday’s race at Fontana proved to be eventful in and of itself as Danica allegedly struck Jacques Lazier in the safety vehicle after they crashed yesterday. It capped off one of the most tumultuous seasons in IRL history that was notable for its extreme highs and lows.
As usual hope sprung eternal as the season opener approached in Homestead. The tests in the west were wrapped and it looked like the league was on solid footing and poised to take this fight with Champ Car to its end this season. Unfortunately as has been the case for so long in the IRL, everyone was never on the same page at the same time?
Right out of the gate a couple of things were noticeable. One was that the Toyota looked like it was back in business as it took second as well as 7 of the top 10 positions. Honda was still strong as eventual series champion Dan Wheldon took the win. A little known Danica Patrick also made her IRL debut. She crashed and would miss the next race. Attendance was sparse, but the TV ratings were up slightly which gave reason for optimism. Something that sadly, the IRL never grasped.
As the league moved west to Phoenix and the traditional spring date at PIR the IRL was going to reach its low point. A mere 8000 fans showed up for the race. Rumors blamed the promotion, the league, the racing, me and whoever else could be blamed. The TV ratings were shit and my prediction of the end of the IRL by the end of 2006 looked generous.
It was becoming clear the IRL was not going to be winning any battles this year. At least at this point. Next up was the race in the streets of St. Petersburg. The IRL for once pulled it together and put on a show. For the purists it would be the shot heard round the world as it became clear crowds liked street festivals. There was a nice crowd and TV ratings were up. Dan Wheldon would win and it would be the first of three in a row that culminated in his winning the Indianapolis 500.
Generally the race was considered a huge success and you could just see the little wheels spinning in FTRG’s head about more and more of the streets.
Motegi was notable as Danica took the pole. Otherwise it was a forgotten race, but Honda won in the Land of the Rising Sun and that should have made them happy. Next up was Indy.
Practice that first week at Indy was as spirited and active as ever. However, by Fast Friday afternoon the skies opened up and it rained all night. Dickhead Brian Brainfart, in his infinite wisdom called the track closed by noon on Pole Day even though skies were clearing and the sun was coming out. So the Pole was settled on a chilly, breezy Sunday in from of about 50 people. TK got the pole and Danicamania was in full gear. The girl qualified fourth, but could have had the pole except for a bobble on lap 1.
The next weeks were filled with little excitement. Only Bump Day provided any real excitement and in the end it was all BS. Carb Day on Friday this year was a crazy one as usual.
Congrats to Dan Wheldon for winning the 500. Patrick showed her true colors by taking out Panther Racing and being able to change her car and make it faster. She would continue to suck the rest of the year. She did lead a couple of laps, but ultimately she was a loser.
Rolling out of Indy though the Danica factor was in force and the league looked ready to pounce. Tickets for upcoming events were selling at record numbers and the IRL seemed to have the marketing machine at full song. Unfortunately the good feelings didn’t last. At Texas Scheckter won, but by Nashville the wear of promoting Danica, who by this time had faded into the woodwork with her crappy performances, over legitimate drivers was wearing thin. AGR actually skipped the autograph session and were promptly reprimanded. ABC/ESPN and the IRL had pushed the real drivers just a little too hard with all the of Danicamania shit.
As the season progressed, Wheldon continued his drive to the championship, but the league lost its momentum. By the time Milwaukee rolled around attendance was back in the crapper and Michigan was downright embarrassing. Two weeks later at Sparta, KY the crowd was decent, but nowhere near the sellout some would have you believe was there (and blamed on the heat) but each year it gets better.
Finally they got back to the road course part of the season, but at Infineon the crowds were bad and a decent crowd at Watkins Glen wasn’t really enough to carry the rest of the season. Crowds yesterday at Fontana were awful.
As with any season there are good points and bad points. For the IRL in 2005, there were some good ones, but the bad continues to outweigh and I refuse to change my mind about this series being around in 2007.
As far as good goes, Danicamania had to be the top story. She had some good qualifying runs and got her name in front of the public. Unfortunately the IRL marketing hacks botched this opportunity. They overexposed her and virtually forgot all of the other drivers including Dan Wheldon who won the 500. Marketing has been a problem over at 16th and Georgetown for some time now and it appears as though nothing has changed.
AGR had a great season and had great sponsors, but little Mikey threw a tantrum about Danica and pulled his stunt at Nashville. Very childish. The street race in St. Pete was a huge success, but the roaders were so-so. Good attendance at St. Pete, Nashville, Kansas, Chicagoland and Kentucky were negated by terrible turnouts at Fontana and Phoenix and disappointments at Indy, Michigan, Milwaukee and Phoenix.
For all of their posturing about races in Portland, Long Beach and Canada, the schedule for next year is smaller, not larger and does not include any of those venues. I do however like the length of the season which has been cut down by a month and a half.
Chevrolet is gone. Reports of them staying arose after TS won at Texas but the GM people stayed committed to their plans and have pulled their effort. Toyota has announced it is gone after 2006. While Honda says it will stay until at least 2009 one has to wonder what the future holds. I think doing away with the engine leases and letting the rule book free up a little may entice companies to build an Indy engine. It’s funny, but the influx of Toyota and Honda money was hailed by many sides as the savior and proof the IRL had won. It is now apparent that is not the case at all.
Overall I give the league a C+ for the season. It failed miserably to maintain the momentum coming out of Indy. To top it off, one of the leagues biggest allies was basically told to wait. Eddie Gossage and his Texas Motor Speedway, mainstays of the IRL after Indy were thought to be shuffling elsewhere on the schedule. Gossage bitched and it seemed Texas might be gone. In the end it was averted and the league will go to Watkins Glen after Indy and two weeks later race at Texas.
There was just too much Mickey Mouse crap to say the season was a success. TV ratings, while higher remained low. Indy is no longer a sellout. But the real hurtful factor is that Champ Car actually had a decent season. It is obvious they are not going away. Unfortunately with the split, one league will and if Champ Car is not, who does that leave?
Enjoy the offseason. I might do something of a wrap on NASCAR if they ever get done!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
2005 F1 Wrap
With Sunday’s running of the IRL race at Fontana and the F1 boys over at Shanghai the real racing season will come to an end. It has been a bittersweet year to be sure and unfortunately for the open wheel guys, NASCAR remains the 800 pound gorilla that everyone is gunning for. So what happened this season and why did it happen? Who is staying put and who is moving on or out? Who, for that matter is moving in? And who should be in but aren’t and probably won’t be and who will stay in that should be out?
F1 got things going in March with their annual return to the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. Controversy swirled over whether or not the Minardi team would be allowed to run using last years equipment. The rules had been changed enough that the older equipment was no longer legal. Of course the assholes from Maranello pitched a bitch over the perennial backmarker being able to run. As the lawyers got involved Minardi failed to show at the first day of practice. The FIA successfully argued that Minardi would not be allowed to run the old equipment. Miraculously at the 11th hour, new parts arrived and the Minardi’s took their place at the back of the grid. A position they would continue to defend the rest of the season.
What was apparent however, was that the new Ferrari was not going to blow away the competition the way they had the previous five years. There was no reason to think Schummi and the Sandwich were losing their edge, but the car was not up to par, at least in Australia. As apparent as Ferrari’s drop was the continued emergence of the Renault team. In fact Giancarlo Fisichella won the opener. While Fish failed to ever reach the summit again this season, the message was clear, Renault’s strong 2004 season was no fluke.
Unfortunately that was not the case for two of last years stronger teams. BAR had engine trouble at Melbourne and continued that Mo for the first half of the season. McLaren, usually strong in Australia also suffered engine problems and got off to a bad start.
As the circus rolled on, Freddie Alonso emerged as the new man to finally beat Schummi. Eventually Kimi would join that fight, but by the time McLaren got their shit together it was really too late for him to mount anything more than a cursory charge. Kimi will go down with the most wins this year, but when he was bad, he was awful. Most of it not of his doing, meaning mechanical problems, but it proved too much to overcome as Freddie cruised to the championship.
JPM got off to a rocky start as well. The Colombian missed three races with an injured shoulder. Allegedly he hurt it playing tennis, but the scuttlebutt was that he fell off of a motorcycle. Either way it was a long first season at McLaren for Juan. The team can still win the constructors title this weekend at Shanghai, but JPM will have to drive smart and give his team a chance. Something he has not been doing most of the year.
By the time the teams hit European soil it was clear Ferrari was not going to be a factor this year. It was also clear that the economy was having a say so about the F1 crowds as the San Marino GP was very poorly attended. Spain was good because of Freddie’s run and Monaco was okay, but Hockenheim was once again plagued by mediocre attendance.
By this time the title was down to Renault and McLaren with Ferrari still in the hunt but just barely. BAR was out. Williams was out and Toyota had only one bright moment out of each of their drivers all season.
The season was already taking its toll on the rule book as well. Qualifying had been changed from a session on Saturday and one on race morning to the older Saturday only session with the order being culled from the previous race. Teams still had to deal with the one tyre and no changes and one engine per two races rules. As the teams came to North America, the shitstorm of the year was at hand.
An uneventful race at Canada, well until the last lap when Kiwi broke up, brought the team to the US. The weather was absolutely perfect for four days as the teams gathered. The walkthrough on Thursday was a huge success again as were Friday and Saturday. However, on Saturday rumors began to swirl that there was a problem with the Michelin tyres. Ralfie had slammed the turn 13 wall on Friday and was out of the race. Fingers were pointed with Michelin ultimately being the scapegoat. Be it political or just stupid, Michelin advised their teams not to bring a safe tyre compound to go with the fast tyre. When it became apparent their tyres were unsafe, negotiations took place to either allow new tyres to be brought in or for a chicane to be built to slow the cars.
Everyone knows the story so I will leave most of it out, but suffice it to say that I felt then and still do that it was a political ploy to further the divide between the teams and the FIA in light of the startup GPWC being heralded by many of the teams and manufacturers.
In the end 6 cars answered the starting flag and many feelings were hurt and worse. In the days and weeks following the debacle people blamed the FIA, Tony George, the Speedway, Michelin, Ralfie, F1 and anyone else they could think of. Michelin finally agreed to take the blame and refunded the ticket money to the ticket holders of the race and offered to buy several thousand tickets to next years race. It remains to be seen if F1 will ever recover in the US.
As the circus rolled back to Europe it was clear no one was in much of a forgiving mood. The FIA has tried to ward off the split in the series but it no longer has the teeth it once had. Bernie has all but lost all face in his attempt to keep things together.
But the races continued and Kiwi was coming strong. BAR was finally finishing races, but Ferrari was still down. There was no doubt McLaren had the car to beat in the second half of the season, but Freddie was so consistent in his Renault and he could not be passed for the championship.
All in all it was a pretty eventful season for F1. With Indy, the fall of Ferrari and Schumi, BAR’s struggles and the rise of Renault there was more than just the crap we had been seeing the past few years. Thank God for that.
Off track there will be political ramifications until everyone gets on board with either the FIA and FOMA or with the GPWC.
As far as drivers go, American Scott Speed got his first shot at a test drive for the Red Bull team. As they make plans to scoop up the Minardi team it is very possible Scott will get a race day drive next year. Unfortunately, Takuma Sato looks like a man without a ride. He has been linked to the Jordan/Midland team but with them going with the Toyota engine it doesn’t seem possible. It is entirely within the realm of reason that TS could be in the IRL next year with a Honda team.
Jensen Buttons got his deal with Frank Williams dissolved. A year ago he wanted to do anything to get out of BAR, this year he wanted to do anything to stay with the Brackley team. He’ll stay and be $30 million lighter in the wallet for it.
One of the best driver rumors of the season was of Kiwi going to Ferrari. While I don’t see it, there is a seat open as the Sandwich moves to BAR for next season. Kiwi also had his share of headlines overseas as he apparently likes to go out drinking. Good for you Kiwi! I knew there was a reason I liked you!
Williams has inked a deal with Cosworth to develop a new F1 engine. This will probably keep the team from Grove down for a couple of seasons, but Sir Frank will probably come out on top on this one. Starting next year, Ferrari moves from Sauber to Red Bull. I guess the only question is how many cars does that entail. And finally, engine manufacturer BMW is striking out on its own as it has purchased the Sauber team and will begin development of a chassis.
It has been a lot of fun watching this season and while I wasn’t on here as much it didn’t mean I was mad at F1. Enjoy China and the offseason and go Kiwi and Juan!!!
F1 got things going in March with their annual return to the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. Controversy swirled over whether or not the Minardi team would be allowed to run using last years equipment. The rules had been changed enough that the older equipment was no longer legal. Of course the assholes from Maranello pitched a bitch over the perennial backmarker being able to run. As the lawyers got involved Minardi failed to show at the first day of practice. The FIA successfully argued that Minardi would not be allowed to run the old equipment. Miraculously at the 11th hour, new parts arrived and the Minardi’s took their place at the back of the grid. A position they would continue to defend the rest of the season.
What was apparent however, was that the new Ferrari was not going to blow away the competition the way they had the previous five years. There was no reason to think Schummi and the Sandwich were losing their edge, but the car was not up to par, at least in Australia. As apparent as Ferrari’s drop was the continued emergence of the Renault team. In fact Giancarlo Fisichella won the opener. While Fish failed to ever reach the summit again this season, the message was clear, Renault’s strong 2004 season was no fluke.
Unfortunately that was not the case for two of last years stronger teams. BAR had engine trouble at Melbourne and continued that Mo for the first half of the season. McLaren, usually strong in Australia also suffered engine problems and got off to a bad start.
As the circus rolled on, Freddie Alonso emerged as the new man to finally beat Schummi. Eventually Kimi would join that fight, but by the time McLaren got their shit together it was really too late for him to mount anything more than a cursory charge. Kimi will go down with the most wins this year, but when he was bad, he was awful. Most of it not of his doing, meaning mechanical problems, but it proved too much to overcome as Freddie cruised to the championship.
JPM got off to a rocky start as well. The Colombian missed three races with an injured shoulder. Allegedly he hurt it playing tennis, but the scuttlebutt was that he fell off of a motorcycle. Either way it was a long first season at McLaren for Juan. The team can still win the constructors title this weekend at Shanghai, but JPM will have to drive smart and give his team a chance. Something he has not been doing most of the year.
By the time the teams hit European soil it was clear Ferrari was not going to be a factor this year. It was also clear that the economy was having a say so about the F1 crowds as the San Marino GP was very poorly attended. Spain was good because of Freddie’s run and Monaco was okay, but Hockenheim was once again plagued by mediocre attendance.
By this time the title was down to Renault and McLaren with Ferrari still in the hunt but just barely. BAR was out. Williams was out and Toyota had only one bright moment out of each of their drivers all season.
The season was already taking its toll on the rule book as well. Qualifying had been changed from a session on Saturday and one on race morning to the older Saturday only session with the order being culled from the previous race. Teams still had to deal with the one tyre and no changes and one engine per two races rules. As the teams came to North America, the shitstorm of the year was at hand.
An uneventful race at Canada, well until the last lap when Kiwi broke up, brought the team to the US. The weather was absolutely perfect for four days as the teams gathered. The walkthrough on Thursday was a huge success again as were Friday and Saturday. However, on Saturday rumors began to swirl that there was a problem with the Michelin tyres. Ralfie had slammed the turn 13 wall on Friday and was out of the race. Fingers were pointed with Michelin ultimately being the scapegoat. Be it political or just stupid, Michelin advised their teams not to bring a safe tyre compound to go with the fast tyre. When it became apparent their tyres were unsafe, negotiations took place to either allow new tyres to be brought in or for a chicane to be built to slow the cars.
Everyone knows the story so I will leave most of it out, but suffice it to say that I felt then and still do that it was a political ploy to further the divide between the teams and the FIA in light of the startup GPWC being heralded by many of the teams and manufacturers.
In the end 6 cars answered the starting flag and many feelings were hurt and worse. In the days and weeks following the debacle people blamed the FIA, Tony George, the Speedway, Michelin, Ralfie, F1 and anyone else they could think of. Michelin finally agreed to take the blame and refunded the ticket money to the ticket holders of the race and offered to buy several thousand tickets to next years race. It remains to be seen if F1 will ever recover in the US.
As the circus rolled back to Europe it was clear no one was in much of a forgiving mood. The FIA has tried to ward off the split in the series but it no longer has the teeth it once had. Bernie has all but lost all face in his attempt to keep things together.
But the races continued and Kiwi was coming strong. BAR was finally finishing races, but Ferrari was still down. There was no doubt McLaren had the car to beat in the second half of the season, but Freddie was so consistent in his Renault and he could not be passed for the championship.
All in all it was a pretty eventful season for F1. With Indy, the fall of Ferrari and Schumi, BAR’s struggles and the rise of Renault there was more than just the crap we had been seeing the past few years. Thank God for that.
Off track there will be political ramifications until everyone gets on board with either the FIA and FOMA or with the GPWC.
As far as drivers go, American Scott Speed got his first shot at a test drive for the Red Bull team. As they make plans to scoop up the Minardi team it is very possible Scott will get a race day drive next year. Unfortunately, Takuma Sato looks like a man without a ride. He has been linked to the Jordan/Midland team but with them going with the Toyota engine it doesn’t seem possible. It is entirely within the realm of reason that TS could be in the IRL next year with a Honda team.
Jensen Buttons got his deal with Frank Williams dissolved. A year ago he wanted to do anything to get out of BAR, this year he wanted to do anything to stay with the Brackley team. He’ll stay and be $30 million lighter in the wallet for it.
One of the best driver rumors of the season was of Kiwi going to Ferrari. While I don’t see it, there is a seat open as the Sandwich moves to BAR for next season. Kiwi also had his share of headlines overseas as he apparently likes to go out drinking. Good for you Kiwi! I knew there was a reason I liked you!
Williams has inked a deal with Cosworth to develop a new F1 engine. This will probably keep the team from Grove down for a couple of seasons, but Sir Frank will probably come out on top on this one. Starting next year, Ferrari moves from Sauber to Red Bull. I guess the only question is how many cars does that entail. And finally, engine manufacturer BMW is striking out on its own as it has purchased the Sauber team and will begin development of a chassis.
It has been a lot of fun watching this season and while I wasn’t on here as much it didn’t mean I was mad at F1. Enjoy China and the offseason and go Kiwi and Juan!!!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Late Racing Season 2005
It is now football season and that generally means the end of the racing season. Of course NASCAR will run until Thanksgiving with their chase and the IRL and F1 still have a few races left, but for the most part, their champions have been decided.Congrats to Dan Wheldon for his victory Sunday at Chicagoland which virtually wrapped up the season title and ensured that Wheldon becomes the first Indianapolis 500 winner to win the series championship in the same year since the inception of the IRL.
Congrats also to Fernando Alonso who finished second to Kimi Raikkonen at Spa yesterday and also made losing the championship an impossibility. Unlike Wheldon, Freddie does have to show up and race and actually score a point. Wheldon just has to show up and start at the Glen in two weeks.
NASCAR goes into their ridiculous chase starting next week. As much as I hate Tony Stewart, he has earned the title with the season he has had. He ended up more than 200 points ahead of anyone, yet at the next race he will have that lead reduced to 5. NASCAR is stupid for punishing a season like Stewart has had and like Kennseth had a couple of years ago. But then again, FUCK NASCAR!!!
It has been a bittersweet season for both the IRL and for F1. In the IRL, attendance was up at most venues, but at Indy it was down and Phoenix was awful and is being pulled from the schedule. Fontana, which has suffered several years of poor attendance, is also on the chopping block. These cuts wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that they will most likely be replaced with road or street courses.A rookie sensation, Danica Patrick, spurred Danicamania and has captured a couple of poles and nearly took the pole at Indy. She has since been exposed as the rookie she is, but she did really give the league a boost coming out of Indianapolis. Unfortunately, when her talents failed to live up to the hype, the mania waned and only the IRL and FTG bootlickers are really interested in her.
It was good to see former league champ and 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier back at Indy and a few other races. My boy Scheckter won at Texas and in all, 8 different winners have graced victory lane so far this season. St. Pete was a huge success crowdwise. Kentucky had a few more than last year. Kansas City, Nashville, Chicagoland and Texas had nice crowds.Sadly, the Toyota engine has been crap again this season and they have announced they will hang it up in the IRL after next season. GM is out after this campaign despite the thoughts they might stay after 4’s win in Texas. Mo Nunn Racing officially closed down this year. Dreyer and Reinbold Racing has been pitiful. AJ has had another crap year and rumors of AJIV’s departure to NASCAR have swirled. Besides Indy and Phoenix, Milwaukee and Michigan had terrible crowds.
But with all of that going on in the IRL, the worst is yet to come. That would be next years schedule. Keep in mind; this is a league that told us how it was growing after Indy. How attendance was up in key markets and with the targeted audiences. This was all told to us by Fred Nation and Brian Barnhart with straight faces. Now we find out that Texas will not follow Indy, but rather Watkins Glen will settle in between Indy and TMS. Fontana, out. Phoenix, out and Pikes Peak, out.
The schedule is reduced to 14 races. 11 ovals and 3 roads/street.If you have followed this blog, you know I have said I didn’t feel the league would make it past next season. I have no reason to think I am wrong. This thing has been a shoestring budget, low rent thing since its inception, yet it seemed to make some progress over the past couple of years, albeit minor, and with Danicamania seemed to be on its way. Somewhere along that way Danica was exposed as just another driver out there who doesn’t have what it takes to get to the top.I am so sick of what is happening to the sport that I am almost to the point of just giving up. I know I will be at Indy next season, but the powers that be, and that is not just George and Barnhart, but Kalkhoven and Forsythe as well have just about taken the fight out of me.
Congrats also to Fernando Alonso who finished second to Kimi Raikkonen at Spa yesterday and also made losing the championship an impossibility. Unlike Wheldon, Freddie does have to show up and race and actually score a point. Wheldon just has to show up and start at the Glen in two weeks.
NASCAR goes into their ridiculous chase starting next week. As much as I hate Tony Stewart, he has earned the title with the season he has had. He ended up more than 200 points ahead of anyone, yet at the next race he will have that lead reduced to 5. NASCAR is stupid for punishing a season like Stewart has had and like Kennseth had a couple of years ago. But then again, FUCK NASCAR!!!
It has been a bittersweet season for both the IRL and for F1. In the IRL, attendance was up at most venues, but at Indy it was down and Phoenix was awful and is being pulled from the schedule. Fontana, which has suffered several years of poor attendance, is also on the chopping block. These cuts wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that they will most likely be replaced with road or street courses.A rookie sensation, Danica Patrick, spurred Danicamania and has captured a couple of poles and nearly took the pole at Indy. She has since been exposed as the rookie she is, but she did really give the league a boost coming out of Indianapolis. Unfortunately, when her talents failed to live up to the hype, the mania waned and only the IRL and FTG bootlickers are really interested in her.
It was good to see former league champ and 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier back at Indy and a few other races. My boy Scheckter won at Texas and in all, 8 different winners have graced victory lane so far this season. St. Pete was a huge success crowdwise. Kentucky had a few more than last year. Kansas City, Nashville, Chicagoland and Texas had nice crowds.Sadly, the Toyota engine has been crap again this season and they have announced they will hang it up in the IRL after next season. GM is out after this campaign despite the thoughts they might stay after 4’s win in Texas. Mo Nunn Racing officially closed down this year. Dreyer and Reinbold Racing has been pitiful. AJ has had another crap year and rumors of AJIV’s departure to NASCAR have swirled. Besides Indy and Phoenix, Milwaukee and Michigan had terrible crowds.
But with all of that going on in the IRL, the worst is yet to come. That would be next years schedule. Keep in mind; this is a league that told us how it was growing after Indy. How attendance was up in key markets and with the targeted audiences. This was all told to us by Fred Nation and Brian Barnhart with straight faces. Now we find out that Texas will not follow Indy, but rather Watkins Glen will settle in between Indy and TMS. Fontana, out. Phoenix, out and Pikes Peak, out.
The schedule is reduced to 14 races. 11 ovals and 3 roads/street.If you have followed this blog, you know I have said I didn’t feel the league would make it past next season. I have no reason to think I am wrong. This thing has been a shoestring budget, low rent thing since its inception, yet it seemed to make some progress over the past couple of years, albeit minor, and with Danicamania seemed to be on its way. Somewhere along that way Danica was exposed as just another driver out there who doesn’t have what it takes to get to the top.I am so sick of what is happening to the sport that I am almost to the point of just giving up. I know I will be at Indy next season, but the powers that be, and that is not just George and Barnhart, but Kalkhoven and Forsythe as well have just about taken the fight out of me.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Augyst 2005 IRL
It’s official, Chevrolet will not return to the IRL Indy Car Series next season. In a year where they have had some success despite supplying only one team with engines for the most part, it was thought they may change their mind and stick around. Saturday in Colorado the dreaded announcement came. This will be the last season for the bow tie.
What’s worse is the fact that Toyota is leaving after the 2006 season and Honda has made it clear they are not interested in being the only engine manufacturer in the series. League president Brian Brainfart basically said there is no new manufacturers showing interest in the league at this time.
Two months ago Chevy was staying, Hyundai was looking at it and Porsche was showing signs of interest. All gone today. If you look back at my posts you will find where I think the IRL will fold by the end of 2006. At the rate they are going it will happen.
This has been a bittersweet year for the IRL. Danicamania ran rampant for half the season, but has cooled recently as she has shown she is not much of a racer. She qualifies well, but that is about it. Dan Wheldon has emerged as the cream of the crop this season. Winning Indy was huge for the Englishman. However, the IRL only focused on Danica and eventually the whole Andretti Green team took exception to the coverage, or lack of coverage of the Indy 500 winner.Indianapolis crowds were down, although not to a huge extent and Carb Day was large.
Phoenix saw a “crowd” of just over 8,000 and has been dropped from next years schedule it appears. Milwaukee and Michigan didn’t exactly set the box office on fire either. On the other hand, St. Pete was a success, great crowds were at Pikes Peak, Nashville, Texas and Kansas and the Kentucky race draws more people every year. Races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen should be well attended, but it is unlikely California will draw much.TV ratings are also up from previous years, but they still aren’t good.
So as Danicamania dies a slow and painful death, the IRL’s summer of promise begins to circle the drain as well. Champ Car has put on new events that have drawn good crowds and kept their once dying league in place. In fact they may be stronger than the IRL at this point. Unification talks are dead and both series have become niche sports and will remain in the WNBA realm of interest to the mainstream fan and media. Even the Indianapolis 500 has been reduced in stature. The once proud cornerstone of American auto racing is now second to the Daytona 500.
I have been critical of Tony George in the past and I still think he is in over his head. The IRL marketing strategy is for shit. The “vision” has changed so many times it makes ones head spin. Road courses, engine leases and spiraling costs were rampant in the CART series and originally what FTG wanted to stay away from. Now they are the mainstay of the IRL and the bootlicking fans cum all over themselves welcoming Honda and Toyota when they were bad for the other series.It’s a shame, but what had so much potential may end up in the crapper less than two years after its finest hour.
What’s worse is the fact that Toyota is leaving after the 2006 season and Honda has made it clear they are not interested in being the only engine manufacturer in the series. League president Brian Brainfart basically said there is no new manufacturers showing interest in the league at this time.
Two months ago Chevy was staying, Hyundai was looking at it and Porsche was showing signs of interest. All gone today. If you look back at my posts you will find where I think the IRL will fold by the end of 2006. At the rate they are going it will happen.
This has been a bittersweet year for the IRL. Danicamania ran rampant for half the season, but has cooled recently as she has shown she is not much of a racer. She qualifies well, but that is about it. Dan Wheldon has emerged as the cream of the crop this season. Winning Indy was huge for the Englishman. However, the IRL only focused on Danica and eventually the whole Andretti Green team took exception to the coverage, or lack of coverage of the Indy 500 winner.Indianapolis crowds were down, although not to a huge extent and Carb Day was large.
Phoenix saw a “crowd” of just over 8,000 and has been dropped from next years schedule it appears. Milwaukee and Michigan didn’t exactly set the box office on fire either. On the other hand, St. Pete was a success, great crowds were at Pikes Peak, Nashville, Texas and Kansas and the Kentucky race draws more people every year. Races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen should be well attended, but it is unlikely California will draw much.TV ratings are also up from previous years, but they still aren’t good.
So as Danicamania dies a slow and painful death, the IRL’s summer of promise begins to circle the drain as well. Champ Car has put on new events that have drawn good crowds and kept their once dying league in place. In fact they may be stronger than the IRL at this point. Unification talks are dead and both series have become niche sports and will remain in the WNBA realm of interest to the mainstream fan and media. Even the Indianapolis 500 has been reduced in stature. The once proud cornerstone of American auto racing is now second to the Daytona 500.
I have been critical of Tony George in the past and I still think he is in over his head. The IRL marketing strategy is for shit. The “vision” has changed so many times it makes ones head spin. Road courses, engine leases and spiraling costs were rampant in the CART series and originally what FTG wanted to stay away from. Now they are the mainstay of the IRL and the bootlicking fans cum all over themselves welcoming Honda and Toyota when they were bad for the other series.It’s a shame, but what had so much potential may end up in the crapper less than two years after its finest hour.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
F Fucking 1 and the I Fucking RL
Hi everyone and sorry for being so remiss in posting to the blog. It has been both a hectic and discouraging time for me. I was in Vegas for the Texas IRL race and then the next week was the FIAsco at the Speedway when the F1 boys came to town. I did get to watch the entire Richmond race and saw some of the Kansas race.
Those of you who follow racing know what happened so I won't rehash the entire thing in detail.
I would like to touch on some points though that have piqued my interest over the past few weeks.
Danicamania. Jesus F Christ I am sick of this phenomenon. Alright, I know that Danica Patrick is good for the IRL, but Holy Crap, can you just make sure that those who need the mesage get it and get it out of my face. Shit, this broad ain't done shit except at Indy and she ain't all that hot. I still like the bartender better!!! Please, wake me up if Danica does do anything.
F1, where to start...Michelin. Fuck you and your little political games. You fuckers want out of the Concorde Agreement and the FIA? Then fucking leave, but don't pull what you did in Indianapolis three weeks ago. That was bullshit and could have been avoided. But no, you had to make a stand on what is arguably F1's biggest target market. Bad call Michelin and frankly your offer to refund money and buy tickets to next years race is not enough. You were here for four years and you couldn't find a tire. I repeat, FUCK YOU!!!
The FIA. Fuck you Max, you pigheaded greedy, paranoid bastard. You are so worried about keeping your job, that a year ago you said you didn't want, that you let all common sense about the USGP fly out the window. You had 9 teams agree to a chicane. While that didn't relieve Michelin of their moronic behavior, you could have risen above it all and preserved the race for the fans and taken control of F1 for good. Instead you proved the fans are of NO interest to you. You stepped on your dick Max and you will be held responsible just like your little lap dog Bernie.
Bernie and FTG. Hard to place the blame on FTG until an article came out today saying he could have trumped the FIA and built the chicane. Apparently when it came down to it he wilted under the pressure. Bernie, it will be good to see you out of control of the sport. You managed to avert crises like this for the past 20 years, but this time it blew up in your face and you lost yours. Good riddance you piece of shit.
My friends over on the Indystar.com forums need to settle the fuck down. It seems as though the insults and threats increase with the temperature. It is a meltdown waiting to happen over there. Some of them just crack me up!!!I will try to update this a little more often this season. Like I said, things have been hectic and I have been pissed off at racing of late.
Those of you who follow racing know what happened so I won't rehash the entire thing in detail.
I would like to touch on some points though that have piqued my interest over the past few weeks.
Danicamania. Jesus F Christ I am sick of this phenomenon. Alright, I know that Danica Patrick is good for the IRL, but Holy Crap, can you just make sure that those who need the mesage get it and get it out of my face. Shit, this broad ain't done shit except at Indy and she ain't all that hot. I still like the bartender better!!! Please, wake me up if Danica does do anything.
F1, where to start...Michelin. Fuck you and your little political games. You fuckers want out of the Concorde Agreement and the FIA? Then fucking leave, but don't pull what you did in Indianapolis three weeks ago. That was bullshit and could have been avoided. But no, you had to make a stand on what is arguably F1's biggest target market. Bad call Michelin and frankly your offer to refund money and buy tickets to next years race is not enough. You were here for four years and you couldn't find a tire. I repeat, FUCK YOU!!!
The FIA. Fuck you Max, you pigheaded greedy, paranoid bastard. You are so worried about keeping your job, that a year ago you said you didn't want, that you let all common sense about the USGP fly out the window. You had 9 teams agree to a chicane. While that didn't relieve Michelin of their moronic behavior, you could have risen above it all and preserved the race for the fans and taken control of F1 for good. Instead you proved the fans are of NO interest to you. You stepped on your dick Max and you will be held responsible just like your little lap dog Bernie.
Bernie and FTG. Hard to place the blame on FTG until an article came out today saying he could have trumped the FIA and built the chicane. Apparently when it came down to it he wilted under the pressure. Bernie, it will be good to see you out of control of the sport. You managed to avert crises like this for the past 20 years, but this time it blew up in your face and you lost yours. Good riddance you piece of shit.
My friends over on the Indystar.com forums need to settle the fuck down. It seems as though the insults and threats increase with the temperature. It is a meltdown waiting to happen over there. Some of them just crack me up!!!I will try to update this a little more often this season. Like I said, things have been hectic and I have been pissed off at racing of late.
Politics and Racing
There has been a lot of talk of Tony George’s role in last month’s USGP. Almost universally, FTG has been absolved of any blame in the matter, although it came to light this week that as the promoter, FTG did have the final say so on the proposed chicane.Be that as may be, a lot of people have come up with yet another, although completely unfounded reason why FTG started the IRL. They say he did it so he could have control and so something like what happened at the USGP would not happen at the Indianapolis 500. In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friends.
Now this is not designed to tear down FTG nor is it supposed to prop him up. My dislike of the guy has been well documented on these pages and there is no reason to keep dredging up the old stuff. But to claim FTG started the IRL on the premise of no boycott happening is ludicrous at best!Now we all know what happened at Indy in June. Seven teams boycotted the USGP. Okay, but why? There are only two possible reasons. Michelin’s bad product or politics.
Maybe Michelin did bring an inferior and dangerous product to the Speedway and we just take them at their word. However, they had been at the Speedway the past four years and they were supposed to have a “safe” tyre that could be used. Somehow, all of the teams forgot to pack those tyres. That leads to the idea that this was all a political ploy. Based on the climate of F1 over the past 2 years and the fact that the GPWC is a legitimate entity with manufacturer backing, it is highly likely it was political.
The bottom line is that we ended up with a boycott.
Now back to FTG and his “control”. Despite the fact that he has control of the IRL and the Indianapolis 500, what is there to stop a boycott of the event should issues get out of hand? You see there is none. We all pray that things would never get to such a point in the IRL that would precipitate a boycott, but there are no guarantees.So before anyone goes handing FTG the Abe Lincoln Medal of Honor, keep in mind that racing, unlike many other sports, has a very legitimate life threatening element.
Passions run deep in all sports, but auto racing seems to be more fervent than others and it may be because of that life threatening element. FTG has made it clear he will relinquish no control of the league. For the time being that suits even me as fine. But what happens if there become disagreements and he refuses to budge on an issue?
Don’t ever forget the reason why FTG started the IRL and celebrate it if you wish, just don’t honor him for something he did not do.
Now this is not designed to tear down FTG nor is it supposed to prop him up. My dislike of the guy has been well documented on these pages and there is no reason to keep dredging up the old stuff. But to claim FTG started the IRL on the premise of no boycott happening is ludicrous at best!Now we all know what happened at Indy in June. Seven teams boycotted the USGP. Okay, but why? There are only two possible reasons. Michelin’s bad product or politics.
Maybe Michelin did bring an inferior and dangerous product to the Speedway and we just take them at their word. However, they had been at the Speedway the past four years and they were supposed to have a “safe” tyre that could be used. Somehow, all of the teams forgot to pack those tyres. That leads to the idea that this was all a political ploy. Based on the climate of F1 over the past 2 years and the fact that the GPWC is a legitimate entity with manufacturer backing, it is highly likely it was political.
The bottom line is that we ended up with a boycott.
Now back to FTG and his “control”. Despite the fact that he has control of the IRL and the Indianapolis 500, what is there to stop a boycott of the event should issues get out of hand? You see there is none. We all pray that things would never get to such a point in the IRL that would precipitate a boycott, but there are no guarantees.So before anyone goes handing FTG the Abe Lincoln Medal of Honor, keep in mind that racing, unlike many other sports, has a very legitimate life threatening element.
Passions run deep in all sports, but auto racing seems to be more fervent than others and it may be because of that life threatening element. FTG has made it clear he will relinquish no control of the league. For the time being that suits even me as fine. But what happens if there become disagreements and he refuses to budge on an issue?
Don’t ever forget the reason why FTG started the IRL and celebrate it if you wish, just don’t honor him for something he did not do.
Thursday, June 2, 2005
May 2005 Racing Wrap
IRL
After a month of paltry crowds, a ridiculously rained out Pole Day, too many beers, mild sunburn and trading pins the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place Sunday. Congrats to Dan Wheldon for the win. As I stated in my last post, Dan is deserving and has been as good as anyone over the past year. If it had not been for TK, he would have won the title last year.
The emotion has started to die down after what has to be considered one of the greatest races ever at Indy and an instant classic for sure.Some of the other stories from the race were the fine run by Buddy Lazier. He took his Panther/Byrd car and was at the front all day. A little bad luck down the stretch put him back a bit, but Buddy was as strong as he has been since winning the 1996 race.
Unfortunately Bruno broke his back making him the third serious back/neck injury of the month. Something has to be done about the design of the cars.Congrats to Vitor for a fine run. I said all month that he and Scheckter were going to win. Scheckter was probably out when Danica whacked him, but Vitor may have been able to pull off the pass had the race not finished under yellow.It was a pretty good month with the exception of Pole Day.
I still think the purse needs to be larger. But all in all it was good. Check out the pictures on my web site if you don’t believe me.
Carb Day was once again just off the charts. Early indications are that the race drew a 6.6 rating which was a 40% improvement over last year. Let’s hope they can keep that momentum going into Texas and long into the summer!
F1
Well what can you say for Kimi? The guy starts the last lap of the race and ka-blooie, his front left tire explodes on him. Kim spun off into the sand trap and ended up out of the points after another dominating performance for the McLaren team. Fred went on to win and increase his points lead.
Now the F1 boys are coming to North America. Next week they are at Montreal for the Canadian GP and will be back in Indy for the USGP the following week. I’m looking forward to it!
Now, however, all the talk in F1 is about tyres. With Kimi’s big wreck at the end of Sunday’s European GP all the parties are up in arms over the amount of tyre failure this year. Grandprix.com is even running an article about how the battle between tyre manufacturers has always caused problems in racing. I find all of this more than ridiculous.The problem is not the tyres themselves or the manufacturers. These people are putting out fantastic product under rules that are beyond stupid. One set of tyres each race? Are you fucking kidding me? The FIA and F1 made rules changes for cars to slow them down. They had to know they had no chance of working, yet pushed forward anyway. Leaving drivers out there for a whole race on one set of tyres is like playing Russian roulette. It’s not a matter of if the tyres will fail, but when they will fail.
The FIA and F1 made a pretty nice rule about engines having to last two weeks. They missed on qualifying, but have rectified that. I know they want to curb costs to help draw new blood into the sport, but F1 is expensive by nature. It is highly technical and very cutting edge. But making a one tyre rule for an entire race is asking for trouble.
F1 missed the boat on this one in my estimation. I hope they have the cajones to step up and make the change. Despite the arrogance of the FIA, they have been pretty good at fixing mistakes.
NASCAR
The boobs put on quite a show the other night in Charlotte. New records for crashes and yellows. Nice job taxi cab boys. Your days are numbered.
After a month of paltry crowds, a ridiculously rained out Pole Day, too many beers, mild sunburn and trading pins the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place Sunday. Congrats to Dan Wheldon for the win. As I stated in my last post, Dan is deserving and has been as good as anyone over the past year. If it had not been for TK, he would have won the title last year.
The emotion has started to die down after what has to be considered one of the greatest races ever at Indy and an instant classic for sure.Some of the other stories from the race were the fine run by Buddy Lazier. He took his Panther/Byrd car and was at the front all day. A little bad luck down the stretch put him back a bit, but Buddy was as strong as he has been since winning the 1996 race.
Unfortunately Bruno broke his back making him the third serious back/neck injury of the month. Something has to be done about the design of the cars.Congrats to Vitor for a fine run. I said all month that he and Scheckter were going to win. Scheckter was probably out when Danica whacked him, but Vitor may have been able to pull off the pass had the race not finished under yellow.It was a pretty good month with the exception of Pole Day.
I still think the purse needs to be larger. But all in all it was good. Check out the pictures on my web site if you don’t believe me.
Carb Day was once again just off the charts. Early indications are that the race drew a 6.6 rating which was a 40% improvement over last year. Let’s hope they can keep that momentum going into Texas and long into the summer!
F1
Well what can you say for Kimi? The guy starts the last lap of the race and ka-blooie, his front left tire explodes on him. Kim spun off into the sand trap and ended up out of the points after another dominating performance for the McLaren team. Fred went on to win and increase his points lead.
Now the F1 boys are coming to North America. Next week they are at Montreal for the Canadian GP and will be back in Indy for the USGP the following week. I’m looking forward to it!
Now, however, all the talk in F1 is about tyres. With Kimi’s big wreck at the end of Sunday’s European GP all the parties are up in arms over the amount of tyre failure this year. Grandprix.com is even running an article about how the battle between tyre manufacturers has always caused problems in racing. I find all of this more than ridiculous.The problem is not the tyres themselves or the manufacturers. These people are putting out fantastic product under rules that are beyond stupid. One set of tyres each race? Are you fucking kidding me? The FIA and F1 made rules changes for cars to slow them down. They had to know they had no chance of working, yet pushed forward anyway. Leaving drivers out there for a whole race on one set of tyres is like playing Russian roulette. It’s not a matter of if the tyres will fail, but when they will fail.
The FIA and F1 made a pretty nice rule about engines having to last two weeks. They missed on qualifying, but have rectified that. I know they want to curb costs to help draw new blood into the sport, but F1 is expensive by nature. It is highly technical and very cutting edge. But making a one tyre rule for an entire race is asking for trouble.
F1 missed the boat on this one in my estimation. I hope they have the cajones to step up and make the change. Despite the arrogance of the FIA, they have been pretty good at fixing mistakes.
NASCAR
The boobs put on quite a show the other night in Charlotte. New records for crashes and yellows. Nice job taxi cab boys. Your days are numbered.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Indy 2005 Notes
I’ll keep this brief this morning and elaborate more on all of the racing over the weekend tomorrow.
Yesterday may well have been the best 500 I have ever seen. As many as 6 had a shot at the end and the racing was ferocious all day long. Besides the winner, Wheldon, Patrick, Hornish Jr. TK and Mr. Judd all lead. I may be missing one there because of pit stops. It was just what the league needed.
There were some empty seats, but not many. Still, I hate to see them at Indy.As for Danica Patrick, I couldn’t have scripted it better. She was all the focus going in and didn’t disappoint. But when it counted I didn’t want her to win. She was solid all the way down to the end, but she did make several mistakes. She may be the real deal.
It was great however, that Dan Wheldon, who has been the best driver in the IRL over the past year, got the win. Hopefully the media will focus on Dan as well as Danica and help get this league moving.
Yesterday may well have been the best 500 I have ever seen. As many as 6 had a shot at the end and the racing was ferocious all day long. Besides the winner, Wheldon, Patrick, Hornish Jr. TK and Mr. Judd all lead. I may be missing one there because of pit stops. It was just what the league needed.
There were some empty seats, but not many. Still, I hate to see them at Indy.As for Danica Patrick, I couldn’t have scripted it better. She was all the focus going in and didn’t disappoint. But when it counted I didn’t want her to win. She was solid all the way down to the end, but she did make several mistakes. She may be the real deal.
It was great however, that Dan Wheldon, who has been the best driver in the IRL over the past year, got the win. Hopefully the media will focus on Dan as well as Danica and help get this league moving.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
2005 Indy Prognostication
Sunday marks the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500. Defending champion and stupid way of hat wearing Buddy Rice will not be there to defend his title. With Rice out only Julio, Kenny Brack and Buddy Lazier have won the race before and as you all know, Buddy doesn’t count.
So who will win the race this year? Let’s take a look at the field and see if we can narrow it down.
Andretti/Green Racing has just about put the kibosh on competition in the IRL over the past year. TK won the title last season and Gentleman Dan Wheldon has won 3 of the 4 races so far this year. Only Sam Hornish Jr. has kept AGR off the top of the podium for the season. TK is my pick to win the race and is starting from the pole. He knows his way around and is just so hard-nosed about it. Wheldon failed to impress during qualifying and there are all kinds of rumors about his tenure with the team. With that being said he has won three of the four races this season and I really doubt if Little Michael is going to show him the door. Dario “Mr. Judd” Franchitti seems to have what it takes to win races at this level, but I don’t see him taking Indy. He seems to grow bored or disinterested towards the end of oval races. Finally Bryan Herta”bees” rounds out this team. Herta has to be considered somewhat of a disappointment on this team. He doesn’t qualify very well and is pretty much at a loss on the ovals. His one run at St. Pete didn’t exactly paint him as the all fire hot road racer either. I think it is safe to say he will not win although he definitely has the equipment.
Rahal/Letterman Racing are the defending champs and are anxious to keep it that way. Danica Patrick is by far the most popular driver on the circuit and is rounding into her groove at just the right time. She was on the pole in Japan and is in P4 for the 500. She may win the 500 in the future, but I don’t see it this year for her. Kenny Brack is back. Kenny replaces Buddy Rice for at least Indy. He returns to the IRL for the first time since his horrific crash in the season ender at Texas in 2003. He proved to be a quick study this week as he qualified fastest of everyone on Saturday. The only question will be Kenny’s stamina. I think he is over the crash mentally, but physically this is a long race. He’s done it before and you can’t teach experience. Finally Vitor Meira rounds out the team. Meira has quietly gone about his business in the face of the media blitz with Danica and Kenny. His work alone makes me like his chances Sunday. His talent just may take him to the top in great equipment.
Panther Racing has three cars this year, although the Buddy Lazier effort is kind of an offshoot of the main team. Tomas Scheckter has a heavy right foot and it has got him in some trouble over his career in the IRL. However a more poised and mature Tomas may be reaching his potential at just the right moment. IF, and it is a big one, if he can stay out of trouble on the track and have good clean pit stops he will win the race. Not everyone can say that. Tomas Enge has been so-so this month but has run many laps getting ready for the race. I like the way Enge drives, but I don’t see this rookie as a threat for the Borg-Warner. Buddy Lazier is the 1996 winner, but those days are long ago. This team is one of the lower budgeted teams, but they have a lot of heart. If they can keep the Chevy under them all day and avoid trouble he could get there, but like Scheckter, that is a big if.
Marlboro Team Penske is the only team that has been able to beat AGR this season, but this is Indy and despite sitting on the front row, the Toyota is simply not the engine to have. Granted this team does all their own engine work, but as much as I like Sam and Julio I just don’t think they can bring home the bacon.
Whatever happened to Target/Chip Ganassi Racing? Well it looks like the Toyota just can’t keep up with the Honda’s. They have qualified poorly all season and it looks as though Scott Dixon is still dealing with not getting the Williams ride last year. He has been terrible. Darren Manning is back for the second time and hasn’t fared much better. Rookie Ryan Briscoe had to qualify on the second weekend because of a crash the week before. This team is down right now and I don’t see any end to their problems any time soon.
The Fernandez Racing stable is an interesting situation. Adrian is running the team of Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsura. Meanwhile he has teamed with Mo Nunn for a ride in Sunday race. Last season AF really came on strong at the end of the season, but this year he hasn’t even really raced since because of a lack of funds. Still he has to be considered a threat. Kosuke has had a rough year and is probably anxious to get back in everyone’s good graces, but I don’t see him as a potential winner. Scott Sharp is a definite threat. He is starting in P3 and has a good car. Scott Sharp would be a hugely popular winner with the IRL fans.
Newman/Haas is sending Bruno and Seabass over for the one off 500. Bitter old Paul Newman still won’t make the trip. Good riddance you old goat. As far as the team goes they are a threat. Bruno has run well here and if the rain would have occurred 15 minutes earlier or later last year he may have won. Seabass has only come into Champ Car and won everything in site. He seemed to struggle early on in May and looked a little frightened. I don’t see a win, but a good finish could be in the cards.
The rest of the field looks like also-rans.
AJ has IV, Larry and Mike in the show. Mike has the experience, but he is starting last and his chances in that car are pretty much nil. Still, look for him to finish ahead of his team mates. Dreyer and Reinbold bring Roger Yasukawa and Jeff Bucknum. Roger has been here before and may surprise with his finish, but he won’t win. Bucknum, the 41 year old rookie has not shown anything.One of the biggest disappointments has to be Red Bull Team Cheever. Eddie is clearly out of his element as a car owner. He burnt his bridge with Buddy Rice a couple of years ago, ran off Tomas Scheckter and now his team of Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier are among the slowest on the grid. Carpentier has even been rumored to be on his way out as word of conflicts between him and Eddie have been making the rounds. This team would have to pull the upset of the century to make the end of the race, let alone see victory lane.
Vision Racing is just a joke. A lot of people want them to fail, but their reasons are not all the same. Some just hate FTRG and want to stick it to him. Others want to see him fail so he can see how it works in the IRL and to see how tough it is for the little guy. He is going to fail. I like Jeff Ward’s tenacity and drive, but in this car it looks like he would need divine intervention to win. Special Ed is probably still in over his head in an Indy Car.
Sam Schmidt’s driver, Richie Hearn has been here enough to know his way around, but he won’t win. Look for Sammy’s team to pull a decent finish. Playa del Racing has Jacques Lazier aboard. They should have a decent run, but don’t look for them in the top three at the end of the race.
“Momma wants you” Marty Roth has to be considered one of the real longshots to win this thing. And finally Jimmy Kite, who is replacing the injured Paul Dana is probably going to be lapped by the 1/10 mark of the race.
So in order of chance they have to win, here is my lineup for Sunday. As a gauge, if you are listed below Scotty D I really don't think you have a chance to win.
TK
Scheckter
Vitor
Dan W
Bruno
Scott S
Kenny
AF
Sam
Julio
Buddy
Dario
Patrick
Seabass
Enge
Mike
Herta
Manning
Scotty D
Jacques Lazier
Hearn
Disco Briscoe
Kosuke
Roger Yasukawa
Alex Barron
Patrick Carpentier
AJ IV
Larry Foyt
Jeff Ward
Kite
Roth
Jeff Bucknum
Ed Carpenter
So who will win the race this year? Let’s take a look at the field and see if we can narrow it down.
Andretti/Green Racing has just about put the kibosh on competition in the IRL over the past year. TK won the title last season and Gentleman Dan Wheldon has won 3 of the 4 races so far this year. Only Sam Hornish Jr. has kept AGR off the top of the podium for the season. TK is my pick to win the race and is starting from the pole. He knows his way around and is just so hard-nosed about it. Wheldon failed to impress during qualifying and there are all kinds of rumors about his tenure with the team. With that being said he has won three of the four races this season and I really doubt if Little Michael is going to show him the door. Dario “Mr. Judd” Franchitti seems to have what it takes to win races at this level, but I don’t see him taking Indy. He seems to grow bored or disinterested towards the end of oval races. Finally Bryan Herta”bees” rounds out this team. Herta has to be considered somewhat of a disappointment on this team. He doesn’t qualify very well and is pretty much at a loss on the ovals. His one run at St. Pete didn’t exactly paint him as the all fire hot road racer either. I think it is safe to say he will not win although he definitely has the equipment.
Rahal/Letterman Racing are the defending champs and are anxious to keep it that way. Danica Patrick is by far the most popular driver on the circuit and is rounding into her groove at just the right time. She was on the pole in Japan and is in P4 for the 500. She may win the 500 in the future, but I don’t see it this year for her. Kenny Brack is back. Kenny replaces Buddy Rice for at least Indy. He returns to the IRL for the first time since his horrific crash in the season ender at Texas in 2003. He proved to be a quick study this week as he qualified fastest of everyone on Saturday. The only question will be Kenny’s stamina. I think he is over the crash mentally, but physically this is a long race. He’s done it before and you can’t teach experience. Finally Vitor Meira rounds out the team. Meira has quietly gone about his business in the face of the media blitz with Danica and Kenny. His work alone makes me like his chances Sunday. His talent just may take him to the top in great equipment.
Panther Racing has three cars this year, although the Buddy Lazier effort is kind of an offshoot of the main team. Tomas Scheckter has a heavy right foot and it has got him in some trouble over his career in the IRL. However a more poised and mature Tomas may be reaching his potential at just the right moment. IF, and it is a big one, if he can stay out of trouble on the track and have good clean pit stops he will win the race. Not everyone can say that. Tomas Enge has been so-so this month but has run many laps getting ready for the race. I like the way Enge drives, but I don’t see this rookie as a threat for the Borg-Warner. Buddy Lazier is the 1996 winner, but those days are long ago. This team is one of the lower budgeted teams, but they have a lot of heart. If they can keep the Chevy under them all day and avoid trouble he could get there, but like Scheckter, that is a big if.
Marlboro Team Penske is the only team that has been able to beat AGR this season, but this is Indy and despite sitting on the front row, the Toyota is simply not the engine to have. Granted this team does all their own engine work, but as much as I like Sam and Julio I just don’t think they can bring home the bacon.
Whatever happened to Target/Chip Ganassi Racing? Well it looks like the Toyota just can’t keep up with the Honda’s. They have qualified poorly all season and it looks as though Scott Dixon is still dealing with not getting the Williams ride last year. He has been terrible. Darren Manning is back for the second time and hasn’t fared much better. Rookie Ryan Briscoe had to qualify on the second weekend because of a crash the week before. This team is down right now and I don’t see any end to their problems any time soon.
The Fernandez Racing stable is an interesting situation. Adrian is running the team of Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsura. Meanwhile he has teamed with Mo Nunn for a ride in Sunday race. Last season AF really came on strong at the end of the season, but this year he hasn’t even really raced since because of a lack of funds. Still he has to be considered a threat. Kosuke has had a rough year and is probably anxious to get back in everyone’s good graces, but I don’t see him as a potential winner. Scott Sharp is a definite threat. He is starting in P3 and has a good car. Scott Sharp would be a hugely popular winner with the IRL fans.
Newman/Haas is sending Bruno and Seabass over for the one off 500. Bitter old Paul Newman still won’t make the trip. Good riddance you old goat. As far as the team goes they are a threat. Bruno has run well here and if the rain would have occurred 15 minutes earlier or later last year he may have won. Seabass has only come into Champ Car and won everything in site. He seemed to struggle early on in May and looked a little frightened. I don’t see a win, but a good finish could be in the cards.
The rest of the field looks like also-rans.
AJ has IV, Larry and Mike in the show. Mike has the experience, but he is starting last and his chances in that car are pretty much nil. Still, look for him to finish ahead of his team mates. Dreyer and Reinbold bring Roger Yasukawa and Jeff Bucknum. Roger has been here before and may surprise with his finish, but he won’t win. Bucknum, the 41 year old rookie has not shown anything.One of the biggest disappointments has to be Red Bull Team Cheever. Eddie is clearly out of his element as a car owner. He burnt his bridge with Buddy Rice a couple of years ago, ran off Tomas Scheckter and now his team of Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier are among the slowest on the grid. Carpentier has even been rumored to be on his way out as word of conflicts between him and Eddie have been making the rounds. This team would have to pull the upset of the century to make the end of the race, let alone see victory lane.
Vision Racing is just a joke. A lot of people want them to fail, but their reasons are not all the same. Some just hate FTRG and want to stick it to him. Others want to see him fail so he can see how it works in the IRL and to see how tough it is for the little guy. He is going to fail. I like Jeff Ward’s tenacity and drive, but in this car it looks like he would need divine intervention to win. Special Ed is probably still in over his head in an Indy Car.
Sam Schmidt’s driver, Richie Hearn has been here enough to know his way around, but he won’t win. Look for Sammy’s team to pull a decent finish. Playa del Racing has Jacques Lazier aboard. They should have a decent run, but don’t look for them in the top three at the end of the race.
“Momma wants you” Marty Roth has to be considered one of the real longshots to win this thing. And finally Jimmy Kite, who is replacing the injured Paul Dana is probably going to be lapped by the 1/10 mark of the race.
So in order of chance they have to win, here is my lineup for Sunday. As a gauge, if you are listed below Scotty D I really don't think you have a chance to win.
TK
Scheckter
Vitor
Dan W
Bruno
Scott S
Kenny
AF
Sam
Julio
Buddy
Dario
Patrick
Seabass
Enge
Mike
Herta
Manning
Scotty D
Jacques Lazier
Hearn
Disco Briscoe
Kosuke
Roger Yasukawa
Alex Barron
Patrick Carpentier
AJ IV
Larry Foyt
Jeff Ward
Kite
Roth
Jeff Bucknum
Ed Carpenter
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Mid May 2005
IRLTime trials are complete and the field is set for the 89th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. There was a surprise bump when Mike hopped in the 48 car and bumped Little Arie out at 5:30. Of course the move was not without controversy or conspiracy theory.Frankly I found the whole day rather surreal. First Big Arie was on TV talking about Jrs. chances. He thought Jr. was listening to him, but that he really needed laps and that he was doing it the hard way by having to learn in the race. Strangely enough, Jr. didn’t make an appearance on the track until 3:00. He wasted 3 hours when he could have been on the track, getting comfortable in the car and getting up to speed.As the day wore on, word of Mike’s arrival permeated the Speedway and finally the 48 car was rolled on to pit lane and sent out to practice.Jr. had already put his car in the field but his time was weak. 49 laps later Mike stuck her in the show with an average over 217. Jr. mounted one last charge but was way short. It just really puzzled me that Jr. wasn’t out earlier. I did notice a trace of trepidation on Arie’s face at noon. I’m not sure he thought Jr. was ready.Now there has been talk that Brian Barnhart actually went to Foyt and presumably Toyota to get the 48 car in the field because the 98 wasn’t fast enough. As much as I have come to dislike Barnhart over the past weeks, I find this conspiracy theory absurd.Anyway, Sunday is race day. I like Tony Kanaan to win the show. I’d rather the chick not win. This year at least. My guess is that Friday’s Carb Day will be very uneventful. Right now the weather looks good for the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed.F1The Monaco GP post mortem is ugly. For the record Kimi won the race going away. It was his second win in two races and he has led every lap of both. There were a couple of stupid incidents on the track however that warrants mentioning.First let me say that in the field there was some of the best racing I had ever seen at Monaco. But there was some ugliness as well. First it was the Sauber teams’ little stunt, or more precisely, JV’s shunt. When is this dickhead going to learn? Coming off the front stretch, this imbecile takes an ill-advised line to overtake his team mate Felipe Massa. He doesn’t stick the move and ends up running Mass off the road effectively ending any chance of either of them getting any points.Villeneuve has pretty much sucked since 1999 and his own arrogance makes him dangerous. Peter Sauber has to be fed up and needs to can his ass today.Late in the race Schummi was up to a bit of nastiness himself when he ran the Sandwich out of room coming out of the tunnel and made a pass in the chicane. The move was dangerous and against a team mate. On the next lap he did the same thing to brother Ralf and his Toyota. Ralfie is steamed and said that one of them could have been killed. Schummi said he wasn’t on no damn day trip and pretty much told Ralfie to shut the fuck up. This could get good. Schummi is struggling unlike he has at any point in his career and the frustration mounts with each passing race. With Toyota getting things together the two may spend more time together on the track.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Kenny Back at Indy
2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice has been medically ruled out of the 2005 race after suffering injuries to his back last week in practice for the 89th running. After 16 or so hours of speculation, Rahal-Letterman Racing has named 1999 winner Kenny Brack as Rice's replacement.Rice will continue to be evaluated as to his participation in the IRL for the rest of the season.Brack who was hurt in a horrendous crash at Texas at the end of the 2003 season replaces Rice who ironically replaced Brack. I have my doubts about Kenny. He hasn't run an Indy Car in a year. He did a practice last year at Richmond and was nowhere near ready. Everything I had heard from him made me think he would not be racing at this level again. I like Kenny. He won for AJ, but I am really skeptical about this one.Honestly I think Kenny will run today and find out he still isn't ready. What then? There are other good drivers out there, but are any of them up to RLR standards? Today will be interesting. I wish I was out at the track to see what he is able to do.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Stupid IRL Tricks
Just when I thought it was impossible for the IRL to be any more Mickey Mouse they go and pull a stunt like this! What is this stunt? It is the POC call made by Brian Barnhart on Saturday. At 12:15 pm this genius decided to close the track for the day. It was one of the lamest moves in IRL history, and God knows these buffoons are masters at lame moves!Now I could care less about the $10 I spent to get in. What galls me is the bullshit reasons for the call.We left home at about 11:15 to head to the track. On the radio they were talking about how it had quit raining and the trucks were on the track getting it dried off. Having seen the track be dried in about an hour last year at the 500 I knew we were going to see some qualifying. We had no sooner got to the Pagoda when the announcement came. The track was closed for the day.Disgusted and disappointed we moved over to the seats to see if any of the people we were supposed to meet had shown. I engaged a yellow shirt in a brief conversation and was just lied to. It is like fucking Nazi Germany out there. Toe the company line at all costs. This dumb bastard first told me it takes 3 hours to dry the track. (Company line) I told him that was BS since it was dried fast last year at the race. Next he told me there were puddles this (about a foot using his hands to show me) deep on pit lane and on the track. There is no way there were any puddles that deep anywhere on the newly paved track and for God’s sake, it hadn’t rained that fucking hard. Next he tried to tell me that another storm was coming in. Do these people think we are stupid? We saw the radar, he was lying.Barnhart’s arrogance was the motivation for this call. He had his precious little new format and he was afraid to miss any time for it. Therefore the couple of thousand people who went out there got screwed. Oh sure we could have used Saturday’s stub to get in on Sunday, but I couldn’t go yesterday and I am sure I wasn’t the only one. Instead the Speedway just makes more money for nothing. Too bad it didn’t rain on them yesterday.I love the Speedway, but it seems I become more disillusioned with it each and every day. The powers that be out there are completely wrong on so many fronts. For some reason they think they can just put the Indianapolis 500 out there and everyone will come running. I got news for you FTRG and all of your cohorts, THOSE DAYS ARE GONE!!
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Early May 2005
Today concludes rookie practice for the Indianapolis 500. So far Danica Patrick has been the fastest of the group with Patrick Carpentier and Ryan “Disco” Briscoe close behind. Tomorrow the whole group will take to the field and we will be looking for any surprises that might creep up. Probably most won’t occur until next week.Today I am going to look at the impact FTRG has on US open wheel racing and if he is good or bad for the sport.Back in 1994 Tony George approached the powers that be in CART seeking a board membership. Depending on whom you believe, George was offered a token, non-voting position and laughed out of the meeting. Keep in mind this was the man who for all intents and purposes owned the Indianapolis 500 which CART was still anxious to participate in as it was the key to their season.As we all know, George left that meeting and formed the IRL. Now I have documented the various versions of TG’s “vision” when he created the Indy Racing League and how it has veered more and more off course as time has gone by. IRL fans can sneer when their league is called “CART II” but how can anyone really argue the point?But for all of George’s bluster in the early days of the IRL, I honestly thought he had the best interests of open wheel racing in mind. Nowadays, I have a pretty good idea he not only does not have the best interests in mind, but is focused squarely on killing Champ Car. Now FTRG and his lieutenants rarely ever speak of Champ Car, and boy do his supporters like to bring that up. But do we really have to look any further than what has happened over the past few years to be convinced. Engine leases, an influx of foreign drivers and finally street and road courses. On top of this, is there any doubt that more road courses are on their way? Already there is talk about Toronto and Montreal as well as what will probably be an attempt by the IRL to take Long Beach and then even doing Road America.As they say, actions speak louder than words.Then there is last years fiasco at Portland. The contract with Champ Car was up and it looked like they were going to struggle to get back together. The IRL swooped in and entered discussions for a race in the Rose City. As it turned out, FTRG simply bid on the race in an attempt to raise the price and keep CC out. I have no doubt that FTRG never intended to race at Portland and his intentions were just to injure an already bleeding competitor.The same can be said about the CART bankruptcy hearings where George was intent on buying CART and killing it. The judge saw this and awarded the assets and the bankruptcy to the Three Stooges, Gerry Forsythe, Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi. George thought he could throw some money around and get his way.You see, there are ways to kill your competition without being an ass or by just throwing money around. What he did in court was make an ass of himself and strengthened what became Champ Car and solidified its fans. If there was a chance they would ever be back at the Speedway, it was gone then. Same with Portland. It also gave CC a bunch of free publicity which they seized upon. Granted they probably aren’t going to make it, but they would be gone by now had George been patient.He is so bent on the end of CART or CC that he can’t see the problems with the IRL. I don’t mind the foreign drivers, but it would be nice if some Americans could get in. I’d like to see diversity in products and equipment. More of a run what you brung mentality. FTRG will continue to be in bed with the Honda’s and Toyota’s until they tire of his series. He’ll continue to add street and road courses until he has all but squeezed out the ovals. He will continue to stomp on tradition at Indy where a steady downturn in interest and attendance have occurred over the past 10 years. The fans who have left because of the change of vision or because they are CC fans aren’t ever coming back, no matter how many road courses he runs. He not only is bad for open wheel racing, he probably will be the one credited with killing it in America.
Friday, May 6, 2005
F1 Barcelon
In Barcelona, the F1 teams have completed Friday’s practice sessions and are working on the first round of qualifying setups and race readiness. The F1 teams minus BAR. The FIA effectively gave BAR Honda the death penalty for the season by banning them for two races (one being Monaco) and excluding them from the points chase. The FIA’s ruling comes about after the scrutineers found the BAR to be 5Kg underweight after the San Marino Grand Prix.
In my opinion the penalty is overly harsh, but BAR has decided not to fight it. This indicates to me they knew what they were doing and have decided to take their medicine. But the ramifications go deeper and the ever swirling conspiracy theories in the paddock are cranked up to full.
BAR Honda will have to sit out the series premier event in a fortnight when F1 goes to the historic street course in Monte Carlo. How much money will that cost the team? Forget about money per point, the high profile race in Monte Carlo is a showcase and BAR will not be there. Buttons and Takuma have contract issues that the team will have to deal with before the end of the season. I wouldn’t expect Taku to go anywhere, but Buttons tried to escape to Williams last season. If he fails to achieve certain status by mid-season he can leave the team. Not sure where he would go, but if Nick Heidfeld is doing poorly at Williams he better watch his donkey.
One of the more compelling theories about the penalty is the GPWC v. F1 (FIA) battle. BAR Honda is one of the leaders in the fight to control the sport. Many are saying this is the FIA’s way of getting back at them for their insubordination. May be. After all, there is so much money riding on F1 that any attempt to wrestle control away form Max and Bernie is bound to be looked upon as taking food off of their tables.
So BAR sits this weekends Spanish GP and then Monaco. They return at the Nurburgring at the end of May for the European GP. The question is, what is their motivation for the rest of the season?
In my opinion the penalty is overly harsh, but BAR has decided not to fight it. This indicates to me they knew what they were doing and have decided to take their medicine. But the ramifications go deeper and the ever swirling conspiracy theories in the paddock are cranked up to full.
BAR Honda will have to sit out the series premier event in a fortnight when F1 goes to the historic street course in Monte Carlo. How much money will that cost the team? Forget about money per point, the high profile race in Monte Carlo is a showcase and BAR will not be there. Buttons and Takuma have contract issues that the team will have to deal with before the end of the season. I wouldn’t expect Taku to go anywhere, but Buttons tried to escape to Williams last season. If he fails to achieve certain status by mid-season he can leave the team. Not sure where he would go, but if Nick Heidfeld is doing poorly at Williams he better watch his donkey.
One of the more compelling theories about the penalty is the GPWC v. F1 (FIA) battle. BAR Honda is one of the leaders in the fight to control the sport. Many are saying this is the FIA’s way of getting back at them for their insubordination. May be. After all, there is so much money riding on F1 that any attempt to wrestle control away form Max and Bernie is bound to be looked upon as taking food off of their tables.
So BAR sits this weekends Spanish GP and then Monaco. They return at the Nurburgring at the end of May for the European GP. The question is, what is their motivation for the rest of the season?
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
1/4 Post Report
Sorry to have been away so long during the season, but finals come first and there hasn’t been a whole lot to report on in the racing world. But let’s start with some F1 news.F1Unfortunately the first of the CBS F1 races was the San Marino Grand Prix. Allegedly it was a great race and unfortunately I missed it. Fred Alonso won but Schummi was a close second and word has it that if there were a couple more laps, he may have won.JV finally scored a couple of points and his fans are all dancing in the streets. I’m sure they will be back on the sidelines after this weeks Spanish GP.On the political front, the nine team consortium that was to bring Bernie, the FIA and the F1 championship to its knees took a severe blow when both Red Bull and Jordan/Midland broke ranks and attended the FIA meeting on April 15th along with Ferrari. This is certainly a blow to the consortium and may have further reaching impact with people like Kevin Kalkhoven who may have had the infrastructure to start up the F1 rival series.Speaking of Kalkhoven, him and Gerry Forsythe’s ownership of Cosworth took a hit last week as Red Bull announced an agreement for 2006 and 2007 with Ferrari. This leaves the Cosworth owners as having only the CCWS and Minardi as customers. While they have a steady stream of business with the CCWS as it is the only allowed engine, Minardi can pull the plug at any time. Besides, the R & D for F1 is cost prohibitive and may be more than KK can handle as CC continues its money woes.This week at Spain, look for wild crowds as points leader Fred Alonso comes home and has to be considered a favorite for the race. Will Ferrari be back in the hunt? Can BAR overcome its early season troubles? Will JPM be healed from his “tennis” injury? The show is back on Speed so get up early Sunday and find out!!IRLIt’s May and that means Indy 500 time!! The track opens Sunday for ROP and Tuesday for the real deal. With the new qualifying setup in effect, it should be interesting to see if there is any more excitement generated.Going in I will only say that I expect Tony Kanaan to win the race.Last weekend the IRL put on their annual Japan show. Gentleman Dan won yet again, his third in four races this season. Scheckter nearly made the finish, but ran out of gas two laps from the end.An interesting thought came to me yesterday as I was putting together the 500 pool for this year. How much of the crowd at the 500 are really race fans and how many go just because it is the 500? I thought about the people I had spoken to hear at work and it was funny to hear some of the comments. Things like “Is Arie driving this year?”, and “Who is Michael and Little Al running for?” It got me thinking that Oliver Trucking, I was the only one who could name a winner of one of the races so far this season in the IRL. That put me at about 2% of the Oliver employees who are race fans (IRL). Okay, pretty much as I figured.So I posed the question to race fans in my address book. I found 6 bona fide fans out of 154 contacts. I posed the question such that do any of the 6 think there are 10%, less than 10% or more than 10% real race fans who will be at the Indy 500 on May 29th. We’re talking about approximately 25,000 people.My thoughts are this. There are maybe 10% that would know who had won an IRL race earlier in the season. This is the definition of a race fan for what I am talking about. I think there is probably less than 10%. I think most people who go to the 500 are there for the event. I base this on TV numbers and attendance at the previous races. 8k showed at Phoenix. Those are probably 8k real fans, but that left nearly 80%of the stands empty. All of the sudden at Indy, 32 times more race fans show up. It just doesn’t stand to reason.Now the CCWS fans want to claim that race fans no longer go to Indy. I’ll give them this, that I believe the empty seats at Indy are “race fans” who have sided with the CCWS or against FTRG. But the fact is, Indy is still the single biggest one day sporting event in the world.The fact is also that the people who just come because of the event are what makes any event as large as Indy. Does anyone really think that everyone at the Daytona 500 is a race fan? As far back as I can remember, there have been the “Indy” fan. Those people who only go to one race a year and are there for the party and the atmosphere and not the race itself.I’m going to delve into this a little deeper over the summer and see if I can get a handle on who is a race fan and what makes them such.See you all at the track Sunday!NASCARTalladega 1 is in the books and Jeff Gordon wins again. Jimmy Johnson has turned into a one man wrecking ball and the taxicab boys go into May and the long boring middle of the season begins! Wake me up for the Allstate 400!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Merger?
There was a discussion on indystar.com last Saturday speculating on what a schedule might look like if the IRL and CCWS decided to unify. Here is my prediction...MARCH11-Homestead18-St. PeteAPRIL1-Richmond15-Long Beach29-MotegiMAY27-IndianapolisJUNE3-Milwaukee17-Texas24-NashvilleJULY1-Watkins Glen8-Kentucky22-Elkhart Lake29-MichiganAUGUST12-Toronto26-ChicagoSEPTEMBER2-Kansas16-Portland23-SonomaOCTOBER7-Mexico City21-Las Vegas
Friday, April 15, 2005
Mid April 2005
Okay, we’re nearly a week removed from the Long Beach race and there is still another week before the next F1 round so it makes it kind of tough to write about anything going on in auto racing. But I will attempt it!First up is F1. A meeting between the ‘teams’ and the FIA took place today. As expected, not all of the teams attended the meeting. What is a surprise is that Jordan and Red Bull did attend as did Ferrari. This shows me the first real crack in the alliance the teams seemed to have just a week ago when they all said they would not show.Well attendance aside, some startling announcements came out of the meeting today. The biggest is that Max has put a date of May 27, 2005 as the day he will be finalizing the regulations for F1 for the 2008 season and beyond. What?The 9 teams (10 sans Ferrari) have been under the impression Mosley can’t do shit until they all agree, regardless of time. Mad Max has called the teams’ bluff and is moving forward with or without a Concorde Agreement. The question now is whether this announcement will galvanize the teams and push them towards the GPWC or will Red Bull and Jordan lead the charge down the path Max has proposed.I have stated here in the past that I felt the issue would be resolved and Bernie would get a new Concorde done and throw the teams more scraps and keep them happy. At times though it is clear that Bernie and Max are on different pages. Time is on Bernie’s side. The longer he waits the more time he has to convince the teams of the virtue of his plan and the value he has put on F1. One thing is certain, love him or hate him, Bernie Ecclestone is THE reason F1 enjoys the success it has around the world these days. It was his vision and planning that raised them above all others on the world stage.That is the main reason I believe the teams will capitulate and stay with the status quo instead of jumping to an unknown and uncertain future with the GPWC. I will also say this, the specter of the GPWC will serve to at least guarantee the teams a better deal when all is said and done.On to the IRL. It was a good week for the league as Newman Haas has entered not one but two cars for the 500. It was originally thought that only Bruno would get a shot, but this week and entry for 2004 CCWS champ Sebastian Bourdais was made. This gives Indy 33 car driver combinations and we are a month and a half away from race day. While there will probably still be a dearth of bumping, there will be some it appears.I think what makes me the most happy is that the doddering old fool Paul Newman is back at Indy after saying he didn’t want to be there. He is an idiot and we can all be thankful Carl Haas is running the team. Look for Haas to be in the IRL full time as Newman retires. Good riddance Fast Eddie!Finally there is no news per se out of the BPCCWSPF. They ran their race. Estimates on the crown are widely varied, but does it really matter. I have nothing against CC, but their fans are complete assholes. Apparently, one of their drivers, and one I have rooted for the past couple of years, is one as well. Here are a couple of stories that have been making the rounds the past couple days. (Thanks to the provider)….Beleaguered grand prix driver Cristiano da Matta has lashed out at F1 and Michael Schumacher. The diminutive Brazilian, who returned to American Champ Car racing at the weekend having last year felt the Toyota boot, called the pinnacle of motor sport 'too political.'And he told the Detroit Free Press: 'I never liked the way (world champion Michael) Schumacher conducted himself." 31-year-old da Matta, who left the US as 2002 CART champion, said Schumacher spent more time 'making his job easier' than genuinely trying to beat the opposition. "If Schumacher was a real champion," Cristiano slammed, "he wouldn't cry about things. It's good to be back in Champ Car. It's about racing and you know you have a chance to win."Then this……Departed, Cristiano da Matta is showing he's not afraid to aim fire at Formula One and Toyota. Last time, the little Brazilian - back in Champ Car - slammed Michael Schumacher and the Paddock's fabled politicking.Now, the 31-year-old's lining up Cologne-based Toyota, who gave him the boot mid last year. ''They needed a scapegoat,'' he told Associated Press, ''and I was it.'' Toyota, only now starting to reap the benefit of a more than billion-dollar investment in F1, boast pitlane's biggest ever budget. Da Matta said: ''There was tremendous pressure on them. ''It would have bothered me more ... if I knew the problem was me. But nobody else did better with that car.''Add to all of this the fact he finished 10th of 19 last Sunday at the LBGP behind such notables as Timo Glock, Justin Wilson, Ronnie Bremmer (who the fuck is Ronnie Bremmer) and Jimmy Vasser who has been washed up for about 9 years now. On the bright side he did beat such heavyweights as Ricardo Sperafico, Nelson Phillippe, Andrew Ranger, Fabrizio Del Monte, Marcus Marshall and the ever popular Oriol Servia.Sounds like CDM needs to shut the fuck up!!!
Friday, April 8, 2005
Champ Car and The World
As we gear up for the opening round of the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford Sunday, rumors are swirling about the future of the IRL, the BPCCWSPF, F1 and the trying to be upstart GPWC. It appears as though the fate of one may have an impact on at least one, if not all of the other series.
First of all this could truly be CC’s last hurrah at Long Beach. If it is it could really sound the end of time for the league. I’d be rather sad to see them go, but they are killing themselves. They have an ardent and loyal fan base, but it isn’t enough to sustain the league. Also there is a distinct possibility that the IRL could be in at LB next year.
This leads to some other speculation. For one, Dover Corp. of Dover Downs in DE owns the rights to the LBGP as the Grand Prix Association. Dover has shown interest in selling the entity. If, however, they decide to stay on and bring in the IRL there are more questions to be answered. First and foremost is what to do with the IRL race at Fontana. The IRL raced there the past few years with small crowds. It is close enough to Long Beach that an IRL presence in the LBC would make being in Fontana rather redundant.
Face it folks, unless the track in NYC gets built the IRL is done looking for oval track venues. I suppose it is entirely possible they could go back to Vegas if the conditions were right, but I doubt it. Besides, with the exception of Indy and the tracks that force season tickets on the fans, attendance at the ovals is sickening.
No, the IRL is going gunning for Canada and hopefully will pick the track in Montreal over the street course in Toronto. God I hate that course.
What is interesting is some of the thoughts about the future of the CCWS and their relation ship with the GPWC.
For those not in the know, the GPWC is a group made up of engine manufacturers and teams from F1 who have been threatening to break away from the F1 series for a few years now. Unclear in their ultimate goal, one thing is clear, they want a bigger slice of the pie Uncle Bernie now keeps for himself. They want TV rights, rules allowances etc. With the new long term rules of the sport to go into effect in 2008, these teams have made it clear they will be heard.
How does this affect CC you ask? Well quite simply, the BPCCWSPF would go away as we know it. The GPWC would effectively merge with the CCWS. With races in Mexico, the US, Canada and Australia, not to mention proposed races in South Korea and China, the GPWC would have a decent set of tracks to run on to start out. This credibility would remove the stigma from the stooges at CC and would effectively kill F1.
Now is this going to happen? I would say not, but there is that possibility. In my opinion Uncle Bernie knows exactly the comfort level of each team in F1. He also knows that he has taken far more than his share for far too long. What Bernie will do is intervene with the teams and the FIA and grant the teams a bigger share of the pie. It may come as a last minute deal, but I think Bernie gets the deal done and the new agreement is signed and in effect by 2008.
Of course, if the GPWC takes all of the teams except Ferrari, who has held out so far, then F1 dies alongside the CCWS leaving the IRL and the GPWC as the only true open wheel leagues in the world. One thing I might add is that any consolidation of power is bound to hit at NASCAR, but to what affect? Frankly I think they’ll kill themselves, but that’s another story.
I’ll have more of this when more comes out of today’s meeting of the GPWC would be members.
First of all this could truly be CC’s last hurrah at Long Beach. If it is it could really sound the end of time for the league. I’d be rather sad to see them go, but they are killing themselves. They have an ardent and loyal fan base, but it isn’t enough to sustain the league. Also there is a distinct possibility that the IRL could be in at LB next year.
This leads to some other speculation. For one, Dover Corp. of Dover Downs in DE owns the rights to the LBGP as the Grand Prix Association. Dover has shown interest in selling the entity. If, however, they decide to stay on and bring in the IRL there are more questions to be answered. First and foremost is what to do with the IRL race at Fontana. The IRL raced there the past few years with small crowds. It is close enough to Long Beach that an IRL presence in the LBC would make being in Fontana rather redundant.
Face it folks, unless the track in NYC gets built the IRL is done looking for oval track venues. I suppose it is entirely possible they could go back to Vegas if the conditions were right, but I doubt it. Besides, with the exception of Indy and the tracks that force season tickets on the fans, attendance at the ovals is sickening.
No, the IRL is going gunning for Canada and hopefully will pick the track in Montreal over the street course in Toronto. God I hate that course.
What is interesting is some of the thoughts about the future of the CCWS and their relation ship with the GPWC.
For those not in the know, the GPWC is a group made up of engine manufacturers and teams from F1 who have been threatening to break away from the F1 series for a few years now. Unclear in their ultimate goal, one thing is clear, they want a bigger slice of the pie Uncle Bernie now keeps for himself. They want TV rights, rules allowances etc. With the new long term rules of the sport to go into effect in 2008, these teams have made it clear they will be heard.
How does this affect CC you ask? Well quite simply, the BPCCWSPF would go away as we know it. The GPWC would effectively merge with the CCWS. With races in Mexico, the US, Canada and Australia, not to mention proposed races in South Korea and China, the GPWC would have a decent set of tracks to run on to start out. This credibility would remove the stigma from the stooges at CC and would effectively kill F1.
Now is this going to happen? I would say not, but there is that possibility. In my opinion Uncle Bernie knows exactly the comfort level of each team in F1. He also knows that he has taken far more than his share for far too long. What Bernie will do is intervene with the teams and the FIA and grant the teams a bigger share of the pie. It may come as a last minute deal, but I think Bernie gets the deal done and the new agreement is signed and in effect by 2008.
Of course, if the GPWC takes all of the teams except Ferrari, who has held out so far, then F1 dies alongside the CCWS leaving the IRL and the GPWC as the only true open wheel leagues in the world. One thing I might add is that any consolidation of power is bound to hit at NASCAR, but to what affect? Frankly I think they’ll kill themselves, but that’s another story.
I’ll have more of this when more comes out of today’s meeting of the GPWC would be members.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Early April Racing Items
F1
In what has to be considered a surprise, Gil de Feran, 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner is set to be named the head man at BAR F1. de Feran’s title will be “Sporting Director” and will be responsible for the team at all F1 events.
This is fantastic for Gil who was always one of my favorite guys on the track. He was always steady and fast and a proven winner. Gil started out in Jim Hall’s Pennzoil car back in the day eventually graduating to Roger Penske’s Team Marlboro stable where he won Indy and two CART championships.
Even though I liked Gil as a driver I have been less than enamored of him in his role as color man on the IRL races. The past couple of races he has just rambled on and on and has added very little. Still though, he was always likeable.
You may recall Bobby Rahal taking a similar position with Jaguar a few years back only to be blown out six months later. Of course there should be a major difference between back-marking Jaguar and BAR.
From what I have heard, Gil will be running the team and basically coordinating all of the technical elements. It is a new position and one the team feels is necessary to get back to last years pace. So far this year neither Takuma Sato nor Jensen Buttons has finished a race and the Brackley tam is desperate to join the chase before Renault runs away with it and hides.
Best wishes to Gil and his family!
NASCAR
This week marks yet another BS move by the powers that be at NASCAR. I will refer to is as 35/8. What is 35/8 you ask? Well let me tell you. It is a formula where the top 35 in the points chase are automatically guaranteed starting spots in Sunday’s race. BTW, this will go on the rest of the season. Technically it has gone on all season already, but only now do the current season’s points count. Prior to Bristol, it was based on last years points.
So in effect the top 35 in points are guaranteed a spot as long as they are entered on time and attempt to qualify, the remaining spots will go to drivers not in the top 35 who have the fastest of the top 42 times. The final position will go as a provisional for a former champion only and only if the car is entered on time and the driver drove in 2004.
Confused about the system? Probably not. Confused as to why they would do such a thing? Probably. NASCAR has become a joke and I sense it is in real danger of losing its real fans. It will always be big in the south and will always attract rednecks. Look at my friends who still think it is so great! But look at the friends of mine who look at NASCAR as just another race series that has lost its way and is trying to win over everyone. It just won’t work.
NASCAR was born in the south and was popular with hot rodders for a long time. Then some genius in the marketing department came up with the idea that women and children should be involved and even catered to. They said fuck you to the guys and welcomed the gentler sex. I don’t care how many women go to the races, but the racing itself has been manufactured to be close and “exciting”. About as exciting as an old sofa. With their timed yellows and silly rule books the haves get richer and the have nots will never get there. If you don’t get the call, forget about being a star.
NASCAR will experience a backlash like they could never comprehend. They are losing their core fans and it will be left with an ignorant and lame fan base.
CCWS
Well the CCWS gets under way this weekend at Long Beach. Rumors of anything from 15 to 18 cars have swirled so only tuning in will tell for sure. One thing is for sure, this is Toyota’s last season as sponsor, at least contractually. It is also the last year of the contact between the CCWS and Long Beach. The IRL has made it clear they are interested in the event and the CCWS has even offered to run the event for free next year to keep it. They are trying to settle into a three year contract with Long Beach.
For its stance, Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association have said it will not make any contracts until after this weekend’s event.
Long Beach has been the traditional season opener for CART, OWRS and now the CCWS for years. It is considered their marquee event and generally draws excellent crowds. However, the IRL is coming off of its first street course race that can only be described as a success in St. Petersburg, FL. LB and the GPA will have to weigh carefully the future of both series and the contracts presented before making the decision. I have been saying the IRL won’t last two more years, but events like St. Pete could be the ultimate death knell for the CCWS.
IRL
Memo to IRL: DO NOT HIRE AL UNSER JR. TO DO COLOR ON YOUR RACES!!
In what has to be considered a surprise, Gil de Feran, 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner is set to be named the head man at BAR F1. de Feran’s title will be “Sporting Director” and will be responsible for the team at all F1 events.
This is fantastic for Gil who was always one of my favorite guys on the track. He was always steady and fast and a proven winner. Gil started out in Jim Hall’s Pennzoil car back in the day eventually graduating to Roger Penske’s Team Marlboro stable where he won Indy and two CART championships.
Even though I liked Gil as a driver I have been less than enamored of him in his role as color man on the IRL races. The past couple of races he has just rambled on and on and has added very little. Still though, he was always likeable.
You may recall Bobby Rahal taking a similar position with Jaguar a few years back only to be blown out six months later. Of course there should be a major difference between back-marking Jaguar and BAR.
From what I have heard, Gil will be running the team and basically coordinating all of the technical elements. It is a new position and one the team feels is necessary to get back to last years pace. So far this year neither Takuma Sato nor Jensen Buttons has finished a race and the Brackley tam is desperate to join the chase before Renault runs away with it and hides.
Best wishes to Gil and his family!
NASCAR
This week marks yet another BS move by the powers that be at NASCAR. I will refer to is as 35/8. What is 35/8 you ask? Well let me tell you. It is a formula where the top 35 in the points chase are automatically guaranteed starting spots in Sunday’s race. BTW, this will go on the rest of the season. Technically it has gone on all season already, but only now do the current season’s points count. Prior to Bristol, it was based on last years points.
So in effect the top 35 in points are guaranteed a spot as long as they are entered on time and attempt to qualify, the remaining spots will go to drivers not in the top 35 who have the fastest of the top 42 times. The final position will go as a provisional for a former champion only and only if the car is entered on time and the driver drove in 2004.
Confused about the system? Probably not. Confused as to why they would do such a thing? Probably. NASCAR has become a joke and I sense it is in real danger of losing its real fans. It will always be big in the south and will always attract rednecks. Look at my friends who still think it is so great! But look at the friends of mine who look at NASCAR as just another race series that has lost its way and is trying to win over everyone. It just won’t work.
NASCAR was born in the south and was popular with hot rodders for a long time. Then some genius in the marketing department came up with the idea that women and children should be involved and even catered to. They said fuck you to the guys and welcomed the gentler sex. I don’t care how many women go to the races, but the racing itself has been manufactured to be close and “exciting”. About as exciting as an old sofa. With their timed yellows and silly rule books the haves get richer and the have nots will never get there. If you don’t get the call, forget about being a star.
NASCAR will experience a backlash like they could never comprehend. They are losing their core fans and it will be left with an ignorant and lame fan base.
CCWS
Well the CCWS gets under way this weekend at Long Beach. Rumors of anything from 15 to 18 cars have swirled so only tuning in will tell for sure. One thing is for sure, this is Toyota’s last season as sponsor, at least contractually. It is also the last year of the contact between the CCWS and Long Beach. The IRL has made it clear they are interested in the event and the CCWS has even offered to run the event for free next year to keep it. They are trying to settle into a three year contract with Long Beach.
For its stance, Long Beach and the Grand Prix Association have said it will not make any contracts until after this weekend’s event.
Long Beach has been the traditional season opener for CART, OWRS and now the CCWS for years. It is considered their marquee event and generally draws excellent crowds. However, the IRL is coming off of its first street course race that can only be described as a success in St. Petersburg, FL. LB and the GPA will have to weigh carefully the future of both series and the contracts presented before making the decision. I have been saying the IRL won’t last two more years, but events like St. Pete could be the ultimate death knell for the CCWS.
IRL
Memo to IRL: DO NOT HIRE AL UNSER JR. TO DO COLOR ON YOUR RACES!!
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
Red Bull, JV and DC
A couple of pieces if news came out of Europe today as Vitantonio Liuzzi was named to drive the Red Bull-Cosworth at the next three races in lieu of Christian Klien who has struggled so far this season, but still brings a boatload of cash to the table. Liuzzi, who has been the test driver at Red Bull this year will make his race debut in the car next Sunday at Imola. Klien will test the Red Bull at test sessions away from the track, but he is not eligible to drive the third car on Fridays at the Grand Prix events due to his race experience in F1.
While drivers are moved up and down all of the time in F1 Kliens demotion comes at a time when David Coulthard has made great progress with the Red Bull car this season. Klien brings so much Red Bull money to the team it is surprising he would get the hook this quick, but the team seems to be serious.
What this does is open the door for American Scott Speed to take the testing seat for race weekends. Speed, who won Danny Sullivan and Red Bulls contest to find an American to be in F1 is a Texan who moved to Florida. He is currently competing in F3000 and F2 this season, but seemed to be a heart beat away from the A team. The Milton Keynes team has said they are not unhappy with Klien, but one really has to wonder about that.
What a great opportunity for Scott Speed. While Red Bull is not the top of the grid, DC has proven this season that they can be competitive.
Speaking of DC, Sunday’s little tête-à -tête with friend Jacques Villeneuve caused some friction between the two. JV and DC are both under contracts that pay them only when they score points and each point is crucial to them. JV was none too pleased that DC hit him late in the race and said it was Coulthard’s fault he did not score any points. Now we all know JV is done on the circuit and he needs to just ride off into the sunset, but apparently DC felt his friend was correct on this matter and offered to split his earnings with JV. Rumor has it that the two kissed and made up and no money was exchanged.
While drivers are moved up and down all of the time in F1 Kliens demotion comes at a time when David Coulthard has made great progress with the Red Bull car this season. Klien brings so much Red Bull money to the team it is surprising he would get the hook this quick, but the team seems to be serious.
What this does is open the door for American Scott Speed to take the testing seat for race weekends. Speed, who won Danny Sullivan and Red Bulls contest to find an American to be in F1 is a Texan who moved to Florida. He is currently competing in F3000 and F2 this season, but seemed to be a heart beat away from the A team. The Milton Keynes team has said they are not unhappy with Klien, but one really has to wonder about that.
What a great opportunity for Scott Speed. While Red Bull is not the top of the grid, DC has proven this season that they can be competitive.
Speaking of DC, Sunday’s little tête-à -tête with friend Jacques Villeneuve caused some friction between the two. JV and DC are both under contracts that pay them only when they score points and each point is crucial to them. JV was none too pleased that DC hit him late in the race and said it was Coulthard’s fault he did not score any points. Now we all know JV is done on the circuit and he needs to just ride off into the sunset, but apparently DC felt his friend was correct on this matter and offered to split his earnings with JV. Rumor has it that the two kissed and made up and no money was exchanged.
Monday, April 4, 2005
F1 and IRL
F1Renault continues their domination with another win by Fred yesterday at Bahrain. Noticeably absent from the proceedings was JPM who allegedly hurt his shoulder playing tennis. Rumors had it that he actually got hurt in a motorcycle accident. Either way I hope he is back by Imola. His replacement Pedro de la Rosa turned in a nice performance, finishing fifth and garnering fast lap honors.The race itself was nothing to write home about. I do like that track though and the racing should only get better as the years go by.Sunday was another miserable day for BAR. First TS went out with brake issues. He was spewing brake dust almost from the outset and eventually had to pull off. 20 laps later Buttons was out with a clutch problem. BAR continues to struggle and no one seems to be able to explain their situation.Ferrari is still struggling as well. Schummi failed to finish and the Sandwich was 9th and out of the points.IRLThe first right turns fired in anger happened yesterday on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. In doing so, FTRG has come full circle and is now CART circa 1985. Now don’t get me wrong, I for one and all for some road course and even street course racing and I feel that even one more would be okay for the schedule. I think like most people I would prefer real race courses to temporary street circuits, but 4 out of 18 is okay with me.What is wrong is the hypocrisy of FTRG. Suffice it to say he is just a mumbling dork who seems to have no clue what to do next. With the success of the race yesterday I fear the knee jerk reaction will be to make the series half oval, half road course.As street courses go, St. Pete was pretty good. It’s not Monaco, but nothing is. The course was wide where it needed to be and narrow enough in places that you had to be thinking the whole time. Unfortunately, Little AJ and Mr. Ed found out it ain’t as easy as it looks. Then again, they make driving around in a circle look difficult at times.For the record Andretti Green finished 1-2-3-4 with Wheldon on top. TK had a helluva day by twice climbing through the pack to get to the front. Too bad for Tony when he had a shot at it, he got tangled up with Disco Briscoe and lost the lead to his hard charging team mate Wheldon.AJ and Julio got caught up early and AJ Jr. seemed to be near tears when he was interviewed. He knew the grandson was the cause and he seemed genuinely sorry. Julio for his part was as diplomatic as ever even though you could see his frustration.But as I said, for the most part Sunday came off without a hitch. The league certainly didn’t embarrass itself in its road course debut and there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot of carbon fiber torn up. A shit load less than that demolition derby at Bristol.Now it is on to Japan before the teams head to Indy in May.
Monday, March 21, 2005
By PHX and F1
IRL
I have to tell you I am glad to see Phoenix in the rear view mirrors. I don’t like that track for Indy Cars. It is too flat. Pretty much my feelings about Milwaukee, but PHX has been a part of the Indy scenery for so long it just stays.
I can’t wait for the ratings for that one to come out, especially seeing how there was a reported 15,000 fans at the track.
Sammy won a taut battle that Dario probably would have won had he not hit the wall with just a lap to go. Other than that it was pretty uneventful. AGR was the class of the field again, but Penske and his pit stops were crucial to keeping Sam and Julio in the hunt.
Since there is not much else I can say nice I won’t say anything else.
F1
Two rounds down and there are already some patterns showing. One, and most surprising to me is how bad the Ferrari is doing against the other teams. For what it is worth, Schummi has looked very ordinary at Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur. I’m not ready to write him off just yet, but as many have speculated, he has been in superior equipment to this point and is not the automatic winner in just anything. It also speaks volumes about the Ferrari organization. Where is the 2005 car and why was it not ready for the start of the season?
The next obvious thing is that the Renault is by far the class of the field so far. Yes, McLaren looks good, Toyota looks great and Red Bull is overachieving, but the Renault has won both races, both poles and no one really seems to be on their level at this time.
BAR is awful. I have no idea what has happened to the Brackley team but they are just terrible. They have failed to score any points and at Malaysia failed to finish either car. Engines were the trouble this week. A very unusual situation for Honda who may be trying to build a motor that they are not accustomed to.
Jacques Villeneuve is done. He had a pitiful 13th place finish at Melbourne where he was simply outmatched against everyone he ran up against. In Malaysia, he failed to finish at all. The last two weeks, Jacques, as is his nature, blamed anyone and everyone but himself. I haven’t heard any comments yet from him, but I am sure there is a reason he sucked so bad. Face it Cruise, it’s over and you will not ever get it back.
The GP itself was pretty much without excitement. Dumbass Fisichella tried to kill Mark Webber. Other than that it was all Fernando Alonso.
There was a meeting held yesterday. A meeting called by Sir Frank. Apparently there is still quite a chasm between Ferrari and the other teams regarding testing. Rules in place this year have greatly diminished the amount of time the teams can test. However, Ferrari has argued that they, being the only Bridgestone participant, need to test more since Bridgestone doesn’t have the body of knowledge Michelin has. They probably have a point, but they still are bound by the rules which they have ignored to this point. If there is to be a new agreement in 2008 and the GPWC is to be slain, Ferrari is going to have to understand it is not bigger than the sport. And eventuality that will not come easy to the gang from Maranello.
I have to tell you I am glad to see Phoenix in the rear view mirrors. I don’t like that track for Indy Cars. It is too flat. Pretty much my feelings about Milwaukee, but PHX has been a part of the Indy scenery for so long it just stays.
I can’t wait for the ratings for that one to come out, especially seeing how there was a reported 15,000 fans at the track.
Sammy won a taut battle that Dario probably would have won had he not hit the wall with just a lap to go. Other than that it was pretty uneventful. AGR was the class of the field again, but Penske and his pit stops were crucial to keeping Sam and Julio in the hunt.
Since there is not much else I can say nice I won’t say anything else.
F1
Two rounds down and there are already some patterns showing. One, and most surprising to me is how bad the Ferrari is doing against the other teams. For what it is worth, Schummi has looked very ordinary at Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur. I’m not ready to write him off just yet, but as many have speculated, he has been in superior equipment to this point and is not the automatic winner in just anything. It also speaks volumes about the Ferrari organization. Where is the 2005 car and why was it not ready for the start of the season?
The next obvious thing is that the Renault is by far the class of the field so far. Yes, McLaren looks good, Toyota looks great and Red Bull is overachieving, but the Renault has won both races, both poles and no one really seems to be on their level at this time.
BAR is awful. I have no idea what has happened to the Brackley team but they are just terrible. They have failed to score any points and at Malaysia failed to finish either car. Engines were the trouble this week. A very unusual situation for Honda who may be trying to build a motor that they are not accustomed to.
Jacques Villeneuve is done. He had a pitiful 13th place finish at Melbourne where he was simply outmatched against everyone he ran up against. In Malaysia, he failed to finish at all. The last two weeks, Jacques, as is his nature, blamed anyone and everyone but himself. I haven’t heard any comments yet from him, but I am sure there is a reason he sucked so bad. Face it Cruise, it’s over and you will not ever get it back.
The GP itself was pretty much without excitement. Dumbass Fisichella tried to kill Mark Webber. Other than that it was all Fernando Alonso.
There was a meeting held yesterday. A meeting called by Sir Frank. Apparently there is still quite a chasm between Ferrari and the other teams regarding testing. Rules in place this year have greatly diminished the amount of time the teams can test. However, Ferrari has argued that they, being the only Bridgestone participant, need to test more since Bridgestone doesn’t have the body of knowledge Michelin has. They probably have a point, but they still are bound by the rules which they have ignored to this point. If there is to be a new agreement in 2008 and the GPWC is to be slain, Ferrari is going to have to understand it is not bigger than the sport. And eventuality that will not come easy to the gang from Maranello.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Side-By-Side Advertising
I posted this on the TrackForum.com site earlier. It was in response to a poster calling for everyone to get a hold of ABC, ESPN and the IRL to keep the side-by-side and in-car coverage going on the IRL broadcasts:I really did enjoy both the side-by-side coverage and the all in-car coverage on the ESPN's.But let me play devil's advocate for a second. Advertisers are essential the growth of the league. Let's face it, the IRL ain't surviving on the gate alone. Right now, in my estimation the league and yes, even Indy, have a purse problem as in it is too low. The more advertising dollars, sponsor dollars and television money thrown at the league helps increase the purses.Last month's Daytona 500 had a purse of > $17 million. Indy last year was just over $10 million. While people can debate the importance of Daytona v. Indy in today's terms, there really is no argument that the tradition and overall importance is all Indy's.Last year it was said that TG raided the pot to help finance the efforts of some teams to bring the field number up to 33. Be that as it may, the purse for Indy is not high enough. With today's costs it seems like a top 5 finish is needed to cover your expenses, especially when talking about the one off efforts that always show up in May. Basically it tells me it is simply too expensive to throw good money after a long shot. Granted, if TG is going to subsidize the effort costs go down.But all of that aside and back to the advertisers. These are league and team sponsors and other entities who feel their product is best promoted on televised sporting events in general and IRL races in particular.If you give the race fan what they want there would be no commercials on both stations with one doing all in-car. But ABC has to sell that commercial time to cover their contract to the league and their shareholders.It just seems to me that the advertisers are going to watch the race and they will realize how little people will actually see their product advertised. When they figure that out, and it won't take long, Madison Ave. has all the angles covered, how long will they continue to put money into the IRL? In my opinion they would honor their contracts then bail leaving less money for contracts and purses leading closer to the drain.Like I said, I loved the ESPN's coverage two weeks ago and want it from now on, but my guess is that there is a reason this hasn't been done full-time in the past and that reason is the advertisers.I love the product the IRL puts on the track and can not for the life of me figure out why more companies don't want to be involved on a driver or team basis, but it seems to me that the TV ads are as crucial to the IRL right now as they are likely to ever be. This league is going to stand strong some day soon or fail in that same time period, but it can not continue to plug along with paltry TV ratings and lousy attendance much longer.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Waxing Fondly of IMS Past
The ratings are out for Sunday’s IRL opener at Homestead. The numbers, as they say, don’t lie. The spin doctors over at IMS do however.First of all the race drew a .6 rating. Broken down that means that roughly 736,000 people were tuned in to ESPN or ESPN 2. 736,000; seems like a decent number but wait. We must compare these numbers to other similar events and then decide if they are good or not.NASCAR, that 800 pound gorilla, drew 14,780,000 for the Daytona 500. For the race the following week at Fontana, they drew 8,621,666 viewers. Last year, the Indianapolis 500 drew just over 5 million viewers and the season opener last year drew almost a million.Now before I get accused of saying the sky is falling I must say that Daytona is in a unique and enviable position. First of all it is the big enchilada for NASCAR. Their granddaddy, their Super Bowl, the top dog and the biggest payday. It also has the enviable position of really being the first race of the season after a 3 to 4 month layoff. Race fans are thirsting for something and along comes the Daytona 500.Now my problem is not necessarily with the .6 rating for the IRL. In fact, if you listen to the spin coming out of 16th and Georgetown you would think the ratings are actually up. They are claiming that in their key demographic of 18-34 and in their key markets, including LA, Indy, Las Vegas and New York ratings are up. I’ll be honest with you; I don’t know a soul in the 18-34 age group in Indy that knows a damn thing about the IRL or Indy Car Racing. So for the spin to try and tell me that things are hunky-dory is a joke.My problem is with the entire feeling around Indy and Indy Car racing. Or I guess to be more precise, the complete lack of feeling.May will be here soon and I am already making plans to go to the track. But I think I am the only one. What was once the most anticipated weeks of the racing season have been reduced to an afterthought on the sports calendar.I’m going to wax nostalgic for a bit so bear with me if you will. My first memories of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway go back to those warm May afternoons. Jeff Miller’s mother would take me and Jeff out to the track after we got out of school. We’d get there at 3:30 and stay until 6:00. I remember leaving the track and seeing the Shell gas station out at 465 and Crawfordsville Road that had the S knocked out of one side of it and giggling about seeing the word HELL up there.Jeff used to like Arnie Knepper. I was a Lloyd Ruby fan way back then. I remember the different way the cars looked. The tubby turbine, the smaller rear engine cars and the low slung, but ugly cars that seemed a throwback to a time just before I was there.The sound and the color were all great, but it was always the speed. I can hardly remember a time when I didn’t have a stopwatch.I remember my pop taking me to the 1968 race. My first time. I was hooked for sure. I rooted for Joe Leonard in his wedge shaped turbine. The beautiful STP car that had no choice but to catch a youngster’s eye. I remember that damn Bobby Unser winning in the, what I thought at the time was ugly, Rislone number 3 car. The bastard! For the record, when I see that car nowadays and it practically brings tears to my eyes. The car that won the first 500 I ever went to.In 1969 I even rooted for Mario, and he won. It was a cloudy day, but it never mattered. We always sat in the Paddock and were safe in case of rain. In 1970 and 1971 I rooted against that Al Unser, but the Johnny Lightning Specials were just that.In 1972 my sister got to go to her first race. She was hooked! We watched as one of the all time great race car drivers won. But Mark Donahue almost was beaten by his team mate Gary Bettenhausen. In the navy Sunoco McLaren’s both drivers were the class of the field. Well Jerry Grant may think otherwise, but he cheated. Gary B in the 68 was dominant until his car broke. Mark in the 66 went on to take the victory in what was the best day ever for me at the Speedway at that time.In subsequent years I saw AJ win his fourth. My grandpa got to go to that one. I saw JR win three with his dominating performance in 1980 as complete a victory as I have ever seen at Indy. Gordy and Rick in 1982 dueling for the win, and Gordy being a less than popular winner. Scott on the silent bus going home getting everyone riled up.I saw all four of Rick's wins and how dominant he was at Indy over his career, all of which I had the privilege to witness. I was there the day AJ retired and took his final lap around the Speedway on a beautiful Saturday morning after Crash Gordon wrecked his 20th car of the day. I saw all of Big Al's wins. Emmo's duel with Little Al. Arie's record setting day. Tom Sneva contending for the pole every year it seemed.The sponsors; STP, Miller High Life, Sugaripe Prunes, Leader Card, Bowes Seal Fast, The Texaco Star, Beatrice Foods. The owners, mechanics and crew chiefs; Andy, then Vince Grannatelli, A.J. Watson, George Bignotti, Jim Hall and a whole host I am sure to be leaving off.Salt Walther's terrible crash in 73 only to be topped two days later by Swede Savage. The lesser known drivers who were always there. Some whose days had come and gone, some who never achieved any measure of success at Indy, but came back every year. Lloyd, Grant, Lee Kunzman, Mike Mosley, Wally Dallenbach, Bob Harkey, John Martin, Mel Kenyon, Sammy Sessions, Eddie Pimm, Josele Garza, Roberto, Geoff Brabham and who can forget topsy-turvy Pancho Carter.Then of course there were the sons of former Indy greats. Billy Vukovich Jr and Jr.s son the III both tried to recreate their fathers glory. Each year they would come in from California for the race. Billy III lost his life racing like his grandfather. Jr. was never to taste any real success. The Bettenhausens, with father Tony who finished 2nd in 1955, to Gary who really told Roger Penske to fuck off by refusing to quit racing on the dirt, to Tony Jr. who was a team owner when he perished in a plane crash a few years ago.Of course there are the Andretti’s with Mario and sons Michael and Jeff competing and experiencing so much pain and hard luck. Nephew John who seemed to be just a good guy. The Unsers. Jerry who lost his life at Indy. Bobby and Al who were so good for so long. Al Jr, who won two 500’s to Robby and Johnny who both made the field in the past few years.I remember being at the track when Gordon Smiley died. I was there when Art Pollard perished. I remember listening to the radio the day Scott Brayton died. Being at the track when Jovy Marcelo was killed.The great days at the track have to include plenty of boobs and more. The infamous banner day, ruined by the late Tim Richmond. Funky Bob passing out in the sun (bad idea), Jeff Frye's 16 for 19 chugging day and the wild 1980 race. The 1979 race when pop was just out of the hospital and couldn't get tickets. I don't think me and Erik saw a car all day, but we managed to lock the keys in the car twice. If there is a dead center to the track, we were there. Me and Timmy heading in early one morning and parking in the crew lot. A happy start to the day AJ called it quits.The overnighters before the race and qualifying. Tabby passed out under Jay's truck on Carb Day.But ultimately it was always about the race and talk swirled for months about who would win. Scott may think it's an invalid argument, but it had meaning and NOT EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO WIN! besides, it was all part of the drama that was the Indianapolis 500.I remember going to the track on race morning. I could never sleep the night before the race. For a while we went to Aunt Stella’s and parked in her yard in Speedway. Years later we’d load up the car, head downtown and hop on the bus. It was so civilized getting down there, but coming back was crazy. I remember going into the bus through a window for the ride back. I remember pop hiring a helicopter to take us to the track one year. So cool. Free food and beer for many years made it so nice to go.Qualifying days were great. Skipping school to go to the track a blast. Nothing however, compared to race day. Getting to the track early. Watching the bands and the police on their motorcycles. The cars being pushed out onto the track. The intermittent sounds of engines coming to life. Gomer singing Back Home Again, which I admit still brings a tear to my eye. Tony Hulman, dressed so nice, saying those four famous words as he made his “turning key” gesture.Those practice and qualifying days when the action on the track cooled and the action behind the stands picked up. But those were the exception unless it got real hot. There were so many cars every year. It was a big deal. A really big deal. And while I am still a huge Indy fan, even a die hard like me has to admit it is no longer what it was.Maybe I am just living in the past and things can never stay the same. The track certainly has changed. The Snake Pit is gone. The turbulent Turn 4 is gone. Everything is new and modern and nice, but it has lost a lot of character. But when the owner has no character, what would you expect?These days there is talk every year concerning the number of cars that will be at the track, but it isn’t about how much bumping, it is whether or not 33 will even be here. The purse is down in proportion to other events. Let’s face it, the Brickyard 400 is a bigger deal. That sucks.Tony George has made some improvements to the physical stature of the track, but he has ripped the very soul out of the Indy 500. I am tired of people trying to say how wonderful the IRL is, when it is failing miserably. It is nothing more than club racing at this point. Don’t get me wrong, CART, OWRS or whoever they are this week is nothing either. But when CART was running Indy Cars and their drivers made up the bulk of the 500 field there were always plenty of cars. Pole day meant something. There would be 100,000 people at the track. The whole Paddock Penthouse was full as were the first and fourth turns. It was in effect the second biggest race of the year in the world. Only the 500 itself was bigger. It was bigger than Daytona, bigger than Monaco, bigger than anything. IMS was the center of the universe when it came to racing. The holy land if you will. It was THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING. Having the title of Indianapolis 500 Champion was your ticket to the elite club. Now, people like Buddy Lazier and Eddie Cheever have that title. It is no longer special. Foyt, Unser, Andretti, Lazier? I don’t think so. And Erik, this is not about Buddy. I like the guy and Eddie too, but as race car drivers they aren’t exactly what I call the real deal.While the 500 is still exciting, it is no longer what it was. Practice time has been reduced even further this year. Strange new qualifying procedures are in place in a last ditch effort to revive interest. It boggles my mind how one guy could have screwed this up so bad, but he has. All in the name of power. He didn’t like that he couldn’t have a seat on the CART board so he started his own league. Millions of dollars of “investment” later the league is a commercial nightmare and the 500 is a shadow of its once glorious self.Can the 500 be saved? Many think it can not. I’m not sure myself. I will be writing more articles on what I think is the best hope for restoring the glimmer to one of my favorite things. If anyone reading this has any suggestions, feel free to forward them to me,
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