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.

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.

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,

F1 New Rules

From the message boards to the Australian and British papers to the chit chat of fans and the chagrin of some of the drivers, the new rules in F1 this season opened to less than stellar reviews in Melbourne.In a nutshell, drivers were less than aggressive while trying to save their tires making for a rather boring race. But as time goes on and the drivers become more comfortable with the tire situation that will probably change. What is not likely to change is the fact that it is entirely possible that one of the upcoming races will feature the 8 drivers in the points actually finishing the GP while the other 12 pull off into the pits during the last few laps.Why do that? Simple. Finishing in the pits grants the team the opportunity to change engines whether there are two races on it or not. Now of course, no team or driver wants to consistently finish out of the points, but it happens to everyone at some point in the season. Usually more than once. Strategically this will play into teams hands. Knowing driver X will be using a week old engine, it is highly likely that another team could take advantage of that situation with a fresh engine.The other big rule change that was really evident was in qualifying. Now chances are that the weather in Melbourne over the weekend was an exception rather than a rule, but what if it isn’t? What if each week the weather is dicey on Saturday and clear on Sunday? Is it fair to penalize teams based on weather? I’m certainly not a Ferrari apologist but this whole thing just stinks of doing something to level the playing field. And that is what kills me. Why would Bernie and Max enact rules to hurt their beloved Ferrari?The next couple of races in Malaysia and Bahrain should be interesting. Bahrain most likely will be consistent, weather-wise, but Kuala Lumpur can be rainy one day and hot and humid, but sunny the next. If Ferrari and BAR get screwed again will there be changes made? What if Renault gets fucked this time? Stay tuned and don’t be surprised if there isn’t some new rules in place by the time the teams get back to racing in Europe.

The Season Begins

The first weekend of real racing is in the books. Both the IRL and F1 got under way over the weekend. While the on track activity was less than breathtaking, it was nice to see real race cars in lieu of them damn taxi cabs running around in a circle all damn day.
F1
I’m still not sure about the new qualifying procedures for the F1 boys. On one hand, they pretty much killed Schummi’s chances of winning which is a good thing. On the other, Takuma was mired in he back all day and never got anything going.
Giancarlo Fisichella took advantage of the weather on Saturday to pretty much assure himself of the pole. Using his aggregate time he was easily P1 after qualifying. Unfortunately, most of the drivers had to deal with anything from a drying track to monsoon conditions. Obviously this will take on a completely different look on weekends when the weather is consistent from driver to driver and from day to day.
Anyway, the race was pretty boring and there are a couple of legitimate reasons for it. Number one, no one wanted to really push their tyres. With the new rules allowing only one set of tyres for the race AND qualifying there seemed to be quite a bit of trepidation all over the track. The same can be said for the engines. No one seemed to want to overuse their engine and come back with a used puppy in two weeks at Malaysia.
There is speculation this morning that the teams that finished in the pits will be allowed new engines before round two. If that is the case, there will be almost a scramble for the pits on the last lap of every car that is clearly out of the points paying positions. It is not in the spirit of the rule, but clearly BAR and Ferrari found the loophole and crawled through.
My only question on that is whether or not those teams will be on the two week clock starting at Malaysia or will the two weeks be up after the race.
Overall I would have to say that Renault really made a good showing for themselves. McLaren was not bad and Red Bull was surprisingly solid and DC had to get credit for the move of the race when he swooped past Mark Webber’s Williams and into third place at the first turn.
BAR has to be the most disappointed. They had a miserable weekend and can take nothing positive away from Australia. Minardi’s little pre-race problems were eventually solved. Team principal Paul Stoddardt eventually got all of the other teams to allow him to run his 2004 cars. However, the race stewards said no. Stoddardt took them to court and was granted an injunction to race. The FIA said okay, but they would no longer hold races in Australia if the courts were allowed to make the rules. Stoddardt ultimately capitulated and declined the injunction. Amazingly, the 2005 parts arrived in Melbourne just before the start of the second practice.
IRL
No one is ever going to accuse FTRG of being smart. Yesterday he cemented his reputation. The dumbass told the viewers that it was boring down in the pits as a car owner. Wow! If this idiot gets any dumber they will have to water him every day.
Rat boy’s comments aside, the IRL boys finally hit the pavement in anger on a beautiful South Florida weekend. Tomas Scheckter took the pole at over 215 mph and the field of 22 was set for the start of IRL season 10.
As expected the Honda’s were strong and the Toyota’s only real show was by Sammy who managed to sneak away with second place. Julio was the next Toy in 5th but it was Honda and Tomas Scheckter’s Chevrolet that were the stars.
All in all there was some good dicing going on all day. Unfortunately the race really ended on lap 158 when Kosuke Matsura lost control of his car and took out 8 drivers including the charging Scheckter. Tomas, who made no mistakes in the pits, but was slow and deliberate, was in his usual position on the lap 157 restart, which was a few positions back when Matsura spun and took out 8 cars. That effectively handed the race to Wheldon who had no competition for the lead after that.
Four rookies (five if you count Carpentier) took the green flag at Homestead. Paul Dana stayed out of trouble to finish highest but was 8 laps back. Danica Patrick’s much anticipated debut was marred by the lap 158 incident. She was running on the lead lap and doing fine. Unfortunately she suffered a concussion in the crash and may miss the next race. Brit Ryan Briscoe crashed on lap 61 and Czech Tomas Enge went out with mechanical woes on lap 41.
Dario and Buddy Rice both were out early with mechanical problems. Dario’s engine let loose on lap 12 and we never got to see Ashley.
Attendance was reportedly 30,000. There were way too many empty seats. The Television coverage was awesome with the side-by-side on ESPN and the all in-car on the Deuce. For some reason, ESPN did no promotion of the race so I imagine ratings will be in the .1 range when they come out.

Minardi v. FIA

The first day of practice is over at Melbourne and McLaren has been at the top of the speed charts in both sessions. No surprise there, but at the other end of the spectrum, Minardi has not taken the track and the reasons seem curious at best.New rules this season have precluded the teams from running last years cars unless they have been substantially modified to meet the 2005 requirements. The new rules are an attempt to slow down cornering and reduce speeds in an effort to gain a measure of safety and to begin to cut costs. In theory, allowing a 2004 car to run against the 2005's is a big advantage to the 2004's. In theory!The reality is somewhat different. In Minardi's case they have been so far off the pace the past few years that they were more a threat not to make the race because of being too slow.Paul Stoddardt, team principal for Minardi found himself in his usual bind at the end of last season. The small, underfunded team was faced with the question of engines. When Jaguar (Ford) pulled out of F1 racing last year, the fate of Cosworth was not known. Cosworth at the time was supplying engines for Minardi as well as Jaguar and Jordan. Jordan made the switch to Toyota engines and once Jag was reborn as Red Bull they went with the Cosworth when it became apparent the engine manufacturer was going to continue on.This is where things become a little fuzzy for Minardi. Stoddardt claims he could not begin production on his 2005 car until he had an engine. Budget wise, Minardi will always be behind, but when Red Bull can get it together, then why couldn't Minardi?Well, as it turns out, no less than Max Mosley told Stoddardt that if he went to each team and got signatures allowing him to run his 2004 car until the 2005 was ready he could race. Up until yesterday, Ferrari and Red Bull had both said no. Red Bull probably had a legitimate beef as teams can scrape out a couple of points early when everyone else is still dialing in their combinations. A year old Minardi may just have enough to get one of those precious World Championship points which would take it away from another team. As for Ferrari, well they are just assholes and there is not accounting for class or taste, especially the lack thereof.So Minardi, after a week of politicking finally got his signatures. Now the FIA and race stewards are not allowing the team on the track.This is a PR nightmare for F1. You have a small, uncompetitive, yet famously popular team left out. This happens after the FIA president tells you that you can race if you get the other teams to agree. You do and now they pull this shit.People in the US look at F1 as elitist and boring. There is so much politicking that goes on that it sometimes seem like they might as well race around the courthouse halls instead of on tracks. F1 would be well served to enforce the rules they set up unilaterally. When it comes time for a new agreement, the teams should sign it if they like, or get out if they do not. No lawsuits and no changing of the rules. If the length of the last agreement was too long, shorten it.Until the world, and the US in particular, sees that F1 is interested in competition and not politics, this will simply not survive in the US.

State of the IRL 2005

Sunday in Homestead the IRL will embark on its tenth season. For the IRL it is a pivotal year. A year which the league must seize the open wheel racing market and put a real end to CART if either are to succeed. To be honest, I just don’t see it getting done.
The story has been told time and again so I won’t rehash in detail what we already know about the IRL, but some background is called for.
As we all know, the IRL was created with the idea of cost controls, equipment accessibility and as a way for American oval track racers (read: sprint and midget drivers) get a real chance to make it to Indy. Obviously the loss of Jeff Gordon was stinging Tony George, while the CART boys continued to employ foreigners who were not exactly connecting with the American fan.
Of course, they were still well known among race fans. Add to that Michael Andretti and Little Al were still big fish in the open wheel scene. But for some reason, and we all really know what those reasons are, Tony George (herein known as FTRG as in FUCKING TONY RAT GEORGE) had to get his “vision” off the ground.
Then there were the mistakes. The loss of interest by the CART fans, effectively halving the IRL potential fan base. 25/8, which some people still call the old bait and switch, countless versions of the vision and now, street racing. Now don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with changing one ‘vision’ if it makes sense, I just don’t see how the constant changing is helping. I also don’t mind a quarter of the schedule being road course races, but the only street course they run should be Long Beach.
Unfortunately the real losers in this battle have been the fans. In the IRL there is great racing, but there is no sense of importance. Only the Indy 500 has any pomp and circumstance surrounding it and last years scene of thousands of empty seats was enough to make me want to cry.
Now we stand 10 years in and there seems to be nothing left to try. I have made my prediction that the IRL will last two more years. Looking at the less than dazzling list of drivers who will take the green flag Sunday I just don’t see how things are going to change.
I wish the IRL all the best because it is the best racing, but it takes more than that to get the fans and the ratings necessary to increase purses to attract the drivers and owners they want. FTRG has signed on a new marketing person who has said ratings are priority one. They better be!!
I guess the best thing to do is to focus on the racing itself as it has been spectacular more times than not.
Andretti Green Racing (AGR) once again appears to be the class of the league. With 2004 champ Tony Kanaan back to defend his title, runner-up Dan Wheldon, who won three races, Dario Franchitti (one win) and road racing ace Bryan Herta all back in the fold this team will contend each and every week. With races on the schedule this season at Watkins Glen, Sonoma and St. Petersburg, they look certain to be the best bet for 2005.
Honda was super dominant last season, winning all but one race in the series. It is hard to imagine Toyota just letting them get walked all over again this year, but until they get back to victory lane there is plenty of work to do. Chevrolet is in its final year of IRL racing. One of the most venerable names in racing over the past couple of decades will call it quits after what will probably be another disappointing season.
It has to be noted as well that speculation that Toyota will bolt in a couple of years has run rampant. The team has made no such announcement.
Chassis will once again be manufactured by Dallara and Panoz. The only difference is that the G-Force will now be known as the Panoz.
My predictions for the season are that Tony Kanaan will win both the IRL title again and will win the Indianapolis 500. Ryan Briscoe will probably win Rookie of the Year titles in both as well. Other predictions are that Indy will just barely fill the field again, but will and once again, FTRG will have to raid the purse to financially help the teams that are close but can’t quite get the money for Indy.
Lost this year, unfortunately, seems to be Greg Ray’s Access Motorsports team. Hopefully Ray can get something together by Indy. Robby Gordon will most likely miss the 500 as well thanks to mealy-mouth’s move of the 500 to a noon start, effectively ending any chance the taxi boys have of doing the double.
For the IRL, ratings and attendance are the big issues. If you get those things up, you have more money to work with and can attract more teams. You can not attract more teams and automatically expect ratings to go up. Unfortunately FTRG has just stuck his finger in the wind to see which way the wind is blowing on any given day. There has been no rhyme or reason to what happens at Indy.
You know what is most disappointing to me about it? After attending the F1 race and the Brickyard and seeing the crowds and how professionally they are run, it just kills me to see the 500 run like a B-main on Saturday night at Paragon.

Ralf the Moron

Just a little tidbit from the idiot. I wanted to post this for posterity when he eats these words about oh, ... race 3!!TOKYO -- Ferrari's domination of Formula One could soon be a thing of the past, Toyota's Ralf Schumacher said on Friday.
Renault and McLaren have both impressed in testing and Schumacher told Reuters that Ferrari will be pushed to the limit in the 2005 season, which begins in Melbourne on March 6.
"By the look of it in the testing season, you would say that Ferrari are not the benchmark any more," said Schumacher, younger brother of Ferrari's seven-times world champion Michael.
"It could all turn around but for the moment the benchmark seems to be Renault or McLaren. I think it's going to be a tough season for Ferrari. I doubt they are going to win 15 of 18."