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.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
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.
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