Sometimes its so obvious we just dont see it

[Ace Sprocket]

I think just about everyone reading this would agree that IndyCar has been screwed up since the split. Theres no point in rehashing all that, I only mention it because the answers to the problems are right in front of our eyes.

Lets get back to Pre-Split !

The original qualifying formula PROVED itself relevant and successful for 70+ years. Nothing they have done has been able to come close the the $uccess IMS saw with this formula. Since reunification, they have not given the old format a chance. They keep coming up with stupid gimmicks to enlarge ever dwindling crowds. Yes times change, technology changes, but people will always support true competition.

I think some of these people are so impressed with themselves and so convinced that they and only they can find the solution, that they are unable to even imagine a simple solution - just put it all back the way it was ( and give it a little time to heal itself ). Could the folks at BCG really charge a fee for the obvious ? They have to justify the their expense so they provide a list of suggestions that become a sort of gospel to follow.

Mr. Miles appears this way. It must be a terrible burden to be so gifted, brilliant, and exceptional. He simply must find the solution. He has been charged with fixing the entire Hulman empire ( which it seems has deteriorated to IMS being the biggest property) and saving the family from themselves. Theres no way he can take the easy way out and restore those very successful rules. He must come up with a solution that will show just how brilliant he is. These new qualifyng changes prove my point. He is not just going to kill any chance of bump day ever coming back, he is going to kill pole day as well. Qualifying for the 500 just became irrelevant, nothing more than a simple charade.

His Gran Prix of Indianapolis is a perfect example. There is NO WAY this race helps the 500. Running it in May is the worst thing they could do. It would appear that the real reason for the GPI is nothing more than another payday for the family. Its their place they can do what they want, but they could have run this race in the fall and perhaps had a bigger payday. With the remarks he made at the press confrence for the GPI, Mr. Miles has made it clear that he has no concept whatsoever of the 500, IMS or IndyCar. The man is clueless- a pleasant fellow, but completely clueless.

The 500 is IndyCar. IndyCar is the500. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves or clueless.

Until someone can get these people to open their eyes and realize all that is needed is to put it all back as it was - and give it a little time, we will all be witness to the slow (maybe not that slow) tragic death of one of the greatest sporting events in history.

Lets hope someone out there can get through to these people before the brilliance of Mr. Miles kills this thing once and for all.

[Blood-1]

The 500 is IndyCar. IndyCar is the500. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves or clueless.

I guess that's why it worked so well when the Indy 500 divorced itself from what was up until then IndyCar. Which by the way, one of the primary pressures behind was that the IndyCar World Series was gradually killing bump day with engine leases and limited availability.

The economic reality for 20 years now has been that manufacturers are necessary to keep Championship racing moving forward. Those manufacturers as it happens are in it (somewhat bafflingly to the state of Indiana I'm sure) to run a championship and not just one race, and will never have interest in adding more cars than necessary for that one race. That being the case it's unrealistic to ever expect qualifying to be the same again even if you go back to the same format.

Any break you try to give to independent engines will be exploited by manufacturers, anything you make Indy only will be the same at massive expense.

[JimInSoCalif]

{His Gran Prix of Indianapolis is a perfect example. There is NO WAY this race helps the 500.}

I don't think Miles was tasked to just do things to help the Indy 500 race. I think he was hired to increase the wealth of the family. Granted there is some overlap but the two things are not synonymous.

How in the world do you suggest they drag out practice and qualifying for a whole month "like it used to be" when nothing else is like it used to be. The teams no longer need time to re-engineer or finish building a race car and with spec cars (Boo) and spec engines (Argh) there seems to be no reason that they can't practice and qualify in a day or two. That seems to work okay at the other 500 mile races at Fontana and Pocono.

You might want to rethink your position a tad before you call too many other people clueless.

[Indyknut]

Gee Mr. Peabody, what a simple solution. Why didn't anyone think of that till now?

[Chris R]

The biggest problem with your "plan" is that it assumes Indycar lives in a vacuum and all of the problems of Indycar are self inflicted and have nothing to do with the outside world.

while there is no doubt in my mind that Indycar has done little to help itself since 1996, it just as obvious that motorsports in General is in decline in the United States for myriad reasons.

Going back to "the way it was" won't fix anything. I am not so sure all of the "answers" we are getting now are right - but I think they are worth a try. (I, for one, like the idea of the road course and qualifying changes more and more each day - it will make for a great month of May and maybe I'll even get to see a race at Indy finally because I am NEVER going to the 500 with all those other people!!

[Tree0404]

The original qualifying formula PROVED itself relevant and successful for 70+ years.

That's because - with few exceptions - for 70+ years there was constant innovation, constant speed increase, constant influx of drivers from parts of the globe other than south america, constant interest from drivers in other series, etc. etc. Now that there's essentially none of that other intrigue, the playoff system probably is the best way to go at least until they bring on the aero kits (if that ever happens)

There is NO WAY this race helps the 500.

I don't think there's much thinking that the grand prix is supposed to help or support the 500. Its to help and support the other events leading UP to the 500 (practice, qualifying, etc.) so that they can potentially capture some of the big crowds that used to come to the speedway for the entire month of may. Are they going to reap the benefits monetarily? Yeah, probably, but isn't that the point? IMS didn't HAVE to resort to gimmicks pre-split because there WAS the innovation aspect, the speed aspect, the drama aspect, etc.

People want to see 10+ cars bumped and have a couple of those bumped be big names. 99.5% of the American public doesn't know who James Jakes is let alone do they care if he doesn't make the 500 -- and those in the know - KNOW that even if Jakes were to miss the 500, it wouldn't be a huge deal because he's got family money and everything's gonna be alright. Long gone are the Phil Kruegers and Rich Voglers who would trot out a 3 or 4 year old chassis purchased on a shoestring budget with guys from Allison Transmissions working on Memorial day weekend to try an earn some extra cash

[Firstturnpro]

I said back in 1979 when the split occurred that it would eventually lead to the death of Indy car racing. Tony kept kept it alive longer by doing the right thing in 1996, but eventually he threw it all away by listening to Penske and Ganassi in 2004.

[mdkiel]

[brundle]

The 500 is IndyCar. IndyCar is the500. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves or clueless.

I don't think anyone would argue that Indy is the centerpiece of open-wheel in this country. I also think if any of us sat down to thanksgiving dinner and there was nothing but a centerpiece, we'd be pretty unhappy.

The simple fact is that - in every measureable way - open wheel racing was never more popular than it was during the late 80's to early 90's. CART (for all it's flaws, and there were many) was doing something very right at that time. To suggest that the series is just one race is equally clueless.

[ndcrs]

I think just about everyone reading this would agree that IndyCar has been screwed up since the split. Theres no point in rehashing all that, I only mention it because the answers to the problems are right in front of our eyes.

Lets get back to Pre-Split !

The original qualifying formula PROVED itself relevant and successful for 70+ years. Nothing they have done has been able to come close the the $uccess IMS saw with this formula. Since reunification, they have not given the old format a chance. They keep coming up with stupid gimmicks to enlarge ever dwindling crowds. Yes times change, technology changes, but people will always support true competition.

I think some of these people are so impressed with themselves and so convinced that they and only they can find the solution, that they are unable to even imagine a simple solution - just put it all back the way it was ( and give it a little time to heal itself ). Could the folks at BCG really charge a fee for the obvious ? They have to justify the their expense so they provide a list of suggestions that become a sort of gospel to follow.

Mr. Miles appears this way. It must be a terrible burden to be so gifted, brilliant, and exceptional. He simply must find the solution. He has been charged with fixing the entire Hulman empire ( which it seems has deteriorated to IMS being the biggest property) and saving the family from themselves. Theres no way he can take the easy way out and restore those very successful rules. He must come up with a solution that will show just how brilliant he is. These new qualifyng changes prove my point. He is not just going to kill any chance of bump day ever coming back, he is going to kill pole day as well. Qualifying for the 500 just became irrelevant, nothing more than a simple charade.

His Gran Prix of Indianapolis is a perfect example. There is NO WAY this race helps the 500. Running it in May is the worst thing they could do. It would appear that the real reason for the GPI is nothing more than another payday for the family. Its their place they can do what they want, but they could have run this race in the fall and perhaps had a bigger payday. With the remarks he made at the press confrence for the GPI, Mr. Miles has made it clear that he has no concept whatsoever of the 500, IMS or IndyCar. The man is clueless- a pleasant fellow, but completely clueless.

The 500 is IndyCar. IndyCar is the500. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves or clueless.

Until someone can get these people to open their eyes and realize all that is needed is to put it all back as it was - and give it a little time, we will all be witness to the slow (maybe not that slow) tragic death of one of the greatest sporting events in history.

Lets hope someone out there can get through to these people before the brilliance of Mr. Miles kills this thing once and for all.

this is all your opinion viewed through your perspective. miles views through a differrent perspective that likely has details that you don't have. it's easy to slam the guy at the top and consultants just because they don't match your perspective. everyone has a favorite period of time and want to maintain that forever, but it just doesn't happen with anything in life. additionally, your absolutes (no way, no concept whatsoever, anyone, clueless) are just not accurate. It's easy to assume to know the fix when you have no skin in the game.

[skypigeon]

The biggest problem with your "plan" is that it assumes Indycar lives in a vacuum and all of the problems of Indycar are self inflicted and have nothing to do with the outside world.

while there is no doubt in my mind that Indycar has done little to help itself since 1996, it just as obvious that motorsports in General is in decline in the United States for myriad reasons.

Ee-yep. Times change. People change. Nostalgia can be fun, but it also quickly gets old. Pun intended.

Going back to "the way it was" won't fix anything. I am not so sure all of the "answers" we are getting now are right - but I think they are worth a try. (I, for one, like the idea of the road course and qualifying changes more and more each day - it will make for a great month of May and maybe I'll even get to see a race at Indy finally because I am NEVER going to the 500 with all those other people!!

I think that's what they're counting on, for at least the first few years. But what happens when the novelty wears off?

[Larrymgs]

I said back in 1979 when the split occurred that it would eventually lead to the death of Indy car racing. Tony kept kept it alive longer by doing the right thing in 1996, but eventually he threw it all away by listening to Penske and Ganassi in 2004.

[Larrymgs]

People want to see 10+ cars bumped and have a couple of those bumped be big names. 99.5% of the American public doesn't know who James Jakes is let alone do they care if he doesn't make the 500 -- and those in the know - KNOW that even if Jakes were to miss the 500, it wouldn't be a huge deal because he's got family money and everything's gonna be alright. Long gone are the Phil Kruegers and Rich Voglers who would trot out a 3 or 4 year old chassis purchased on a shoestring budget with guys from Allison Transmissions working on Memorial day weekend to try an earn some extra cash[/QUOTE]


Exactly...And that's too bad. Stuff like that has really left a void in the month.

[Z28]

I think just about everyone reading this would agree that IndyCar has been screwed up since the split. Theres no point in rehashing all that, I only mention it because the answers to the problems are right in front of our eyes.

Lets get back to Pre-Split !

OK this part I am in 100% agreement with you so we'll leave it at that. Come back Nigel, Mario, Michael, Rick, AJ, Big Al, Little Al, Bobby, Danny, Emerson, if you want, bring Cosworth, Buick, Porsche, March, Lola and Reynard while you're at it and make INDYCAR what Indycar racing was back before the Split. Help me ObiWan Kenobi you're our only hope.

[Spike]

I said back in 1979 when the split occurred that it would eventually lead to the death of Indy car racing. Tony kept kept it alive longer by doing the right thing in 1996, but eventually he threw it all away by listening to Penske and Ganassi in 2004.

This post is somewhat like the sport itself. It started off great and continued to get better but then it went all haywire around 1996.