All Cart fans love Trans Am?

[silva2]

"All of the fans in CART racing, all of them, love Trans-Am, and I get angry sometimes at shortsighted promoters who don't get it," said Paul G.

I am under the impression that Cart fans like formula single seat racing. Trans Am is sedan, tube frame, with simple engines. I am under the impression that isn't appealing to Cart fans.

Your thoughts?

Personally, I like Trans Am but I like NASCAR too.

[Tara]

It’s a stupid comment, because he says ALL of them and emphasizes the ALL. He could have said a majority of CART fans also like TransAm, but he did not.

That said, I think TransAm would be a good series to tie in with the ALL new ALL road racing CART.

So does Paul G. have his 50 million ready to buy in as a quarter partner?

[Shadow101]

I think your assumption is too broad. I like all forms of racing, though I'm partial to OW racing on ovals and road courses. I would guess that the majority of fans are like me. Just give us some good competition and we'll enjoy it.

[SteveH]

I don't know of a single CART fan that does not like TransAm. I love the series. I'm looking forward to seeing it run next weekend at Road America along with ALMS. Which isn't open wheel either, by the way.

Us CART fans are an odd lot, I guess. We like road courses, street races, ovals both short and high speed, open wheel, sports cars, sedans and a whole host of others. Yet, some persist in inferring we are not REAL RACING fans.

[jetdoc]

This oughta be good. Now Trans Am, rock concerts etc.. is gonna carry C^RT next year huh? Hmmmm...sponsors couldn't do it, Baghdad Chris couldn't do it, what makes Gentilozzi think that HE'S going to be able to do it. Everyone's clamoring over this "proposed buyout" but...wasn't it the Team Owners who put C^RT in the position they're in today? I seem to remember just 2 yrs ago Team Owners were the antichrist!

PS: I don't want a reply to this, it's just something to ponder

[$noopy]

I saw an interview with Paul G. the other day and in it he stated he didn't see all the doom and gloom everybody was talking about. He said he didn't get that at all.
If I owned CART, he is the exact person I would be trying to sell it to. With his "vision", I think CART can get twice the price they thought they could.

[SteveH]

Team owners the anit-Christ? Really? Interesting memory you have there. What the team owners did wrong was bend over for the engine manufacturers. Allowed T&H to have too much say in the running of the series. Experience is a good teacher, unless you are a poor student.

[jetdoc]

Originally posted by SteveH
Team owners the anit-Christ? Really?

Yes REALLY! C^RTisans blamed EVERYTHING on the Team Owners and (this poor student remembers the lesson) There was an outpouring of dissent amongst the owners in which way to take the series which resulted in the LOSS of sponsors, teams, value of product not to mention the "engine mfgrs" that you speak of. It took Baghdad Chris to get them (Team Owners) all off of the board didn't it? It was going to be a "...much more professionally run corporation..." (Baghdad Chris, 2002) I must've been dreaming that?

Experience is a good teacher, unless you are a poor student.

Seems as if "Experience" or History whichever you wish to call it, taught them NOTHING so they're doomed to repeat it again. Wanna bet?

[silva2]

Cart fans are fickle in what they like and don't like. They don't like the IRL even though it's formula racing and before you say that's solely do to TG notice how many time IRL cars are said to be ugly and how the "side by side" nature of the racing is ridiculed ("still there, still there).

The side by side and look of the cars has nothing to do with TG.

Also it is my impression (as is all of my comments in this thread as you can't help but generalize on this topic) that Cart fans don't like NASCAR due to the lack of state of the art technology. But it would seem that Trans Am cars use similar technology as NASCAR.

[numrounofan]

c^rt fans like spec. series racing with no-name dirvers in concrete canyons...now that's REAL RACING!!!!!

[SteveH]

Originally posted by silva2
Cart fans are fickle in what they like and don't like. They don't like the IRL even though it's formula racing and before you say that's solely do to TG notice how many time IRL cars are said to be ugly and how the "side by side" nature of the racing is ridiculed ("still there, still there).

The side by side and look of the cars has nothing to do with TG.

Also it is my impression (as is all of my comments in this thread as you can't help but generalize on this topic) that Cart fans don't like NASCAR due to the lack of state of the art technology. But it would seem that Trans Am cars use similar technology as NASCAR.

This is a long way off from the original topic, however allow me to present my perspective. I won't be so presumptious to assume that I speak for ALL CART fans, only myself.
Ugly is subjective, to each their own. The newer chassis looks better than the last which certainly was much better looking than the first. Ugly? Not sure if I would say that, this year.
Side by side racing is not subjective, however. Side by side racing is the end result of a formula that (up until this year) put cars on the track that did not exceed the drivers capabilites. The less talented could run side by side with anyone. The cars were planted by aerodynamics, not by extreme skill. When Mears and Andretti ran side by side into T1 at Indy on consecutive laps, that was skill, extreme skill. That was something you didn't see every lap, not even at every race. That was as intense as anything I've seen at Indy. And that is the level of skill that Indy should demand. Compare that to the side by side racing where two or three cars are running on a banked track at their rev limiter. The driver is not being as challenged. The fact that this 'lesser' demanding level is now the formula that supports Indy is why there was ridicule. I think the formula that supports Indy should be a bit more demanding. Separate the men from the boys, not make it easy for them to run side by side, lap after lap.

But then, that's just me speaking, not ALL CART fans.

[ventman]

Originally posted by numrounofan
c^rt fans like spec. series racing with no-name dirvers in concrete canyons...now that's REAL RACING!!!!!

Hope you're wearing sveral layers of Nomex.

[SteveH]

Originally posted by jetdoc
Seems as if "Experience" or History whichever you wish to call it, taught them NOTHING so they're doomed to repeat it again. Wanna bet?

See this thread and get back to me

http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31491

[Railbird]

I've always enjoyed Trans Am.

of course I've been around motorsports long enough to not take promotional hype literally.

apparently some haven't

[silva2]

When Mears and Andretti ran side by side into T1 at Indy on consecutive laps, that was skill, extreme skill.

True, very true. Yet I haven't see that same side by side (outside passes) in T1 at Indy in the current IRL formula.

I guess my point was that (many) Cart fans are at odds with the style racing in the IRL even though it's formula cars. Then they are at odds with the type car in NASCAR. So to assume that ALL Cart fans like Trans Am with car similar to NASCAR is nonsensical.

I think Railbird hit it on the head by identifying the statement as hype.