Parade... meet rain.

[Ydawg]

F1 seems to have NO TROUBLE with 10 different engine/chassis combos running on ONLY road courses.

I noticed the other day driving in town that I actually turn left and right...not just left. Isn't that nuts?

Great. We can have F1-lite then. At which point, I will tune into F1 races and forget about American indycar racing outside
of Indy.

[Joonyah]

I'm happy that Chevy is back in the series and it's a plus that Lotus has jumped in as well. But the fact is that whether they have one spec car or 10 car/engine combos, they're still going to running the majority of parades, uh I mean races, on street/road courses - the majority of which aren't fit to watch - again, unless you like parades, and oh so exciting passes in the pits - woo hoo!

Multiple manufacturers and mostly ovals and I'd be jumping up and down too. But unfortunately, the street parades won't be much different than they are now... sorry I can't as excited as everybody else about this.

I will concede that it will be better for Indy - unless of course one team is so dominant that there's really no competition - but hey, that's never happen before has it? Robin would say those were the glory days!

Sao Paulo had 95 on track passes for position, if you had decided to pay attention and watch.

[No_Fenders]

Quick! Tell the promoters at Monaco and Long Beach how much street races suck!

...I have an umbrella.

[-Helix-]

Well, I'd prefer watching a parade where the drivers actually have to turn their cars than a parade in a circle.

You like ovals more, I like road races more. Guess our opinions cancel each other out because the series wants money from both of us. My point? Get used to it.

[Darth Airbox]

It's just a fact that billy bob doesn't like turning right

[ghost]

The parades, while not creating good racing, do make for great city festivals and parties. This is seen in very good on site attendance, but terrible tv ratings. It's a chance for sponsors to get their name and product out on a bit of a more wide scale level.

I wouldn't say that I am in total agreement with the original post, but that I am hopeful that the addition of Lotus and Chevrolet, along with Randy's new USAC champion to get a Indy Lights ride...that these elements along with strong city festivals/street parades will create more buzz for places like Phoenix and Chicago so that we can events back at those tracks where true side by side racing and competition can take place.

[jackinbox]

The parades, while not creating good racing, do make for great city festivals and parties. This is seen in very good on site attendance, but terrible tv ratings.

Oh, really? Would you like me to post a comparison of the ovals vs. street race TV ratings from last season? Why is this myth still being spread by the ovals-only crowd? We've proven it false hundreds of times but it keeps getting repeated.

[mdkiel]

In post #23 I just wanted to point out that I think we've hit just about every cliche and stereotype in open wheel racing.

:izod2

[skypigeon]

In post #23 I just wanted to point out that I think we've hit just about every cliche and stereotype in open wheel racing.

:izod2

Yep. Maybe this is an exorcism thread, you think?

[Seadog]

Reminds me of an old joke:

Patient - "Doctor, it hurts when I do this".

Doctor - "Then don't do it".

If "parades" are painful to watch, then don't watch them.

I am weighted heavily towards ovals. But I still watch and enjoy SC/RC races. If you actually pay attention to them, something interesting always seems to be going on. And it's better in person than on TV, I guarantee.

[mdkiel]

I am weighted heavily towards ovals. But I still watch and enjoy SC/RC races. If you actually pay attention to them, something interesting always seems to be going on. And it's better in person than on TV, I guarantee.

Same here. My biggest leap is actually learning to like street courses. The well designed ones actually seem to have more passing zones than some more aesthetically beautiful natural road courses. St. Pete had a ton of passing this year. Franchitti seemed like he was passing a car a lap as he was coming from the rear late in the race. Sao Paulo was really cool with that honkin' long straight going into a hairpin. Lots of passing there.

Not bad for a cushion kickin' dirt tracker huh?

:izod2

[SammyRules]

Multiple manufacturers and mostly ovals and I'd be jumping up and down too. But unfortunately, the street parades won't be much different than they are now... sorry I can't as excited as everybody else about this.

Ya sorry but I disagree. The last time we had engine competition and all ovals was 2004, and Honda won all but one race I believe. The have's and have nots show up even greater on ovals. Now that the schedule is mixed, this won't be as big of a glaring problem because road courses act as an equalizer.

[ghost]

The parades, while not creating good racing, do make for great city festivals and parties. This is seen in very good on site attendance, but terrible tv ratings. It's a chance for sponsors to get their name and product out on a bit of a more wide scale level.

I wouldn't say that I am in total agreement with the original post, but that I am hopeful that the addition of Lotus and Chevrolet, along with Randy's new USAC champion to get a Indy Lights ride...that these elements along with strong city festivals/street parades will create more buzz for places like Phoenix and Chicago so that we can events back at those tracks where true side by side racing and competition can take place.

For the record, I am not an "ovals only" fan. I do enjoy the fact that the Izod Indy Car Series is a series with diverse tracks/layouts and drivers with diverse backgrounds. Some of the road courses provide for excellent racing, some of the street races.... not so much.

[rrrr]

It's just a fact that billy bob doesn't like turning right

Congratulations on your 187th post...it's really a lame one. Are we to assume you like road and street courses, and are therefore more knowledgeable and sophisticated than those that prefer oval racing? Perhaps you believe those in the nonurban or southern areas of our country are less intelligent than you? Are you unable to express an opinion without insulting people that may not agree with you?

[indyracefan]

Here we go again.