As has been debated, debated again and then beaten that dead horse, I think Ronnie Johncox has the right idea. I know this is going to pizz all the "Short Track" fans out there but Robbie's got it right on how to get to the IRL.
Ronnie doesn't for ONE minute believe that he's taking a "...step back in his career..." (ala: JJ Yeley) He's realized that the BEST and soon to be the ONLY path to the IRL's through the IPS. What a humble guy. He's got his plan and he's working it.
People can say that AJ IV, Arie Jr., Cory Witherill, Ed Carpenter, Aaron Fike etc.... aren't going to be in the IRL before ANY of the "Steele's, Kruseman's, YELEY'S, or Darland's, but they'd be wrong and it's wishful thinking. Why you ask? They've realized that in order to move up and be competitive, they FIRST need to run (get REAL experience not just 1-2 races here and there) R/E, winged chassis' and they can't get that in Spridgets.
Many of these guys need to swallow their pride for 1 maybe 2 yrs at the most and they'll end up in the IRL. Quit the whining and DRIVE!!!
In the next 1-2 yrs., it (the IPS) wil emerge as the ONLY way to get to the IRL. It will be a "stepping-stone" if I may. If the above mentioned "spridget" drivers continue along their lines of thinking, they'll be left out in the cold. Sure, you'll say...."...some of them will go to NASCAR if they can't get a shot in the IRL. Well, my position is....Don't let the door hit you on the way out. They'll get a RUDE awakening when they arrive in THAT "ladder series".
Bottom line here is: The future of the IRL and the quality of the "upcoming" drivers will make you forget about the "Spridget" guys in a couple of years. When that happens, you'll look back and say "...ya know, had Yeley, Kruseman, Steele etc... swallowed their pride for a year or so, THEY'D be the ones we're cheering for. Instead, you'll be cheering for the guys that had the FORESIGHT to take the risk and run IPS, while the now popular "short-trackers" are either sitting on the sidelines or racing where ever. I know you're going to say....NASCAR will pay them more money anyway. Well, let's look at this a minute. There's only so many seats available in NASCAR and they DO have the beginning of a "Diminishing Car Count", so if ALL these guys are going to go to NASCAR, who's going to run em? Again, there's only so many rides!
Here's a link to the Johncox article.
Johncox GRATEFUL to be in IPS
[ August 22, 2002: Message edited by: jetdoc ]
[ August 22, 2002: Message edited by: jetdoc ]
Ronnie doesn't for ONE minute believe that he's taking a "...step back in his career..." (ala: JJ Yeley) He's realized that the BEST and soon to be the ONLY path to the IRL's through the IPS. What a humble guy. He's got his plan and he's working it.
People can say that AJ IV, Arie Jr., Cory Witherill, Ed Carpenter, Aaron Fike etc.... aren't going to be in the IRL before ANY of the "Steele's, Kruseman's, YELEY'S, or Darland's, but they'd be wrong and it's wishful thinking. Why you ask? They've realized that in order to move up and be competitive, they FIRST need to run (get REAL experience not just 1-2 races here and there) R/E, winged chassis' and they can't get that in Spridgets.
Many of these guys need to swallow their pride for 1 maybe 2 yrs at the most and they'll end up in the IRL. Quit the whining and DRIVE!!!
In the next 1-2 yrs., it (the IPS) wil emerge as the ONLY way to get to the IRL. It will be a "stepping-stone" if I may. If the above mentioned "spridget" drivers continue along their lines of thinking, they'll be left out in the cold. Sure, you'll say...."...some of them will go to NASCAR if they can't get a shot in the IRL. Well, my position is....Don't let the door hit you on the way out. They'll get a RUDE awakening when they arrive in THAT "ladder series".
Bottom line here is: The future of the IRL and the quality of the "upcoming" drivers will make you forget about the "Spridget" guys in a couple of years. When that happens, you'll look back and say "...ya know, had Yeley, Kruseman, Steele etc... swallowed their pride for a year or so, THEY'D be the ones we're cheering for. Instead, you'll be cheering for the guys that had the FORESIGHT to take the risk and run IPS, while the now popular "short-trackers" are either sitting on the sidelines or racing where ever. I know you're going to say....NASCAR will pay them more money anyway. Well, let's look at this a minute. There's only so many seats available in NASCAR and they DO have the beginning of a "Diminishing Car Count", so if ALL these guys are going to go to NASCAR, who's going to run em? Again, there's only so many rides!
Here's a link to the Johncox article.
Johncox GRATEFUL to be in IPS
[ August 22, 2002: Message edited by: jetdoc ]
[ August 22, 2002: Message edited by: jetdoc ]
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