Cavin suggests.....

[damilt]

....that Scheckter may be on the Panther list! I would hope Barnes takes Barron immediately.

[Esquire59]

Wow, the costs of running Scheckter for Panther would certainly put an end to any thought of running a second car. Heck, they'll need a second car at every race for a back-up.

[IndyIRLman]

I just don't get it. Last year he had a horsepower advantage. This year he is on one of the best teams and Dixon is blowing him away. I don't see how he could win the ride over a guy like Barron.

[IndyJim]

Tomas still has the impression of someone who can win races, which is what teams want. It is why Chip hired him.

I think it is more of a case of Barnes keeping all his options open at this point.

[Hardscrabble]

"Tomas still has the impression of someone who can win races"

Yeah, let's hire that give that gives an impression...as opposed to someone who actually can win races.

There's no doubt Tomas is fast. He just has too many brain farts.

[Racewriter]

Y'know what really gives an impression of being able to win races?

Winning races.

I know of a guy that, this year alone, has won 20 incredibly competitive openwheel races.

[jetdoc]

Originally posted by Racewriter
I know of a guy that, this year alone, has won 20 incredibly competitive openwheel races.

And he's on that "list" as well.

[Mackie]

As long as there are owners, there will be lust for drivers that can win races, in any series, regardless of the costs. Perhaps it is a Chevy desire, with Sam gone, who do they have that can win anymore, or who has ever won. Tomas, with perhaps nowhere else to go, will be around as long as someone wants him, and trust me, someone will. Did you ever think that maybe the G Force is not suited to the way Tomas drives, perhaps he needs the supposed extra downforce of the Dallara? Then again, in spite of some folks attitude about Dixon, perhaps he and Hornish are that much better then everyone else, Tomas included.

If "Calvin" suggests that Tomas is on the list, I suspect he is. All writers have people in the know that tell them things. As long as they protect them, the news will keep on coming, and it is priceless. Heck, "Calvin" knows things he can't even post, so does Matt, and to a much lesser extent, so do I.

[JoeBob]

Panther runs their team as a first class effort. That means their cars are ensured. It would cost them the same amount if Tomas never crashed as it would if he crashed every race.

No well run, well funded team runs without insurance.

[slinger]

Originally posted by JoeBob
Panther runs their team as a first class effort. That means their cars are ensured. It would cost them the same amount if Tomas never crashed as it would if he crashed every race.

No well run, well funded team runs without insurance.

The deductible is $100,000. Crashes are still expensive.

[Doc Austin]

Originally posted by Racewriter
Y'know what really gives an impression of being able to win races?

Winning races.

I know of a guy that, this year alone, has won 20 incredibly competitive openwheel races.

What's he done in mid-engined cars?

[IndyIRLman]

Originally posted by JoeBob
It would cost them the same amount if Tomas never crashed as it would if he crashed every race.

Is that how it works? It doesn't go up if cars keep getting destroyed?

[step33T]

JoeBob,

Your insurance statement is no longer true.

I'm not aware of ANY teams running with insurance this year. The policies of the past years are no longer available. The plan proposed this year was just WAY too expensive, and required a certain number of teams to sign up. That didn't happen. It's certainly possible some teams are carrying some 'outside' insurance, but the standard insurance of the past is no longer there. The teams I've asked about this are "self-insuring". In other words, they put money aside presuming they'll tear some equipment up.

And even if they used last years policies. Crashing cars was always an expensive proposition. The policy would run $30k per race, (more for Indy), and would carry a $75-$100k deductible.

So every major accident would cost AT LEAST $100k, plus all the time to rebuild/repair or construct new cars. Plus, the loss of prize money relative to finishing higher. PLUS, the lower points position which pays money.

Trust me. The teams pay through the nose for damaged gear, and don't want to tear up a lot of equipment.

[step33T]

Originally posted by IndyIRLman
Is that how it works? It doesn't go up if cars keep getting destroyed?

In the old days, (like 1997-2002), the cost would go UP! Some driver's paid more than others. Just like your personal car insurance. If you wreck a lot, you pay more.

Again though. The insurance program of the past doesn't exist this year. When it was floating around over the winter, I was told that you'd need to 100% write off 2 cars for the insurance to make sense. BUT, there was a cap on damages for the year, so if you wrote off 3 cars, it was back into the ole "pocket" again. Just didn't make sense. Blame the economy for this one also.

NONE of the IPS cars are insured either. That's a major reason car counts aren't up. Guys can come up with the 15-35k to run a race, but don't have the 75k damage deposit that some teams (not all) are looking for.

[IndyIRLman]

Originally posted by step33T
In the old days, (like 1997-2002), the cost would go UP! Some driver's paid more than others. Just like your personal car insurance. If you wreck a lot, you pay more.

I thought that seemed to good to be true.