Is the IRL really becoming CART 2

[stymie]

I hear and read many complaints about the IRL becoming CART 2. How so? Just want some insight to the arguement, as I do not agree; but would like input.

[NDGator]

It is a road racer-oval racer thang.

We have road racers racing ovals pining for roads.

We have road owners racing ovals pining for roads.

We have road fans watching ovals pining for roads.

Then we have the disenchanted oval fans and the remaining few that enjoy both for their own reasons.

To me CART was an organization born by greed and lying on a deathbed by greed. Rather than say it was inmates (car owners) running the asylum (the business), it reminds me of how the NBA would like if the NBA players association were to have collective ownership of the league.

If TG can stay a steward of the sport, then maybe the greed of ownership is gone, but probably only dormant. TG's greed has led him to prop up the league with teams and prize money for several years. It is a control issue for him, not monetary.

Unless you can clone a young Pete Roselle, I don't think you can better the stewardship of the league, eventhough pundits from both parties call for TG's head. CART is dying and the 500 had nothing and everything to do with it.

Back to the point fans like road racing and fans like oval racing but the mixture is something of debate. There is a debate on the talent pool directly linked to engine location. A point to ponder is that a driver CAN earn a living running behind the engine in tube framed cars on dirt and pavement. Can the same be said for running Karts and Formula series, I am sure someone knows the answer. Whatever is the current direction it is leading farther away from the past for better or for worse.

My perspective is the CART crowd got tired of whizzing in their pool and have now decided to whizz in ours. They should have tried cleaning theirs first before jumping over.

BOTTOM LINE
Without a viable stateside road racing series, roadracers will be forced into the IRL running ovals they don't enjoy or the IRL will add road races. Either way the the stateside oval racer is out of open wheel racing. But heck why take a pay cut when you can follow the yellow brick road to NASCAR series.

[EdJVuky]

Couldn't have said it better Gator. God I hope OWRS makes it.

RETURN THE IRL TO THE OVAL RACERS.

[MichaelP]

CART owners, drivers, manufacturers... and rumors of CART races. The resemblence is hard to ignore.

[vegasduo]

CART or Championship Auto Racing Teams was owned by the team owners prior to going public. They had complete control of all aspects of CART's business operation and decisions. They still exercised a high degree of control even after going public.

The huge and fundamental difference in the IRL is team owners have no control in the business operations or decision making. Therefore IndyCar can never become CART II.

[SactoIndyFan]

Originally posted by vegasduo
The huge and fundamental difference in the IRL is team owners have no control in the business operations or decision making. Therefore IndyCar can never become CART II.

Thank you, my point exactly

That's the point I am trying to make on another thread.

Folks, whether or not the IndyCar Series "looks" like C^RT or not, does it really matter, after all, for us fans, it's not life and death, but for the drivers, both literally and figuratively, it is.

[Lucky161]

What the gator guy said!

[Turn13]

Originally posted by MichaelP
CART owners, drivers, manufacturers... and rumors of CART races. The resemblence is hard to ignore.

Ovalcentric, Indy-friendly, U.S.-market focussed, team owners not in conflict-of-interest control, still in business... the differences are pretty hard for me to ignore.

I would also remind folks that a couple of road races were on the USAC schedule prior to 1979, that Dan Gurney, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Mark Donohue, and Jackie Stewart were among some of the finest drivers to contribute to the Indianapolis tradition, and that Penske, Andretti, and Ganassi are some **** fine team owners who have contributed more than many, many others and who continue to support Indy Car racing in troubled times.

And if it wasn't for Ford, Chevy, Honda, and Toyota, together with Delphi and Firestone, we might not be watching the IRL on TV anymore, and we could certainly kiss off any chance at a broadcast airing which offers the best hope for improving the fanbase and therefore the future of the sport.

I guess I have to agree with stymie

[slinger]

Originally posted by SactoIndyFan
Thank you, my point exactly

That's the point I am trying to make on another thread.

Folks, whether or not the IndyCar Series "looks" like C^RT or not, does it really matter, after all, for us fans, it's not life and death, but for the drivers, both literally and figuratively, it is.

What it looks like does matter. If it looks like CART, what do I care who runs it? From the fan's perspective, it will be CART.

[Indycarjunkie]

To the people who are complaining about what they percieve as the IRL metamorphasis into C^RT.....

A COUPLE ROAD RACES WILL NOT RUIN THE OVALS ON THE SCHEDULE!!!

It certainly will not harm the only oval race that really matters. Please, chill out and lets all enjoy what we have because what we have is exiting to watch.

[Defender]

Is the IRL really becoming c^rt 2

The question is meaningless. If it had validity, the answer would be no.

As it is, c^rt is now relegated to the annals of history. It's over. Let's stop the comparisons and concentrate on building Indy Car racing.

The sport has evolved. Let's evolve with it.

[Bryan_Weber]

The IRL isn't owned by the teams. Hence, it's not like CART and never will be.

Indy is an oval and the IRL will always be a series that places great value on ovals. That can't be said for CART either.

[Littleman]

stymie, maybe it is now being called CART 2 because so many teams from CART have gone over to the IRL. And, the original concept, that of giving the US short trackers a chance, well it looks like that is now history. More and more we are seeing foreign drivers.

[ChrisB]

It is a road racer-oval racer thang.

Actually, it's a sprintcar - formulacar thing.

Well, not really... it's all a formulacar thing now... the sprintcar oval drivers have long since departed for North Carolina... and "formulacar oval racing" is mainly done by formulacar drivers who came up the road-racing ladder.

[Lucky161]

Like slinger said, what it looks like does matter. Or to put it another way, it doesn't matter if the car owners run the series or what the series is called, if it's composed of teams, drivers and races that shut the short tracker out, as far as I am concerned it's CART II. If it does that, then I'll do what I did when I got disgusted with CART before and I am sure I won't be missed. My side won a few battles, but we lost the war.