State of OW racing

[jeffery]

I am sorry I'm not trying to be a doom and gloomer but how much worse can it get for open wheel racing.


Silver crown opens there season with 12 cars at there biggest race of the year. And what makes it even worse is knowing that number will grow but only because it is now nascars feeder system. of choice.

Then we have yet another year of wondering if we can some how squeeze out 20 cars for an indycar race and "hopefully" fill the field at Indy.

I hope Tony George pulls his head out of his ass soon and understands we cant support 2 OW series in the US with the popularity of Nascar. People just dont have the time or money to do both.

Now what im really looking forward to is and "H" or "Were Doomed" cause both of those show you know were in trouble.

Hopefully theyll get it turned around so we can get back what Indy used to be and I'm not talkin pre 96 I want 98-2001 .

[Benson477]

I am sorry I'm not trying to be a doom and gloomer but how much worse can it get for open wheel racing.


Silver crown opens there season with 12 cars at there biggest race of the year. And what makes it even worse is knowing that number will grow but only because it is now nascars feeder system. of choice.

Then we have yet another year of wondering if we can some how squeeze out 20 cars for an indycar race and "hopefully" fill the field at Indy.

I hope Tony George pulls his head out of his ass soon and understands we cant support 2 OW series in the US with the popularity of Nascar. People just dont have the time or money to do both.

Now what im really looking forward to is and "H" or "Were Doomed" cause both of those show you know were in trouble.

Hopefully theyll get it turned around so we can get back what Indy used to be and I'm not talkin pre 96 I want 98-2001 .

You have to be a bit careful of what you wish for you know. 01 and 02 showed a changing of the guard in the IRL as the CART teams started the transition to the IRL. We have seen the results of what their joining the IRL has done with the number of solvent owners and car counts are dwindling.

But I guess if the total joining of the two series was on a more amicable level perhaps things would turn out for the better for all concerned.

[skypigeon]

I hope Tony George pulls his head out of his ass soon and understands we cant support 2 OW series in the US with the popularity of Nascar. People just dont have the time or money to do both.

Both NASCAR and Open Wheel, you're saying? Because that's what it's coming to...

[JBaiza]

Good thing you weren't trying to be a doom and gloomer.

[jeffery]

Good thing you weren't trying to be a doom and gloomer.

I swear im not I love the indy 500 as much as anyone ,but god if you cant see the writing on the wall your blinded the girls with beads in the coke lot

[hfoto]

Pidge I don't understand your point above. Care to elaborate?

[JBaiza]

I swear im not I love the indy 500 as much as anyone ,but god if you cant see the writing on the wall your blinded the girls with beads in the coke lot

Jeffery, I've been hearing this for 10 years.

I'm sorry you feel that way, I guess I should be glad that you're being positive .... I guess.

Over the past 10 years I've heard things were bad because of car counts, things were bad because cr*pwagons, things were bad because flying cars, things were bad because Penske wasn't there, things were bad because Penske was there, things were bad because of the second class drivers, things were bad because the cars were too fast, things were bad because the cars were too slow, things were bad because it was all ovals, things were bad because it's NOT all ovals ..... and on and on and on. But in spite of the nay-sayers .... the IRL and the Indy 500 is still there.

I don't think I'm blinded by anything. I just think that those who are focused on things that work themselves out in the long run are (as has been shown time and time again), in 20-20 hindsight, just wasting time.

[jeffery]

Jeffery, I've been hearing this for 10 years. Things were bad because of car counts, things were bad because cr*pwagons, things were bad because flying cars, things were bad because Penske wasn't there, things were bad because Penske was there, things were bad because of the second class drivers, things were bad because the cars were too fast, things were bad because the cars were too slow, things were bad because it was all ovals, things were bad because it's NOT all ovals ..... and on and on and on. But in spite of the nay-sayers .... the IRL and the Indy 500 is still there.

I don't think I'm blinded by anything. I just think that those who are focused on things that work themselves out in the long run are (as has been shown time and time again), in 20-20 hindsight, just wasting time.

Ok I agree but the way things are working themselves out is everyone is turning to Nascar.Did you ever think you would see the day when USAC Silver Crown turned into a closed wheel series? Also great to see Toyota announce today they were going into all 3 major nascar series in 2007 ,how far behind do you think Honda is


I agree we have been hearing this for 10 years ,it has been a slow steady decline that is picking up steam.Do you just pretend every year that the gap with no fans at indy in turn 3 doesnt get bigger.

Also how would you like to go to indy iin May as an owner and say boy I hope we get a good motor from Honda.

[jkg]

Also how would you like to go to indy iin May as an owner and say boy I hope we get a good motor from Honda.

I'd prefer it to what it's been the last couple years.

[skypigeon]

Pidge I don't understand your point above. Care to elaborate?

Sure, why not?

One of the great ironies of our times (how's that for a pretentious start ) is, as we have more and more choices of how we entertain ourselves, we narrow our focus to fewer and fewer sources of entertainment.

Why? Because all those choices cost money--lots of it.

Let's use Indianapolis itself as an example. When I was a kid, the pro sports options were the Pacers, the Indians, and the 500 in May. My parents raised us poor, hence I didn't get to go to any of those things. Had I been an adult back then, though, assuming a decent paycheck, I could have done all three of those things once a year without a serious hit on my funds.

Fast forward to 2006. Now, if I lived in Indianapolis, I would have the Pacers, the Indians, the 500 in May, the USGP in June, the Brickyard in August, the Colts, and a few other minor league teams I can't name off the top of my head.

Say I'm making, in 2006 dollars, the same decent paycheck I was making in the 70's? Where in the 70's I had three things competing for my entertainment dollars, I now have at least six, three of them fairly high-dollar. I cannot afford to go see them all. So I'm going to choose, based on which one or ones most reliably satisfy my desire for entertainment.

Play this out on a national scale now. With more auto racing choices than ever, NASCAR has positioned itself as a consistently quality event. So if for the average person it comes down to a choice between a NASCAR event or an IRL event, and if there is no money for both, the NASCAR event will probably win out.

This is true whether the IRL and CCWS are separate entities or if they merge into one. It will take YEARS to overcome this. People do not have the entertainment budget to watch NASCAR and the IRL, much less NASCAR, the IRL and CCWS!

Sorry if this is too rambly--I'm writing it in an environment where I don't have time to give it the measured thought I should. But that's the gist of it. I don't like it; personally I'd pick the IRL over NASCAR any day of the week, but that is the reality we're working with.

[JBaiza]

Everything in life goes in cycles, there are up and there are downs. I don't know if open-wheel has ever commanded the following that Nascar has in sheer numbers.

I'll admit, I'm not happy with the entire situation. There are so many more things vying for the entertainment dollar these days and this is not the same business world that it was in the 70's by a long shot.

Look over the past 40 years, engines have come and gone. Some will be back, I'm certain, when it suits them. Costs may drop and the manufacture support may be come less of a factor.

Temper your faith.

[Defender]

Why is the assumed solution for all this perceived malaise surrounding the 500 (It's only January for goodness' sake) that 'Tony George needs to take his head out of his arse?' I don't get that.

[Field of 33]

I am sorry I'm not trying to be a doom and gloomer but how much worse can it get for open wheel racing.

We could have another D&G thread...

[Racing101]

careful what you say around here these days. to be even slightly critical of the IRL and it can get you yanked from here.