What are the chances of...

[dironstarr]

Just wanted to get some discussion going on things I could see happening (or want to):

1. Kenny Brack coming back to the IRL?

2. Would AJ sign him or run Dare & Foyt IV?

3. How about Shell bringing Vasser?

4. If Tony Stewart wins the Winston Cup, will he stay in NASCAR or run IRL?

5. John Andretti coming to the IRL?

My opinions:

1. Yes, I think Kenny will be back
2. Yes, I think AJ will sign him and run Foyt IV in 2004.
3. Yes, I think Shell tell Rahal they want to go to the IRL, Vasser will probably stay in the ride.
4. No, Tony Stewart stays in NASCAR despite winning the Winston Cup, but comesback to the IRL in 2004 and runs Daytona & Brickyard.
5. John Andretti stays in NASCAR with a second tier team and never wins another race

[Defender]

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>
1. Yes, I think Kenny will be back
2. Yes, I think AJ will sign him and run Foyt IV in 2004.
3. Yes, I think Shell tell Rahal they want to go to the IRL, Vasser will probably stay in the ride.
4. No, Tony Stewart stays in NASCAR despite winning the Winston Cup, but comesback to the IRL in 2004 and runs Daytona & Brickyard.
5. John Andretti stays in NASCAR with a second tier team and never wins another race </STRONG>

Very GOOD topics. Here's my 2/100ths of a dollar:

Kenny returns, but not with A.J., and probably with sponsorship from Shell (again). The man with the shining head won't be involved with the driver or the sponsor.

Stewart and Andretti remain in Cup. For the forseeable future. Mikey, however, gets welcomed.

It's time for Eddie to retire from the cockpit and become the next great Indy Car owner, mentor to young talent and credit to the league.

Someone needs to put Greg Ray in a car the entire winter in heavy testing so he can get his confidence back. It needs to be a real team with real equipment and a real crew. Not something butt ugly cobbled together like an extra bedroom on a mobile home in South Carolina.

[MichaelP]

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>1. Kenny Brack coming back to the IRL?

2. Would AJ sign him or run Dare & Foyt IV?
</STRONG>

Yes, but no way will he go back to Foyt. If anything, I'd think he'd stay with Chip.

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>3. How about Shell bringing Vasser?
</STRONG>

Doubt it, but it would be nice.

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>4. If Tony Stewart wins the Winston Cup, will he stay in NASCAR or run IRL?
</STRONG>

Let's see him win the Winston Cup, then we'll talk.

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>5. John Andretti coming to the IRL?
</STRONG>

I wish, but I don't see it happening.

[Mackie]

1&2, Brack will race somewhere next year, doesn't look like he will be running for TCGR in CART, but he could be Chip's driver in the IRL before going anywhere else. Unless Foyt gets out of NASCAR, what driver, without any place to go, would want to drive for him? Besides, he is cheap! Dare stays. That doesn't mean that Brack isn't done with Cart, there are gaping holes in the CART lineup for next season.

3, Who says Shell is coming to the IRL, show me a link, any link? I think Shell will stay with Rahal, and you can bet Rahal isn't coming to the IRL. Rahal will keep Vasser, he has made it past the first lap two races in a row now.

4, IMO, Tony Stewart won't win the WC, this year, but it doesn't matter, he would stay in NASCAR to defend. With NASCAR, he probably makes a minimum of $75,000 a day, before he gets out of bed. He could double that, as a "good guy," but the die is cast there, he has his fans, but he will never have the numbers that will allow him to make the huge bucks on souvenir trailer row. If you wear a black hat, your name better be Earnhardt. BTW, forget anything TS says about the money, in the end it is too much to ignore. He will have to adjust to the BS that goes with it.

5, No, the best John can hope for is to remain with Petty in a "double" deal, he has nowhere else to turn in NASCAR, and would stay for the money, as I mentioned with TS. Besides, none of the traditional IRL teams would have him without funding coming with him. Michael could bring him along, but I don't think Honda is over it's infatuation with CART teams and drivers, they have little respect for IRL people. Honda's problems were with CART, the series, and their participation in the IRL is a payback as much as a marketing tool.

[don7031]

1) If Brack remains on the Toyota payroll he'll be in the IRL next season, but not with Chevy powered Foyt.

2) Apparently Shell is gone from CART. Their advertising on last weeks IRL event may or may not be a precursor of a team sponsorship.

[stan]

Did anyone hear Chips, comments about that crash this week. I wouldn't bet that Kenny would be driving for him anywhere.

[hdolan]

"but he will never have the numbers that will allow him to make the huge bucks on souvenir trailer row."

Have you been to a NASCAR race lately...

[Teej]

John Andretti has been rumored among other sites, jayski to be in the running to be headed to Chip Ganassi's third Cup entry (ie: # 42) That would make it easier for him to do the Indy/Charlotte double....

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not cheap. And I want all I can get." - Ricky Rudd

[Joe in LA]

Chip does not seem to be happy with Brack, and Brack has generally been outperformed by Junquiera--who everyone thought Chip was going to fire last year. My bet is Brack is not with Chip. So, does he go to Foyt--not if he is sane. A.J.'s team looks very weak. Brack is probably used to teams that do testing after his time with Rahal and Ganassi, I doubt he'd want to do less.

[Jimmy Hendricks]

I think Kenny will be in the IRL next year. I just don't know what team it will be with. Maybe Shell and Brack hook up again (like they did in CART in 2001). Isn't Shell a Houston based company? Isn't there a IRL team (and owner) that is based in Houston? Didn't Brack win the Indy 500 for that Houston based team (and owner)? Hmm.....

I am still trying to figure out what Chip is going to do.

My best guess at this point (and this changes it seems from day-to-day) is that he will run 1 car in CART (for Tony Kanaan) and 2 cars (with Scott Dixon and TBA) in the IRL. I could also see Mitch Davis running a satellite team with help from Chip to keep Ward in a car.

But again, this is all just speculation.

[ August 27, 2002: Message edited by: Jimmy Hendricks ]

[Joe V.]

Originally posted by don7031:
<STRONG>Apparently Shell is gone from CART. Their advertising on last weeks IRL event may or may not be a precursor of a team sponsorship.</STRONG>

Doubt it.

[Hy -Gain McLaren]

Brack coming back to the IRL? I didn't even know he was contemplating retirement.

[BigFig]

Originally posted by hdolan:
<STRONG>"but he will never have the numbers that will allow him to make the huge bucks on souvenir trailer row."

Have you been to a NASCAR race lately...</STRONG>

I think your point is that it seems that half the people are wearing TS apparel.. If so, that was my impresson also.

[Mackie]

Originally posted by hdolan:
<STRONG>"but he will never have the numbers that will allow him to make the huge bucks on souvenir trailer row."

Have you been to a NASCAR race lately...</STRONG>

Yes Howard, Las Vegas in March. Yes, there was business at Tony's, but not the volume that others had, that is my point. Hey, as big a jerk as Rusty is (IMO), his trailer still has business, and he still has fans, maybe not on his crew, who gets much of the blame when things go wrong.

[Outlaw]

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>
1. Kenny Brack coming back to the IRL?

2. Would AJ sign him or run Dare & Foyt IV?</STRONG>

I think Kenny is back in the IRL next year but not with Foyt. I think Chip will replace Ward with Kenny and run just a single car.

Foyt will be back to a 1 car team with Dare and a few races for AJ IV.

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>
3. How about Shell bringing Vasser?
</STRONG>

I would like to see Shell come in but I think Rahal and Vasser are either staying in the no milk series or moving to ALMS.

Originally posted by dironstarr:
<STRONG>
4. If Tony Stewart wins the Winston Cup, will he stay in NASCAR or run IRL?

5. John Andretti coming to the IRL?
</STRONG>

I don't think Tony would come back next year if he wins the cup this year. He will stay at least one more year to defend his championship. Too much money to be made as a defending NASCAR WC Champ. I don't think we will ever see JA come to the IRL. I think he has become too content being a back marker in NASCAR.

Outlaw