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Well, folks, the IRL has finally shown its true colors. The talk about more opportunities for deserving American drivers was a lie. TSO has reported that Cory Kruseman has been refused entry into the final two races of the IRL season. This, despite passing his rookie test in March with rave reviews from Paul Diatlovich, and despite putting his own team together, finding his own finances, and lining up his own equipment and crew.
Kruseman is one of the top open-wheel, oval drivers in America today. He’s the 2001 SCRA sprint car champ, the 2000 Chili Bowl Midget champ, and the owner of well over 150 short-track feature wins. Indiana Sprint Week drew an average car count of 45 sprinters for 7 races, and Cory won 4 of them, against the top guys in USAC and elsewhere. In fact, he’s won more races than most IRL drivers have started.
He had hoped to get a ride after his rookie test. When that fell through, he played the game the way the road racers play it – by finding money and putting his own deal together. Doing it this way had allowed such “accomplished” drivers as go-karter George Mack, businessman John DeVries, Coca-Cola heir Jon Herb, and others on IRL tracks this year. You can even prove yourself a menace on the track, maim one of the league’s stars, and hang around (Tomas Sheckter). Yet, the IRL still won’t have Kruseman. Why not?
The explanation from the league is that they don’t want new drivers on the track to interfere with the points race. Of course, British road racer Dan Wheldon is making his own debut at Chicago. And, considering that the IRL has had tight point races in the past, yet such superstars as Zak Morioka and Ricky Treadway have been allowed to start, what’s new about this year? Whoops, that’s right – Penske, Brian Barnhart’s old boss, is in the race now. The truth is that this ruling is completely arbitrary, inconsistent with past and present policy (little-qualified Will Langhorne made his initial start just two races ago, and moving chicane Hideki Noda returned last weekend) and discriminatory toward the short-track drivers.
It’s pathetic that the league that started out as “providing opportunities to deserving American drivers” and billed itself as “all American, all oval” prefers a British road racer whose lone oval win came over 9 other cars in Lights last year, to a genuine openwheel oval champion. The truth is that the IRL is club racing, and Cory Kruseman is not to be allowed into the club.
Want to flame me for saying this? Go right ahead. I don’t give a rip. Want to whine about me being negative? So be it. But at least recognize the hypocrisy of this action, as well as your own words. We complained for years about CART owners not giving rides to oval trackers (some even said that CART owners “banned” short trackers), but CART – the organization – NEVER DID THIS. NEVER refused entry to an accomplished short tracker with a team and car. Can’t blame John Menard, Roger Penske, or A.J. Foyt for this one. This is strictly the IRL, the sanctioning body, turning away a champion sprint car racer – and it goes against everything the IRL purported itself to be. And every reason I supported the IRL, in 1996.
Jetdoc – tell me again how it’s sprint car drivers’ fault for just waiting on the phone to ring.
Mattndallas – tell me again how, if CART dies and the IRL sticks to all ovals, the F1-abees will go elsewhere, and oval track studs will populate the IRL.
Cory did it the IRL’s way. And they spit in his face. Bottom line for me is that if the IRL doesn’t want short-track drivers, then they don’t want short-track fans. I am a short-track fan. I have a Cory Kruseman T-shirt that I bought a couple of weeks ago. When I talked to him at that time, he very much wanted to go Indy car racing, and was working on the deal. NASCAR was a second choice to him. I’d imagine – and hope – that this has changed. The window of opportunity for a Kruseman to put together a deal like this slams shut at the end of this year. New equipment means much higher costs (Sam Schmidt estimates $2 million more per year). No way can he put together this type of a deal.
Folks, enjoy the IRL. Enjoy Honda. And Toyota. And Vitor. And Shinji. And 25,000 crowds and 0.9 ratings. I guess I’m back to where I was in 1992 – a NASCAR and short-track fan. I’ll probably watch an occasional IRL race, if there’s nothing else on. And I may pop in from time to time here. I hope I still have some friends left here. But I backed the IRL in 1996 on principle, and I can’t do that anymore. I’ve spent my last dollar on IRL merchandise, or anything else connected with the league. I won’t become a CART fan – CART doesn’t appeal to me any more now than it did 10 years ago – but I don’t watch club racing. And that is what the IRL is.
Kruseman is one of the top open-wheel, oval drivers in America today. He’s the 2001 SCRA sprint car champ, the 2000 Chili Bowl Midget champ, and the owner of well over 150 short-track feature wins. Indiana Sprint Week drew an average car count of 45 sprinters for 7 races, and Cory won 4 of them, against the top guys in USAC and elsewhere. In fact, he’s won more races than most IRL drivers have started.
He had hoped to get a ride after his rookie test. When that fell through, he played the game the way the road racers play it – by finding money and putting his own deal together. Doing it this way had allowed such “accomplished” drivers as go-karter George Mack, businessman John DeVries, Coca-Cola heir Jon Herb, and others on IRL tracks this year. You can even prove yourself a menace on the track, maim one of the league’s stars, and hang around (Tomas Sheckter). Yet, the IRL still won’t have Kruseman. Why not?
The explanation from the league is that they don’t want new drivers on the track to interfere with the points race. Of course, British road racer Dan Wheldon is making his own debut at Chicago. And, considering that the IRL has had tight point races in the past, yet such superstars as Zak Morioka and Ricky Treadway have been allowed to start, what’s new about this year? Whoops, that’s right – Penske, Brian Barnhart’s old boss, is in the race now. The truth is that this ruling is completely arbitrary, inconsistent with past and present policy (little-qualified Will Langhorne made his initial start just two races ago, and moving chicane Hideki Noda returned last weekend) and discriminatory toward the short-track drivers.
It’s pathetic that the league that started out as “providing opportunities to deserving American drivers” and billed itself as “all American, all oval” prefers a British road racer whose lone oval win came over 9 other cars in Lights last year, to a genuine openwheel oval champion. The truth is that the IRL is club racing, and Cory Kruseman is not to be allowed into the club.
Want to flame me for saying this? Go right ahead. I don’t give a rip. Want to whine about me being negative? So be it. But at least recognize the hypocrisy of this action, as well as your own words. We complained for years about CART owners not giving rides to oval trackers (some even said that CART owners “banned” short trackers), but CART – the organization – NEVER DID THIS. NEVER refused entry to an accomplished short tracker with a team and car. Can’t blame John Menard, Roger Penske, or A.J. Foyt for this one. This is strictly the IRL, the sanctioning body, turning away a champion sprint car racer – and it goes against everything the IRL purported itself to be. And every reason I supported the IRL, in 1996.
Jetdoc – tell me again how it’s sprint car drivers’ fault for just waiting on the phone to ring.
Mattndallas – tell me again how, if CART dies and the IRL sticks to all ovals, the F1-abees will go elsewhere, and oval track studs will populate the IRL.
Cory did it the IRL’s way. And they spit in his face. Bottom line for me is that if the IRL doesn’t want short-track drivers, then they don’t want short-track fans. I am a short-track fan. I have a Cory Kruseman T-shirt that I bought a couple of weeks ago. When I talked to him at that time, he very much wanted to go Indy car racing, and was working on the deal. NASCAR was a second choice to him. I’d imagine – and hope – that this has changed. The window of opportunity for a Kruseman to put together a deal like this slams shut at the end of this year. New equipment means much higher costs (Sam Schmidt estimates $2 million more per year). No way can he put together this type of a deal.
Folks, enjoy the IRL. Enjoy Honda. And Toyota. And Vitor. And Shinji. And 25,000 crowds and 0.9 ratings. I guess I’m back to where I was in 1992 – a NASCAR and short-track fan. I’ll probably watch an occasional IRL race, if there’s nothing else on. And I may pop in from time to time here. I hope I still have some friends left here. But I backed the IRL in 1996 on principle, and I can’t do that anymore. I’ve spent my last dollar on IRL merchandise, or anything else connected with the league. I won’t become a CART fan – CART doesn’t appeal to me any more now than it did 10 years ago – but I don’t watch club racing. And that is what the IRL is.
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