micro

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/USOpenWheel

ZR1 MK

Its crazy that so many view the two series as a split. IRL was a new formed series. Cart went on as usual, and dont race at Indiana.
And its simple for me. I dont like oval racing, so I dont watch IRL.
I do like the one post on that site from someone saying "before nascar becomes a disease".

xsiveone

Now Champ Car (CART) has gone in a really weird direction and the IRL is now becoming what CART used to be. They are even racing at a lot of their old tracks like Belle Isle.

I don't really care what they do at this point. I think that the shipped has sailed. For me at least. I'm primarily into sports car racing and F1 these days and occasionally NASCAR to see what JPM is doing.

BrianCunningham

It's like watching a divorce and trying to remain friends with both parties

TheSkunkWorks

In addition to the immense harm done to American road racing, having been personally knocked off the ladder in no small part by the split, I absolutely hated it and had put most of the blame on Tony George. But sour grapes aside, given CART's current direction they may not remain viable long enough to warrant Mr. G paying them a great deal more attention. Afterall, even the FIA no longer recognize CART as a qualifying series from which a driver can cross over and recieve a super license.

If the IRL adds two or three additional honest-to-goodness road races (I.e.: Laguna Seca, Road America, Cleveland) to the schedule, it could be curtains for CART in the US. Then again, Mr. G will likely continue to nurse along all those #@&%ed oval events, leaving us in purgatory for years to come.

What's happened to the CART's and Trans Am's I once loved?

One thing that would relieve my suffering (as a fan) just a bit would be an April 1,000 mile ALMS event at Indianapolis, which might get the euro's to somewhat rethink their take on sports car racing in America. Come over for Sebring in March and stay for Indy in April. Oh, yeah, there's that Le Mans thing... So, run it in the fall. Either way, I'd buy tickets for that one! What do you think, Mr. George?

John Shiels

better chance of peace in the Middle East!

micro

Bourdais tested for an F1 team over the off season.

TheSkunkWorks

...and, sadly, was told that he'd not meet the prerequisites for licensing. Got to do a stint in GP2...

xsiveone

If that's true it's sad because Bourdais just shattered the F1 lap record at Laguna Seca. I think that he'd be able to handle an F1 car.

John Shiels

what were the prerequisites? Thanks!

TheSkunkWorks

Oh, he's plenty fast, and if it were my call, I sure wouldn't stand in his way, but according to a report concerning the matter on SPEED the FIA just wouldn't recognize his experience in CART as qualification for a super liscense.

Just another of many sad aspects of the split (yes, split), as CART was once upon a time the undisputed top category of open racing in the US, with a rich history of sending numerous drivers to F1, and vice versa.

Whether you're an IRL or CART fan, you can't exactly refer to where CART has ended up as progress...

quick04Z06

There was a time when the F1 stars came to Indy to run, and F1 basically shut down for Indy. Also, for a number of years F1 machinery with a few mods actually ran at Indy-Lotus, Maserati, etc. F1 was probably less important than Indy until the mid-to-late 1970s.

While it may be too late, the way to revive US open wheel is to have one series with both ovals and road courses, and, I would suggest, open up Indy to F1 machinery with an air inlet restrictor and wheel/tire adjustments to even up the competition. Offer huge dollars to the top three spots and put Indy back to what it was--the greatest single day race in the world.

F1 is hitting the same problems CART did here--too few total entries, too few competitive teams (really only 3 or 4, at most), and too high a cost. F1 is in for some changes in the future, too.

micro

link?

xsiveone

I wish that was the case with the IRL. I think that their licenses are too easy to get. That would've kept drivers like AJ IV, Paul Dana and Milka Duno out of the series until they got more experience.

I think that the FIA is being stupid about this. I'd like to see some of the F1 guys drive the Champ Car as well as Bourdais or some of the other top Champ Car drivers. It's not easy to drive with the turbo boost and no traction control. Besides.. Bourdais has already won the championship driving the slower FIA cars when he won the F3000 Championship (now GP2). Doesn't that count for anything?

TheSkunkWorks

You are correct, sir, but remember it's Mr. George who has a deal with Bernie. Politics, politics, politics... Ain't it grand? It's no wonder sponsors got even more difficult to land when this all started...

micro

i'm getting sick of this

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/nascar/nextel/36592/

TheSkunkWorks

If the stick and ball sports had ladders as twisted as racing's (some might say racing has no ladder), they'd never survive. Racing's continued existence is obviously due to strictly it's fans...

micro

i agree