Now Penske might leave for the IRL!!!

[bobdrummond]

On speedvision.com, Jeremy Shaw reports that rumours to the effect that Team Penske might quit ChampCars at seasons end for a full IRL season aren't easy to dismiss. The captain has said any decision about staying in CART will be made after the season

Crikey, talk about a slow death!

It seems to me that with more teams likely to follow the Ganassi, Nunn, Walker example of having a foot in both camps, the teams are dearly looking for a reason to stay with CART. Every time a crappy decision is made by CART it lessens the weight borne by the CART foot.

I've decided. CART will go out of business and we'll have a new series a year or so after. Like Panoz did with Sportscars (though they're hardly cohesive either)

[Jay]

lol....well I might just stop watching all together then.. It's really a shame considering the amazing product that Cart has. I mean the events in Long Beach, Toronto and Surfers Paradise have to be attended to be believed, but the atmosphere is like the monaco grand prix.

Many disagree, but the ovals just don't do it for me. 4 corners, all similar, all left just get very boring fast. Some may say that the caution periods on road courses are awful...well they could learn a few things watching the boys at Monaco work....and have fewer.. but personally, I find the fact that more can go wrong adds to the excitement.

I'm still hoping Cart takes it all back and says we're going to stick with what we have, fire the circus clowns and take advantage of our good TV deal next year..... but that would be too easy I guess...

[R]

Originally posted by Jay
I'm still hoping Cart takes it all back and says we're going to stick with what we have, fire the circus clowns and take advantage of our good TV deal next year

I've stayed out of the political discussion on this subject because I find it depressing to even think about. CART is the best racing series in the world, why change any of it? OK, a there are a lot of promotional and political issues, but on track, nothing beats CART! Please, please, please let the racing stay the way it is now (ovals and all)!!

[Jimmyz360]

ugggg

[Ray Bell]

And Penske was the one who started the move to CART! I'm sure this was the scenario...

Well, as for the races with the 'atmosphere'... as long as they go on! Whether it's IRL or CART really doesn't matter.

[bluefeather]

With a schedule that has yet to be confirmed, inside bickering requiring goggles to avoid eye damage from the finger pointing, lead weighted stock, threats of legal action against each other, NO confirmed engine package OR manufacturer beyond 2002, and on and on...
The IRL is the blame?
Why is there such poisonous talk against the IRL because the CART series is rudderless?
CARTs failure will be their own undoing or their success will come from a far fetched idea of a unified vision that all can agree on.

[Crash Test]

The thing that I don't get is that normally when a class dies, it is because of a lack of competitor support. By CART is having fairly high entry numbers going by recent standards....

Honda seems to think they have a contract with Penske for next season, maybe they can have Marlboro cars in the IRL, and some other sponsor on their CART car(s).

[Liz]

And maybe this is all nonsense, like the engine brouhaha, and will quietly disappear over the winter. Considering the level of competition in Brand X Racing, I just can't see that it would be any satisfaction to Penske to go over there and win every race without having to take the car out of third gear. Unless his idea is to humiliate them into disbanding, which is an interesting idea. Send a couple of our best teams there for one year and win all the races, take all the money, get all the publicity, and bankrupt them - and then come back to Champ Cars.

It'd make a heck of a season anyway.

[bluefeather]

Originally posted by Liz
And maybe this is all nonsense, like the engine brouhaha, and will quietly disappear over the winter. Considering the level of competition in Brand X Racing, I just can't see that it would be any satisfaction to Penske to go over there and win every race without having to take the car out of third gear. Unless his idea is to humiliate them into disbanding, which is an interesting idea. Send a couple of our best teams there for one year and win all the races, take all the money, get all the publicity, and bankrupt them - and then come back to Champ Cars.

It'd make a heck of a season anyway.

They haven't had any success in bancrupting the IRL in 6 yrs, how do you figure they'll do it in one year? Get over it. Face the reality that CARTs problems were self inflicted. Penske will not have a cake walk in the IRL. And any disbanding of the IRL will leave the USA without ANY open wheel series, as CART has made every effort to expedite their demise.

[SevenGrain]

CART's problems are self-inflicted and they will not quietly disappear over the winter. But CART is not gone...

But Penske will have a cake walk in the IRL. (recall a 1-2 at a race in May) The IRL boys need to step it up quite a bit to compete with the likes of Penske, Ganassi, et all.

The Indianapolis Star recently ran an article talking to IRL owners about CART teams migrating to the IRL and the fact is that the IRL owners are scared. Penske will find a way to spend Penske-type money and raise the bar for everyone. Ditto for Ganassi. If enough CART teams come over, many of the IRL's smaller teams will disappear.

[KC]

The question becomes then, how will Tony George reward his loyal privateer teams when the CART guys come calling? These small teams are on a shoestring budget, working with volunteer crewmen and with undeveloped equipment. If Penske shows up with one or two cars with competent pilots, with engineers at the least as experienced and top flight as Kelley Racing and Panther Racing can field, and with hours and hours of track time under their belts, what will these little teams do? Racing is dog eat dog and has always been, but these guys have stuck it out in the IRL during the lean times and, I think, deserve more than a swift shove toward the door.

But, Tony George has never had the best interest of open wheel racing in mind, he has had the control of open wheel racing in mind. So why should he give a rat's ass about Sinden Racing Service or Team Coulson or Immke Racing. They have only given their all to make his series work.

[Joe Fan]

Sorry CART fans but it looks like it is almost a done deal.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor...-30-penske.htm

[SevenGrain]

"Penske hints at a possible switch" to "almost a done deal" is a big leap.

It all depends on funding, I am sure that Roger will bring Marlboro into the IRL but the question remains whether or not he will field a CART team. Roger has not yet made that decision and probably won't until November, so let's wait until Penske calls it a "done deal"

[Jimmyz360]

I think that Penske will stay threw 2002 but I cant say after 2003, all i must say is there must be some confidence to the teams, and right now it is like putting money in the stock market that is crashing, they will wait for good news and for the economy to recover than stay in and recover with the market. All I know is if IRL goes to road courses they will crush CART. So I dunno, but why would any defect when races are still pulling in huge amounts of people, its obvious that people like them and are willing to follow. Now lets find a leader.

[KC]

I don't agree that the IRL would crush CART if they began racing on road courses. Its not like the IRL has been getting crowds as big as most CART races. Besides the IRL is not going to run road courses, their equipment is for ovals only, their engines are designed to run a very narrow operating range for ovals. Thats not say that it could change, but then they are in the same boat as CART, but with cars that could not outrun an Indy Lights car on a road course. How are teams that can barely afford to race the current oval schedule going to be able to buy an all new road course only chassis to go alonside their oval only chassis and redevelop their engines for torque instead of speed? Why would any of the IRL teams even want to do this?

Using the current IRL car on a road course is like NASCAR road racing. Its interesting, a great diversion but in the end its a hippopotamus in ballerina's slippers.

[Liz]

Well, all of you who just can't wait to dance on the grave of Champ Cars make me tired. If they go broke, I will watch sports cars. If Penske goes to the Brand X Racing League I will no longer watch them race. It will not break my heart and life will go on.

But it occurs to me that if all the big money teams go to Brand X Racing, this will defeat the alleged purpose for founding Brand X Racing in the first place - to have All American Boys in All American Teams, on All American Ovals, driving CHEAP NON-TECHNICAL CARS with low-paid help. or is this the same Tony George who invited Formula One into his playground - the most expensive, high tech, NON-AMERICAN formula in the world, that NEVER races on All American Ovals?

Perhaps there are two Tony Georges. Or perhaps he is as KC says simply interested in power and doesn't care what he has to do to get it.

Anyway, if this goes much farther I will stop watching it and enjoy the ALMS and other sports car series. And y'all can dance on the grave of open wheel racing and enjoy it. Only don't come crying to me when Brand X Racing fails due to lack of audience for their absolutely hideously boring racing between two competitive teams and 25 struggling also-rans... just like Formula One!

[macdaddy]

I don't see things quite the way Liz does. If Penske et al switch over to the IRL, so too will I. Up to now there have been two main reasons why I haven't followed the IRL...

Depth of talent is one of them. But if some of the CART guys come over then that is gonna change pretty quickly.

The other reason is the oval-only aspect. Not my favourite kind of track. But I'm sure that even Tony George can see the potential of events such as Long Beach and Toronto.

I'll follow The Captain wherever he goes. Throw the Marlboro colors on a gokart, and I'll be a gokart fan. But what happens to the teams with international sponsors? Tecate is not gonna want to sponsor the IRL.

Like everybody else, I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude, albeit with my fingers crossed.