IMSA TUSC 2015 Entries, Schedule, and Rumors

[Gulf]

Nascar owned Grand Am. Ga bought Imsa and some how NASCAR no longer owns ga? That doesn't make sense.

Even if it is Imsa people are "running" it I am sure those boys got put in their place real quick.

[Disraeli Eers]

Fair enough, Mike. That explanation makes more sense as to why people were angry.

I hope they changed it back before any driver/team relationships were damaged.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Gulf

Nascar owned Grand Am. Ga bought Imsa and some how NASCAR no longer owns ga? That doesn't make sense.

Even if it is Imsa people are "running" it I am sure those boys got put in their place real quick.

Not to mention they got literally relocated to NASCAR headquarters at Daytona Beach...

[Gulf]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Not to mention they got literally relocated to NASCAR headquarters at Daytona Beach...

Yea I pass by that building everyday.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by Gulf

Yea I pass by that building everyday.

And every day you have to hear the screams of the unfortunate IMSA guys that are thrown into the mind-adjustment-pits by Jim France himself, where they are subjected to unspeakable pains and tortures, because they dared to merely suggest something that could actually be good for sportscar racing and thus threaten NASCAR!

[Gulf]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

And every day you have to hear the screams of the unfortunate IMSA guys that are thrown into the mind-adjustment-pits by Jim France himself, where they are subjected to unspeakable pains and tortures, because they dared to merely suggest something that could actually be good for sportscar racing and thus threaten NASCAR!

If you don't do what your boss wants you get fired. How is that a hard concept to understand?

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by Gulf

If you don't do what your boss wants you get fired. How is that a hard concept to understand?

The hard concept is the boss wanting to destroy one of his own companies...

[DeezPutz]

Originally Posted by Gulf

Yea I pass by that building everyday.

Then when are you gonna stop in to offer up some suggestions or point out the obvious flaws in the series? You would be a hero. Doing anything other than using your opportunities to enact change would just be kind of sad.

[Danske]

You have to admit logically it's a little screwy for the teams to demand that the series mandate the teams' preference, which the teams wouldn't choose if it were merely a voluntary option, and forbid the option the teams unanimously don't like, but would choose it if it were available. "I don't like A, so please don't offer it to me because I'll take it. I want B, so don't give me any other option."

[jasonjessica09]

Here are a couple ideas that I think IMSA can implement prior to the Roar Before the 24 still:

Full Course Yellows:
I know this idea is not perfect its better than what they got now. So to save time with the stupid wave arounds. You can have 2 safety cars on the track running groups half a lap apart. The cars will be behind which ever safety car group they end up with depending on where they are on the track.

This will also eliminate the need to have the field split their pit stops (proto on one lap and GT the next is what they do now). So that saves FCY time too. Because the first group can get out of the pits well before the next group comes by if the stop is routine. Unlike Le Mans, the cars won't have to wait until the next group to come by before they can exit. This is why cars at Le Mans are discouraged from pitting under safety car. TUSC does not have to do this. So yeah at worst a car loses half a lap due to this rule but thats not that bad if you think about it. Plus IMSA can invoke a rule so that cars in a class on the same lap must be in the same group on a restart from a FCY that comes in the last 40 minutes of the race.

[jasonjessica09]

Car number plates:

The red/blue thing has got to go. It so dumb. The colors should be consistent with the WEC and ELMS in the past.

Prototype = Blue; LMPC = Purple; GTLM = Green; GTD= Orange. As an alternative I guess its ok for P/LMPC to be red and blue still. But the GT classes for sure need to change number plate colors at least.

[TRspitfirefan]

Originally Posted by Mike Hedlund

These are IMSA people making the decisions. NASCAR has nothing to do with it.

-mike

Iv'e been listening to old ALMS radio broadcasts lately and it has really reminded me all the more, just how much sports car racing has changed since just a few short years ago. The changes have resulted in sports car racing losing many of the elements that used to set it apart from all the multitude of other forms of motorsport.
Many of the things that attracted me towards sports car racing are no longer present in our sport. The competition used to have so many different dimensions. We used to have awesome cars with variations in design. The design differences actually mattered, because the better designed car was allowed to capitalize on it's strengths.
Now the "prototypes" are tightly controlled and not even half as awesome.
Which car gets an advantage, is not decided by the car designers, but instead is determined by the series officials.
There used to be tire freedom and pitstop rules that encouraged teams to utilize various different strategies. We used to have endurance races where the best car won by several laps, because they had the fastest car and because the team executed better than their competition.
Nowadays laps are easily regained and the race is never decided until the final "dash to the finish" following the inevitable late race caution.
We used to have a real SPORT. Now we are left with a product more akin to a reality Tv show, more entertainment than competition.
NASCAR bought IMSA...and now IMSA is more like NASCAR.
Coincidence?

[Speed-King]

Nowadays laps are easily regained and the race is never decided until the final "dash to the finish" following the inevitable late race caution.
We used to have a real SPORT. Now we are left with a product more akin to a reality Tv show, more entertainment than competition.
NASCAR bought IMSA...and now IMSA is more like NASCAR.
Coincidence?

If it's any consolation to you, it's exactly the same for European GT racing... so yeah, I'd call it a coincidence or rather part of a global trend.

[J Jay]

It's not that surprising, is it? In a true meritocracy the vast majority of participants are quickly found to be wanting. Sounds like a perfect way to run a series, right up until the part when because they have little chance of winning, a significant number of teams go to that other series that makes sure everyone is "in with a chance".

The problem, as always, is finding the balance rather than lurching between the extremes.

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by J Jay

It's not that surprising, is it? In a true meritocracy the vast majority of participants are quickly found to be wanting. Sounds like a perfect way to run a series, right up until the part when because they have little chance of winning, a significant number of teams go to that other series that makes sure everyone is "in with a chance".

The problem, as always, is finding the balance rather than lurching between the extremes.

Strongly disagree.

What other series gives back a free lap with every caution flag? (What other serious professional or amateur sport of any type gives free points just for hanging around?)

Where would all these teams go? WEC? Lol, good luck asking for free laps there. PWC? Teams might get BoP breaks everywhere, but nothing as offensive as FREE FREAKING LAPS just for not quitting.

Races are scored in laps, so giving away laps is exactly the same as handing out home runs in baseball or touchdowns in football—which doesn't happen. Funny, none of those teams leave even if they get beat.

And what other racing series does it? Where would all these TUSC teams go?

Well, they Would go to WEC and PWC, and they have, but NOT to get more freebies. They go to those more competitive series to have a chance to really race in a fair, professional environment.

Free laps are not given away to keep the teams happy then, so why?

Because the NASCAR mentality says every race must be an epic, exciting, down-to-the-wire shootout. The NASCAR mentality says fans won''t watch if every car isn't on the lead lap at the finish. The NASCAR mentality says fans have short attention spans and need frequent alarm clocks and resets (crashes and restarts) to keep awake and watching.

Which may be true—for NASCAR fans. I don't know. I do know the series has a ton of fans and a ton of revenue.

Thing is, it has been proven Not to be true for sports car (and sports bike) fans. Those fans are more like soccer fans—willing to watch hours of effort to enjoy watching the effort, not to wait for the outcome.

NASCAR know there aren't many people like this on the whole planet, and NASCAR is really only interested in mass-appeal, mass-marketable race-tainment; there simply isn't enough profit in traditional sports car racing.

Please don't take this as a "NASCAR is Evil" rant, because it is not. NASCAR is a business whose owners do not serve my ends, but after all, it is their business. That's all.

I don't know what NASCAR will do when it realizes it cannot make a fast-food version of sports car racing—maybe sell the series (see: NASCAR and AMA.) Until that time ... more teams will leave because of NASCARization than ever left because of finishing a few laps back.

[pederb]

Krohn Ligier Judd Revealed!

[PointDSM]

Ooftda! Krohn Green does not work with the Ligier...

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by jasonjessica09

Car number plates:

The red/blue thing has got to go. It so dumb. The colors should be consistent with the WEC and ELMS in the past.

Prototype = Blue; LMPC = Purple; GTLM = Green; GTD= Orange. As an alternative I guess its ok for P/LMPC to be red and blue still. But the GT classes for sure need to change number plate colors at least.

The red/blue was very simple and worked great for explaining to newbies. There is no reason to arbitrarily make things more complicated than they need to be.

[skycafe]

the Krohn car gives pause. Needs some creative graphics or something, as it looks somewhat cartoonish now. Still, happy to have them!

[DeezPutz]

Originally Posted by Mike Hedlund

These are IMSA people making the decisions. NASCAR has nothing to do with it.

-mike

I just wanted to copy and paste this since it appears people missed it.

Either that or Mike is a mole sent here to tell us keyboard dwellers what THEY want us to hear.

[DeezPutz]

Originally Posted by PointDSM

Exactly, Road America needs WEC... (and frankly deserves it)

They don't deserve anything. The place is falling apart and looks ragged anymore. The track needs a resurfacing and some work. It's looking bad, and the zipline isn't going to get a WEC race.

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by Mike Hedlund:
These are IMSA people making the decisions. NASCAR has nothing to do with it.---------------------------mike

Originally Posted by DeezPutz

I just wanted to copy and paste this since it appears people missed it.

Either that or Mike is a mole sent here to tell us keyboard dwellers what THEY want us to hear.

It wasn't "IMSA people" who dreamed up the "lap=-down wave-by." It was "IMSA people" who instituted it in TUSC because by that time "IMSA people" included old ALMS people and Rolex people--and Rolex was wholly owned by NASCAR, so they were "NASCAR people."

Now NASCAR owns TUSC.

I work in one department of a company, but i am an employee of the company, not the department.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by DeezPutz

They don't deserve anything. The place is falling apart and looks ragged anymore. The track needs a resurfacing and some work. It's looking bad, and the zipline isn't going to get a WEC race.

Are you and Pandemonium related?

[Dodge_Swinger]

The biggest gripes I have would be the easiest to fix.

Go back to the ALMS/WEC pit stop rules. Car has to be shut off, no work while re-fueling.

Get rid of the current FCY wave around rules.

The above changes would cost NOTHING. Actually, changing the pit rules potentially saves money due to the option of double or triple stinting tires.

It won't happen, though.

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Swinger

The biggest gripes I have would be the easiest to fix. Go back to the ALMS/WEC pit stop rules. Car has to be shut off, no work while re-fueling. Get rid of the current FCY wave around rules.

The above changes would cost NOTHING. Actually, changing the pit rules potentially saves money due to the option of double or triple stinting tires.

It won't happen, though.

Not sure at what point TUSC will realize that Sports Car Fast Food won't sell---when they do, we might see these changes.

Hopefully everyone won't be so soured on TUSC by then that it won't matter.