Money Talk

[thebear]

The I.R.L. will probably do away with the `purse' for each race (except the "500") in 2008. Click HERE for details. . . . .

[D.R.T.]

Interesting concept.

[courageous]

If I had a sponser for Indy only in previous years, I might enter a couple of previous rounds to A) get used to the car B) maybe pick up some other sponsers C) get some prize money.

Or stay on after indy (or maybe return later in the series) for B) & C)


What this does is decrease the chance of partial season entries (Indy excepted) but doesn't really encourage anyone from this year to go full time (Briscoe/Dragon or Mutoh/Panther excepted).

Mutoh earned $45,300 by finishing 8th in the last race, consider this as his average it makes $724,800 for the season excluding Indy.

Scott Sharp finished 8th in season points & earned $0.9m (excluding indy).

So, this change will be good news for the mid-front runners, but that end of the grid is just fine; mid-rear is what the series needs (and I don't mean more Duno/Roths).


Also, how will it work if a driver is replaced mid-season?

[drdisque]

The owner gets paid, not the driver.

Also, my understanding is that you will need to run every race to receive the guaranteed payouts.

I think this will encourage teams that were part time to run the full season and will help teams at the back the most. While an extra $400k is nice to a team like RLR, it's only a drop in their $8-$10 Mil/car budget. However, a boost from ~$600k to $1.3Mil significantly reduces the gap a team like Roth needs to run a car and gives them a set amount of money that they can go to for sponsorship.

Also, I don't know if you were actually watching the Chicagoland race, but PJ Chesson in a Roth car was on the lead lap and hanging with the second pack until he had mechanical problems.

[Dutton]

I think this is a positive move for the series. This should enhance overall field stability, viability, and potential.

It is supporting exactly the sort of things that are required for the longterm future of the series.

It is possible my interpretations and analysis of the situation are flawed, but the sum total of my thoughts leads me to consider this a positive move.

[D.R.T.]

What was the season prize money for the top cars, say Franchitti and Dixon ?

[drdisque]

Franchitti brought in a little over $4Mil including the $1Mil prize for winning the championship.

Dixon made $2.1 Mil.

Each of the budgets for those cars is probably between $10Mil and $12Mil, so the prize money doesn't put a huge dent in it.

However, a barebones program can be done for $5 Mil, and a guaranteed $1.3Mil would do a lot.

Alternatively, you can basically just think of it as free engines and tires, since that's what about what those bills come to for a full season.

[D.R.T.]

So the top teams will make less of the new system.

[luke]

Perhaps Tony is tired of still funding the prize money 12 years on? Along with subsidizing teams and running his own team.

[JohnSSC]

Originally Posted by luke

Perhaps Tony is tired of still funding the prize money 12 years on? Along with subsidizing teams and running his own team.

You wouldn't care to share a link to anything that shows Tony George is personally:

1) Putting up the prize money.
2) Subsidizing teams.


Actually, this is not a bad idea. NASCAR has done this for years in the form of "show" money. Many teams get money just for showing up. I don't know if they publish the per event winnings like they used to, but a guy like R Petty could blow up on lap one at Talladega and go home with almost as much $$ as the guy who finished 8th.

[drdisque]

There will still be bonuses for winning races and the championship, but yes, the top 3 or 4 cars would take a hit in earnings, virtually every other team would see a gain.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

You wouldn't care to share a link to anything that shows Tony George is personally:

1) Putting up the prize money.
2) Subsidizing teams.

[luke]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

You wouldn't care to share a link to anything that shows Tony George is personally:

1) Putting up the prize money.
2) Subsidizing teams.

I am surprised you never heard it before. It's 'public' knowledge.

From the 2003-2004 Autoscourse yearbook:

"IRL founder Tony George spent $300 million alone on his series in 8 years (1996-2002) paying the prize money for all the races, underwriting teams, large and small and paying some driver salaries."

We know he paid Al Unser Jr to come to the IRL and RM said in an article he funded 11 of the 33 2006 Indy 500 entries.

Currently TG pays for the prize money still, helps run a few teams including his 3 car Vision team etc.

[stradlin21]

Robin Miller hates the IRL Luke and you full well know it

still, IF TG did pay for 11 of 33 cars at Indy (and I VERY much doubt it)

it's better then Kalkhoven paying for almost the entire champ car grid

PKV, Coyne, Conquest, PCM and maybe other are funded my him, in part or in full

[luke]

Originally Posted by stradlin21

Robin Miller hates the IRL Luke and you full well know it

still, IF TG did pay for 11 of 33 cars at Indy (and I VERY much doubt it)

it's better then Kalkhoven paying for almost the entire champ car grid

PKV, Coyne, Conquest, PCM and maybe other are funded my him, in part or in full

RM doesn't like the guys at Indy but he also has been equal lately at criticizing CC just as much. It's his passion for AWOR that is why he says what he feels as he truly cares and hates to see things how they are.

KK did subsidize back marker teams we know for a fact in the past. I don't know about now but I know he did. But we don't have an exact number and not 'half'.

[stradlin21]

To be to fair to Miller he didn’t deserve his sacking from the champ car website job

Still, perhaps indycar.com might have a position for him

[luke]

Originally Posted by stradlin21

To be to fair to Miller he didn’t deserve his sacking from the champ car website job

Still, perhaps indycar.com might have a position for him

I agree it was unfair.

I very doubt that I don't know if you were joking....

[Knowlesy]

I am finding it hard to keep up here, but I thought Robin Miller was the devil incarnate?

Now he just "truly cares".

Make your mind up man!

[luke]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I am finding it hard to keep up here, but I thought Robin Miller was the devil incarnate?

Now he just "truly cares".

Make your mind up man!

I know I never said he is the devil. Some CC and IRL fans think he is.

I often agree with him, some times I don't. He is controversial. No surprise he got fired from the indystar and champcar.ws.

I feel he says what he does because he cares what he says. If he didn't he wouldn't be one of only a few who still covers AWOR in this country.

[Hazza]

I just like the way Luke is using something from 2002 to support an argument about 2007.

[thebear]

Franchitti takes home click here - $4,000,000 PLUS.: . . .

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by stradlin21

it's better then Kalkhoven paying for almost the entire champ car grid

Do you have a source for that Stradlin

Hazza, what has changed from 2002, except costs no doubt rising.

[luke]

Originally Posted by Hazza

I just like the way Luke is using something from 2002 to support an argument about 2007.

NO. I am not. It's public knowlege and I posted a source as requested from 1996-2002. We know it's the same now pretty much. Apart from the exact figures of money spent from 2002-2007.

[JohnSSC]

We were talking about now - 2007 - you know, the current season. I did not request a link for 2002 and prior.

So no, the current situation is not Public Knowledge. We can't say "we know it's the same now pretty much."

Well I think, kinda sorta, that maybe things aren't like, you know sort of the same, kinda. Maybe. That's why I was umm, seeing if anyone had a linky thing that would prove that the things we say are pretty much the same, so far as we think we know, really are.

[luke]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

We were talking about now - 2007 - you know, the current season. I did not request a link for 2002 and prior.

So no, the current situation is not Public Knowledge. We can't say "we know it's the same now pretty much."

Well I think, kinda sorta, that maybe things aren't like, you know sort of the same, kinda. Maybe. That's why I was umm, seeing if anyone had a linky thing that would prove that the things we say are pretty much the same, so far as we think we know, really are.

Unbelievable. Anyway you can wiggle out of something. I provided a source from that era, we know none of those have stopped from TG, my opinion is they have increased.