Mick Delaney says:

[The Beer Baron]

Michael Delaney , long retired from leMans asked me to tell you all this:



The turbo has saved CART? What?


CART hasn't actually saved themselves just yet. They have merely solved their engine problem for awhile. They still have Gosfeld and Vannani out there and over 100,000 shares changed hands yesterday. Most of the turboweenies are buying into it, and CART stock was up to $19, a full buck higher than last week's (and all time) low. The lemmings are getting in line to throw their money over the cliff along with themselves!

There are still too many problems for them. Their arrogance is probably the biggest. They are talking real brave, full of false bravado. That's how most cowards are just before they get their asses stomped. All the talk of who is an isn't "the enemy' only serves to shove real fans to the IRL where no one is idefined as such. This guy is the enemy, that guy is the enemy, bla, bla, bla. Well, that sort of stupid blathering will only serve to make even more enemies out of all the people sitting on the fence.

Has Pis Crook identified IRL fans as the "emeny?" And what do CART's own sponsors think about having all the IRL fans alienated to their products? Companies don't want to be identified as anyone's enemy. If CART wants to identify itself as the IRL's "enemy," then so are it's sponsors and all IRL fans should boycott them.

Contrast all that moronic desperation that to George's merely ignoring CART (unless asked) and taking care of his own business. CART was too preoccupied with the IRL to worry about themselves. The IRL is minding it's own house because success is their way forward, not obsessing about CART's latest self inflicted malise.

It is good (but too late) for CART that they are now going to concentrate on themselves instead of trying to undermine the IRL. The turbo thing is just part of what they should have done years before. If they weren't going to co-operate with Tony, they should have seperated themselves from the speedway altogether and developed their own identity. Instead, they adopted the name "Indycar" and built their identity around that. That's why it stung so bad when Tony took it back. I still believe he is going to pull the name out and use it when it will hurt CART the most. I believe there was a five year freeze on anyone using it, but that has to be over now. Tony still owns the name.

If they have any sort of product worth a dime, they should be able to rise and fall on their own merit without the speedway's coattails. They may have been able to do it in the past, but it has gone so far that they have NO identity to sell to the public. Before long, people will be cheering for Tony (1) because everone loves a winner and can't stand to be on the losing side (particularly internet losers) and (2) those who really care about racing will see Tony's victory as the end of the war and the beginning of the new era of peace and prosperity. It will be good to just get it over with and concentrate on the racing instead of politics.


With the equipment difference between the two series, the playing field becomes more level. CART teams won't have the millions to throw around buying all that IRL equipment. They will be coming to Indy on a budget more like the rest of the IRL teams instead of having Kool or Miller or whatever throwing millions at them. Their sponsors won't want to keep paying extra for just the 500 when they can have a whole IRL team and no longer be identified as having "ememies." in the other camp.


Maybe CART is going to give them money to help pay for their CART spec engines, but the $3-5 million per car that they were getting paid by the engine companies is gone. That money removed from the budget is going to kill off a few teams. Can you say PWR? Or how about Sigma?

I don't think CART has saved themselves at all. With their equipment freeze, they will be running ragged out, clapped out, year old spec chassis with de-tuned (hahaahaa), sealed, rev-limited (toooooo sweeeet!) SPEC cosworths. Formula Obsolete.

[Liz]

Thank you for another depressing, whining, moaning post assuring us that we're all dead and why don't we just lie down so you can throw dirt on us.

Just what we needed to hear.

Now please go away and leave us alone, there's a nice fellow.

[Jordi]

Ditto, Liz.

[gaines]

I can buy part of this argument but not very much of it and definitely not the CART arrogance part of it. I can buy they've played their part in it but the IRL's Tony George is as much to blame for arrogance as anybody. Look at the facts. Arrogance is not going so far as to offer to switch engines and chassis to closely resemble the rival IRL so that the two series could interact. Arrogance is instead forcing manufacturers to sign contracts stating they cannot sell their products to CART. That's arrogance. Listen, CART offered to play the game Tony George's way and George slammed the door on their hand. Pook is now simply waging the war that Tony George wanted. George has been dead set on putting CART out of business since he started the IRL and right now he is doing that but it isn't because his series is better on the track or because he doesn't call CART the enemy, it's because CART's owners refused to take their hands off of running the series and concentrating solely on running their teams. Add in the worst management in auto racing history and you've got the mess CART finds itself in now. Now that Pook is starting to lead CART back where it needs to be there is a huge hole to pull out of but it can be done.

The fact is this "war" will be won on the battlefront of marketing. The first series that learns that by simply hiring a marketing machine and selling themselves they will easily become the dominant series. Simply things like buying radio time for two minute spots a couple times a day to play a "CART Racing Update" or "IRL Minute" they can introduce the public to the personalities of their drivers, owners and such will get a huge jumpstart on ending this childish battle. Secondly the two open wheel giants websites stink compared to NASCAR. Why don't I get several updates everyday on those websites giving me insight into the series, into the races coming up, into the driver's thoughts, into the teams research and development, into the feeder systems, etc.? Give me a reason to check you out everyday. Give me a reason to want to get interested in your product. Fact is Tony George could actually push CART so far down the mountain they'd never get close again if they'd learn to media blitz. They should be doing everything they can to promote the series the way they do the 500. Once they get the public interested in the entire series they'll move up the ladder fast. It's almost like the 500 is so important to their identity that they don't know how to move beyond that race. It's a good thing too because if George ever figures it out CART is done for. Not because they're the worst of the two product wise but because they can't figure out how to make people care about their product.

CART is doing a good thing with their CART Friday Night show on SPEED but not enough people are seeing it. Plus they need to make the show a little more exciting by giving us more insight into the race teams preparation and stories behind the drivers climb to the FedEX series. Tell me why I should love Patrick Carpantier if I'm not Canadian or a Team Players fan. Tell me why the Brazilian history of our sport is important. Talk to me about the history of Canadian drivers in our sport. Help the lay fan understand every aspect of the series. I know most open wheel fans understand the significance of the different countries that contribute to CART but we want to educate new fans. Teach about car setups at different tracks from chassis to engine. Take us inside the team headquarters at Rahal, Team Green, Team Ganassi and show us what makes the Turbo engine tick inside and out. Why is this hard to understand? You could sell this so easily if they'd just try. Why don't they try?

Maybe I'm just the only one who cares these days...Maybe America just doesn't care at all anymore about "Indy-Style Racing." Perhaps stock car racing is so exciting we don't need the IRL or CART anymore. I don't know but I'm betting that's not true.

[macdaddy]

Stock car racing is about as exciting as watching a train go by.
IMO

[The Beer Baron]

I didn't write that piece! But i think Gaines gets 5 stars for the reply, some people do care about the sport

[Liz]

But why did you find it necessary to post another downbeat piece on Champ Cars? Can't you find anything positive to share with us?

[f1manoz]

Obviously not. The whole CART forum has been plagued by threads about the supposed destruction of CART.

Well, NEWSFLASH folks:

It ain't dead yet!

[Jordi]

Not yet! And we will support CART till the end, if there's an end, of course...

[paul-collins]

The end of us, not of CART!

[jcclausen]

I just read in Florida Today newspaper that the Indy 500 TV audience was down considerably this year.

I don't get this IRL thing. Every time I've watched an IRL race, it's in front of mostly empty seats. Now veiwing attendance is off for the Crown Jewel, the 500. CART packs 'em in big time, 200,000 for a weekend, at a lot of it's events. There's a lot more to this CART/IRL feud than we are aware of. I've thought, for some time, Eccelstone is in the mix somewhere. With the US Grand Prix not being a money maker for T. George, I can see where Bernie may have an interest in the IRL succeeding. That being Bernie ends up owning IMS. Remember that T. George spent a bundle to upgrade the speedway to get a F1 event and he's not receiving a payback.

[f1manoz]

Are you surprised it was down in figures?

Frankly, I don't get the excitement over the Indy 500. Go round in circles for 500 miles. Yeah, thrilling!!!

And since the split, the fans ARE NOT seeing the top 33 drivers in America.

[Liz]

If you've noticed, Champ Car attendance and viewership has gone up substantially this year, and was up 33% in Chicago from Portland.

And also if you'll notice, the words "crash-filled" are almost never used in Champ Car race reports and ALWAYS are in Invisible Racing League reports. I don't do statistics, but I'd be willing to bet that analysis would show a vast difference in the number of laps run under yellow between both series.

[paul-collins]

Here's a breakdown of caution laps vs total laps (I've put non-oval races in brackets):
(Monterrey 9%)
(Long Beach 22%)
Motegi 18%
Milwaukee 15%
(Laguna Seca 9%)
(Portland 7%)
Chicago 15%

Compare that to:

Miami 24%
Phoenix 28%
Fontana 12%
Nazareth 52% (!)
Indy 18%
Texas 14%
Pikes Peak 27%
Richmond 38%

Guess you're right, Liz.

[yintandiddleipo]

That makes an average of CART 13.5% vs IRL 26.625%

2 to 1 !!!!!

[paul-collins]

Well, you kind of have to take out the road courses, 'cause they have all that runoff (Average 8%). You also have to take out Long Beach for exactly the opposite reason (22%). That leaves CART's average at 16%. (Per race, not per lap or per mile)

Also, for Brand X, you have to take out the Indy 500, as the field isn't stricty Brand X - probably a third are moonlighters from CART, NECKAR, and one-off drivers (like Johnny Herbert tried to be). That makes Brand X's average 28%. Still 75% more than CART.

[Jordi]

the Nazareth race was half run under yellow and Gil still ran out of fuel....