Patrick Racing headed to the IRL!?

[Dov]

Well, I'm officially confused! From TSN.ca: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_s...70818&hubName=

Patrick Racing looks to leave CART

Canadian Press
2/3/2004

Patrick Racing will leave the troubled Championship Auto Racing Teams series and join the rival Indy Racing League if a sponsorship package can be arranged.

``I just think CART has been completely mishandled and, even though it's very disappointing to me personally, I just think it's time to move on,'' team owner U.E. (Pat) Patrick said Tuesday. ``This makes me very sad, but I finally accepted this is the way it has to be.''

CART, founded in 1978 by Patrick and car owner Roger Penske, became a publicly traded company in 1998 and filed for bankruptcy late last year. Its assets were sold in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis last week to a group headed by three other team owners who want to revive the series under the name Open Wheel Racing.

Penske left CART for the IRL two years ago.

``I have enough funding to do it right now, if I fund part of it myself,'' Patrick told The Associated Press during a telephone interview. ``I'm just not sure yet what we will do, but we have to make some decisions pretty fast.''

The IRL season opens Feb. 29 at Miami-Homestead Speedway.

CART officials did not return calls seeking comment.

IRL spokesman Fred Nation said the IndyCar Series would be happy to have Patrick Racing in its fold.

``Many things in racing have come full circle in the last 10 years,'' he said. ``Pat Patrick is a legend in open-wheel racing, and we would certainly welcome him.''

CART, which broke away from the U.S. Auto Club so that the team owners could have more autonomy, took a major blow in 1996 when the IRL began, dividing a small base of fans and major sponsors.

The battling open-wheel series have struggled with dwindling attendance and TV ratings.

IRL president and founder Tony George made a bid for the assets, but a bankruptcy judge chose to award them to the new ownership group that includes Champ Car team owners Paul Gentilozzi, Kevin Kalkoven and Gerald Forsythe. That group said it has a 18 cars, a schedule and a television contract in place and will open the season April 18 at Long Beach, Calif.

Didn't KK buy Patrick Racing!? :confused:

[SurfaceUnits]

From another article I read earlier today.

Patrick hopes to have a decision on his own future soon. Patrick said any deal to run the IRL this year would need to be made by Feb. 20. He's had offers to run Indianapolis, where he won as an owner in 1973 and 1982 with driver Gordon Johncock and in 1989 with Emerson Fittipaldi.

"I'd like to go back to Indy, but there's no deal yet," he said. "I'd also like to maybe go to the IRL series. And I might not do anything. Sometimes, you just need to quit."

[The Snout]

This looks like a continuing of the rumour that Emmo was buying/running the CART Patrick Racing, while U.E. went and ran a new program over in the IRL.

I'd say the old Patrick Racing will be run by Emmo in Champcars, while U.E. may do that Chevy/Al Jr. deal in the IRL.

[mitchie]

Originally posted by Dov
Didn't KK buy Patrick Racing!? :confused: [/B]

That was what I recall reading. The announcement/confirmation of it came on the same day as the OWRS verdict. I doubt he would have bought the whole operation, including the name, so much as buy the cars, equipment etc. for Emmo to run in Champ Cars

[Fogelhund]

I too had thought KK had purchased Patrick, and was going to have Emmo run that portion of the show... funding being the issue. No news since then though. I'm quite certain you'll see this team run though.

[Liz]

Rumours and wishful thinking that belong on the IRL board, not here.

[Dov]

Why does it belong in the IRL forum, Liz?

[Scrutineer78]

Wishful thinking?

The only thing holding up Unser driving for Patrick is sponsorship. TG will do what he can to help keep Little Al in the field, as well.

[The Snout]

The only thing holding up a 28 car Champcar field is sponsorship too. Still a wish at this stage.

[GTRMagic]

Can Dale Coyne run 20 cars though? With 2 from Forsythe, Newman Haas, Fernandez, and one each from Rahal and Herdez...

[The Snout]

The answers no, only 19 cause Herdez will run 2.

[SurfaceUnits]

Why does it belong in the IRL forum?

Well it sorta does and sorta doesn't because U.E. sold his Champcar operation and therefore wasn't a part of we uns when he sorta kinda made his not yet firm or confirmed entry into the other series. BTW, does the fact that speedgear is selling all of the champcar stuff for 99% off suggest that the champcar logo will change? U.E. wants to know before he makes his decision.

[Scrutineer78]

The difference is the Patrick operation won't make or break the IRL.

Those 28 (18) cars will make or break OWRS.

[f1manoz]

I think it's two-fold:

1. Part of Patricks team was bought by KK and will be run by Emmo. Whether it's two cars or not is a case of wait and see

2. Patrick himself will head to the IRL with one car for one final shot at Indianapolis 'glory' before he retires.

[BootsOntheSide]

I thought it was basically the whole of Patrick's teamt hat Emmo bought. He's setting up on his own, rather than running out of Conquest's shop, and James Dingman is no longer a part of the operation. Otherwise, correct Manoz

[climb]

The main concern is finding money, wherever one is or want to go racing.
Tough tomes on both sides, useless to say, apart from some very powerful outfit; Patrick is not one of them.
Thus their behaviour will basically depend on who gives them money to do what, IMO.

[Testure]

It would also depend on whether anyone was willing to supply engines. The IRL is changing their engines this season, so supplies are likely to be thin on the ground for a while. In any case, it sounds like it will merely be the man himself moving over, with the actual team remaining in ChampCar.

[SurfaceUnits]

U.E has kept his shop open in Indy, maybe team members will have the opportunity to go to either series.

[SurfaceUnits]

Some are reporting that the Emo deal to run U.E.'s CC team fell through.

[Tim Northcutt]

In today's Indy Star, Patrick indicated that he has the money to run in IRL this year on his own, but wants a sponsor so that it is not all out of his own pocket....

I thought that KK bought Patrick's operation, too....why wouldn't he buy the cars???

Can't race without cars....

That is wierd....

[Dov]

Originally posted by SurfaceUnits
Some are reporting that the Emo deal to run U.E.'s CC team fell through.

Not only that, but RocketSports has taken over in place of EMMO!?

[MLM]

This whole Patrick thing is getting weirder and weirder. :confused:
Or is it all these rumours?

[Ac.]

Robin Miller has this news on Patrick Racing. Also, read the article for more vintage PT regarding his exclusion from IROC this year.

"Pat Patrick said back in early December he wanted to sell his CART team to Emerson Fittipaldi and then try to put something together for the 2004 Indianapolis 500. Well, the co-founder of CART got half his wish last week. Kinda.

Everything in Patrick's shop here in Indianapolis was sold to Open Wheel Racing Series partner Paul Gentilozzi's and transfered to his shop in Lansing, Mich. The house cleaning included three and a half Lolas plus all the spares, machinery and equipment.

It's believed that Carl Russo and Gentilozzi will divide Patrick's equipment and both will field two car teams in the upcoming 2004 OWRS season. Russo is bringing 2003 Toyota Atlantic champ A.J. Allmendinger to Champ Cars while Gentilozzi will again run Alex Tagliani in one of his RocketSports entries.

OWRS principal Kevin Kalkhoven has also hired most of Patrick's crew for his second car while longtime Patrick team manager, Jim McGee, is likely to end up helping the RuSport team.

Patrick, who began competing at Indy in 1968 and has fielded three Indy 500 winners with Gordon Johncock (two) and Fittipaldi, is still trying to put an IRL effort together for Al Unser Jr.

And Fittipaldi is still searching for a sponsor."

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/9713/

[MLM]

So,now it's PG selling Patrick's team to Russo? :confused:
And it looks like Emmo is still out of the loop.

[racinthestreets]

I hope that Emmo gets something going. What happened to Dingman? Also, it has appeared to me that the Brazilian sponsorship dollars have disappeared.