Hello - CART vs. IRL

[domaza]

Hello.

I live in Estonia and i'm a huge CART fan. I have 1 question: which of those two series is more popular in US? I think and hope it is CART and as far as i understand IRL only stays in business because they have INDINAPOLIS 500 - is it right? I hope to attend to Germany's CART race so maiby we will met there See U

[bella]

you're right about irl only being in business because of the indy500, and because of the series, it's losing it's value and prestige. which is a shame.
but irl does have its values. where would sarah fisher have gone without it? it seems a reasonable training ground. or retirement home..

enjoy the german race - i won't be there because it clashes with monza...

[marcus]

welcome to ten tenths domaza.

You are right the CART series is the most popular series as it has the established cars and established drivers..the only thing this series needs to bring it to the complete top is the Indy 500 but they have proved a successfull series without it.

it seems as if not many people around here like the IRL but i personally like it and cant wait the the 500..they both have pro's and cons but i like any kind of racing so i hold no grudges aginst either series.

have fun at the german race and make sure you come back and tell us what it was like.


CHEERS
Marcus

[botsquad]

right...right....right

the irl has a race at ims in may.

there is a much better race there in september.

the irl has Sarah and so far she has been the only bright spot of this horrible idea.

she and juan-pablo are the two fastest rising stars in open-wheel racing.

maybe bobby will giver her a test in one of the jags.

[domaza]

I don't get it. She finished once on a 2nd position and now she is a big star? Everybody talks about her. Last year i watched Eurosport coverage of IRL racing and then usually her with her blue car ended in wall Lets see what she can do it future.

[gomick]

she was only a teenager in her first year of big time racing last year i do believe domaza.....

[bella]

yeah, but that didn't stop michel jourdain jnr, saint fernando and esteban tuero making an impact.

it's just brought her to our attention. domaza is right, she was always in the wall (or 10th) last year. hey, we all need to learn..

[KC]

The IRL will most likely never be seen as superior to CART, unless the majority of the CART drivers defect to the IRL. Most would not because they seek to maintain their road racing skills. Do not hold any grudges against the teams, owners and drivers in the IRL about the break. Well, except for A.J. Foyt and Eddie Cheever. Those two manage to keep the old flame alive through their constant sarcastic remarks. The rest of the racers and teams want nothing more than for all the CART teams to come to Indy so they can pit themselves against more experienced and rounded racers and teams. Most of the racers in the IRL would see a CART drive as a move upwards as far as a racing career goes.

I hold Tony George responsible for the schism between the two series.

There is one other race that is keeping the IRL flame alive. The Texas Motor Speedway rounds of the IRL are extrememly popular with fans in Texas and the CART event should prove equally as popular. CART will have a lot to live up to in Texas as the IRL puts on their best races there with CART-style speedway leader changes, close side-by-side racing and high speed on the high banked mile oval. The Texas 600K this weekend should be a good event for CART.

As far as Sarah Fisher goes, she was a star long before she raced in the IRL. She holds several national championships in sprint cars and midgets on dirt tracks all over America. I know a lot of fans don't hold any of this kind of racing in high regard, but drivers like Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart all came up from these ranks. Her championship in the NAMARS series in the upper midwest of America is one of the most lucrative titles she has ever earned. She is held is high regard among thousands of American grassroot motorsport fans. She is still very young and inexperienced on the paved speedways but is learning quickly. She should do well.

[SevenGrain]

Although CART is more popular than the IRL, it's really difficult to use the word "popular" to describe CART racing in the USA. NASCAR Winston Cup racing dominates much of the motorsports press in America and commands large audiences. Many average Americans probably could not name two CART drivers if you asked them to.
It is the division in open wheel racing that has caused this.(and I too hold Mr. George responsible) CART struggles to find an audience as attendance numbers dwindle at domestic races. Michigan, Nazareth, and Milwaukee, CART races that used to sell out, now have small crowds. At Homestead in 1998, the CART event was out-drawn by the Craftsman Truck Support Race on Saturday.
The animosity present during the first years of the division, combined with CART's inability to market it's product effectively has caused irreparable damage to open wheel racing and neither CART nor the IRL will likely ever enjoy the popularity that NASCAR does.
As a lifelong CART fan, I find this whole situation sad because many race fans do not know what they are missing by not watching CART racing.
And, yes, Sarah Fisher can drive!

[domaza]

Hello again. I have 1 question: In what is the Indiapolis track popularity? And does NASCARs have a race there or only IRL cars drive once a year there and that's it? Finally, VIVA CART!

[botsquad]

Originally posted by domaza
Hello again. I have 1 question: In what is the Indiapolis track popularity? And does NASCARs have a race there or only IRL cars drive once a year there and that's it? Finally, VIVA CART!

neckcar: brikyard 400
f1: usgp
irl: big lame whoopdedoo

[KC]

The big deal about Indy is that is the second oldest race on American soil. Almost every great racing driver in America, short of the last 30 years of NASCAR, has made it a career point to go and win the Indy 500. A great many European champions came to America to pit themsleves against the best American oval drivers and the track itself.

ABC Sports got a huge portion of America turned on to Indy in the 70s when they began running it on Wide World of Sports. Very few people knew anything about some of the racers that were not hardcore racing fans. Suddenly, Indy was the greatest race we had to offer. It was the crown jewel in American Motorsport. When Tony George elected to shut out CART he assumed they would all be forced to join him becasue he holds the "big race" in his hand. What he has accomplished is that he has effectively reduced the Indy 500 into the third race at Indianapolis behind the Brickyard 500 NASCAR event and the new Indianapolis Grand Prix Formula 1 event. ABC Sports still calls it the great race and attempts to prop it up as the greatest racing spectacle but that is because they paid handsomely for a lackluster event for the next 8 years.


At one time there was only the one event at Indianapolis. Only the Indy 500. The track was used for testing and was a huge tourist draw the other 11 months out of the year.