One Vote Against Merger

One of the writers asked, is there anybody that doesn’t want them back together? I don’t. Especially when it means more no-name foreign drivers, more boring road races and the wrecking crew, Paul Tracy.
Roger Penske, did you have to sign Ryan Briscoe? Aren’t there any more Americans you could have hired? Now, Marco and Danica have the only rides capable of running up front, and they seem more successful on the road parades.
Other suggestions: move to Monday so that some NASCAR drivers can run both. Wait a minute, Indy’s getting close to 100 years old. Indy draws 200,000 more people than Charlotte. Charlotte used to be the week before Indy. I know, in the 1960s, I sat on the bare concrete — before seats were added — on a 100-degree day and watched Fred Lorenzen win one week before Indy. Charlotte should make the move.

IndyCar Must Win Fans

As an avid CART fan (1985-1995), I realized that I was watching on TV and personally attending the best racing series in the world. It had the best drivers, the best cars and a huge fan base as evidenced by the enormity of the crowds at every venue.
Tony (George) wrecked it all in one season.
Now, thank God we’re back together. But I keep hearing “we’re not going to be competitive with NASCAR.” Who cares? Open-wheel racing in the U.S. has just spent the past 10 years doubling as a continuous episode of “Judge Judy” — with the competition level on the track and the excitement level at the track, making Judge Judy’s guests look like the very people you would want to invite to a family picnic.
How to get us back:
The new IndyCar series is going to have to reach out to ME, the still angry, yet ready to forgive CART fan of yesteryear. You will have to sell me on the fact that the quality of the drivers is world class. The technology of the cars is second only to F-1 (we can live with that).
That the speed of the cars is going to approach what it was when Arie Luyenduk set the record at Indy, the last year of adult racing cars. And that Tony George is grateful to have us back. I’m not looking for an apology — his ego probably won’t allow that — but instead an acknowledgement that he needs his base (the disenfranchised CART fan) to re-energize open-wheel racing in the United States.
If all that occurs, you may see me at Mid-Ohio, Toronto, Watkins Glen, Cleveland and Indy. And I guarantee that you will see hundreds of thousands of new (former) fans eager to participate in what will again become the most technologically advanced and competitive racing series in the world.

So What?

So, CART and the IRL may be back together. Are we supposed to jump for joy? Who really cares anymore? I lost interest in CART when Emmo refused to drink milk at Indy.
I got excited with the IRL when I got to see Kinser, Hewitt, Boat and other sprint-car guys make the show.
Then, the IRL brought Penske, Ganassi, Andretti and Letterman back. Soon, road races followed and the sprint-car guys were gone. As far as I’m concerned, the IRL already is CART. I’ll go to Sun Prairie for the best racing show in the country.
As for NASCAR, that series is morphing into CART.

Cleveland Rocks!

As a 62-year-old fan who has seen almost every Indianapolis 500 since 1947 and attended races of many kinds across the country, I’d like to comment on this Friday’s news. Perhaps it is a bit late to reverse the full damage caused by the open-wheel split, but I am pleased that some form of unification has occurred, and I do understand the unavoidable loss of races in the IRL’s absorption of the Champ Car schedule.
However, dropping the Cleveland race was a huge mistake. Founded over a quarter-century ago by Ernie Holden, this race is absolutely unique in all the right ways, combining the advantages of oval and road-course racing with few of the disadvantages of either. Backed by a picturesque skyline and viewed by the beautiful blue backdrop of Lake Erie, Burke Lakefront is the only established road course entirely visible to the fans. It is the only road course with multiple, commonly used passing zones, two of them right in front of the stands.
While its flat surface, tightening-radius first turn and some roughness create challenges for drivers, most off-course excursions or overruns have resulted in no injuries and minimal equipment damage. The track is conducive to good racing in support series and the paddock is easily accessible and well regulated. The fans love it.
I am not touting the Cleveland race because I live in the area. I am suggesting that it provides the best road racing I’ve seen anywhere and is the closest to the greatest number of other attractions of any race course I know. This will not just be a loss for Cleveland, but in my view, a tremendous loss for the IRL.

Government Stay Out

Once again, I get my issue of  National Speed Sport News Feb. 13, and on page three is a picture of the National Guard-sponsored car and, next to it, the U.S. Army-sponsored dragster. That’s mine and your tax dollars at work.
What is the federal government doing with my tax dollars in the name of advertising? Why is the federal government competing against private entities that they tax, taking away money from private business?
Why does my tax dollar go to support NASCAR, drag racing, monster trucks, etc.? The Army, Navy, National Guard, Marines, Air Force, etc. sponsoring sports teams is wrong. The Bud Shootout was a prime example: Tony Stewart pays income tax, his sponsors pay income taxes, but Dale Earnhardt, Jr., sponsored with tax dollars, wins the Shootout, taking first-place prize money from the second place tax-paying enterprise. Private, tax-paying competitors’ and sponsors’ tax dollars help Junior take money out of their pocket.
If Junior won on his private dollars and private sponsors’ dollars, there would be no complaint. With a war going on, would a soldier rather have better equipment in the field or for medical treatment of injuries when he returns home or see his branch of the service lead three laps at Daytona?
This is pork-barrel at its worst. How are the candidates running for president (as the commander in chief of the armed services) viewing this injustice? If these racers were doing NASCAR, dragsters and monster trucks with their own and private industry dollars, then congratulations to the victor. I can boycott Home Depot. I can boycott Lowe’s. I can boycott soft drinks, but I can’t boycott the federal government.
Until then, every tax-paying competitor should be outraged by having to compete against their tax-dollar sponsored competitor. We are ready for a change, but our government and the candidates are not practicing what they preach.
Look for me at the races with signs and literature.

Negative Wade

Another issue of NSSN and another negative article by Susan Wade.
I have yet to read anything that she has written that is not critical of the NHRA. In her opinion, they can do nothing right.
The explosion of Tony Pedregon’s Funny Car at Pomona was on every local sports page and local TV station.
So, having Tony on national networks talking about the accident and showing that he walked away with relatively minor injuries is a great testimony to the NHRA and its rules.
They also have rules mandating a new Funny Car chassis.
So, for the NHRA to use this in their advertising makes sense to me. If Susan Wade dislikes the NHRA so much, maybe she should cover NASCAR.