It's time for Indycar to throw away the specs series model and allow different chassis and engines as it was in the past. Diversity attracts the crowds, I think, more than one-make series.
Guess I am one of the odd balls as I tend to watch nearly every race, where as even a few years back I had stopped watching Indy Car. They do seem to be doing something right that is bringing people back. No I didn't just start watching again due to Alonzo but about 2 years ago. The racing has been good over all. It's competitive with lots of passing. Something you sure don't see much of in F1. I love the history and if any of you go to my home town make sure you stop by the Unser Racing Museum. Al Sr. wanders the facility often and is very open to talking to people about the cars in there. Especially my absolute favorite race car of all time. The "Johnny Lightning" car.
Let's be fair here; the cars were more interesting in the days of Al Unser Sr than now. The heydays of Indycar were the 60s, IMO, with such diversity if cars, engines, and chassis. These days will never come back, unfortunately.
Very true but the racing is probably better today. I remember one Indy 500 where Al Sr won by over 30 seconds ahead second place and there were only like 3 or 4 cars on the lead lap.
Agree 100%. Hopefully, the next set of rules opens things up to new participants. Don't know where things are with this story but one of the Indy Lights teams is planning to step up to the main show next year. BHW
But, we need to remember too that back in those days, there would be multiple fatalities (drivers and spectators) at Indy and other venues and that lasted right up until the late 70s when they finally started paying attention to safety. BHW
Indycar could allow different chassis, and make sure they all meet the same safety requirements before being tested, and allowed to race. That shouldn't be very difficult.
Ya think? Ya mean like every other non-spec (and spec for that matter) chassis series does? like USAC, CART, and even fledgling IRL did? Capital idea.... (edit: Hell, even evry Saturday nite bullring series have safety standards that hafta be met)
TG isn't the only party with blood on his hands. The whole mess came about because of many arrogant individuals. The list is long. As for Ganassi...high grade BS put out by one individual actual has some merit to the statement. Stay tuned for further details as they develop. Considering the source....I am not making bank on it. Now if the domino's fall like they are supposed too.....this could get rather dicey. The point is while some signs are positive, the things is not healthy. Now add the fact that the US economy is slowing and ride buying is also finding it rather tough. Add in that major manufacturers are cutting marketing dollars, this could turn back south again rather quickly. This fall, if no new positive news comes about, you could see a serious problem next year. The statements by Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and others indicates that dollars for racing are going to dry up. Keep in mind that Amazon buying Whole Foods is going to push every consumer product manufacturer to the limit in an effort to make a profit. That alone is going to make sponsorship very very difficult to sell in a series that barely has a blip on the radar screen.
Moving away from a spec chassis series would be an instant death knell for a series only just starting to recover from the near fatal blow inflicted by that pompas ego manic Tony George 20 years ago. Like it or loathe it, a spec chassis series keeps costs in check. A couple of years ago when they allowed aero kits from the engine manufacturers (Chevy and Honda) the small teams were baulking at the extra cost of those. Opening up even the aero development on the existing chassis would be a one way arms race into oblivion, let alone a chassis war. A more open series, even with a spec chassis would mean the top teams would end up spending multiple millions to get ahead. The teams and sponsors just can’t cope with that right now. Also just because something is spec, doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of development work that can be done within the ‘spec’ parameters. Ever wonder why Penske, Ganassi and Andretti are perennial front running teams? They have the largest relative budgets, the best engineers who are constantly working on the minutia of the shocks, alignment, spring rates, aero etc. Modeling, mapping, testing (virtually and wind tunnel plus track) They have 4, 6 and 8 axis rigs running iterations of set up etc. Imagine throwing the door open on that? Instant death. The world is very very different from 20 years ago. The ‘base’ level of understanding of race car dynamics is magnitudes higher than it was. These are very very high tech race cars, not some ‘spec’ Miata with production based suspension. Just imagine the ride height and alignment permutations for a track where you could see 30mph in a chicane and 180+ on a straight when you have to consider both performing in clean air, a tidy tow or being in a gaggle. Beyond me! As far as the looks, first off I’m in the minority that likes the existing car, rear pontoons and all. It’s not traditional, but it’s a damn site better than anything F1 has had from the late 90’s through this year’s far better looking cars. Also next year they are moving to a very well received new body kit(s). Next, the Halo will make zero difference in F1 viewership, just as the ugly platypus noses made no difference a few years ago. Once people stop looking at preseason glamor shots and start watching the cars on track, everyone forgets the look. The on track aspect of Indy car is far far more entertaining from a racing point of view than F1. F1 is my first love, and there is joy to be had in watching the cat and mouse game of different cars on different strategies racing each other hard, even if at times they are 30 seconds apart on the track, especially with 1 vs 2 or 2 vs 3 stop strategies. Again I’m in the relative minority in enjoying that. I can love a race which 90% of people describe as boring. But Indy car is incredibly competitive through the field. The number of potential winners each weekend is in double digits, not just a tossup between two title contenders and a couple of others who are close. Give Indy car another 5-10 years to recover and build a fan base, TV following, Sponsor base and watch more divers come to the series with sustainable budgets. Do that, then we can talk about dropping a spec chassis, but keep damn careful eye on the aero rules so you don’t’ end up with the F1 dirty air syndrome. None of this may matter in 10 years as I’m sure by then Formula E will be running full races with one car/charge and I bet Mercedes will be long gone from F1 and in Formula E alone with the majority of OEM’s
Barton......here you go. Now how do you read the tea leaves? Storm clouds gathering over Chip Ganssi Racing's IndyCar operation
Only rumor I heard either from Marshall Pruett or Robin Miller was Chip having a past relationship via sportscars with Carlos Slim and TelMex which has ties (and money) to Esteban Guiterrez, so that's possibly 2 cars for Chip with financial backing, not sure about the 3rd car/driver yet if it happens.
I watched both Monza and Watkins Glen yesterday. It's been many years since I watched any indycar other than Indy itself. All I can say is that I saw some serious racing at the Glen. Not so much at Monza. I know, heresy. But truth.
'Don't know about heresy but I musta' watched a different Monza. There were some great drives there. If you mean nose to tail and side by side; there dang well better be some closer racing when the cars are identical as in IndyCar. Me? I enjoyed them both. Not so much Charlotte and forgot about Mexico, darn it.
I guess it's the redneck in me. I wanna see balls-out close racing. Don't get me wrong, I like both series, but I really wish F1 had some of what they have in Indycar. They've got plenty of regs too, but little of the excitement of wheel-to-wheel racing after the first couple of laps. I've gotta believe the new owners can see that and hope they can make a difference. I look at a grid of only 20 cars and I see too much of what Indycar was like during the death of CART. Dwindling racer participation. Sponsorship problems. Remember when there were more cars than grid positions? I'm just an old guy yearning for some "good old days" that probably exist only in my mind. I can see the tremendous talent on the F1 grid. Great drivers separated by mere hundredths. Consistently. Every race. My tastes just aren't refined enough to get a thrill from some guy starting 12th and finishing 8th. KnowwhatImean?
And I still get sick watching this. I LIKE Gordy, I just wanted him to be 2nd this day. WTH do you want? Are you one of these guys that, no matter what, you aren't happy? How is this different from current F1, where there are basically 6 cars capable of winning at each circuit? Agreed, but in fairness, half the field were March cars. A few years later the field was basically all March or Lola. But still, you could take a car from Lola or March and do your own stuff to it, and some of these chassis were re-branded another name. Today, it's like nascar, you cannot touch most of the stuff on it, because it's either against the rules, or will mess it up. But also look at Indy in about 1975 or so, where most of the cars were Eagles. Or go to your local 3/8 mile bullring and watch the local boys.
Beautiful. IndyCar and NASCAR are your cup of tea. Excellent. Ain't choices great? All the above was true. The key point of mine is it was one's choice, not dictated by the rules. I don't have to look. I simply remember. Edit - I forgot this one earlier: Rick just didn't have the cajones, He should have won. I preferred the outcome however, as much a Mears fan as I was. I wanted good ol' Gordy to hang on that day though, as he did. Opposite outcome for Lloyd in '69. He had a sizable lead when he pitted his Mongoose/Offy half way thru and I was rootin' for ol' Ruby at that point in the race. 'Just too hasty in his excitement. I was devastated when I saw the fuel leaking onto the concrete. His tears (having thrown it away) during the interview later hurt more than my own emotion....
With regard to Ganassi, seems as though he always finds a way to be involved one way or another. Lest we forget, there are going to be several top drivers that are being cast aside by the Porsche WEC program, notably Brendon Hartley, who are starting to look for competitive rides in other series. Two Kiwis on the same team? Might be interesting. https://www.racer.com/indycar/item/143665-lmp1-champ-hartley-on-honda-s-indycar-radar
I'm OK with Gordy winning, but to say Rick didn't have the cajones.... WOW, just... WOW. Rick said he started his move 3/4 of a lap too late, his biggest regret in racing.
Agree. But it proves one thing....when a top level team is this late in the season and can not produce a sponsor for the coming year.....things aren't as rosy as the ICS management paints them. I do not doubt Mr Ganassi will do what he needs to, he just has more of an uphill battle than what has been thought. I expect them to be on the grid in 2018. As to how many cars.....???
What planet do you live on?? Didn't you know these guys are going to fix the problems....https://www.forbes.com/sites/allenstjohn/2017/09/17/rebuilding-a-team-how-mario-andretti-and-josef-newgarden-helped-indycar-rebuilt-an-entire-sport/#5cc7bb7f13fe HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH......I love this stuff....20+ years of "spec racing and they are going to save it. Yet the ratings still are at the bottom and the 500 ratings were the lowest in history. Good luck on this one!!!
OK, given what all of you have said, what can 'they' do to: 1) Improve Indycar racing itself 2) Make it 'affordable', meaning, so the little guy can compete with Penske, Ganassi? 3) Increase attendance across the board 4) Increase the TV audience When you think about it, *ALL* racing has the *SAME* issues across the board. Indy, F1, nascar, all of it, they ALL have the same problems. The answer? There is nothing you can do, times have changed, and it makes me sick to say that. Look at what were arguably the best sports in the 50's, 60's, 60's and into the 80's - motorsports and..... boxing. Hell, the best 'sport' in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's - WWF wrestling - is toast now as well. The times have changed, the world has changed, nobody seems to care anymore, and when the current 12-25~ year olds get to be 10-15 years older, NO sport will do as well as it is now. All kids seem to want to do is be on social media, so why attend anything when they can get up-to-the-second reports on anything and everything?
Certainly, a lot may be done to improve the TV numbers. The way racing (and most sports for that matter) is presented hasn't changed significantly in our lifetimes. With a few exceptions (on board cameras and the like), the way racing is viewed on TV is stale. The same boring camera angles, etc. year after year. The commentary continues to be baffling. We've had to endure Chris Ekonomaky and Paul Page over the years and now the ABC team of Bestwick, Goodyear and Cheever. And they wonder why the numbers are down? NBC's team with Bell and Tracy is solid but, for goodness sake, please keep Diffey off the mic. I'm in favor of deporting him back to Australia where this over the top style of his perhaps is appreciated. The networks need to coordinate with Indy Car, the tracks and teams to bring more innovation to the game. BHW
