Indy Car is dead. Stupid cars, races, management, no money no sponsors.
Indy Car finally in the news for something other than races being cancelled at the last minute or personel changes. Testing at Sebring! Still guys like Connor Daly angling for seats though. Shouldn't all this have been sewn up like maybe back in November? Indycar Racing News | Racer.com - IndyCar: Daly encouraged by Sebring test with SPM BHW
maybe they couldn't get the check to clear in November. Racing is now on the pay here ride here plan.
Here ya go guys.......the titanic looks to be in her death throws....La Série Indy car en faillite? | Autonet.ca
Very interesting. We'll see if the writer's theories are correct. There are some factual issues in the article, stating that the IRL's first event was at Disney Land, when in fact it was Disney World (a train wreck of an event where even in practice sessions they couldn't get two laps completed without a yellow or red flag due to the amount of spins and bone headed driving going on). A bit ticky-tack maybe but to give the story credence, facts like this should be correct. Digging a bit further, there is nothing being reported about IMS tearing down the grandstands around Turn-3. If there is anything being torn down at IMS, it's for renovations as they've gotten state grants to improve the facilities to include better access to grandstands, lighting so events may run at night, general upgrades, etc. However, given Indy Car's lack of any sort of on-track news generating items from the end of the 2014 season until this week could be telling. The hand wringing continues... BHW
Could one think that the speedway is being repaired for a one year event as it was before? New rule book? Innovation again? And the things that once were? One must consider the potential of it.
Seating capacity at Daytona International Speedway is being reduced as well. Once the front straight grandstand expansion is completed, the entire stand on the back straight will be torn down. Guessing these things are down to a couple of things. Insurance, and ever changing regulations insurance carriers are willing to tolerate. And, interest as a declining fan base and dim future prospects and competition for the entertainment dollar and diminishing attention spans. BHW
One has to question if the power brokers in their efforts to control the sport, shoot themselves in the heart when the priced everything and everyone right out of the sport. And with it the average person lost interest .Racing has always been a sport where any could join at any price level. Most teams of the seventies were low budget After the beginning of the eighties, the budgets soared faster and higher than a SR-71 Blackbird. Can't afford it....move to something else and the interest goes with it. Add the bickering and the backstabbing and you finish the sport off because of inflated ego's and childish manipulation of the sport. Cycle completes when we add we have to play fair spec series crap. Just a few more bad moves and the coffin closes for good. Hopeful a set of rules the encourages people to explore ideas without needing a money shot budget will come from the ashes.
When you watch in Indy 500, turn three is half full. Sad, as it's one of the best seats to watch the action. The place still looks full on TV, but in person its about 75%. The track recieved a $100 million dollar tax/bond/something to improve things. Biggest will be lights to keep NASCAR happy.
This isn't the first time that we've heard about Conor Daly hitting a home run while testing Indy Cars. Last year, it was for A.J. Foyt who was so impressed (that) he promised he'd do everything he could to see to it that Daly got a ride in Indy Cars. Now Daly tests for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports alongside Hinchcliffe and runs time for time with him. Will this translate to a full time ride in Indy Car for the American? Unless Daly comes to the deal with a boatload full of cash, probably not. Fortunately, Derek Walker is Indy Car's president of Operations and Competition; surely he will intervene and see to it that a deserving driver gets a look-in. Oh, too bad, Walker was the team owner who when presented with the opportunity to bring Tom Kristensen to CART in 1999 would not give Kristensen so much as a test unless he brought $4M with him. Conor Daly is next in line for IndyCar | News | Motorsport.com BHW
I wonder what the people in the residential neighborhoods off the front straight and T3 think about having a night race... I don't think Conor deserves an Indycar ride; he's a juiced in second generation racer who grew up at a driving school and has had great equipment everywhere he's been (for the most part), and hasn't done much with it since he won Star Mazda...5 years ago... to borrow a baseball analogy, he's a great single A player, but not Big League material IMO.
I guess it's part of the culture of the neighborhoods, and they'll take it in stride; at least I hope so. but I'd hate for that to be the trigger point of a NIMBY campaign.
To this point, are we assuming Daly's career has all been out of pocket and all this time he's not been able to secure a sponsor? Seems incredible given his father's connections. BHW
I have no idea where funding has come from in the past, other than some rides he's lost b/c of lack of funds. I'm pretty sure it's not coming from his family directly, though I do believe his dad has made things happen for him.
Well, Daly knows the deal going in. Unless you're independently wealthy you have to go find a sponsor to back your racing aspirations. BHW
that's not my point. my point is, regardless of the source of funds, I don't see enough in this kid to justify a seven or eight figure Indycar budget. there are so many other great(er) drivers out there looking for a ride...
speaking of which, are you going to the Miami round next month? interesting that it shares the same location as several of the IMSA/Indycar/ALMS circuits from years past...
a little more enlightenment to the world of "spec racing"....Gordon Kirby - Auto Racing - The Way It Is