August 24, 2009
So, over the years, lots of people have said that they have ideas as to how to save Indycar racing. I mean, lots of people. Some even had ideas they implemented when Indycar racing didn’t need saving. Well, you see the result now.
So, for the first time, I, some desk jockey in the midwest, am going to outline a plan that will, yes, *will* work to save American Open Wheel for future generations and may actually, over the long run, save the sport.
August 22, 2009
The IndyCar Dallaras, always known for their pristine safety record (just ask Vitor Meira) crippled two more drivers this weekend at Sonoma during Saturday practice. Nelson Philippe, driving for Team Conquest this weekend, spun in turn three, down the blind hill and was tagged slightly by EJ Viso before being broadsided by Will Power right on the racing line. Power suffered a broken back in the accident while Philippe underwent surgery for a broken foot, with both having suffered concussions. Considering the angle at which Power hit Philippe, the Frenchman can consider himself lucky to have not suffered further injury. A very sad turn of events for Power who had to have been in the frame for some seats around IndyCar before this wreck.
August 22, 2009
Mysterious “sources” claim that Brad Keselowski to Penske is all but a done deal for 2010. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that David Stremme is the man about to get chopped. Stremme’s second shot at NASCAR really hasn’t gone any better than his first one and Keselowski has already shown he can hang with the big boys in Sprint Cup, albeit with the best equipment in the game. If Keselowski could somehow get his contract sorted with Hendrick, it really would be beneficial to all parties to get him in the #12 seat right now, as he’s obviously ready.
Finally, Sam Hornish will be the worst driver at Penske once more!
August 20, 2009
Rumor mill is churning big time: Supposedly, its Pedro De La Rosa in the 1 slot and Vitaly Petrov in the #2. Petrov brings sponsors and DLR is a very experienced hand.
August 20, 2009
Did you watch Speed last night? You probably didn’t, realistically. But there was high level racing: Trucks raced live and the Modifieds made their first ever run at Bristol on tape delay. Both races were pretty interesting, with the two Cup drivers in the Modified race ending up near the bottom (Ryan Newman crashed on lap 3, Kahne was out with mechanical problems) and the Mystic Missle piloted by Donny Lia winning the 150 lap feature.
Meanwhile, the trucks raced late into the night. After 1/4 of the field pit in the early going, the remaining trucks raced hard around the facility. While track position was botched frequently due to the retarded pitting rules for the Trucks, all was not lost. Kyle Busch stormed through, passed the leader going three wide through 3/4, and ended up running away with the win. Not too shabby. Much was made of the not-so-special record Ron Hornaday had made for himself by winning a bunch of truck races in a row. While he didn’t win, he finished 3rd, further putting him in the lead in that series pointwise. If only it meant something…
August 19, 2009
Well, its been tough to put up anything this week thus far because the news has gone and dried up. Maybe we will do something about Modifieds at Bristol? Its a shame they’ll lap half a second or more faster than Cup. They’ll put on the show of a lifetime then never come back. Oh well. MotoGP is coming? Jon Summerton has a Speedtv.com blog? Times are tough.
August 17, 2009
All IRL Edition today:
-Marco Andretti is on his way to Charlotte to lock up the #2 slot for USF1. Unimaginable wreckage will be left in his wake.
-Baltimore is going places. It looks to be a place filled with long straights and chicanes, which will make people happy by providing passing zones and some high speed.
-Sarah Fisher plans on racing all the ovals next year now that she has a new car. How cute.
-For all the chatter about Fernandez and De Ferran entering IRL, one problem; no cars bought yet. Hmmmm.
August 17, 2009
After Tony George was thrown out on his sorry ass resigned from his post as CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series, there was a faint glimmer of hope that someone with a shred of competence would be installed to try and lift the league and speedway from its death spiral. Well, not so much. Jeff Belskus, whose job credentials basically amount to “fraternity brothers with Tony George”, got the part and has already shown the same style of moronic thinking that led open-wheel racing down this hideous path.
The Indianapolis Business Journal has an interview with Belskus where the new boss does everything he can to pass the buck for the league’s failure. Some highlights:
IBJ: How would you characterize the current situation at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League?
BELSKUS: I wouldn’t say ‘being in need of an overhaul’ is the right way to describe our situation, but we do face some challenges in terms of this tough economy. Many sports and entertainment organizations face the same challenges we do in terms of discretionary spending. We need to adapt to the situation we find ourselves in.
Really? Empty stands, non-existent television ratings, and a lack of quality racing in an awful formula and you don’t need an overhaul? It’s all the economy’s fault! That seven hundred million spent on the league with no result has always been because of the bad economy!.
IBJ: What do you see as your most immediate challenge for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
BELSKUS: Dealing with this tough economy. We’re fortunate we have a lot of dedicated fans that are willing to come to our events and buy our tickets, and we need to continue to develop that situation.
The terrible races put on by the IndyCar Series and NASCAR have NOTHING to do with the rows of aluminum now readily prevalent during race day! All those empty seats during qualifying and practices are ENTIRELY because of the economy!
IBJ: What are your most immediate concerns with the Indy Racing League?
BELSKUS: Similar sorts of issues. The Indy Racing League does not sell tickets, but it does have customers being sponsors event promoters, and all those folks are feeling challenges as well.
Yup, we have to beg people to take tickets to our show for free, but hey, we do have sponsorship for half our cars! And haven’t you seen our relationship with our title sponsor pay real dividends? Oh, wait. Hey, that’s the economy’s fault too!
IBJ: What are your thoughts on the Versus TV deal?
BELSKUS: We’re very pleased with it. Versus is a fantastic partner for us and will continue to be a fantastic partner.
So fantastic, the ratings are somewhere between professional rodeo and the Sports Soup! How much are you going to have to pay Versus in make goods for failing to hit the rating they promised the advertisers, by the way?
IBJ: Can you characterize where the IMS and IRL are financially?
BELSKUS: We face some challenges. Both are viable businesses, and we’re very fortunate to have the resources to continue to invest in them.
Translation: We’re bleeding money but still haven’t got the guts or brains to pull the plug yet.
IBJ: How do you balance respecting tradition at the Speedway versus your desire to bring in more revenue?
BELSKUS: Our traditions are important to us. Yet, having said that, we need to adapt to our environment and adapt to the world around us. My primary criteria is, it needs to be tasteful. We have the greatest race course in the world here, and to the extent that we would deviate from anything, it would need to be done in a tasteful way. •
Well clearly the tradition of having thirty-three non-Tonybucks aided cars passed long ago. As did the tradition of a non-farcical qualifying procedure. And an exciting race. Tradition folks.
August 17, 2009
Driving a car inspired by Mario Andretti’s 1967 Indy 500 winner, Schatz won his fourth Knoxville Nationals in a row for Tony Stewart Racing. Wish I could tell you significantly more than that, but you know, Speed TVcouldn’t be bothered to air it. Joey Saldana finished second for Kasey Kahne’s entry.
Question: Given the dominance of what equate to almost factory entries within Sprint Car over its history, what is the difference between it and often slagged forms of motorsport like Indycar or F1? I am not sure, other than scale.
August 16, 2009
So no one watched this race, but it was exciting for about a half a lap as Jon Field’s Lola seemed competitive with the slow starting Acuras…up until he over shot turn 13 on the first lap. And then the race was basically over. The two Acuras then traded the lead during pitstops and basically didn’t try to mess each other up. Due to the well meaning GT2 Viper that kept finding the gravel trap, a 4 lap sprint ended the race in stunningly non exciting fashion with the car with the Patron logo beating the one with the XM logo.
LMP2 was more interesting but didn’t garner much TV time apart from one of the closed top Mazda entries being struck from behind by a Panoz trying to enter the pits. Fernandez Racing won another one as they seem to be on their way out of the series. The BMWs completely controlled GT2 thanks to a poorly timed yellow for most of the field, and a Porsche driven by no one special won the super special Porsche GT3 Challenge class.
Announced during the event was the structure for 2010: LMP1 and 2 would be combined, in a move that doesn’t seem to do anything positive for LMP2’s future after this, its best year internationally. As we posted here earlier in the week, a new prototype class called LMP-C will enter the mix featuring the Oreca’s Murphythebear discussed. GT1 is gone, GT2 is now GT, and GT3 Porsche will be open to more than just Patron Challenge cars. Next step: Any GT3 car would be good. Imagine the tears from Grand-Am’s management when their cars abandon their GT series for bigger ALMS events. Oh well.
Joshua Murphy
Chris Henderson
virtualbalboa
Searching For Traction Off The Main Line: Racing News and Views 