One of the few frustrating aspects of being a lifelong Indy Racing supporter is attempting to tolerate the abject stupidity, hostility and outright whining of people who laughingly claim to be fans of the sport but whose only real contribution is attempted destruction of it for everyone else. This is mostly because they lack the maturity and class to simply enjoy it and work in positive ways to affect its future evolution.
The following quotes are lifted from one of the small niche forums of mostly dumbed-down NASCAR enthusiasts/open wheel (except cart) haters, but are fairly typical of the flat earth, myopic, counterproductive malcontents described above.
“In American Open Wheeled racing, that type of racing self-destructed more than a decade ago when a silver-spooned scion of a prominent mid-western family assumed the control of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and decided that he should also assume the “control” of Indy type racing, and formed a series that would exclude the existing, healthy series, and attempt to answer an unasked question; he believed by want of his ownership position of the IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), he should control the cars AND teams that would race at his facility.”
It is the same old story over and over with these blithering idiots, many of whom live well outside the Midwest and have not stepped foot inside the IMS gates in decades if at all. They forget that Tony Hulman almost singlehandedly rescued the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from being assimilated into the National Homes hell that is now the decrepit barrio/ghetto/glorified trailer park known as Eagledale. Now, the grandson (the ‘silver spooned scion’) is preparing to just as nearly singlehandedly gentrify the entire worn out west side of Indianapolis with little to no taxpayer money or fanfare, just as he and his family have done at the motor sports mecca of the world for seven decades.
These fools like to position Tony George as ‘answering an unasked question.’ Look no further than the brutal, embarrassing self immolation and ultimate bankruptcy, twice, of the buried and decomposing cart series before crapping out ‘unasked question’ nonsense. Had Tony not acted when and as decisively as he did, there would be no Indy Car racing at all now. The same hypocrites who spent years decrying Indy Racing but ultimately joined it after they killed their supposedly ‘better’ series are up to their old tricks in Indy Racing and could well kill it as well.
History has shown over and over that road racing as a base simply does not work, and likely never will no matter how much self deluding excuse making occurs. Most Indy racing owners are trying to shove soccer down the throats of a football hungry nation. If Roger Curtis, the President of Michigan International Speedway, is telling the truth, he has been told by the ICS the future direction of Indy Racing is decidedly toward more road and street racing and away from ovals except small ones. That would exclude especially phenomenal ovals such as Michigan. It appears Indy Racing is in the process of squandering a beautiful Labor Day opportunity and ultimately their entire future.
Look at the road and street racing series/venues in this country that have failed. All of them have. A1GP is a great idea, but makes former cart management look as competent as NASCAR and is floundering. ALMS may not have enough participants to make it worthwhile any more. As long as the NASCAR pocketbook does not dry up Grand Am may make it, but not on its own. Formula 1 no longer has a home in North America.
I WISH Tony actually controlled the series he built. The horrible advice he is currently receiving from the recidivist serial motor sports series ownership failures and former cart employees who currently have his ears will help kill any road racing-centric series again.
That does not stop the idiots from blaming all their woes on Tony, then expecting everyone else to believe lies they make up. “Over the past decade plus, this poseur series, the IRL (Indy Racing League) has sown its own destruction in taking a successful operating series, and using the overwhelming influence of the Indy 500, and developed a “spec series” that has generated very little interest in what the fans had made the basis of their appreciation of that kind of motorsports; innovation and diversity. In my opinion, they deserve to fail. Regardless, this series, which has never caught its breathe, is further being battered by the economic recession/depression.”
cart was not a success. It was a well intentioned Dan Gurney wet dream series that merely occupied a throne it did not deserve after a palace coup, then perverted Indy Cars into a road racing series over the course of 16 years before bankrupting themselves. A nearly identical fate befell the successor asset sale group, only in much shorter time primarily because they also stupidly believed they could survive sans Indy but actually tried it from the get-go. Most substantive innovation occurred well before cart was hatched.
To dismiss Indy Car as a series that has generated very little interest displays a stunning amount of ignorance and denial. In an economic climate that is seeing not only entire sports leagues but major business entities in all sectors simply vanishing, and all in a 500+ channel universe with more content delivery options than ever before, not to mention a nearly universally available Internet. Of course it is not at the level of popularity it was. You know, before NASCAR dominated, in a 10+ channel environment with rabbit ears and no Internet, and without malcontents selfishly attempting to kill it. Indy Racing does hold a viable position with paid network television, cable television, satellite radio and satellite television deals and a reasonable, cost efficient amount of sponsorship, manufacturer support and participation. Best of all, there is a lot of room for meaningful growth. Generally the best repudiation of the mindless taunting of bitter old men is reality. It works really well.
“Indy type cars: This series, which at one time, was my favorite American series, but now is, in my humble, but practiced opinion, is FUBAR (Flugged Up Beyond All Recognition). The horses left the barn a long time ago, and may very well be lost forever. But, I’ll venture something that should be considered by the “powers that be” in that kind of racing (listening Roger?). The most exciting time in the history of the Indy 500 was when it was the epicenter (the central place) of innovation. When six wheeled cars, cars with engines on the side, different kinds of engines, twin engines, turbines, rotaries, diesels, ad naseum, were not only “allowed to compete”, they were “encouraged”.
News flash for the flat earth society: It is no longer 1964. We are well beyond that. Orient yourselves into the current century or die. Or at least find something else about which to obsess. If you people hate it so bad, why have you spent the past sixteen years obsessing over its every evolutionary nuance? I know the answer. It is because you not only lie to the rest of us, you lie to yourselves. You watch every second then bitch like fat, spurned spinsters with knotted, wet frilly lace panties.
The biggest opportunities for innovation involve the ways in which the cars are propelled. Current aero configurations allow for mostly safe racing north of 220 MPH, and trying to maintain high speeds while getting exotic with design is dangerous. Formula 1 attempts it, and cars just get ugly. Indy Racing is entertaining alternative internal combustion configurations and have already moved away from fossil fuels. Innovate using hydrogen, electricity and other cutting edge technologies. That will innovate in meaningful ways. Today costs must be controlled. Indy Racing is no longer the only big game in town as it was during the utopian era from which these folks park their whining behinds then refuse to budge.
“The current supporting series, the IRL, cannot exist on its own, and is no more than sucking from the teat of the Indy 500, should be quietly put to death, and let the car owners and team owners the task of a supporting series with venues that could properly support a series that can accommodate the types of cars that would be eligible at the Indy 500. That should be enough of a incentive to keep the series alive.”
Sentiments like that constitute the single most stupid line of thought I have ever encountered as a racing fan since 1959 and during this so called ‘split.’ What need would there be for an open wheel series without the Indianapolis 500? The IRL depends on the 500!? Well du-uh. Let the car owners and team owners manage the series? Why? It would die, just as cart and EVERY other road racing series has. That imbecilic notion is just laughable. The prescription for success is 60+% oval with a meaningful cultivation of AMERICAN driving talent. They need to be mining two or three Danicas, Marcos and Grahams every year. Period. Not being at Michigan International Speedway is the single most stupid decision ever made in Indy Racing history by the road racing apologists trying again to run the show.
“The last thing in the world this series (IRL, or alternative) needs is a restrictive, one make, one model type of racing that it currently struggles with. This series needs to re-visit the excitement of the “60’s”.
I’d like to see the Beatles reunite as well. I enjoyed them tremendously in the 1960’s. The reality, however, is that two of them are DEAD (like cart and champcar) and the remaining two are old men, one with a drinking and talent problem and the other who got stumped then fleeced in his latest attempt at marriage. Hell, even A.J. Foyt is in his mid 70’s.
How long before these pathetic excuses for fans begin to exit the planet? Perhaps then they will find the peace they have deluded themselves into believing does not exist. They lack the courage both to be truthful and to exchange meaningful dialog.
