Tony George wants to take over IndyCar

ruh roh....

I bet this doesn't end well.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20121012/SPORTS0107/210120366/IndyCar-Series-Tony-George-may-buy-back

http://www.indystar.com/article/20121012/SPORTS0107/121012029/Hulman-Co-board-member-tells-Star-IndyCar-Series-not-sale-

 

It has been on a down hill slide for nearly 16 years. It sadly needs to end. They current management and TG are not doing the series any favors. It is time for others to return Indy Car racing to its former greatness.

 

I think Indycar has actually been doing better since TG got the boot by his sisters Him getting control back would be the last nail in the coffin, I'm afraid.

 

+1

 

Not by TV ratings or attendance. Both have sunk terribly. Indy is in its death throws presently. If someone doesn't come forward and rectify the problems, its toast!

 

relative to what?

2010-2012 has been slightly better in attendance and ratings than any time that TG ran the series. the show is better too, IMO.

it will NEVER get back to where it was just prior to the split. so comparisons to that are unfair and counterproductive.

so if you compare the job Rodeo Randy has been doing relative to TG, yes I think you can say things are getting better.

 

Respectfully disagree. Attendance year over year has been declining. TG performance and RB performance are BOTH sub par. Many long time fans have left never to return (under present rules package) and the younger generations have not shown interest in said series.I see no change in the near future and see little interest in another "spec" series. NASCAR has effectively done that and has done it very very well. Indy Car lost its market due to its constant conflict of owners/sanctioning bodies/track promoters. No one person is to blame and the problems associated will continue until a new organization is formed with a clear, concise plan to put Indy Car back on the road to recovery. Until then.....status quo. When you get the same clowns at the helm, you get the same results. Thats why they call Indy Car a joke. Here this might help. Care to see the rest of the attendance and tv figures?

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=372839&page=3

 

you keep changing your comparisons. first it was Indycar now vs. pre-split, then it was Indycar now vs. TG's era, now it's 2012 to 2011.

since you have a deep pattern of being an anti-Indycar troll, hard to take you too seriously get me stats comparing 2012 to say 2006-2009 if you want to prove your point.

but I will agree, no clear plan. I do think that leaving Rodeo Randy in for a few more years to develop consistency and stability should attract more competitors/engine companies/etc.

right now the sport doesn't have the backing to be more than a spec series. a chassis war would be horrible for the sport right now, even though I'd love to return to the days when Lola/Penske/Reynard/Eagle/Swift etc were in the sport.

as for younger fans...they don't seem to like ANY form of head to head competition. they like drifting, rallycross, and other forms of motorsports that focus on lifestyle, not pure competition. thanks, postmodernism

NASCAR gets away with a spec series because they're selling the show, not the sport. (really they're selling marketing access to middle America but that's a different story).

 

Sorry sport. Former Indy Car mechanic and engine builder. Not against anything. Just a realist. When the rules get turned back to the way it was, people will begin to return. The Indy 500 will always be the cornerstone of Indy Car racing. But what keeps people interested has far more to do with speed, innovation, different drivers of different disiplines, tracks & atmosphere. Haven't seen a race currently that had the atmosphere of a race Labor Day weekend at Road America. Some want all ovals, some want only road courses. But Indy car work its best when there was a mix of everything. It made for great racing & a large amount of fan appeal. You like the current form of it...please enjoy it. I'll wait until real racing cars that use real technology, real race car drivers not afraid to break track records & the most innovate cars next to Formula 1 return. Until that time happens.......zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

when?

oh and once again you've failed to answer my question re: attendance/ratings during the TG era vs. 2010-2012

 

1978-1983 and engine developer until 1985

Hear sport :
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cool!

why do you keep calling me sport?

and that's Indy only....outliers don't count

 

Here's another:

The spkie between 2004-2005 is the arrival of Princess Sparkle Pony (D. Patrick)
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see?!?!?!?

uptick from 2009-2012

 

try reading the thread I offered. The back end of the season was a flat out failure.

 

I did. you were comparing 2011 to 2012. that's not the comparison that I used in post #6 of this thread that has started this argument

 

The bottom line is that Indy Car is in very very deep trouble. Nit pick all you want but the reality is .....this ain't working and it won't. The market has rejected it for over 15 years. Despite owners, track promoters & the rest, people aren't buying it. I give some latitude due to the economy but all in all......it better change and fast or its done like dinner!!!

 

I think we're in agreement there.

I still think that given the set of problems he was handed, Rodeo Randy has done a solid job and probably a better job than TG (or pretty much anyone else) could have done.

 

Here try this:
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2012/09/indycar-wrap-nbcsn-has-worst-season-abc-down-15/

 

Wrong again sport. His performance is sub par and is getting worse. His failure to secure China and the mess at Detroit only add more fuel to the fire. His butt is in very serious trouble currently, but the powers that be will decide if he stays or goes. Time will tell on this front.

 

OK, so who would have done a better job than Rodeo Randy. you can't say TG since his sisters wouldn't let him run the series

 

If a choice was made correctly, I would have considered several candidates that have previous experiece in Indy Car racing. There are a few that have outstanding qualifications and proven leadership. I understand why the Hulman/George family went outside, but this maybe a long term mistake. As for the family, it is their business to run as they see fit. All I can say is...how much more money are they going to pump in?

 

I think they went with Randy because he had experience running a series/sanctioning body (of sorts), which not many people within the sport had...and nobody had done successfully (i.e. Bobby Rahal when he was CART CEO for a while).

I can't think of any team owner or manager that could run the series effectively. Maybe someone like Leo Mehl, Al Speyer or Robert Clarke, but still they are more technical guys than CEO type guys.

at any rate, TG gaining control and/or trying to run the series again = disaster.

 

Despite all the opinions, there are some who can fix the problems. The real question is...do they want the job? Based on the information I have received there is a showdown coming. How it will turn out....? (I have a good idea, but am not permitted to say). All I can say is ....stay tuned...this isn't over by a long shot.

 

Disagree, that was once the strength of the series. I grew up 20mins from laguna seca and went to the champ car races most years. Since the 60's I think one could argue that was the zenith of open wheel racing in the US and then the mine is bigger than yours war presented itself at their peak pissing it all away with their damn furrin' drivers.

More correctly thank short attention span theatre. Kids today are all about short term instant gratification. Those mediums last a couple of minutes at the most intensely and then reboot for the next round. Road racing and ovals take actual patience, brain power and thinking to formulate ideas as to how things may evolve over an events length. To people that have an attention span longer than a newt it still delivers.

I think they are realizing their spec series is less relevant than they thought and are moving away from the same body with different grill/headlight stickers and more towards gaining back a modicum of brand identity as even the faithful have cried foul at the ever watering down of the cars.

I think the DW12 is one of the more hideous racing machines I've seen in many years of paying attention/attending any number of motorsports events. While safety is to be lauded I suspect other more elegant solutions could have been equally effective. A car is more than a powerplant to a lot of people hence making indycar even less relevant. Make engine manufacturers build chassis to a stable rules package(2-3yr cycle) and maybe use a ballast system related to results type leveling field to keep it interesting and not let one get to far out from the others maybe??? Allow innovation and technology within a budget parameter to control costs and keep the mix of ovals and road courses to get to a champ that has the ability to succeed in the different disciplines.