J.C France general comp license reinstated

Why not simply script the top level series in every branch of motorsport? Ratings would improve quickly as offtrack plotlines (sex, mostly) alternated with ontrack action (wrecks, mostly).

 

Ok, show of hands:

How many folks watched racing because of the DRIVERS?

I mean when you were growing up, and first got an interest in cars?

I bet NOBODY, unless your family had a personal friend or a neighbor that raced.

No, we all got interested because of COOL CARS, only later did we learn about drivers.

 

you're right, if you're talking about road racing.

for NASCAR it is about the drivers. those never were cool cars.

 

GrandAM and ISC walk a fine line.

On one hand, when they have a top sports car series at
their tracks (meaning factory supported teams and drivers
with the subsequent sponsorship and media attention that
all brings) they treat attending media ("The Donna Gauntlet")
and fans like dogs.

On the other hand, when they have their own self-styled,
dumbed down version of sports car racing which discourages
factory participation and everything that comes with it, they're
suddenly alarmed at the complete lack of media interest
especially from Europe.

ISC's shameful treatment of attending media is nothing
new of course. The treatment and games start in the credentials
office, out on to the track (go through a gate one minute
but don't dare to go through it the next), harrassment by
tin-badged hired security staff, access to media center one
minute and denied the next and to the infamous incident when
Michael Cotton attempted to get interviews with Earnhardt's
Sr. & Jr. in the garages.

Mr. Cotton, perhaps the most respected and senior member
of sports car journalists, was man handled, escorted out of
the garages by private security, his credentials revoked,
kicked out of the track and threatened with arrest.

Moving forward a couple more years well into the GrandAM
DP era, suddenly the DIS credentials office noticed a distinct
lack of applications for credentials from the usual Euopean
sources. In fact, not a single request for credentials came
in.

Now, so concerned was DIS that the floated an offer to
European journalists and photographers. They would pay
all air fare, hotel and business expenses for any European
journalists to come over and cover the 24 Hours.

Three Euopean media members took up this offer.

DIS and the ISC are still probably attempting to figure
this out. But, after years of aforementioned abuse levelled
at the media when something relevant was going on to
literally bending over backwards to get media members
to simply attend when the racing there is irrelevant perhaps
it's time to rethink the business plan.

RM

 

Great idea, because the "I am Indy" promo with Gene Simmons worked so well.........

 

Hahaha! Sounds like the standard recipe for TV!

 

+1

 

That's not entirely true for me. I'd say when I first got on board in the early-mid 70s the names were as electric as the cars. At Indy you had the Unsers, Foyt, Johncock, Sneva, Rutherford etal. To me, they seemed like gladiators. I think a large part of the mystique had to do with how dangerous the sport was in those days as opposed to now. They owned a certain bravado that I don't associate with modern race drivers.

 

Unfortunately he passed right as I was discovering racing. I knew who he was but sadly didn't have the chance to follow him.

 

Yea, I found it rather disconcerting that dailysportscar.com's (one of the three European groups mentioned earlier) coverage of this year's 24 Hours of Daytona was free on their web site. Gee, I wonder who paid for that? Their stories on the whole trip were very upbeat. One of dsc's US reporters noticeably abscent from the whole show: Janos Wimpfen. I maybe wrong, but I though he wasn't present possibly due to his rather scathing reports in the past about Grand Am races he's covered, and the series in general.

I've been to the Grand Am race held at VIR for the past two years. During the autograph sessions in the paddock before the race a couple of years ago, while most fans were lining up for a "TV heart throb's" team, I was making a point of looking for as many drivers who I knew participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on a regular basis as I could find. My biggest thrill? Meeting the legendary Andy Wallace! As far as the Grand Am cars go, I could care less, and NOT because I'm supposed to be focused on the drivers for the series. It's because the "top class" DP cars are utter rubbish! A few years ago before the 24 Hours of Daytona one of my all time favorite drivers, Alan McNish, was being interviewed about driving in a DP for the Samax team. The reporter asked Alan what he thought about driving the Daytona prototype and his reply was "it's adequate". I'm sorry, but when one of the world's premier sports car drivers describes a series "top class" car as "adequate", that series has a big problem.

If VIR decided to host a Grand Am race and later in the season an American Le Mans series race, I'd forgo Grand AM without a thought and choose the ALMS every time. ALMS gets it. It IS about the cars, AND the drivers, dummy!

As for the choice between the current 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, well that's pretty much of a no brainer for me. I'll read about the results of Daytona after the race and little note its passing. But I will watch and listen to as much TV/web coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as I can manage. I dream of flying to France and seeing it one day. The only thing I dream of seeing in Florida doesn't take place at Daytona, but down the road in a little town called Sebring.

Gary

 

J.C. France back in the cockpit at Watkins Glen this
weekend.

In other news, GrandAM is having a race at Watkins
Glen this weekend.

Who comes up with this stuff? They intentionally schedule
a 6-Hour race at Watkins Glen one week before Le Mans
(an open slap to the face of any their drivers participating at
Le Mans next weekend) and on the very same weekend
that their bigger cousin, NASCAR, is down at Pocono.

In keeping with this edict, the GrandAM event at Homestead
should be on the same weekend as the Daytonner 500 next year.

GrandAM is NC, no class.

RM

 

The ISC definately plays politics with the media and
Dr. Janos Wimpffen has been one of the more outspoken
critics of not only the series but the aforementioned
treatment of media at their events.

At one such occasion, Janos was covering the July
GrandAM at Daytonner while still recovering from back
surgery, requiring he use a cane. He checked in to
the new media center with no problem, set up his lap top and other equipment and went on a walk around the paddock.

He started suffering with the heat and had some pain
so he returned to the media center to cool off and take a
pain pill. Upon arriving, the security guard who'd let him in with his credential earlier refused his entry without cause.

Spotting a cooler full of bottled water, Janos reached to
get one only to have the guard cut him off stating the water was for credentialed media only. Janos once again displayed his credential which the guard refused. Janos informed the guard he had to take some medication and again he was refused water.

This is typical treatment of working media at Daytonner.
It's a constant game with these half brain dead, tin badge morons who have the evident authority to decide who's
credentials are real and those which are not even though
the credentials are all done through the front office
and the "Donna Gauntlet".

When Janos is asked why he bothers covering GrandAM,
his reply is classic, "It's like witnessing a train wreck. You can't watch but you can't look away either".

Interesting to note that there is no mention what so ever
about the 6-Hour GrandAM race at Watkins Glen on Autosport.com and definately nothing about the return of
J.C. France. Once again, GrandAM is barely a blip on
the radar screen.

RM

 

Bernie?

 

Ol' JC was back in the cockpit at Mid-Ohio again last
weekend, but who really notices?

Once again, we're hard pressed to find any news or
results on the top racing related websites. We're
practically forced to hold our nose and go on the
GrandAM site for results. JC and team finished
tenth by the way.

Upon digging the GrandAM site a little further, there
are bios on drivers which includes current team,
previous results and news update.

The news update for JC reveals this...

"We're sorry, but something went wrong.
We've been notified about this issue and we'll take
a look at it shortly."

Something went wrong alright...

RM

 

I guess judge doesn't believe in immediate pursuit from one jurisdiction to another. Molly Browns to Pink Pony.