F1 on certain days can be very good racing. When some teams come up with a new idea or a better design, they do shake up the status quo. Force India was a good example. Like to see more like that.
Jenna Fryer of AP put the US household rating for Indy / Barber at .18 with the number of viewers increasing from 218,000 to 250,000. NASCAR at Martinsville supposedly got a 4.0. Press release from NBC Sports Network here: NBC SPORTS NETWORK SEES DOUBLE DIGIT Q1 VIEWERSHIP GAINS | NBC Sports Pressbox
My post was poorly worded. IndyCar went up. NASCAR went down. The point I was trying to make was that indyCar is making positive strides in attendance and viewership. NASCAR, despite the Lagano drama, actually LOST. That makes me proud of the progress of IndyCar, while really surprised that NASCAR actually slipped. Hope that is more clear.
32,000 is a step in the right direction. But there is a big difference between a .18 and a 4.0. Now with baseball season underway, both the NBA & NHL playoffs and golf, tennis and other assorted sports seasons opening up.....lets see if they can maintain it.
Can you elaborate for the benefit of an ignorant Brit who doesn't know who is Janet Reno or the Victoria Secrets show?
You stated you like that the IRL cars are easily recognized from the rest of the single seaters. So is Janet Reno at a Victoria Secrets show... Analogy my friend.
Hummm, so for you IRL cars are ugly, I presume. For me, most single-seaters are ugly, and the new IRL a bit less, since they cover more. What I find ugly are mostly the wings that proliferate om almost all racing cars these days. I also think that open wheel cars are a anachronism in this age. Allowing wings and some form of ground effect in one hand, and then imposing open wheels (like in F1) is what I call technical contradiction. I wish the legislators could join the 21st century.
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As petty as it sounds, I would probably have a little more interest because the marketing weight a brand like Ferrari brings would surely have a positive impact. I think those that spew don't hate - it's the opposite. They LOVED it. I know I did. Have you ever broken up with a girlfriend / boyfriend / spouse and think lovingly of what could have been? My anger isn't hatred. I was fanatical about CART and I'm devastated it's gone because of the greed and stupidity of a few people. My hope is that it returns to its original glory, but don't believe that will happen because the destruction of CART was largely (although not ENTIRELY) due to the people still in charge.
Big fan of the 637. I wish we could have seen her run in anger along with the Lotus 96T. Sigh, what might have been...
That pretty much sums it up. I can't stand this form of "crapwagons". But I still do love Indy Cars. It is unfortunate that the current version just isn't it.
The current cars aren't very inspiring and the engines dont produce enough power. Thus, the show is watered down. That's not to say the races aren't good, they usually are. But, it's just like GrandAm DP where the top five may be a second apart battling hammer and tongs but the cars are so ugly, who cares? Backing up a bit to the CART/IRL split, consider the following... I worked for the Alumax Bettenhausen team at the height of the war. You could literally see the steam come out of the ears of the late, great Tony Bettenhausen when he heard "IRL" or "Tony George" mentioned. Bettenhausen was a very open and candid guy. Once, during some down time at a test at Sebring, I asked him about the split and he went on a half hour lecture. What may have not been known by many at the time involved the trackside suites outside Turn 2 at Indy. IMS leases the suites out to teams and their sponsors offering multi-year, multi-million dollar deals to secure the suites. All of the CART teams were on board. Sponsors ranging from Marlboro and Target on down to the smaller sponsors like Alumax bought into the long term lease deals which was worth tens of millions to IMS. Once the leases were paid for by CART teams, Tony George pulled the plug, took the money from the leases and basically funded the start of the IRL with that money. Naturally, this didn't go down very well with the CART bosses and the war was on. In retrospect, George held open several positions on the grid for CART teams in the 500, none of which took up the option. It was too bad since the first era of the IRL featured teams that were more like watching the Keystone Cops than professional racing teams. The mid-field and tail end CART teams could have gone in and wiped the floor with them and that would have likely ended things then and there. BHW
This statement is absolutely concrete proof that as much as people like think the world can play fair......it won't ever happen. They only way for the Indy Car series to make itself back to what it was is very simply. TURN THE RULES BACK TO THE WAY THEY WERE! Some people will spend a large fortune to try and win Indy. Others will spend a small fortune to try and win Indy. Either way it is for the owners & sponsors to decide as how they spend their money. Parity has and never will happen in motor racing or in the real world. That is the fantasy of those lacking in knowledge. One only needs to look back at history to understand as to how one wins Indy. It's called....Innovation.
Depends on the players and their relationship to Uncle Bernie. If it works out....could be a few. If he get upset and both sides won't play together......next year. That is one that no one can predict.
Evidently, IMS is toying with the notion of adding a second date towards the end of the Indy Car season on the road course. Robin Miller objects... MILLER: Indy Cars On The IMS Road Course Is A Bad Idea BHW
So it seems like there is a consensus here that less fancy aero, more power, more sound, and a more agressive looking car is the answer?
The only bad joke is Miller. He keeps peddling the fruit punch to the masses and they keep sucking up the Kool Aid.
