We kill about four to five people EVERY day, in Rush Hour Traffic. Try to get some perspective here.... I'll refrain from comment, on the nationality of (most of) the fatals.... To the point, even the PERMANENT fence system in Indy, "Might stop the cars, but it won't stop the fuel!" We moved our seats there for that very reason, when Turn 4 started catching so many cars...
I too love this race no matter what the negative ones here say. Sure Indy has its issues but the only way to fix 'em is to get out there and support the league. At the end of the day I still loved the event and cant wait till next year.
With all due respect, the difference herein lies with the fact that the Franchitti/Sato shunt has been replayed ad nauseam from local and national television news broadcasts and all over the Internet tens of thousands of times as it seems shunts like this are the only time a form of motor sport outside of NASCAR gets any sort of media attention at all. This comes at a particularly difficult time as the foundation of Indy Car racing seems as fractured as it could possibly be (as the ABC News article correctly points out), they seem to be meandering to find any sort of direction and the loss of Dan Wheldon is still fresh in our minds. There are those whom suggest that our sport is in it's twilight. Racing in it's various forms faces a very uncertain future in particular when we see spectators being hurt at slapped together events like Houston or even at Daytona which is supposed to have state of the art safety standards to protect drivers and spectators. Just as some suggest the concussion issue in the NFL could cause a serious re-evaulation of football and the very credibility of the #1 sport in the country is on it's back foot dealing with the issue, motor sport is a much easier target (so to say) and therefore we either discuss the aspects which threaten to take away the credibility of the sport or we just throw up our hands and say "that's racing". Either the FIA should get it's arms around these issues or someone needs to step up and make sure the sanctioning bodies and promoters are taking the necessary steps to be sure racing is a safe spectating sport or the issue gets tossed around like a political hot potato and nothing is done as in such a case, racing's very existence is threatened and I don't think any of us want that. BHW
I posted a gallery of my Houston GP pics ... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.719194724761742.1073741912.157330087614878&type=1 Preview:
Why should anyone come and watch any form of racing when both their intelligence and their safety are compromised? Bringing FIA into it won't change anything. Fans have turned their back on the current "managed" racing series simply because the product is packaged. That alone insults most true racing fans. As for the safety...why should anyone watch race cars on a parking lot? I watch the Kentucky Derby because its the best of the best in horse racing. And they do it on a proper track with all the proper trimmings. Same for the Preakness & Belmont Stakes. When they decide to run the horses in the parking lot at the local shopping center...I will also turn that off too. Racing is going to die for simply on reason.......It isn't racing anymore. Its just a bunch of cars owned by a few people going in circles, and it isn't even noteworthy. Racing actually died when they posted a speed limit. Want to see racing?....try the interstate. They go faster and the speed limit sign is only a suggestion.
just saw a little factoid on twitter, this is the 8th year in a row the IndyCar title has gone to the last race of the season. that is without a "chase" or other idiotic manipulation. think about that.....8 years of a close title fight, and still these guys get infomercial-esque ratings. I nominate IndyCar as worst marketed sport ever.
2014 Schedule out. Houston in June. darn, I think I'm gonna miss it. 2014 IndyCar calendar features 18 races, same three double-headers - Racer.com
Returning to re-awaken the debacles at Detroit, Toronto and Houston. I dunno, just not feeling it... BHW
I do think it's smart ending the season before Labor Day. I wish NASCAR would do the same...fall is the worst time of year for sports over saturation (college football, nfl, mlb ending, nhl and NBA starting, etc etc). but otherwise yes...meh.
At least they dropped the Sao Paulo street race. But, here again, so many perfectly good tracks a stone's throw away from these street circuits (Houston-COTA, Toronto-Mosport, Detroit-MIS) and they continue with these inane street course crashfests which do nothing to embolden their brand. Going up against stick & balls sports is always tough but if the product on the track is up to scratch and marketed correctly, they shouldn't have a problem with it. BHW
agree on other tracks....street circuits are like drugs, just say no! disagree on going up against stick and ball sports...historically NASCAR ratings take a dive after labor day, regardless of who is in the title fight or how close it is. remember the chase was created to boost ratings against NFL and NCAA football. we all know how that ended
So I just watched the last few laps of the Indy car finale.... There couldn't have been more than 5-10,000 people in the stands. Can't imagine how this series is going to survive.... Did anyone notice that next years schedule ends in August? Kevin
Yikes... IndyCar update: Six-car wreck occurs just prior to halfway mark (VIDEO) | MotorSportsTalk https://twitter.com/stef_wilson/statuses/391780938285207552 62! Image Unavailable, Please Login
didn't see the race, I was at Petit; will watch when I get back home. feel bad for helio. congrats to Dixson and TCGR.
For what its worth, we went to the Indycar race last night in Fontana. I can't remember that last open-wheel race that we actually attended in person, but we were in Indy last weekend and did the Dallara factory tour, came back to LA, and they were kind enough to be having an Indycar race at a time where we were free. We decided to go on Friday, bought tickets on-line, and went to the race on Saturday. The crowd was far bigger than I would have expected - easily more than 5-10,000. Obviously not as big as a NASCAR race and they had many seats in turn 1 & 4 roped off. We sat up high a few sections past the start finish line. There were empty seats, but it seemed like easily more than half of the seats had people in them. There were a lot of people with team and driver shirts and hats. Again, not as much as NASCAR, but more than I was expecting. The other surprise is that so many people were yelling and cheering in the stands - the biggest cheers were for Helio early in the race as he made some amazing passes and Charlie as he led before going out. It was nice to see enthusiasm. It was also cool to see some demonstration laps at speed with various vintage Indycars. My take? We had a great time and would go again to this race. It was a lot of fun and was easily worth the money we paid. Having said that, I wouldn't have traveled from another city to attend the race. We only attended because we had it fresh in our mind from the Dallara tour, we could make a late decision to go, it was easy to get tickets, and we could easily drive to/from the event.
Watched Petit. Good race and coverage was decent. Nice ending to the series but I look forward to 2014.
I attended the race as well and man was it exciting. I'm not really a fan of ovals either. Seemed like a decent crowd and I heard attendance was up materially from the year before but no idea the order of magnitude. Felt really bad for Helio but nice to see Will finally win a big oval. Of course we all hope Justin has a speedy recovery. From what I understand, 2015 is when the schedule could get very interesting as some older contracts roll off and new ones get signed. Houston in June? Ugh, and I thought the October 5th race was hot! I'm really hoping COTA gets added to the schedule in '15 and from what I hear, that is a very real possibility. We'll see...
Interesting news item: IndyCar driver J.R. Hildebrand knows a fake gun when he sees one. Around 8 p.m. Monday, Indianapolis Metropolitan police were called in response to a report of an attempted armed robbery at 50th Street and Washington Boulevard. According to an incident report, they encountered Hildebrand, who said he was watching a video on his phone and walking his dog when a man approached him with a gun. Hildebrand said the man walked up behind him and said, Drop it! Give it to me! Hildebrand turned to find a man in a hooded sweatshirt who carried a dark colored pistol. He continued to tell Hildebrand to Give it to me! Hildebrand ignored the mans commands, and reported hearing a clicking sound coming from the gun. He decided his assailant had a fake gun, and said, Get lost. Get out of here, according to the IMPD report. The confrontation scared off the other man, who ran away from the scene. Nothing was taken from the race car driver. Police searched the area but didnt find the would-be robber. Hildebrand was not hurt during the encounter. Update: Hildebrand later tweeted to fans to thank them for their concern.