Autoweek: State of sports-car racing in the U.S: There's work to do Read more: http

I tend to agree. Could easily be the COTA boys mocking the FIA /WEC group.

 

Easy to spend OPM. Not so easy to spend yours.

 

Michael Shank racing set a Daytona lap record in 'the same car that will race in the Tudor USCC next year'..............only problem is that the rules package hasn't been established. This is the same guy who is a big fan of yellow flags, fights in the pits, and other NASCAR crap.

Doesn't look good for US sportscar racing.....

 

Is he the guy that said "a race without a yellow flag is a travesty" and "people want to see crew chiefs fighting in the pits"?

These comments were made in a recent article about the merger and they really depressed me. I have NO interest in that crap, the NASCAR guys can keep that BS mentality. I want to see cars that win due to innovation, setup, strategy, and skilled driving. I love seeing one garage helping the competition get out of the pits at LeMans so they can continue battling on the track. The rest of that childish crap has no place in racing. And I think the fan base of sports car racing internationally feels the same way.

 

It's not just cars. Next years DMG AMA pro schedule is probably only going to be 5, maybe 6 races. GEICO (series sponsor) isn't going to be pleased nor are the teams sponsors. Unless something is done, and soon, there will be no professional motorsports races in the future except for F1 and Indy. Not good.

Art

 

I've been telling people for years that NASCAR taking over sports car racing isn't good, and pointed to what they've done with AMA racing as proof. they still promote the crap out of Daytona, but the rest of the series is a joke.

 

That's the guy. Autoweek.

 

Because the season is over. There's little excitement in the series this year. Vettel won the championship essentially after the Aug break.

I'm not surprised at all. I don't think F1 is a viable sport in the US. It's a novelty and a party but as a sport, it just doesn't draw.

I can tell you for a fact if a red car where in a battle or winning the championship, attendance would be way up.

But, that should not surprise anyone. What happens when two small market teams play in the finals of Baseball or Basketball? Rating fall through the floor.

 

Indy is hanging on by a thread. If it were not for the 500, it would be dead a long time ago.

The PR Stunt known as Danica helped for a while but death of Dan Weldon really hurt the series in many ways.

 

We may not agree on Republicans, but on this, we agree. The Hulman-George family made a grave miscalculation by breaking apart CART / Indycar as a way to "preserve" the 500. While the 500 soldiers on, there's not much else with respect to open-wheel, and the 500 has "slipped" in my view.

To the comment about AMA / DMG, same applies. Not sure the France family cares, so long as their crown jewel survives, but man did motorcycle racing drop off the map in the US.

 

Actually converting to a "spec" formula did more harm than anything. DP was a novelty act. Losing new track records, innovation and other assorted Indy Car traditions has put the nail in the coffin.Years ago Pole Day at Indy would put a lot of butts in the seat as fans wanted to see new track records. When a speed limit was put in place...they left. You can't replace a hero with a guy that isn't allowed to go faster than the previous drivers. Doesn't make for newsworthy story does it?

 

Good point.

 

That's what happens on this side of the Atlantic too.

Too many series and too many circuits competing for a shrinking number of spectators in time of economic downturn.

 

Indy has lost its aura in the last 20 years at least.

The IRL show is now nothing more than a national specs series with no international prestige. The technical format is a real obstacle to improve that.

In the the 60s, 70s and even 80s, the Indy scene used to attract attention from constructors, teams and drivers. Gone are the days when F1 drivers, F1 constructors and teams came to Indianapolis to compete.

An Indy victory used to be very thought of by the cream of drivers at the top echelon.
Remember the Clark, Gurney, G.Hill, Stewart, Brabham, Rindt, Hulme, McLaren, etc... dedicating one month of their calendar to race at Indy.
Now, no F1 driver seems interested.