CART near bankruptcy | FerrariChat

CART near bankruptcy

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by Gary(SF), Dec 4, 2003.

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  1. Gary(SF)

    Gary(SF) F1 Rookie

    Oct 13, 2003
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    Gary B.
    #1 Gary(SF), Dec 4, 2003
    I'm afraid the end is near. What a shame. Probably means the end of Toyota Atlantic also. Leaves us with basically no professional open-wheel road racing in the US...unbelievable!
     
  2. ART360

    ART360 Guest

    #2 ART360, Dec 4, 2003
    There is the IRL, but they don't turn right. We can thank Tony George over that little mix up. Boycott Indy.

    It will be quite a while before we Americans get back into that form of racing. That's truly too bad, since we'd had quite a bit of success with it. Now young men will have to go to Europe (far more costly than here) to show their ability if they want to try to get into F1. Thanks Tony.

    Art
     
  3. Willis360

    Willis360 F1 Rookie

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    #3 Willis360, Dec 4, 2003
    :(
     
  4. Feffman

    Feffman Formula Junior
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    #4 Feffman, Dec 4, 2003
    Yes, thank you Tony George, the spoiled rich kid with the biggest toy (Indy 500) on the block. Now we are stuck with more NASCAR-like racing in the IRL. Next thing you know, we will see carburetors and swing axles on the IRL cars.

    Some hope of a reorganization, but....

    Mark Pfeffer
     
  5. rjklein

    rjklein Karting

    Nov 3, 2003
    126
    #5 rjklein, Dec 4, 2003
    Once Cart goes under you will see Tony let the cars turn right again. Trust me once Cart is out of the way, the IRL will pick up the great road tracks.
     
  6. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
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    Mar 16, 2003
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    #6 WCH, Dec 4, 2003
    Amazing, I feel like I grew up with CART and its predecessors. Hard to believe it's really going to die. I always missed the turbos. I laughed at the IRL for years - looks like Tony G was smarter than I thought. I agree that the IRL will add a few road courses.

    Mark, any relation to Steve P, the racer?

    Cheers, Will
     
  7. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
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    #7 rob lay, Dec 4, 2003
    Everyone knows I'm a road racer, but for some reason I always supported IRL. The one CART race I did try to attend I was walking up to the gate as CART announced the race was cancelled. What a bunch of fricken idiots to let it get that far after being warned ahead of time. It's not wonder they're not making it, they suck. It took 2 hours to drive there and 2 hours to drive back home, I never heard a single apology from anyone. I've been to 6-8 IRL races and most of them have been very exciting. I think I've seen 2 of the 5 closest race finishes in history. I would love for them to start turning right again, I would support them that much more.

    The best racing show in the world right now is amateur Spec Miata and Spec Rx7 racing, although I am prejudice. Put 50 cars of equal speed and varying driver ability in cars that no one cares if they get beat up. Now that is some great racing. I would put World Challenge #2 on my list.
     
  8. tifosi12

    tifosi12 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #8 tifosi12, Dec 4, 2003
    Rob, no wonder you were disappointed in CART. They made one management blunder after the other in the last few years. But I will miss the cars.

    However if IRL really would include road racing, the whole thing could have a good end. IRL does a few things right after all: It is much less cost and the racing is closer. With the demise of CART the last few drivers will join IRL and make the field more competitive.

    Look at it this way: Open wheel racing has a difficult stand in the US to begin with, so maybe focusing on one single group might help them against the mighty NASCARs.

    Bottom line is: If only CART had the managers from NASCARs in the last 5 years, racing in the US would be a whole lot different. Sigh.
     
  9. ART360

    ART360 Guest

    #9 ART360, Dec 4, 2003
    The problem with the IRL is that certain manufacturers were either reluctant or refused to build engines for the series. Intially Honda wouldn't build motors, since they wanted to build Turbos for the US series, thinking that they were already building non-turbos for F1. Then Toyota came in, Honda got caught cheating with the Turbo waste, and things got complicated.

    At any rate, we'll see how this plays out.

    Art
     
  10. Feffman

    Feffman Formula Junior
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    #10 Feffman, Dec 5, 2003


    I believe Steve is a distant (very distant) cousin from the Virginia days back east. Wish I could drive like him!

    Mark Pfeffer
     
  11. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
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    #11 rob lay, Dec 5, 2003
    I can't stand CART, but I'm a big fan of Paul Gentolozzi. I even exchanged an email with him about a year ago. I use to love all the smack he would talk before a TA race. I like his driving style too.
     
  12. j. cordon

    j. cordon Rookie

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    #12 j. cordon, Dec 5, 2003
    I was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway yesterday and the Players Team was testing on the roadcourse, got to talk to Paul Tracy for a bit, he has a yellow 360 Spyder. I sure hope they keep it i cant stand oval racing!
     
  13. joeyy

    joeyy Karting

    Nov 11, 2003
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    #13 joeyy, Dec 7, 2003
    this bankruptsy thing might be an accounting ploy. look to see if the series keeps venues. if so that only means they are covering their butts when the buyout comes. i have seen the expense sheets from cart and it seems strange to me that their expenses for some races doubled from last year. its all in how you do the books.
     
  14. Kharma Police

    Kharma Police Rookie

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    #14 Kharma Police, Dec 8, 2003
    It had occured to me that the threatened bankruptcy might be hollow negotiating ploy or some type of valuation trick, but what is the possible scenario?

    The only one I can think of is CART management threatening bankruptcy to make the buyout more attractive to both parties. (?)
     
  15. Mark(study)

    Mark(study) F1 Veteran

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    #15 Mark(study), Dec 8, 2003
     
  16. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

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    #16 Mitch Alsup, Dec 9, 2003
    Many of you don't remember when CART did exactly this to USAC!

    What goes around comes around!
     
  17. tifosi12

    tifosi12 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #17 tifosi12, Dec 9, 2003
    I read an interview in a German racing magazine (which normally gets its facts right) with Penske. And his opinion and intention was to merge whatever remains of CART with IRL to have one good shot at Nascar. That actually would make sense. The new company/organization would be called "Open Wheel Racing". Since he was one of the founding fathers of CART and moved his chips to IRL a few years ago, there is a good chance he'll get his wish.
     
  18. ART360

    ART360 Guest

    #18 ART360, Dec 10, 2003
    On reflection, it looks like the difference between NASCAR and CART is that the owners of NASCAR own quite a few racetracks (I believe that the Frances own 3, 4 tracks, and have good working relationships with at least another 4 or 5). CART on the other hand was formed to ensure that the teams got theirs, and they put it to the track owners whenever they could. That left the owners in a position of looking for a replacement series.

    I don't think open wheel racing will make much of an impact in the US. We have cars, but most of the people here think of them as a utility, not a sport. Just my .02

    Art
     
  19. A.D.K.

    A.D.K. Karting

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    #19 A.D.K., Dec 10, 2003
  20. Amir

    Amir Formula Junior

    Feb 15, 2003
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    #20 Amir, Dec 16, 2003
    There is going to be a new Formula BMW USA series debuting this summer. However, I think it's only open to drivers aged 17-23.


    Amir
     
  21. DMC

    DMC Formula 3

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    #21 DMC, Dec 16, 2003
  22. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
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    #22 WCH, Dec 17, 2003
    And now the real difficulty: does anyone in the US other than the few CART fans care that there will be a 2004 season? How do they fight the perception that many of the top teams & drivers have left?
     
  23. DMC

    DMC Formula 3

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    #23 DMC, Dec 17, 2003
    With attendance figures of 100-300,000 in Australia, Mexico, and Canada, do we care?
     
  24. Mark(study)

    Mark(study) F1 Veteran

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    #24 Mark(study), Dec 17, 2003
    How in the Heck do you get a sponsor?

    What Fortune 500 Company wants to be tied to a freshly bankrupt sporting event.

    Money for racing is hard to get in the best of times?
     
  25. WCH

    WCH F1 Veteran
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    Mar 16, 2003
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    #25 WCH, Dec 17, 2003
    <<With attendance figures of 100-300,000 in Australia, Mexico, and Canada, do we care?>>

    Not sure what you mean. My comments were addressed to the US. CART seems to have done very well in some overseas markets. As a longtime fan, I'd like to see CART succeed, but if the series mostly comprises second tier teams and drivers, and no one in the US is watching, so what if there are smart new owners? How will the new guys make money? What is the new business plan, and why will it be better than the old one? I suppose we'll find out.
     
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