The end of CART...Fernandez quits | Page 2 | FerrariChat

The end of CART...Fernandez quits

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by Gary(SF), Mar 13, 2004.

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  1. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
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    #26 rob lay, Mar 25, 2004
    Proof there are still people in denial. Face it, CART is dead and IRL won the battle for the better or not.
     
  2. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #27 BigTex, Mar 25, 2004
    That's right, it's now OWRS, powered by Gentiloozi!!
     
  3. DMC

    DMC Formula 3

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    #28 DMC, Mar 26, 2004
    We'll see in 2005. ;)

    Sorry you have a grudge against Champ Car because of the Texas fiasco. I'll be glad to remind you that it was Rahal who signed the deal for that race.

    This quote from Lee White should have Tony George shaken up:

    -----

    Is it mere coincidence that Fernandez and Rahal are both aligned with Honda in the IRL? And that Honda is desperate for its first win at Twin Ring Motegi next month?

    Lee White, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development, doesn’t think so. White and Toyota, of course, were key players in the meltdown of CART’s engine manufacturer war; when the Ford, Honda and Toyota not only provided increasingly exotic (i.e. expensive) engines to most teams free of charge but, in some cases, subsidized the operation of favored clients.

    As much as anything, it was CART’s inability to come to grips with the Gordian Knot of manufacturer subsidies—and the ensuing morass of conflicts of interest—that spurred Toyota and, later, Honda to bolt to the IRL.

    “Under the old CART business model, the costs were outrageous compared to our return on investment,” said White. “Last year in the IRL we spent about half as much, plus we had the Indy 500 in the bargain. But now the IRL’s business model is starting to look a lot like the old CART business model.”

    -----

    Original article here: http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/autoindustry/10347/

    Toyota will be in Nextel Cup and F1 in 2006. Not IRL. Where Toyota goes, Honda goes. The Hulman family trust fund isn't big enough to support the series once they go.

    RIP IRL. 1995-2005. Ten years of tearing apart US open wheel racing.
     
  4. Prova7

    Prova7 Formula Junior

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    #29 Prova7, Mar 26, 2004
    I'm crying more than most that CART is dying. Make no mistake that CART is dying and I don't think the patient will make it off the table. The IRL has the prolific CART teams already and once the IRL goes road racing it will be even harder for CART to have anything that resembles its previous product.

    There are differing opinons I am sure but once you have no Penske, Ganassi, Green, Andretti, Nunn, Fernandez, Rahal, Franchitti, Kanaan or Castroneves you don't have CART. You have filler.

    I have always like Tracy but his championship is tainted IMO: He won after the other top teams and drivers left.
     
  5. rob lay

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    #30 rob lay, Mar 26, 2004
    I agree with at least where you are coming from DMC.

    Spiraling costs and politics have been the reason for most series to fail. CART won't be around when this happens to IRL though, IRL won't have any other competition, and IRL will have to make adjustments. Every business has to make adjustments to survive. IRL will be around for at least several years to come.

    Now the series that I hope doesn't continue to let costs get out of hand is World Challenge. That is the absolute best racing in America, not counting amateur racing. If SCCA allows the manufactures with unlimited budgets like Cadillac to ruin things, then I'll be really pissed.

    In the long run I don't care too much about CART or IRL.
     
  6. Schatten

    Schatten F1 World Champ
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    #31 Schatten, Mar 26, 2004
    Well... look at it this way, in the next few weeks SpeedGear will have a huge sale on all CART clothing & memorobilia.
     
  7. writerguy

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    #32 writerguy, Mar 26, 2004
    Carl Hass seems to think they will be able to weather the storm... but hey
     
  8. sjb509

    sjb509 Guest

    #33 sjb509, Mar 26, 2004
    Forgive my ignorance, but I have basically stopped watching CART over the last few years when I couldn't pronounce the driver's names. IRL (oval racing in general) bores me to tears except for Indy, which I still enjoy watching each year.

    Please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Honda pull out of CART a couple of years ago, now all cars run the same brand engine that is basically IRL specs?

    There are 3 engine manufacturers in IRL: GM, Honda, and Toyota. Aren't the rules basically "stock-block" type rules where the engine has to be production based? It seems if Honda and Toyota pull out, wouldn't other manufacturers be able to step in and compete? The top teams and drivers left by Honda and Toyota could be valuable advertising for Ford, DaimlerChrysler (either as Chrysler or Mercedes), maybe even Porsche. Compared to the cost of F1, IRL would be peanuts.

    Early on in IRL when it was Inifiniti and Oldsmobile I always thought it would have been very cool to have a powerplant based on the Ferrari 355 block. That would have definitely added some "glamour" to the new series in the mid 90's. Especially today, if Ferrari would commit to developing and supplying engines for one or two teams, it would attract a lot of international interest. Imagine rooting for a Ferrari at the Brickyard in May.
     
  9. DMC

    DMC Formula 3

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    #34 DMC, Apr 1, 2004
  10. writerguy

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    #35 writerguy, Apr 1, 2004
  11. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
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    #36 rob lay, Apr 1, 2004
    Good article. Funny how they're disassociating Champ Car with CART. They're acting like the two have nothing in common. CART failed! Champ Car is the NEW upcoming series!
     
  12. writerguy

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    #37 writerguy, Apr 1, 2004
    Bankruptcy just like "thedonald" Phoenix rises from the ashes anew
     
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