Tony George makes another run for Champcar

I could just as easily ask him who Alan Kulwicki or Alan Jones are and I will get the same blank stare. However his wife will instantly racognize Helio Castroneves' name...

I could poll ten people on the street who Michael Schumacher and one, maybe one, would know.

 

The point was missed. Indy drivers' names used to be much more widely recognized in American households. My mom remembers names from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Alan Jones? Why would the average American know who won the F1 Championship 28 years ago? You could barely see the races then. When did Kulwicki get killed? It's been a number of years, but NASCAR fans hardly remember him outside of the fact he drove the Hooters car. Indy used to be the single most important race in the world, hands down. Now, it's not even the most important race in this country.

 

I disagree. I doubt many know who Jimmy Clark or Graham Hill are, let alone Jim Rathmann.

I would argue that the decline of the Indy 500's popularity has far less to do with IRL than it does with the rise of NASCAR, which was happening well before the split. Take a look at the list of Indy winners between the USAC split and the IRL split, how many of them would you consider household names? Lyundyk? JV? Fittipaldi?

Danny Sullivan was best known for dating Victoria Principal and Al Unser Jr. is known only because of his surname, no one could pick him out of a police lineup (well, maybe his ex-wife could... ). Most of the Indy winners labor in obscurity even during CART's heyday, this is nothing new.

 

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/open-wheel-peace-at-hand//P1/

Excellent news. According to Speed Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe reached an agreement with Tony George to race together this season using Dallara chassis and Honda Engines.

 

Around here that'd have to be my street, and even then I'd have to be on it.

 

In the US they've been NASCARified as well. ...And even the LeMans top tier is now purely a mileage run to provide footage for TV commercials.

 

It'd be GREAT if this story is true, although I'd rather see them run the Panoz chassis. Sitting here with fingers crossed!

 

Not so with the ALMS. You should get out and see it. Lime Rock in July is probably as close as they get to you.

 

Well I hope I'm wrong, and if I am I'm going to the Indy 500 for the first time since 1995.

 

Probably too many Dalaras out there to can them. New IRL car was planned for 2010 anyway. But now that they will be doing even more road courses, they need HP in a big way.

The current IRL car dose not have traction control. This year with pit lane passes I could stand 5 ft. from the back of any car leaving pit lane. I took at least 50 photos of rear tires trying to get smoke rolling off of the tires. I have none. They need HP!

 

How many prototypes did they have there last year? How many weren't diesels, how many weren't Penskes?

How many Ferraris?

I used to go to Lime Rock like it was Lourdes, lately not so much.

Fall Vintage Festival this year again, I think, if the weather cooperates.

 

Of 14 prototype cars 2 were diesels, and 2 were Penske's. Of 15 GT2 cars 4 were Ferraris. 6 or more Ferraris in GT2 for 2008.

I have this really nice raingear and never miss a race in the rain. Have actually changed my schedule to include a rain race.