On Jan 22, 9:51=A0pm, Ken Plotkin <kplot...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> <sterlin...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >The bottom line question is, How is Indy (or the series that sup****ts
> >it)
> >better now than in 1995? =A0So far, you've said it's because Tony
George
> >"controls it." =A0You then slam the IRL's marketing and promotion, and
> >essentially re****t that all the problems from 1995 (declining
> >attendance,
> >Pole Day, European drivers, etc.) are still very much alive. =A0So
> >where's
> >the improvement?
Ken Plotkin responded:
> snip <
> The racing is better these days. =A0Officiating is better.
I'm surprised that better officiating trumps so many negative things
you (and I) have said about the IRL. What is better about the
racing (specifically at the Indy 500) now than in 1995?
Series-wise, it won't surprise if you complain that the street races
were often "follow the leader" events back then. The obvious point
here
is that the IRL is now involved in them. I think you'd
find more passing going on in the current ChampCar
street races than there might've been back in '95.
First on my wish list for ChampCar would be a few ovals back
in the mix, but they haven't proved profitable enough, so I
understand and (for now), reluctantly accept their absence.
I enjoy the racing in the ChampCar series, as much as
anything, because I still believe in the premise. Obviously,
while Tony was still running the IRL (Ken, get with it, he's
still calling the shots!), he liked it enough to try and get
Cleveland as an IRL venue, and Long Beach too.
> Unfortunately, CART's war to the death did major damage. =A0I think TG
> let himself get worn down, and let things slip toward CART II. =A0
Did you read my point about "following the money?" Like Andretti,
Ganassi, Rahal, etc., Tony liked those big Japanese manufacturer
dollars and got on board.
> Foyt once told me that IRL would never become the new CART,
> specifically because Tony George was calling the shots.
And why did A.J. employ Salazar - a "buy-a-ride," I believe, in the
new regime or re-birth of Indy as the pinnacle of AMERICAN open
wheel racing?
> Unfortunately, he's not calling all of the shots. =A0A few years back he
> stepped away from running the IRL.
First I've heard of this, but I have to admit I know little about what
goes on in the IRL beyond what I see in a few magazines, or when
I tune in here occasionally.
>=A0Turned it over to others, who let
> a lot of the vision erode. =A0At least they've kept Indy car racing
> alive. =A0But it's not what it would have been had TG kept wielding his
> hammer.
Wielding his wallet is more like it.
The most remarkable thing about all your posts in this thread, Ken, is
the notion that if CART had continued running the series, and the IRL
had not come along, somehow Indy and all of American open wheel would
be dead. Indy was far healthier in 1995, as was the series, in the
hands of
CART and in collaboration with the Speedway's own allowances/rules
for entries in the 500. Variety, one-off engines, the Buicks, etc.
were all part
of the 500's drama back then. But I guess if you're a Honda fan ...
The IRL has never matched what CART had in the 90's, with
well attended races that kept the "drivers who race at Indy" in front
of
a far bigger season-long audience than they are afforded in the IRL.
But you do have a dance champion. :-)
-Sterling
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