On Jan 23, 12:24 am, sterlingla <sterlin...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Jan 22, 9:51 pm, 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? So far, you've said it's because Tony
George
> > >"controls it." You 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. So
> > >where's
> > >the improvement?
>
> Ken Plotkin responded:
> > snip <
> > The racing is better these days. Officiating 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. I think TG
> > let himself get worn down, and let things slip toward CART II.
>
> 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. A 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.
>
> > Turned it over to others, who let
> > a lot of the vision erode. At least they've kept Indy car racing
> > alive. But 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
Ummm... I don't think CART EVER had control over the Indy race. they
had a series centered around it, the race was still run seperately
and at one point wasn't even part of the CART champion****p points
before IRL was around.
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