On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:03:06 -0700 (PDT), sterlingla
<sterlingla@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
[snip]
>How did CART "beat him down? How could CART have anything to do with
>the success of American drivers in the IRL (Billy Boat, some dentist,
>etc. etc.)?
[snip]
Was Dennis Vitola a dentist? :-)
Both series were diluted, the fan base split. When CART formed in
1979, USAC held on for a couple of years, but saw the handwriting on
the wall and caved before things got out of hand. This time around,
CART hung on well past their time, building the split into a holy war.
>CART was the series that had to explain to sponsors why it existed,
>how it
>didn't race at Indy, etc. etc.
[snip]
Eventually they lost their sponsors.
>Interestingly, I was at a cor****ate event a few years ago where I
>could talk
>to some high up Honda racing folks. I told them I missed them in
>ChampCar and they let out a collective sigh, and one said,
>"Yeah, we had to go with the bad guys. Japan makes the rules."
[snip]
The engine companies were part of CART's problem. They turned the
what was supposed to be a driver's series into an engine series.
Remember when they stopped labeling the entries car-engine and began
calling them engine-car? IMHO, that was just as damaging a change in
culture as when Emmo drank the orange juice.
The engine companies pumped a lot of money in, but when they were gone
they were gone.
>They (CART owners) no longer had to worry about promoting races.
That's a good thing - they can focus on running their teams.
I have a feeling we're never going to agree on shared blame...we could
keep discussing this for the next 13 years. :-)
Or maybe we can sit back and see how the merged series succeeds. My
real concern now is whether Tracy gets a ride. Besided another shot
at the 500 and his duel with Twinkle Toes, I'd love to see him at
Richmond.
Ken Plotkin
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