OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Personally, I think those Champcar guys bring nothing to the table, but I guess it will be good for the sport?

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...e-at-hand//P2/

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

I agree they bring nothing to the table. However, as long as those clowns have NO say in the scheduling of events going forward, I'm fine with it. They have no clue on how to attract fans. I'd say the IRL has that problem too, but not to the same degree.

I think if TG waits until '09, he can have everything for free. I don't think there would be much left after this year. I'd personally wait, but it's not my money.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Originally Posted by openwheelKT:
I agree they bring nothing to the table. However, as long as those clowns have NO say in the scheduling of events going forward, I'm fine with it. They have no clue on how to attract fans. I'd say the IRL has that problem too, but not to the same degree.

I think if TG waits until '09, he can have everything for free. I don't think there would be much left after this year. I'd personally wait, but it's not my money.

As AJ would say, "this is quite true". ChampCar is on life support right now. And IndyCar could have the remains next year of ChampCar for free.

Other than Paul Tracy, who is a has been, and Graham Rahal, who knows who these drivers are? F1 wannabes and kids with ca$h.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

You are correct - I do not see that they bring much to the table - other than car count - which is what is needed. It would be nice to see Paul Tracy going at it with the Ganassi and Penske guys....however - the Champ cars are much more "trick"....and although I think Honda is awesome - I would love to see a day when we have 4 different powerplants and 4 or 5 different chassis again...

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Originally Posted by Seadog:
As AJ would say, "this is quite true". ChampCar is on life support right now. And IndyCar could have the remains next year of ChampCar for free.

Other than Paul Tracy, who is a has been, and Graham Rahal, who knows who these drivers are? F1 wannabes and kids with ca$h.

You're right on that. There's only two things I'd take from Chump Car. Paul Tracy and Newman Haas. That's it. Rahal comes with Newman Haas which is a win win. While I'm not a Tracy fan, he does stir the pot. Might make a good rival with a few drivers.

Bottom line is, the war is over. Now it's when and how going forward. People beat up TG all the time, but at least he TRIED to bring Indy Cars back to what they were. The early IRL days were a sprint car fan's dream from a driver standpoint. There were still some dirt guys that got the Indy one off when the split happened. If it got back to at least that, I'd be happy. If a driver could run the whole USAC schedule and run Indy, that's perfect IMO anyway.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

How many times have they been "close" to a deal and it didn't materialize?:headbang This all sounds good but I will believe it when I see it. I don't trust Kalkovan & Forsythe and I personally feel Champ Car won't make the whole season this year anyway. I don't feel that the CCWS has much if anything to offer the IRL. About the only race that makes much sense to me would be Long Beach. After that the pickings are slim. JMO.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

IF this does come to fruition - this would be the next best thing to happen to openwheel racing..(the best would be for the IRL to embrace the midget and sprint drivers again) and it may even bring more sponsors in. If a company wanted to get brand recognition via a professional sports league - they could probably (im guessing) fund a top-team indycar for about 8 to 10Million dollars annually - AND get the Indy 500.....I am guessing a top-team in NASCAR is roughly 15 Million? If they do reunite, in two or so years they would probably have a nice television package - this may be tempting for companies that spend millions in NASCAR to run in the back....

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Originally Posted by Mud Packer:
How many times have they been "close" to a deal and it didn't materialize?:headbang This all sounds good but I will believe it when I see it. I don't trust Kalkovan & Forsythe and I personally feel Champ Car won't make the whole season this year anyway. I don't feel that the CCWS has much if anything to offer the IRL. About the only race that makes much sense to me would be Long Beach. After that the pickings are slim. JMO.

I'm not saying that because of this story. This kind of story has been written about 20 times since '95. You said it yourself, they probably won't make it through this year anyway. That's why I say it's over whether they take this deal or not. To me from their side it's a no brainer. Take what you can get now or go on like you have been and have nothing to show for it when you are out of business.

This is the first story I've seen where both have said they are working and want to get together. In the past it's been, we would like to get there, but there are a lot of things to work out. There's nothing else to be worked out, because Chumpcar has nothing left. It's take it or out of business for them.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Originally Posted by :
You're right on that. There's only two things I'd take from Chump Car. Paul Tracy and Newman Haas.

I doubt you'll see Paul Tracy. He has stated many times publicly he will never again run in the IRL. (remember the Paul/Helio Indy win controversy?). Plus, I think he is seeking other options anyway. I saw him the other day on Speed channel, running in one of those CORR off road races. During his interview he stated he was looking at this series for the future. And didn't Paul Newman swear off ever going back to Indy? I thought that deal a few years back was just a Carl Haas thing. (When Bruno J. got hurt in turn two?) I could be wrong.
David.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

I feel that there are a couple teams that could accent the IRL. Newman Haas being one. Other than that I'm not sure about wether there are any tracks that Chump car could bring along that would fit the IRL.:confused:

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

TG could let CCWS wither on the vine until it dies.... or goes into bankruptcy court and has all its assets sold of to the highest bidder who is willing to continue running races and such. However, I admit I don't know if that is a likely scenario since CART was a public company and CCWS is privately held.

I remember reading a story about a month ago saying that CCWS hadn't paid its purse yet. If that is true, then precious few teams may have been considering answering the opening flag. Couple that with the fact that it was reported by Robin Miller that there was on offer on the table to give a chassis and engine to CCWS teams to get them to come on board. Miller reported that this offer was made to CCWS owners as an all or nothing package, not an offer made to individual teams that might be interested in switching. Maybe this offer was put back on the table when the phones started ringing across the road from the USAC office as individual CCWS teams learned about the offer from Miller's article.

Remember that the 1.2M TEAM benefit is only for those who compete for the whole season. How many of the CCWS teams could commit to a 19 race schedule (16 IRL + 3 CCWS additions) that includes Australia and Japan.

Does anyone think it is a likely scenario that CCWS doesn't sell Long Beach to the IRL but starts trying to market it to F1. Those guys don't appear to have much business sense and they seem like just the right sort of chumps to hand Bernie $40M to get him to bring his circus to town. That way they can at least stick something in TG's eye for a couple of years until Bernie replaces it with a race in North Korea.

Best possible result. :idea:Paul Stoddard with Minardi at Indy on the big track :idea: That would rock!

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

I'm all for it as long as the IRL keeps it's remaining ovals, tries to add Michigan or California speedway again and lets the club on 16th st. have some input.:usac:

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

I agree w/Duel....but they need to keep some road and street venues such as St. Pete....its an awesome event....I know USAC's plate if full right now....but if TG let USAC have some input and/or santioning rights...that would be awesome....

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Originally Posted by duel:
... lets the club on 16th st. have some input.:usac:

Originally Posted by rt9906:
....but if TG let USAC have some input and/or santioning rights...that would be awesome....

You guys are kidding , right ? :confused:


Paul Gray
www.paulgray28.com

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Not - not really....though I also dont think it would ever happen - could you imagine the credibility and legitimacy that it would bring? I would think that would be great for anyone fielding Sprint and Midget teams....I was young in the 70's and 80's but I do remember during Indycar broadcast they would mention sprints and midgets...the path to the brickyard.....I know that there are quite a few things that need to be fixed first....and maybe its naive....but its cool to think about....

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Originally Posted by rt9906:
I agree w/Duelsome ....but if TG let USAC have some input and/or santioning rights...that would be awesome....

USAC has enough problems to get corrected at this time.:doh: They don't need additional dreams to cloud their main objective. They need to remain focused on what the important issues are and put a plan of action into place that will bring back some integrity to the organization. Let the IRL and CCWS work on getting their issues resolved.:headbang

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Well dang it I thought this was an announcement about the Silver Crown series.

Actually I think the CCWS side brings alot to the table. They bring a better chassis, another engine, and some great tracks like Toronto, RA, Laguna Seca, and Portland.

Car counts will go up but having names like NH (Newman Hass) there will certainly be a plus.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

More fuel http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/s...d=1&id=3237154

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

It is kind of interesting that the Honda race in Japan and the LB GP is one of the main holdups. On one hand I think Honda would be happy to have a unified series with additional cars and more exposure. However, as the article points out, LB is a Toyota event.

Here is another strange thought. If the Mazda Atlantic Series stayed in place, you would go to an Indy car race and see the Honda Indy Cars, Infiniti(Nissan) Pro Series and the Mazda Atlantic Series.

My head hurts thinking about all the things that would need to be done to figure this one out.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Originally Posted by rt9906:
could you imagine the credibility and legitimacy that it would bring?.

TO WHO?

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

What we need here a little contrition. Even though both sides would like to become one, the rip in Open Wheel will remain even after a merger unless fans, management and the media realize that they are not the center of racing. We must understand a few things:

A. IRL followers must embrace CCWS followers. Despite the feeling of IRL dominance in Indy, CCWS pockets of fans are strong in the US. Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon, Canada and California are full of CCWS fans. It is imperative for IRL followers to open their arms and welcome CCWS followers that may sill feel bitter about the past decade.

B. The center of the racing world is not Indianapolis. It is Charlotte. As much as I hate it, we need to accept it and then work together as one Open Wheel series to reverse the trend. The longer people think the rest of the world bows the bended knee to Indianapolis, the longer we will be a 2nd rate to a 4th rate racing series. We have a problem. That problem is the general population of North America has lost interest. We need humble ourselves, open our arms and spread the word that Open Wheel racing is the best form of racing in North America.

C. Finally, this may be the best chance of Open Wheel racing returning to prominence. The public is hungry for one series. Folks are fed up with NASCAR from the ugly COT to the over priced hotels and tickets on race weekends.

Now is the time for an Open Wheel revival. Now is the time for fans, media and the series to open their arms, embrace one another and push towards a strengthened unified series.

Re: OT - Open Wheel Unification?
 

Now is the time for an Open Wheel revival. Now is the time for fans, media and the series to open their arms, embrace one another and push towards a strengthened unified series....Blake Johnson

A few Americans in top notch rides wouldn't hurt either. In spite of what Robin Miller says, by 1995, openwheel was sliding. At Indy in '95, less than 50k showed up on Pole Day. There were 44 "official" entries but only 37 (or 39?) car-driver combinations. Foreign road racers were replacing the Snevas, Rutherfords, Johncocks etc. Ovals were being replaced with street festivals and now, look where we are. Right back to the same scenario we had before the split. By 2002 the IRL had the best racing on the planet, a good cost effective formula, and American circle trackers and American road racers were being given opportunities. Smaller teams like Hemelgarn, Cahill, Walker, Panther, Cheever, Larry Blair, Foyt, Curb Agajanian, Kelly and D&R were competitive and won races, even after Penske came over. Enter Toyota and Honda and we've come full circle back to 1995. Unification or not, things will have to change before American race fans will once again embrace openwheel racing in this country.