Well Superduke, you have really caused a stir with this post! :2:
The topic has gone off course, but it's still about the "bozo's" as well.... I understand where you and the dirtheads are coming from because I used to feel the same way you do. But I started to watch these other forms of racing, and began to admire these other drivers, no matter where they were from. All racing is hard because you are competing against others, some are just more difficult(relative term) than others.
I do believe, that the era/track/type/surface that a person LEARNS about racing with, is the one that they will ALWAYS refer to as the "golden age". I call it thier formative years.
It's the same way in stock cars, when people are always saying, "Aww these kids today can't compare to Fireball, or Curtis, or the Flocks or fill in the blank....Everything in life changes, and when looking back to "the good ole days" NOTHING" looks as good. For most people that is....
Sure as a sprint/midget driver, I miss the early IRL days, but that too has changed, so we move on...And enjoy good, hard road racing and oval racing with IndyCar...
---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Originally Posted by sc96:
I was talking to someone who works very close to one of the top IRL teams.
So that makes this guy an "expert"?
---------- Post added at 07:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Originally Posted by Rhody:
I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty sad when a guy can make it to the big time without being brave enough to race what hundreds of us strap into every week across the country. I doubt you would find a single sprint car driver who wouldn't mash the gas in an Indy car given the chance. (Heck they only have 650 hp, that puts them on par with 360's- and they have wings!)
You guys just show that you don't know or dont care to know how hard it is to run a place like the Speedway, and do it good. And how brave one must be.
As far as the 650hp, you dont remember when CART was running 900+hp.
Also, its a lot different with 650 on a 5/8 mile long straightaway with a tight turn at the end of it, and 800 on a 1/4 or 1/2 mile. There is a reason they keep trying to slow the IndyCars down....
---------- Post added at 07:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Originally Posted by backitin:
The 50's-70's might be gone, but that doesnt mean the racing wasnt better then.
My point exactly!
---------- Post added at 07:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Originally Posted by mikew:
Part of the issue is that drivers from other countries recognize at an early age that if they want to get into F1, GP2, GP3, F3 or even in to the lower tier formula feeder ladders, they will need sponsorship, so they are networking, developing sponsors and hiring agents much earlier in their careers than many of their US counterparts. So when their career path to F1 fizzles out, they still may have sponsorship dollars to take elsewhere.
The other part of this problem is that the feeder ladders in US racing have been a mess, and the competition in European ladders is much higher. This allows for the perception that somebody who has vetted themselves in the European ladders has learned more racecraft than somebody who came up through the US ladders.
One other reason that some of these foreign drivers get the nod is the perception that you can teach a road course driver how to tackle ovals much easier than you can teach an oval driver how to tackle road courses.
The current management of the IndyCar Series is trying to do something about that though. Last year they brought Star Mazda and USF2000 on as part of the official IndyCar ladder along with Indy Lights. They have established scholarships for each ladder series champion driver to help them move on to the next rung. They have set up some interesting side deals like providing a scholarship for the USAC champion to run all the ovals in Lights. They have also established a "combine" where ladder team owners and IndyCar drivers can evaluate up and coming talent in USF2000 cars. This "combine" will draw from series and event champions from across the karting world, as well as USAC D1 midgets.
Yeah, their current marketing spin is that they have the "best drivers on the planet".... I don't believe that for one second. Yeah, they have some good drivers, but the best in the world are in F1 and NASCAR.... because that is where you get paid what you are worth. But at least they are making moves in their ladder series to try and make their ladders a legitimate feeder into IndyCar and maybe help them over time earn the title "best drivers on the planet".
Good post, but I do believe that the top drivers in IndyCar are among the "best". Dario, Scott, Helio, Briscoe, Power, Kanaan. I believe that Hunter-Reay is right there, as is Graham. And now we have Simona!!!
---------- Post added at 07:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------
Originally Posted by predator:
instead of trying to point out everything thats wrong with something and why you want nothing to do with it, why not use those 5 minutes to go on you-tube and look up last years race from chicago
nice!