Originally Posted by aussiemidgetfan:
the irl should not have existed in the first place. it is a scab, worthless and cause the downfall of a continuous 80 year+ history of national championship racing. the only way to rescue it now is to combine the elements of the failed champ car business to do so. As such they need to:
-Allow the champ car chassis and engine-increasing weight or limiting turbo boost on the engine for equivalence (because the champ car is something like 3 seconds a lap quicker on a road course, and would be at least half that on an oval)
-ADD to the schedule succesful champ car races: Long Beach, Toronto, Edmonton, Cleveland, Portland, Laguna Seca, Road America
-Don't bother with Surfers Paradise cause the only people who go only care about the taxis. You can forget Houston too because it is a rubbish temporary circuit (its got no tradition ala LB/TO and its not wide and open ala Edmonton/Cleveland)
-Drop St Petersburg, Infineon Raceway & Watkins Glen because nobody attends them.
-Get Michigan back! The Michigan/US 500 is arguably the second most significant race in US Openwheel. To neglect the past would be foolish
-Combine the IPS and Formula Atlantic by making the Atlantic a tad heavier. The old Atlantic chassis was quicker than an IPS car around Milwaukee, and the new one is faster still. And call it Formula Atlantic, because that name has historical significance whereas Infiniti Pro Series/Indy Pro Series/IRL Indy Series/whatever the bloody hell else they have called it doesn't.
Anything less, and I can guarantee that little more interest will develop. Champ Car fans are not interested in watching a product that is just IRL (in case you havent noticed-we haven't for 12 years. Remember the crowds at the I500 compared to the US500 in 1996?). Champ car fans won't go
The problem with champ car was not the on track product, it was not the attendance at the track. It was IMHO piss poor business management, pathetic PR and rubbish television deals (they should never have gone to ABC/ESPN).
and I have always thought this-Jimmy Vasser the 1996 CART/National champion learnt his oval craft in iirc 3/4 midgets and his road racing through formula atlantic. maybe other short trackers should broaden their horizons? It isn't like foreigners and right hand turns are new-they date back to the 1960s and probably earlier. Mario Andretti raced Formula Junior, Sir Jack Brabham was a succesful midget driver before taking up Euro Formula 2 and then F1, if you don't think both these elementds assisted them-you are fooling yourselves.
aussiemidgetfan,
The 1996 Indy 500 played to a full house and the only empty seats the last few years have been the less desirable ones down low in the backstretch/turn three area. There were more empty seats at the Allstate 400 this past year than the Indy 500.