Originally Posted by Puppy:
I think he means "the Split"...
I for one was all for the IRL and its supposed mission, I couldn't understand why someone like Robin Miller was so against it. But now looking back in hindsight, it was a terrible thing for our beloved top level of open wheel racing in this country. I can see now how STRONG Cart was just before the split and how even now it hasn't regained that level of following.
Exactly what I meant, it was a pyrrhic victory. While I don't hold either side totally blameless, that whole deal set off a chain of events that the series has not recovered from. We'll never know how much family money was spent in support of the IRL. His own family removed him from the CEO position in 2009. The uptick we've seen as of recent hasn't been under his direct leadership, that's been Boles, Miles, and Frye.
If 1996 doesn't happen, I don't think we are sitting here today watching IMS change hands. While the series needs the 500 and it is the big one, as Gurney eluded to, it benefits everyone if we don't treat this as one big race surrounded by a bunch of small support events. A strong series means an even stronger 500 and makes everyone money.