500 & 600, $20 Million?

apexonephoto · 5/13/10, 8:37 PM

I don't think it would be possible for too many drivers. But give a few guys a couple years to try. I would say that with some real racers it could be possible. The buy a ride guys in both series don't win in their respective series. It is a gimmick that could improve tv and maybe attendance the first year. I'd like to see Cole Whitt race both series, not Danica Patrick. What do you guys think of this:

Randy Bernard learned a couple of valuable lessons Thursday: keeping secrets in auto racing might be harder than hanging onto a Brahma bull for eight seconds and Bruton Smith likes to give interviews.

The new CEO of IndyCar, who came up with the idea two months ago of a proposed doubleheader with Charlotte that would pay $20 million to any driver winning the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, was undoubtedly shocked to hear Smith broke the story on Thursday.

One, because Bernard thought they had an agreement to keep it quiet until later this month when there would be a dual press conference in Indy and Charlotte with drivers from both series.

And two because it’s not a done deal just yet and IMS owner Mari Hulman George has yet to sign off on it.

“I want to do some things to shake up the world of racing and all boats rise on a high tide,” said Bernard a few days ago when privately discussing his plan.

Smith, who owns Charlotte Motor Speedway, was speaking to SPEED’s Wendy Venturini on Thursday’s edition of Race Hub, when he prematurely revealed what could make the biggest day in motorsports even larger.

Venturini: “Charlotte Motor Speedway, you guys are re-inventing the wheel here every year.”
SMITH: We do, we do…. we want to surprise the fans. Every time they come, we want them to say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know about that.’ I’m working on something now that I thought would be great, for say, next year. And that is, maybe we’ll do something that would cause drivers to get more interested in running (the Indianapolis 500) and then coming here… driving 1,100 miles of racing. It would take a Superman-type of driver to (win both events).

Venturini: “I thought the reason some of the drivers backed away from doing (both events) was ….I don’t know….a conflict of the (start) times.”
SMITH: I’ve talked to Indianapolis and they would start their race at 11 o’clock … we’d have a jet waiting for the drivers. They’d land right here. We’d helicopter them to the track and they’d have ample time before they had to get in their cars to win the 600. So, we have five or six drivers that could accomplish (winning both events on the same day).”

Venturini: “That sounds like a cool plan.”
SMITH: “Maybe we could cause that to happen and for the driver that wins both events, some huge award, like $20 million … that would get people’s attention wouldn’t it?”

Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti have done the double in the past, none with much success, but it’s impossible nowadays because Indy doesn’t take the green flag until 1 p.m.

Besides the time, the other major obstacle at the moment would appear to be Honda, which powers the entire Indy 500 lineup and has no associations in NASCAR. Hard to imagine a Chevy or Ford driver being allowed to drive a Honda.

Bernard, who was flying to Pueblo, Colorado to be inducted to the Professional Bull Riders Hall of Fame, and couldn’t be reached for comment, met with Smith recently to discuss this joint venture.

Smith told Bernard he was courting four or five big NASCAR names to partake in the double. Kyle and Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick have all previously stated they’d like to give Indy a try with the proper equipment and time to test.

BuckeyeBullet · 5/13/10, 9:17 PM

Guys (currently in Cup) I would like to see try this:

Jeff Gordon, a slimmer Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch (he probably wouldn't make it all 4 in qualifying but it would be exciting), Ryan Newman, and JPM off the top of my head.

tqracer65 · 5/13/10, 9:33 PM

Didnt Tony have 2 top 10s one of the times he tried the double?? This would be pretty awesome and hopefully NASCAR would let the drivers start where they qualify because if I remember right they had to start at the back for missing the drivers meeting??

apexonephoto · 5/13/10, 9:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tqracer65

Didnt Tony have 2 top 10s one of the times he tried the double?? This would be pretty awesome and hopefully NASCAR would let the drivers start where they qualify because if I remember right they had to start at the back for missing the drivers meeting??

'99 500 - 9TH, 600 - 4TH
'01 500 - 6TH, 600 - 3RD

Who in the IndyCar series could do it?

openwheelKT · 5/14/10, 6:01 AM

I've heard/read this a couple of places. It's supposed to be announced later in the month. I still don't think it's really going to do much, but it's a cool idea. The big dogs in Cup have too much riding to come to Indy like the old days. I don't see a lot of owners wanting them to do it either. There will be some that try, but not a great deal IMO. On the other side, an Indy driver would have a hard making the 600 because you really only have 7 spots that are open to qual for with their stupid top 35 rule.

I like the concept on paper. I just don't see it playing out on a big scale. You'll get some, but not a lot.

apexonephoto · 5/14/10, 6:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by openwheelKT

I like the concept on paper.

I do too. I think the state of the cars (templated and spec'd to death) and the couple of owners in both series who own all the cars won't make it possible. Penske or Ganassi doesn't have a strong enough cup programs to do it. The dominate cup owners don't have anything to do with making racing outside their series any better.

Seadog · 5/14/10, 8:11 AM

I want to see Dave Steele and Brian Tyler do it. They both have both IndyCar and NASCAR experience.

---------- Post added at 08:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:11 AM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by apexonephoto

I do too. I think the state of the cars (templated and spec'd to death) and the couple of owners in both series who own all the cars won't make it possible. Penske or Ganassi doesn't have a strong enough cup programs to do it. The dominate cup owners don't have anything to do with making racing outside their series any better.

Not strong enough? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that both Penske and Ganassi have won on the Cup trail already this season.

767 · 5/14/10, 8:43 AM

All I got to Say is..........Juan pablo montoya. He would have to be the favorite to do it!

Montoya- Close to winning on several ovals, and Chip owns last years IRL championship team
Stewart- We all know he can get a good indy car ride
Hornish- We all know about penski and indy. In Nascar everyone can win a race
Robby Gordon- Better chance at winning Indy than Charlotte, but u never know

To me the interesting thing would be if they allow more cars to start the 600. Right now it would be tough for an indy car driver to make the field. For this to benifiet both you need a few Indy car drivers to do it to.
Danica
Castoneves
Dario or Dixon

It would be cool to see 6 drivers do the double. Things like this would bring more attention to the sport. At least it would give me a reason to hurray home from the 500 :2:

bowbuild · 5/14/10, 8:54 AM

It would be nice to see the IRL to change the engine requriments. Open it back up to Chevy, Ford, Toyota and Dodge allowing the shops down south to build motors. If the team owners down south could make money they would work with this idea.

apexonephoto · 5/14/10, 9:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seadog

Not strong enough? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that both Penske and Ganassi have won on the Cup trail already this season.

Gregg, I guess I should have worded it differently. It seems like in this day and age a Cup driver is too tied to a make and an owner. This is compounded by relationships in both series. Ganassi has (2) 600 victories in (41) starts, Penkse is (0) for 72 in the 600. The last few 600's have been won by Reutimann in the rain and Kahne with his old iteration of a team. If any of the two races had a fluke winner I would say it's the 600. Montoya won the 500 ten years ago, and he has had some great runs in Cup this year. I think he would be the most plausible to finish highest this year although he hasn't won an oval race yet. Ganassi's Cup team has been doing pretty good this season. Hornish hasn't really showed much promise in Cup ever, Stewart is off to his usual slow start proving 2009 wasn't a typical season and did average really good. Johnson and Gordon only drive Cup cars. Kyle Busch would be my other bet, but it would take him a couple years. I don't follow IndyCar so much, but the Franchitti already tried Cup, Paul Tracy only races three times a year and all the other top IndyCar guys don't seem the type to try it. Robby and Andretti I think should move on to other things. If I had their names and money I would still be trying, I don't fault anyone for being where they are.

I think there may be too much pride between owners, too much fear of injury in the opposite series and too much standardization for this to get further then a neat idea. I would like to see it work. Maybe they can run a vintage race with today's drivers in yesterday's Indy cars and stock cars. I could also see both tracks playing the other race on a Jumbotron, which would be a long day, but neat.

5/13/10, 8:37 PM	#1 500 & 600, $20 Million?
apexonephoto Senior Member Race Count This Year: 8 Race Count Last Year: 35 Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2,075	I don't think it would be possible for too many drivers. But give a few guys a couple years to try. I would say that with some real racers it could be possible. The buy a ride guys in both series don't win in their respective series. It is a gimmick that could improve tv and maybe attendance the first year. I'd like to see Cole Whitt race both series, not Danica Patrick. What do you guys think of this: Randy Bernard learned a couple of valuable lessons Thursday: keeping secrets in auto racing might be harder than hanging onto a Brahma bull for eight seconds and Bruton Smith likes to give interviews. The new CEO of IndyCar, who came up with the idea two months ago of a proposed doubleheader with Charlotte that would pay $20 million to any driver winning the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, was undoubtedly shocked to hear Smith broke the story on Thursday. One, because Bernard thought they had an agreement to keep it quiet until later this month when there would be a dual press conference in Indy and Charlotte with drivers from both series. And two because it’s not a done deal just yet and IMS owner Mari Hulman George has yet to sign off on it. “I want to do some things to shake up the world of racing and all boats rise on a high tide,” said Bernard a few days ago when privately discussing his plan. Smith, who owns Charlotte Motor Speedway, was speaking to SPEED’s Wendy Venturini on Thursday’s edition of Race Hub, when he prematurely revealed what could make the biggest day in motorsports even larger. Venturini: “Charlotte Motor Speedway, you guys are re-inventing the wheel here every year.” SMITH: We do, we do…. we want to surprise the fans. Every time they come, we want them to say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know about that.’ I’m working on something now that I thought would be great, for say, next year. And that is, maybe we’ll do something that would cause drivers to get more interested in running (the Indianapolis 500) and then coming here… driving 1,100 miles of racing. It would take a Superman-type of driver to (win both events). Venturini: “I thought the reason some of the drivers backed away from doing (both events) was ….I don’t know….a conflict of the (start) times.” SMITH: I’ve talked to Indianapolis and they would start their race at 11 o’clock … we’d have a jet waiting for the drivers. They’d land right here. We’d helicopter them to the track and they’d have ample time before they had to get in their cars to win the 600. So, we have five or six drivers that could accomplish (winning both events on the same day).” Venturini: “That sounds like a cool plan.” SMITH: “Maybe we could cause that to happen and for the driver that wins both events, some huge award, like $20 million … that would get people’s attention wouldn’t it?” Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti have done the double in the past, none with much success, but it’s impossible nowadays because Indy doesn’t take the green flag until 1 p.m. Besides the time, the other major obstacle at the moment would appear to be Honda, which powers the entire Indy 500 lineup and has no associations in NASCAR. Hard to imagine a Chevy or Ford driver being allowed to drive a Honda. Bernard, who was flying to Pueblo, Colorado to be inducted to the Professional Bull Riders Hall of Fame, and couldn’t be reached for comment, met with Smith recently to discuss this joint venture. Smith told Bernard he was courting four or five big NASCAR names to partake in the double. Kyle and Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick have all previously stated they’d like to give Indy a try with the proper equipment and time to test.

5/13/10, 9:17 PM	#2 Re: 500 & 600, $20 Million?
BuckeyeBullet Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 141	Guys (currently in Cup) I would like to see try this: Jeff Gordon, a slimmer Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch (he probably wouldn't make it all 4 in qualifying but it would be exciting), Ryan Newman, and JPM off the top of my head.

5/13/10, 9:33 PM	#3 Re: 500 & 600, $20 Million?
tqracer65 Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 211	Didnt Tony have 2 top 10s one of the times he tried the double?? This would be pretty awesome and hopefully NASCAR would let the drivers start where they qualify because if I remember right they had to start at the back for missing the drivers meeting??

5/14/10, 6:01 AM	#5 Re: 500 & 600, $20 Million?
openwheelKT Senior Member Race Count Last Year: 73 Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 742	I've heard/read this a couple of places. It's supposed to be announced later in the month. I still don't think it's really going to do much, but it's a cool idea. The big dogs in Cup have too much riding to come to Indy like the old days. I don't see a lot of owners wanting them to do it either. There will be some that try, but not a great deal IMO. On the other side, an Indy driver would have a hard making the 600 because you really only have 7 spots that are open to qual for with their stupid top 35 rule. I like the concept on paper. I just don't see it playing out on a big scale. You'll get some, but not a lot.

5/14/10, 8:43 AM	#8 Re: 500 & 600, $20 Million?
767 Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,147	All I got to Say is..........Juan pablo montoya. He would have to be the favorite to do it! Montoya- Close to winning on several ovals, and Chip owns last years IRL championship team Stewart- We all know he can get a good indy car ride Hornish- We all know about penski and indy. In Nascar everyone can win a race Robby Gordon- Better chance at winning Indy than Charlotte, but u never know To me the interesting thing would be if they allow more cars to start the 600. Right now it would be tough for an indy car driver to make the field. For this to benifiet both you need a few Indy car drivers to do it to. Danica Castoneves Dario or Dixon It would be cool to see 6 drivers do the double. Things like this would bring more attention to the sport. At least it would give me a reason to hurray home from the 500 :2:

5/14/10, 8:54 AM	#9 Re: 500 & 600, $20 Million?
bowbuild Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 271	It would be nice to see the IRL to change the engine requriments. Open it back up to Chevy, Ford, Toyota and Dodge allowing the shops down south to build motors. If the team owners down south could make money they would work with this idea.