Q: Would it make to much sense for a IndyCar owner to look at someone like Bobby Santos III to put in a Indy car? He's been on a tear in USAC and what is IndyCars problem with New Hampshire not getting a race for the second year in a row?
John form Kensington New Hampshire
RM: The sad truth is not one IndyCar owner has any idea who Santos is and his only shot at running the Indy 500 is to bring money. He's an excellent pavement racer and the only guy hotter lately has been Bryan Clauson, a 20-year-old Hoosier with more talent than opportunity.
Vukie, Bobby Santos is one of the greatest talents I have ever seen race on pavement. An the tear Bobby has been on should continue at Oswego, Bobby, Davey Hamilton and Chet Fillip are the three drivers I expect to be at Oswego that have run the track before. I feel Bobby deserves a chance at Indy, will he ever get it is the question that remains to answered.
Vukie,
Robin is exactly right for the most part. I know for a fact that there are several indy teams looking at american open wheel drivers once again. Open wheel needs TV time more than anything to develop a fan base for the drivers. That is one of the only ways our guys will be able to run indy without a suitcase full of money in hand.
Team WBR is an hour out of Oswego- see you at the track!
Someone needs tp give Bobby a chance I've seen him run 3 times this year and looked awesome each time. All he needs is the right break. Keep trying and don't give up Bobby
It will never happen as long as the IRL continues to turn it's back on oval racing and the American fanbase by going to places like Brazil and China. China is rumored to be building a copy of the IMS and having a race there.
usac killed any chances for their short track drivers to "move up" when they, some how, pissed away the "Thursday Night Thunder" TV shows........ usac made it even more difficult for their drivers to be taken seriously, when they put them in the new supersilvercrown cartoon cars.......Now there is talk of usac eliminating pavement sprint car racing from the schedule which will put the final "kabosh" on any usac drivers hopes of making it to pro level racing.
usac no longer understands or remembers that the top pro open wheel drivers were made on the pavement of Raceway Park and the high bank asphalt of Winchester, Salem and Dayton, not the little quarter mile dirt mudholes at paragon, putmanville, gas city or "the burg"............ Sorry, but as hard as I look, I see no little Parnelli, Mario or A.J. embryos, currently racing, who have any chance of making it out of the state of Indiana.......
usac would be far smarter to get rid of the dirt tracks if they want their drivers to have a chance to actually learn something that would be useful to them in a pro level series.
USAC’s #1 job is not to be a training ground for a “pro” level. Their number #1 job is to do what is best for USAC. That means putting on the best racing they can to benefit USAC which in turn benefits the fans that come out. They are not to worry about helping to promote a driver to another series. If someone does move up racing with them, then that is great. Makes the series look good. However, they have to worry about their racing first and not worry about anything else. So “dropping dirt” doesn’t make any sense. That’s what is profitable and where the car count is now….and what the fans overall of USAC love the most.
I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again. The ONLY way a young open wheel driver gets into the IRL without a bunch of money is to get into Indy Lights first. NO team is going to hire a 20 year open wheel driver straight in….even if it was ALL ovals. Just not going to happen in these times. Even though most of them are better than the “foreign back markers who bring money” (no doubt there are too many of those), it’s still not going to happen. Lucas Wolfe has an Indy Lights deal for next year. We’ll see what he can do with it….
There is such a catch 22 right now. You need better TV ratings to get sponsors (meaning the team getting the sponsors and then hiring the driver they want). To get better TV ratings you need more American drivers that people can identity with. Those drivers aren’t hired because teams need drivers to bring sponsor money. American open wheel drivers don’t have sponsor money so they aren’t hired.
You can’t argue with who Penske and Ganassi have in their seats. It would be great to see Clausen in a Ganassi Indy Car, but he’s not better than the two in the seats right now. Two champions and two Indy 500 winners. I have no doubt Bryan would be good, but those two are as good as it gets, foreign or not. I also have little doubt open wheelers could be great road racers given time which is what it takes for a full time ride now. Unser Jr. was one of the best road racers of his era.
I think with Nascar not having many open seats anymore it can only help open wheel drivers move up in open wheel (not saying it will happen, but it can’t hurt). They are not all scooped up right away so maybe something can happen. I think the key is to get into Indy Lights and then hook up with a lower funded team and hope to impress. Hornish, Jr. worked at it and was able to do that. I would have been a shame for him not to have been in the IRL, champion and Indy 500 winner. There was an article in Speed Sport recently on Santos. He said basically everybody wants money to move up….Nascar too. Just sad….
They are missing on a lot of good drivers and it’s a shame. There is a way there, but it’s a hard and expensive road right now. Rick Mears would never be an Indy Car driver today…would have never gotten the chance. That would have been very sad….. Many others would have fit that category as well.
It's a shame that racing is all about the $ & not so much about the talent. It's not who has talent, it's who has $ & talent.
---------- Post added at 09:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 AM ----------
Originally Posted by openwheelKT:
USAC’s #1 job is not to be a training ground for a “pro” level. Their number #1 job is to do what is best for USAC. That means putting on the best racing they can to benefit USAC which in turn benefits the fans that come out. They are not to worry about helping to promote a driver to another series. If someone does move up racing with them, then that is great. Makes the series look good. However, they have to worry about their racing first and not worry about anything else. So “dropping dirt” doesn’t make any sense. That’s what is profitable and where the car count is now….and what the fans overall of USAC love the most.
I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again. The ONLY way a young open wheel driver gets into the IRL without a bunch of money is to get into Indy Lights first. NO team is going to hire a 20 year open wheel driver straight in….even if it was ALL ovals. Just not going to happen in these times. Even though most of them are better than the “foreign back markers who bring money” (no doubt there are too many of those), it’s still not going to happen. Lucas Wolfe has an Indy Lights deal for next year. We’ll see what he can do with it….
There is such a catch 22 right now. You need better TV ratings to get sponsors (meaning the team getting the sponsors and then hiring the driver they want). To get better TV ratings you need more American drivers that people can identity with. Those drivers aren’t hired because teams need drivers to bring sponsor money. American open wheel drivers don’t have sponsor money so they aren’t hired.
You can’t argue with who Penske and Ganassi have in their seats. It would be great to see Clausen in a Ganassi Indy Car, but he’s not better than the two in the seats right now. Two champions and two Indy 500 winners. I have no doubt Bryan would be good, but those two are as good as it gets, foreign or not. I also have little doubt open wheelers could be great road racers given time which is what it takes for a full time ride now. Unser Jr. was one of the best road racers of his era.
I think with Nascar not having many open seats anymore it can only help open wheel drivers move up in open wheel (not saying it will happen, but it can’t hurt). They are not all scooped up right away so maybe something can happen. I think the key is to get into Indy Lights and then hook up with a lower funded team and hope to impress. Hornish, Jr. worked at it and was able to do that. I would have been a shame for him not to have been in the IRL, champion and Indy 500 winner. There was an article in Speed Sport recently on Santos. He said basically everybody wants money to move up….Nascar too. Just sad….
They are missing on a lot of good drivers and it’s a shame. There is a way there, but it’s a hard and expensive road right now. Rick Mears would never be an Indy Car driver today…would have never gotten the chance. That would have been very sad….. Many others would have fit that category as well.
Maybe USAC's idea of what iis best for USAC is not complete! What if doing what's best for USAC is putting on the best show they can & helping to promote drivers. That might be incentive to race in USAC! Which in the long run, would be good for USAC & a chance for the fans to see drivers as they are making there way up.
