Rnd 1 Las Vegas Event Thread (RACE SPOILERS)

[Purist]

Rustyfan, as to the tunnel divider, you put something in front of it. For the drivers going into the pits, have a guardrail to their left with a curved end facing oncoming race traffic. For those on the circuit at speed, have tires to their right, which will be somewhat restrained by the guardrail. Heck, you could even add a couple of those large barrels in front of the guardrail for a bit more energy absorbtion.

Mountainstar, I think we better check who really wrote that piece. Something's really wrong; I mean, Robin Miller being positive about CART?! What's next?! (as I try to keep from laughing)

[Purist]

I missed the edit deadline.

Anyway, Rustyfan, don't dismiss my proposal straight away. After all, if someone's throttle stuck, what would stop a really nasty crash from occurring at that point on the course in its current configuration? They could blast right by the temporary curbs, since the far left and right sides of the road are free of obstructions. If someone goes "flying" straight over the curbs, who knows what angle at which they might hit something solid?!

[Jimmy Magnusson]

I think my dad said it best:

"Vegas? They should have raced in the night with all the neon lights lit up."

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by Purist

I missed the edit deadline.

Anyway, Rustyfan, don't dismiss my proposal straight away. After all, if someone's throttle stuck, what would stop a really nasty crash from occurring at that point on the course in its current configuration? They could blast right by the temporary curbs, since the far left and right sides of the road are free of obstructions. If someone goes "flying" straight over the curbs, who knows what angle at which they might hit something solid?!

Yes, but the likelihood of a throttle sticking open is not high and that is a motor racing risk whatever you do with the track.

Appraoching that wall lap by lap at top speed with no braking area carries rather more risk. The potential for horrifying shunts would be enormous.

[Purist]

Either way, with an extra barrier preventing sudden-stop, head-ons, the risk to drivers should be reduced to a reasonable level. There are plenty of tracks (permanent road courses included) where the barriers close in relatively suddenly, and others where the start of pit-wall is very close to the racing surface (as is the case at Las Vegas); this is especially true on ovals.

[Snrub]

Originally Posted by Purist

Mountainstar, I think we better check who really wrote that piece. Something's really wrong; I mean, Robin Miller being positive about CART?! What's next?! (as I try to keep from laughing)

Perhaps you didn't see the whole debacle a month or so ago where Miller blasted CC and as a result was fired from his freelance job writing articles for the series website? I'm sure if you do a search on this forum you'll be able to see our detailed discussions about it.

Miller's article primarly praised the Las Vegas track and he certainly wasn't alone in it.

[bil588]

video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUQNMIf-sys

[indycool]

Lot of empty seats, whatever session or grandstand it was.

[icemachine]

Originally Posted by youtube

The first GP in downtown LV. The first clips are from turn 4 at the corner of Main/Carson and was the Champ Car Practice run. Second clips were from the Main St. straightaway and was the Atlantic Qualifying

From the post desciption

[mac]

Originally Posted by indycool

Lot of empty seats, whatever session or grandstand it was.

There's always a negative for you, isn't there.

Yes there were a few things that could have worked better, but after the somewhat tumultuous off-season, I would suggest that Las Vegas was a pretty solid start to the season for Champ Car.

[mountainstar]

From a lot of the pictures I've seen taken during the race, the grandstands were full or almost full. Also a lot of people were able to see the track for free so I think it will be hard to gauge the exact attendance.

Overall for a first time event it went well with a great track and great venue. There has been a lot of constructive criticism gathered which I'm sure the race promoters will take on board to make it even better for next year.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by indycool

Lot of empty seats, whatever session or grandstand it was.

Can't be any worse then the meager crowds for irl races at homestead and st. pete. 761 paid attendance at homestead with the other 15,000 comped by marlboro and empty stands at st pete for friday and sat with weak attendance on sunday and andretti green honda considering whether or not to continue for next year.

[enemy-ace]

Originally Posted by Snrub

I hope we do see Doornbos win this year. Cannon has been with HVM in the past, so despite his success with AJ I'm not sure that he will be the deciding factor.

IMO the race engineer is always an integral part of a winning car. Dominguez was quick in the early stages of his Forsythe career last year as well. He just wasn't able to drive it as consistently as AJ did.
I think Cannon was the best enginner in the pit lane behind Hampson last year. HVM now Minardi have the nucleus of a potentially winning crew. With Doornbos in that seat (who is a step up from Phillipe) they can win a few races.
I'll be willing to eat the crow if I am wrong.

[mountainstar]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/column...ohn&id=2830743

[gomick]

great drive will power - go aussies. Un!

[indycool]

Mountainstar: "a lot of people were able to see the track for free."

Oreo story: "vinyl netting obstructed trackside view in most places."

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

From a lot of the pictures I've seen taken during the race, the grandstands were full or almost full. Also a lot of people were able to see the track for free so I think it will be hard to gauge the exact attendance.

Oh, so I must have watched another race.

I taped the Vegas race as well. The only shots in which the grandstands seemed full were close-ups in which no more than six rows of seats were show. The only things older than this tv trick are Norman Normal and myself.

In any single "pan shot" of the grandstands during the race the grandstand occupancy wasn't higher than 65% (I measured this by grandstand module). And mountainstar, this is the highest number I could find. Not even the grandstand in front of the pits was more occupied than that.

Also, maybe my neighbors - who attended the race in Vegas - drove to St. Pete instead of the Sin City. My neighbor Peter, who is a hardcore Champ Car fan as one can be, told me last night that he had "seen more people in the bleachers of the Burbank amateur soccer league than the few that saw the [Vegas] race."

And he called the Atlantics race "the least attended race I've seen in my whole life with the exception of some SCCA scraps in the 80s in Willow Springs". This guy is 65 and has been around the block.

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Overall for a first time event it went well with a great track and great venue. There has been a lot of constructive criticism gathered which I'm sure the race promoters will take on board to make it even better for next year.

Agreed. All things considered the race in Vegas was well organized and the event has everything to become a success.

If I were to ask something I would call for a slightly longer circuit, over 3 miles, but of course this implies higher expenses and right now nobody in this series is swimming in cash.

[marcel82]

Originally Posted by indycool

Mountainstar: "a lot of people were able to see the track for free."

Oreo story: "vinyl netting obstructed trackside view in most places."

get a hotel room trackside, few stories up. you can see the race, without paying for it. and if you did pay, you'd have to pay for the hotel anyway (well, most of us)

[Snrub]

My 2C: It looked like the main stands were reasonably full, but had some holes. Yes they did use the show a small portion trick, but they can rarely hide the stands for the whole race. There was one (I can't remember exactly where it was) that was nearly completely empty. It looked like an okay attendance race, not spectacular, but not a failure. Attendance estimates (not by CC) were 40k. So that's probably a weekend attendance of 80-90k.

While the track was truely excellent, I am a little concerned by the money that was spent $15M. On the other hand, anyone who'd spend that kind of money seems pretty determined to make it work. Perhaps some of the less glamourous casinos in the track area pitched in?

I suspect that if for some reason CC didn't continue with the race in the future that someone else would take it over. It seems like a solid foundation to build upon.

[indycool]

I expect something similar to San Jose......going to the city for more bucks.....

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by indycool

Mountainstar: "a lot of people were able to see the track for free."

Oreo story: "vinyl netting obstructed trackside view in most places."

According to people that were there a lot of people were able to see the track for free.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by indycool

I expect something similar to San Jose......going to the city for more bucks.....

Or what they could do is shake down local businesses like andretti green did in st pete.

[mountainstar]

Looks like a .9 rating/2 share

[indycool]

link to a "shakedown"?

[mountainstar]

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2...30/235221.html

"Event organizers told businesses lining the race way they'd have to pay a fee, or a tarp would be put up blocking their view. Some businesses are not happy with paying the fees to watch the race, which will be as close as 12 feet in front of some of the stores"

"Martin said the only way organizers would remove the tarp is if he agreed to pay a $3,200 fee. He said they originally wanted $4,500 but he negotiated that rate down. "