CART change suggestions...

[bluespace01]

I've been a loyal CART fan for years.

Through the Andre Ribero win at the inagural race in Rio...
...the Greg Moore phenomenon...
...the Zanardi doughnuts...
...and the unforgettable Zanardi-Herta pass at Laguna Seca...

It USED to be a great series...

I know many people have come up with different ideas to save CART, but I would like to offer a few from a little different perspective.

You see, I've made a switch from CART to F1. I know, I know, any CART fan can come up with hundreds of reasons on the problems with F1. I'm not denying any of it. There's issues and problems with almost every motorsports these days.

However, watching the recent CART races, there's a few things I feel CART can learn...

1. Post-race handling: One of the best qualities of Formula One is it's organization. I was hooked on F1 because of this quality. After each race, the top three cars park in the Park Ferme(i.e. winner's circle), then the trophy presentation/anthem/champaign, and most importantly, the interviews conducted inside a quiet designated room with journalists. It's not like the CART series where the TV station runs out of time and rushes to the drivers after the race, barely getting a few words in, let along the trophy presentation or the champaign. Racing is great, but listening to what they felt and how they raced in an organized, professional manner 'compleates' the race in my opinion. More than 20% of the racing coverage in F1 is pre/post race coverage. I think CART should cut down the amount of laps and add more time for the off-track, intimate look at CART.

2. Teams: In formula one, each team must have two cars. You cannot have one, or more than three cars racing in a team(I think some NASCAR teams has like five cars racing in one team...). I didn't like this at first, but it gives a sense of organization and more action. It's also good for the sponsors since the two cars must be identical. It also gives the fans to have a team to support and cheer for- something that's not well done in CART. In F1, there are fans for the manufacturer, the team, or the driver.

3. Time/Date: Every race (except for one this year) is conducted every two weeks. This way, the fans don't have to worry about which race is when. I can memorize the F1 calendar by heart, but the CART has always been a struggle to keep up.

As you can see, I think CART lacks organization. To be honest, CART is often a more exciting racing series. It has better passing, better odds of winning for the drivers (in F1, only 3-4 drivers have a shot of winning). But as I try to love the series, it just doesn't feel professional or compleate. At the end of a F1 race, it feels good and finished. CART? leaves me with more questions...

For those of you who haven't tried F1, I ask that they just watch one race next March(the series is finished now...). Just note how everything is orchastrated with the countdown for the green light, the post-race celebrations, interviews... I'm not asking them to give up CART, or even love F1, just so that they can see the difference. Formula one has been around for more than 50-60 years, and you'll see why. There's a reason why Micheal Schumacher is the MOST paid sports-athelete in the world (yes, 20million more than the A-train, more than any US other althete)...

Oh, and please don't judge F1 by ABC's broadcast. That was the worst racing coverage I've ever seen... Try Speedvision or Fox Sports...

Ciao!

[mac]

Welcome bluey!!!

I think most people on this forum have had an absolute gutful of the performances of the CART administration this year. However, turning it into f1 is not the answer. Personally, I like CART, among other things, because it is different to formula one. Though, the overall presentation does leave quite a bit to be desired.

[Liz]

In order to make Champ Cars really like F1 you also have to do this:

1. Close the paddock and the pits to everyone who doesn't have a seven-figure bank balance or an Academy Award ... or who isn't sleeping with a driver. Make sure the fans can only see their favourite driver through a telescope, or by buying expensive imported magazines. (Autosport costs me $500 per year here in Canada.)

2. NEVER hold any autograph sessions, any time, anywhere. If you wanted an autograph from this guy, you should have got it when he was in Karts.

3. Make sure all the drivers are very, very young and virtually indistinguishable from one another. It isn't necessary that they know how to actually drive a racing car; if they can steer and not upset the electronics that will be good enough. They must look good in the sponsor's clothes and be experts at following orders, and be able to discern a person's bank balance and celebrity status at a distance sufficient to prevent them from speaking to anyone inappropriate.

4. Only hire very high-strung guys who don't know what they think about anything until they see the script the PR girl has prepared for them. Then never let them out to talk unless they have this PR girl at their elbows. The only people who are allowed to speak out are people who have no chance of ever achieving anything meaningful, or who are popularly considered to be has-beens or comic relief (Jacques and Irvine).

5. And finally, quadruple the price of the tickets, move the venues to locations most people cannot reach except via package tours. Should a race be held in a venue accessible to fans, address this problem by limiting the number of tickets and screwing up the access.

I think these are the main reasons I quit watching F1.

[Airhead]

Welcome Bluey.

But as a 21 year supporter of F1 and a 10 year supporter of CART the main thing that CART has over F1 is the racing. Yes it still exists.

The other stuff in comparison just doesn't really matter.

[KC]

Bluespace01 is deadon in his remarks about the lack of organizational leadership in CART. Just as he says that the racing is usually better and the drivers have better chance of winning, he also cites that the races are minimized by the pathetic TV coverage. I think he has a valid point about the lack of prerace and postrace analysis. The drivers almost seem like the postman, you wave and say high but you never get to know them. We all know what Michael Schumacher and other F1 drivers sound like, usually what they might say at a press conference because we get to hear them speak about the race and about their competitors. The only words we hear from CART driver is that SOB took me out or the car failed me as they walk back to the transporter during the race. To me, that is unacceptable coverage of a motor race.

I have no problem with CART teams having one car or three cars and the paint schemes being different. That is the single biggest difference between CART and F1. F1 is about the team, CART is about the driver. Some teams must have totally separate sponsor packages and the paint schemes will not be the same. As it is in F1, you cannot distinguish the drivers from their teammate unless you know their helmets and that is not necessarily easy to see. However, I can identify Michael Andretti from his Team KOOL mates because of their radically different paint schemes.

Definitely F1 has a very distinct and set formula of how things will go. The prerace hype, the warm up lap, the start, the race, the podium ceremony, and the post race interview. CART cannot say this and needs to address this issue. Every race should be an event, not just a 1.5 hour filler for ESPN before they air the next taped SportsCenter. CART should not shorten races to make room for this. They must demand proper coverage from their TV contracts. If that means moving the series to another network, as they have done, then so be it. Along with establishing a regular date and time, a regular nework must do the telecast as well. I know what channel the F1 race is one, but the CART race may be on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2. NASCAR used two different networks thsi year, but the switch was highly publicized and everyone knew who wanted to know.

I think that a climate of mediocrity has invaded CART's leadership and they allow themselves to be screwed by ABC Sports/ESPN in their coverage, allow themselves to get involved in manufacturer squabbles, and allow themselves to fail to improve their product.

[winstonhenry]

Remember the first US GP?
Schumacher wins, Schumacher, Barrichello and Frentzen park their cars in front of victory circle. A large fence keeps everyone back. The drivers head for the podium. National anthem is blown away by the wind, champagne fight (with that ****ing classical tune playing behind) and so on... IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME!! Even at Indy!
Bernie's sense of order helps in the business deals but it removes the soul and fun. I geniunely thought Schuey would drive into Victory Circle, recieve a trophy, give the interviews, talk to the fans and all the rest. At least CART and NASCAR have some variety.

[KC]

Nobody has said to segregate the drivers from the fans like F1. All that has been said is that every race fan deserves to hear what the drivers have to say about the race, not be subjected to SportsCenter or Women's Professional Bowling coverage one minute after the checkered flag drops. No one is advocating closing the paddock to the fans. I want to see Castroneves climb the fence, I want to see Max Papis tear up on the podium, and I want to hear what they all have to say when it is all done. I feel like I deserve that much for my loyalty to the series.

[winstonhenry]

I'd like to see it on TV first! Maybe CART's new TV deal will give them the chance to have more after race analysis. Hope so! Maybe they could ask the drivers questions in their native language and provide subtitles?

[Liz]

I'd like to see the pre-race and post-race too (without Gary Gerrold or Jan Beekus though) ... and I think we are getting that on Speedvision this year, yes?

I am afraid that showing the pilots speaking in their native languages would only cause more Americans to shriek that the series was overrun by foreigners who were buying up the seats that Americans should be occupying. But I wouldn't mind a segment like F1 has where the podium finishers are allowed to speak in their native languages following the regular English broadcast (and I'd like to hear that too.) I have the feeling some of them are much more articulate than they are given credit for being, due to their learning curve in English. (That's a formidible task, answering questions in a language you are only just learning. If someone asked me to address the television audience in Dutch, I'd probably start World War IV.)

[bluespace01]

Hey,

Motorsport is entertainment, right?

Well then,

CART is an action movie,
Formula One is a drama,
Nascar is a western movie,
World Rally Championship is a Horror movie,
and IRL is just another B-rated movie...

[Emfa]

Interesting comparison! Haven't heard that one before.

I'm kind of with you on most of those, except for the WRC. Where do you get 'horror movie' from? And, sometimes I think F1 is more akin to a soap opera!

Oh, and welcome aboard Bluespace!

[Liz]

World Rally is Action-Adventure.
Formula One is situation comedy/soap opera. (Something like "Murphy Brown" with boys.)

[mac]

I quite like some parts of the CART tv presentation, such as:

- the fact there is only one main picture feed. That way CART cannot give a 'good' feed to pay tv, and a 'less good' feed to free-to-air.

- the above means we get heaps of onboard shots for longer periods, and you can hear the car above the commentators, unlike f1 where usually only one (perhaps two) cars have cameras and if you're lucky you will get a shot of them going through one or two corners per race.

- you usually get a replay of just about every incident, no matter how far down the field it is.

- I feel the pit coverage is sooooo much better than f1. You get commentary on a lot of the drivers, not just on Ferrari, McLaren and maybe Williams. The guys in the pits are always willing to talk to the tv crew. Penske, Cindric, Green and Nunn are very accomodating, and always talk openly to the tv guys. Good luck getting an interview with Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Frank Williams, Patrick Head or Ron Dennis in the middle of a race. At Laguna, a mechanic who got burnt in a fuel fire gave an interview!!! I doubt that would happen in f1.

While I agree that there are definitely some parts of the CART presentation that need sprucing up, I feel you must give some credit where it is due.

[KC]

I guess I have been spoiled. All of the things you mentioned about the CART coverage I expect, I don't view as a bonus. As a fan, you should get to hear what a team engineer is thinking, that does not mean he must tell the truth, but that is also part of the game. Like you said, the broadcast crew should compliment the coverage, not be something that must be endured.

[MarGertans]

Yeah, there are not such teams in CART as in F1. Earlier I did not like it. But look at Barichello`s peformance this year!!! Ferrari did not give him a chance to win! Damn, now I hundred times more sure than ever before, that CART`s way is better and there is no problem with such teams as Team Rahal, etc. the more paintschemes, the better racing.