Changing Attitudes (Champ Car & IRL)

[daredevil]

Had a look at this article ... makes some good points. Take a look if you're interested in a Champ Car Fan's new view of the IRL.

http://snipurl.com/ChangingViewofIRL

[Kicking-back]

Doesn't work

[rustyfan]

Correct url seems to be http://snipurl.com/ChangingViewofIRL/

EDIT - Now that was a great read. Shame there aren't more North American open-wheel fans in general that share the views of the author.

[Kicking-back]

He seems to lack knowledge of somethings (like - you don't run on ovals in the rain) - but it's a fair and balanced view.)

[daredevil]

Try this one ...

http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html...rder=0&thold=0

[GP Racer]

Good article.

I especially related to this part :

My first opportunity to sit down and watch a complete IRL race on TV came this past weekend. Being a die-hard Champ Car/ F1 fan, I really hate to admit this … but I really enjoyed the IRL race! It was action-packed all the way through. The final race to the checkered flag was as breath taking a finale as you’re ever going to get! Watching my fellow Scott – Dario Franchitti - just about take the checkered at the death was truly exciting. If this happens all the time – I’m going to be hooked on IRL from now on.

I wasn’t watching the clock during the race, but it seemed to be over in half an hour. To me that goes a long way in telling how engrossed I get in any event. Two hours just flew by. (Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the F1 race that I watched the next day.) I found the IRL race easier to follow on TV than I had in person at Homestead, but both races were exciting to watch.

If you can get a NASCAR, F1 or sports car fan, to actually sit down and watch an IRL race, they usually always have the same reaction as the author above! It's no easy task, but with persistence (or annoyance!), it can be done. I know, because I've finally gotten the group of friends that I go to the USGP with every year, to give the IRL a shot, and now they're hooked also. Watkins Glen has now been added to our list of "must see" races this season. They love the action, speed and the close racing that only the IRL can give you.

It's all about getting fans to the race and eyeballs on the screen. Do that, and IndyCar racing will do the rest!

[Purist]

To be honest, some of the races on the 1,5-mile ovals have been "scary", and not in a good way. Close racing is one thing, but there certainly is a time in racing when disgression is th better part of valor.

I do watch both series, when I can (basically, when they're on network, since I don't have cable).

Racing in the rain on ovals can be and has been done (British touring cars at Rockingham), and if NASCAR hopes to have an oval race near Seattle, they will almost certainly have to figure out how to do it themselves; heck, the sportscars have done it at Daytona in an absolute deluge.

[trow]

Originally Posted by Purist

To be honest, some of the races on the 1,5-mile ovals have been "scary", and not in a good way. Close racing is one thing, but there certainly is a time in racing when discretion is the better part of valor.

Newsflash: Racing is dangerous.

I've heard the pros and cons of racing on ovals. Alot of guys feel that it's more dangerous if they're spec cars, and I agree. However, since the beginning of racing in America they've raced on ovals. It's always BEEN dangerous, and always will be.

If people want to play it safe, run the little 125cc carts and leave the IndyCars to people who wake up every morning praying for the chance to run at speed in an IndyCar.

The Speedway is constantly looking at safer ways of doing business, that's why they're installing SAFER barriers on the inside and outside walls at Indy as well as every major track the league runs at. They worry about the drivers as much or more than all of us do. jmo.

It's just a part of racing.

[marcus]

very good post trow

except for the comment about 125cc karts , they can also be very dangerous I have lost a friend through a karting accident and it was only a 100cc machine.

but I do agree that racing is dangerous no matter what , its the nature of the sport and Indy has to be congratulated in trying everything that they are doing to make it just that bit safer

[trow]

Originally Posted by marcus

very good post trow

except for the comment about 125cc karts , they can also be very dangerous I have lost a friend through a karting accident and it was only a 100cc machine.

but I do agree that racing is dangerous no matter what , its the nature of the sport and Indy has to be congratulated in trying everything that they are doing to make it just that bit safer

Pardon me; very sorry for your loss!!!!

It's ALL dangerous. Carts just seem more safe over a road course because you don't have the extremely high speeds, running wheel to wheel.

[MLM]

Unfortunately, drivers have lost their lives on road and street courses (F1, CART, etc...) also.
Good posts, trow. Racing is dangerous but it has made gains in terms of safety.

I wish fans of all racing series realize this and not knock or deride or make fun of the safety record of other series (especially of the IRL )

[Mosport67]

As to the crowd friendly nature of the IRL in the article vs ChampCar, I would have like a comparison of US based races. The ChampCar paddock is very different place in Toronto or Montreal than it is at US based races.

Eadh series has something to be said for it. Too much of the bad feelings come from the result of the split (a big loss for open-wheel).

I watch both series and have for some time. But if I had a choice...

[trow]

Originally Posted by MLM

I wish fans of all racing series realize this and not knock or deride or make fun of the safety record of other series (especially of the IRL )

If you've ever lost a hero to racing you couldn't force yourself to speak evil of another series safety records. Enrage is the word I feel when someone does. It's not cool!

We should work our backsides off to ensure racing is as safe as we can make it .... bar no expense! I love it when CART has something new in safety or F1 or IndyCar. At the end of the day it's the drivers who we wait for ... it's their autographs we ask for, and we need to stick together to make these gains! They truly are a special lot!

Thanks for your post!

[Snips1]

Safety is the number priorety

[Purist]

What concerns me is that the drivers don't have an adequate sense of precaution, and unfortunately, some of this is due to the fact that drivers now can get away with a fair amount more than they could even 5 years ago. Safety innovations are great and are greatly appreciated, but it seems that this added margin is being taken advantage of in some respects, which I don't see as being a good thing.

Yes Trow, I have lost one of my favorite drivers (at the 2001 Daytona 500), so I know how it feels.

Two things concern me as far as safety concerned. I want to see clear problems effectively dealt with, not just bandaged, or merely dealing with some of the apparent symptoms. For instance, sinply taking 10-20 mph off the top end will not solve the blowoer tendency of Indy Cars (3400+pound NASCAR Winston/Nextel Cup cars can lift off at less than 160 mph); something significant aerodynamically needs to be done. Also, as I said before, it is very unsettling to see some of the things drivers do now. There were close slipstreaming battles a t some circuits 50 years ago (Reims for example), but the drivers REALLY knoew their limits and the limits of their machines, as well as the very real consequences if they forgot either of those things while in the cockpit.

[rustyfan]

Venturing into a somewhat area altogether, but the IndyCar 'blowovers' as of late have all, as far as I can recall, been 'assisted' by external factors, unlike the classic stock-car blowover where a car - or truck as this years Daytona 250 showed us - goes up and over on its own as the air pressure over the car 'sucks' it up into the air.

The only unassisted IndyCar blowover (sideways nontheless) I can recall is Pancho Carter going over on his own and on flat asphalt at Indianapolis in 1987. With that said I have to admit I'm not sure whether Carter was running a proper aerodynamics package and if the car had suffered some sort of previous damage to said aerodynamics - or the suspension - prior to the takeoff.

Err, yeah.. sorry for veering off course there

As for losing a favorite racer, I think most motorsport fans have had the unfortunate business of experiencing this. Personally I have lost three - Greg Moore, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dajiro Kato - and with the ongoing advances in safety I dearly hope I never have to go through it a fourth time.