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28 Jul 2003, 21:55 (Ref:673732)
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#1 | |
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Veteran
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,480
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New Cars and returning Ex-Stars
Just a rumour as reported at another forum.
 Franchitti back to CART According to Eurosports Stefan Heinrich, during yesterday's shortened live coverage from Vancouver, word in the paddock was that Rocketsports Racing will have a second car for next season and the driver will be Dario Franchitti. Franchitti is currently recovering from back surgery and is out for the remainder of this season. He also reported additional cars for 2004 will be announced in the next few weeks by Team Rahal and Patrick Racing. As we understand it, once the new CART owners are known, and its future secure, a number of positive announcements regarding the series will be made, these rumored to be three of them. |
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__________________
"All this amateur analysis leads nowhere and is insignificant......So you waste hours, days, months, years of your life for what end? A bit of one-upmanship on the internet?" - Wilton969 |
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29 Jul 2003, 00:57 (Ref:673810)
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#2 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 693
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The rumor I heard was that AJ Allmendinger would be in the second Patrick car next year.
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__________________
When asked facetiously if he knew he’d ruined a good story line by beating Patrick, Wheldon responded bluntly, “Don’t care one bit.” |
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29 Jul 2003, 01:06 (Ref:673812)
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#3 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 6,038
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interesting... I thoguht Karl Russo wanted to make the move up with him, but maybe that's not possible.
Would Franchitti be welcomed back? I think, overall, he would be as he was always fairly popular when he was here. He did say a few nasty things about Cart, but none of it made the headlines the way the likes of Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske;s did. I think it might be a bit awkward though. |
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__________________
"I used to hate writing, but now I enjoy it. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" - Calvin and Hobbes |
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29 Jul 2003, 01:32 (Ref:673822)
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#4 | ||
 Race Official1% Club
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 47,543
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Is Pook paying for these additional cars? The bank doesnt look like it could sustain another year of funding 1/2 the field
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__________________
Go woke, Go broke… #CANCERSUCKS #GOCHIKO Here’s hoping a random universe works out in your favour… The meaning of life… ENJOYING THE PASSAGE OF TIME! |
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29 Jul 2003, 01:38 (Ref:673824)
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#5 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 6,038
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 No, the ESP thing is pretty much done after this year and the teams know it... yet most of them don't seem to be worried and the one car teams are almost all pursuing 2nd cars...odd I guess.
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__________________
"I used to hate writing, but now I enjoy it. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" - Calvin and Hobbes |
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29 Jul 2003, 02:08 (Ref:673831)
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#6 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 6,038
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I'm just curious though, would you guys welcome him back? Just a scenario: He comes back next year, you're at a Cart race and he pulls up to you on a paddock bike to say 'hello', what would you say to him?
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__________________
"I used to hate writing, but now I enjoy it. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" - Calvin and Hobbes |
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29 Jul 2003, 02:27 (Ref:673842)
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#7 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,294
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I don't remember anything nasty coming from Dario about CART. He was always positive about the series. Perhaps he may have said one or two things about stewarding, but hell, we do that as well!!!
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__________________
Sunderland Til I Die! |
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29 Jul 2003, 03:14 (Ref:673860)
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#8 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 6,038
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He did accuse the Cart safety team of delaying his return to action because of where he was headed the following year...
I have split thoughts. I remember what he said, but on the other hand, I know he is unhappy in the IRL (or so his close friends say), and would like to come back to Cart. Still...both him and Paul were offered huge sacks of cash to go to the IRL next year...Dario took it. Doesn't speak well of your morals...if that's important. |
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__________________
"I used to hate writing, but now I enjoy it. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" - Calvin and Hobbes |
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29 Jul 2003, 03:24 (Ref:673866)
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#9 | |
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Veteran
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,480
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If CART's teams continue to become better funded it's a no brainer that more drivers would likely entertain coming back. Dario may just be the first.
Last edited by The Snout; 29 Jul 2003 at 03:25. |
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__________________
"All this amateur analysis leads nowhere and is insignificant......So you waste hours, days, months, years of your life for what end? A bit of one-upmanship on the internet?" - Wilton969 |
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29 Jul 2003, 03:27 (Ref:673868)
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#10 | ||
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Racer
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 485
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Jay,
Dario would be welcome, albsolutely. It's like he barely went to IRL. Who has any memory of him at all in IRL? What he do three races, not even Indy? Most of his salary is coming from Llyod's of London not AGR. This year is more like Injured Reserve. I think Dario was comfortable with AGR, but not so with the IRL format. Tony Kanaan and Bryan Herta (of all people, he is so pro-CART too) seem more comfortable with it. The only thing that holds Dario back is salary. Who besides Honda can afford him? |
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29 Jul 2003, 03:29 (Ref:673869)
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#11 | ||
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Racer
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 180
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I heard during an IRL race that Dario didn't want to return to IRL because it is very dangerous. I presume he wants to return to CART.
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29 Jul 2003, 03:42 (Ref:673873)
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#12 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 6,038
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If he lowers his asking price, I think a few Cart teams could. Definately Gentilozzi could - only question is 2 cars..though Tags has an agreement and seems sure he'll be back next year with Paul.. ...perhaps Dario's learned his lesson and will consider things other than cash.
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__________________
"I used to hate writing, but now I enjoy it. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" - Calvin and Hobbes |
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29 Jul 2003, 03:48 (Ref:673875)
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#13 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,073
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Drivers follow their rides - plain and simple. Getting a ride and keeping it is the primary goal of any professional driver (see Memo Gidley). To many drivers, an IRL ride is far preferable to no ride at all. Dario moved to IRL because that is where he got a ride. If he can get one in CART - good for him and CART.
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__________________
"He's still a young guy and I always think, slightly morbidly, the last thing you learn is how to die and at the end of the day everybody learns every single day." - The Ever-Cheerfull Ron Dennis on Lewis Hamilton. |
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29 Jul 2003, 04:09 (Ref:673881)
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#14 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 6,038
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Actually he was offered Bruno's seat at Newman-Haas. I don't know the whole situation there, but apparently they were about a million apart. He went for the cash.
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__________________
"I used to hate writing, but now I enjoy it. I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!" - Calvin and Hobbes |
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29 Jul 2003, 04:14 (Ref:673882)
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#15 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,073
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Why not follow the $$$? Supposing of course, that this indeed was the case. And, if true, why should Dario take less than what he believes he is worth on that market? You spend years getting yourself into that position you should be able to reap some reward.
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__________________
"He's still a young guy and I always think, slightly morbidly, the last thing you learn is how to die and at the end of the day everybody learns every single day." - The Ever-Cheerfull Ron Dennis on Lewis Hamilton. |
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29 Jul 2003, 04:16 (Ref:673883)
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#16 | |
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Veteran
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,153
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Dario might have to do more than lower his asking price, in fact he might have to lower the teams' asking price if he wants a ride. Newman-Haas is probably his only shot, and there is a good chance that there won't be an open seat there. Herdez might be able to pay him, but I can't see them hiring him. PK can pay him too but driving for those clowns is like driving in circles anyway, so why bother when Andretti can pay him more. Forsythe is pretty much out of the question since he is still hoping to find sponsors to keep his 2 contracted drivers. Rocketsports is not as well funded as they seem to be, as they took Tag because they wouldn't need to pay his salary. Patrick is an option but UE seems to be looking for a super mean ugly evil American driver, so that looks unlikely too.
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29 Jul 2003, 04:24 (Ref:673886)
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#17 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,073
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Maybe if we dressed Memo Gidley as Julio Iglesias and had him speak with an exotic accent we could get him a ride...or possibly slip Dominguez a mickey, slap his helmet on Memo's head and send Memo out instead. Be a heck of an improvment.
CART presents few options for the top-echelon drivers these days. And there is already a chasm between the "top" drivers and the second echelon in the series as it is. Last edited by JohnSSC; 29 Jul 2003 at 04:26. |
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__________________
"He's still a young guy and I always think, slightly morbidly, the last thing you learn is how to die and at the end of the day everybody learns every single day." - The Ever-Cheerfull Ron Dennis on Lewis Hamilton. |
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29 Jul 2003, 05:51 (Ref:673897)
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#18 | |||
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Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 693
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Quote:
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__________________
When asked facetiously if he knew he’d ruined a good story line by beating Patrick, Wheldon responded bluntly, “Don’t care one bit.” |
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29 Jul 2003, 06:54 (Ref:673928)
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#19 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 8,125
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Dario to CART isn't really a new rumour. That in itself may lend it credence.
I remember Dario's comments re: the safety crew as if it were only yesterday. I became a non-fan that very instant. Blast the officials, blast other drivers, even the promoters if you wanna be a real butt-head, but never, ever blast the Simple Green guys. That's unwritten rule number one. Just to think that they would have intentionally left him in a potentially life-threatening situation based on his switching to the IRL was allbut blasphemous. I guess I'd welcome him back into the series, but not necessarily with open arms. He'd really have to work hard and talk fast to get back onto my "favourites" list any time soon. I think Dario followed Honda, not really as much for the money, as for the potential shot at F1. Did he ever get a test? Now he realizes (perhaps too late) that that ain't likely to happen doing what he's doing. Especially if Ecclestone or PK take over the reigns of CART. Or especially if he ends up with a fractured vertebrae in his neck before he ever gets his chance. |
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__________________
Don't make a fuss, just get on the bus! |
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29 Jul 2003, 07:02 (Ref:673932)
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#20 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 4,936
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His wife has more money than either of them can count. Dario has no excuse but greed for why he went to the IRL. He walked out the door on his own, I say we lock it shut behind him!
The return of a traitor would have a hugely demoralizing effect up and down pitlane. It would greatly diminish the resolve it took for those who remained to do so. Dario was never worth much to the series anyhow. Rather stale personality-wise, and nothing to write home about on-track (Ralf Schumacher-esque, sometimes fast, but never exciting). |
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__________________
"Put a ****ing wheel on there! Let me go out again!" -Gilles Villeneuve, Zandvoort, 1979 |
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29 Jul 2003, 08:48 (Ref:674012)
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#21 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 979
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The return of someone who can actually drive a champcar might just be a welcome sight after the weekend just gone. I think Dario didn't quite burn his bridges when he left, nearly, but I'm sure he'd be welcomed back as a challenger for the title. Lets face it 3/4 of the current field don't stand a chance
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29 Jul 2003, 10:21 (Ref:674091)
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#22 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 649
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Dario is just like David Coulthard......always second best. One of the most over rated drivers in a long time.
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__________________
...Rallycross - the best Motorsport in the World without a doubt |
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29 Jul 2003, 10:26 (Ref:674103)
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#23 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,043
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How will he get himself out of the AGR contract? Unless AGR sack him for missing races due to riding his bike, which was forbidden in his contract.
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__________________
"The Great Race" 22 November 1960 - 21 July 1999 |
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29 Jul 2003, 10:27 (Ref:674104)
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#24 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Dec 2000
Posts: 4,071
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Oh god I'd love to see Dario back, hopefully he can be the first of many to make the trek back to CART. And, as long as he comes back, I'll forget those not so nice comments he made
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__________________
Don't let manufacturers ruin F1. RIP Tyrrell, Arrows, Prost, Minardi, Jordan. |
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29 Jul 2003, 10:44 (Ref:674125)
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#25 | ||
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Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,073
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Well I am not going to get into this "loyalty" discusssion - well I am, actually! First, should someone's salary be determined by how much their spouse makes? That is ridiculous! How would you like it Lee if your boss told you: "Well your wife is doing pretty well, so we think you should take a pay cut even though you are one of our better employees."?
Second, so what if anyone goes to IRL? I guess we would all have to dislike Wayne Gretky because he played in the WHA, rather than the NHL first? Let's get real. The PR value of Dario coming back would be a huge boost for CART and way more newsworthy than "Dale Coyne Racing signs Geoff Boss." However over rated he may be, a "name" coming back to CART and the implication that IRL isn't everything it is cracked up (no pun intended) to be would be great for the series. Making decisions on the drivers character/ability based simply on what series they drive in is just plain short-sighted. |
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__________________
"He's still a young guy and I always think, slightly morbidly, the last thing you learn is how to die and at the end of the day everybody learns every single day." - The Ever-Cheerfull Ron Dennis on Lewis Hamilton. |
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