Two Guys On The Bubble?

GP Racer · 20 Jul 2004, 20:05 (Ref:1041599)

The guys I'm refering to are Tomas Scheckter, and Ed Carpenter.

Tomas has had a terrible season! Much of it was due to bad luck, admittedly, but in my book, he needs to finish some races, and now! He has been touted as one of the best drivers in the field, but has yet to show any improvement for 3 seasons now, besides good qualifying efforts.

As for Carpenter, he started out hot, but has since cooled down, and has a penchant for finding trouble also. Another guy that needs to get it done quickly.

Both teams have some high repair bills this season. How much more will they put up with?

Kicking-back · 20 Jul 2004, 20:29 (Ref:1041627)

I don't see Scheckter doing much wrong, but I have this image in my mind that Carpenter has crashed in every race.

BootsOntheSide · 20 Jul 2004, 20:39 (Ref:1041641)

Ed has struggled recently, but most of the Chevvy guys are unable to do much with teh car. Both these guys are just trying too hard, which is understandable for Ed, but I don't think much of Tomas these days. Panther need a leader, a thoughtful and responsible driver, and Tomas comes across as a spoilt careless brat.

jhansen · 20 Jul 2004, 20:57 (Ref:1041662)

Carpenter is at the door no question. In my opinion the question is not if, but when. He looked visibly down in the Memphis interview after the crash. Like I pointed out in another thread, it was reported during the race that the bill for Cheever Racing's crash damage was around $1 million for the season to date.

Not so sure about Schekter. It's not been a great year, but there's been a lot of other variables involved. What's his contract situation?

Tim Northcutt · 20 Jul 2004, 21:07 (Ref:1041674)

I don't know about Scheckter's situation, but the guy was running 2nd at kansas when his telemtry failed and he ran out of gas, thus killing his chances...

He has had some disappointing results...

As has Ed Carpenter...

I think we'll need to keep our eyes on the "Waiver Wire" with both....

Kicking-back · 20 Jul 2004, 21:10 (Ref:1041678)

Sheckter is safe, but maybe Red Bull might give Viantonio Liuzzi a couple of races once the F3000 season is over.

rush1 · 20 Jul 2004, 21:52 (Ref:1041701)

There sure is a danger in hiring rookies. Scheckter in his first year, Taylor, Carpenter and AJ Foyt IV. You wonder if these guys are being brought up too soon. If they can walk away after a couple of years and than start finishing races it might be a good experience. But you wonder what it does to a drivers confidence.

GP Racer · 20 Jul 2004, 22:04 (Ref:1041709)

Quote:

Originally posted by Kicking-back
Sheckter is safe, but maybe Red Bull might give Viantonio Liuzzi a couple of races once the F3000 season is over.

I don't know how you can say Scheckter is safe. Here's some stats:

In 8 races, he's 16th in points
A best finish of 6th, his only top 10
Average finish 15th
14 accidents in 37 starts
Hasn't won a race in almost two years
On Ganassi, Dixon was champ, and had 8 top 2 finishes, Tomas none
Has only brought his car in higher than he qualified once

Overall, thats a pretty pathetic record after 3 years on decent teams, from a guy thats been so highly touted. I'll take a Scott Sharp anyday, who brings his car back consistently in one piece, and almost always higher than he qualified.

Team Owner · 20 Jul 2004, 23:56 (Ref:1041771)

Carpenter is Tony Georges step-son. Neither Tony nor his wife want Ed racing and wish he would take a position with the family business. Cheever hasn't said much publicly about Ed so my guess is that he's making money off of him. When the money stops I believe Ed stops.

jenna · 21 Jul 2004, 07:12 (Ref:1041894)

Scheckter has a one year contract with Panther. so at the end of this season, who knows? from what i've read, Panther obviously aren't thrilled with how the season's going, but they also see that it can't really be blamed on Tomas. they know they're sending him out there with inferior equipment to a lot of the field.
i think if he can just get a few good results ie some top ten finishes in before the season is up then Panther will keep him on for next year.

BootsOntheSide · 21 Jul 2004, 10:22 (Ref:1041998)

Quote:

Originally posted by rush1
There sure is a danger in hiring rookies. Scheckter in his first year, Taylor, Carpenter and AJ Foyt IV. You wonder if these guys are being brought up too soon. If they can walk away after a couple of years and than start finishing races it might be a good experience. But you wonder what it does to a drivers confidence.

Three of those guys come from the IPS, and Tomas came over with no oval experience. Finding new talent seems to be a problem, maybe because the USAC angle isn't being exploited enough. The ex-CART guys have all switched over quite well, but very few other rookies in the last 3 years have done much.

Mark defiantely has the speed, and I think Ed probably does. Tomas does himself no favours with his misplaced aggression, and will probably continue to be shwoed up by Bell. I think he's better off back in road/street based racing. As for AJ4, some genes appear to have been lost along the way.

Kicking-back · 21 Jul 2004, 13:45 (Ref:1042181)

It'll be interesting to see how Tomas Schekter goes in IndyCar road races next year, assuming he still has a seat.

jenna · 22 Jul 2004, 01:37 (Ref:1042721)

ooh that's a good point!

evo · 22 Jul 2004, 06:58 (Ref:1042880)

Things aren't looking good for Tomas, especially now that Townsend is in and showing well.

mountainstar · 22 Jul 2004, 17:06 (Ref:1043650)

Tomas got to where he is due to his name and daddy paying the bills. How he can justify a seat destroying so much equipment I don't understand.

GP Racer · 22 Jul 2004, 20:21 (Ref:1043837)

Quote:

Originally posted by evo
Things aren't looking good for Tomas, especially now that Townsend is in and showing well.

Good point about Bell.

He could be a real threat to Tomas's future with Panther, should he do well. Bell has the personality, and says all the right things, to be #1 on that team...

BootsOntheSide · 23 Jul 2004, 09:44 (Ref:1044322)

I'd be thinking of a 2005 lineup along the lines of Bell and Simmons, which would be good for the series. Taylor might've found a good home at Access, and Tomas has already blown a lot of chances.

Kicking-back · 23 Jul 2004, 14:08 (Ref:1044677)

I think they'd want someone a bit more experienced than Simmons, in order to really push the team forward.

BootsOntheSide · 23 Jul 2004, 16:14 (Ref:1044819)

Scheckter and Taylor only had 2 years experience between them, and Rahal has done fine in only their 2nd IRL seaosnw ith a driver lineup totalling a similar amount. Townsend had road course experience thanks to his CART and F3000 days.

Kicking-back · 23 Jul 2004, 16:16 (Ref:1044821)

True.

MLM · 23 Jul 2004, 18:33 (Ref:1044923)

Quote:

Originally posted by mountainstar
Tomas got to where he is due to his name and daddy paying the bills. How he can justify a seat destroying so much equipment I don't understand.

That, IMO, is unfair. Most of T's bad luck has not been of his making this year.

Kicking-back · 23 Jul 2004, 19:11 (Ref:1044945)

Agreed, MLM.

He's had a lot of car trouble and "other people's incidents"

Tim Northcutt · 24 Jul 2004, 13:57 (Ref:1045770)

I would add a third guy to this....

Tora Takagi....

I know, he's bringing the sponsor & the money that is fueling Mo Nunn's gig....

But Takagi has been awful ever since the 3.0 L engines have come into play....

and his prospec ts for Milwaukee are not looking very good....

I think Simmons would do a better job in the car....

But as Team Owner's signature says:

Money is the Fuel that Powers Race Teams....

Or it is something close to that....

You get the idea....

Kicking-back · 24 Jul 2004, 14:08 (Ref:1045775)

Tora Takagi was on the verge of winning last year - I don't think he's been the same since his practice shunt at Motegi.

BootsOntheSide · 24 Jul 2004, 14:20 (Ref:1045782)

Tora's probably been short on confidence since Motgei, but you're right that he's struggling. If his sponsors remain interested he should survive for 2005, and it'd really endanger Mo's team if he doesn't/

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Who's Bubble Will Burst in 2004	PaulSands	Formula One	40	10 Dec 2003 13:35
Pop The Bubble Wrap (speakers on)	vortexo	Cool Sites	4	7 Sep 2003 16:46
Bubble Boat beats Bump Day	Adam43	IRL Indycar Series	15	23 May 2002 23:57
Thanks Guys	SPOONERBORO	Trackside	6	26 Sep 2001 20:18