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20 May 2003, 07:37 (Ref:604307) | #1 | ||
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Did Carpenter get 'The Call'?
This from Robin Miller on espn.com
____________________________________________________________ The only bigger farce than Bump Day was the inaugural Infiniti Pro Series race, in which George's stepson Ed Carpenter -- who is a good driver -- made a mockery of the competition and rules by running away to a 14-second victory. "He was going five mph faster than anybody else down the straightaway," groused one Infiniti car owner. "What a joke." Following Carpenter's win, the Speedway issued an insulting news release that said he joined the likes of Ray Harroun (first Indy winner, 1911), Jeff Gordon (first Brickyard 400 winner, 1994) and Michael Schumacher (first U.S. Grand Prix winner here, 2000). Most of the media room burst into laughter. ___________________________________________________________ So did Ed Carpenter get the call from the IRL/Tony George? He seems like a good enough driver but this will just ruin his reputation. I think he won by about 13 seconds, and this in a race where everybody else was bunched up, Talladega-style. A buddy of mine who talked to an IPS team owner at the end of last year was told that Anthony Foyt also got special treatment because the series needed a familiar name to start off with. And Carpenter, like Anthony, was driving for A.J. Foyt Racing. By the Foyts' own admission, Anthony came into the series with absolutely no testing to suddenly put the car on the pole in the first race. Anyways, the only reason I put this up was because I couldn't find anybody else talking about this. What do you think guys? Is this just a case of sour-grapes from a losing owner or is the IPS just as shambolic as its daddy, the IRL? |
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"Let him through, let him through Alexander, don't get silly, don't be silly" Martin Brundle Monaco 1998 |
20 May 2003, 08:05 (Ref:604328) | #2 | ||
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Wrong section of the forum mate.
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20 May 2003, 08:53 (Ref:604374) | #3 | |
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Well this is the "other single seaters" section. I was a bit suspicious about the result. Mark Taylor had dominated the first 2 races, the suddenly someone who happens to be TG's stepson wins at TG's circuit? Maybe I'm being too cynical...
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20 May 2003, 18:40 (Ref:605155) | #4 | |
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the reuslts sound kind of corky...i'm not a big fan of the foyt guy anywasy and he and george are probably planning an Open wheel coup of some sort...hate Infiniti Pro Series...or the name...bring back indy lights...
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20 May 2003, 18:46 (Ref:605162) | #5 | ||
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The IPS is worse than the IRL... at least the IRL has some purpose. The IPS doesn't even prepare guys for the IRL (look at the Foyte guy), or any other form of motorsport for that matter. Barber Dodge doesn't have equal cars either, but at least it gives its drivers a useful education they can take to Atlantic and beyond.
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21 May 2003, 00:07 (Ref:605439) | #6 | |
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Just for the record I had absolutely nothing to do with the result. If I had any idea on how to make any car to go 5mph faster down the straights comparing the other spec cars, I wouldn't be sitting here typing this right now.
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21 May 2003, 12:55 (Ref:605839) | #7 | ||
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I dunno. I was pulling for Taylor, but he had problems with more drivers than just Carpenter.
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21 May 2003, 14:28 (Ref:605932) | #8 | ||
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On the one hand you could look at it like Carpenter got the break while the others battled amongst themselves....
On the otherhand you could say he was lapping 5mph faster than everyone else in a spec formulae. Definatly sus...... |
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21 May 2003, 15:10 (Ref:605979) | #9 | ||
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I'm not a huge oval expert, but in many series (Nascar, Cart, IRL, Atlantic) battling hard in a pack actually moves you faster than moving alone, due to the draft. If one car moves ahead by a large margin, it's almost always because of the car. Especially on a track with 4 flat out turns.
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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 |
21 May 2003, 15:55 (Ref:606027) | #10 | |||
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Quote:
I would be willing to accept an "he (Carpenter) had a better set up" explanation, but anything is possible. |
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21 May 2003, 16:09 (Ref:606041) | #11 | ||
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very true, but I still find it hard to believe that few setup tweeks could make a supposedly spec. car that much better than the field. I know there's no such thing as all cars equal in any series that calls itself 'spec', but that much of a difference is a little ridiculous.
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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 |
21 May 2003, 20:18 (Ref:606245) | #12 | |
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In a supposed spec series is pretty much impossible to "setup" a car to be 5mph faster down a straight without something "corky" going on.
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23 May 2003, 13:22 (Ref:607822) | #13 | ||
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In an interview with Mark Taylor, he stated that Carpenter did not get out so far ahead of them so much as they faded back. Taylor's strategy was to stay close and not get caught up in side-by-side duels, but he was not able to accomplish this. He said that was what hurt him, and lead to the margin of victory Carpenter had.
Unless he's in on it, too.... |
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23 May 2003, 16:19 (Ref:608069) | #14 | |||
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I liked Robin Miller (respected American motorsports writer)'s take on IPS at Indy:
Quote:
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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 |
23 May 2003, 16:43 (Ref:608085) | #15 | ||
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Carpenter was pulling about 175 rpm more than the rev limiter would allow to reach the mph that the Speedway clocked him at. There is NO r&p and gear combination that would allow him to do what he did without the extra revs AND about another 30 HP.
There are a LOT of p!ssed off car owners right now.... and a few may not come back. |
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23 May 2003, 19:16 (Ref:608212) | #16 | ||
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To be honest, I'm not sure why someone like Taylor and Medeiros, who may have a future, would go there. It's a waste of time, and a risk of health. If they want to race IRL, Atlantic would still probably be the better option, even if the Indy farce hadn't happened.
Last edited by Jay; 23 May 2003 at 19:18. |
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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 |
28 May 2003, 12:49 (Ref:612425) | #17 | |||
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Quote:
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28 May 2003, 14:17 (Ref:612532) | #18 | ||
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And he wasn't even that good in Atlantic...
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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 |
28 May 2003, 18:51 (Ref:612754) | #19 | ||
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Quote:
Besides, he did win on a pedal-to-the-metal oval. That's all he really needed for the IRL anyway. |
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28 May 2003, 19:04 (Ref:612768) | #20 | ||
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True...although on road/street courses, he wasn't that much better than Lavin was last year. I suppose he learned what he needed to, now he'll head to Nascar and make a fortune.
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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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