Racing Rumors

[Dov]

quote:

_____________________________________________________________________ Originally posted by marcus
Yes I guess everyone is a little ticked off at the whole situation and there doesnt seem to be any real solution in the near future , so why not embrace both series for what they are. Ok if you dont like ovals then thats fine , Im not a big fan of oval racing actually but i enjoy what the IRL has to offer.
______________________________________________________________________
(1)I am more then ticked off with the whole situation.
(2)I will never embrace a series run by businessmen (TG or CP).
(3)I like some oval racing, but not IRL cars driving on them.

[Jay]

Can you name me a series not run by a businessman/woman or men/women?

[Dov]

Originally posted by marcus
The reason and Ive said this before that Im not to fussed about unifying the series is that I get 2 quality series right now as it is , yes I could get ONe fantastic series , but do you really think that will happen ???

(1)CART and the IRL are not quality racing series!
(2)We could have one great series...but that's up to the fans.

Originally posted by marcus
I think the US is strong enough to support both series

You don't no how wrong you are. The only thing the US is supporting is NASCAR.

[Dov]

Originally posted by marcus
ok it was mentioned above about topics in the IRL forum being mainly to do with "on track" stuff , and for me thats all im interested in and always have been , politics is politics and it tends to bore me no end , I just love racing and the rest of it can do what it likes.

Originally posted by marcus
If I was financially involved of course I would take a different view on the matter but im not and if a series burns itself out finacially then thats life I cant do anything about it , it simply doesnt interest me at all.

I'm not interested in the political side of the sport either, but I do care what happens to CART. I wish we could just talk about what's happening "on the track," but these days we have to concern ourselves with attendance figures, TV ratings, how many cars are on the grid, sponsors and manufacturers. I will only involve myself in the political side of the sport until CART's future looks more secure. Marcus, your last statement boggles my mind. You said...."if a series burns itself out financially, then thats life, I cant do anything about it, it simply doesn't interest me at all.
How can you call yourself a MotorSports fan after saying that?

[Dov]

Originally posted by Jay
Can you name me a series not run by a businessman/woman or men/women?

I can always hope, can't I Jay?
The North American United Open Wheel Racing Series run by Mario Andretti, Foyt, Emmo, Gurney and Mears.

[Dov]

From champweb.net
We have been informed that the "Fogarty to Coyne" rumor will not happen, at least not for now anyways. Just another rumor that went down the tube...

[Lee Janotta]

Originally posted by Jay
Can you name me a series not run by a businessman/woman or men/women?

USAC?

Depends how you define businessman. Paul Gentillozi fits equally well as a businessman or a racer, and runs the Trans-Am series.

Dave Richards of Prodrive and WRC fame probably counts as a businessman today, but he _was_ a successful co-driver in his day.

[veeten]

Says a lot about USAC, doesn't it?...

Of course there's WoO, who's been in more financial & sponsor trouble over the last couple of months, what with the impounding of their property at a few races by state marshalls due to lack of payment. Not to mention the severe lack of a TV broadcast package, which makes it hard for the team & series sponsors to have their logos seen anywhere OUTSIDE the track.

[marcus]

well you make some good points Dov , and it seems neither of are going to agree on things , so im not going to argue , lets just agree to disagree on things.

I respect that you feel strongly on the issue and thats your right but I dont wanna get involved in an agrument over silly things so I will gracefully bow out of the debate , stating that yes you are right on several things , but I also feel your being a tad harsh towards the other series , but again thats your right.

so I hope you enjoy the rest of the season and I will see you round the traps somewhere.

CHEERS
Marcus

[Dov]

Originally posted by marcus
if a series burns itself out finacially then thats life I cant do anything about it , it simply doesnt interest me at all.

While this statement you made still puzzles me, I will also agree to disagree. Hopefully the problems facing OW racing in NA today will eventually work themselves out in the near future.

Hope you enjoy the racing season (whats left) and I will see you around the different forums. Gotta go.

[Jay]

Lee, I just meant someone who was adept at business. I'd include Gentillozi. Ideally, all series would be run by by racer-businessmen, but the best racers generally aren't the best businessmen and vice versa. My point was simply that every series has a business side of it that makes it chug along. Whether it be F1, Nascar or Formula Ford.

I really get sick of the business side of things too, although I do have quite an interest in business and am currently working in finance. Still, I'd like to keep the two separate. I understand that one depends on the other, but in this forum at least, I'd hope 95% of the discussion would not be business related.

One thing I notice is a distinct difference between those that watch the series on TV, and those that attend the races. If you just watch it all on TV, it's very easy to say 'Let's just enjoy the racing.' However, for me especially, knowing how much motorsports in Canada would suffer if Cart were not around, I have to be very passionate for one side and not the other. If one series were to go away, it would be a HUGE deal! Thus, I throw all my support behind Cart, and strongly denounce those that would wish it's end, especially the IRL. If the IRL is willing to sit down and discuss a merger, I'm all for it. No doubt it would greatly help both series. But, right now, the IRL's idea of a merger seems to be to kill off Cart, and take 2 or 3 of their venues. No pro open-wheel racing in Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal... I can't support that.

[marcus]

ok Dov , after rereading the statement you quoted above , i think maybe I put it wrong.

but I made the staement but I think my fingers worked before my brain did

basically if a series goes belly up because of management or finances or whatever , there is nothing I can do about it , plain and simple , Im not in a position to help out financially or even attend any races (ok maybe gold coast but it still costs alot of dough)

what i probably should have said was , yes I am concerned about any series being financially viable and continuing in the best way possible , but frankly as a spectators and a fan its not my position to do anything about this nor can i do anything , so i dont concern myself with it.

I dunno if that clears things up for ya or makes them even more hazy , im getting rather confused myself now , but anyway I wish any series all the success they get but NOT at the expense of another series , live side by side in harmony or unite.

simple isnt it , but just how is it to be done ???

[Dov]

I understand what you are saying, Marcus, but I still feel that fans can do more then they think. For example, CART fans are praising Mario big time for saving the Road America race and putting it back on this years schedule. Don't get me wrong, while Mario deserves some of the praise, it's the CART fans who deserve most of it. They phoned, e-mailed and wrote letters to CART, Road America and anybody else who would listen to them. What about the people who attended the CART Town Hall Meetings....they made sure Chris Pook understood how mad and upset they were at Road America being cancelled. CP got the message loud and clear. You just have to stand up and make your voice heard. Goodnight.

[macdaddy]

With that I agree, hence I've emailed MIS, Fontana, CART (twice), Fernandez Racing, SpeedVision (re:RA), Imperial Tobacco, and Molson within the last two weeks. Not to mention the countless (pointless) emails I toss off to TSN. I believe that it is the only thing that I can do, and so I might as well do it! I like to think that, in my own little way, I too helped put RA back on the schedule. (Now let's do the same for MIS).

[racer69]

Originally posted by Jay
If the IRL is willing to sit down and discuss a merger, I'm all for it. No doubt it would greatly help both series. But, right now, the IRL's idea of a merger seems to be to kill off Cart

If/When CART goes private, then i'd say the IRL would maybe be more willing to discuss a merger.

[The Snout]

Macdaddy and Dov have the idea, fans have a great deal of pull, just needs to be exercised. Sitting around jacking off in these forums about how much we would like Michigan back does do sh*it if it's not backed up with action, a email etc to the people like CART, MIS etc.
Like I said, support the Fontana race, it's a superspeedway and if it gets a huge attendance then that makes Michigan more likely. Pook likes street events cause most street events draw heaps, we need to use that to get Michigan by supporting Fontana.

Anyway, hats off to Macdaddy etc for taking action outside of our usual discuss here.

[Jay]

I'm going to make a prediction that Cart will be private within one year. Almost everyone involved wants to see it happen, it probably will.

[Jay]

Originally posted by The Snout
Macdaddy and Dov have the idea, fans have a great deal of pull, just needs to be exercised. Sitting around jacking off in these forums about how much we would like Michigan back does do sh*it if it's not backed up with action, a email etc to the people like CART, MIS etc.

Exactly! Emails mean A LOT to companies and organisations! I happen to work for a government organisation that people are always complaining they have no control over; what they fail to realise is just how much we listen to the public, especially emails. A mere 10-20 emails receieved would be cause enough for the organisation to rethink a policy or plan that might inovlve millions of dollars. While you'd undoubtably need more for major corporations to reconsider something, don't think for a second they wouldn't if they recevied a significant response. Point is, if you have something to say, be heard! Someone's listening...

[cos]

CART CEO Chris Pook has criticised the former management of the Champ Car World Series promoter for embarking on a stock market flotation, asserting that the change led to confused priorities for the company. Pook told SportBusiness International: "When management took the company public, they took their eye off the ball as far as their core business was concerned, and started worrying about share price options and all that stuff.

"Floating the company was fundamentally an error. Had we not gone public then, I think the company today would be fine."

Pook added that he would consider taking the Indianapolis based company private in the future. He said: "If you're doing your job properly you have to look at all the options. You have to do what's best for your shareholders. It's out there. Nothing has been dismissed."

http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=23323&s=54

[macdaddy]

A thread called "Racing Rumours"...
Let's recap the offseason we endured...

As early as September 2002 rumours surfaced regarding Bernie Ecclestone and CART. But the rumours certainly didn't stop there! We had Ganassi running Schekter in CART with Coors. Shortly followed by talk of a 2-car Emmo team. And then of Mario running a team for Inineon, maybe out of the Newman/Haas stables. All the while, speculation runs rampant as PT is still under gag order. Meanwhile, there's gonna be an F3000 team switching to CART to join Panther Racing, Team St.George, and a new team from Barry Green. In Panther's case, they were swapping drivers with Penske, bringing deFerran back to CART with Pennzoil. Teams from Coyne and Johannson come up in conversation, to join the likes of Morello, Gugelmin, Michael Shank, Dick Simon and Arciero. And a satellite Forsythe Racing team, giving Gerald four cars. Perhaps Villeneuve? Carpentier is said to be losing his ride to make room for PT. Eventually we find out it's actually Tags being left out, but he'll be okay because he's being picked up by Newman/Haas. That is, if they don't sign McNish first. Or Justin Wilson. Or Ricardo Zonta. Now Pollock's name comes up, and likewise JV's resurfaces. Mo Nunn is staying! With two cars! Red Bull is coming, and Brack returns to Rahal to partner Jourdain in CART. New team coming onboard from JAG Racing, and another new team being formed by Andretti's Motorola crew members. Have I mentioned Minardi? Or Bryan Herta driving for Wayne Thomas? How about Wayne Taylor's 2-car team? It's pretty certain by now that JV won't be returning, and so that fourth Forsythe seat is going to Yoong and his Petronas sponsorship. And yes, Philipp Peter and Infineon are going to Patrick Racing. Of course, during all of this, nobody really knows for sure whether or not Newman/Haas is even staying in CART. Brand Motorsport officially announces one-offs in Europe. Likewise Team Arden with Tomas Enge. Giorgio Pantano will pilot the Sunoco car for BC Motorsport. Now it looks like Herta to Patrick, Papis to Rocketsports, and Johnny Herbert to PK Racing. No, wait, that's Mika Salo to PK. All the while, Pook is promising a "major European ownership contingent." Whatever happens happens, at least CART is going to Spa!

[Tailwind]

Great post Macdaddy. It's funny to read that stuff now.

[JohnSSC]

It was funny to read some of that stuff then...

[macdaddy]

Posted on Champweb, the Thursday before Laguna...

A press conference with Paul Newman and Champ Car officials is scheduled for 12:15 PT, Saturday. We are unsure as to what the announcement is, but we all can speculate. Sponsor perhaps? Stay tuned...

[DNQ]

A new sponsor seems most likely, can't think what else it could be. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[macdaddy]

The inside scoop: JV has walked away from his ride amid tensions within the team, BAR has signed Bourdais to replace him, and Alex Yoong is bringing Sunoco sponsorship to Newman/Haas.

You heard it here first.