Andretti/Green make it official - Mike, Dario & Tony K gone one - Page 2

silvervsix · 18 Sep 2002, 00:32 (Ref:382980)

The all mighty dollar has won again, gee I just love watching motorbusiness It is so much more fun then watching motorsport.

camcartfan · 18 Sep 2002, 00:34 (Ref:382981)

Quote:

Originally posted by Jay
Also, here's a link to Dario's personal webpage: http://www.franchitti.com/Message/index.htm

There's also a Q&A section where he'll answer your questions. Or at least they'll get read by some people who have regular contact with him.

Also, if you're going to any of the final races of the year, be sure to let him know how you personally feel .

Don't bother. The webmaster deleted every post on there which is in regard to today's announcement

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 00:57 (Ref:382989)

I noticed that the "ask Dario" link has been pulled too... Methinks he is getting a flood of messages on something...

f1manoz · 18 Sep 2002, 01:44 (Ref:383008)

This is the biggest example of drivers choosing money over everything else when it comes to racing.

Sad to see two such talented drivers about to race away in the IRL, but it's their decision and they'll have to live with it.

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 03:27 (Ref:383030)

I'd just like to take this time to point out this email address: tony@tonykanaan.com.br

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 03:48 (Ref:383040)

Be nice though... No hate mail or threatening letters.. Be serious. But, let him know how you feel.

rush1 · 18 Sep 2002, 04:15 (Ref:383049)

I try so hard to stay away but I can't resist. Turn out the lights the party's over. Dario and Tony, welcome to the IRL!

CART is done and Tony won.

Can't wait till 2003!

Knottsfreak · 18 Sep 2002, 04:36 (Ref:383054)

How dare you say that! CART isn't dead, I won't let it die. I don't care if I am the last person sitting (standing) in the grandstands, I care about CART, Mr. Pook, and all the loyal drivers, especially PT, all heart in that kid. If CART goes down, I go down with it!

Tailwind · 18 Sep 2002, 04:55 (Ref:383061)

Rush1, I'm going to miss Dario and Tony, but I'm not going to quit watching Champ Car races and I will try to attend as many as I can. The IRL runs a race that is fairly close to where I live now, but I have no interest in attending it even with Dario and Tony running there. CART is far from dead and Mr. Pook is the man to lead it forward. I will find new drivers that interest me and I'll watch them. Champ Car racing has too many dedicated fans around the world for it to simply fade away.

mac · 18 Sep 2002, 05:47 (Ref:383085)

The IRL is turning into the competition that CART once was. You know the one ... the one that destroyed itself.

CART has been through that and is getting on with ways of making the series better and more attractive.

macdaddy · 18 Sep 2002, 06:10 (Ref:383088)

This "CART is dead" rhetoric has become so mundane. Whoever keeps on babbling that **** oughtta make it a point to visit Long Beach, Australia, Toronto, Mexico City, Vancouver, Montreal, Monterrey... Maybe even try St. Pete's or Miami. You'd find it difficult to move around. Not so much because of the fact that the population of a city is squeezed around a racetrack, but because it is difficult to walk with your foot in your mouth.

macdaddy · 18 Sep 2002, 06:12 (Ref:383089)

That's funny. I didn't know **** was a bad word. My apologies, I guess!

Liz · 18 Sep 2002, 11:43 (Ref:383310)

I sent Tony an e-mail to tell him that I had removed him from my fantasy Champ Car team and would not be watching him race anymore, and wished him well in what's left of his career.

Pretty much what I wrote to Gil and Helio when they defected.

I did ask Dario if he really needed money that badly though.

racer69 · 18 Sep 2002, 12:35 (Ref:383352)

At the end of the day drivers have to take what drives are on offer. With Franchitti, a team he has been with since 98, he feels at home with them, and although he has been linked with N-H, was this officially confirmed, and the way he has been talking he obviously wanted to stay in CART, but probably couldn't get the right deal together. Same with Kanaan, Nunn hasn't made up his mind, so he has to take the best deal on offer.

Sure, it is a great shame that they have gone, but all drivers want to have a chance of winning, and i'm sure most would chose a front of the field IRL team over a midfield CART team.

StuiE · 18 Sep 2002, 13:13 (Ref:383397)

Quote:

Originally posted by Lee Janotta

So Andretti is going to the IRL and still won't be able to hold onto the tobacco money from Kool? What's the hell's the point???

I don't get this either, once they said they (Kool) would go IRL, then they said they would stay, now what???

Notice how nobody seems to care that Mikey is going EARLing?

Dario: Never really liked him since he left Hogan (but I still would have liked to see him in 2003)

Tony: WHATTTTTTTTTTT was he on when he signed that? Was he in TKG's pit drinking all the Jim Beam over his **** car and drive?

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 13:33 (Ref:383414)

I do wonder if this might have been Tony's only offer for next year and it didn't look as if he was going to have any other offers. Then HOnda comes along and offers a plate of gold?

Possibly the same for Dario, as I wouldn't be surprised if his deal was done before he started having more success this season.

Barbarosa · 18 Sep 2002, 14:51 (Ref:383476)

Here's an interesting article from grandprix.com. Apparently Andretti is trying to convince people that he's going to IRL because that's where the competition is.

"It's all about the competition"

Barbarosa

crazytrain · 18 Sep 2002, 16:41 (Ref:383551)

I think Dario went to the IRL because of A. the cash, and B. he still has huge aspirations of some day competing in F1. So if I was Honda I'd say hey Dario here is a wad of dough and we'll give you a test or even a ride with our F1 team in 2004, if you could kindly Dario compete in the IRL for one or 2 seasons. JV is gone after next season so it may be more than just the cash! I still think the IRL is a not so great series look at the cars! They aren't exactly the most technically advanced and they sound like Toyota Atlantic cars! Enough of my rant what do you guys think of the possible F1 connection?

Barbarosa · 18 Sep 2002, 18:34 (Ref:383611)

I've had a number of close looks at the insides of Indys and Atlantics over the years. And I know a lot of drivers who run Atlantics in SCCA races and Indy's and Champs in Vintage Races. Basically they describe the IRL's as Atlantics with bigger engines. Early models (say the early 90's) are really rebadged Champ Cars, and a blast for them to drive. But, anything later is just an Atlantic with a bigger engine to them. And not designed to run quick on a road course like Road America.

Barbarosa

mac · 18 Sep 2002, 22:47 (Ref:383767)

Quote:

Originally posted by racer69
At the end of the day drivers have to take what drives are on offer. With Franchitti, a team he has been with since 98, he feels at home with them, and although he has been linked with N-H, was this officially confirmed, and the way he has been talking he obviously wanted to stay in CART, but probably couldn't get the right deal together. Same with Kanaan, Nunn hasn't made up his mind, so he has to take the best deal on offer.

Sure, it is a great shame that they have gone, but all drivers want to have a chance of winning, and i'm sure most would chose a front of the field IRL team over a midfield CART team.

Come on racer, Kanaan and Dario could find good rides in CART. The ONLY reason they have gone to the IRL is because they've offered them bucketloads of money.

This is especially true for Dario who has always not liked ovals.

Jay · 18 Sep 2002, 23:04 (Ref:383777)

Quote:

Originally posted by Barbarosa
I've had a number of close looks at the insides of Indys and Atlantics over the years. And I know a lot of drivers who run Atlantics in SCCA races and Indy's and Champs in Vintage Races. Basically they describe the IRL's as Atlantics with bigger engines. Early models (say the early 90's) are really rebadged Champ Cars, and a blast for them to drive. But, anything later is just an Atlantic with a bigger engine to them. And not designed to run quick on a road course like Road America.

Barbarosa

I think that's a bit of an insult to the Formula Atlantic Championship, whose drivers could clearly cream the IRL field any day

.

greg.n · 18 Sep 2002, 23:45 (Ref:383799)

datrio and Tony are professional drivers who have to make a living and plan a v long-term career path. if that means taking a well-paid contract with an operation like Honda, its better than sitting on your bum waiting for a sports car drive to turn up. In a time of recession there may not be a lot of alternatives. i know de Ferran was not keen to move to the IRL but roger pays him and he didn't have a lot of offers to do anything else. The sad thing is TG has split the revenue from sponsors and we end up with two weakened series instead of a unified strong series, supported by all the sponsors and the industry. Don't blame the drivers, if they had a choice or feasible offers both would have preferred to stay in CART.

macdaddy · 21 Sep 2002, 15:48 (Ref:385403)

Notice that, in Andretti's press release, there was no mention of KOOL.

Glen Hartigan · 22 Sep 2002, 04:42 (Ref:385711)

I will be leaving my sweaters,shirts,hats and even my andretti mouse pad at his merchandise trailer at fontana...And i will boo him the entire weekend.....

Barbarosa · 24 Sep 2002, 18:12 (Ref:387465)

Ok, I did hear from an ultra reliable source up at Road America this weekend on Dario. Apparently, Newman-Haas did make a very generous offer to Dario for next year approximating the money he was currently getting from Team Green. He could have stayed in CART for the same money he was getting from TKG, gotten a first class ride, and been positioned, particularly since it looks more and more like Cristiano has his F1 ride, to make a championship run for next season.

Then Honda stepped in with a blank check. They didn't just up what he was getting from TKG, they buried it if he takes the AGR ride in IRL. Basically, Honda figured that moving their feud to the IRL would be problematic at best if they didn't have first class drivers, and they really love Dario. So they bought Dario's soul.

Ok, you can feel free to loath the Scot now. He's really no better than Andretti, though judging from the interviews I've read lately, at least he and Tony are more honest about why they are moving.

As for Cristiano, it appears that Toyota cut a deal with Haas to sell him to their F1 team. In addition to money, they are sponsoring a Haas IRL entry, most likely just for the 500, but no one is being specific yet on that front. It will not affect NHR's CART effort. They will be running at least two cars and are actively courting Mario Andretti to run at least one more car, and Mario is working his butt off to get sponsorship to pull it off. Look for an official announcement soon, though knowing Pook, the announcement will probably come right after Ganassi tried to burn all the good CART PR following the Ford Announcement and Miami to make little Chip look like the fool he is.

And for those who really want to know what Mario thinks about his son's defection, there is an article over at Cart-racing.com. It is a restrained response, to say the least, but it's restraint seems to me to speak volumes on what he most likely seems as a personal betrayal.

Mario's Response

Barbarosa

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