Where did Bernie go?

[power&glory]

All of a sudden all of this Bernie buying into CART talk has completely ceased! What's going on? does this mean we will stay turbo for ever and ever? To me the turbocharged engine is the core identity of this series. Will Pook (God bless him) turn it naturally asp. in 05when he opens the series of to the auto companies of the world? I hope not.

[Jay]

lol...I suspect nothing has changed on the Bernie front, and most of the Cart-F1 merger talks were the creation of the press.

But, Pook and Bernie are very good friends, and Bernie does seem to be rather fond of the Cart series (obviously NOT just as a racing fan). THey talk a lot, so you can read whatever you want to into that.

[macdaddy]

Bernie hasn't gone far.

[f1manoz]

I didn't read much into it anyway, but Bernie knows it's CART that produces the great drivers, and not the roundy-roundy series.

[Tailwind]

I don't think Bernie is gone. I think he is there in the background. Somehow I think he is involved and will continue to do so. We may see more of him in 2003. I would really like to know the fate of the USGP when the contract is up.

[Liz]

Autosport is saying that the USGP has lost its title sponsor (so has the Brickyard 400 it says) which I think is instructive. Maybe Bernie is trying to save the USGP.

[gaines]

I'm glad I'm not hearing much. I'm hoping that even if Bernie owns a majority of CART that he will keep a low profile and let Pook and the gang handle everything. A marriage with F1 has it's good points and it's bad but since most of our great drivers go into F1 after a few years there's no since in bucking it.

I agree a lot with what I've been reading under the different topics about our drivers going different places. It goes along with what F1manoz said above about our drivers being better than the Invisibles. It seems to me that our great young drivers go on to F1 while our lesser drivers and older drivers on the tail-end of their careers go to the IRL(less world travel, more time at home, no pesky right turns, etc.) I'm excited to see some of the older guys get out of the series. It gives CART the opportunity to give alot of these young warriors in the CART feeder series as well as other series around the globe a chance at some serious seat time. I think these young guys will be faster, more aggressive, funner to watch and in time will make you forget all about Mr. Judd, Michael Angreedy and Phony Kanaan. Plus Memo rumors always make for happy time in the forum.

On one final note, I think it's time we forgive Townsend Bell and move on. He's a kid. He'll mature. If not we'll send him to NASCAR and let him use a bumper.

[Liz]

Well, lets bring him back and see what he does. Or doesn't.