No more Cart for me.

[kuchi]

Well here in Colombia Cart races were broadcasted by ESPNlatinamerica, but the network has decided to go to IRL, so next year I will have the Indy 500 but I won't be able to see all the street courses and stuff, I think Cart is loosing a lot of audience, and as some have said IRL is gaining popularity.

[Dr. Austin]

The good news is that you will be getting the IRL, and that is really good news. Watch a couple of the IRL races and I promise you will be a fan. There was no series in the world last year that had such thrilling action as the IRL. 220+mph and wheel to wheel the whole way, I have never seen anything like it in my 35 years as a motorsports student. I don't know how much longer the series can sustain this level of compeditiveness. I have really never seen anything like it.

[marcus]

Thank You Dr. Austin.

that what the IRL needs ..more fans saying how good the series is becoming.

I am a fan of both ..but when it comes to oval racing the IRL is far better than Champ cars.

but it is a shame that you wont get to see Cart anymore Kuchi

[cartfan1]

Ive enjoyed some of the IRL races though I don't really care for
some of the venues, Im not a big fan of short tracks or all ovals.
But hang in there they are working on their international TV package
so stay tuned.

[Crash Test]

Right on Dr Austin and Marcus.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm a race fan. CART, IRL, IROC, NASCAR, anything that has quality racing will always get my vote. Some of the IRL racing this year has been absolutely incredible....sure it might be 10mph slower than what CART would do, but if you can pick that, I owe you a cold drink.

F1 may the pinacle of technology and money spending, but it has nothing on what some of these IRL races...

[AAReagles]

Originally posted by marcus
Thank You Dr. Austin.

that what the IRL needs ..more fans saying how good the series is becoming.

Yah... Ol' AB got me into watching the IRL. How he got me to do that...



I agree, the IRL has been the most fun to watch with all the lead changes going on, but unlike F1, there's no "Schui-Swerve" which I know Austin misses.

Originally posted by Crash Test
F1 may the pinacle of technology and money spending, but it has nothing on what some of these IRL races...

Right on man.




I still favor CART somewhat, because that's what I grew up watching since I was a kid, but CART has been mismanaged terribly this year, so it shouldn't come as to no surprise the IRL would gain popularity from that fact as well as the good racing.

[Crash Test]

I'd have to agree with that- I've been a massive fan of CART for the past 10 years, and it will forever have a soft spot in my heart (maybe I should get a doctor to have a look at that...). Saying that, I absolutely love the IMS and the 500, no matter what other people say or think. If I could be in any place in the universe on the last Sunday in May, it would be at the IMS.

Just looking at the IRL calendar though, the sheer number of ex-CART venues is fairly staggering...

[Dr. Austin]

I think we are all sick how far CART has fallen. It was the only series I cared about until the ALMS was formed. I was pretty happy this year with 35 great OW races to watch, but it didn't take CART long to completely fall apart. I finally just stopped watching the CART races alltogehter (hadn't missed one since 1984) because I just couldn't bear it anymore to see them self destruct every Sunday.

I also gained an enormous new respect for the IRL this year. Sure, the league was below pitiful just a couple of years ago, but while we were laughing at them they pulled their thumbs out and got the racing perfected. It took a couple of years to get the formula sorted out and for the teams to learn the cars, but it all works pretty good now.

The IRL's marketing strategy targets disinfranchised (God, not THAT word again!) OW fans who feel CART is no longer their sport. For sprint and midget fans, this league is perfect. Patriotic Americans have more of their own to cheer for, something you won't get me to unnecessarily apologize for. The IRL has chosen it's market and successfully captured it, but the product is so good that it has sucked in others who swore they would never care for it, like me.

So we have a big slate of exciting IRL races next season. There are going to be some CART teams coming in which will raise the series' profile and step the competition up yet another notch. This is going to be sadly negative for some of the smaller teams, but there seems no way to protect them in any series. The fast eat the slow and no matter what rules you write, it is racing's #1 inevitability. I think the time is coming when all the IRL teams will have to become big, professional operations if they are to survive. The IRL started out being little guys thrashing around in CART team's dumpsters looking for parts, but those same guys will probably be squeezed out eventually. Sad for them (and those of us who cheer them), but the sport must grow and evolve. No one or no series has ever been able to stop it. Even Ken Tyrell, the ultimate privateer, got squeezed out of his sport eventually.

But the end result is that the future of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 is guaranteed for as long as Tony George is at the head of the table. Since this is the only responsibility he is charged with, I believe it is fair to judge his job performance on that.

[cartfan1]

I liked Indy growing up as a kid, but after going to places like longbeach and Montreal Im just not a big fan, I don't cut down
anybody else for liking it so much, but I will be at Mexico city next
year and maybe catch cart at Fontana.

[floid2000]

R.I.P. Cart We won't see 230MPH again for a few years with the IRL......

Such a pity

[AAReagles]

Well I can't blame teams like Penske or others for "defecting" to the IRL, when you consider how badly CART mismanaged itself, for instance, not settling things in ink with the engine manufacturers, until late in the season.

Not to mention racing events that were either cancelled, conducted poorly or delayed = Texas, Portland, Road America.

As well as not promoting itself (the CART series) more, to at least give north-american OW racing some recognition of being alive, instead of just allowing NASCAR to bombard itself on an uninformed, young audience, who would be potential fans in the years to follow.

It's a damn shame to see how CART is slowly fading into extinction like Can-Am and IMSA has.

[The Beer Baron]

Did CART wait n see when the drop in attendence and tv ratings would fall off before they'd turn the ship around?

[cartfan1]

Go ahead people, have fun while those of us who are not zenophobes
and could care less about sprint cars wait in the backround to see
whats really happening. I shall post no more for now.

Enjoy.

[Dr. Austin]

WARNING; this is satire


[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by cartfan1


"Go ahead people, have fun"

That's what being an IRL fan is all about.


"while those of us who are not zenophobes and could care less about sprint cars"

So now you have to be a xenophobe to like sprint cars?



"wait in the backround to see whats really happening."

Us xenophobes are just too dumb to figure it out for ourselves, right?



"I shall post no more for now."

Sorry to see you go, but take all those forigners with you, ok?


"Enjoy."

indeed.

[floid2000]

I"ve been a racefan (all types) for 30 years.I will personally miss CART when it folds.Just like (those of us who remember)IMSA a great series that died in the boardroom. ......Give the IRL a few years to "grow up" and we'll see 230MPH racing again. By the way.....What is a zenophobe ?

[JPBeltoise]

Originally posted by Dr. Austin

The IRL's marketing strategy targets disinfranchised (God, not THAT word again!) OW fans who feel CART is no longer their sport. For sprint and midget fans, this league is perfect. Patriotic Americans have more of their own to cheer for, something you won't get me to unnecessarily apologize for. The IRL has chosen it's market and successfully captured it, but the product is so good that it has sucked in others who swore they would never care for it, like me.

I much prefer a series like CART where American drivers compete against the best from all over the world, as opposed to the IRL's "affirmative action" formula. I feel much prouder of Jimmy Vasser, for example, testing his abilities against the likes of Gil de Ferran and Kenny Brack, than I do of the all the IRL drivers who only compete against each other -- and then get thoroughly beaten at their own marquee event when the international CART drivers come to town...

[Dr. Austin]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by JPBeltoise

"I much prefer a series like CART where American drivers compete against the best from all over the world,"

The best drivers in the world are in Formula one. Give Schumacher the most trashed out, used up, wrung out heap of monkey junk in Coyne's stable of two and three year old cars, and he will humiliate all of CART's so-called "best." No one in CART wouldn't rather be in F-1. None of them are good enough. But F-1 washouts like Big Mo are good enough to hog the good CART rides until well after they are due to be put out to pasture. Cigarette money again.


"as opposed to the IRL's "affirmative action" formula."

As opposed to CART's Brazillian tobacco blood money pimping Senna wannabee pretty boy program? CART does nothing to see good American talent gets a fair shot, but any foriegner who comes in with Marlboro or Hollywood money is given the red carpet. Meanwhile, Americans such as former champion Jimmy Vasser and Bryan Herta run around in unsponsored cars. Every time Alex Baron gets in a champ car he is in contention to win, but he keeps getting shoved out into the street for the lastest pretty boy. From Brazil.



"I feel much prouder of Jimmy Vasser, for example, testing his abilities against the likes of Gil de Ferran and Kenny Brack, than I do of the all the IRL drivers who only compete against each other"


The IRL is open to anyone who can get through tech inspection and go fast enough to get in. No one qualified is excluded. The IRL guys will race against anyone who shows up. If they get beat, so what?

I'm proud of guys like Buddy Lazier, who won the world's greatest race with his back broken in seven places, showing the kind of guts no one in CART has ever displayed (but wait until Zanardi gets healthy again if you want to see guts). I'm proud of Jacques Lazier, 2002 Indy 500 champ, who toiled in trashy equipment just long enough to get an oppoortunity he grabbed with both hands.

I'm proud of Billy Boat, who scored a top championship placing with his own, new team. And his own money, something a CART driver doesn't have to worry about if he is from Brazil.

I'm proud of Sam Hornish for obvious reasons. And even Greg Ray, who refuses to give up no matter how much critisism (some deserved) he recieves. Here is a man who has unshakable faith in himself. Critisize that if you like, but I admire it. If you don't believe in yourself, just put the gun in your mouth now and get it over with.

And Eddie Cheever, who is driving as well as ever and more articulate than any other racing driver in the world. As well as classier.

I'm proud of all the people in the IRL who got a chance to prove themselves and did. All of these people had plenty of reason and opportunity to just give up and do something else, but Tony George gave them the opportunity to continue doing what they loved well after CART closed the door on them.


I am especially proud that Tony George is a great American.

In a world where scumbags cheer in the streets when thousands of innocent Americans are savagely murdered, the IRL makes no unnecessary apologies for being part of America's greatest traditions.
And neither will I. God bless all America and all Americans.



"-- and then get thoroughly beaten at their own marquee event when the international CART drivers come to town..."


IRL fans have lived with the big lie for long enough. Penske and Ganassi have spanked the rest of the hapless CART contingent for decades. Here is a look at the championship record


Penske; 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 88, 89 (Penske chassis), 94, 2000, 2001

Ganassi 96, 97, 98, 99

Newman Haas 84, 92, 93

Truesports 86, 87 (Truesports is gone, by the way)

Rahal 92 (hapless since Rahal retired)

Green 95 (hapless since Villeneuve left)

Unless I missed one or two, 2/3 of CART's championships have been won by Penske and Ganassi. So if the IRL guys couldn't beat them, they are in supposed good company. It is no wonder that these two teams are so far ahead of the rest. They were smart enough to come back to the 500 while the rest threw a tantrun and stayed home, missing the big party and payday. They are the smart ones for realizing where the butter for their bread comes from.

Besides, Tony drove the stake in CART's heart when he invited them all to come back and run in the 500. The devisiveness created by CART's teams yearning to compete in the world's greatest race played no small part in their demise. Everyone wants a piece of the big pie, and CART has made themselves look foolish by boycotting, then relenting and crawling back. This doesn't make CART appear to have much unity or dignity. Winning the race doesn't change that. Winning the 500 will not save CART. Even competing in the 500 is an admission that their series is not adequete. Sponsors and engine makers are taking note of this.

CART has forgotten that their roots are in the old American national championship, first as the AAA championship, and after 1955, the USAC championship trail. You can ignore your heritidge if you like, but you can never deny who you are. If you do that, you will be as lost as CART is. The lure of international money was too much for the greedy owners. Now it is biting them from behind in a way they couldn't see coming.

Giving up two 500's to CART was a small price to pay for utterly defeating them in the long run. Soon, the 2000/01 Indy 500's will be the only thing CART fans will have left as fond memories of a series that self destructed out of it's own greed and stupidity.

[The Beer Baron]

Austin,

I saw 'Speedway Safety' ?? on Discovery last night about safety and Indycars, and it showed the Buddy getting out of the car after winning Indy in 1996, to see the grimace, and then to hear an interview with him afterwards , I've just found a new motorsport favourite of mine, , Your contribution to hightlight Buddy's case Austin went a long way as well!

Buddy Lazier 2002 IRL champ!

[Dr. Austin]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Beer Baron

"Buddy Lazier 2002 IRL champ!"

I have met Buddy Larier and he is a hell of a guy. I really mean it. He is warm and genuine and utterly unchanged from a very successful career that includes being an Indianapolis 500 champion. He is the guy I cheer for every race, but I am afraid there is somebody out there that might be just as good. Jacques.

Since he got the Menard ride, Jacques has been the class of the field. Even when he was with the underfunded Schmidt team, Jacques was blisteringly fast and aggressive. But with the resourses of Menard behind him, Jacques goes into the winter as a winner with a secure job and a nearly certain front row seat in the biggest show of them all. There is no guy out there that has it all the way Jacques does right now. I think this guy is the new Rick Mears.

So Jacques had to toil to get his break and Buddy had to drive with a broken back to make his break count. These are hugely moving human interest stories. Sam Schmidt is who has more guts than Dick Tracy. Billy Boat running so well with his own team. Indycar's only lady driver. Eddie Cheever, a pretty interesting guy. And Sam.

If you take interest in the people in the IRL, you will find so many inspiring and gut wrenching stories. That is part of why the league is so interesting. The other part is the racing, which is the finest I have seen in 35 years as a motorsports student.

Maybe CART is not in such trouble after all. Maybe it just looks that way because the IRL is soooooooooooooo good.

[The Beer Baron]

The Laziers are the guys to beat Austin!

The IRL guys are the only guys who get to the track and want to race!
Not find a place for my private jet or motorhome!

[floid2000]

Doctor PLEASE..........Schumacher may well be one of the all time greats BUT, Formula one has a lot to do with being in the right place at the right time. I would like to have seen Alex in a Ferarri.
ALSO If you happen to see Mario (driver of the century)Andretti or Dan Gurney at the track ,ask them which is more difficult to drive ,A formula one car or a Winston Cup car. After reading your opinions I think the answer will surprise you.

[macdaddy]

Formula One may have the best three or four drivers in the world, but certainly not the entire field. There are many CART pilots who could be very successful in F1, given the right ride at the right time. And there are many GP drivers who really don't deserve to be there.

[AAReagles]

Originally posted by Dr. Austin
The devisiveness created by CART's teams yearning to compete in the world's greatest race played no small part in their demise. Everyone wants a piece of the big pie, and CART has made themselves look foolish by boycotting, then relenting and crawling back. This doesn't make CART appear to have much unity or dignity. Winning the race doesn't change that.... Even competing in the 500 is an admission that their series is not adequete. Sponsors and engine makers are taking note of this.


Giving up two 500's to CART was a small price to pay for utterly defeating them in the long run. Soon, the 2000/01 Indy 500's will be the only thing CART fans will have left as fond memories of a series that self destructed out of it's own greed and stupidity.

Actually I think CART's self-destruction can be mostly attributed to Rahal's departure, as things just flat fell-apart. At least that's been my observation. I don't follow CART that well, as I do GP racing, but even with admitting that, I must say something is terribly wrong with CART, for all the negative stuff that I've seen or heard about. I've never seen so much negativity occur in just one series of racing in just ONE year.

My question is why did CART allow this new manager to run things down ? Especially when issues of race courses, FCC, and contracts with engine manufacturers needed attention. Easier said than done perhaps, but I still don't see understand how SO much just unloaded on this year to make the average fan, like myself, not even bother to keep up with the series.
:confused:

Not saying IRL was that much better, but they certainly didn't have the internal problems like CART did.

Meanwhile, NASCAR continues its 'bliztkrieg' to Joe "Average" out there, sucking them into to their vortex of racing fans.

[The Beer Baron]

AAR,

1999 & 2000 was a crucial time, Andrew Craig (the then CEO) was watching his back, and amid falling TV ratings in 2000 resigned or was sacked, and Bobby took up the reigns.

It was that period that the engines needed to be sorted out, Tv contract signed, it was left 18 months too late to get any proper Tv deal and the only engines available were IRL spec engines!

between 1998 and 2000 , the engines were too powerful for ovals hence the stupid aero package for all ovals , it was in this period that the decisions had to be made.

The IRL looks better due to loyal manufacturers but they've changed their engines 3 times since their existence and in 2003 it'll change for the 4th

Bottom line, CART needed to be looking forward instead it looking back

[mac]

Austin just wants an open-wheel version of NASCAR.

Part of the fact, CART is so good, is because so many different guys have a shot at winning every weekend. There were how many different winners last year ..... 11?

To claim CART guys aren't real racers is garbage. If they don't want to race, how come they thrashed the IRL guys at Indy. And don't give me that rubbish about "because it is Indy". Those IRL guys must really not want to race. The argument that the teams were simply better is rubbish, as they turned up to race in completely foreign chassis and engines (sorry Austin, I know they were American cars, but the CART guys don't usually race in them).

CART is not dead. It is an important series and one that must live on. I know I'd prefer to watch fast cars go around Road America, Cleveland and Toronto, than any merry-go-round in the IRL (with the possible exception of Michigan now). I'd rather be at Surfers Paradise at turns 1, 3, the beach esses, or the Fosters' chicane, watching the cars dice and bounce over the kerbs, than get dizzy watching them go round and round all day.

But hey, variety is the spice of life (oh yeah, CART have plenty of that too)