An article about Christian Fittipaldi that was in my local newspaper

[Joe Fan]

Fittipaldi makes field in first attempt in Busch car

By JIM PEDLEY - The Kansas City Star
Date: 11/09/01 22:15

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Open-wheel types used to have a ball making fun of stock-car racing.

It was too lowbrow for the sophisticated tastes of CART and Formula One.

Apparently, that's not true anymore.

Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- site of this weekend's NASCAR activities -- two open-wheelers were practicing and trying to qualify in Busch Grand National cars.

The highest profile open-wheel driver was CART's Christian Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi, nephew of former Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, drove a car for Carter/Haas Motorsports.

"I got a lot of different reactions (from CART people) in Fontana (California, site of last weekend's season-ending CART race) when I told them I was going to do this deal," Christian Fittipaldi said.

He intimated that most of those reactions were not based on respect.

The deal is for just one race, Fittipaldi said, but it could be expanded. He might consider doing both types of racing at the same time, but right now Fittipaldi is happy in CART.

"What I wanted to do was experience this whole NASCAR family for myself and feel it in my skin," he said. "I wanted to see how it is, to see if one day I would want to do this."

On Friday, it certainly looked as if he could be successful in NASCAR. After logging only about 15 laps in practice, Fittipaldi qualified 33rd for today's Miami 300.

Casey Mears, nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, was also in a Busch car for the first time Friday. He also did well, qualifying 21st.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
See there Lee, those CARTY types don't even respect Christian for his decision to race stock cars. I guess you are more right than I orginally thought. It not just their fans but those involved in the sport too.

At any rate, I wonder what eight-time Brazilian Stock Car Champion Ingo Hoffman thinks of all of this?

[Lee]

Joe Fan,

I don't know what he would think. With the exception of the U.S. Canada, Australia, and attempts in England, I was unaware of stock cars being raced anywhere else in the world. I was told, blatently, that Brazilians didn't care for, or to race stock cars, by a cart type recently.

"I guess your more right than I orginally thought." It's not just their fans, but those involve in the sport too."

My friend, I wouldn't lie to you. I would also not just make things up, for the purpose of posting them, or for forwarding any form of anti-open-wheel agenda that I might have. Everything that I have spoke about, I have experienced, first hand, either in person, or on the internet. I've always maintained that this was the case, that their team owners, their drivers, and especially their fans have always before, do now, and will always look down their noses at, and have no respect for NASCAR teams, drivers, fans, or for the organization, itself. This article, that you posted just confirms it, and is more proof of it. Even the statement that Fittipaldi made about, "something I'll do later on" smack of the same type of statement made by the little twerp Montoya, last year, when the rumors that he might be entered in the Brickyard 400 began to fly around, he said something to the effect of, maybe running NASCAR as a retirement series, like it's some kind of old folks home or something! He isn't the only one that has expressed this seniment either, several others have made similar statements. They have no respect for NASCAR drivers, teams, fans, or the organization. itself! They don't don't take NASCAR racing seriously, and that is one of the very numerous reasons that I have no respect for them, their teams, owners or their series, and why I enjoy it, so absolutly much, when they try to run in NASCAR, and it chews them up, and spits them out! Yes, it is an altogether fair statement to say that I hate cart, and everything about it, but as you can see, I came about it very honestly. Yeah, I saw where he said that it was "the purest form of racing," but I would dare say that the was only reason that he made that statement was for the purpose of patronization! I'll see you later. Have a good one, take care.

[The Beer Baron]

A large proportion of OW racing fans are NASCAR fans, I'd be very surprised to see just how many but a lot of them are!

Though I feel they (NASCAR/OW) aren't the most vocal OW fans, something that die-hard OW fans need to take acount of!

Look at OW ratings on ESPN its below 0.5 for both CART/IRL , dropped significantly ever since NASCAR left ESPN!

I remember a NASCAR WC car on display at a CART race got a lot of looks!

Most of the people who make up the numbers in OW stats are NASCAR fans, I'm sure the anti-NASCAR rhetoric doesn't go down well with them!

[Joe Fan]

Lee, the CART fan who told you that stock car racing in Brazil wasn't popular there is an uninformed idiot. It is not as popular as open wheel racing because of the interntional fame that to guys like Aryton Senna and Emerson Fittipaldi received from racing in Formula One but it is still fairly popular. I have records of the Brazilian Stock Car Champions up until 1994. Here they are:

1979 Paulo Gomes
1980 Ingo Hoffman
1981 Affonso Giaffone Jr.
1982 "Alencar Jr."
1983 Paulo Gomes
1984 Paulo Gomes
1985 Ingo Hoffman
1986 Marcos Gracia
1987 Jose "Zeca" Giaffone
1988 Fabio otto Mayor
1989 Ingo Hoffman
1990 Ingo Hoffman
1991 Ingo Hoffman/Angelo Giombelli
1992 Ingo Hoffman/Angelo Giombelli
1993 Ingo Hoffman/Angelo Giombelli
1994 Ingo Hoffman

*Note all won the championship in a Chevrolet Opala (whatever that is).

As far as the lack of respect about stock car racing, I pretty much thought this was just from some of their fans and something that was from the past. However, apparently it is still part of the CART culture too unfortunately. But I should note that most of their top team owners (Penske, Ganassi, Haas, Wells, etc.) are already owners or part-owners in Winston Cup. I know that these guys have respect for it now even if they didn't when they first came on the scene.

[The Beer Baron]

Also F1 teams help NASCAR teams out with aerodynamics, F1 teams have the funds for their own aero-tunnels etc..

I think it's unfair that fans of F1/CART bash NASCAR when leaders in their own sport help out a lot.

Also the BY400 crowd are helping fund the USGP, and NASCAR fans pay for tracks that OW racing use!

[Joe Fan]

Beer Baron, that may be true from American open wheel fans but I venture to say that the lack of respect about stock car racing comes mainly from outside of the U.S. F1 is considered the pinnacle of motorsport by the vast majority of non-Americans and most have no real exposure to NASCAR Winston Cup. They may have stock car racing in their country but most of these series are probably the equivalent of lower NASCAR stock car divisions (Goody's Dash, All-Pro or even the ASA) and they aren't popular enough to attract their top driving talent. So some of the lack of respect may be from the vantage point in their country.

However, I certainly still see quite a few American open wheel fans who state disrespectful things about NASCAR but most seem to be CART and F1 fans. I see very little of this from IRL fans, probably because it is oval racing series and A.J. Foyt didn't turn his nose up to NASCAR as he competed quite often in the series whenever he could. A.J. is a current owner in the sport and he does respect NASCAR. He made some comment about stock car drivers along the lines of, "Them boys are tough."

[The Beer Baron]

Occasionally I see disrespectful things said about NASCAR from IRL folk.

F1 or FIA has done little to get people interested in other kinds of motorsport, so it's F1 or nothing.

NASCAR has managed to get the Busch series out there! The Busch series is the highest profile of all ladder series leagues in the World.

I'm not from the US, and on eurosport there are lots of complaints over their poor NASCAR coverage!
Stockcar racing is begining to sprout, like the ASCAR series in the UK, and a few features on NASCAR have been done on Car related programmes on UK tv.

Some people think that $200m for a tea, to spend, working 365 days a year is the pinnacle of motor racing!

If you repeat it (Pinnacle of motorracing) eneough times you'll start to believe it! F1 has had to resort to this BS over the years to divert attention away from the lack of on-track excitment!
I wonder how many new F1 fans will be attracted by the current demonstrations, I havn't even watched an F1 repeat for ages, the only excitment is that you don't know what happens next!

NASCAR is about getting into a car and go racing!

[KC]

Here is my take on this. Mr. Pedley's comments that open wheel types look down on stock car types is a load of ****. Sure their have been a few racers who have looked down on another form of racing, they all have those types. I guarantee you if you ask any racer they will show respect for any other racer. The guilty parties here are the loyalist fans who are willing to look down on every other form of racing than what they annoint as their favorite. Racing is racing. Racers are racers.

The single worst open wheel driver/owner to make negative comments about other racers is ******* A.J. Foyt. This bitterman hates everyone who is anywhere near the limelight. However, do not judge every OW racer on this one hasbeen old man's outlook on life.

[The Beer Baron]

The fans, 95% of us don't know what it's like to race cars for a living.

AJ is always moaning about something:

Scroll down for IRL out-takes:
Go to Richmond and Nice Comments from AJ about Cheever

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/8059/samplese.html

You'll get a kick outta these!

[Lee]

Joe Fan,

Is it that Ganassi, Hass, etc respect NASCAR, or just want a piece of the big $$$$ there? I'm not sure. They seem to make theirselves pretty scarce around the NASCAR garage area. IMO, they still seem to look upon their NASCAR teams as "red-headed step-children" when compaired to their ca*t teams, prefering to go to the ca*t races, over the NASCAR races, when the two series run on the same day! Often times, even when there is no ca*t race, they elect to skip the NASCAR races.

He was an "uninformed idiot", yeah, but from my experience, most of (and I didn't say all, for those here that might try to say that I did) them are.

BTW, what Beer Barron told you about hearing some of the same type of stuff coming from IRL fans, about NASCAR, is true. Check out trackforums.com for proof, at times it is very strongly expressed there. Although nowhere near as prevailent as what you will find, or hear from ca*t types, you will find it there. I attribute it to their open-wheel heritage, and culture. Agree, fully with you about A.J. Foyt. He has always respected NASCAR, and the NASCAR teams, drivers, and fans. I remember once, back in the late 60s, or early 70s, when some reporter claimed that he said that the NASCAR drivers were nothing but a bunch of hicks, and that he didn't respect them. He confronted this reporter, both in the media, and I heard, in person as well. Called him a liar. He said that if anybody could be classified as a hick, it was him, being from Texas. He said that he had nothing but the utmost respect for NASCAR, and it's teams, drivers, and fans. That he had many friends in NASCAR, and that this individual had made untrue statements that had the potential to damage his frindships with them. In short order, the article was retracted by this writer. A.J. has always been accepted by NASCAR teams, drivers, and fans, because he has always been a friend, and has always shown respect. He is accepted as one of the good ol boys! He fellow open-wheelers could learn a thing or two from him about this, they however have choosen, throughout the years, and to the present day, to ignore this, choosing instead to be just the opposite!


Beer Barron,

Hate to disagree with you, my friend, but I do, on a number of points.

I was unaware that the wind tunnels at General Motors, in Michigan, the Langley Research Center, in Virginia, and the Lockheed-Martin Aircraft Corp, here in Marietta Georgia, which is located across the street from where I work, were in anyway, owned, run, funded, controlled, or associated with f-1 teams/racing. These are the wind tunnels that NASCAR uses. I think you may have missed this one about NASCAR receiving aerodynimical help from f-1 teams/racing. These are private corps, and NASCAR teams, and NASCAR, itself, pay for the use of these facilities. I go to the Lockheed tunnel, and watch testing, from time to time. Have a couple of friends that work there, and know some of the team members that test there.

I'm afraid that you are quite far off base with the statement that "OW fans are NASCAR fans" Some, maybe, but they are a minority overall, from everything I have seen, and experienced, the exact opposite is true. The two types are basically, exact polar opposite. For example, a couple of years ago, right after ISC had aquired the Homestead track, they tried to help ca*t, with their pitiful attendance at their races, by scheduling a Craftsman Truck series race to be run on the same weekend, figuring that maybe the NASCAR fans would stay over and see the ca*t race. BTW the ca*t drivers whined, pi$$ed and moaned, all weekend long that "They shouldn't be allowed to race at OUR track" (arrogant jerks, they did not ever OWN that track, nowhere did it say ca*t speedway, or property of ca*t drivers)! What ISC learned was that they got two completely different, roughly equal sized crowds, on two different days! Very little fan cross-over, exactly the opposite from what they had envisioned, or hoped for. The NASCAR fans came and saw the NASCAR race, and the ca*t fans came and watched the ca*t race, extreamly few ventured onto the other's turf. What I'm trying to say is, that the two type of fans mix about as well as oil and water. IRL/ca*t TV numbers were in, and below the 0.5 range before NASCAR left ESPN. There had been very little change. Also, IRL attempted to run a race, here in Atlanta, for 3 (I think, maybe less, maybe more) years, but finally gave it up, as they couldn't attract enough of a crowd to make it worth their efforts, so they dropped Atlanta from their schedule, and it wasn't from lack of promotional effort either. AMS/SMI did allot of pre-race promotion, on radio and TV stations, in our pitiful excuse of a newspaper here, (sorry, but the Atlanta Journal and Constiitution don't even qualify as a decent fish wrapper!) a couple of supermarkets offered hugh discounts, and the tickets, for sale at the track, were far cheaper than the ones for the Winston Cup races. The reason is simple, this is NASCAR country. The over all majority of NASCAR fans are not fans of, do not like, and do not attend this form of racing, and before you ca*t types try to claim that it was because of the unpopularity of, lack of talent in the IRL, that the IRL sucks, or whatever, NO, your series would have faired no better, in fact might not have even done as well, for the exact same reason, this is NASCAR country, the overall majority of NASCAR fans simply do not care for your form of racing!

As for the NASCAR stock car at the cart race, what track was it? My guess is that it was either a track affiliated with ISC, SMI, or NASCAR in someway, so the promotional aspect, of an upcoming event, was in full swing. Doubt very seriously that the ca*t types even cared for it, or wanted it there, they probally had no choice in the matter. As for the looks, the ca*t-types were looking down their noses, with disgust, I'm sure, and felt the same as I would if I went to a NASCAR race and found one of their cars there, which fortunatly has not been the case at any of the races that I have ever attended. If they were the casual type of fans, curisoty would have been the main motivation, you are however 100% correct with your statement that the die-hard ow-types should take into account the casual fan, but they managed to loose this fan, years ago, through statements such as "they are not sofisticated enough (also heard references that they were/are too ignorant) to enjoy our racing. If the casual race fan doesn't fall down an worship ca*t, as their die-hards do, they are branded labeled in the same insulting manner as the fans of NASCAR. ca*t lost that segiment of fans years ago, through their arrogancy displayed toward them!

I will agree with you that NASCAR fans have been forced to pay for these open-wheel series, mainly due to the unfair practice of forcing them to buy tickets to other racing series races, in order to be able to get tickets for the NASCAR races (PSLs), and this is entirly wrong. A fan should be able to buy tickets for whatever races he wants, without having to purchase tickets for races that he doesn't want, won't attend, and doesn't like.

Also agree with you that FIA does nothing to promote anything outside of f-1, and IMO this is one of the many reasons why they are a worthless organization! And, agree with you about the, so called, "pinnacle" of racing B.S. f-1 is simply just another road-racing series, (although an extreamly expensive one) out of a plethora of road racing-series, IMO they are nothing special, never have been, never will be!

KC,

Well, I'm afraid, as is usually the case, that you and I are going to, as G. Gordon Liddy ofter says, have to "respectfully agree to disagree." I think Mr. Pedley hit the nail squarely on the head. He, if you will re-read the article, quoted Fittipaldi as saying that "I got allot of different reactions (from ca*t people) in Fontana (Califorina, site of the last weekend's season-ending ca*t race) when I told them that I was going to do this deal....He intimated that most of those reactions were not based on respect." So please help me to understand this, he QUOTES the statement of a ca*t driver, that the reactions that he got, when he mentioned that he was going to attempt to race in a NASCAR race were not based on respect. This quote from the driver, and the artical are a load of ****! Exactly what am I missing here? I think that it more disproves your theory that ca*t drivers, teams, the organization itself do not look down their noses at NASCAR. Was there any reason for Fittipaldi to lie about what the reactions were when he told him of his plans? I think not. As to your, and other ca*tisan's feelings about A.J. Foyt, I think they are typical. Foyt never did bow down to the "Troy Boy's Chorus, and kiss their a$$es, he didn't worship them, and when the oppertunity came, made the break from them. He has said absolutly nothing any worse about them, than they have about him, in fact, they have said things far worse about him, than he has ever said about him! Therefore, he is to be hated, despised, critized, and insulted by ALL that is ca*t, it's teams, drivers, fans, and the organization itself, as your statements, about him attest to! Sorry, but as I said, we shall have to "agree to disagree."

[KC]

I have no problem with agreeing to disagree, that is only part of civilized discourse. Here is what I ask... What CART driver has made statements that NASCAR is somehow a lesser series? What NASCAR driver has said the same about CART? None publicly.

The only people making these statements are people in the press and the rabid fans on either side of the equation. That is the only people who are showing their asses instead of propping their own favorites. If your idea of supporting your favorite series is to slag off everyone else then you are not a racing fan, you are just a series supporter.

A.J. Foyt was one the best ever racers in America, but when he got too old and too fat to win himself he became so damn bitter he couldn't even be around people. This guy is a bitter old man who cannot even win in the IRL. No one else in the series has the experience and skill to only fall short. He cracks CART as a pseudo-F1 full of F1 wannabes and he continues to hire a guy who sucked in sportscars, and never even got a sniff of F1. Foyt having respect for anyone? What a crock of ****! I remmebr Chris Economaki asking him him after his car crapped out of the Indy 500 again who he most wanted to see win. His response, "I hope none of the *******s finish!" That's respect for you. As far as Foyt not kissing up to CART? A.J. Foyt, Pat Patrick and Roger Penske started CART. They had all been screwed over by Tony George and USAC so many times they started their own deal. Foyt was ground floor franchise holder in CART until the year the IRL was formed. So it was never a case of Foyt being the lone rebel among the CART owners. He left to be a big fish in a little pond and has even failed at that.

As far as the CTS events at CART races. The CART drivers and teams never whined about NASCAR guys invading their tracks, the problem came from the fact that stock car rubber and Indy car rubber are dissimilar and it made for an extremely slick track for the CART guys. Goodyear confirmed this in an article in RACER magazine concerning the differences in racing tires when urging them not be at the same track on the same weekend. The rubber is incompatible.

[Joe Fan]

Beer Baron, I am surprised! I thought you were American. It seems most Europeans love Formula One and think it is the top motorsport. I really love Grand Prix racing and I liked Formula One (despite some of its warts) until this year.

Next year, I am not going to follow F1 much as new regulations will allow two-way communication between the car and the pits. And I am not talking about radio communication either. Teams will be theoretically be able to change the performance of the engine as well as being able to shut the engine's power off from a laptop. This is where I show F1 the door. Traction control was bad enough but I could have eventually gotten over that. However, I do not relish and accept the idea of PC-controlled racing and that's what it is slowly becoming. To me, Formula One is a great manufacturer's series and has so many great things going about it but it is being ruined the current leadership. With all the unbalanced competiton, electronics, driver aids used in the sport, the World Driver Championship now has about as much meaning as the Manufacturer's Trophy in NASCAR.

[Emfa]

Originally posted by KC
...
Goodyear confirmed this in an article in RACER magazine concerning the differences in racing tires when urging them not be at the same track on the same weekend. The rubber is incompatible.

And yet we still see CART and the Trucks sharing a weekend at Fontana! I don't get it. :confused:

[Joe Fan]

Lee, guys like Chip Ganassi may not like NASCAR as well as CART (as evidenced by their high attendance at CART events)but that does not mean that they do not respect NASCAR. Sure, they are in it for the money no doubt but I do think and get a feeling that they respect it.

As far as liking open wheel racing, hey I am one of those fans who would cross over and watch open wheel racing. My first exposure to racing was sprint cars and the Indy 500 was the race back when I was a kid. I watched the Daytona 500 too when it was on but at that time, NASCAR was pretty much a Southern form of motorsport and I grew up in the Midwest. So IndyCar racing had more Midwesterners and it was more of a national form of motorsport. Now, NASCAR is my favorite form of motorsport. Why? 1) It has outgrown its Southern boundaries and become a national sport, 2)It has also done a better job in promoting and managing its product, and 3) It now ttracts our best talent and is even starting to attract some international driving talent, 4) plus I have realized that rubbing, door-to-door slamming and fender banging are more fun to watch.

[The Beer Baron]

Lee,

I should have said that a fair proportion of OW fans are NASCAR fans, not perhaps the diehards
that post on their forums but certainly, it is mentioned that many people
who are in attendence at CART/IRL races wear NASCAR related t-shirts. Not die-hards
but nevertheless supporters, (perhaps former supporters of their series)

During the broadcast for one of the Daytona 500s , they mentioned that some team
got help from an F1 team regarding aerodynamics, a small part perhaps.

CART drew a good crowd of 67,000 at Homestead in '98, dropped to 40,000 for 1999
the year the Trucks ran the same weekend.

Atlanta gets the highest NASCAR ratings
bar Charlotte in the country! The IRL/AMS promoted the hell out of those races, I'm
lead to believe.

I think the ESPN OW ratings have gone down a good bit, they've held steady on ABC but
not on ESPN!

The track in question was Gateway, and it was Toyota who had a CART & NASCAR car on display,
CAl Wells with his Toyota involvement, Got quite a few looks , more than the Champcars on display
Was behind the grandstand not in the paddock! Thankfully it was a CART event as there wasn't a lot
of people to impede my viewing

CART die-hards somehow expect the manufacturers to spend huge amounts of money on engines chassis etc..
The bottom line is, there aren't eneough eyeballs watching to justify it! Going for the more
cost-effective IRL spec probably will save CART. Long Beach scored a 3.0 in 1995 on TV, now about
1.5 is got for the ratings, where did half the fans go???

I bet ISC is just laughing, Tony George and CART egos caused a split , now Tony George is using
the ISC to prop up his series, I'd love to see the look on Bill France Jr's face when Tony asks him
for more money lol! Basically the ISC control the flow of money in the IRL, I don't think the ISC
will allow the IRL to get big so it could take money from any NASCAR sanctioned event!
Firstly as you mentioned the season ticket holders (Who just want to see the Winston Cup race!) have
to fork out for an IRL ticket! More money sucked from NASCAR fans, as if they aren't paying
eneough!

Well said about the FIA! Their motto they planted in F1 fans mind : 'If its not F1 it's not racing

JoeFan,
I get to see a lot of US motorsport and I watch it, actually I'm addicted to it! for many years too

[Lee]

Guys, sorry, but I'm just dead tired tonight. Just burned out. I'm going to hit the rack. I'll be back to reply to this post tomorrow. Until then, see ya'll tomorrow. Good night.

[Lee]

OK, I'm a bit more awake this evening.

Beer Baron,

Are you saying that it was one of Well's Tide Fords at Gateway, or a Toyota car? If it was Toyoda, it wasn't a Cup, or Busch car, maybe the Goody's Dash car that they have been running. However, glad you were able to get to the car, (due to the lack of attendance) and have a good look at it.

As for the tickets, yes I constantly harp on this issue, because it just isn't right. But, believe it or not, I don't feel that way about just NASCAR fans. It is my belief that any race fan, from any racing series, believe it or not even the ca*t types, that I despise so much, should not be forced to buy tickets that they do not want, just to get tickets that they do want. I realize that there are IRL and ca*t fans that don't want to attend anything but the races that they want to see, and to make them buy tickets to a NASCAR race, as part of a forced package deal, when they don't care about, and won't attend it, is equally as wrong as making NASCAR fans buy tickets to the open-wheel races. No one should be forced to have to buy tickets that they don't want! Though, I fully agree with you that NASCAR fans are paying far, far too much already.

ISC won't let NASCAR get big enough to take money away from NASCAR sanctioned events. I don't think NASCAR, or ISC has anything to worry about there. I also don't believe ISC, or NASCAR controls the money flow to IRL, from what I've heard, George pays for much of the IRL out of his own pocket. He's enheareted a huge fortune, and owns the IMS, so he can afford to front the series, as both the fortune and the track continualy renew themselves.

We both agree that ca*t attendance and viewership is plumetting, as your example of lower attendance at their race in Long Beach, and their TV numbers continue to decrease. This is, IMO because of the continuing dislike, and disenchantment that American fans, both viewers of TV and attendances at the races themselves, for this form of racing, as well as the arrogance, of it's fans, displayed toward the fans of other racing series. In other words, their are helping with killing themselves.

[The Beer Baron]

Cal Wells was backed by Toyota in his CART program last year,, and he must have given them one of his Tide Fords to display, it could've been a road course car as the exhaust was on the RHS, and it was September and the NASCAR road races were finished.

I agree that no one should have to splash out on tickets they don't want to buy.

[Lee]

KC,

You said to name one ca*t driver that has ever made a statement that NASCAR was somehow a lesser form of racing. Well, for one, Adrian Fernadez. This year, shortly after the first NASCAR race at Talladega, he made statements about how NASCAR was not good racing, that NASCAR had too much passing, generated by artificial means, too easy to pass using the draft. That the passing was artificial, and that the racing was too, when compaired to ca*t. Claimed that one or two passes made a better race than dozens of passes. I also notice that he said nothing about the "artificial" passing, due to the draft, that was generated by that hantfort device thing that they mandated at the Michigan ca*t race, in fact, praised that race, on RPM2Nite, as I remember. Hummm, now let me get this right, multiple passes, in a NASCAR race, are artifical, generated, and not good racing, (or in other words, an inferior product from a lesser series, while multiple generated passes in his series' race is praised, by him, as great, (or to put it another way the superior product of the superior series). I'd say that's a fairly good example of a ca*t driver making a statement about NASCAR being a lesser racing series, as well as being somewhat hypocritical as well! There are other examples as well, would you like for me to name others?

As to the issue about different rubber compounds being a problem, yes, the ca*t drivers whined about that, to excess! It works both way, the NASCAR drivers didn't whine about different rubber. It had the same effect on them, but they just dealt with it, and went racing! Funny, the IRL also ran several races in conjunction with the Craftsman Truck Series, not once did they pi$$, moan, or complain about any problems, the one thing that I heard one of the IRL drivers say was that, "yes the different rubber compounds make the track a little slippery, but it affects everybody the same, gives no one an advantage, or a disadvantage. We all have to deal with it, plus, the NASCAR drivers could say the same thing about our tires as well, but they don't." Anyway, this issue about rubber compounds, was not what I was refering to anyway. What I was refering to was the comments of several ca*t drivers, the one that sticks out more than any other was blundel, or whatever his name was, he was from England, refering (again, on RPM2Nite) to the NASCAR drivers, that they should not be allowed on the same track, and on every last one of them, the look of utter disgust on their faces, as if they were having to deal with lower life forms! It was the look of pure self-appointed superiority arrogance! As I said, there were no signs posted around the grounds of the track saying that the track was the exclusive property of ca*t drivers, or that the facility was ca*t speedway, they felt that they owned the track, quite evident in their attitudes! Arrogance, and looking down their noses at another series, no way that it can be explained away, that is what it was! Again, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

[Joe Fan]

Lee, what really gets me if what you are saying about Mark Brundell is correct, is that he hinted around during the summer that he was seriously considering driving in NASCAR.

[Lee]

Joe,

It doesn't supprise me one bit that he, or any of the rest of them would say something like this. It's not the first time that a smart-a$$ carty-boy has made disparaging remarks about NASCAR, then try to run in NASCAR races. The inagural Brickyard 400 is a prime example. The carty-boy was Danny Sullivan. He said some fairly harsh, degrading, and critical things about NASCAR, covered the specturm, drivers not the same quality, lower class, the usual anti-NASCAR carty-boy c rap. Then, low and behold, guess who shows up to attempt to qualify for the race, yep, you guessed it! First car out to attempt to qualify, I remember that he received less that a warm welcome from the NASCAR fans, the boos could be heard over the TV, and rightly so, oh and he didn't make the race either So, no it doesn't supprise me, one single bit, that this driver would say something like this, and then, that he's considering driving in NASCAR. As I said, typical carty-boy arrogant, first make remarks about NASCAR: "I'll say any, and everything insulting, degrading, or disparaging, that I choose, about your lowly, second-rate, not up to my standards, or ability, series." Then, followed with the attitude, at the track, "I'm here, hand me the trophy, I'm obviously superior to anyone driving in this second class series, you should be grateful that I have stooped to race in your inferior series, bow and worship the ground that I walk on!" For my money, the ca*t jerks can stay in their roller-skate series, we don't need them in NASCAR!

[The Beer Baron]

I don't think the IRL guys *****ed and moaned about the harder rubber when they ran with the trucks, but there were a few incidents on the opening laps of IRL races after the trucks ran there. It was speculated on TV about the non-compatibility of the rubber.
I don't think the IRL has ran with the trucks since 1999.

When CART needed to keep its friends, they belittled and moaned about everything, so I can see why people don't care about them anymore!