rec.autos.simulators

Trey Behan

I hate to tell you this, but CART is a world wide series like F1, like most
Americans you forget we are just a speck on this earth..By the way those of us
who purchased CART stock when it came out, are grinning ear to ear on the
returns and incomes being made!

The IRL may be lacking in coverage, but CART's TV ratings have been
even lower than the IRL.  How many times do I have to remind you
pikers about the "people in glass houses" thing?  Geez . . .

-- JB

The Indianapolis 500 has a long and rich history -- those who study
the history of Indy will tell you that virtually EVERY year, there has
been some form of controversy.  The rear-drive British invasion was
controversial; the turbine cars were controversial; big wings and
ground effects were controversial at one time; Ray Harroun's decision
to race without a driving mechanic was controversial; baloons and
outhouses have caused controversy (if you don't know about this
reference, you've missed out on a very good story); front-wheel drive
Novis caused controversy; popoff valves were controversial;
equivalency formulas have always been controversial; the Marmon Wasp
itself was controverial (if you don't know what the Marmon Wasp is,
please don't waste my time with a rubuttal to ANY of this); the 100,
150, and 200 mph barriers were controverial; I could go on and on and
on and on, and even then, Donald Davidson could STILL come up with
even MORE controversy surrounding the Indianapolis 500.  

The whole CART/IRL issue is just another bit of controversy that will
someday become another footnote in the Indy 500's long and glorious
history, and the Indy 500 WILL go on long after BOTH the IRL and CART
are just the answers to trivia questions known only to diehard lovers
of obscure race trivia.

You can have whatever opinion you want about the IRL and CART --
there's some great racing and some great talent in both series, and
they both have a lot of merit.  There are records being set at the
fabled Brickyard this May, though, which tells me that the
Indianapolis 500 is alive and well, thank you very much, so if it
doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll probably be spending some time at the
track watching pointy-nosed cars do what I love to see them do.  

The Indy 500 is dead -- long live the Indy 500!

-- JB

Roger Penske has sold off most of his CART stock now that it's doubled
in value, and recently Roger Penske sold off his tracks.  Maybe Roger
Penske is a more savvy (and informed) businessman than the average
CART stockholder . . .

-- JB

--
Chuck Kandler  #70
K&S Racing
http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/thepits/195
Unarmed & unafraid!

Scott Goodyear is leading the points after 2 races and has earned $217,650.
An avg of $108,825 per race in IRL.

I dont have any CART statistics handy.

Again.. you are equating "prestige" to dollars when i was arguing just the
opposite.  You need to compete against top talent for it to be prestigeous.
The IRL and the Indy 500 arent even close.

--
Scott B. Husted
PA-Scott on TEN
http://home.earthlink.net/~sbhusted
ICQ# 4395450

Still, even though the officials try to slow 'em down, somehow the
amazing mechanics, crew chiefs, and drivers in the IRL keep finding
ways to make 'em go faster.  I guess that's just not an exciting thing
to some people unless it's accompanied by the whine of a turbo whine,
though, which is a shame.  

Still, as I said, while we've been glued to our monitors to some
degree or another arguing about the alleged demise of the Indianapolis
500, there have been pointy-nosed cars turning fast laps and breaking
recoreds at Indy.  Of course, real race fans are already aware of
this, I'm sure . . .  

Thanks, Thom -- it gets pretty hot around here when the rhetoric
begins to fly and the flamethrower-equipped sharks start to circle.
<G>

-- JB

;-)

-- JB

Trey Behan

Actually, I really liked the idea of CART's stock going public, but,
unfortunately, it also serves as something of an impediment to the
possibilities of an IRL/CART reunification.  CART is a publicly-traded
organization, and the IRL is a private, family-owned business, and the
two just don't mix very well.  What the CART owners might like may not
be in the best interests of the shareholders, and with many masters to
answer to, it's hard to find a deal that will work for all parties
involved.  

Give it time, though.  Controversies like this DO become a footnote
eventually, and no matter what we think, there ARE a lot more
Indy-style races going on these days, which ain't a bad thing.  

-- JB