The NY Times weighs in on IRL

From today's paper: ------------------------------------------------------------------ Stalled Indy 500 Tries to Restart Engine May 30, 2004 By DAVE CALDWELL INDIANAPOLIS, May 29 - Eight floors beneath Tony George's perch in a concrete-and-steel pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a big crowd lingered at a sun-splashed rock concert Thursday. It was a festival, a happy scene. George, 44, the racetrack's president, would seem to be on the winning side of the bitter 10-year feud between open-wheel racing series. But there has been a cost. By almost every measure, the Indianapolis 500, once the greatest auto race in the world, has been scrubbed of much of its prestige as a result of the divide between George's Indy Racing League and the rival Championship Auto Racing Teams. George, the grandson of Tony Hulman, who bought the two-and-a-half-mile Indianapolis oval from Eddie Rickenbacker in 1945 and restored its glory, despises the term "civil war," and he is not exactly sure what he has won, or even if the battle is over. "You ask people who won the Civil War in America," he said in an interview in the pagoda, "and no one did." Almost every major owner and driver who stayed with CART when George formed the I.R.L. has returned to the Indianapolis 500, which will be run Sunday for the 88th time. Included is the pre-eminent open-wheel car owner, Roger Penske, whose drivers have won 13 Indy 500's. Penske has become an advocate of one open-wheel racing series and sounds as if he has become a big fan of George's. "Tony George is on the ground," Penske said. "He's not running things from his office." Buddy Rice, who won the pole for Sunday's race, drives a car co-owned by the talk-show host David Letterman and Bobby Rahal, who won the Indy 500 in 1986 and was one of George's fiercest critics when he started the I.R.L. "We just have to make this series the strongest series," Rahal said of the I.R.L., "and let the Darwinian effect take its course." CART declared bankruptcy late last year, and its remnants, now called the Champ Car World Series, has few recognizable drivers and no major television contract. The I.R.L. announced a contract extension Thursday with ABC and ESPN through 2009. "What we really want is to grow the Indy 500," said Loren Matthews, the senior vice president for programming at ABC Sports. One Man Drives the Show But there is plenty of room. Many people in the sport believe that the only way for the Indy 500 to reclaim some of its prominence is for the two series to be united, and that only one person really has the power to make that happen. "Tony's the key," said Michael Andretti, a former driver who owns four cars that will participate in Sunday's race. "Tony's the guy with the power. Tony's the guy who could initiate making it happen, and happen sooner than later." The downside for George, the Indy 500 and the I.R.L. - and it appears to be formidable - is that open-wheel racing has only recently regained traction. The sport has been lapped by Nascar, the stock car series that is a marketing phenomenon. Viewership of the Indy 500 has fallen drastically, from 12 million in 1995 - before the I.R.L. split from CART - to 6.7 million last year, which was slightly below 40 percent of the 16.8 million who watched the 2003 Daytona 500. "The whole television landscape has changed over the last 10 years," George said. One of the many traditions of the Indianapolis 500 is that the race starts at 11 a.m. local time (noon Eastern). Speedway and network officials have acknowledged that television ratings would improve if the race were run later in the day, or even at night. Daytona International Speedway, a two-and-a-half-mile oval that has a slightly rounder configuration than Indy's, has lights. Lighting the Brickyard would be a considerable and expensive task, speedway and I.R.L. officials said. "There's a huge logistical hurdle to overcome," said Ken Ungar, the I.R.L.'s senior vice president for business affairs. "The issue has been floated at various times, but I'm not sure what momentum it has at this point." For the second year in a row, there was a question of whether the traditional 33-car Indy 500 starting grid would be filled. It was, but barely. No car was bumped from the field during qualifying sessions, robbing the race of some drama. "Doesn't mean the quality's not there, or the competition," George said. But the Indy 500 is not perceived to be a hot ticket. The speedway will not release attendance figures or even its capacity. A reporter from The Indianapolis Star walked through the enormous grandstands and counted 257,325 seats. It is almost certain that Sunday's race will not be sold out. A visitor to the Indy 500 Web site on Friday could buy $80 grandstand seats between Turns 3 and 4, with blocks of 50, 5 consecutive rows of 10, available. A block of 50 $75 tickets in the same grandstand was also available for the Brickyard 400, an annual Nascar race at the speedway that began in August 1994. But the seats were 18 rows lower, a much worse vantage point. Not the Only Game in Town George, who also started the United States Grand Prix for Formula One cars in 2000, said the Indy 500's importance had been diluted. "We're not just a one-horse town anymore," George said. "We've got a whole stable of animals to feed and take care of." Moreover, Indianapolis is not a professional sports backwater. The Indiana Pacers are in the N.B.A. Eastern Conference finals and, judging by the attention they get in the newspapers and on television, are a bigger story than the Indy 500. The Indianapolis Colts, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, lost to the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference championship game last season. The Indy 500 competes for attention inside and outside the racetrack. "I was watching a TV show about the Indy 500 in the early 60's," said Rick Mears, the four-time Indy 500 champion, who works for Penske. "And if you closed your eyes, you would have thought they were talking about today - not enough cars, not enough drivers. It was not a lot different. "But it's gaining momentum, which is what we need. It takes time for stuff to happen. It's not going to happen overnight." When George made the Indy 500 the centerpiece of the I.R.L. in 1996, most of the top open-wheel drivers did not follow. That race was won by Buddy Lazier, who had not qualified higher than 23rd and had not finished higher than 14th in three previous Indy 500's. But the race regained momentum when Penske returned in 2001, then fielded two full-time I.R.L. teams in 2002 and 2003. Toyota and Honda, the rival Japanese auto manufacturers, jumped from CART to the I.R.L. before the 2003 season. Prominent drivers also found their way back, including Michael Andretti, a son of Mario, who retired after the 2003 season. His four cars are considered to have good chances to win Sunday's race. Rahal's three cars are also top contenders. He said Thursday that he considered the 33-car field to be every bit as deep as the 1995 field. Rahal finished third in that race, his last Indy 500. "This," Rice, the pole winner, said, "is the World Series for us." But it still is only one race, and two open-wheel series still exist. Four months ago, George lost a bid to acquire the assets of CART in bankruptcy court. He offered more than $13 million, or $10 million more than the group headed by Paul Gentilozzi. But Gentilozzi's group promised to honor the contracts and keep the series alive. "I like Tony, and I consider him as a friend, but sometimes, with friends, you have to show some tough love," said Gentilozzi, 54, who controls Champ Car with two others. "It's almost as if their financial arrogance is not making them see the right path." Two Circuits, Two Visions The I.R.L. and Champ Car have radically different philosophies. George intended the I.R.L. to be a series of races on ovals in the United States. Many Champ Car races are on road courses, like the one in Long Beach, Calif. George formed the I.R.L. to be affordable and accessible for car owners, but Gentilozzi said it was neither and would be at risk without the backing of Honda and Toyota. What George has, Gentilozzi said, is a factory-based series, like Nascar. "They are completely and totally reliant on factory money," Gentilozzi said. George ostensibly formed the I.R.L. as a way to develop American drivers. One of the I.R.L.'s early stars was Tony Stewart, a confident young driver from Rushville, Ind. He left the I.R.L. after the 1998 season to join Nascar, where he is a star today. A United States-born driver has not won the Indy 500 since Eddie Cheever Jr. in 1998. Gentilozzi considers that to be a problem. He said the I.R.L. - or open-wheel racing in general - would not be the same until it developed more American drivers. "H�lio Castroneves is a great driver," Gentilozzi said, referring to the Brazilian driver who won the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002 for Penske. "But he's never going to be A. J. Foyt or Mario Andretti in the American consumer's mind." Champ Car has only two standout drivers, Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy. Its races are broadcast on Spike TV, formerly TNN, which is aimed at men 18 to 34. Gentilozzi said that Champ Car was determined to stay in business but that there could be a truce. The I.R.L. would benefit, he said, from the addition of some of Champ Car's races. George said: "All we're trying to do is to do what we're doing, and that is to build the best series we can and let the chips fall where they may. I really want Indy-car racing to be where it deserves to be: the premier form of motor sports." George said he had learned a lot since March 11, 1994, when he announced plans for the I.R.L., which held its first race in 1996. He said he had made a lot of mistakes and realized he was unpopular even among some Indy-car fans. His family has been involved in racing for nearly 60 years, George said, so he is not grabbing for power. He said he simply wanted to form a streamlined, centralized organization. "You can't please people all the time," George said. "You have to have the conviction and commitment to do what you think is right. You can convince the public and the competitors that you have the best interests in their minds. It's not perfect by any means. But we've tried to build."

Purpose? You could've given us the link or we could've found it ourselves. But what's the reason for posting it here in full? Odd. Alanb

"Alan Bernardo" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:g8uuc.27197$Ly.18894@attbi_s01: > Purpose? You could've given us the link or we could've found it > ourselves. But what's the reason for posting it here in full? > > Odd. > > Alanb A formerly great paper weighs in on a formerly great race. Makes perfeck Kommie sense. I flipped channels momentarily...saw empty seats on the main grandstands...THAT NEVER happened in days of yore... I wonder which CART team won...but please don't spoil it for those oddballs who taped it.. :) no reporting please...I'm sure I'll be forced to watch the results sometime this week. dave henrie

Thx, SS. A far more devastating view of just how far the one-great 500 has fallen appeared on MSNBC's Website (and was prolly seen my a hundred times as many people as the car-hating NYT crew), "Indy 500 is quickly running out of gas," by Mike Celizik, here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5047499/ "SS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> From today's paper: > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > Stalled Indy 500 Tries to Restart Engine > > May 30, 2004 > By DAVE CALDWELL > > INDIANAPOLIS, May 29 - Eight floors beneath Tony George's > perch in a concrete-and-steel pagoda at the Indianapolis > Motor Speedway, a big crowd lingered at a sun-splashed rock > concert Thursday. It was a festival, a happy scene. > > George, 44, the racetrack's president, would seem to be on > the winning side of the bitter 10-year feud between > open-wheel racing series. But there has been a cost. > > By almost every measure, the Indianapolis 500, once the > greatest auto race in the world, has been scrubbed of much > of its prestige as a result of the divide between George's > Indy Racing League and the rival Championship Auto Racing > Teams. > > George, the grandson of Tony Hulman, who bought the > two-and-a-half-mile Indianapolis oval from Eddie > Rickenbacker in 1945 and restored its glory, despises the > term "civil war," and he is not exactly sure what he has > won, or even if the battle is over. > > "You ask people who won the Civil War in America," he said > in an interview in the pagoda, "and no one did." > > Almost every major owner and driver who stayed with CART > when George formed the I.R.L. has returned to the > Indianapolis 500, which will be run Sunday for the 88th > time. > > Included is the pre-eminent open-wheel car owner, Roger > Penske, whose drivers have won 13 Indy 500's. Penske has > become an advocate of one open-wheel racing series and > sounds as if he has become a big fan of George's. > > "Tony George is on the ground," Penske said. "He's not > running things from his office." > > Buddy Rice, who won the pole for Sunday's race, drives a > car co-owned by the talk-show host David Letterman and > Bobby Rahal, who won the Indy 500 in 1986 and was one of > George's fiercest critics when he started the I.R.L. > > "We just have to make this series the strongest series," > Rahal said of the I.R.L., "and let the Darwinian effect > take its course." > > CART declared bankruptcy late last year, and its remnants, > now called the Champ Car World Series, has few recognizable > drivers and no major television contract. The I.R.L. > announced a contract extension Thursday with ABC and ESPN > through 2009. > > "What we really want is to grow the Indy 500," said Loren > Matthews, the senior vice president for programming at ABC > Sports. > > One Man Drives the Show > > But there is plenty of room. Many people in the sport > believe that the only way for the Indy 500 to reclaim some > of its prominence is for the two series to be united, and > that only one person really has the power to make that > happen. > > "Tony's the key," said Michael Andretti, a former driver > who owns four cars that will participate in Sunday's race. > "Tony's the guy with the power. Tony's the guy who could > initiate making it happen, and happen sooner than later." > > The downside for George, the Indy 500 and the I.R.L. - and > it appears to be formidable - is that open-wheel racing has > only recently regained traction. The sport has been lapped > by Nascar, the stock car series that is a marketing > phenomenon. > > Viewership of the Indy 500 has fallen drastically, from 12 > million in 1995 - before the I.R.L. split from CART - to > 6.7 million last year, which was slightly below 40 percent > of the 16.8 million who watched the 2003 Daytona 500. > > "The whole television landscape has changed over the last > 10 years," George said. > > One of the many traditions of the Indianapolis 500 is that > the race starts at 11 a.m. local time (noon Eastern). > Speedway and network officials have acknowledged that > television ratings would improve if the race were run later > in the day, or even at night. > > Daytona International Speedway, a two-and-a-half-mile oval > that has a slightly rounder configuration than Indy's, has > lights. Lighting the Brickyard would be a considerable and > expensive task, speedway and I.R.L. officials said. > > "There's a huge logistical hurdle to overcome," said Ken > Ungar, the I.R.L.'s senior vice president for business > affairs. "The issue has been floated at various times, but > I'm not sure what momentum it has at this point." > > For the second year in a row, there was a question of > whether the traditional 33-car Indy 500 starting grid would > be filled. It was, but barely. No car was bumped from the > field during qualifying sessions, robbing the race of some > drama. > > "Doesn't mean the quality's not there, or the competition," > George said. > > But the Indy 500 is not perceived to be a hot ticket. The > speedway will not release attendance figures or even its > capacity. A reporter from The Indianapolis Star walked > through the enormous grandstands and counted 257,325 seats. > > > It is almost certain that Sunday's race will not be sold > out. A visitor to the Indy 500 Web site on Friday could buy > $80 grandstand seats between Turns 3 and 4, with blocks of > 50, 5 consecutive rows of 10, available. > > A block of 50 $75 tickets in the same grandstand was also > available for the Brickyard 400, an annual Nascar race at > the speedway that began in August 1994. But the seats were > 18 rows lower, a much worse vantage point. > > Not the Only Game in Town > > George, who also started the > United States Grand Prix for Formula One cars in 2000, said > the Indy 500's importance had been diluted. > > "We're not just a one-horse town anymore," George said. > "We've got a whole stable of animals to feed and take care > of." > > Moreover, Indianapolis is not a professional sports > backwater. The Indiana Pacers are in the N.B.A. Eastern > Conference finals and, judging by the attention they get in > the newspapers and on television, are a bigger story than > the Indy 500. > > The Indianapolis Colts, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, > lost to the New England Patriots in the American Football > Conference championship game last season. > > The Indy 500 competes for attention inside and outside the > racetrack. > > "I was watching a TV show about the Indy 500 in the early > 60's," said Rick Mears, the four-time Indy 500 champion, > who works for Penske. "And if you closed your eyes, you > would have thought they were talking about today - not > enough cars, not enough drivers. It was not a lot > different. > > "But it's gaining momentum, which is what we need. It takes > time for stuff to happen. It's not going to happen > overnight." > > When George made the Indy 500 the centerpiece of the I.R.L. > in 1996, most of the top open-wheel drivers did not follow. > That race was won by Buddy Lazier, who had not qualified > higher than 23rd and had not finished higher than 14th in > three previous Indy 500's. > > But the race regained momentum when Penske returned in > 2001, then fielded two full-time I.R.L. teams in 2002 and > 2003. Toyota and Honda, the rival Japanese auto > manufacturers, jumped from CART to the I.R.L. before the > 2003 season. > > Prominent drivers also found their way back, including > Michael Andretti, a son of Mario, who retired after the > 2003 season. His four cars are considered to have good > chances to win Sunday's race. > > Rahal's three cars are also top contenders. He said > Thursday that he considered the 33-car field to be every > bit as deep as the 1995 field. Rahal finished third in that > race, his last Indy 500. > > "This," Rice, the pole winner, said, "is the World Series > for us." > > But it still is only one race, and two open-wheel series > still exist. Four months ago, George lost a bid to acquire > the assets of CART in bankruptcy court. He offered more > than $13 million, or $10 million more than the group headed > by Paul Gentilozzi. But Gentilozzi's group promised to > honor the contracts and keep the series alive. > > "I like Tony, and I consider him as a friend, but > sometimes, with friends, you have to show some tough love," > said Gentilozzi, 54, who controls Champ Car with two > others. "It's almost as if their financial arrogance is not > making them see the right path." > > Two Circuits, Two Visions > > The I.R.L. and Champ Car have > radically different philosophies. George intended the > I.R.L. to be a series of races on ovals in the United > States. Many Champ Car races are on road courses, like the > one in Long Beach, Calif. > > George formed the I.R.L. to be affordable and accessible > for car owners, but Gentilozzi said it was neither and > would be at risk without the backing of Honda and Toyota. > What George has, Gentilozzi said, is a factory-based > series, like Nascar. > > "They are completely and totally reliant on factory money," > Gentilozzi said. > > George ostensibly formed the I.R.L. as a way to develop > American drivers. One of the I.R.L.'s early stars was Tony > Stewart, a confident young driver from Rushville, Ind. He > left the I.R.L. after the 1998 season to join Nascar, where > he is a star today. > > A United States-born driver has not won the Indy 500 since > Eddie Cheever Jr. in 1998. Gentilozzi considers that to be > a problem. He said the I.R.L. - or open-wheel racing in > general - would not be the same until it developed more > American drivers. > > "H�lio Castroneves is a great driver," Gentilozzi said, > referring to the Brazilian driver who won the Indy 500 in > 2001 and 2002 for Penske. "But he's never going to be A. J. > Foyt or Mario Andretti in the American consumer's mind." > > Champ Car has only two standout drivers, Jimmy Vasser and > Paul Tracy. Its races are broadcast on Spike TV, formerly > TNN, which is aimed at men 18 to 34. > > Gentilozzi said that Champ Car was determined to stay in > business but that there could be a truce. The I.R.L. would > benefit, he said, from the addition of some of Champ Car's > races. > > George said: "All we're trying to do is to do what we're > doing, and that is to build the best series we can and let > the chips fall where they may. I really want Indy-car > racing to be where it deserves to be: the premier form of > motor sports." > > George said he had learned a lot since March 11, 1994, when > he announced plans for the I.R.L., which held its first > race in 1996. He said he had made a lot of mistakes and > realized he was unpopular even among some Indy-car fans. > > His family has been involved in racing for nearly 60 years, > George said, so he is not grabbing for power. He said he > simply wanted to form a streamlined, centralized > organization. > > "You can't please people all the time," George said. "You > have to have the conviction and commitment to do what you > think is right. You can convince the public and the > competitors that you have the best interests in their > minds. It's not perfect by any means. But we've tried to > build." > >

Oopsies: meant "once-great" not "one-great." FWIW, I thought the race itself was abt. as good as any 500 I've seen. It wasn't a procession, the ability to pass was more up to the driver than any tacked-on aero aids, fuel strategy and pitwork were complicated and complicating elements, the weather played a role, ABC's production values were more than adequate, there were several Americans in the race, and there were only a few drivers I'd never heard of. The Nurburgring race, OTOH, was, like the track itself, a total bore. "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:eOuuc.272976$[email hidden]... > Thx, SS. > > A far more devastating view of just how far the one-great 500 has fallen > appeared on MSNBC's Website (and was prolly seen my a hundred times asmany

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> people as the car-hating NYT crew), "Indy 500 is quickly running out of > gas," by Mike Celizik, here: > > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5047499/ > > "SS" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > From today's paper: > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > > > > Stalled Indy 500 Tries to Restart Engine > > > > May 30, 2004 > > By DAVE CALDWELL > > > > INDIANAPOLIS, May 29 - Eight floors beneath Tony George's > > perch in a concrete-and-steel pagoda at the Indianapolis > > Motor Speedway, a big crowd lingered at a sun-splashed rock > > concert Thursday. It was a festival, a happy scene. > > > > George, 44, the racetrack's president, would seem to be on > > the winning side of the bitter 10-year feud between > > open-wheel racing series. But there has been a cost. > > > > By almost every measure, the Indianapolis 500, once the > > greatest auto race in the world, has been scrubbed of much > > of its prestige as a result of the divide between George's > > Indy Racing League and the rival Championship Auto Racing > > Teams. > > > > George, the grandson of Tony Hulman, who bought the > > two-and-a-half-mile Indianapolis oval from Eddie > > Rickenbacker in 1945 and restored its glory, despises the > > term "civil war," and he is not exactly sure what he has > > won, or even if the battle is over. > > > > "You ask people who won the Civil War in America," he said > > in an interview in the pagoda, "and no one did." > > > > Almost every major owner and driver who stayed with CART > > when George formed the I.R.L. has returned to the > > Indianapolis 500, which will be run Sunday for the 88th > > time. > > > > Included is the pre-eminent open-wheel car owner, Roger > > Penske, whose drivers have won 13 Indy 500's. Penske has > > become an advocate of one open-wheel racing series and > > sounds as if he has become a big fan of George's. > > > > "Tony George is on the ground," Penske said. "He's not > > running things from his office." > > > > Buddy Rice, who won the pole for Sunday's race, drives a > > car co-owned by the talk-show host David Letterman and > > Bobby Rahal, who won the Indy 500 in 1986 and was one of > > George's fiercest critics when he started the I.R.L. > > > > "We just have to make this series the strongest series," > > Rahal said of the I.R.L., "and let the Darwinian effect > > take its course." > > > > CART declared bankruptcy late last year, and its remnants, > > now called the Champ Car World Series, has few recognizable > > drivers and no major television contract. The I.R.L. > > announced a contract extension Thursday with ABC and ESPN > > through 2009. > > > > "What we really want is to grow the Indy 500," said Loren > > Matthews, the senior vice president for programming at ABC > > Sports. > > > > One Man Drives the Show > > > > But there is plenty of room. Many people in the sport > > believe that the only way for the Indy 500 to reclaim some > > of its prominence is for the two series to be united, and > > that only one person really has the power to make that > > happen. > > > > "Tony's the key," said Michael Andretti, a former driver > > who owns four cars that will participate in Sunday's race. > > "Tony's the guy with the power. Tony's the guy who could > > initiate making it happen, and happen sooner than later." > > > > The downside for George, the Indy 500 and the I.R.L. - and > > it appears to be formidable - is that open-wheel racing has > > only recently regained traction. The sport has been lapped > > by Nascar, the stock car series that is a marketing > > phenomenon. > > > > Viewership of the Indy 500 has fallen drastically, from 12 > > million in 1995 - before the I.R.L. split from CART - to > > 6.7 million last year, which was slightly below 40 percent > > of the 16.8 million who watched the 2003 Daytona 500. > > > > "The whole television landscape has changed over the last > > 10 years," George said. > > > > One of the many traditions of the Indianapolis 500 is that > > the race starts at 11 a.m. local time (noon Eastern). > > Speedway and network officials have acknowledged that > > television ratings would improve if the race were run later > > in the day, or even at night. > > > > Daytona International Speedway, a two-and-a-half-mile oval > > that has a slightly rounder configuration than Indy's, has > > lights. Lighting the Brickyard would be a considerable and > > expensive task, speedway and I.R.L. officials said. > > > > "There's a huge logistical hurdle to overcome," said Ken > > Ungar, the I.R.L.'s senior vice president for business > > affairs. "The issue has been floated at various times, but > > I'm not sure what momentum it has at this point." > > > > For the second year in a row, there was a question of > > whether the traditional 33-car Indy 500 starting grid would > > be filled. It was, but barely. No car was bumped from the > > field during qualifying sessions, robbing the race of some > > drama. > > > > "Doesn't mean the quality's not there, or the competition," > > George said. > > > > But the Indy 500 is not perceived to be a hot ticket. The > > speedway will not release attendance figures or even its > > capacity. A reporter from The Indianapolis Star walked > > through the enormous grandstands and counted 257,325 seats. > > > > > > It is almost certain that Sunday's race will not be sold > > out. A visitor to the Indy 500 Web site on Friday could buy > > $80 grandstand seats between Turns 3 and 4, with blocks of > > 50, 5 consecutive rows of 10, available. > > > > A block of 50 $75 tickets in the same grandstand was also > > available for the Brickyard 400, an annual Nascar race at > > the speedway that began in August 1994. But the seats were > > 18 rows lower, a much worse vantage point. > > > > Not the Only Game in Town > > > > George, who also started the > > United States Grand Prix for Formula One cars in 2000, said > > the Indy 500's importance had been diluted. > > > > "We're not just a one-horse town anymore," George said. > > "We've got a whole stable of animals to feed and take care > > of." > > > > Moreover, Indianapolis is not a professional sports > > backwater. The Indiana Pacers are in the N.B.A. Eastern > > Conference finals and, judging by the attention they get in > > the newspapers and on television, are a bigger story than > > the Indy 500. > > > > The Indianapolis Colts, led by quarterback Peyton Manning, > > lost to the New England Patriots in the American Football > > Conference championship game last season. > > > > The Indy 500 competes for attention inside and outside the > > racetrack. > > > > "I was watching a TV show about the Indy 500 in the early > > 60's," said Rick Mears, the four-time Indy 500 champion, > > who works for Penske. "And if you closed your eyes, you > > would have thought they were talking about today - not > > enough cars, not enough drivers. It was not a lot > > different. > > > > "But it's gaining momentum, which is what we need. It takes > > time for stuff to happen. It's not going to happen > > overnight." > > > > When George made the Indy 500 the centerpiece of the I.R.L. > > in 1996, most of the top open-wheel drivers did not follow. > > That race was won by Buddy Lazier, who had not qualified > > higher than 23rd and had not finished higher than 14th in > > three previous Indy 500's. > > > > But the race regained momentum when Penske returned in > > 2001, then fielded two full-time I.R.L. teams in 2002 and > > 2003. Toyota and Honda, the rival Japanese auto > > manufacturers, jumped from CART to the I.R.L. before the > > 2003 season. > > > > Prominent drivers also found their way back, including > > Michael Andretti, a son of Mario, who retired after the > > 2003 season. His four cars are considered to have good > > chances to win Sunday's race. > > > > Rahal's three cars are also top contenders. He said > > Thursday that he considered the 33-car field to be every > > bit as deep as the 1995 field. Rahal finished third in that > > race, his last Indy 500. > > > > "This," Rice, the pole winner, said, "is the World Series > > for us." > > > > But it still is only one race, and two open-wheel series > > still exist. Four months ago, George lost a bid to acquire > > the assets of CART in bankruptcy court. He offered more > > than $13 million, or $10 million more than the group headed > > by Paul Gentilozzi. But Gentilozzi's group promised to > > honor the contracts and keep the series alive. > > > > "I like Tony, and I consider him as a friend, but > > sometimes, with friends, you have to show some tough love," > > said Gentilozzi, 54, who controls Champ Car with two > > others. "It's almost as if their financial arrogance is not > > making them see the right path." > > > > Two Circuits, Two Visions > > > > The I.R.L. and Champ Car have > > radically different philosophies. George intended the > > I.R.L. to be a series of races on ovals in the United > > States. Many Champ Car races are on road courses, like the > > one in Long Beach, Calif. > > > > George formed the I.R.L. to be affordable and accessible > > for car owners, but Gentilozzi said it was neither and > > would be at risk without the backing of Honda and Toyota. > > What George has, Gentilozzi said, is a factory-based > > series, like Nascar. > > > > "They are completely and totally reliant on factory money," > > Gentilozzi said. > > > > George ostensibly formed the I.R.L. as a way to develop > > American drivers. One of the I.R.L.'s early stars was Tony > > Stewart, a confident young driver from Rushville, Ind. He > > left the I.R.L. after the 1998 season to join Nascar, where > > he is a star today. > > > > A United States-born driver has not won the Indy 500 since > > Eddie Cheever Jr. in 1998. Gentilozzi considers that to be > > a problem. He said the I.R.L. - or open-wheel racing in > > general - would not be the same until it developed more > > American drivers. > > > > "H�lio Castroneves is a great driver," Gentilozzi said, > > referring to the Brazilian driver who won the Indy 500 in > > 2001 and 2002 for Penske. "But he's never going to be A. J. > > Foyt or Mario Andretti in the American consumer's mind." > > > > Champ Car has only two standout drivers, Jimmy Vasser and > > Paul Tracy. Its races are broadcast on Spike TV, formerly > > TNN, which is aimed at men 18 to 34. > > > > Gentilozzi said that Champ Car was determined to stay in > > business but that there could be a truce. The I.R.L. would > > benefit, he said, from the addition of some of Champ Car's > > races. > > > > George said: "All we're trying to do is to do what we're > > doing, and that is to build the best series we can and let > > the chips fall where they may. I really want Indy-car > > racing to be where it deserves to be: the premier form of > > motor sports." > > > > George said he had learned a lot since March 11, 1994, when > > he announced plans for the I.R.L., which held its first > > race in 1996. He said he had made a lot of mistakes and > > realized he was unpopular even among some Indy-car fans. > > > > His family has been involved in racing for nearly 60 years, > > George said, so he is not grabbing for power. He said he > > simply wanted to form a streamlined, centralized > > organization. > > > > "You can't please people all the time," George said. "You > > have to have the conviction and commitment to do what you > > think is right. You can convince the public and the > > competitors that you have the best interests in their > > minds. It's not perfect by any means. But we've tried to > > build." > > > > > >

Alan Bernardo wrote:

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> Purpose? You could've given us the link or we could've found it ourselves. > But what's the reason for posting it here in full? > > Odd. > > Alanb > >

The NY Times requires registration to read their articles. That's why many folks will post the entire article rather than a link.

On Mon, 31 May 2004 00:15:06 GMT, "Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote: >http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5047499/ "Back then, winning Indy meant something. Graham Hill was a Formula One champion who wanted an Indy crown to complete his career. Everybody on that list was a household name, or at least one that you could toss out in a bar and get nods of recognition from all. But throw out de Ferran or Helio Castroneves or Juan Montoya or Kenny Brack � winners of the last five Indys, and you�ll get puzzled looks." I doubt most young race fans know who Graham Hill is. I suspect more of them would know Montoya and maybe even Ferran/Catroneves. Jason

Yeah, Celizik is fairly parochial. There must be about a billion F1 fans worldwide who know who Montoya is. (Did you see how he fairly LEAPED out of Schumi's way at the Ring?) I didn't know who Buddy Rice was before, but I do now. Seems to me he's exactly the kinda guy Tony the G is looking for: an All-American youngster who came up the hard way (his father was a drag-racer and Buddy was considered for a career in pro baseball). He even LOOKS like a cross between Tom Swift and Horatio Alger. "Jason Moyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> On Mon, 31 May 2004 00:15:06 GMT, "Steve Smith" > <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5047499/ > > "Back then, winning Indy meant something. Graham Hill was a Formula > One champion who wanted an Indy crown to complete his career. > Everybody on that list was a household name, or at least one that you > could toss out in a bar and get nods of recognition from all. > > But throw out de Ferran or Helio Castroneves or Juan Montoya or Kenny > Brack � winners of the last five Indys, and you�ll get puzzled looks." > > > I doubt most young race fans know who Graham Hill is. I suspect more > of them would know Montoya and maybe even Ferran/Catroneves. > > Jason

".....once the greatest auto race in the world....". God give me strength! Bruce.

>".....once the greatest auto race in the world....". > >God give me strength! > Bruce! How ya been, dude? :-) Eldred -- http://www.umich.edu/~epickett Screamers League IICC League GPLRank -6.0 MoGPL rank +267.80 Ch.Rank +52.58 MoC +741.71 Hist. +82.34 MoH:na N2k3 rank:in progress Slayer Spektera lvl 72 assassin Slayer Spectral_K lvl 38 Necro US East

Fine, thanks Eldred. :) Just haven't dropped in for a while as there's not much going on in the racing-sim world now that interests me. So I loaded up my old SCGT copy, downloaded the LeMans and Nordschleife circuits, some 1960's prototypes and am having some fun. :) Cheers! Bruce. "EldredP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Bruce! How ya been, dude? > :-)