Planet-IRL

The Perfect Schedule

I like to do one of these every few months. This is my take on what the perfect schedule would be for the Indycar Series. Off weeks aren’t included.

1. St. Pete*
2. Dover
3. Long Beach
4. Kansas
5. Indianapolis
6. Milwaukee
7. Iowa
8. Barber Motorsports Park*
9. Toronto
10. Edmonton
11. Nashville (night)
12. Laguna Seca* (wider please!)
13. California (day transitioning into night, 500 miler)
14. Phoenix
15. Portland*
16. Las Vegas (night)
17. Michigan (500 miler)
18. Watkins Glen*
19. Kentucky (night)
20. Richmond (night)
21. Mid-Ohio* (rotating with Cleveland annually)
22. Atlanta
23. Mexico City*
24. Texas (night)
25. Chicago

*Should be paired with the ALSM or Grand-Am

And be sure that the Firestone Indy Lights run at every track. That’s a great series but they don’t run on the big tracks. What changes would you like to see?

Rant Session

Its time again for another one of my trademark rant sessions. If you are a fan of the sane, well written, unobjectionable type of posts I suggest you stop reading now.

I was just reading Jeff’s great story about the passing in Indycar; or lack thereof. I, too, was disappointed while sitting in the stands at Indy this weekend due to the fact that there was no passing(except when PT shoved Hideki Mutoh completely in the grass) I think the main problem is that these cars are so aero-dependent. If you look at a car from 2003 and prior the front of the car especially looks different. They changed the aero to add more downforce for the road courses and they lowered the mechanical grip. That means that the cars run best alone, in clean air. In traffic all the subtle curves and wings don’t get all of the air they get when running out front. This means that as soon as you get up behind someone in a corner you have to lift because the car loses all of its grip. Hence the lack of passing. Add more mechanical grip to solve the problem. F1 did it this year and look how much better it got.

Also, Terry Angstadt needs to be shown the door. You sir, are an idiot. I have a question for all of you. When was the last time you saw a sponsor doing a promotion that involved someone not named Danica, Sarah, or Marco? Just writing your name on the side of the car doesn’t cut it in todays world. This is one area where I commend Nascar. When I walk into the local Subway restaurant I see a cardboard cutout of Carl Edwards looking all spiffy holding his 5 dollar footlong (no connotations please). He is actively promoting his sponsor. Giveaways, promotions, showcars. They are all over the place. But none from the Irl. Also, the league has always been good about keeping the diehard fans interested. But what about the channel flipper? We need to bring in John Smith who’s sitting on his couch Sunday afternoon and happens upon the Versus telecast. Versus does the best they can but I would have much preferred someone like NBC with the wide-range that they have. And what about young children. Nascar has their own cartoon series and the Cars movie that brainwashes the future racing fans into believing that Nascar is better. We need that brainwashing! What about merchandise. For those who have been through the infield at Indy you know what I’m talking about. You get your choice of three trailers: Danica, Penske, or Ganassi. That is absurd. I want useless little nick-nacks! What about video games? What better way to draw an older child/teen in than with the chance to emulate their favorite driver? Being a nerd myself I like to put in Indycar series 2005(!) and try a few laps at the track that the series is at that week. I like seeing the drivers perspective and finding out the little things like how tight the pit entry is and where the bumps are. Old-timers will say that its all arcade-like and nothing like the real thing and that is partially true. But it is quite realistic. But it is from 05′ which means no road courses and a different driver lineup. For those of you that have read all of that and not hit the “back” button yet I want to thank you. That was just the Indycar rant. I will have an F1 rant soon though.

-This blog is a place for me to share my opinions. If you’d like to share yours click the comments button below and tell the world(or just the 2.5 people who read this blog annually)-

Tony George Fired

Several sources including Robin Miller and Sports Illustrated are now reporting that IMS president Tony George has been ousted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board. The claims come following TG’s use of over 600 million dollars to fund his endeavors over the last 15 years. Wife Laura was fired earlier this month from her position as staff advisor at the Speedway. The board of directors includes various members of the Hulman-George family and an Indianapolis lawyer. He will allegedly remain as the head of the IRL and Vision Racing but will no longer be involved with the Speedway. The 49 year old has denied the claims but nothing is confirmed at this time. Stay tuned for more on this breaking news.

UPDATE
A video interview with Tony George didn’t reveal much besides the fact that he is paranoid about his car(see 6:30). TG denied it of course and I’m starting to believe that Robin Miller is about to lose yet another job. This is seeming more and more like a bad episode of Punked. The news today also set off an ungodly like festival of tweeting and the server is currnetly down over there so I can’t find many updates.

-This blog is a place for me to share my opinions. If you’d like to share yours click the comments button below and tell the world(or just the 2.5 people who read this blog annually)-