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CART is going down the drain. IRL takes over.

F

FrustratedUser

Lifer
I am a fan of open wheel racing on oval + road + street tracks. CART has been my choice.
Unfortunately IRL now attracts the big names and engine manufacturers.
I like a good oval race, no problem, but it gets kinda boring to have an ALL oval leage.

What's your take on this?
 
A little while ago there was talk of F1 and CART merging.
F-1, CART to merge

The most recent development shows that Ford and CART signed a 2 year deal with Cosworth providing engines for all the CART teams. Not sure I'm happy with this development. I guess, the racing will be more competitive, but where's the innovation? The same engine for all the teams?
Ford, CART join forces
 
I prefer CART over IRL (can't stand Tony George) but there have been so many missteps in CART these past two years that they are having problems getting enough cars to run at their tracks. I hope they make it through this next year.
 
I'ver heard both stories.
Seeing CART as a feeder series to F1 could be a good idea but I think it will take away some of the glory and I hope it wont become something like F3000, the current no 1 feeder series to F1.
I want to see CART back on track as it was 3-4-5 years ago with great drivers and great races with a few engine manufacturer and I hope they will come back.
The alternative would be to introduce road and street races in IRL.
It is the diversity I like. F1 can be interesting but it hasn't really been that fun to see lately with 1 team winning everything. F1 has become to hightech, even if I like Hi-tech, but I think they should ban launch control and tracktion control and maybe even go back to stick shift (just like CART) to make the driver more important.
 
I also prefer CART, just because I dislike ovals. It was funny to see, when IRL was created, that all American drivers gravitated towards IRL, while CART recruited a bunch of foreigners, who dominated the series, were very successful, and made their names known worldwide. I could never understand why that happened.

I agree there should be a mix of road/street races, but I'd expect strong resistance from current IRL teams/drivers. They did their oval only, all-american series that way because that's exactly what they wanted. When CART was at its best, I thought they could even set up a real world series. They already had well established races in all continents, and many people would welcome them, because many race organizers have trouble with FIA/F1 demanding (bunch of snobs) people.
 
CART only has one foot in the grave so don't bury it yet. 😉 '03 is gonna be the make or break season. IMO if CART goes down open wheel racing is going to die in the US. TG (Tony George) is running the IRL into the ground. He is making it, the IRL, into the beast that CART used to be and everyone hated (a series run by self-serving morons who only looked out for themselves). What happend to the "IRL of old" that was supposed to be a low cost oval racing series supporting American drivers? IRL costs go up every year (some of the first teams to join the IRL are now looking to move to CART because CART is cheaper to race in), TG wants to start running road courses, and last time I checked de Ferran and Castroneves<sp?> weren't exactly hometown boys. TG didnt' want to start a new series, he wanted to replace CART and place himself at the helm. But enough of my ranting... 😉

IMO, both the CART and the IRL are at the same point, as series, right now. CART has slid down to this point, and the IRL has dragged itself up to this point, but neither series is doing very well. I take that back, the IRLs media spin is doing fantastic right now. By word of mouth you'd think that the IRL was kickin' @ss and takin' names, but they're not. The IRL's TV ratings are a bit higher than CART's, but race attendance is horrible. CART usually pulls 3-4 times the people into the stands than the IRL does (even bigger attendence in races outside the US). Not to mention the fact that the IRL has aligned itself w/NASCAR so many of the IRLs ticket sales coming from NASCAR fans having to buy IRL tickets bundled w/their NASCAR ticket.

If CART can have a good '03 season then I think the sponsors will start coming back. There is only so long TG can keep up the illusion that the IRL is a succesful racing series.


Lethal
 
F1 is not in that great shape either. Too expensive for everybody, even the big manufacturers now. Wasn't the ticket price around $500 in one of the European races this year? If at least some teams could sell their cars to privateers... I'll take a 2002 Ferrari over any other 2003 car. Fortunately, it appears the sport cars world is getting stronger (until Porsche comes back, wins everything, and makes it dull again!). But some people are blind, look at Ford in the WRC: if I remember correctly, FIA imposed restrictions on selling WRC cars, which was a source of income for the team. Where are their drivers now? Cheap labor at Ford WRC.
 
I agree with you on the '03 season. I really hope things work out for them. Their series is by far more interesting than IRL.
Unfortunately for me, as a Swede, the only Swedish driver went to IRL (again) after a bad season with Ganassi Racing to team up with Rahal again.
So I have to switch, or follow both series now.
 
I like CART better but it's a moot point because I don't get to see any coverage of it, due to lack of Speedvision and no lack of Nascar.
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
I like CART better but it's a moot point because I don't get to see any coverage of it, due to lack of Speedvision and no lack of Nascar.
Click to expand...

I know it's not the same, but you can get streamed highlights and races from the entire season at cart.com. From the menu on the left pick "Multimedia"--> "Speed on Demand".


GreenGhost, atleast from a drivers perspective I know they would welcome road courses in the IRL. I can't remember hearing a driver ever say "yes, I want to turn left my entire career." And many drivers have stated that no one wants to race in the IRL (Montoya, da Matta, Villeneuve), but money talks.


Lethal
 
the IRL is stupid. i likd CART's mix best but its impossible to find on tv anymore. meanwhile we get more and more neckcar.
 
CART never was out of the drain really.

F1 has been the only good open wheel motorsport for sure.

world rally cross is better than anything else!!! 😀😀
 
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what real race tracks look like. 😀
Originally posted by: Triumph
I like CART better but it's a moot point because I don't get to see any coverage of it, due to lack of Speedvision and no lack of Nascar.
Click to expand...
For what its worth, CBS usually airs a few of the races each season.
 
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