It has been a while since I have written anything for you and a lot has happened in my little world of American open-wheel racing. The big story this year is the end of the civil war and the Indy Racing League’s hostile takeover of Champ Car. For those of us who were on the Champ Car side of things, it was a sad sight, but now we are together and must focus on the true enemy, NASCAR. Instead of boring you with a bunch of mindless jumble about things that have happened I am going to pick a few issues I have noticed during unification so far and my reactions to them. Hope you enjoy!
Diversification, I like the sound of that.
There are several things I am looking forward to in the next few seasons. First is the new chassis because any former Champ Car fan will tell you, the Dallara is an awful looking machine. The thing I am looking forward the most to, however, is a more diverse schedule. In one of the first press conferences after the announcement was made, CEO or the Indy Racing League Tony George said that he would like to return to a more diverse schedule similar to what the series was running prior to the split. When George said this I could not help but laugh because saying that clearly went directly against what he had said when the split first happened. It is nice to see however that he is starting to surround himself with people who are smarter than him. I would ideally like to see a schedule that would be a third road courses a third street courses and a third ovals. With the ovals perhaps they could put a balance of different types of ovals like three super speedways, three short tracks, and three 1.5-mile ovals. Right now the current schedule is too much like NASCAR and I believe the open-wheel product should be exciting and racy, but should distance itself from NASCAR as much as possible. For the new era of open-wheel to be successful it needs to find its own identity.
Transition Teams
The other day I was talking to one of my friends about how all of the former Champ Car teams have this label of “transition” branded to them. The conversation sparked an idea for a parody on the Black Panther movement. Watch out for possible merchandise to be released later. All joking aside however, you cannot help but notice how the term “transition driver” or “transition team” has become a derogatory slang. Everyone from the teams to the crew in the broadcast booth have no problem bringing out the T-word. As long as this continues on, there is going to be a large rift between the hardcore IRL fans and the Champ Car fans who are not boycotting the merged series altogether. Bottom line is, the Champ Car teams know how to race and the drivers they have know what they are doing. It will not be long until my transition brothers overcome, but until then they will have to enjoy the back of the pack.
Danica and “Whinedrettism”
Danica Patrick is by far currently the most popular driver in the series. My opinion on her is mixed. She can drive and she’s marketable, perfect for what the new series needs to succeed. The problem I have with her is her attitude. She has made a name for herself mainly due to her off track antics rather than her accomplishments on the track. I am willing to deal with the barrage of complaining I always hear from her on her radio during the race, but sometimes she does things that just astound me. Her incident with Ryan Briscoe at this year’s 500 is just one of the things that keep her on my hate list.
It really is a shame, every time I start to respect Patrick, she goes and does something like this and I am forced to put her back in the junk box once again. My friends always wondered why I liked former Champ Car driver Katherine Legge far more than Danica and this is the reason. Legge drove for the worst team in Champ Car, was the butt of most jokes in the Champ Car paddock, and was constantly put in some of the most frustrating circumstances possible. Even after all that however, she would always just give a smile and thank her team for doing the best they could.
Danica acting this way is bad for the sport, unless the people tuning in are the same people who enjoy riveting programming such as “My super sweet sixteen”. The people I feel the worst for when she acts this way are the young girls who are trying to look up to her as a role model. I have some advice, if you want a female racer to look up to, try Ashley Force. You stay classy Danica.
The best of both worlds.
The split is over now, and to move forward we must remember why the split happened in the first place, arrogance. The harsh reality is that there were both things that were good with the two series and things that were bad. The trick is to take everything that was good with the two series and combine them. That means not listening to the few IRL hard cores who think they can call the shots now because “they won”. If the Indy Racing League management does everything according to the wishes of a few who are in the minority, then we will be right back where we started. If you do not like what the new series is doing, then do not watch. There are tons of former Champ Car fans that have made that decision and it is their decision to make. I for one am in the majority who wants what’s best for open-wheel racing. That means taking the best of both worlds to make this one series great.
