Why CART will outlast the IRL

[tanalised]

I gotta agree with you there Bobby B; lets move away from the I500 and go with this name Champcar World series. Move the focus more international; forget about the american stadium syndrome

[brightline]

Originally posted by Tailwind
I don’t know if there are any speedways that aren’t owned by ISC.

Didn't Chris Pook came from Dover Downs which has a couple tracks like nashville and gateway. other than that there is Speedway Motorsports which probably wouldn't really favor any CART involvement considering they own Texas and we all know what happened at Texas. Are their any independently owned ovals bigger than 1 mile anymore?

[Liz]

I don't think the IRL 500 is that important outside the USA. And comparing it to the 24 Hours du Mans is just silly.

I am with those who say stop trying to compete with them, stop trying to find something just like their only asset only better, and move ahead into Europe and out of the USA. I would suggset making either Montreal or Mexico City our showcase race and simply drop all references to the IRL 500 at all. Either of those races will outdraw the IRL 500 and even with 2003's field being new guys the racing will be just as good.

We need to keep a few ovals just to make sure we are the best overall training ground for our drivers, but I'd get away from them as much as possible so that no more drivers would be wooed to the Other Side (they won't be qualified to drive on ovals if they dont' get much practice. See Kenny Brack's lack of success on road courses.)

I agree on the point about the 500 not being that important outside the US. I only ever watched it once ('93 Mansells first year).

Oval racing is still very much an American thing in my books. It bores me senseless (but not quite as much as the Hungaroring!!!)

[Brian W Keske]

If you don't think the Indy 500 is one of the most prestigeous races in the world, than what is/are?

I believe some of you may be sticking your head in the sand here.

Here is a (my) short list of the worlds most prestigeous races. Add to the list.

LeMans 24 Hr.
Indy 500
Manaco F1
Daytona 500
Daytona 24 Hr
Sebring 12 Hr
Goodwood
Isle of Man
Paris-Dakar Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
Baha 1000

Just a few off the top of my head. These races have a strong history, and are held in very high regard within the racing community worldwide.

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if I can add a single CART event to this list...perhaps the closest being Long Beach. But that is it.

And my point is, as I said above, as long as TG has Indy, then there will be an IRL. And I doubt seriously the 500 is going away any time soon. The scariest part is the speculation that the Indy 500 could wind up in the France family's hands at some point and time.

[paul-collins]

In sportscars, the Indy 500 is better compared to Daytona 24h than to Le Mans. A once proud race, neutered.

It once was viewed as important enough that it was included in the points tally of the F1 WDC (although rarely contested by the F1 crowd). It has drawn European - ok, British - interlopers as well, in the way that Le Mans drew American interlopers.

Perhaps it will return to being a single, important race. Like Le Mans.

[Brian W Keske]

Could the France's Grand Am exist without the Daytona 24 Hr race?

Of course it could. But the Daytona keeps the darn series viable. Manufacturers are providing support in order to stick this race involvement/winning 'in their cap'.

Don't even get me started about the Grand Am fiasco....reminds me to much of the IRL fiasco.

Just because we don't agree on the level of these races importance, they are still important in the racing community, both here, abroad, and world-wide....to some degree. But they are the 'benchmark' races none the less.

Anwer me one question....Why the defection of the CART teams back to to Indy 500/irl?

The CART teams should have never went back, and established their own without it. It has only made the IRL more viable.

[Rambo]

Ask the Aussies the most important race - You missed out the Bathurst! Mount Panorama is to them what the Brickyard is to you, or the IOM TT is to bikers.

The Bathurst is also an institution, surviving and continuing no matter what rules the cars run to when they go there.

Also, don't forget the Macau GP - still seen as the place where young talent can crown their 'aprentice' career before moving up to the big leagues. Maybe that has slipped a bit in the last couple of years, but where else do drivers from individual national championships come and compete in a one-off event on the far side of the world?

There are plenty of big races out there but only Americans seem to think the Indy 500 is something extra special. OK, it rangs up in the top 10, but it isn't number one in many people's eyes.

[BootsOntheSide]

I'd've defiantely added the Belgian Grand Prix to that list (thank you Belgian Government, when will politicians stop poking their noses into things they don't understand or have any passion for?), and The Italian one, and how about Laguna Seca in CART. More prestige than Goodwood and Paris-Dakar have had for many years. The list would been spot on- in about 1970.

[Rambo]

Well, if Spa does end up running a CART race, yeah, why not? But you could add Long Beach then, since that has been F3000, F1 and IndyCars - the event has continued as an entity in its own right. I suppose the same could be said of the Dutch TT at Assen, now part of the Moto GP season.

Monza, yes, has been going since 1922, and is certainly a classic venue. Whether the Italian GP counts I don't know. Pau is another one that has been going (and is IIRC like Macau, an F3 race now) since the year dot, but unlike Monaco, is not a name most people would think of.

Donnington is the first British road racing circuit, has a history of classic GP racing before the war, has always been THE place for bikes (I still can't believe the SBK event has gone to Silverstone) and has run a modern F1 race. It is a top-class venue capable of running any world championship events except F1. But there is no 'classic' race at Donnington - neither is there at Laguna Seca - undoubtedly a very fine and spectacular racetrack.

[Brian W Keske]

Originally posted by Rambo
The Bathurst is also an institution, surviving and continuing no matter what rules the cars run to when they go there.

Also, don't forget the Macau GP -

I Agree, Bathurst and the Macau GP should be added to the list of 'important races' world-wide.

Still waiting for the Indy 500 to knocked off the 'top 10' list however.

[paul-collins]

This would make an interesting list in itself - "marquee races of the world." Pau's F3 race made me think of another - Trois Rivieres Atlantics. (For perspective, ALMS ran there on Saturday as the support race for the Atlantics this year.)

[Rambo]

The first time I'd heard of Trois Rivieres was this year when I saw the Trans-Ams running there this year on the new Motors channel. Just goes to show...

[paul-collins]

Yep. (strays waaay off topic)

It's where James Hunt discovered Gilles Villeneuve. James raced in the Atlantics race on his way home from the Canadian GP at Mosport. (Drivers used to do that, you know! )

[tanalised]

Yes quite a lot of them used to come over to NZ for the Tasman summer series to compete. Alas no more