2008 - first year back together

[domaza]

OK, the season is more or less over. This was a first year after the long war and lets give some pros and cons of the new IndyCar series.

Things I liked:
- professionalism in the paddock/races/TV - ChampCar was really lacking it in last years
- sponsored cars - nice to see real sponsors on cars
- competitive races

Things I did not like:
- no TV coverage (Estonia, Europe) - I had to watch internet feed, which was not running very well
- the cars - how can they be so ugly?
- CC teams uncompetitive on ovals

2009:
- better schedule
- international TV deal?
- Dario back (Can I forgive him that he jumped the ship: CC->IRL?)
- CC teams more competitive on ovals

All in all I am very positive, although I used to be true CC supporter, this was the first year for ages, where Open Wheel racing in US started to move in the right direction.

Keep going!

[The instant classic]

things i liked
dario is back
and that about does it ha ha poor year i think

things i didnt like
watching the full season, i sholud have just watch Chicagoland
nothing was hype up, if not for wind tunnel i wolud have, never knowing about the re-join of the series,
and last i miss champcar

2009 schedule?
hmm they needed more ovals
thats about it i think

[SUBARUTEAM]

2008 was a good start
2009 is better although they need to honour a lot of contracts with current IRL venues.
2010 should be a ripper with a new schedule and new cars (I think, unless its 2011 for the new cars??)

[V12]

Yep all in all 2008 was a positive year, hope it can be built on for the future!

The main thing lacking IMO to get back to 1995 levels of interest (for me personally I mean) would be multiple chassis and engine manufacturers, preferably tyres too although I can just about live without that. I miss the days of the Reynard/Lola/Penske/Swift, Goodyear/Firestone and Honda/Toyota/Mercedes/Ford wars in CART - it always seemed to generate a diverse list of race winners every year without the need to resort to artifical measures to "mix up the field" that we see now in just about every series outside of F1, IndyCar and sportscars.

As for the mix of road/street/ovals, to be honest I think they have it pretty much bang on. I'd prefer a couple more 2+ mile superspeedways in place of some of the identikit 1.5 mile ovals, but I think keeping a healthy mix (rather than drifting heavily in the road/street or oval direction) is essential.

One thing I DON'T want to see, that has been mooted a couple of times, is some sort of F1-style entry cap and getting into a "franchise" mentality where entry slots can be bought and sold. Leave it open to all comers who can get their hands on legal equipment, and have race-by-race qualifying if necessary where spaces are limited, which will naturally sort the wheat from the chaff anyway.

As a UK-based fan, I hope that the TV changes won't impact us too much here, and I believe they won't. I'm not sure how many would actually agree with me, but I enjoy Sky's coverage (way better than the unprofessional scheduling that Eurosport used to serve up back in CART/IndyCar's mid-90's heyday).

I also hope that when (if) the Australian round becomes part of the official schedule, it will be shown live here (the "exhibition" race in a couple months is only being shown as highlights on Sky). I know it will be on in the middle of the night but I'll make a night of it, if it's on, and hope it won't be moved to some silly hour. F1 has made a big mistake IMO in moving the Australian GP forward, effectively meaning the European audiences they are attempting to cater for have to get up early on a Sunday morning (!) rather than stop up late on a Saturday.

Other than that no complaints, and I feel 2009 will automatically be improved by the fact that all the ex Champ Car teams will be more up to speed, and we can see the likes of Servia and Wilson contending for wins most weekends rather than just on the road courses.

[-Helix-]

Pros:

- Full fields of cars
- AOWR becoming a bit more respectable again. (i.e. Drivers like Dario deciding its worth coming back to)
- New TV Deal with increased exposure.
- Having to qualify for the 500 again.
- IRL being open to new ideas (standing starts, turbos, new chassis/engines, etc)
- Transition teams were more competitive by the end of the year
- More diverse schedule

Cons:

- Crappy road races. We need more Road Americas and Clevelands, not Belle Isles and Sonomas.
- Some of the oval formulas need some work. i.e. Iowa, Richmond, Kansas, Homestead
- Not enough pack racing. Chicagoland, Milwaukee, and Texas were really the only places with side-by-side racing.
- Ganassi/Penske domination like always.


Overall it's getting better. In a couple years AOWR should be at a very exciting point.

[Civic]

Bring back Fontana please. Attending one race a year (Long Beach) is not enough for me!

[bravefish]

Pros:


- Having to qualify for the 500 again.
Ain't that the truth..

Cons:

- Crappy road races. We need more Road Americas and Clevelands, not Belle Isles and Sonomas.
Sonoma is probably the worst track in the world, looks like its some dusty run-down ex-testing facility

- Ganassi/Penske domination like always.
Great teams, special drivers. Wont be as dominant though once other teams especially NHL and KV get some solid data and their act together.

Overall it's getting better. In a couple years AOWR should be at a very exciting point.

Couldnt agree more - best thing to happen since canned piss

[nigelred5]

Yep all in all 2008 was a positive year, hope it can be built on for the future!


As for the mix of road/street/ovals, to be honest I think they have it pretty much bang on. I'd prefer a couple more 2+ mile superspeedways in place of some of the identikit 1.5 mile ovals, but I think keeping a healthy mix (rather than drifting heavily in the road/street or oval direction) is essential.

Michigan and Fontana need to be on the schedule just like Road America and Cleveland. These are 4 of the best tracks for open wheel racing in this country, with some of the best races ever in Indycars/Champcar history, and none of the 4 are on the schedule.

Dump Iowa, Homestead and Kansas and add in these 4, then find a chassis not so painful to look at to put on them and I'd be 100% better than I was this year. As much as I tried to stay interested, I was hard to watch most of the year. That just wasn't my guys out there..............

[Cart750hp]

It looks like the first was more of the second year. There are tons of good things came up when these two series finally reunited. Sure, there are bad stuff and negative things lurking around this one unified series but quite honestly, this is just the first year. As the series' move on as one series, this just gets better. Just waiting for that series sponsor and more manufacturer to climb on board and IndyCar will be again just like it was.

Not to be out of the topic but there's one main thing lacking this time of the year during the CC years when I was a fan. That is: CC management lies. They put hopes on the fans yet couldn't deliver when it's due. This year.............................................. NONE OF THAT AT ALL.

[SarahFan]

Pro..... Cars on track, overall i enjoyed the racing, certainly a vast improvement of what the 2 halfs gave us the past 1/2 decade

Cons....the Biz....it seems as if it's Biz as usual...and that's too bad