2008 - first year back together

[NickFalzone]

From a promoter's point of view, NASCAR at Fontana twice a year is obviously better than NASCAR once and IndyCar once. But from NASCAR's point of view, Fontana might be better as one race a year and find another track for that 2nd date. In which case, it could open up to the IRL. Some of the NASCAR repeat races are really lame.

[Cart750hp]

Fontana has got to be added on IRL's schedule. Pretty much most of the fans agree to this venue. Michigan could be a great add on....but time will tell.

[Chaparral66]

Good post, Chap, but I think some of that work has already been approached.

Cleveland/Houston -- The IRL met with Lanigan on these and they couldn't strike a bargain. Maybe it wasn't because of anything other than both events have been money losers.

Toronto -- AGR took it over, got Honda of Canada to support it and it makes financial sense now, so it's there.

Road America -- CART and CC treated the track so badly that its date wandered all over the calendar, Mario had to mediate a lawsuit to get the race held one year, CC wound up with a track rental, etc. It's probably a good move to wait a couple years and let the stain go away first. In any case, RA and the IRL briefly talked about it.

Laguna Seca -- CART took away Laguna's date, put it in June, attendance fizzled, put it back in September, the sizzle was gone, Laguna owed CART money, CC ditched it for San Jose, then CC ditched San Jose. Like Road America, it'd be rough going for awhile there. And the IRL has just signed another three-year deal with Infineon.

Fontana and Michigan -- Fontana, with its second NASCAR date, now has a scheduling problem because either spring or fall, it's too close to NASCAR for it, but I understand they actually want to work something out. Not the same with the GM at Michigan, who may have been trying to be a BMOC with ISC in Daytona, which may have been told it wouldn't work. That's probably why the IRL accepted Penske's proposal to go to Detroit. Don't think it's a matter of TG "swallowing pride" and running with Cup. No openings -- ARCA and the Nationwide Series run with Cup.

Time will tell as the schedule evolves over the next few years.

OK, good points, IC. We all knew it would take time for the still scaring wounds of the "unpleasantness" would take time to heal, since both sides used bad judgement in some things.

That said, it is important for AOWR to regain some footing, we have to embrace our history again, which is a big reason why I would want to go back to the classic venues. Perhaps if something could be worked out in time for when the new car gets here, which would be raced on all courses, that might be an avenue to get it done, by promoting a return to the classic racetracks with an all new and exciting car. I agree that a combined date with Sprint Cup is highly unlikely, but a weekend at the road & street courses
with ALMS or Grand AM (or both; how about that?) might work.
Easier said than done, of course, but hopefully ICS will keep them in mind.

[VkmSpouge]

The bits of the championship I was able to see on Channel Five a couple of weeks after the race were fairly good, nice to see a full grid. Hopefully this season will serve as a platform for the championship to get up from. One thing I would like, better coverage in the UK, please? Okay, that's just a pipe dream.

[drewdawg727]

I think that they really have to work on getting turbocharged engines. The road/street courses have horrible speed and that is just no good for racing.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Ok..since I have been not watching all the races....I have followed the series in the press mainly.

PRO: Good fields ( like I was saying all along there wasn't enough teams and money for 2 series to have full fields).
Great racing really.
Seeing the CCWS guys compete and as time went on, win.
Seeing the rancor and politics fade off into the sunset.
Seeing racing be the focus.
Seeing the races on my TV more regular (still not enough but better than the last year of CCWS) and most of all, seeing Carl Haas and the late Paul Newman return to Indy with HONOUR.

The Cons?
I am not a huge fan of the car's look although it races much better than it used to.
Still not a cookie cutter oval fan but I will have to watch more of it to maybe see what I am supposed to be missing.
No race in OZ after this year?
No ride for PT past Edmonton.
No race in Cleveland or Road America ( although I understand why) and no race in Toronto THIS last season.....thank god Mikey Andretti wanted to keep his favourite playground back in racing.

IN short....this season was a surprise merger (I figured any merger would be a lot more formal and "equal" but then again, the Amigo's destroyed any crediablity they had) at the last moment and for all of that....it wasn't a bad season.

I look forward to OW racing growing but it is going to be a lot more slow and fraught with pitfalls than some of you realize. The bad economic news and the fact NASCAR has used the "war" to put a strangle hold on the racing conscience of most of America will be the worst battle conditions to try to regrow OW to where it was in 1994