Is the open wheel world better off than it was a year ago?

[ShiftingGears]

No.

[fugariracing]

Champ Car's big turnaround, which should have happened last year, didn't. Sponsorship woes continued; the tv package with ESPN turned out to be a bad joke. Folding their tent & merging into IndyCar was unfortunately inevitable, unless the principals wanted to continue to pump millions into a (seemingly) hopeless cause.

But losing Champ Car did not seem to do AOWR any good, either. Even with 1 series, the old problems continue. The IRL is a boring series, period (IMO)... THe cars are ugly, they sound horrible, & their venues, while getting slowly better over the years, still suck, compared to Champ Car's. Most distressing is seeing that the 2009 IndyCar schedule still has not incorporated Road America or Cleveland. Instead we have the same collection of generic ISC 1.5 mi ovals, barren wastelands like Sonoma, & immortal classics like Belle Isle.

At least, last year, there was still some hope that AOWR would somehow find some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Now, well, let's just say I'm not holding my breath...

Several good points here. CC 07 was sad, for sure, in terms of the promised gains and the reality of race cancellations, pay-drivers and the lack of leadership from the principals. And in terms of awareness, outside of the fanatics plus the diehards who have stuck by CART/CC regardless of the circumstances, CC barely raised a blip on the national radar. I think the last time it was on SportsCenter was for Legge's RA crash in 06, I don't remember it once last year.

IRL has its flaws for sure and no-one expected this thing to miraculously turn around overnight. What I worry about now is that the principals involved in this are overlooking the mistakes that doomed CC and drove it to its grave. The TV contract, the lack of speed in moving up the new car, and not adopting the few good things that CC had to offer. For PT to not be in a car was a brutal slap in the face both from Forsythe and TG, Edmonton notwithstanding. Also to not adopt the option tires, P2P, or even more HP for road/street courses needs to be addressed b/c as many acknowledge, the current car looks like a dog on these circuits.

I think the issue with tracks is contracts and whereas so many had their races killed off for this year, TG will honor the ones he has through 09 and then he and his minions will look to a better, cleaner slate in 2010. I don't think of TG very highly at all but it's his ship now, and whether it sinks or swims is solely in his court.

The attendance was definitely up at a few tracks this year, especially the races I was at (Indy, Milwaukee and Chicagoland). It was refreshing to see 24-28 cars a race after six years of 20 or less. Yes, there were a couple new sponsors, but still a number of them are tied to the team owners and drivers. Some TV ratings were up but for the most part the coverage was abysmal. And as I've written, I fail to see how it's beneficial in the long run for a series looking or thinking about growing to move its product to a network that no one gets.

At the moment, I think the ship's afloat. But not by much. So to answer the original question, OW is better off now than last year in that there's only one series, but next year's changes will prove vital to its longterm survival. But the series has to address the issues still facing it and soon, preferably next year. Otherwise, it ain't gonna make it much past 2011 and TG's beloved centennial anniversary of the 500.

[markabilly]

open wheel racing has been dieing a slow death,,,,,the combo will only keep the pateient alive for a little longer, unless something drastic happens.....Nascar may be the culprit more than anything else

[indycool]

Yes, it's better, if for no other reason than it's one series.

But there's no microwave. It took 12 years to take it apart and put it back together. For it to thrive, it's going to take some time. For it to thrive to meet the standards of thriving to some is about two generations down the line.

[F1boat]

Yes, we have one championship.

[Rex Monaco]

Yes, it's better, if for no other reason than it's one series.

But there's no microwave. It took 12 years to take it apart and put it back together. For it to thrive, it's going to take some time. For it to thrive to meet the standards of thriving to some is about two generations down the line.

+1

[SarahFan]

two generations?

[indycool]

The way some sound, probably 'bout that.

[eirenspeed]

Tony George won
What a laod of CRAP

[speeddurango]

The attendence, ratings grid sizes are all up for the IRL for sure , I don't actually think there's any further need to argue about the facts, they just have to keep the momentum in the long run.