Honor, blood and a brewing battle - The Aftermath of the Civil War by Ed Hinton

[Mark in Oshawa]

Here is the continuation:http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/column..._ed&id=5217415-- he is arrogant and biased but at least it give a different view of things.

I never thought much of Sports Illustrated racing coverage as they know less about auto racing technicals, that an average garage mechanic.

Ed Hinton though has been covering racing long enough to understand exactly what is going on. This has nothing to do with the cars really, it is a people story. People not getting along and realizing the damage they were doing to the sport we love. End blames everyone pretty much in the end, and I can live with that..although I think Ed's "kill em all, they all suck" approach needs a little more nuance and context.....

[garyshell]

although I think Ed's "kill em all, they all suck" approach needs a little more nuance and context.....

Ed Hinton would not know nuance if it came up and bit him on his back side. The guy is a sanctimonious, self serving, blow hard hack.

Gary

[EagleEye]

Ed Hinton is the greatest journalist covering racing today...and he gets it right....

He is very good friends with Tony George, and his bias shows in the article.

When provided a platform to present his ideas, TG failed (he never was a good speaker). He was upset that CART didn't listen, but it was his lack of message, ill prepared presentation and arogance that turned CART owners off. In short, it was his own fault. It would not be until the late 2000's that TG finally had the experience to understand and navigate the series, though by then it was too late.

He also is incorrect on AJ Foyt. Foyt was one of the original CART backers, with Gurney and the rest. He bolted when they refused to pay him appearance fees, and USAC stepped in to pay him those fees. They eventually paid Parnelli Jones as well, and his team raced in some USAC races with Danny Ongias onboard.

[MDS]

Yeah, its a biased and somewhat self aggrandizing take, but its nice to see some confirmation of what I'd always heard, that CART was trying to reconcile and the only thing Tony George ever offered was a demand for complete and total capitulation. He was played by NASCAR and those close to him, A.J. Foyt and others, who rubbed his back and too their fill from the family's coffers

I'm sorry, I know TG still has his defenders on this board but I firmly believe that Tony George started the split and drove it in some crazed self-delusional fantasy that all the damage he had wrought could somehow be fixed one day once CART/CC was dead, and nothing good came of it. He may have won his battle with CART, but he lost the war, and so did all of us fans.

[anthonyvop]

You know what is bothering me the most.

Since the split I must have attended a combined 40-45 CART/Champ Car/IRL events over that time and I can only recall seeing him at 2 races.

[garyshell]

You know what is bothering me the most.

Since the split I must have attended a combined 40-45 CART/Champ Car/IRL events over that time and I can only recall seeing him at 2 races.

Him? Hinton? No surprise if that is who you mean, he was too busy licking Bill France's boots.

Gary

[anthonyvop]

Him? Hinton? No surprise if that is who you mean, he was too busy licking Bill France's boots.

Gary

Well he was always at the head of the media lunch line at every NASCAR event I have ever been to.

[Mark in Oshawa]

He is very good friends with Tony George, and his bias shows in the article.

When provided a platform to present his ideas, TG failed (he never was a good speaker). He was upset that CART didn't listen, but it was his lack of message, ill prepared presentation and arogance that turned CART owners off. In short, it was his own fault. It would not be until the late 2000's that TG finally had the experience to understand and navigate the series, though by then it was too late.

He also is incorrect on AJ Foyt. Foyt was one of the original CART backers, with Gurney and the rest. He bolted when they refused to pay him appearance fees, and USAC stepped in to pay him those fees. They eventually paid Parnelli Jones as well, and his team raced in some USAC races with Danny Ongias onboard.

I don't recall TG looking good from what Hinton wrote. On the contrary, he portrays a guy who just doesn't understand the business he tried to dominate. He wasn't a pro IRL or pro CART guy in that article. I think he said both sides have their crosses to bear.

Hinton tells the history of it quite well, and if he is sympathetic to George, he makes it pretty obvious that what George did was suicide for the sport, so if that is sympathy, I would hate to see him mad at the guy.

As for him licking Bill France's boots, read some of his books. He was pretty critical of the situation with the safety and he never heistates to point out how Bill France Sr. essentially hijacked the sport.

[Mark in Oshawa]

"For those who think Hinton was a suck up or in favour of this mess, here is a quote from the story that occured in 1997:


"Each side, the IRL and CART, claimed by now that I was biased in favor of the other. To me, and to my editors, that was confirmation of my neutrality. The only thing I was firmly against was the damage to an American institution, the Indianapolis 500.

At one point in the war, I wrote a Scorecard item headlined, "A Pox on Both Their Pits."

At another point, some IRL partisans cornered me in a hospitality tent at Indy for a heated debate.

"Surely you'll admit," an angry George supporter said, "that this race belongs to him."

"I'll admit no such thing," I said. "Tony owns the track. But the Indianapolis 500 belongs to the American people. They're the ones who made it."

[Mark in Oshawa]

For those who think Hinton was a suck up or in favour of this mess, here is a quote from the story that occured in 1997:


Each side, the IRL and CART, claimed by now that I was biased in favor of the other. To me, and to my editors, that was confirmation of my neutrality. The only thing I was firmly against was the damage to an American institution, the Indianapolis 500.

At one point in the war, I wrote a Scorecard item headlined, "A Pox on Both Their Pits."

At another point, some IRL partisans cornered me in a hospitality tent at Indy for a heated debate.

"Surely you'll admit," an angry George supporter said, "that this race belongs to him."

"I'll admit no such thing," I said. "Tony owns the track. But the Indianapolis 500 belongs to the American people. They're the ones who made it."

Anyone see where he is showering George in glory here? I fail to see it.

He is making the VERY valid point that should be made that Tony George created the IRL to gain control of the race at his track and beyond from CART and here was the result. For better or worse, what Tony wanted to do was protect his race and in the end, he hurt it....and that is Hinton's point.