A True Farm System

[MDS]

I feel frustrated posting this because its so obvious what needs to be done, but its just so painfully clear I feel the need to actually say it.

In April and May the best selling NFL jersey was a quarterback who has barely started training with the team. College football handcrafts stars and hands them to the NFL with clock-like regularity. The NFL doesn't have to grow stars, its inherits them, but they still build their stars. The ICS will never have that sort of farm system, no other professional sport does, but it needs to get better.

The Road to Indy is a good start, but the league can only take things so far, at some point the teams need to take on the responsibility of building the drivers of tomorrow. If Penske and Ganassi want to be the Yankees and Red Sox of the sport and just buy the best driver available that's fine, someone needs to be in a position to do that, but the mid-level teams need to start working with young drivers because that's how you build your program.

Andretti, KVRT Panther, FAZZT and de Ferren-Dragon need to expand, and NHR just needs to survive. Obviously the last three finding funds for a full-time ride would be great, but they need to build a sponsorship base so they can reach down into these lower forms of motorsport and start developing drivers at age 14/15 and groom them for 4-5 years until they're ready to step into a Izod racer. Ideally those teams could grow to include an FIL team, Star Mazda and an ALMS team.

How did Jeff Gordon get to be Jeff Gordon? By winning, a lot, and today's generation, Marco and Graham included, haven't had the seat time with an organization to come out and set the world on fire, and that's because of the lack of team development programs in the lower forms.

Simona de Silverstro is the best seasoned rookie (I'm not counting Takuma as a true rookie) to come into the IRL since the merger. She had three years in the Atlantics one in Formula BMW and one Formula Renault. Imagine how farther along she'd be if during those three years in the Atlantics if she had been with the same team, working with some of the same people who would follow her to Indy. Also during those years you're working as an extra driver in the 12-hours of Seabring, the Petite Le Mans and the 24-hours of Le Mans. Also you're attending the tests of the Indy program, logging an stint or two of track time during the off season tests, sitting the the race strategists during the ICS races. Hopefully your team's sponsors has some cash to back you other events like the Chili Bowl and some midget racing to build oval experience Maybe even Macau. The year before your planned rookie season you make two or three starts (How many you can and still keep your rookie status) so your first time in a Izod race isn't Brazil. That's how the NASCAR drivers come up, and its how the Indy car guys should too.

Having a farm system is how you build winners, attract sponsors (its a lot easier to ask a sponsor for $300,000 than $5 million) and build your team. It doesn't matter how many Americans you have in the series if they're not winning, and they're not really being put in positions to win. Yes Conor Daley would be good for the sport, but unless he comes in, wins two races, finishes in the top five in points and challenges for the Indy 500 he's not really going to draw any attention to the sport, which Jeff Gordon, Kasey Khane and others have done in NASCAR. God bless Gerry Forsythe for helping to fund his career, but Conor doesn't have the support around him he needs, and none of the ICS teams are even considering helping... unless he brings a check.

[DanicaFan]

The only thing I will say to this is..... Huh ??

Andretti Autosport needs to expand....Where do you get this from ? They run a 4 car team year round, the only team to do that. They dont need to expand but focus on the 4 drivers and get the best from them. You cant spread your resources to thin.

[NaBUru38]

MDS, Andretti has two USF2000 drivers and two Indy Lights drivers. Schmidt has three full-season Indy Lights drivers. JDC and AIM race in both USF2000 and Star Mazda. It's a start, because the Road to Indy programme has just started.

[Scotty G.]

It's a start, because the Road to Indy programme has just started.

There is no "Road to Indy". Its a moniker that means nothing.

Indy Lights is a joke. It could be on its last legs soon. If SSM and Herta move up to Indy Cars in 2011 (which both might happen), that will be a killer for Lights.

The cars teach you nothing about Indy Car racing. There are no sponsors. There is no TV coverage. There are no fans. The drivers are a mix-match of guys who either didn't make it (Clarke, Arie Jr and Simmons from the Freedom 100) drivers who have very limited/no talent (Campos, Mann, Jorda, Major, Barbosa and Yacamen) and a few drivers who probably have the talent but don't have the $$$ to buy their way into the Indy Cars (Hinchcliffe, Kimball, Wilson and Cunningham).

And that is kinda the way it is at the other stops along the so-called "ladder" for AOW. And its been that way for many, many years.

Jay Howard still isn't a full-time driver. Neither is Hildebrand. It took Lloyd 3 years to find a team that would run him for more then 1 race a year. Cunningham might win more Freedom 100's then AJ Foyt won Indy 500's before its all said and done.

These were all recent CHAMPIONS of the series. What did that get them? Very little.

[call_me_andrew]

If only NCAA would sanction races.

[EagleEye]

I feel frustrated posting this because its so obvious what needs to be done, but its just so painfully clear I feel the need to actually say it.

In April and May the best selling NFL jersey was a quarterback who has barely started training with the team. College football handcrafts stars and hands them to the NFL with clock-like regularity. The NFL doesn't have to grow stars, its inherits them, but they still build their stars. The ICS will never have that sort of farm system, no other professional sport does, but it needs to get better.

The Road to Indy is a good start, but the league can only take things so far, at some point the teams need to take on the responsibility of building the drivers of tomorrow. If Penske and Ganassi want to be the Yankees and Red Sox of the sport and just buy the best driver available that's fine, someone needs to be in a position to do that, but the mid-level teams need to start working with young drivers because that's how you build your program.

Andretti, KVRT Panther, FAZZT and de Ferren-Dragon need to expand, and NHR just needs to survive. Obviously the last three finding funds for a full-time ride would be great, but they need to build a sponsorship base so they can reach down into these lower forms of motorsport and start developing drivers at age 14/15 and groom them for 4-5 years until they're ready to step into a Izod racer. Ideally those teams could grow to include an FIL team, Star Mazda and an ALMS team.

How did Jeff Gordon get to be Jeff Gordon? By winning, a lot, and today's generation, Marco and Graham included, haven't had the seat time with an organization to come out and set the world on fire, and that's because of the lack of team development programs in the lower forms.

Simona de Silverstro is the best seasoned rookie (I'm not counting Takuma as a true rookie) to come into the IRL since the merger. She had three years in the Atlantics one in Formula BMW and one Formula Renault. Imagine how farther along she'd be if during those three years in the Atlantics if she had been with the same team, working with some of the same people who would follow her to Indy. Also during those years you're working as an extra driver in the 12-hours of Seabring, the Petite Le Mans and the 24-hours of Le Mans. Also you're attending the tests of the Indy program, logging an stint or two of track time during the off season tests, sitting the the race strategists during the ICS races. Hopefully your team's sponsors has some cash to back you other events like the Chili Bowl and some midget racing to build oval experience Maybe even Macau. The year before your planned rookie season you make two or three starts (How many you can and still keep your rookie status) so your first time in a Izod race isn't Brazil. That's how the NASCAR drivers come up, and its how the Indy car guys should too.

Having a farm system is how you build winners, attract sponsors (its a lot easier to ask a sponsor for $300,000 than $5 million) and build your team. It doesn't matter how many Americans you have in the series if they're not winning, and they're not really being put in positions to win. Yes Conor Daley would be good for the sport, but unless he comes in, wins two races, finishes in the top five in points and challenges for the Indy 500 he's not really going to draw any attention to the sport, which Jeff Gordon, Kasey Khane and others have done in NASCAR. God bless Gerry Forsythe for helping to fund his career, but Conor doesn't have the support around him he needs, and none of the ICS teams are even considering helping... unless he brings a check.

Well written, and I agree 100%. MDS mentions some teams that do have drivers in lower series, but most are paying for their rides...not being paid.

There needs to be support from karts to the top, with talent being rewarded, not checkbooks.

[e2mtt]

It is a little odd that in open-wheel racing, so many team owners expect the drivers to bring their own financing & sponsorship. I don't have a problem with young drivers hustling their own personal sponsors, & keeping them as they progress through the racing world.

In stock car racing, the adversing & sponsorship is a integral part of the job. The owners find sponsors to rent their "billboards" too, and they look for good, fast, & likable drivers to run their car well to take car of the sponsors.

In much of open-wheel racing, it seems the opposite. The team owners set up a car & a team, in exchange for drivers renting their ride, either with a personal sponsor or personal fortune.

Why is this?

[Bob Riebe]

It is a little odd that in open-wheel racing, so many team owners expect the drivers to bring their own financing & sponsorship. I don't have a problem with young drivers hustling their own personal sponsors, & keeping them as they progress through the racing world.

This is what destroyed open wheel in the long term.
T. George blamed the lack of a "ladder" when he actually could not blame anything but himself for his failures, but it used to be simple talent got you a ride whether you came from short track open wheel, stock cars, road racing, motorcycles or any where.

Now it has little, to nothing, to do with whether or not one can driver better than another, it is how much money one can bring.
Bob

PS-- the same can actually be said to some lessor degree in stock cars, as the big tracks used to have appearances by outside drivers who would do WELL in-spite of not being there full time.
Now if you want to get in a car that is not third string "also ran" you had better bring LOTS money with you. (Except for road races where bucks-up teams bring in their personal ringers.)

[Mark in Oshawa]

I think the sad fact is everyone wants talent rewarded, and with racing's economics being what they are, those days of just pure talent being recognized may be gone. Sad for sure, but I think they were dying going back into the 70's.

Now with the budgets out stripping the purses for running a team, ride buying is everywhere. There is a lot of feeder systems, such as Indy Lights, the now defunct Atlantics, FBMW, Formula Mazda and all the OW forumlae around the world, but people just don't seem to support talent and the sport is too expensive to just put a guy in and hope he wins, because unless he wins right away, you will go broke. You cannot run a promising rookie and hope like he hell his purses and finishes either attract a sponsor or pay his way, because Ryan Hunter Reay may not have a ride, and he HAS talent, AND a name, and he STILL cannot get outside money.....

To ask some one like Hinchcliffe or the like to finish so well the purses fund his ride is just not feasible. In 1970 it was, but it was a different world.