What Happens Next?

[pits4me]

I would agree - I am not all doom and gloom about the future - but I expected a little more forward progress from this season....

That being said - the first season of unification was far from a failure...

The message is that I EXPECT more from the unified series in the next season or two (not that anyone really cares what I expect )

Tactically it may have been successful but strategically not even as much as a comprehensive plan for improvement.

All the hype sounds more like a political party than a racing series trying to survive.

[indycool]

Well, Miatanut, go to Indy then.....and hear 33 of 'em scream by the way you describe.

[Miatanut]

Well, Miatanut, go to Indy then.....and hear 33 of 'em scream by the way you describe.

While Indy was my introduction to American open wheel racing, I lost interest in Indy in '92 when Tony refused to admit he should of taken the advice of John Fitch and others who had published articles about installing energy absorbtion systems over the outside wall at Indy, and then began a smear campaign against Jovy (after he was Atlantic RoTY and Atlantic Champion). He took a lot of credit years later when he finally installed such a system. As a result, Indy '91 was the last I watched. Indy doesn't have the burning brake smell, on account of they no longer use the brakes to corner at Indy.

Portland, Vancouver, Laguna & Long Beach were all a lot of fun.

Oh, wait. They are no longer part of the schedule.

[indycool]

I recall no such smear campaign against the late Jovy Marcelo. I remember something about a helmet or seat belt system not being right for some reason but it didn't constitute a smear campaign.

If you want to smell brakes and tire smoke, get a seat in the tower terrace.

[Chris R]

I do not remember a "smear campaign" per se - but I think I remember I lot of talk about him not being experienced enough to be at Indy etc.....

[indycool]

The talk wasn't centered so much about Marcelo as a driver but the whole team -- Antonio Ferrari's bunch wasn't much and he wasn't particularly good at paying his bills, which made the race car suspect.

[Miatanut]

I do not remember a "smear campaign" per se - but I think I remember I lot of talk about him not being experienced enough to be at Indy etc.....

The Atlantic Rookie of the Year and the following year's Atlantic champ? Did you ever see him race? I did. Several times in person. The kid was gifted. No, he didn't have years of racing dirt ovals, but he clearly knew a lot more about what to do behind the wheel of a car than a lot of Indy first-timers. But to Tony, "inexperience" was an easy card to play. He objected to earlier proposals for Safer-type barrier because they would cause an unacceptable reduction of track width. That left him in a vulnerable position given the particulars of this accident, and "The best defense is a good offense."

[indycool]

Miatanut, that, IMO, is patently ridiculous. The elements of safety in racing at the time were as good as they could be. Technology and thinking has improved them since. That's just how things and time progress. Since Marcelo's tragic death, the HANS device has been developed and proven, the SAFER barrier has been developed and proven, cockpit safety has been improved. There are people out there who you or me don't even know about working on a cure for cancer and when they find one, I'm not gonna say, "Gee, they should've thought of that 20 years ago."

[Miatanut]

Miatanut, that, IMO, is patently ridiculous. The elements of safety in racing at the time were as good as they could be. Technology and thinking has improved them since. That's just how things and time progress. Since Marcelo's tragic death, the HANS device has been developed and proven, the SAFER barrier has been developed and proven, cockpit safety has been improved. There are people out there who you or me don't even know about working on a cure for cancer and when they find one, I'm not gonna say, "Gee, they should've thought of that 20 years ago."

In the years before Jovy's accident, On Track ran a couple articles a year on race track safety, in which Indy was always prominently featured and they described what is now known as the Safer Barrier, because John Fitch had already worked it out. Tony wouldn't go for it. That's why I started my boycott of Indy after Jovy's death and Tony's inappropriate statements, trying to keep the heat off himself. It was just classic Hulman/George stuff. The modern version is the gearboxes sticking out the back end and the cars which fly too easily. If somebody gets rubbed-out from time to time, it makes it more of a spectacle. I reached my fill. I recognize many haven't. Yet. It took me two years to get my stomach for it back after '73.

They had an obvious problem and they were way behind the curve in correcting it. Same as now.

[indycool]

Baloney. We live and learn. Where was the Internet 20 years ago? The gearbox issue has been fixed. The "flying cars" phenomenon has been fixed, although don't expect a car not to "fly" if a wheel runs over another one. Maybe our thinking will progress someday to where a frog has wings and won't drag his caboose.

If you have read quotes from safety experts like John Melvin through the years, or Kirk Russell on car construction, there is another factor in effecting safety -- that you don't create a worse situation in another area.

Track too narrow with "X" idea? Maybe with decreased track width, cars would run into each other more often because they wouldn't have as much room.

Your comment about people getting "rubbed out" being okay with ANYBODY is unacceptable, to use a mild word for something the moderators should have taken out entirely.