Where are the Americans?

[Chaparral66]

Just read an excedllent article by Gordon Kirby, who talks about the lack of up and coming driving talent in American open wheel and sports car racing, and how NASCAR is kicking A$$ in this regard. Here it is...

] http://http://www.gordonkirby.com/categ ... no157.html (http://http://www.gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2008/the_way_it_is_no157.html[/URL)[/URL]

This makes an excellent argument for the need for not only ladder series to continue to promote American talent, but also for teams in open wheel and sprots car racing to recognize it and showcase it. If there were more Americans competing, it would drive more interest from the fans but also the media, too. Robin Miller has been talking about this for years, but Gordon presents the case in detail.

[elis]

Uh huh.. showcase the talent indeed...

A1GP is a great opportunity for young upcoming American drivers to gain valuable race experience & exposure on an International platform!...

Or,

it can be a private play ground for AGR's already set for life indy car drivers, whilst the young struggling guys disappear into the shadows & dream about what might have been.

Hmmm...


:crazy: ;)

[ShiftingGears]

There should be more world class open wheel race drivers from the US. It's a bit confusing as to why there isn't more. Even before the split (and subsequent exponential growth of NASCAR popularity), there was a 14 year spell without a competitive F1 driver.


I don't think anyone seriously believes that there isn't one potential world class F1 driver in the population of 300,000,000 US citizens.

The aim, for open wheel racing, is to make open wheel be the pinnacle in the minds of most aspiring drivers. That way you get more US talent fighting for seats, and then you can advertise that talent showcased within the racing and appeal to the potential drivers more successfully than showing one of the "top" drivers in the series carrying on like a child.


Of course, if it's going to be a spectacular series, you need equipment capable of being spectacular, which tends to market itself more. But that's another issue altogether.

[Ranger]

Good article. It is much the same here in Australia (to a lesser extent).

With V8 Supercars dominating marketing, drivers too easily transfer from promising open-wheel careers to the Carerra Cup, Fujitsu V8 series, all of which are aligned to the V8 Supercar series.

Our amalgamated F3/Australian drivers championship series has been won by a Brit for the 2nd time in 3 years. Frontrunners such as Leanne Tander race simply to win F3, which doesn't say a lot about the prospective talent pool in the series.

Formula Holden, which showcased Australia's current open-wheel talents Mark Webber, Ryan Briscoe, Will Power and also Scott Dixon between 1996-2002, has folded.

Many talented drivers who make the jump overseas return due to a lack of sponsorship, ie. Marcos Ambrose and Craig Lowndes.

The only guidance for Australian open-wheel drivers overseas is the A1GP team and Alan Docking Racing, both run by Australians primarily for Australians, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

[Miatanut]

I don't think anyone seriously believes that there isn't one potential world class F1 driver in the population of 300,000,000 US citizens.

In the US there's NASCAR and there used to be CART. Those tend to be what the drivers shoot for the last couple decades.

Then, we have situations like Michael Andretti going to F1 and they mopped the floor with him, and Nigel Mansell coming here and cleaning up. There is also the special case of Jacques Villeneuve, who wins in both.

I think the main difference is that racing here is more easy-going. In Europe it is more cut-throat. Drivers used to the easy-going American way go there and drown. I think Quebec follows more in the European tradition, so Jacques needed to learn to survive in a cut-throat environment in karting, so he could handle it in F1.

So:
1. They are usually headed other places.
2. They get beat by the mind games in F1.

[MAX_THRUST]

The point has sort of been made above, Europe is more cut throat, yet the Brazilians come in there droves and prove to be talented. Now if the American drivers want to come here they can, but they need to be good. If they are not they are going know where, perhaps with the pound being weaker now more might try and come over.

Others do so why don't the Americans. They all want to be in NASCAR. You have to want to be an open wheel driver, and you have to want to travel.

I am not trying to put down the American drivers or there mentality.

[Lousada]

Road Racing in the US is a very small segment of American racing. Shorttrack racing is more popular and more widespread, it's no wonder all the young talent goes to shorttracks. So, what is left for roadracing is very few young drivers and mostly second-class talent. The talent that is left does not have a very competitive enviroment to develop in.

[Rex Monaco]

Road Racing in the US is a very small segment of American racing. Shorttrack racing is more popular and more widespread, it's no wonder all the young talent goes to shorttracks.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Are short tracks more popular because people prefered to race on them or because they could be found at almost any county fairground?

[harvick#1]

Pat Long
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Marco Andretti
Graham Rahal
Scott Speed
AJ Allemdinger

to name a few

Speed got a pretty poor shaft with STR, as most of the failures he had came from other drivers messes.

but Pat Long is prolly the best American Road Course driver

[FIAT1]

[quote="harvick#1"]Pat Long
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Marco Andretti
Graham Rahal
Scott Speed
AJ Allemdinger


All the above named ,only Allmendinger has some talent for top formula cars. American drivers have nascar state of mind where yellow flags fix races and top 10 is ok. Last American ti win world championship? 1978. O' yeah and he was born in Italy. This is not a reply to put down American talent or other form of racing just a fact that real racing, real talent is somewhat lost when kids like Marco with best from Honda and his father can buy can't cut a muster .Surprise me pink, here comes Gordon Kirby to beat on the dead horse one more time.

[nigelred5]

I think accessability to roadcourses is also an issue in the US and there is very little recent history of organized racing on public roads like in europe. Short tracks and ovals are far more accessable to small time racers, so it is far easier in my opinion, to get experience and exposure to oval racing.
Other than a small kart track that has been closed more than open over the last 40 years, the closest road course to me until NJMSP opened was summit point, three hours away. I used to have 7 dirt tracks within about an hour of me. Give someone 20-25 acres and they can set you up with a short track that is capable of handling the biggest sprint cars available. It's far easier to tuck a project like that away from the nimbys than a 1.5- 2 mile road course of any quality. Accessability is as big a factor as economics when trying to get into racing.


I used to swap the wheels on my odyssey, check a few wires on the key bolts that were required and threw it on the trailer to go race. Used to cost me about $30 a weekend. How are you gonna do that in roadcourse racing? My buddy bought a complete 250cc microsprint with spares and a trailer for $4500, about another grand in parts and fluids and finished 2nd on hte season at the local track this year. It would cost me close to that in fuel just dragging something to the closest track for some SCCA or MARS. I could do some local autocrossing, but how far does that get anyone in professional racing? Short track racing is simply far more accessable to people in the US and also maybe more reflective of how we are accustomed to viewing sports in general in this country. In a close stadium type environment. Kind of ironic consideringthe size of the US vs Europe.

The quality of most of the roadcourse tracks in the US is also vastly different than what theye race on in europe.

[Miatanut]

The quality of most of the roadcourse tracks in the US is also vastly different than what theye race on in europe.

To me, it's not a matter of quality, but of a different flavor. Europe, with the heritage of open road, road racing has traditionally favored high speed tracks which flowed. In the US, they have usually been private courses shoehorned on the available land, so they ended up having lots of tight turns, making them into stop-go-stop tracks which didn't flow, and favored US-style big engine cars that didn't corner all that well.

Personally, I prefer the European model, but I wouldn't describe it as a matter of quality.

[Placid]

Another US driver to add on the list is 2008 Atlantics series runner-up Jonathan Bomarito. And what about Cheever's nephew Richard Antinucci?

[Livewireshock]

It is definitely a cultural issue.

When you are exposed to something like oval racing or dragstrips from a young age, then that is the catalyst for a dream based on what they know.

If you are not exposed to 'Euro' styled circuit racing, you would not want to do that unless something can change there mind, like having a hero.

The USA was not big on cycling but because a certain fellow called Lance started winning the biggest race in the world, then more and more youngsters have thought, I can do that. It brought new sponsors in and has opened up the doors for several new careers.

On a motorsport front, look at the turnaround in rallying in the USA. Led by Travis Pastrana, who as a hero to many on two-wheels, has brought a legion of fans with him and has new youngsters thinking, I can do that. AMA Motorcross champion Chad Reed is attempting to move into rallying next year following Travis' example.

The highs and lows follow the champions and the heros we follow. Until recently, the UK was in a slump in bringing up new talent. Now Lewis Hamilton has young carters etc all wanting to follow in his footsteps.

There are no exceptional heros in the IRL (not to the general public I mean) that can inspire the young drivers of America, with the exception of Danica whose PR as a female driver eclipses that of the IRL itself.

We, the racefans, have our personal heros in IRL but we are the converted and we understand what we are seeing. However IRL is not part of everyday talk around the 'water cooler', in schoolyards or in bars, so it fails to inspire like the Andrettis, Rahals and co. in years gone past.

[ShiftingGears]

It is definitely a cultural issue.

When you are exposed to something like oval racing or dragstrips from a young age, then that is the catalyst for a dream based on what they know.

If you are not exposed to 'Euro' styled circuit racing, you would not want to do that unless something can change there mind, like having a hero.

The USA was not big on cycling but because a certain fellow called Lance started winning the biggest race in the world, then more and more youngsters have thought, I can do that. It brought new sponsors in and has opened up the doors for several new careers.

On a motorsport front, look at the turnaround in rallying in the USA. Led by Travis Pastrana, who as a hero to many on two-wheels, has brought a legion of fans with him and has new youngsters thinking, I can do that. AMA Motorcross champion Chad Reed is attempting to move into rallying next year following Travis' example.

The highs and lows follow the champions and the heros we follow. Until recently, the UK was in a slump in bringing up new talent. Now Lewis Hamilton has young carters etc all wanting to follow in his footsteps.

There are no exceptional heros in the IRL (not to the general public I mean) that can inspire the young drivers of America, with the exception of Danica whose PR as a female driver eclipses that of the IRL itself.

We, the racefans, have our personal heros in IRL but we are the converted and we understand what we are seeing. However IRL is not part of everyday talk around the 'water cooler', in schoolyards or in bars, so it fails to inspire like the Andrettis, Rahals and co. in years gone past.

It's a bit like the chicken and the egg. The IRL needs the publicity to draw the pool of talented drivers into the series, but at the same time, they need a talented driver who can draw that great publicity towards the series.