cleveland anyone?

[SarahFan]

robin says Tony wants an airport oval

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/miller-naptime-in-the-heartland//P2/

[dataman1]

I agree with the text in the article "DON'T BE AN IDIOT". Cleveland made some good exciting racing as it was. It was close enough to downtown to walk from your hotel and stumble to the night spots.

[SarahFan]

I agree with the text in the article "DON'T BE AN IDIOT". Cleveland made some good exciting racing as it was. It was close enough to downtown to walk from your hotel and stumble to the night spots.

do a standing start with the cars spaced twice as far apart as CC did and avoid the enevitable first turn Clusterfook and it becomes a no brainer...


or heck just to be different than CART/CC.... run the roadcoarse, but counter clockwise... that might be fun

[garyshell]

An oval? At the Cleveland airport? Who the hell came up with that? This has to be the single stupidest idea I have heard in relation to open wheel racing in the US. My guess is whoever thought of this NEVER saw a race there.

Gary

[SarahFan]

An oval? At the Cleveland airport? Who the hell came up with that? This has to be the single stupidest idea I have heard in relation to open wheel racing in the US. My guess is whoever thought of this NEVER saw a race there.

Gary

it's not a new idea...

the IRL explored it back in the late 90's.....

[elis]

it's not a new idea...

the IRL explored it back in the late 90's.....

Yah, & how'd that work out.

Ridiculous idea, Clevelands 'uniqueness' of layout was.. is what makes it 'special'. Altering that to form yet another oval would be a huge mistake, imo. Want another oval? then run at Michigan.. want something a little out of the ordinary? then run Cleveland, but only with the layout that has long since proven to be both successful & popular with fans & drivers alike.

If it aint broke...

[garyshell]

it's not a new idea...

the IRL explored it back in the late 90's.....


New, old, or straight from the lips of god, it's still a STUPID idea.

Gary

[downtowndeco]

To tell you the truth in honestly sounds like something RM pulled out of his *** just to stir up some ****.

I think it's funny how talks about the huge crowds, yet when CC raced there all he ever did was bitch about how the grandstands kept shrinking & the attendence numbers (supposedly) kept raising.


No sources, dates, or solid details. Bad journalism all the way around. Milka to NHL anyone?





An oval? At the Cleveland airport? Who the hell came up with that? This has to be the single stupidest idea I have heard in relation to open wheel racing in the US. My guess is whoever thought of this NEVER saw a race there.

Gary

[jimispeed]

Cleveland is great! If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it....

But, I loved it under the lights!!!

[downtowndeco]

I'm so convinced that this rumor supossedly heard by Miller is complete and utter BS that if anyone can post a link to anything confirming it in any way from any other source than RM (or site quoting from RM) I'll never post here (under any name) ever again. At the very best scenario somebody fed him this story to yank his chain to see if he would run with it.

I think it's just a crock put out there by Miller to stir up the masses. I think he gets a kick out of starting *hit storms. : )

I'll be waiting.

[wedge]

Bring back the old road course. My favourite memory is Jacques Villenueve and Robby Gordon drag racing after turn 1.

[NickFalzone]

That's the dumbest idea i've ever heard.

[Chamoo]

No sources, dates, or solid details. Bad journalism all the way around. Milka to NHL anyone?

A) Milka to NHL was a done deal till either the money didn't go through or Carl Haas killed it. Not sure if you saw her testing with NHL at Homestead? I think that leads enough credence to the story of Milka to NHL.

B) If the IRL explored it back in the 90's like SarahFan said, why wouldn't they consider it now? They've even got more leverage now then they did back then.

C) Robin Miller has forgotten more about Indycars then you will ever know. I'm going to go with RM and/or CC before anyone else out there, including you who says this story is BS.


do a standing start with the cars spaced twice as far apart as CC did and avoid the enevitable first turn Clusterfook and it becomes a no brainer...

SF, just a heads up, there were no first turn accidents in any of the CCWS' standing start races, even Cleveland.

If this were to happen, I think I'd probably strongly consider stopping watching the IRL. To make a decision this stupid, I wouldn't know what they are thinking, and it would be a sign of even more stupidity to come.

[SarahFan]

chamoo.... I think post was poorly worded

I think running the road coarse is a no brainer..... I'd love to see it added to the schedule

turning it into an oval is rediculous

[downtowndeco]

Like I said, if this turns out to be true I'll walk away from this site. I still call it BS.


A) Milka to NHL was a done deal till either the money didn't go through or Carl Haas killed it. Not sure if you saw her testing with NHL at Homestead? I think that leads enough credence to the story of Milka to NHL.

B) If the IRL explored it back in the 90's like SarahFan said, why wouldn't they consider it now? They've even got more leverage now then they did back then.

C) Robin Miller has forgotten more about Indycars then you will ever know. I'm going to go with RM and/or CC before anyone else out there, including you who says this story is BS.



SF, just a heads up, there were no first turn accidents in any of the CCWS' standing start races, even Cleveland.

If this were to happen, I think I'd probably strongly consider stopping watching the IRL. To make a decision this stupid, I wouldn't know what they are thinking, and it would be a sign of even more stupidity to come.

[methanolHuffer]

I can think of many things that the ICS might want to focus attention/change on.
And converting the Cleveland race to an oval just doesn't seem to register.

[SarahFan]

Like I said, if this turns out to be true I'll walk away from this site. I still call it BS.

your not still clinging to some silly notion that the IRL wont be racing on a street coarse near you again are you?

[gofastandwynn]

To tell you the truth in honestly sounds like something RM pulled out of his *** just to stir up some ****.

I think it's funny how talks about the huge crowds, yet when CC raced there all he ever did was bitch about how the grandstands kept shrinking & the attendence numbers (supposedly) kept raising.



You know Robin Miller doesn't let the facts get in the way of a good story, i.e. reporting that Kenny Brack's engine went into the grandstands at Texas, then going on Wind Tunnel the next week and saying he was in a hurry to leave and didn't check his facts...

[gofastandwynn]

A) Milka to NHL was a done deal till either the money didn't go through or Carl Haas killed it. Not sure if you saw her testing with NHL at Homestead? I think that leads enough credence to the story of Milka to NHL.

That is the problem, RM was saying that Milka's money didn't come through in articles, then puts out one that says Haas said no to here despite the cash. Same thing with Bobby D, reporting ING will be his sponsor, then months later saying it is his father funding him.

That just tells me RM gets half a story and fills in the rest.

[SarahFan]

chamoo.... I think post was poorly worded

I think running the road coarse is a no brainer..... I'd love to see it added to the schedule

turning it into an oval is rediculous

holy moly I just make it more confusing...sorry, was posting from my phone..

should have been a "my" btewwen think and post

[garyshell]

That is the problem, RM was saying that Milka's money didn't come through in articles, then puts out one that says Haas said no to here despite the cash. Same thing with Bobby D, reporting ING will be his sponsor, then months later saying it is his father funding him.

That just tells me RM gets half a story and fills in the rest.

Or maybe stories evolve. No wait that could never happen, could it?

The money may have been very delayed, then when it did show up after Haas had a chance to see Milka in action he decided to pull the plug. And ING may very well have been on board with Bobby D, then when the economy went tango utah, his dad stepped in. Why do you think that these stories are not a continuum and assume they are separate unrelated reports?

Gary

[peasant]

Or maybe stories evolve. No wait that could never happen, could it?

The money may have been very delayed, then when it did show up after Haas had a chance to see Milka in action he decided to pull the plug. And ING may very well have been on board with Bobby D, then when the economy went tango utah, his dad stepped in. Why do you think that these stories are not a continuum and assume they are separate unrelated reports?

Gary

Because it doesn't fit the agenda - and non black and white thinking is far too complex for most people.

[Chamoo]

Well, whatever happens, I am quite worried that if they do pull this off, they would be ruining one of North America's gems. Cleveland is nothing but an awesome race track. Edmonton is awesome, but not even close to as good as Cleveland.

My main concern is simply what an oval would look like there.

On top of that, if they want ovals, there are plenty of them out there. Go to New Hamshire or Michigan and leave Cleveland the way it should be.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

Cleveland as an oval actually makes sense if you think with Terry Angstad's (or however's) head. I see a pattern emerging here, a pattern of stupidity.


LEAVING LAS VEGAS: ESPN.com's Terry Blount reported while IRL officials had last month indicated they were interested in ending the '09 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), an "agreement couldn't be worked out." The IRL "wanted to use the 1.3-mile road course outside of Turn 1 in the LVMS parking lot" instead of the 1.5-mile oval. However, SMI officials "had no interest in using the road course for the IndyCar event and IRL officials didn't want to use the oval track." Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) President Eddie Gossage was "negotiating a five-race package for SMI," but IRL is using just three SMI tracks -- TMS, Infineon Raceway and Kentucky Speedway. Gossage: "They were not interested in New Hampshire [Motor Speedway] and only wanted to run the club-racing road course at Las Vegas instead of one of the most outstanding oval tracks in the country. We weren't prepared to accept that" (ESPN.com, 7/29).

[PA Rick]

Yah, & how'd that work out.

...

When the Mayor found out they wanted an oval he threw them out and signed CART. I think the IRL wanted to bank the runways.
Cleveland was the best place to race and the best track layout in racing. You could watch the cars all around the track and there were multiple lines for great passing. You could walk to the hotel or park the motorhome along the track. And the wife could go downtown or to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Great Blues at night (both the music and the Molsens) My favorite race venue and I've been to a few.
Bring it back and the unification is almost complete.

[nigelred5]

stupid idea, but they always seem to try to put their mark on former CART events somehow to avoid a direct comparison. Maybe they foolishly believe the dwindling crowds over the years at Cleveland had something to do with the actual track layout or quality of the racing and not with the split and poor promotion?

I thought the city was still trying to plow the airport under and build houses or something anyway? I guess we can thank the crappy housing market for that reprieve. Bring back the same road course or nothing.

[Toymaker]

First, a quick history lesson. Back when the IRL was asked to come in to talk to Cleveland, it was because IMG was balking at the massive increase in CART promoter fees. They brought in the IRL as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with CART.

Second, Burke Lakefront is a functioning commercial airport. The FAA will not allow for any changes to the layout that would be needed to create an actual oval track.

If Cleveland comes back, and I certainly think it should, it will be well promoted. If you look at the last ChampCar race there, it was promoted by Mike Lanigan of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. There was a great deal of promotion and the crowds were better than they had been in years.

Let's see it back on the schedule in 2010. They can draw 10X the crowd that Iowa can! Plus, they traditionally had the #1 or 2 TV ratings in all of ChampCar, even beating Long Beach once.

[NickFalzone]

If they had any taste they'd do it as a gp night race, but of course that won't happen. Instead we'll get some garbage like Nashville back on the schedule. But one can hope. With edmonton and toronto it's possible theres a few bright bulbs in the IRL back offices.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Interesting that they want to go to Cleveland, at least according to Miller. I am sure he has it from someone in the know that the idea is being floated and that the IRL wants to make it an oval. Robin isn't making it up, but maybe his source leaked it to see what kind of reaction was out there.

Unlike a few people on these boards, I am not so terminally naive to believe Robin is out to lunch. People who usually have issue with what he is saying usually fight with the concept of reality in the racing business.

The reality is Cleveland was a good venue as a road course for a lot of years. It put on good races, it was an economical race to put on compared to other street courses, and with proper promotion and a strong series, it was successful. Why the IRL wants to ovalize this event is silly in my mind. First off, you cant make an oval really out of the runway/taxiway's that would be anything more than a "Roval". Secondly, to actually pave in parts to make this oval would be a waste of time and money. Thirdly, it suits NO purpose to make this an oval. Is there some mandate by head office to dictate there cannot be more than 33% road courses? If so, don't add Cleveland.

It would of course be a dumb idea, but hey, I have been more than noticing that every now and then, the IRL tends to want to repeat mistakes of the past.

This idea is as goofy as the proposed IRL oval that was on some drawing boards for Mosport. Even the IRL didn't want a Roval with 5 turns and elevation changes so why on earth would they 12 years or so later try to justify flat oval based off runways at an airport? Both ideas are just goofy..and someone will figure it out. I have faith in Barnhart to figure this out...