IndyCar Advisory Committee Set

[DanicaFan]

The IndyCar Series Advisory Committee has been seated. They are chosen to sit down and review, research, and recommend a new chassis and engine to the IndyCar league. A recommendation is expected by June 1st of this year and that decision could take effect for the 2012 season..

The chassis proposals have been put forth by BAT Engineering, Dallara, Delta Wing, Lola, and Swift Engineering.

The goal of the committe is to have the safety, competition, industry relevance(location), and cost the key to the future chassis and engine.

The committe is chaired by retired US Air Force General William R. Looney III. The following members of the committee are..

Brian Barnhart
Tony Cotman
Gil De Ferran
Eddie Gossage
Rick Long
Tony Purnell
Neil Ressler

This committee will start the process and will ask for feedback from drivers, both current and past, and fans for recommendations for the future chassis and engine.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Funny, I remember someone chastising me for assuming Cotman would be on the board, since he doesn't WORK for the IRL no more. Yet, there he is....

It should be an interesting little group and I would love to have a seat at that table.

I hope like heck they realize that at rigid one make series with one engine isn't the way to go......but somehow I have a bad feeling that agenda's are out there trying to keep things this way.

[SUBARUTEAM]

good group of people - i believe that they will make the right recommendations - whatever that may be.

[slorydn1]

I'm willing to give them a chance to get together and work things out. Who knows, they may actually surprise us and do some good.

[anthonyvop]

The committe is chaired by retired US Air Force General William R. Looney III. The following members of the committee are..

Brian Barnhart
Tony Cotman
Gil De Ferran
Eddie Gossage
Rick Long
Tony Purnell
Neil Ressler


Would have loved to see somebody who actually had success in running a top level formula car team.

[DanicaFan]

The first thing I hope they do is throw out the Delta Wing concept car. :D ;)

[Mark in Oshawa]

Would have loved to see somebody who actually had success in running a top level formula car team.

The team owners selected their rep, and it is Gil. Gil hasn't a top level team in the IRL, but he has joined a team with Jay Penske. You really don't think Gil's views would be radically different from Roger Penske's? You think for a second...just one nano second Gil is a dope or stupid? He did run a pretty successful ALMS effort and still would be if he could have kept Honda's support for it AND gotten some serious sponsors.

I think you forget sometimes that the teamowners are the guys who ran CART and mismanaged the whole effort in the aftermath of the split of the sport. They too have their crosses to bear, so I don't think for a second they are stupid people, but they don't have all the answers. If they did, CART would have survived or had a successful meeting of the minds at some point with TG ( maybe that one is a little farcical, considering how I viewed Tony's mindset).

[Mark in Oshawa]

The first thing I hope they do is throw out the Delta Wing concept car. :D ;)
You should hope they don't. They shouldn't toss out any idea out of hand unless it has had a full airing. What the D Wing is supposed to do among other things is allow cars to be able to run closer together and be less aero dependent in traffic. That is a concept worth looking at, but I will agree the car is a little ugly...but there is a meeting of the minds of styling and performance.

[Lousada]

Funny, I remember someone chastising me for assuming Cotman would be on the board, since he doesn't WORK for the IRL no more. Yet, there he is....


I didn't chastise you. It was a misunderstanding, I'm sorry if I offended you a little. The thread got locked so I couldn't respond to your clarification anymore.

[shazbot]

The only thing that worries me is the title of this group - ICONIC. Why they felt the need to come up with this stupid acronym is beyond me. I wonder how much time was spent fitting words to spell it out!? Lets hope they pay even more attention to the car itself. However good it may be I doubt it will be an Icon. Perhaps there's scope for the less charitable of us to come up with a more appropriate name?

[maximilian]

How come Danica isn't on the board? :D

[SarahFan]

Rick Long
Tony Purnell
Neil Ressler

^can someone post the basic info about the above three as i dont know who they are....thanks

[jc_nl]

From Wikipedia:

"Purnell went on to found Pi Research around his software and by the late 1990s had built the into a highly successful global electronics business. In 1999 this company was purchased by the Ford Motor Company making Purnell a multi-millionaire. Still under Purnell's management, Pi Research was made part of Ford's Premiere Performance Division alongside Cosworth and the Jaguar Formula One team.

By 2002 the Jaguar team had failed to live up to its early promise under the direction of Neil Ressler, Bobby Rahal and finally Niki Lauda. In late 2002 the Austrian was unceremoniously dumped by Ford who now required a new principal for their flagship motor sport brand. Purnell was given the job, and alongside fellow countryman David Pitchforth, immediately set about restoring the teams fortunes."

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Purnell

[Mark in Oshawa]

I didn't chastise you. It was a misunderstanding, I'm sorry if I offended you a little. The thread got locked so I couldn't respond to your clarification anymore.

Hey man, no worries....I was poking a bit of fun back and actually didn't remember Who exactly it was....

[anthonyvop]

Rick Long
Tony Purnell
Neil Ressler

^can someone post the basic info about the above three as i dont know who they are....thanks


Rick Long, head of Indy Lights engine supplier Speedway Engine Development.

[call_me_andrew]

Funny, I remember someone chastising me for assuming Cotman would be on the board, since he doesn't WORK for the IRL no more.

When did that happen?

[Mark in Oshawa]

When did that happen?

End of last year I believe Cotman was cut loose. He is a consultant tho and is I suspect part of the decision making process on an informal level. He went to Sao Paolo to ensure things were ready to go when the IRL went there, so no matter who is writing his check (I am sure someone on here will know more of this than I); he is still part of the IRL world and an influence.

[Hoss Ghoul]

Would have loved to see somebody who actually had success in running a top level formula car team.

Well, he was selected by the team owners...

I'd say his time at Penske and successful team ownership in the ALMS, not to mention his running of Honda F1 lends him plenty of credibility.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Well, he was selected by the team owners...

I'd say his time at Penske and successful team ownership in the ALMS, not to mention his running of Honda F1 lends him plenty of credibility.

Gee...running any team in f1 would disqualfy him...after all, like what has F1 ever done right? Dang furrniers....lol.

[anthonyvop]

Well, he was selected by the team owners...

I'd say his time at Penske and successful team ownership in the ALMS, not to mention his running of Honda F1 lends him plenty of credibility.

He was financed by Honda for his ALMS adventure. Once Honda pulled out his team collapsed but the other Honda team never hasn't missed a beat.

His F-1 tenure was short, unremarkable and was as "sport director" he didn't run the team.

I like Gil. He is genuinely a nice guy and very knowledgeable. Of all those on the panel he is the one I would listen to the most. The rest.....ehhhhh!

[gofastandwynn]

Gee...running any team in f1 would disqualfy him...after all, like what has F1 ever done right? Dang furrniers....lol.

And there are on 3 'mericans on the hole dang panel...

[Marbles]

So this series, that is hanging on by the skin of thier teeth, has taken a year and a half not to decide on thier new chassis\engine specs, but a year and a half to decide on a committee (IRONIC) to decide on thier new chassis\engine specs.

Isn't there a joke in the automotive world about a car designed by committee?

[SarahFan]

So this series, that is hanging on by the skin of thier teeth, has taken a year and a half not to decide on thier new chassis\engine specs, but a year and a half to decide on a committee (IRONIC) to decide on thier new chassis\engine specs.

Isn't there a joke in the automotive world about a car designed by committee?

http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=pontiac+aztec&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=w4zIS6qpKY62swOIz-iYCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQsAQwAA

[Marbles]

http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=pontiac+aztec&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=w4zIS6qpKY62swOIz-iYCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQsAQwAA

That's it!

A hatch back dropped from a great height onto a minivan.

[anthonyvop]

And nobody else is questioning the fact that one of the members of the board derives the vast majority of his income from NASCAR?

[Lousada]

http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=pontiac+aztec&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=w4zIS6qpKY62swOIz-iYCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQsAQwAA

Good Gracious, is that thing for real? :eek:

[Mark in Oshawa]

And nobody else is questioning the fact that one of the members of the board derives the vast majority of his income from NASCAR?

Well at least he would know how a successful racing series that is making money does things. If the IRL was half as well run as NASCAR is, we are not having half the threads of woe are we?

[anthonyvop]

Well at least he would know how a successful racing series that is making money does things. If the IRL was half as well run as NASCAR is, we are not having half the threads of woe are we?

Yea.........But why would he want to improve a competitor to his meal ticket?

[Mark in Oshawa]

Yea.........But why would he want to improve a competitor to his meal ticket?

Unless he is on the board at NASCAR, it isn't his meal ticket. You can be part of teams in both series and want both to do well. It isn't either or Tony. I know in your world of black's and whites, you don't believe that is possible. Using your logic, Roger Penske and Chip would want either NASCAR or Indycar to fail based on where they are "making their money".

[anthonyvop]

Unless he is on the board at NASCAR, it isn't his meal ticket. You can be part of teams in both series and want both to do well. It isn't either or Tony. I know in your world of black's and whites, you don't believe that is possible. Using your logic, Roger Penske and Chip would want either NASCAR or Indycar to fail based on where they are "making their money".


Everything is Black and white.
Eddie Gossage makes the majority of his money from his 2 Cup Races. That is a fact that cannot be denied. If TMS lost it's ICS date it would soldier on. If TNS lost it's Cup dates it would be it Foreclosure swiftly.

Much has been made of Eddie Gossage's success as a promotor.....I don't get it.

He made NASCAR races in Charlotte & Texas successful...Wow. how hard is that?

[Jag_Warrior]

Isn't there a joke in the automotive world about a car designed by committee?

See The Pentagon Wars. A lot of business school and Six Sigma instructors use excerpts from that film (or the entire film) to caution students on taking team work and design by consensus too far. It's a fine balance to get it right.

It's a really funny (sadly funny) film, because it's based on the true story of the Bradley M2 fighting vehicle's design and procurement process.

This clip should be required viewing... before the IRL decides on ANYTHING.
pyakI9GeYRs

P.S. There is also that episode of The Simpsons, where Homer designs an "Every Man" car for his half/step(?) brother. Same concept though.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Everything is Black and white.
Eddie Gossage makes the majority of his money from his 2 Cup Races. That is a fact that cannot be denied. If TMS lost it's ICS date it would soldier on. If TNS lost it's Cup dates it would be it Foreclosure swiftly.

Much has been made of Eddie Gossage's success as a promotor.....I don't get it.

He made NASCAR races in Charlotte & Texas successful...Wow. how hard is that?

I guess you miss the 160000 he puts in the stands for the IRL? The fact that the IRL is still at Texas and draws its largest crowd after Indy means nothing? Oh right....That is because he doesn't care about the IRL?

First rule of business Tony, no matter how well you are doing, you need to do better and strive for more market, or you will move backwards. THAT is why it is in Eddie's best interests to help the IRL. The success of one isn't exclusive of the other unless you are a member of the France Family. Last I looked, Eddie wasn't.