Car Count...

[SarahFan]

Just gotta say it has been a pleasant suprise all season long.......Hope to see the trend continue!

[NickFalzone]

Agreed. And kind of odd in light of all the complaints from Team owners about cost. Only thing I can say is that I wish there were less ride-buyers.. the car count is fine, just needs less of the rich foreigners.

[SoCalPVguy]

Yes car count is up, but week in and week out, barring a total fluke - ONLY five cars (2xGanassi and 3 x Penske) have a shot at winning, frankly seeing 23 "field filler" ride buyers tool around is not very fulfilling.

[ezhop7]

Well So Cal just pony up $8M bones ....higher some top engineers, savvy crew chief, cutting edge mechanics, lease a shop in the Indianapolis area with all of the associated equipment and then you too can be a Indycar Owner.....Oh by the way you'll need a top flight driver and maybe a sponsor unless you are going to pay all of the bills yourself. Never hurts if someone such as the driver brings cash (sponsor). Oh the worst part of the deal SoCal is that Andretti, KV Tech, Penske, Panther and Ganassi will welcome you into the cut throat world of Indy Car by competing against you on and off the track using whatever tactics necessary to win. Good Luck!

[maximilian]

Yes car count is up, but week in and week out, barring a total fluke - ONLY five cars (2xGanassi and 3 x Penske) have a shot at winning, frankly seeing 23 "field filler" ride buyers tool around is not very fulfilling.
Doesn't really matter, in Formula 1 there are also only 5 cars who have a realistic chance of winning without fluke (or disregard of team orders! That number will dwindle to 3 in the next few races...), and nobody is complaining there, either... ;)

[SoCalPVguy]

Well So Cal just pony up $8M bones ....higher some top engineers, savvy crew chief, cutting edge mechanics, lease a shop in the Indianapolis area with all of the associated equipment and then you too can be a Indycar Owner.....Oh by the way you'll need a top flight driver and maybe a sponsor unless you are going to pay all of the bills yourself. Never hurts if someone such as the driver brings cash (sponsor). Oh the worst part of the deal SoCal is that Andretti, KV Tech, Penske, Panther and Ganassi will welcome you into the cut throat world of Indy Car by competing against you on and off the track using whatever tactics necessary to win. Good Luck!

Why are you making this personal about me ???

I would suggest you make the same "challenge" to pony up the bucks and efforts to the non-competitive teams (Panther, KVT, Coyne, Andretti, Hewman Haas, Fisher, DDR, Conquest, Deferran, etc...) already in IRL instead of trying to drag me into it.

[SoCalPVguy]

Doesn't really matter, in Formula 1 there are also only 5 cars who have a realistic chance of winning without fluke (or disregard of team orders! That number will dwindle to 3 in the next few races...), and nobody is complaining there, either... ;)

Correctomundo and that's why I've lost interest in F-1 also.

[Otto-Matic]

Yes car count is up, but week in and week out, barring a total fluke - ONLY five cars (2xGanassi and 3 x Penske) have a shot at winning, frankly seeing 23 "field filler" ride buyers tool around is not very fulfilling.

I get frustrated by the 'Red cars" always winning but at least AA has two wins this year. i'm really hoping we can see at least 1 NEW winner in the last 3 races. but overall i've been thrilled with the car counts this year. a far cry from the 18-20 car counts we had pre-split (or even last year when we had races in the 21-23 car count range).

I hope on of these days we'll see 30+ cars at a non I500 race.

[Otto-Matic]

Only thing I can say is that I wish there were less ride-buyers.. the car count is fine, just needs less of the rich foreigners.

If we could dump Viso, Duno, Sato, Baguette and Moraes and replace them with Buddy Rice, Junky, Servia, Hilldebrand, and PT (full time) then i think we'd have a perfect situation. Maybe also someone fo that other Conquest seat, but i didnt mind Romancini. He at least had won some races in FIL.

[DavePI2]

I think I remember perdictions from the doom and gloomers that there would be lucky to be 20 cars running by the end of the year. Maybe I am thinking of another year but it seems we get the same sky is falling woe is me posts all the time.

[ezhop7]

SOCal I'm not making a personal attack against you I'm just trying to point out that its going to take more than money to dethrone Penske and Ganassi. It's takes a team of dedicated professionals with experience and yes the right amount of financial support and a little luck to beat the big boys. Panther racing has the right group of professionals, but not the financial resources, KV Tech has the budget, but not the drivers and lost some engineers. Andretti has the financial support two good drivers, but lost engineering talent to other teams. So winning isn't easy ask Dale Coyne!

[SarahFan]

I think I remember perdictions from the doom and gloomers that there would be lucky to be 20 cars running by the end of the year. Maybe I am thinking of another year but it seems we get the same sky is falling woe is me posts all the time.


I think i predicted a low of 18 and high of 23 or 24 non indy......so its clearly been far far beyond my expectations....


the question is, and perhaps Eagle Eye can weigh in, did we see an increase becuase sponsors flet we would se an increase in the TV # this year? EE has eluded to the fact thet Izod expected a 30% increase for the 500.....

bottom line is ratings are flat lined..... mix in the last year of the current chassis......what will next year look like..... if Car count remains in the 24-28 range it will be an even bigger plus IMO

[Anubis]

If we could dump Viso, Duno, Sato, Baguette and Moraes and replace them with Buddy Rice, Junky, Servia, Hilldebrand, and PT (full time) then i think we'd have a perfect situation. Maybe also someone fo that other Conquest seat, but i didnt mind Romancini. He at least had won some races in FIL.

That's probably a little unfair on Baguette IMO, as he's doing a pretty decent job. As for the "incoming" names, do you not feel most of them have had their day? I can't recall Bruno or Servia exactly pulling up trees in the past.

[SUBARUTEAM]

its good to see a full grid. beats watching 17 cars in champcar

[NaBUru38]

7 different winning drivers in 15 races. Marco, Wheldon, Wilson, Carpenter and Patrick were close too. I can't complain about that.

I don't care about rich boys. I care about poor drivers.

[Jag_Warrior]

Doesn't really matter, in Formula 1 there are also only 5 cars who have a realistic chance of winning without fluke (or disregard of team orders! That number will dwindle to 3 in the next few races...), and nobody is complaining there, either... ;)

You're subtracting out the possibility of a Massa win, I take it? :D

It's typically the case in F1 that the championship is a two horse (team) race. Since standing the regulations on their head, new competitive teams have emerged (Brawn/Mercedes and Red Bull). With a loaded gun now pointed at their head, I'd say both Ferraris now have a realistic chance of winning a race, along with the McLarens and the Red Bulls. I also don't think it would be a fluke to see Kubica's Renault take a victory before the end of the season.

Not to make this all about F1 (on an IRL forum), but in F1, where each team builds its own chassis and a variety of engines is used, we've grown to accept that there will usually only be one or two dominant teams each season... and some of us are pleasantly surprised when there ends up being 3-5 competitive teams. For the most part (other than Bore-rain) the racing has been fantastic. And the WDC points fight is a total toss-up this season. But in a spec series, whether it be the IRL or GP2, many of us are not so pleasantly surprised to see that only three teams have won (oval, in this case) races over the past 5 years or so - I think we're now up to 53 straight oval victories by 3 teams.

It is good to see a full grid of cars though. And I have seen some good racing this season - the very first season that I've actually watched the IRL and paid close attention to its races. So it's probably best to focus on those positives. Because right now, on its worst day, F1 doesn't have the deep, structural problems that the IRL has on its best day.

JM2c

[Jag_Warrior]

bottom line is ratings are flat lined..... mix in the last year of the current chassis......what will next year look like..... if Car count remains in the 24-28 range it will be an even bigger plus IMO

I agree. Assuming this new chassis ever sees the light of day, once the owners have to buy 2-3 cars per team and can no longer go to museums to get a cheap Dallara, if we still see 24-28 cars per race, that will be an indication to me that someone sees real value in this championship (even if a fair number of the teams still have to use ride-buyers).

[maximilian]

You're subtracting out the possibility of a Massa win, I take it? :D

Precisely. When your OWN TEAM doesn't want you to win, then you need some serious fluking! ;)

[Jag_Warrior]

I heard (or created) a rumor that the same dominatrix hookers that Mad Max "got friendly with" have been scheduled to appear AFTER the WMSC meeting this Wednesday. I think a verdict has already been reached and Ferrari just doesn't know it yet. So I suggest that Domenicalli & the gang wear extra thick underwear to the proceedings... that might take some of the sting out of it. I know why they did it (as it made logical sense), though I didn't like it either. But the FIA will bust even the biggest teams down to size. The team orders rule might get changed in the future, but I bet Ferrari doesn't try that foolishness again this year. If Felipe is ahead in the next race, I bet Alonso will have to actually work to pass him. Whining like a baby on the radio isn't going to get it done for him, IMO. If the IRL would come out and bust the big teams that are apparently not passing tech, I'd have much more respect for that organization.

I think Duno and Sato also need to be dealt with, but that's another topic (fire Barnhart!) altogether.