Is the race going to
Be run today?
Or will weather be a factor?
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Is the race going to
Be run today?
Or will weather be a factor?
Thank you, Sarah Fan for at least acknowledging that there is a race today. Perhaps the Danica whimps should start their own thread to yakyakyak about that *****. Weather says it's 80 and sunny in Milwaukee right now with little chance of more rain. Mazda and FF2000races were rained out and not many finished Indy Lights. Anybody there have a handle on the type of crowd attending? Early rain probably already killed their walkup.
Weather looks good. Sun's out. Stands about half full?
Last I heard, she was going to be on some show called "The Biggest Loser". I think she's replacing Danica's GoDaddy BFF, Jillian Michaels, or something. Maybe as a courtesy, Anna will invite her "over-hyped & all sizzle" midget twin on that show. It would be kind of ironic to have the "When You Peak, You Win" girl on a show called "The Biggest Loser", eh?Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalPVguy
Anyway, today I'm hoping to see Graham Rahal start showing something. He doesn't have to win, but he needs to start upping his game, IMO. He's now with a pretty good operation (probably as good as it will get, unless he starts winning), so it's on him to start getting it done!
Things getting rather silly in the pits.
How was that not a penalty for Dario?
Dare I say Danica is having a reasonable race? Not stellar, which some will doubtless paint it as, but hasn't hit anyone or anything yet. Hinch also having a good one. Sato having a rather varied day, it's fair to say.
Nice move by TK....
Did Viso just crash? Oh, oh Viso.
Two KV cars in the wall and Sato NOT one of them. Strange days. Servia creeping up and looking racy.
Tongue firmly in cheek..."Congratulations to Dario Franchitti for the win. Danica ran a great race. I'm proud of her".
Joking aside, that's probably one of her better drives recently. Didn't set the World on fire, but you also can't simply claim it was done on fuel mileage or luck. Certainly gained a few spots due to others crashing out, but then that could apply to Servia and Rahal as well, so credit where it's due. It'll be heralded as the second coming or a push for the championship, but it was a solid enough drive IMO. Interesting day for Sato, but decent finish.
Hell of a drive by Dario! A great race with a lot of action, it's great to be back at Milwaukee.
Unofficial finish order, and fastest laps.
http://i55.tinypic.com/ifxs7r.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/9pm2s9.jpg
Dario should have been black flagged for hitting Power's tire on pit road. Hope he remembers that next time he goes off whining about things.
Good, fun race at Milwaukee. Unfortunately, also what looked to me like the worst televised attendance at a non rained-out IndyCar event. Never seen stands that sparse before, except maybe a NASCAR truck race or on a bad weather event. Makes you wonder if it will be back, because I remember the stands being way more full last time IndyCar was there.
Too bad. Milwaukee fans missed a hell of an event. And you can't blame the promoters either, they worked their butts off, ran lots of ads, kept the race in the public eyes,...and still nobody gave a crap.
Whatareyounostrfukindamisnow
lol i deserve that. But Texas at least had large full sections of stands. I couldn't visually see a difference of more than a few thousand there from this year to last. Milwaukee.. well that was simply embarrassing.Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahFan
Start messed up on DVR. Race was joined 63 laps in and in the next 10 laps heard:
Marty Reid talk over driver\pit communications when Beatriz hit the wall --
Pumped up double sided restarts with a reformed Kanaan expounding their virtues and promptly went to commercial and missed restart (caught with that technical marvel "sidebyside") --
Scott Goodyear use the word "irregardless" --
Old drinking game: Goodyear explain marbles\oversteer\understeer.
New drinking game: Goodyear say "just a passenger".
I hope ABC\ESPN get turfed at years end.
Otherwise, a so-so race with a few twists at the end.
Kanaan backs it into the wall and Neves has to pit for a tire and a Ganassi driver inherits the lead. All is right with the world.
Solid showings by Rahal, Patrick and Hinchcliffe.
Apparently it's in the rules that, and I'm quoting here, "a pit violation involving (a) crew member(s) and\or equipment struck by a pitting or un-pitting car of an opposing team will be forgiven if the involved teams pat each other on the back and have a chuckle over it".Quote:
Originally Posted by uncommonsense52
One of those IRL "not always" rules.
As for attendance, I think I've seen it look emptier? more empty? Not as full! It's a long road back.
I thought it was a great race. Certainly entertaining.... Yea for Dario, sorry for TK, becoming impressed with Rahal...
My high points:
- Over the radio... "..****ing Sato" :) ))
- RHR going out so early - I wonder if he was running Go Daddy because someone at DHL bitched after Indy
- Dario ripping Helio in the post-race interview. Helio is losing friends fast this season...
It so perfect that they're entering mid-season in a tie. Almost too perfect....nah, probably not...
And a big "Booo!" to ABC coverage. It's so bad. Skipping important events for more and more ads, terrible announcers, ignoring half the field. And the "Father/Racer" factoids - really? No one cared.
Just a little confused, I heard Jamie Little say Hildebrand was off to the medical center to get a "drug test". Anyone know if that's standard procedure after a crash? Kinda sounded weird. John Barnes seemed real pissed also.
I caught that too... I assume it's policy, but I'd be a little irritated if I were him. It would be nice if it was clarified, because it sounds like it was only him that was singled out.
John Barnes sounds like a major A-hole...
Does anyone have any stats on how far out the tire guy is allowed to stand? It'd be interesting to do some photo analysis and see if he was too far out or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by SarahFan
From what I saw, Barnes pulled the Danica/Marco/Helio move after a frustrating crash. Got on his scooter and scooted the hell outta there!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sateryn76
On the subject of commentary, there was more than one occasion early in the race when Scott Goodyear said something like "The track is very green, so there aren't any marbles off line yet", then in the very next breath said "you just can't go off line here because of the marbles". Enjoyed the race anyway, but the commentary really didn't add anything and missed a great deal.
It certaintly looked more full in years past, especially before the new grandstands. Maybe that's part of the problem, we can actually see how empty the grandstands are now that they are tall shiny aluminum. CART certainly had large crowds in the past, but it was also difficult to tell just how many fans there actually were when announced official attendance was always suspect. I know why they don't do the same, but EVERY pro football or baseball game I've ever attended has announced an exact gate attendance figure. they usually even have a guess the attendance contest for the crowd. Restoring the traditional date may help but I fear it's simply a generational thing we are fighting trying to re-build Indycar.
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, did it really fall? And if there's an Indycar race in Milwaukee and nobody comes, did it really happen? Once a tree falls, you can't pick it up again and once a race falls you can't pick that up again either. RIP Milwaukee, what a shame!
You're in a good mood this morning aren't you?Quote:
Originally Posted by booger
But he's not wrong. Small crowd leaves future uncertain for Milwaukee 225 - JSOnlineQuote:
Originally Posted by chuck34
According to this article, Randy Bernard said their is only a 50/50 chance of the race being on the schedule next year. It said there were no more than 15 k at the race. It's a shame because I really enjoyed the race. A classic, flat track that is perfect for Indy Car racing, but I'm afraid that getting a decent crowd anymore seems to be a tough sell.
I'd say there is a large portion of the Milwaukee Open-wheel fanbase that were former CART/ Indycar fans are still that...... Former fans. I do't recall any of the IRL run races having a good turnout in Milwaukee. I love that track, but once you break a tradition, it can become very hard to re-establish it. We had a Hydroplane regatta in my town for many years. It died off several years ago and then returned until this year. Same boats, many of the same people but the local interest just isn't there any longer. We even have a local family that the father,wife, son and daughter are all perennial champions in several classes, and there is barely a blip of interest on the radar. Sometimes it's just time.
I know many of my friends that used to be Open wheel fans would rather watch no racing at all than follow the "new indycar", and that's essentially what they have chosen to do. I can't get a couple of them to even commit to going to saturday ALMS race in Baltimore, but I still have hope they will attend when it is closer. I know a couple guys are just holding out for them to release more sunday single day tickets.
Milwaukee talk radio is devoting a segment on the race at the Mile. Many callers are not happy about the dearth of American drivers and the bad taste left by former (I call them carpetbaggers) promoters who pretty much just walked away without even paying the hot dog sellers. On life support is the current outlook by the media regarding this event. Now we get to look forward to the BIG NASCAR race this weekend at Road America who has upped the ticket prices by 25% from last year probably to help pay the sanctioning fee for the Grand Am nap that will precede it...get ready for a riot. The fans that come for NASCAR ain't gonna like the Grand Ams one bit. By the time the NASCAR race starts (4:30pm), these fans will be sooo drunk that it could get ugly.
I generally prefer road courses over any oval. But when it comes to ovals, I usually enjoy the flat tracks over the high banks, as I think they require higher driving skills. So it would be a shame to see a track with so much rich history, like Milwaukee, go away. But if they can't draw people in... Though I would say that's more of a problem with the series than with the track. When you can't draw fans in to traditionally successful venues, and you're relying (too much, IMO) on going to new places, where you draw in the curiosity seekers for a year or two, I don't think that's a good plan.
This was a decent race. Nothing earth shattering, but it was better than most I've seen this year. The only real criticism I have is with the announce team: they're boring and they seldom offer any real insight into what's happening (plus they goof up more than they should). ABC and Versus need to send their guys down to Charlotte and let them attend the Varsha, Hobbs and Matchett School of Race Broadcasting. Even if they just get a C in the class, they'd be better than they are now. And what's the deal with following Danica's car around the track for lap after lap, when she's muddling around in 10th or 11th place? Do they do that just to keep GoDaddy happy, so Parsons will keep buying ad time?
BTW, I called for Graham Rahal to finally show his stuff... and he did JUST that! Good job, young Rahal. :up:
I know what they mean. I was going to go on Friday and Saturday and take some friends along that aren't race fans. But the thought of walking around in the sweltering heat trying to catch a brief momentary glimpse of the only two or three LMP's that will be there just isn't appealing. And street races in general aren't that interesting to me to begin with.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigelred5
Actually, I didn't see her, but I did see her picture on the wall of the bank she owns. http://www.motorsportforums.com/images/smilies/wink.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by SoCalPVguy
Why do people object to other's successes just because it does not fit their description of success.
It is quite some years now, but I was at the Wisconsin State Fair and they had a petition to bring back the races.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
To make a long story short, if it is like Minn. Fair boards nowadays seem to loath automobile racing and if they can get rid of the track they will.
I spoke to people at the Minn. State Fair and they told me repeatedly that the races were living on borrowed time, as the Fair Board was looking for reason to end them. They did and quickly tore out the track.
You misread my intentions. I do not begrudge anyone success, wealth or happiness. In fact I embrace it and encourage it and admire personal responsibility, initiative, integrity, and hard work. I do not however respect "success under false pretenses".Quote:
Originally Posted by Wilf
To wit, Anna K. has found success as a top model, and why not - she is hottttttttttt!!!!. But do not tell me she is a "top tennis player".
Danica P. has found success as a "Brand", and why not - she is able to attract sponsors and related promotions. But do not tell me she is a "great racer".
Milwaukee however should give its head a shake. It isn't a major market in many ways. To only draw 15000k for the IRL is just silly. Nothing better is coming...NASCAR was stiffed by the idiots the City had promoting their races there..so in light of that, the IRL is the only game coming to town. With no IRL date at Road America YET....showing up here would have made a case that people in Wisconsin give a damn about Indycar racing. How can Randy Bernard justify going to Road America when the same fanbase not an hour away wouldn't go see the same series on a great oval? I think if you are a racing fan, you don't care if they don't turn right or not...
Correct! I still am a AOW fan but I will NOT attend a irl race. EVERQuote:
Originally Posted by nigelred5
.
2006 Champcar
http://i55.tinypic.com/keeypt.jpg
2011 Indycar
http://i52.tinypic.com/zk3ipg.jpg
Unscientifically I would suggest that it is more of an OW issue in MKE than Champcar/Indy, by 2006 Champcar race at Milwaukee was pretty much dead also.
Last year there were 11K purchased tickets for giveaways that didn't exist this year.
In 79, as much as I admired Dan Gurney, I thought he was crazy if he didn't think Penske and the money/factory teams would take over his Animal Farm version of racing. All Franchise Holders good, some Franchise Holders better! I still went to the races though.
rh
Not sure if anyone followed the Milwaukee Mile facebook page, but there were a lot of really angry Indycar fans on there. The promoters did a horrible job telling us what the rules were and it caused a lot of confusion. My wife emailed them (and 2 Milwaukee newspapers) explaining the issue and asking her questions. She got a phone call back from a not so happy representative but at least we got the information to plan our day. We live in Minneapolis and took the trip to finally catch a race in person.
The fact that this is held at the fair means the fair sets the rules. The no re-admittance policy was a joke. Things started at 8 AM and the race was much much later. We decided to skip out on a lot because we didn't want to be stuck in the fair grounds all day. As I stated in a different thread, they started offering 2 for 1 tickets by qualifying day due to low ticket sales. Once again, nothing was communicated to the fans that already spent their money months ago for some time. We heard it over the loudspeaker at the track, but people looking online for info were out of luck. Even then, the no re-admittance policy caused us to not be able to take friends to the race because they had no desire to show up as early as we were going.
That said, this was my first Indycar race (my first race period) and both my wife and I had a blast. IMS Radio coverage was great and we saw a killer race with our favorites (Helio and TK) at the front battling the evil Franchitti. We vowed to go back. We got our tickets for the Vegas race and may head to that as well. If Milwaukee is off the schedule next year, we may give Iowa a shot. I hope the don't cancel all of the Midwest races.
At the bar later that night, we saw a TON of news coverage on the race. Whether or not fans were into it, the media was all over it. They just need to make it more accommodating to the fans next year.
I also have to hand it to the series "fan village" thing they had going on. It was very engaging and extremely busy on race day.