Who knows what happens next?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrJackMiller
Hmm, Sanquin you are proving my point. It seems my first post drew you out of silent lukerdom too! Gee, did I hit a nerve?
Obviously, I know I don't speak for anyone here although I am pleased to see that some folks here who I respect because of what they have written over the years do agree with me.
I must share that I am in the business. I have a strong hunch that Sanguin is too and he has a pit bull in this ugly dog fight.
Regardless, I posted here because I actually know the people who run these companies you all write so passionately about. I know some of you do too but I just want to be clear that what I write is from my personal obervations after interacting with all the players.
Sanquin's hope of Honda leaving (and the Amigos real gambit being validated) is just that: Hope. The jug of CC Kool Aid that he drinks from is as tainted the IRL Bucket of Kool Aid that was passed around at the start of The Split. Some of you are probably not of a mind to accept anything but you own polarized positions but I will go on in the hope that others here answer the question I asked:
What happens next?
To me, what Sanquin has posted here seems to be the foundation of the Amigo's plan. BTW, I have had some of them explain the follwoing to me personally:
Honda leaves. Then TG is in a financial tailspin (just like CC!). CC has Cosworth, CC has entries, CC has Street Races that the sponsors want. TG is vulnerable; his family is screaming and wanting him gone. Things quickly get to the point that his relative equity is on par (for once) with the Amigos and badda-bing PG gets to be right for once! They do a deal that allows the Amigos to have equal say an ultimately, control because of their proven business acumen and intellectual superiority.
It could all still happen I guess so some of you will hold on to your dream.
But I ask the rest of you, what if it doesn't happen?
What if Honda doesn't leave? Is that all ChampCar has in its gun?
Or... what if the IRL is successful at bringing in other manufacturers after 2009 when the Honda deal is up? I am told by someone who knows that several Mfg. who are interested were on site in Detroit meeting with them about the future which could included several manufacturers or only one. I will remain skeptical about all of that until I see or hear more... but I am just asking the opposing question here: What happens if the one thing that everyone who is so FTG polarized is hoping for does not pan out? I also have enough direct insight to conclude that hope of an IRL collapse is misplaced as a launching pad for CC's salvation. CC is going to have to min on its own merits and it isn’t looking' so good to me.
Back to my point: what happens next?
As for The Amigos having a plan and vision that is working, I judge this on results. So far, not so good. The plan is fatally flawed but execution is important too and that has been hit or miss at best.
I admit I am a fan at heart so I can see the good and the bad in each series if I let myself get myself get past my deep anger toward the leadership of both series for letting this go on.
We all need a "win win" here to make this sport and business soar again like it deserves to.
I am tired of waiting for Honda to bail out or KK to go to trial in the JDS/Uniphase suit to determine the fate of the sport I have given my entire professional life to. I am not alone... Most in both paddocks I talk with feel this way privately. They are sick to death of the Neutron Bomb-like Split fallout that keeps ruining the best years of their careers.
When you get past all the polarizing spin there is one simple truth: There has to be a better way forward... together.
It is only my opinion, but I think people who the views like Sanguin has are passionate but delusional. You can't build a business on that.
People can smell it and Champ Car has the odor of a dead thing rotting from the inside out these days. At this point, the IRL just has a bad case of BO that maybe a good shower, some new faces, better venues and better cars with less wing could fix.
Does that bother me? Yes. I have spent a considerable amount of my life and net worth fighting the fight for CART and ChampCar over the years and I was a die-hard CART stock holder (actually I still am!).
I posted what initially did to see if there was any vision from the fans here about what should happen next given the reality of the situation. So far there has been a lot of polarizing conversation about what the actual reality of the situation is but no real discussion of what happens next outside of reciting the Amigo's wet dream scenario of Honda bailing.
So, how about we all try to discuss the point of my original post:
What happens next?
DrJack, you brought up a number of points, and many had merit, no denying that. But some were arguable at best, just as some points made about the IRL, such as Honda leaving after 2009. No way to know that until we get closer. Don't be surprised if some people take issue with some of your points and present their contrary view. You knew coming in here with your opinion that sees the IRL in slightlly better shape than CC (despite issues with paid audience), that you were going to hear back from CC fans (not fanatics).
The simple fact is that the open wheel racing industry as a whole sucks right now. To me, and I have said this before many times, it simply doesn't matter anymore when it comes to CC vs. IRL. Both series are on a roller coaster ride with sometimes CC being up, and other times IRL. Both series contributed to this sad situation we all find ouselves in and both have generated enough kool-aid to spin a justification for it. CC can't seem to make a schedule in a timley manner or hold onto some dates after hyping them; and the Indy 500 continues it's desent from prominence, because you don't have the best of the best competing anymore. The fans are speaking by leaving the sport altogether, and they are not letting the door hit them as they look for other series that are stable and maintain a high regard for their fans.
As to your question, "What happens next?" That borders on rhetorical. No one knows what happens next. Not you, me, or anyone else in this forum knows what will happen next, until it happens. Both camps have shown an amazing capacity to let ego overule common and good business sense. And the fans have seen strife where they want to see competition. The sponsors have seen chaos where they wanted stability (like NASCAR). And the competitors have seen wins that just don't stack up in prestige like in the days of Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and Emerson Fittipaldi. Add to that, venues which have been lost in this war and with it, another cherished OW tradition. What happens next? Who knows? All we can do is speculate.
Here is what I think MUST happen next, and on this point, I think you and I, and most everyone else on this site can agree, is unification. That is the only way open wheel can survive. NASCAR, already growing at a high rate, got huge in the mid 90's when open wheel split up. The only way not to be comepletely ground under the now 1000 pound gorilla is to merge and promote the hell out of it, and take back some of what NASCAR has gained. If open wheel can merge, then once again, we will have the best of North American open wheel on the same track, and once again we will have legitimate rivalries and will settle a lot of arguements on the track. The Indy 500 will mean something again, maybe to the point of attracting drivers such as Lewis Hamilton of F1 to compete.
Now, DrJack, here is what I think will happen, and it's pure speculation. But you all saw a hint of what might come with that NASCAR Busch race at the Circuit de Gilles Villenueve in Montreal recently. That race went in front of a packed house where some of the world's best drivers in any series competed against one another and put on quite a show. You had drivers from virtually every series competing, from CC/CART, IRL, Grand AM, ALMS, and other series and countries of origin racing on a roadcourse where there was passing, bumping and grinding, and a controversial finish. The crowd loved it, the media loved it, and of course, NASCAR was happy as they heard ka-jing, ka-jing! all day. This a very important test for NASCAR as they continued to see how their brand of racing fared in another country like they did in Mexico; and if it worked, with the venue and the variety of drivers they had, NASCAR will move in and look to be successful in Europe in a way Champ Car can only dream about. They are already the oval series of note in North America, which is what the IRL wanted to be coming out of the box. Montreal was a peek to the future, where NASCAR reigns supreme in North America, and will eventually set their sights on the world, where the only viable opponent left is Formula 1 (thank you, Juan Pablo Montoya), and Our Good Friend Bernie Eccelstone.
I hope that goes a way toward answering your question, DrJack. My question is, do we want to see this happen?
