Originally Posted by ChaimWitz
After reading the wide range of posts on these forums over the past week I am struck by the fact that most of us now realize that we all have more in common than we have differences between us.
I also have to chuckle when I read jimispeed's signature line: "Champ Car, continuing since 1909".
Steve Johnson has also uttered a variation of this thought on occasion. Something to the effect of: "ChampCar is nearly 100 years old".
To me this deceptive propaganda underscores the delusional thinking behind the OWRS owners '"plans". You can't claim a heritage with one hand while rejecting it with another. In other words, you can’t embrace the American National Championship and reject oval racing at the same time. It simply doesn’t ring true.
Here is what does ring true:
The American National Championship that Jimispeed and Steve Johnson claim as ChampCar’s heritage is recognized to have begun in 1909. Although the majority of the races in the early years were run over the open roads (since few permanent circuits existed) the series soon became an oval centric sport and stayed that way until the CART era of the early 1980s when the sport was dominated by teams that were refugees from the SCCA Can-Am and the SCCA Formula 5000 Series before it. These road racing series had one thing in common: They weren’t financially viable or sustainable for the sanctioning bodies, the promoters or the teams.
Back to 1909: There was one permanent circuit on the schedule of that first American National Championship season. It was a 2.5 mile oval near Indianapolis Indiana. Two races were held there in that first season and with the Inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway became the global icon of American racing culture ever since.
Oh, did I mention that the Vanderbilt cup is a copy commissioned in 1996 for the Inaugural US 500. BTW, what ever happened to that race?
So, back to my point: ChampCar has not been “continuing since 1909”. It has been continuing since Judge Otte’s gavel fell in an Indianapolis bankruptcy court on January 28, 2004. There is a big difference between 99 years and four years.
In my view, the bloodline of the American National Championship runs through the AAA, USAC, CART and now, arguably, the IndyCar series for a number of reasons:
* The Indy Car series has the Indianapolis 500. The history of this great race is inexorably intertwined with the American National Championship.
* Fifteen of the sixteen event Indy Car Series are held in the United States. Currently only one race (Motegi) is held out of the country.
* The ChampCar World Series only holds six of its 14 races in the U.S.A.
* The Indy Car Series holds races on 11 ovals and the Champ Car World Series has chosen to abandon them completely.
* Oval racing is and was the defining discipline of the American National Championship. If they were still alive what would, Ted Horn or Jimmy Bryan think about this situation today? Would the recognize Champ Car as he rightful heir to the sport they loved? I think not...
With a combined series as outlined by the Robin Miller story we could again have a sport with the best of both best worlds. A mix of Street Circuits, Natural Terrain Road Courses, Super Speedways, Speedways and Short Ovals. Product confusion would be ended (some could argue that it already has been by Champ Car’s disappearing act in the USA) and the sport could focus on progress rather than pain.
Think about it: The dual 100th anniversaries of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the American National Championship in 2009 provide the perfect opportunity to reposition and relaunch our great sport as it enters its second century. It will be much more meaningful and powerful if we celebrate these milestones together.
“Indy Car Racing, continuing since 1909” rings true to me.
