RM On The IRL

[cache]

Just to be fair ,this is what Robin Miller said about the IRL in Autosport Magazine-

Entering its 12th year of business, the Indy Racing League remains a poor substitute for CART in its's heyday, an under-developed property that's thought to be a tax write-off for founder Tony George. Today, it's a spec series comprised of road racers and foreigners that's dominated by the men (Penske and Ganassi) that George openly despised in the mid-90s, It has no title sponsor, pathetic TV ratings and struggles to maintain grid sizes.

HOW MUCH MONEY HAS GEORGE INVESTED IN THE IRL? The conservative estimate, counting cars, engines, purses and marketing, is somewhere north of $300 million. Before Honda and Toyota arrived, George had to spend millions propping up several of his under-funded teams. In 2003, during a round of golf, he complained to one of the car owners that he'd spent $90m on purses alone. Another estimated $50m has been thrown at marketing companies trying to raise sponsorships. Last May, the IRL founder is believed to have helped finance 11 of the 33 starters in the Indianapolis 500.

WHAT IS HONDA GETTING OUT OF IT AS SOLE SUPPLIER? Not nearly what it expected when it left CART in 2002. Its very existence is mostly to compete against hated rival Toyota, but its dominance in 2004 and 2005 chased it away. And the low-revving, harnessed horsepower rules hardly challenge its technical skills. Supposedly, there is an escape clause in the contract with the IRL that says unless there is a competitor by 2008, Honda is free to leave.

WHAT ABOUT ALL THAT UNIFICATION TALK? There is no doubt that talks were making headway until they were outed by an American magazine. Now it appears there's little, if any, communication between the two sides. The bottom line? George doesn't trust what he perceives as shifty car owners and the Champ Car team bosses are wary of a rich kid they think has questionable business acumen.

[O&A Virus]

Fair enough.

Like his recent CC article, I see no fault in what he's writing in the article above. Do I like what he's saying? Of course not, but I'm not going to pretend that its not true just because I dislike what he's writing. This is something some CC fans are having a difficult time grasping. Cache, I think you know who I'm talking about.

Anyways, I enjoy watching the IRL, but I'm not going to put rose colored glasses and say everything is perfect. They aren't. Like him or not, RM has some pretty good sources.

[cache]

Do you think TG would 've fired RM if he was employed by IRL?

[tbyars]

Do you think TG would 've fired RM if he was employed by IRL?

TG has always been smart enough to NEVER put himself in that position. Those who work for the IRL work for the IRL, and not independent outlets.

It's the difference between running a business professionally and running it like you were running a campaign for college class president.

[cache]

TG has always been smart enough to NEVER put himself in that position. Those who work for the IRL work for the IRL, and not independent outlets.

It's the difference between running a business professionally and running it like you were running a campaign for college class president.

There is a rumor that TG pressured Indystar to fire RM.

[Davedigler2004]

^^^^

Got any proof or are you pulling that out of your a&s? Again, more speculation from a forum dweller with an obvious agenda.

I can do the same over in CC land. However, I'll leave that up to O&A and others.

[Davedigler2004]

You're already spending a fair amount of time over there. Don't accuse others of what you're doing. That goes for both of you, by the way. We don't want to get back to where we have to rigidly enforce the split between the two forums.

Discuss the opinions and the news but DO NOT attack or insult other posters. There'll be a few "time outs" for people in BOTH forums otherwise.

I spend a lot time there but I don't start threads just to start an argument or to attack. Theres a difference.

[indycool]

FYI, cache, that is a rumor that Robin started himself. If you followed his grievance arbitration hearing through the union that was denied in keeping his job, you would know what he was released for. TG doesn't own the Indianapolis Star. Gannett Newspapers has followed the Pulliam family in owning it.

[ZzZzZz]

TG and KK (and, well, *everyone*) should read "Marketing Myopia" by Theodore Levitt.

Every business will eventually decline if they remain product oriented instead of customer oriented. Who are the customers in racing? Fans, sponsors, teams, etc.. Are their needs and wants being satisfied by AOWR? No! We know from the numbers how many fans left. (We also know that even at the best of times, things weren't run as well as they could be.)

[Jonesi]

FYI, cache, that is a rumor that Robin started himself. If you followed his grievance arbitration hearing through the union that was denied in keeping his job, you would know what he was released for. TG doesn't own the Indianapolis Star. Gannett Newspapers has followed the Pulliam family in owning it.

I'm trying to remember what it was that got RM fired. Best I can remember was it was something petty, like misuse of emails.