Indycar failure to return to top form

[ssj4]

Yesterdays Indy 500 was shaping up to be a classic...and then there was a caution. I am all for them ending these caution ending races. something needs to be done, because this league is already struggling with ratings. I also think that the current specs are way too low tech, way too slow and way too much drag. 228 mph qualifying laps should have been over with 20 years ago. With improvements in safety equipment and protection during impact, I see no reason why 240 plus mph laps at indy is unsafe. I do think the downforce levels are decent, but the cars have too much drag causing top speeds on super-speedways like Indy to suffer. The cars couldnt even crack 230 mph going down the front and back straights without a massive tow. I remember when the cars from cart racing in the 90's did over 250 mph on super-speedways like michigan and fontana. The current engines are underpowered also. They should be at least 850 horsepower or more on both road and ovals. I think the current setup of chassis and engine is taking away from driver skill. With a high downforce, but high drag and under powered engines, the cars are to easy to drive flat-out. Will power was doing laps at yesterday indy 500 without lifting off the throttle...where is the skill in that? I think the blue print of success would mirror more the specs of the cart cars of the late 90's with the aerodynamic philosophy of the panoz DP01 car...which was creating more downforce from the under body of the car, creating less dependence on front and rear wings for downforce. This would allow for less turbulant air when behind another car. Less drag would allow for much higher top speeds and much faster lap times...drivers would actually have to lift at Indy, which would lessen pack racing. More powerful engines and a more flexible regulations for tuning them would really allow the best drivers and teams to shine. After all it was this current spec indy cars which make pack racing common that killed dan wheldon at the las vegas speedway. Unfortunately I doubt these issues will be addressed and I dont see this series drawing new fans in anytime soon.

[Jag_Warrior]

Preach on, brother. Preach on!

[race aficionado]

Now that we are at it . . . and pardon my ignorance, but when my fellow countryman Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indy 500, were the cars to your liking?

[Jag_Warrior]

I hated those slugs even more than the spec cars they run now. But I was cheering Juan on as he completely spanked the IRL field. But his comments on the IRL formula were that those cars were so easy to drive that even his grandmother could drive one. And about that same time, Juan's future nemesis, Jacques Villeneuve, described the IRL as "cheap and unprofessional". I think these new (spec) cars are better and safer than those back breakers from the late 90's. But they're still nothing to write home about.

As I posted in the Indy Car forum, it seems like the Indy 500 has once again set a record. But where we once had new track records, we now have new record low ratings: Indy 500: Race Earns Lowest Overnight Rating on Record

After spending about 40 years watching and loving this race, this gives me no pleasure. In fact, it is my hope that Satan takes time out of his busy day to personally light Tony George's soul ablaze when he gets to that place down below.

[chriswadsworth]

I don't know because I have not got ESPN , I have not seen the race.

[D-Type]

ssj4,
Can you please explain why you posted this on this forum and not on the indycar forum?

[FIAT1]

Having series that would appeal to open wheel fans should have open wheels first. That would be a good start ,don't you think?

[dj_bytedisaster]

Having series that would appeal to open wheel fans should have open wheels first. That would be a good start ,don't you think?

Open wheels on an oval has proven to be a recipe for desaster however. The beef I have with the IRL, apart from killing off the superior series by money and sponsor drain, is that they abandoned the best looking openwheel race cars and went for those airbox equipped monstrosities, which look like a backmarker F1 car designed by Ray Charles. I started watching CART back in '93 when Mansell went there and I was hooked immediately. Those 90's Champcars are IMHO the best looking openwheelers ever.

Indycars have been a front-runner on many things. They've made many innovations. The medical team of Terry Trammell was second to none. If you read the story about how they saved Alex Zanardi's life, you start to wonder how the Vatican hasn't beatified them yet. Also, Indycars have been a front-runner in terms of gender equality. In no other major racing category (except Dakar perhaps) have female racer gotten their chance at such a consistent level and - most importantly - competitive equipment, unlike many other series. DTM has been running 7 seasons with at least 2 ladies on the grid, but they never got top material. They were running in 1 or 2 year old privateer cars. In Indycars, they got even top cars, like Danica did with Andretti and she delivered - a win, several more top 5 and two very memorable runs in the 500. So Indycars have a lot going for them, but they need to remember some of the lessons from the time when CART was in its best shape - international TV broadcasts, international stars and some homemade stars instead of losing them to NASCAR endlessly.

[Rex Monaco]

Having series that would appeal to open wheel fans should have open wheels first. That would be a good start ,don't you think?

Personally, I'm not married to the open wheel aspect of Indycar racing. I could make the argument that there is a niche for streamlined closed wheeled cars on ovals. The streamlined pre-war Audis and Mercedes were some of the most beautiful car's of the era as were the post-war close fendered Mercedes Grand Prix cars. And the pre-war speed runs (at 249mph, faster than any record at Indy) were done on ovals.

There is no way anyone would ever propose such a thing now though. And if they did, it'd be better done with a 10 year gradual move instead of an overnight rule change.

What Indy needs now, in one rule change, is to open the engine rules to allow any auto manufacture to take a stab at winning the Indy 500 without having to commit to running the entire series. At first it would just be the engines, but they need to open chassis rules too. This would go along way towards bringing money and excitement back to the Indy 500.

Akio Toyoda is on record recently acknowledging the lack of pedigree in the Lexus brand. He wants to build excitement into the brand. The Indy 500 of old would have been one of the places for them to establish pedigree. And company such as Hyundai, who might not be willing to commit to the whole series, could do the Indy 500 to be the first Korean company to win Indy (which means less now that they own KIA too).

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