Are You Kidding Me?
IndyCar has been reunified since 2008 but sometimes the bad blood of the split comes to the surface. IndyCar's PR sent out a tweet saying it was only the tenth IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile, 101 less than the actual amount of IndyCar races held at the short track. That tweet has since been deleted.
But this gem is still there.
.@RyanHunterReay and @dariofranchitti are the only drivers to win at @MKE_IndyFest and the @IndyCar championship in the same season.
— INDYCAR PR (@INDYCARPR) August 17, 2014
Let's not forget to mention Sébastien Bourdais, Nigel Mansell, Michael Andretti, Al Unser, Jr., Johnny Rutherford, A.J. Foyt on three occasions, Joe Leonard, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Rodger Ward on two occasions, Jimmy Bryan, Chuck Stevenson, Tony Bettenhausen, Johnnie Parsons, Ted Horn and Rex Mays, all who won at Milwaukee and an IndyCar title in the same season.I don't have an axe to grind with IndyCar PR and I don't think they were intentionally trying to stir the pot. I am sure they are all nice people, working hard and doing the best they can and a few slipped by the goalie but we got to throw out any fact that is that are misleading. IndyCar's history is long and vast and existed long before the current sanctioning body was ever thought of.
It would be like ignoring the Stanley Cup results prior to the NHL taking over the trophy in 1927 or saying Liverpool F.C. has never won a title just because they've yet to win one in the Premier League-era, ignoring their eighteen titles, good enough for second most League titles in England.
One of the biggest disappointments for me in American sports is the failure to recognize the NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl-era. We always hear how the Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl titles at six but fail to recognize the Green Bay Packers have the most NFL Championships at thirteen or fail to recognize the Chicago Bears' nine titles or the New York Giants' eight titles or the Cleveland Browns dominance in the 1940s and 1950s with Otto Graham as quarterback, winning seven titles in ten seasons and an eighth coming two years prior to the first Super Bowl in 1964.
IndyCar has a long history that needs to be embraced. We're past the split. We're past the days of CART and the IRL. The series is simply IndyCar and it's history encompasses everything from the early days of American Automobile Association sanctioned races on board and dirt tracks to USAC and the introduction of the rear-engine roadster, two splits that forever altered American Open-Wheel racing to the present which has feature arguably some of the best racing ever produced.
Where Will the Drivers Come From?
A lot Indy Lights talks this past weekend and some optimistic predictions on what the 2015 grid will look like. Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin reported an Indy Lights team owner thinks there could be 16-20 cars on next year's grid.
A couple things:
1. Where will these teams find drivers if the Lights grid is going to double in 2015?
2. Who is going to pick up the slack now that Andretti Autosport may not continue with Lights?
I could see more drivers coming from Europe to fill the predicted additional entries but I don't see many, if any Americans or Canadians get the opportunities. We won't be seeing a kid from USAC getting a shot at Lights full-time. Maybe more drivers from Pro Mazda make the move to Indy Lights next year. Currently the top five in Pro Mazda is all American and Canadian with nine of the top ten being North American (5 Americans, 3 Canadians, 1 Mexican). Could the expanded Lights grid give second life to the careers of young drivers who were casted away a few years ago (i.e. Logan Gomez, Robbie Pecorari, Daniel Herrington, Jonathan Summerton, Carl Skerlong)? I'd like to see them all get a chance but I won't hold my breath, sadly.
Indy Lights should cater to drivers from across the globe but it also has to be a home for budding North American talent. Should Lights double in size next year, there are plenty young Americans and Canadians with talent but the real question is whether the funding is there to keep them going.
As for Andretti Autosport pulling out of the series, it could hang two young American drivers out to dry. Zach Veach is seven points back of Gabby Chaves heading into the season finale doubleheader at Sonoma while Matthew Brabham is looking to move to IndyCar in 2014 but could benefit from another year of Indy Lights. Andretti Autosport is looking to expand to five IndyCars in 2015 and winning the Lights title could be huge for Veach as the scholarship could help fund that entry although he could be competing with Simon Pagenaud for that ride.
I really hope Andretti continues to support Veach and Brabham and keep them as development drivers even if they pull out of Indy Lights and farm them out to another team that will be field Lights cars in 2015.
Everyone will have an eye on Indy Lights this winter as the new car develops and hopefully the series grows.
A Year Without SPEED
It has officially been one year since SPEED was reconfigured into Fox Sports 1. We've survived without but that doesn't mean it isn't missed. Sunday nights aren't the same without Wind Tunnel. All dirt racing, from USAC to World of Outlaws get next to no coverage on television. Last week was the Knoxville Nationals and does anyone know Donny Schatz won his eighth "Granddady of Them All?" CBS Sports Network has picked up the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Series and DTM but have geo-blocked the United States and Canada from watching the races live online.
Fox Sports 1 has done a great job with MotoGP coverage. Sports cars needs some work as the amount of commercials make the races feel like infomercials. It will be interesting to see how much time they give Formula E when that season starts in a month time.
I still think there is a market for an all-motorsports network. MAVTV is on it's way to becoming what SPEED once was but I think it's only on Directv and Dish. An all-motorsports series has to be all-motorsports. No reality show junk and reruns that filled SPEED's programming during the week. It has to go all in on covering different series, showing what they can live during the weekends and showing taped coverage on weekdays and weekday nights.
A lot Indy Lights talks this past weekend and some optimistic predictions on what the 2015 grid will look like. Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin reported an Indy Lights team owner thinks there could be 16-20 cars on next year's grid.
A couple things:
1. Where will these teams find drivers if the Lights grid is going to double in 2015?
2. Who is going to pick up the slack now that Andretti Autosport may not continue with Lights?
I could see more drivers coming from Europe to fill the predicted additional entries but I don't see many, if any Americans or Canadians get the opportunities. We won't be seeing a kid from USAC getting a shot at Lights full-time. Maybe more drivers from Pro Mazda make the move to Indy Lights next year. Currently the top five in Pro Mazda is all American and Canadian with nine of the top ten being North American (5 Americans, 3 Canadians, 1 Mexican). Could the expanded Lights grid give second life to the careers of young drivers who were casted away a few years ago (i.e. Logan Gomez, Robbie Pecorari, Daniel Herrington, Jonathan Summerton, Carl Skerlong)? I'd like to see them all get a chance but I won't hold my breath, sadly.
Indy Lights should cater to drivers from across the globe but it also has to be a home for budding North American talent. Should Lights double in size next year, there are plenty young Americans and Canadians with talent but the real question is whether the funding is there to keep them going.
As for Andretti Autosport pulling out of the series, it could hang two young American drivers out to dry. Zach Veach is seven points back of Gabby Chaves heading into the season finale doubleheader at Sonoma while Matthew Brabham is looking to move to IndyCar in 2014 but could benefit from another year of Indy Lights. Andretti Autosport is looking to expand to five IndyCars in 2015 and winning the Lights title could be huge for Veach as the scholarship could help fund that entry although he could be competing with Simon Pagenaud for that ride.
I really hope Andretti continues to support Veach and Brabham and keep them as development drivers even if they pull out of Indy Lights and farm them out to another team that will be field Lights cars in 2015.
Everyone will have an eye on Indy Lights this winter as the new car develops and hopefully the series grows.
A Year Without SPEED
It has officially been one year since SPEED was reconfigured into Fox Sports 1. We've survived without but that doesn't mean it isn't missed. Sunday nights aren't the same without Wind Tunnel. All dirt racing, from USAC to World of Outlaws get next to no coverage on television. Last week was the Knoxville Nationals and does anyone know Donny Schatz won his eighth "Granddady of Them All?" CBS Sports Network has picked up the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Series and DTM but have geo-blocked the United States and Canada from watching the races live online.
Fox Sports 1 has done a great job with MotoGP coverage. Sports cars needs some work as the amount of commercials make the races feel like infomercials. It will be interesting to see how much time they give Formula E when that season starts in a month time.
I still think there is a market for an all-motorsports network. MAVTV is on it's way to becoming what SPEED once was but I think it's only on Directv and Dish. An all-motorsports series has to be all-motorsports. No reality show junk and reruns that filled SPEED's programming during the week. It has to go all in on covering different series, showing what they can live during the weekends and showing taped coverage on weekdays and weekday nights.
Expanding on the IndyCar Young Drivers' Test
Remember the IndyCar Young Drivers' test idea I proposed in the middle of last week? The more I got to thinking about it, the more I wondered how can you make the teams field their cars for four days of testing, two on a road course and two on an oval? Then it hit me, make it apart of the Leaders Circle agreement. If a team wants the Leaders Circle funding, then each Leaders Circle team must participate in the Young Drivers' test. Twenty-one teams are apart of the Leaders Circle program and that would be plenty for the test.
Taking the top six from each championship would make the Road to Indy championships more interesting to follow. You'd have to focus on more than what is going on at the front. It's kind of like how in many soccer leagues around the world, the top two, three or four in each league qualify for Champions League the following season. The championship could be decided with a few weeks to go but the battle for say fourth could come down to the final season and gives fans another reason to stay tuned.
Just using this year, the top six in Indy Lights is pretty set with Gabby Chaves, Zach Veach, Matthew Brabham, Jack Harvey, Luiz Razia and Juan Pablo García. The Mexican García has a 37-point gap between him and Juan Piedrahita.
Pro Mazda is very tight at the top. Spencer Pigot has an 18-point cushion between him and Scott Hargrove with the Sonoma doubleheader remaining. Neil Alberico is nine points ahead of Shelby Blackstock in fourth while one point separate Garrett Grist, Nicolas Costa and Kyle Kaiser in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Imagine what the final weekend would mean for those three drivers with an IndyCar test on the line.
Finally, Florian Latorre has a comfortable 30-point lead over Jake Eidson with R.C. Enerson 33 points back. Aaron Telitz and Victor Franzoni are fourth and fifth while four points separate Peter Portante in sixth and Daniel Burkett in seventh.
Seeing as their would be 21 Leaders Circle cars for the test and 18 positions being filled by Road to Indy drivers, I say open up those three spots as invitations to top drivers from other series around the globe. For example, last year's GP2 champion Fabio Leimer never came close to Formula One. Why not invite him over to show IndyCar is interested in having a top young driver like himself in the series? Invite Jolyon Palmer or Carlos Sainz, Jr. or Felipe Nasr or Alex Lynn over to test. What's the worse that could happen? Or invite a driver with limited IndyCar experience but is looking to breakthourgh such as Conor Daly, James Davison, Martin Plowman or Luca Filippi.
It wouldn't hurt IndyCar to explore and try to get talented drivers from all over the world open to the series as an alternative to Formula One.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Will Power and Dani Pedrosa ending Marc Márquez's winning streak but did you know...
Jeff Gordon won at Michigan, his 91st NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Marco Wittmann won at Nürburgrung, his fourth win of the DTM season. All Wittmann needs is a top four finish at EuroSpeedway Lausitz next month to clinch the DTM title. He has a 64 point lead over Audi drivers Mattias Ekström and Edoardo Mortara.
Esteve Rabat won in Moto2 at Brno and Alexis Masbou won his first career Moto3 race.
Rubens Barrichello won his second consecutive race in Stock Car Brasil as he won race one at Cascavel. Marco Gomes won race two at Cascavel.
Chris Buescher won the Nationwide Series race at Mid-Ohio.
Johnny Sauter won the Truck Series race at Michigan.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar is at Sonoma with the Road to Indy and Pirelli World Challenge.
Formula One returns from their summer vacation at Spa-Francorchamps.
NASCAR heads to Bristol.
World Rally is off to Deutschland.
Blancpain Sprint Series will be at the Slovakia Ring.
V8 Supercars heads to Sydney Motorsport Park.
IMSA goes to Virginia International Raceway with PC running two, 45-minutes races and a full blown GTLM/GTD extravaganza.
Super Formula is at Twin Ring Motegi.
Taking the top six from each championship would make the Road to Indy championships more interesting to follow. You'd have to focus on more than what is going on at the front. It's kind of like how in many soccer leagues around the world, the top two, three or four in each league qualify for Champions League the following season. The championship could be decided with a few weeks to go but the battle for say fourth could come down to the final season and gives fans another reason to stay tuned.
Just using this year, the top six in Indy Lights is pretty set with Gabby Chaves, Zach Veach, Matthew Brabham, Jack Harvey, Luiz Razia and Juan Pablo García. The Mexican García has a 37-point gap between him and Juan Piedrahita.
Pro Mazda is very tight at the top. Spencer Pigot has an 18-point cushion between him and Scott Hargrove with the Sonoma doubleheader remaining. Neil Alberico is nine points ahead of Shelby Blackstock in fourth while one point separate Garrett Grist, Nicolas Costa and Kyle Kaiser in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Imagine what the final weekend would mean for those three drivers with an IndyCar test on the line.
Finally, Florian Latorre has a comfortable 30-point lead over Jake Eidson with R.C. Enerson 33 points back. Aaron Telitz and Victor Franzoni are fourth and fifth while four points separate Peter Portante in sixth and Daniel Burkett in seventh.
Seeing as their would be 21 Leaders Circle cars for the test and 18 positions being filled by Road to Indy drivers, I say open up those three spots as invitations to top drivers from other series around the globe. For example, last year's GP2 champion Fabio Leimer never came close to Formula One. Why not invite him over to show IndyCar is interested in having a top young driver like himself in the series? Invite Jolyon Palmer or Carlos Sainz, Jr. or Felipe Nasr or Alex Lynn over to test. What's the worse that could happen? Or invite a driver with limited IndyCar experience but is looking to breakthourgh such as Conor Daly, James Davison, Martin Plowman or Luca Filippi.
It wouldn't hurt IndyCar to explore and try to get talented drivers from all over the world open to the series as an alternative to Formula One.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Will Power and Dani Pedrosa ending Marc Márquez's winning streak but did you know...
Jeff Gordon won at Michigan, his 91st NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Marco Wittmann won at Nürburgrung, his fourth win of the DTM season. All Wittmann needs is a top four finish at EuroSpeedway Lausitz next month to clinch the DTM title. He has a 64 point lead over Audi drivers Mattias Ekström and Edoardo Mortara.
Esteve Rabat won in Moto2 at Brno and Alexis Masbou won his first career Moto3 race.
Rubens Barrichello won his second consecutive race in Stock Car Brasil as he won race one at Cascavel. Marco Gomes won race two at Cascavel.
Chris Buescher won the Nationwide Series race at Mid-Ohio.
Johnny Sauter won the Truck Series race at Michigan.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar is at Sonoma with the Road to Indy and Pirelli World Challenge.
Formula One returns from their summer vacation at Spa-Francorchamps.
NASCAR heads to Bristol.
World Rally is off to Deutschland.
Blancpain Sprint Series will be at the Slovakia Ring.
V8 Supercars heads to Sydney Motorsport Park.
IMSA goes to Virginia International Raceway with PC running two, 45-minutes races and a full blown GTLM/GTD extravaganza.
Super Formula is at Twin Ring Motegi.
