rec.autos.simulators

>http://espn.go.com/car/irl/news/1999/990715/01352377.html

>The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they do put
>"fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back into the
>INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

> I think the only racing series that will be killed off will the the
> Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The IRL's big race is the Indy 500.
> I've been going there for 14 of my 20 years, and, granted the attendance
is
> down, but not by much. There were still damn near 300,000 people there
this
> year, at an average of 60 dollars a ticket, that's a pretty big chunk of
> money. Furthermore, I never saw an Indy 500 where the pole starter and the
> 33rd starter were within 6 m.p.h. of each other when the CART boys were
> there. And one more thing...I happened to catch CART's big race, the U.S.
> 500 last weekend, and I think I saw more people at a high school football
> game last year. I don't see how CART can actually make money with
> attendance like that. As long as the IRL has Indy, which will be forever,
> they have a better chance of survival than CART.

> >      Before long, an IRL car will closely resemble the recent "Pod"
> > arcade racer.  Look at why they are pushing this: sure, it's all about
> > safety.  Right.  And money.  Bruton Smith spelled it out - there is
> > more advertising area on a car with fenders.  Will Leo Mehl fight
> > that?  The IRL needs to keep Smith's tracks and generate more
> > audience.  I wonder why they haven't yet run a race at Bristol.  That
> > would be a thrill, but we'd need to build a 6" mesh basket over the
> > whole track to keep stuff out of the crowd there.
> >      Let's hope that they do it.  That will effectively either kill off
> > IRL or result in it becoming a junior division of Nascar.  Then CART
> > will again be the only American open-wheel senior division.  Does this
> > sound plausible?

> > > http://espn.go.com/car/irl/news/1999/990715/01352377.html

> > > The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they
> > do put
> > > "fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back
> > into the
> > > INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

> > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> > Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

>I think the only racing series that will be killed off will the the
>Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The IRL's big race is the Indy 500.
>I've been going there for 14 of my 20 years, and, granted the attendance is
>down, but not by much. There were still damn near 300,000 people there this
>year, at an average of 60 dollars a ticket, that's a pretty big chunk of
>money. Furthermore, I never saw an Indy 500 where the pole starter and the
>33rd starter were within 6 m.p.h. of each other when the CART boys were
>there. And one more thing...I happened to catch CART's big race, the U.S.
>500 last weekend, and I think I saw more people at a high school football
>game last year. I don't see how CART can actually make money with
>attendance like that. As long as the IRL has Indy, which will be forever,
>they have a better chance of survival than CART.

>>      Before long, an IRL car will closely resemble the recent "Pod"
>> arcade racer.  Look at why they are pushing this: sure, it's all about
>> safety.  Right.  And money.  Bruton Smith spelled it out - there is
>> more advertising area on a car with fenders.  Will Leo Mehl fight
>> that?  The IRL needs to keep Smith's tracks and generate more
>> audience.  I wonder why they haven't yet run a race at Bristol.  That
>> would be a thrill, but we'd need to build a 6" mesh basket over the
>> whole track to keep stuff out of the crowd there.
>>      Let's hope that they do it.  That will effectively either kill off
>> IRL or result in it becoming a junior division of Nascar.  Then CART
>> will again be the only American open-wheel senior division.  Does this
>> sound plausible?

>> > http://www.racesimcentral.net/

>> > The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they
>> do put
>> > "fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back
>> into the
>> > INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

>> Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

> American drivers?  Hah, then explain the foreign drivers in the series. :)
> American engines?  Hah.  Did he forget about American chassis' too?  :)  Oh
> wait, only CART has American chassis's.

> PSC would be a natural fit, but then again thats a dish on PSC. :)

> >      Yeah, that is true.  Got to remember that George is the one who
> > said that IRL was for American drivers using American engines
> > on "ovals".  Obviously the scent of money will attract him, and
> > unfortunately the IRL has not really caught on and needs revenue.  I
> > noticed that the Atlanta race the other night had vacant stands over
> > probably 3/4 of the track, and the bottom half of the remaining had
> > nobody seated (perhaps to avoid shrapnel).
> >      PSC would be a natural fit, though.  Still wouldn't get a crowd at
> > C***te or Atlanta.

> > > I wouldn't put it past George or Mehl. No matter what either says,
> > they
> > > aren't concerned about tradition at all.  And with IRL generating the
> > least
> > > dollars in the highend segment of open-wheelers, they could use
> > more "space"
> > > for advertising dollars per team.  Perhaps IRL and PSC can join?

> > > But, CART is the senior, high-end, division American open-wheel
> > series.  It
> > > gets that distinction simply because its been around much longer
> > through a
> > > variety of iterations.

> > Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
> > Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

> On Wed, 21 Jul 1999 13:20:56 -0500, "Chris Schletter"

> <SNIP>

> >I wouldn't put it past George or Mehl. No matter what either says, they
> >aren't concerned about tradition at all.  And with IRL generating the least
> >dollars in the highend segment of open-wheelers, they could use more "space"
> >for advertising dollars per team.  Perhaps IRL and PSC can join?

> >But, CART is the senior, high-end, division American open-wheel series.  It
> >gets that distinction simply because its been around much longer through a
> >variety of iterations.

> <END SNIP>

> Tony George and Leo Mehl have both gone on record as stating that they
> are definitely opposed to adding fenders. Tradition was one concern,
> but the major concern was the "kiting" issue that would potentially
> accompany the high-downforce, lightweight, high-performance
> closed-wheel chassis -- Mehl and George both cited the recent airborne
> Mercedes excursion at LeMans, indicating that on an oval, this would
> be far worse than flying tires.  AJ Foyt went on record saying that
> Bruton Smith was "crazy" for proposing the idea of fenders.

> Smith, George, and Mehl met prior to last Saturday's IRL race at
> Atlanta to discuss the issue of fenders and further safety
> improvements.  The meeting went well, according to my sources, and the
> issue of fenders has been put to rest.

> Keep in mind that Bruton Smith is pretty much the racing world's
> equivalent of P.T. Barnum at times -- Barnum's motto was, "There's a
> sucker born every minute."  Smith knows that by making ludicrous,
> flamboyant statements that stir controversy, he can stir up interest
> and attract people's attention to those things that he has a stake in
> -- including the IRL.  He seems to have succeeded -- look at the
> number of posts in this thread about the IRL that have been posted by
> people who loudly proclaim to dislike the IRL.  If you hate it so
> much, why are you posting about it -- or even paying attention to it?
> Seems like Smith knows what he's doing, and, indeed, there is one born
> every minute.

> So somebody tell me what this has to do with the rec.autos.simulators
> newsgroup?  If I wanted to read this kind of c**p, I would be
> downloading the rec.autos.sport.indy newsgroup -- or did I do that by
> mistake?

> -- John Bodin
>    Publisher, The IRL Insider Magazine
>    http://irlinsider.adnetweb.com/

> I really kind of hope they do...or at least wait a year and let Al Unser Jr
> get his run in at the 500 with Treadway and show everyone who a REAL
> openwheel driver is!  He doesn't have 265 CART starts for nothin!!!

> --
> Kirk Lane
> Tempe, AZ


> ICQ: 28171652
> BRT #187

> "I read dead Russian authors volumes at a time
> I write everything down except what's on my mind
> 'Cause my greatest fear is the sucking sound
> And then I know I'll never get back out"
>                          -'Narcolepsy', Third Eye Blind

> >http://espn.go.com/car/irl/news/1999/990715/01352377.html

> >The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they do put
> >"fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back into the
> >INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

>      Before long, an IRL car will closely resemble the recent "Pod"
> arcade racer.  Look at why they are pushing this: sure, it's all about
> safety.  Right.  And money.  Bruton Smith spelled it out - there is
> more advertising area on a car with fenders.  Will Leo Mehl fight
> that?  The IRL needs to keep Smith's tracks and generate more
> audience.  I wonder why they haven't yet run a race at Bristol.  That
> would be a thrill, but we'd need to build a 6" mesh basket over the
> whole track to keep stuff out of the crowd there.
>      Let's hope that they do it.  That will effectively either kill off
> IRL or result in it becoming a junior division of Nascar.  Then CART
> will again be the only American open-wheel senior division.  Does this
> sound plausible?

> > http://espn.go.com/car/irl/news/1999/990715/01352377.html

> > The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they
> do put
> > "fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back
> into the
> > INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

> Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

>I think the only racing series that will be killed off will the the
>Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The IRL's big race is the Indy 500.
>I've been going there for 14 of my 20 years, and, granted the attendance is
>down, but not by much. There were still damn near 300,000 people there this
>year, at an average of 60 dollars a ticket, that's a pretty big chunk of
>money. Furthermore, I never saw an Indy 500 where the pole starter and the
>33rd starter were within 6 m.p.h. of each other when the CART boys were
>there. And one more thing...I happened to catch CART's big race, the U.S.
>500 last weekend, and I think I saw more people at a high school football
>game last year. I don't see how CART can actually make money with
>attendance like that. As long as the IRL has Indy, which will be forever,
>they have a better chance of survival than CART.

>>      Before long, an IRL car will closely resemble the recent "Pod"
>> arcade racer.  Look at why they are pushing this: sure, it's all about
>> safety.  Right.  And money.  Bruton Smith spelled it out - there is
>> more advertising area on a car with fenders.  Will Leo Mehl fight
>> that?  The IRL needs to keep Smith's tracks and generate more
>> audience.  I wonder why they haven't yet run a race at Bristol.  That
>> would be a thrill, but we'd need to build a 6" mesh basket over the
>> whole track to keep stuff out of the crowd there.
>>      Let's hope that they do it.  That will effectively either kill off
>> IRL or result in it becoming a junior division of Nascar.  Then CART
>> will again be the only American open-wheel senior division.  Does this
>> sound plausible?

>> > http://www.racesimcentral.net/

>> > The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they
>> do put
>> > "fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back
>> into the
>> > INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

>> Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.

>I think the only racing series that will be killed off will the the
>Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The IRL's big race is the Indy 500.
>I've been going there for 14 of my 20 years, and, granted the attendance is
>down, but not by much. There were still damn near 300,000 people there this
>year, at an average of 60 dollars a ticket, that's a pretty big chunk of
>money. Furthermore, I never saw an Indy 500 where the pole starter and the
>33rd starter were within 6 m.p.h. of each other when the CART boys were
>there. And one more thing...I happened to catch CART's big race, the U.S.
>500 last weekend, and I think I saw more people at a high school football
>game last year. I don't see how CART can actually make money with
>attendance like that. As long as the IRL has Indy, which will be forever,
>they have a better chance of survival than CART.

>>      Before long, an IRL car will closely resemble the recent "Pod"
>> arcade racer.  Look at why they are pushing this: sure, it's all about
>> safety.  Right.  And money.  Bruton Smith spelled it out - there is
>> more advertising area on a car with fenders.  Will Leo Mehl fight
>> that?  The IRL needs to keep Smith's tracks and generate more
>> audience.  I wonder why they haven't yet run a race at Bristol.  That
>> would be a thrill, but we'd need to build a 6" mesh basket over the
>> whole track to keep stuff out of the crowd there.
>>      Let's hope that they do it.  That will effectively either kill off
>> IRL or result in it becoming a junior division of Nascar.  Then CART
>> will again be the only American open-wheel senior division.  Does this
>> sound plausible?

>> > http://www.racesimcentral.net/

>> > The IRL just seems to love upsetting tradition, don't they?  If they
>> do put
>> > "fenders" on the cars, better let the true Indy openwheelers back
>> into the
>> > INdy500 (and yes folks, thats CART).

>> Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
>> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.