Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (Montreal, Turkey, IRL to RACE Daytona?!?)

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (dateline Budapest)

IRL mouthpiece Mike King said today "the last time the command was Ladies and Gentlemen ... was the 2000 Indy 500." The first thought that popped into my head was watching Sarah Fisher and Lyn St. James wiping each other out right in front of me in Turn 1. To a certain "chicks should be in the kitchen" co-worker, that might be the highlight of the last 10 Indy 500s combined. At least that's the one thing he talks about ... six years later.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

Paul Tracy is a fucking idiot!

That is all. Carry on.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

I was trying to decide which was funnier - watching Paul Tracy try to drive without doing something moronic at least once every 5 laps, or listening to Derek Daly blame someone else for all the stupid shit Tracy does.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

I was switching back and forth from the IRL race today and when I turned back to it, they were playing Maurice Chevalier's "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" with a montage of Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher clips.

Condescending a little bit there ABC?

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

I would have much rather heard "Good Girls Don't But I Do." 

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

Or, "Some Girls."

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

You could pretty much just run the same tape over and over this year in the IRL and save money on TV production costs. The Penske cars and the Ganassi cars within 5 feet of each other all race on some cookie cutter oval with a Penske car always coming out on top. I like close quarters racing as much as the next guy, but without a little variety it's narcolepsy inducing.

P.S. Paul Tracy's an idiot? Gee, there's a news flash.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

The few laps of 3-wide with Hornish, Herta and Wheldon going side-by-side for a couple miles at a time were pretty breathtaking in person. All in all, a pretty good race, even though the result was rather dull. I'd expect to see AGR figure things out next year (and, with Scott Roembke *finally* back, RLR might figure something out), but this year is a lost cause.

This year has turned into a broken record. AGR can't quite find enough to catch up to the Penske and Ganassi cars, although there's usually something -- Meira charging to the front, Wheldon's crew f***ing up in the pits again -- to provide some variety. Yesterday was another repeat. Hornish 4 wins, Helio 4 wins. Wheldon, Dixon and Kanaan 1 each.

While it will remain oval-based, the IRL schedule should see more variety soon. Some of the cookie-cutters (Fontana) have been dropped, while 3 road courses and a couple of short tracks (Milwaukee, Iowa) have been added in the last couple of years.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

Still wonder how the conversation went to build a track in Io-got forsaken-wa.

"Hey, we're looking to invest some money."
"Well, why don't we build a 7/8 mile oval in Iowa?"
"Iowa, yeah? Within a couple hours of a bunch of major speedways?"
"Sure. We'll find fans among the corn stalks."
"Good. Who do I make the check out to?"

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (this just in from Kentucky)

Fontana was dropped due to slow ticket sales. I've heard rumors about a road race in the Dodger Stadium parking lot next March. Could be as many as six road races (mixed between temporary circuits and permanent facilities) next year.

I thought the IRL press release last Friday about possibly using Daytona International Speedway's road course (Note: not the full oval. The infield road course) as a test facility was interesting. They're talking about a compatibility test in September.

And Rahal Letterman may figure something out on the track but its only confirmed 2007 sponsorship is the Ethanol ride.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (Paul Tracy, 2007, IRL test at Daytona?!?)

Mods: Should probably move this bad boy to News/Sports

Turkey was interesting today.

Kudos to Alonso for maintaining second, kudos to Massa for winning his first race. Schumacher fucked himself with that runoff in his second stint.

Do you think Mario Andretti sits there as he watches F1 and thinks to himself, "Damn ... Kimi Raikkonen. I'm glad I don't have luck like he does."

I love the Istanbul track. Turn 8 might be the best turn in F1 right now.

 

Re: Champ Car/Indy/F1 running thread II (Paul Tracy, 2007, IRL test at Daytona?!?)

Splitting the anything goes board into two is like the cart-irl split. Both will be weakened, but one (anything goes) maintains the crown jewel of the board's discussion, leaving the sports/news board (and champ car) to suffer.