Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

The lap 147 comment is a classic, you just can't make this stuff up. I feel a little bad cause I know solovfett is an Andretti fan and a fellow UW fan, but this guy is clearly a class A d-bag.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I haven't read the updates re: Randy Bernard so here's what I sent Robin Miller after I heard about Bernard's tweet


"I don't know if this is worthy of print but I have to say it now:

if Roger Penske or Chip Ganassi or any other team owners want Randy Bernard out they're demonstrating for the 150,000 time they don't understand their fans nor the greater sporting universe.

Indy NEEDS Randy, especially now. and not only that they need Randy to come down like Ecclestone and face off against the owners where appropriate.

Let Penske start his own series and he can win every single race and lead every single lap. I won't be there...I'm guessing no-one will be there to see that.

If Randy is pushed out, this lifelong Indycar fan will gravitate more to F1 and will stop paying to see Indy races. Period."

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

another thing....if I find out Andretti is behind this I'm going to mail him back my god**** tickets to milwaukee

 

[manurespreader]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

another thing....if I find out Andretti is behind this I'm going to mail him back my god**** tickets to milwaukee

Amen. I pretty much have left indy for F1 already.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

another thing....if I find out Andretti is behind this I'm going to mail him back my god**** tickets to milwaukee

I had read somewhere (Sports Illustrated?) it was him, Barnes, George and Kalkoven who were behind it and Penske was not part of the ouster group.

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I had read somewhere (Sports Illustrated?) it was him, Barnes, George and Kalkoven who were behind it and Penske was not part of the ouster group.

I heard it was Andretti, Barnes, and George. I haven't heard about Kalhoven. And as I mentioned below, Bernard specifically tweeted that RP was not part of it.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I had read somewhere (Sports Illustrated?) it was him, Barnes, George and Kalkoven who were behind it and Penske was not part of the ouster group.

thanks. after more reading I've seen George (what a surprise) and Kalkoven linked as well. Barnes wouldn't surprise me cause he's getting fined.

but seriously. coming of the best press they've had in years at INDY and these dip****s just can't control themselves. I'm being honest here. if they ouster Barnes owr in the U.S. is dead. how they cannot see that is so far beyond me I'd need 2,000 years to figure it out.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

thanks. after more reading I've seen George (what a surprise) and Kalkoven linked as well. Barnes wouldn't surprise me cause he's getting fined.

but seriously. coming of the best press they've had in years at INDY and these dip****s just can't control themselves. I'm being honest here. if they ouster Barnes owr in the U.S. is dead. how they cannot see that is so far beyond me I'd need 2,000 years to figure it out.

RB REALLY screwed up when he twittered confirming the rumor. This all needed to stay behind doors. I don't really follow the mainstream media, has ESPN picked up on this? Obviously SI has, but in digital only more tham likely. My guess is 95% of those who watched the 500 have no idea this is going on. The thing he has to understand is in business, not everyone is going to be happy with what you are doing, but if you think you are right, you just need to put blinders on and forge ahead. He's got 2 years left on this contract, I wonder who exactly is in control of his contract from Indy's side of the ledger.

The fact that George is in on it is totally pathetic. And the rumor that the discenters have put forth BB has a possible replacement makes my head hurt. If TG or BB end up back in charge before RB's contract is offically up, I'm done. Let the conctract play out and see how the aerokits and engines work out the next 2 years.

So Honda rolled out an updated engine on Carb day for Indy, making a lot of improvements, all within the rules, and this was why they did so well. I had read Chevy put one out pre Indy with 50 more HP, maybe that occured at the time of the mass engine change they did. I find the engine war interesting from the cost angle. If Honda or GM were so worried about cost, why are they spending money on improving the engines? I was under the impression they'd make a bunch of engines, and just maintain them only, since they are losing money on every one of them. In the big picture, these loses only account for, what, maybe 10000th of their overall corporate budget?

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

RB REALLY screwed up when he twittered confirming the rumor. This all needed to stay behind doors. I don't really follow the mainstream media, has ESPN picked up on this? Obviously SI has, but in digital only more tham likely. My guess is 95% of those who watched the 500 have no idea this is going on. The thing he has to understand is in business, not everyone is going to be happy with what you are doing, but if you think you are right, you just need to put blinders on and forge ahead. He's got 2 years left on this contract, I wonder who exactly is in control of his contract from Indy's side of the ledger.

The fact that George is in on it is totally pathetic. And the rumor that the discenters have put forth BB has a possible replacement makes my head hurt. If TG or BB end up back in charge before RB's contract is offically up, I'm done. Let the conctract play out and see how the aerokits and engines work out the next 2 years.

So Honda rolled out an updated engine on Carb day for Indy, making a lot of improvements, all within the rules, and this was why they did so well. I had read Chevy put one out pre Indy with 50 more HP, maybe that occured at the time of the mass engine change they did. I find the engine war interesting from the cost angle. If Honda or GM were so worried about cost, why are they spending money on improving the engines? I was under the impression they'd make a bunch of engines, and just maintain them only, since they are losing money on every one of them. In the big picture, these loses only account for, what, maybe 10000th of their overall corporate budget?

I know it's unprofessional of Randy to have aired this to the public but the fans are on his side and I hope this stirs up a hornets nest of people not buying from the sponsors of Penske, Andretti, Carpenter, Barnes. and maybe this revolt shows us something we should have understood all along. they are just too dumb to achieve and then handle success. maybe it's time for open wheel racing to die in the U.S.? maybe the whole thing should just be wiped out in favor of F1 and just be done with it because Andretti, Barnes, Kalkoven, George, Carpenter, Penske, will never get it. I mean, history shows they just don't understand anything outside of whining, crying, and screwing their fans over.

this was posted on speed
"(317) 872-2700 Andretti Autosport
(704) 664-8566 Penske Racing
(317) 856-9500 Panther Racing
(317) 291-1500 KV Racing Technology
(317) 387-2885 Ed Carpenter Racing

To support Randy Bernard, call his executive assistant at 317-979-7501."

you can bet I'll be calling all of these numbers this week.

this article http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/7996658/indycar-issues-brewing-detroit-tap
and Robin Miller http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/miller-the-most-repulsive-revolt
nail it

these team owner's are so dumb it's unfathomable really. ratings are up, sponsorship up and you're *****ing? I just can't take it anymore. I'm going to have to switch my allegiance because of this away from drivers I like who race for team owners who are too dumb to realize what they've got in RB.

so I'm sorry TK, Marco, Hinch and the rest

I'm going to back Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher from here out

 

[HumRsky]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

This just in...Detroit is a dump!

 

[joecct]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I was reading the financial articles about the Facebook fiasco and it mentioned that Bernie was going to take F1 public on the Singapore exchange (the IPO is now off for now). Dumb or good idea?

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I never liked that track back to the CART days, and this last race did nothing to change that. I think the officials did the best they could in managing the track problem. I had my doubts, but the repairs held up. The race itself probably wasn't as boring as we were shown, ABC again did a horrible job with coverage. They just don't get it. On the first stint, Helio and Brisoe and the blacks on (and it took me like 10 laps to get a good enough view of their cars to see what kind they had on), it would have been good for Mr. Goodyear to discuss what impact when they pit and how long their 1st stint would be. Briscoe was passing/getting passed behind the Viso train and there were no replays of all that action. Just terrible.

 

[SteveP]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Striking Quebec <strike>college students</strike> anarchists force Canadian GP officials to scratch a planned fan open house on Thursday.

Canadian Grand Prix president Francois Dumontier told QMI Agency Sunday that he cancelled Thursday's event due to "overall threats."

Some threats against the event were vague, while others were more direct.

The largest student federation representing striking students said Saturday that it was planning to be "visible" during the Grand Prix.

While a group calling itself the "Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles," announced in May it was going to take part "in a week of economic disruption" around the Grand Prix weekend.

Many activist groups in the city oppose the Grand Prix, claiming it promotes the objectification of women and car culture. Moreover, activists say that the weekend encourages the exploitation of women as pimps bring prostitutes into Montreal from around North America for big events such as the Grand Prix

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Striking Quebec <strike>college students</strike> anarchists force Canadian GP officials to scratch a planned fan open house on Thursday.

Screw them, don't cave into their asinine issues. This is PC to a whole new level.

Indycar Owners unanimously reject aero kits for next year. Apparently the cars are costing around $600,000 instead of $385,000 as planned. I'd love to see the wording in Dallara's contract that allows them not to charge what was promised. Just another example of what a bunch of losers Dallara is. I agree with the owners 100% on this one. At this point aero kits for next year would be a neat angle to see who does what, but on the otherhand, since the coverage ignores what tyre compound is o n the cars, they surely will not discuss aero kit differences and it will be just another lost nuance.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I was rooting for Hinchliffe to have a good race, but he nicely earned penalty, when he skidded over the air hose of his RF tire changer. That's always a major penlaty, and if he doesn't get one for that, I openly question Indycar's safety rules. Someone else drove over the gun of another team, when it was placed inside their own box- again, major, major penalty. Conway's accident should mean his poor pit should cost him in Detroit somehow.

alfa, here's my and Miller's correspondence so far....


didn't see it or hear anything Tim, sometimes a crewman from another team leaves it in the way so there's no penalty

On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 5:23 PM, Tim Weisensel <tweisensel@hometownglass.com> wrote:

At Indy, should Hinchcliff have received a penalty for running over an airhose on one of his pit stops? In the past this issue earned you at least a drive-through penalty, but I did not see him get a penalty.

Tim in Juneau WI

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I never liked that track back to the CART days, and this last race did nothing to change that. I think the officials did the best they could in managing the track problem. I had my doubts, but the repairs held up.

I can't fault Indycar for this one. I do think they are trying their best. With it so difficult to find anywhere willing to have them race, Penske willing to step up and get this one done, I understand why they were there. If NASCAR with all of their resources can have similar issues on a track then having them on a street course, while not idea, certainly is understandable.

The race itself probably wasn't as boring as we were shown, ABC again did a horrible job with coverage. They just don't get it.

I totally agree. They coverage (if you can call it that) is terrible. The hardly ever talk about tires, never mention who is gaining/loosing pace on the leaders. Their talk of strategy is non-existent outside of how many fuel stops it is going to take.

I was reading the financial articles about the Facebook fiasco and it mentioned that Bernie was going to take F1 public on the Singapore exchange (the IPO is now off for now). Dumb or good idea?

Say what one wants to about Bernie but he isn't a Billionaire for nothing. I think he probably has a good idea here.

RB REALLY screwed up when he twittered confirming the rumor. This all needed to stay behind doors.

Normally I would agree but I think this was a calculated move by RB. It wasn't like it was reactionary. I think he must have thought it would do more good than harm and so far I can't disagree with him on it. It makes him look like he's trying hard, but the Board in a tough position not to support him, and chastises the moron team owners.

Indycar Owners unanimously reject aero kits for next year. Apparently the cars are costing around $600,000 instead of $385,000 as planned. I'd love to see the wording in Dallara's contract that allows them not to charge what was promised. Just another example of what a bunch of losers Dallara is. I agree with the owners 100% on this one.

It's too bad but I understand to a point. I don't understand why they don't allow them, see who is willing to manufacture one (if anyone), and see how things shake out. If nobody wants to buy then don't. My fear is that by this time next season, all of the engines will be even more similar in performance and the Penske and Ganassi teams will have figured out the cars and only they will be the competitors for wins and the championship. Of course with the way things are shaping up so far this season only Andretti team (minus Marco) and Pagenaud is giving them any competition right now.

This is where I think RB has had his biggest troubles. He waited way too long to get the right people in place on the racing side of things. He needs a confidant that he can go to for all off track racing decisions. The sooner he gets that right the better.

At this point aero kits for next year would be a neat angle to see who does what, but on the otherhand, since the coverage ignores what tyre compound is o n the cars, they surely will not discuss aero kit differences and it will be just another lost nuance.

I think part of the problem with the tires is that there is not a big enough difference between the performance of the compounds. Compared to F1 where the difference is staggering, these tires might as well be 100,000 mile road radials! Yeah, the aero kits would probably just confuse the ABC team and never be mentioned anyway.

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I read this morning the Robert Kubica had another surgery on his elbow last month. This one will allow (hopefully) for him to be able to turn a steering wheel to the left (good thing he's not a NASCAR driver!) without problems.

I hope, but seriously doubt, that he can return to competitive racing someday.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

I read this morning the Robert Kubica had another surgery on his elbow last month. This one will allow (hopefully) for him to be able to turn a steering wheel to the left (good thing he's not a NASCAR driver!) without problems.

I hope, but seriously doubt, that he can return to competitive racing someday.

It is just sad how his life was changed forever with that accident. God bless Robert.

 

[joecct]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

If he can turn the wheel left, wouldn't that make him a NASCAR driver?

 

[MattS]

If he can turn the wheel left, wouldn't that make him a NASCAR driver?

So far he cannot turn a wheel to the left. Bad joke on my part.