CART/OWRS Meltdown

motion · 07:59 PM

Some bad $hit going down today... Adrian Fernandez is going Twirling to the IRL. Robin Miller says Ahole, oops, I mean Rahal is following him with the Jourdain car. I'm afraid that this will be the beginning of the end

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

Not good.

Zeke · 03-12-2004, 06:22 AM

I didn't see any of this. Why? What happened?

Twirlling, that's funny. You think Fernandez is gay?

motion · 03-12-2004, 06:39 AM

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/10191/

Hell yeah, he's gay. FAF.

Zeke · 03-12-2004, 07:07 AM

I never caught that. Nothing wrong with a gay race driver. FAF?

motion · 03-12-2004, 07:35 AM

Hey Zeke... I'm just saying he's gay 'cause he defected... no idea if he really is or not. I used to thing he was cool.

FAF: Fuch Adrian Fernandez

and FTG

Zeke · 03-12-2004, 08:08 AM

Richard, I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake this morning. The closest thing I could find on the "FAF" acronym was "For A Friend." I didn't know we knew each other that well......

But, I agree. FAF and Penske, M. Andretti and Pat Patrick. What's gonna happen with Newman/Hass?

What does it take $ to run a car one race these days? There's alot of good drivers out there that could jump in one of these parked cars like Hearn and even AU Jr. that know Long Beach.

motion · 03-12-2004, 08:18 AM

Yeah, they are all gay. Whinedretti is the worst of em. Paul Newman would never go to the Twirl, but rumors have Haas leaving OWRS. Hope they're wrong.

Dunno about cost. I would imagine somewhere around $300k per race, though. An Atlantic season is about $1.5mm, so I would imagine a CART car would be $4-$5mm or so per season.

There are lots of drivers to jump in cars, but no money to pay for them. If OWRS runs this year, it will be because the drivers have bought the rides. Look at Forsythe. That crummy bastard dropped Carpentier and brought on Lavin, cause he had Corona money. Forsythe didn't even tell Carp.. PT told him.

The state of OW racing in the U.S. is pretty bad. I wouldn't be surprised to see it completely gone in 2-3 years. The Idiot Grandson can't keep paying for all those cars to show up, and Toyota is heading to NASCRAP next year, so I doubt they'll be interested in the Twirl. I predict Honda will pull-out and put their money in BAR.

motion · 03-12-2004, 09:18 AM

hehe, check out what this OWRS fan thinks about FAF:

Zeke · 03-12-2004, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motion

Dunno about cost. I would imagine somewhere around $300k per race, though. An Atlantic season is about $1.5mm, so I would imagine a CART car would be $4-$5mm or so per season.

And I guess the first race would be the most expensive. Almost cheaper by the dozen. If you can't do the season, don't start.

I can't fathom the money. Park a half million dollar car that isn't gonna be worth stink in a year. You'd think he'd put someone in the thing just for what little prize money they could pick up. That would pay the crew and the transport, tires and whatnot.

I remember back in about '79 when a couple of cars showed up at Long Beach on open trailers behind a pickup. No name back markers like Dominic Dobson or worse. Looks like we might see those days again. Where's Dick Simon when you need him? LOL

BTW, if they could convince Mario and Danny to get back in the cars, they would sell out the gate.

Reg · 03-12-2004, 01:44 PM

I suppose Adrian got scared when they introduced the pass button. I thought the worst was over. Maybe I am wrong

GIBSON · GIBSON's Garage

It looks bad for CHAMP cars. Fernandez in gone, Rahal is all but gone (the decision is said to have been made last night),
the medical team is gone (Trammel and Ogilvie, not sure I spelled them right) and they were the most respected duo in motorsports urgent care, things are turning against CHAMP cars.
Most of the promotors require an 18 car minimum in their contracts. If each of the 3 owners fields 5 cars, we'll only need 3 more to fill the field.
If I was a Long Beach promoter right now I'd be talking to lawyers.
It is sad though and it seems to me that sports car racing is only about a year behind in it's problems. Grand AM is gaining momemtum, ALMS has lost almost all factory support (GM and Corvette remain) so who know what the future is there.
NASCAR eats up motorsports dollars leaving scraps for the rest.
Hard times in Babylon.

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

North American open-wheel racing is a mess. The IRL only had 18 cars at the opener. They may not be able to fill the 33-car field at Indy. Now Tony George says he's going to cut back the field for the 2005 Indy 500 and maybe go to 1 weekend of qualifying - making it pretty much just another race on the schedule.

greglepore · 03-13-2004, 05:03 PM

Its over, guys, and you can thank TFG (I think you can guess the middle initial) for all of it. There's something to be said for Nascar sucking sponsorship dry, but the reality is that ain't nobody gonna survive the death of tobaccodollars. Witness, the story in Autoweek last week about Nascar having trouble filling their fields.

Fact of the matter is that there were maybe 20 really competitive open wheel organizations, and some who could packfill on occasion. Divide that between an "oval" series and a "road course" series, and over the long haul you get 10 car fields, plus a straggler or 3. If you factor in that the crapwagons are flying death machines, well, you get the picture.

Funny thing is, the healthy series right now is freaking ugly Daytona Prototypes.

motion · 03-18-2004, 01:55 PM

There goes Bobby Ahole.... gone to the Twirl.

SpeedracerIndy · 03-18-2004, 02:46 PM

Very sad. I'm glad I had the chance to experience it in it's glory days when the Indy 500 was the best, biggest auto race in the country. Hopefully something good will come of it somehow. I can't stand NASTYCAR and it kills me to see it doing so well. Nothing like low tech cars with stickers of headlights and tail lights bumping each other all over the place. At least they are starting to take right turns now.

cegerer · cegerer's Garage

Guess he's going to be on with Dave Despain at 10PM tonight. It's too bad, but it looks like it's over. My best CART memory has to be Elkhart Lake in 94. Fittipaldi, Villeneuve, both Andrettis, Tracey, Unser, etc., etc. Great race. Villeneuve's first CART win. Perfect weather. Great party at Siebkin's. 2 years later, it was the beginning of the end of open-wheel racing in NA .....

greglepore · 03-18-2004, 05:54 PM

No excuse, but I believe it was a sponsor call, no?

Zeke · 03-18-2004, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CDiercks
Very sad. I'm glad I had the chance to experience it in it's glory I can't stand NASTYCAR .......At least they are starting to take right turns now.

What?? They've been turning right since Dan Gurney showed them how at Riverside. Where have you been?

motion · 03-18-2004, 06:56 PM

Greg, no, it was Honda showing him the bux, the treacherous bastard.

FWIW, I still don't think this spells the end. Michel Jourdain is staying in CART with his Gigante money. So, he'll end up with another team. I hope Carp finds a ride, too. Word is that there will be some good announcements in the next few days. There's still a little hope.