It didn't disappoint. Castroneves's win today is simply a terrific story.
It didn't disappoint. Castroneves's win today is simply a terrific story.
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
Would have been a better story if Will Power had won...same guys win every race. How is it a great story? He avoided prison...should he be in prison? He has 1 of the 4 best cars on the track...Basically nobody can pass except on restarts...Oh well, if they don't get some AMERICAN personalities in there soon they are going to lose what few fans they still have. That said, I still love the Indy 500 and have already renewed my tickets for next year...
Bum
The relative lack of competitive American drivers has been a problem for the IRL. At the moment, the only Americans who are consistently competitive are Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal, and that trio ranks behind the "A" list of IRL drivers, who would be Castroneves, Franchitti, Dixon, Kanaan, and, perhaps, Briscoe.
The IRL has to be hoping that Danica does not defect to NASCAR.
I still think that the victory by Castroneves was a great story. In today's Wall Street Journal, Jason Gay wrote: "Naturally, he's now the runaway favorite to win ABC's new fall series: 'Celebrity Justice Grand Prix Dance-Off Hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Nancy Grace.' "
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
Will Power is for real. Hopefully he can get a full season deal for 2010, he could be a title contender.Originally Posted by Bumstead
I still fail to see how helio winning is a great story...what's great about it? The richest team with the best car and the most $$ wins with a guy who maybe should be in prison...who cares? Helio thinks it's a great story. It's like the Yankees winning...they should win!
Will Power deserves a ride for sure; of course, that has never resulted in a person actually obtaining a quality ride....just ask Sarah Fisher...Danica...can't even look at her, she is so full of herself (acts like a 3 year-old most of the time)....I wish she came with a 'mute' button.
I don't mean to be overly negative, but c'mon, there's nobody to cheer for who has a chance to win. The owners of these teams are running the IRL into the ground.
The whole Sarah Fisher is so much better/nicer than Danica thing has been beaten to death here in Indy to the absolute point of ridiculousness.
Comparing their careers Danica has already accomplished much more than Sarah Fisher. Sarah is a very nice woman who is a great local story once a year. She's a great face for whatever company decides to back her, but the reason she can't get bigger sponsorship/team deals is that she's generally middle to the back of the pack. Fisher's a great spokesperson for the circuit though as she's great with fans, but then again she pretty much has to be.
Until last year Danica has 4 top 10 finishes at Indy out of 5 tries. Though she's on a power team in AGR, there's little doubt that she is 3rd or 4th on the pecking order for that team.
It's easy to say, look at their records but it is also ridiculous to say such a thing. How do you compare two people that have raced under considerably different levels of funding? Danica has had top equipment every single race she has participated in. Fisher has never had top level equipment. Silly argument. Switch equipment for one year and I believe you would find that they could both be competitive with the boys in this type of racing. The reason Fisher can't get the sponsorship deals that Danica does is because she's not going to take her clothes off for the advertisers; one shouldn't have to do that to maintain their sponsorship; in theory, the best drivers should get the rides...unfortunately, that is not what happens.
My point really was, I don't cheer for Danica because she is an immature little brat. I'm not sure a 'mute' button could even solve that issue for me at this point. Honestly, I hope she never wins Indy; I couldn't stand having to hear about it forever. As an aside, the IRL needs people like her in the sport; it's nice to be able to cheer against her and the Andretti's. Still, there has to be someone to cheer for! Who is that going to be in the IRL?
Bum
That's a weak argument though. Sarah Fisher is personable, AMERICAN, and apparantly everyone has wanted her to succeed since she came up. Despite that, she can't get sponsorships or on a powerful team. All this because she won't take her clothes off? I have trouble buying that.
Danica finished 4th and 8th with Rahal Letterman which is admittedly a notch above the poor teams, but was by no means a powerhouse team. Victor Meira has finished 2nd twice without powerful teams backing him up.
I guess I'm at a loss to see what Sarah Fisher has done to lead people to say she's an excellent driver but just lacks a good team.
I agree that people's dislike of Danica is good for the sport. I just think that as much as people love of an pretty but socially awkward driver was over the top, the dislike is equally over the top.
As for other names that were brought up earlier, Will Power, talented though he is wouldn't add an American star to the circuit as he's an Aussie.
Indy car Racing is about the only sport in this country where I root for the leading team. Normally I go for the underdog and root against the Yankees or Celtics.
Penske Racing is different for me, and for one reason: Rick Mears. I rooted for Mears his entire career. His 1991 victory at Indy to win his fourth "500" remains my favorite race. He has been retired since 1992, but I have kept rooting for Penske Racing out of habit.
That said, I can usually find somebody to root for in any IRL race.
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
I never discounted Danica's ability to drive the car, but I don't think anyone will ever know whether she has more 'driving' talent than Sarah Fisher. Rahal Letterman had excellent equipment except for one season...check out how many races that team won. So, you don't think Danica being attractive and being willing to show off her 'bells and whistles' doesn't give her better sponsorship opportunities?? Comical...Go Daddy...surely you joist...Back when there wasn't such a disparity in equipment as there is now, Fisher posted 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the blue 15 car owned by Walker (?) I believe. When that car wasn't breaking down she did well in the series; obviously being popular with the IRL fans doesn't lead to sponsorship opportunities...
Will Power: I know he is from Australia, I would have just rather seen someone else win...someone without enough talent to have a ride all year...
Yeah, I see all the Yankee caps worn all over the country...it's easier to cheer for the team that has all the money. Doesn't make it a great story when they win though; it makes it more of a redundant story than anything else. Penske has won 14 of the last 31 Indy 500's...how exciting...at least Mears was an American that fans could relate to. I haven't seen Brazilians packing the house at the Indy 500 lately (seats are available in case they didn't know; it is their countryman's series after all...apparently).
Vitor Meira is one of the most talented drivers in the series and he has had some good quality rides. He was in the 4 car when he had his best seasons...you know, the team Hornish won 2 championships with??
I have been a fan of this sport for over 30 years. I have seen both ends of the spectrum. This isn't the good end and it's not a 'great' story.
Bum
Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. Brother-in-law and I had a great time. 220 mph is hard to get your brain around until you see it live.
And the people-watching was pretty good, too.
Oh I'm not arguing her looks help. I'm just saying its ridiculous to think sponsors wouldn't be looking for people like Sarah Fisher who obviously has her own appeal. I've been beat down by the whole sob story for the last two Mays in particular. If she was good enough she'd be getting a ride from someone. She has everything else sponsors are looking for. She is able to get sponsorships even when its obvious she won't win now.
Spare me how all the talented drivers are getting screwed because these undeserving hack like Helio and Franchitti and Danica are elbowing them out of the way. Its whining to the highest degree.
Anyway, why does the driver have to be American? Its not like Helio hasn't attracted fans. There's this myth that NASCAR is forever going to have the upper hand in motor sports which I don't buy. I think that NASCAR may soon find it has flown too close to the sun, and over exploited itself to a level it can't deliver. When that happens part of the natural ebb and flow will come back to Indy Cars.
That said, the ending sucked. Nobody was going to catch Helio and everyone knew it.
Where did I say those drivers were hacks? Nobody cares and that is why this series is on VS every race except for Indy...these drivers aren't interesting. This is an American series with very few Americans...Nobody cares. Lots of seats are empty at Indy...do you think people go to the other races if they can't sell out Indy. Do you only watch Indy? If so, then you are like everyone else. You don't care and you don't know.
Nascar is the only racing that has every race on a major network. Do you know why? Because people care! They want to hear what the drivers have to say and who they don't like and what they do on their time off. They have characters! Nobody cares about the IRL drivers (other than viewing Danica in a swimsuit). The ebb and flow will not come back to the IRL without the owners/sponsors putting American Drivers behind the wheels of these cars.
USAC is where they should be looking, not Brazil. Bobby East, Tracy Hines, Chuck Gurney Jr., Bobby Santos III, Jason Leffler (lost), that Mockler girl (lost I believe), Dave Steele (too late maybe), and plenty of others. The IRL needs characters if it wants to ever end up back in the spotlight...right now, that's not happening. It's too bad, it's such a great form of racing.
If you think the best drivers always get the best rides, you are wrong about almost every form of racing. Danica has Marketability, Sarah had popularity; the difference is huge (Sarah did run a good race in her car this year though).
Bum
I question how great the disparity is in equipment, given that the IRL is largely a "spec" series, with the same cars, engines and tires used by all of the teams. In the 1980s and 1990s, prior to the IRL-CART split, a variety of cars, engines and tires were used. Some years a March was the car to have, while other years a Penske car created the "unfair advantage" that Roger Penske always sought.
I do believe there is a disparity in the teams, their resources, the quality of their crew members, but such has always been the case.
As for the drivers, even a great driver will have limited if any success if he or she is teamed with a poor crew, team and/or car. However, the IRL is hardly unique in the racing world in that regard. In Formula One, for years there have only been a handful of teams with any realistic hopes of contending for a championship or even a race win, and NASCAR is dominated by two or three "super teams."
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
And yet Nascar is popular. Why is that? American Drivers with character! Also, how many different drivers win races every year in Nascar, even with the powerhouse teams? How many win races in the IRL?? Who cares about F1? Who watches it? It is on Speed; my Dad watches it; I don't know anyone else who does. It's not an American series anyway.
If you want to know the future of the IRL, here are 3 names of open wheel drivers whose story of how they ended up in Nascar is why the IRL is going downhill: Juan Montoya (one of the best open wheel drivers of all-time), AJ Allmendinger (won 5 or 6 races his rookie (?) year in CART and didn't race the last race of the season so that he could prepare for his next season in Nascar), and Sam Hornish Jr....maybe the biggest loss of them all; an American who dominated the series and had a personality. Montoya is doing pretty well in Nascar on one of the 2nd tier teams while the other 2 are improving but are still basically in the bottom half of the drivers in Nascar...It's just sad. No point in bringing up guys from years back that were lost to Nascar (Steward/Gordon, etc.), but what about Leffler, Casey Mears, Scott Speed? None of them are contenders in Nascar and they aren't going back to open wheel cars anytime soon (although I heard Leffler was looking for a ride on the last day of qualifying at Indy).
American Drivers with Character (driving for the top teams) with a few super-talented foreign drivers with Character is the only thing that will bring back this series unfortunately. I can debate this till I'm blue in the face, but if you don't understand this then what's the point?
Bum
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