For Sale: Racing History On Wheels
Written by George Katinger · December 4, 2005
Want to own an icon of IRL history? Maybe go vintage racing? Go to ebay and do a search for “dallara race car,” and you’ll have a chance at owning the two time series champion famed No. 4 Chevy Dallara.
speedtv.com: OLSON: Signs of the Times at Panther Racing
autoracingdaily.com: Panther Racing Places 2001 & 2002 Championship No. 4 Pennzoil Dallara on eBay
ebay.com: The Actual Listing on ebay
Yes the same Chevy Dallara piloted by Sam Hornish and Scott Goodyear, a car that by rights should be sitting in a museaum at IMS. Come on Tony, step up and offer well above the paltry asking price of $100,000.00 dollars!
As Jeff Olson of speedtv.com points out this is not a feel good story, especially at this time of the year. Other teams in other racing series are having comparable struggles, but with nominally better luck at selling off their heritage. Witness Frank Williams in F1. Having lost his engine partner (BMW) and chief sponsor (Hewlett Packard) Frank decided to auction off some of his old cars. The sale, scheduled for December 14th and 15th has been cancelled because the entire cataloge - all of the items up for sale- has been purchased by one person, allegedly an avid collector. And at a price that has obviously pleased Mr. Williams!
But the situation in the IRL is more severe than some overseas F1 team owner struggling to keep his annual $400 million dollar team buget afloat. We’re talking about teams in the series struggling to make up the cash shortfall caused by sponsors leaving and, more importantly, the lack of suport by the league’s engine supplier, Honda. And the IRL teams are looking for “only” $6 million dollars per season from sponsors.
Why is Honda to blame? Consider the following from Olson’s story:
Back in the day, everything was feel-good at Panther. When the eBay car was winning races and championships, things were different. Panther bought its equipment back then. The vision was clear back then. Given the current geography of open-wheel racing, the vision hasn’t been sustained. It can’t be sustained. When Honda and Toyota came calling, the ownership society left quickly, and the IRL of 2004 became indistinguishable from CART of 1999. Barnes and Co. were vocal in their opposition to the new IRL; Honda’s nine-figure budget not only subsidized teams, it drove down sponsorship value. Non-Honda teams were approaching potential sponsors with what they thought was a reasonable figure. Potential sponsors told them they were being quoted a fraction of that figure by Honda teams.
I have been sarcastically calling Honda and Toyota the Black Plague of racing. Wherever they show up to compete they inevitably leave bodies behind, and lot’s of them. Once they have achieved their short term goals, they skulk off into the night and pursue other venues to display their wares. Still we have no announcement from Toyota as to their future in the IRL, but Honda has pledged their loyalty to the series through 2009. But at what price? Rumors of $1.7 million dollar annual engine lease contracts are circulating, and no doubt causing much pain in the IRL paddocks in Indianapolis.
All of the current problems of the IRL come home to roost where they properly belong, in the offices of Tony George. He has in the past been highly adaptable to changing business and market conditions, witness his morphing of the series from all ovals to include road-street courses, and his selling of Danica Patrick. I have been patiently waiting for some announcement from Tony where he once again pulls a rabbit out of his hat, and manages to secure the league’s future, regardless of how briefly. It’s time for some action Tony, your teams are losing sponsors because there is no confidence in the series future. It’s time for leadership from up high.
As Jeff Olson rightly points out, this sad state of affairs at Panther Racing is a sign of the times, one that may be immediately followed by a wholesale abandonment of the league. Witness Eddie Cheever going racing in the Grand American Rolex series next year, with a very prominent sponsor, Crown Royal Special Reserve. I have to believe that Eddie did his best to convince Crown Royal to pick up sponsorship for his team in the IRL. The fact he’s going sports car racing can only be evidence of a major sponsor in racing opting for a choice other than the IRL. Crown Royal is not only sponsoring Cheever’s team, they are Grand Am’s series presenting sponsor as well as a race sponsor.
Why no interest in the IRL? No value to be gained for investment required. The investment is small, but the exposure is insignificant to non-existent. A simple statement but brutal in it’s meaning. A sign of the times that the end may be closer than we think.
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A Chevy Dallara in my garage?
Not a chance in hell. Gimme a real race car. A front engine Offy Roadster of the type Indy’s legends were built on.
I’ll even go so far as to take a Clark/Hill rear engine Lotus.
It might be time for Tony to give Roush/Hendrick/Yates a call as suppliers of engines for the series.
A late 50’s-early 60’s vintage Novi? Now you’re talkin’!
If we wait a bit longer, we can buy all the cars in the series for that amount. I take no joy in witnessing the death of another racing series, even if it’s TG’s ill begotten IRL.
Oh my I’d love to pull up to work in that one day. Ah to have cash.
Here’s some other IRL cars for sale: the Mo Nunn racing liquidation auction: http://monunnauction.com/