IRL Sounding Like The CART Of Old
Written by Josh Katinger · March 25, 2004
With the recent defection of Rahal and Fernandez to the IRL, the series lineup is really starting to sound like the good old days of CART. Think about it, the only legendary CART names not running in the IRL these days are Newman/Haas and Forsythe. You have Penske, Ganassi, Andretti/Green, and now Patrick Racing with Al Unser, Jr. Quality of performance aside - even the Foyt family name, legendary in open wheel racing, runs in the IRL.
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The Champ Car vs. IRL battle has been bloody indeed, however in a few years time, if OWRS doesn’t survive…what will you have? The IRL will still be around because it’s funded privately by a very wealthy entity (the Hulman/George family). So you will have a single open wheel series, where all the top teams and drivers compete (by default since it is the only game in town). You will most definitely have more ovals than road courses, but there will certainly be some road courses.
So in essence, from an organizational standpoint, you will be back to the old days…the glory days…right? Wrong. Even if the IRL ever came around to an equal number of road courses vs. ovals I think the damage done by “the split” and the utter hatred of the IRL on the part of the CART/road racing purists will be around for a long time, even if there was unity and equality tomorrow.
However, again I ask that we look at things from an organizational standpoint. Look at the other two most popular racing series in the world. F1 has a czar - Bernie. NASCAR has a czar - Brian France. Both of these men are extremely wealthy and have profited immeasurably from the growth of their respective sports. The fact that they are where “the buck stops”…they are the “ultimate power” in their respective series is concerning and agitating to some, but perhaps it is the best structure under which to run a series. The success of F1 and NASCAR could certainly lead one to believe so.
Perhaps having open wheel racing under a single powerful leader like Tony George is the best way for things to operate. I’m sure Tony would agree. Perhaps OWRS could learn from this and elevate it’s most charismatic leader, Paul Gentilozzi to the uber level.
When you have a series that is run by a “board of directors,” each with their own best interests in mind, perhaps the fate that befell CART is the inevitable result. Taking that series/company public was a result of the board’s greed and desire to cash in on the stock market boom. Ultimately it could be considered one of the major triggers that began the downfall of CART.
I know I’ve opened myself up for the slings and arrows of the CART people, but all I’m doing is trying to draw comparisons to understand why CART failed so miserably, how OWRS might or might not succeed, and what can be learned from the success of other series.
I’m prepared to take the flak…fire away.
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