In Defense Of Criticism

Criticism is an American thing.  Study the history of the United States for more examples, the American Revolution, for instance.  People like Roger Ebert have made a career out of it, and entire websites like IGN and the AV Club are built on it.  Yet in the racing world, especially Indycar and to an extent NASCAR, criticism is seen as a bad thing.  It’s the all or nothing approach; with Indycar or against it.  There’s no middle ground.  I don’t subscribe to that theory.  Can I be critical?  Yes.  Because things can and should be done better!  I don’t see how pointing that out is wrong.  I certainly don’t see the need for people to tell me that’s wrong to be critical.  If you want to be super happy and positive that’s nice and I’m happy for you if you but don’t tell me how to think, either.

There is a mentality among some fans that a person is either with the series or they’re against it.   Part of the cause seems to be how much criticism those series face from outside.  Indycar is regularly attacked by NASCAR fans, journalists, broadcasters and even some drivers (Carl Edwards, for instance).  Some from the F1 and Sports Car world also enjoy taking shots at Indycar.  NASCAR, in turn, is regularly snarked by open wheel and sports car fans.  NASCAR also is mocked by the stick and ball sports fans and journalists; even on their partner, ESPN.   It’s understandable why that attitude has developed, but the people who hold it are often the ones responsible for mocking the other side.  I’ve seen many open wheel fans who dislike criticism of Indycar regularly  make fun of NASCAR.  If you’re going to criticize people like me for being critical I have a suggestion: don’t then turn around and criticize another racing series.  That applies to NASCAR, too.  There are NASCAR fans and even journalists who act the same way; NASCAR is perfect and all other racing series suck.   If you’re like me, on the other hand, and capable of independent thought, then it’s all fair game.  I’ve managed to blast Indycar’s dreadful schedule and then turn around and mock the Bud Shootout.

There are people who take criticism to the extreme.  Mainly, I draw the line at the difference between being actively rooting for Indycar or NASCAR to fail and being critical because you care.  Sadly, that means the Crapwagon.com people are not being covered in this defense of critical thinking.  Sorry about that.

Things aren’t perfect in any racing series.  Far from it.  Maybe Indycar really does have momentum but to be honest when a series drops from 17 races to 16; and it’s mainly street courses and motorcycle road courses, I’m not sure that’s the definition of momentum.   In NASCAR it’s true ratings were up last year but there’s less and less teams (real, competitive teams) each year.  Besides the ratings were up last year based off 2010; they were still below NASCAR at it’s height.  Pointing those things out doesn’t make someone a hater or make them too negative.  It makes them honest.  If the flaws and problems aren’t pointed then how will they ever get fixed?  Some say that there’s no point in blogging about it; that it won’t cause anything to change.  That’s very likely the case but then again that logic could be used to say why blog or podcast at all?  Since it’s not going to make a difference one way or another why write?  But those of us who write blogs or even post on message boards and twitter are expressing our opinions and views, with the hope that others will read them and somehow be swayed by them.  While most of the time it may not change anything sometimes getting enough fans to agree on an issue can affect change.  It’s about the best we can do.

It’s become popular among Indycar fans and bloggers to bash critics.  It makes people feel more confident about Indycar’s direction, apparently.  While I understand that many in NASCAR and Indycar are upset with the relentless criticism and mocking those sports get from outside of their sport, attacking all criticism doesn’t really help.  Without criticism how will the the people on the inside of the racing world ever know something’s wrong?  Indycar is planning to race in China; apparently the police state mentality has migrated over too.

What Do You Value?

Values are a tricky and controversial subject.  The 2012 Presidential Election is a perfect example.  This is a racing blog not a political site which is probably a good thing; I don’t need to alienate any more readers than I already have.  There is a point to talking about values, however.  In racing terms values are what a fan looks for in racing.  Do they value parity and close racing or do they value purity and innovation?  Should the cars be the stars or should it be the drivers?  These types of questions and views are seen in every form of racing from NASCAR to MotoGP, but nowhere in the racing world are conflicting values seen more clearly than in the Izod Indycar series.   From the Sarah Fisher engine controversy to the future direction of the schedule conflicting values among fans are crystal clear.

Engines for Sarah. Just saying.

The reason for Indycar’s value conflict is obvious.  Indycar attracts interest from a diverse group of people that includes NASCAR, USAC, Indy 500, F1, and ALMS/24 Hours of Le Mans fans.  American and international race fans are brought together in a way that often pits them head to head.  Overall fans from Europe tend to want to see a Formula One style series, or maybe a 24 Hours of Le Mans style series.  American Champcar fans and ALMS fans also side with them. On the other hand American’s generally prefer a NASCAR/USAC style series.  Do you want American Indy Lights Champion Joseph Newgarden or Formula One Reject and GP2 winner Luca Filippe to get an engine and thus a ride instead?

Values in racing themselves can generally be broken down like this: Parity vs. Purity.  That’s the crux of the debate.  The other auxiliary issues all come down to the idea of parity and purity.  Multiple winning teams vs. watching the “best team win” is a classic example.  Innovation vs. close racing.  In Indycar it’s American drivers vs. having the “best of the best” (or, as some would argue, random F1 rejects).  The oval/road course debate comes down to parity/purity as many so called “purists” turn their nose up at Texas and Kentucky.  The engine debate is another perfect example of the conflicting viewpoints.  Parity supporters want to see Fisher get an engine while Purity supporter want the “market” to determine who get’s what engines.

Analogy

In fact parity vs. purity parallel politics perfectly.  The debate over a stronger or weaker government sounds an awful lot like the debate over a more pure or equal racing series.  Think about it; racing fans from the purity standpoint want less rules while parity fans generally support stronger sanctioning bodies with bigger rule-books and more regulations.  One interesting anecdote I’ve noticed is many fans who are more Conservative dislike the idea of TEAM Money or revenue sharing because it seems like “socialism.”

Of course it’s not an all or nothing issue.  There are level’s of parity or purity that each fan wants to see out of their racing.  It’s pretty obvious that I stand on the parity side, but I”m not as far down that side as Eddie Gossange of Texas Motor Speedway.  Most racing purists want to see at least some rules and regulations so that races are won by 10 laps.  I may be a racing parity supporter but that doesn’t mean I want to see competition cautions or things like the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

A Parity based series

Neither side is 100% right or wrong; however I do think the parity side is more appealing to more people.  Especially in the United States.  Looking at other sports series in the US, both racing (NASCAR) and stick and ball (NFL,NHL,NBA,NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, MLB) generally stick towards the parity side.  Look at the salary caps and revenue sharing.  Overall fans in America have shown a lot more love and support for parity series than purity based series.  Not only is a parity based series what I would prefer; it’s also what, in my editorial opinion, is going to sell better to fans in America.  Something to think about when discussing Indycar.

All of that said I think some mid ground is possible.  Moderation and compromise and all of that.  The World Superbike Series shows that a racing series can have purity (no caution flags, multiple manufacturer with distinct equipment) yet also manages to have fairly large fields with a fair amount of competitive riders.  If only we could bottle it’s magic and give a little injection into every other racing series.   Indycar is somewhat tricky because of how distinct the viewpoints are.  Compromise should be possible as long as a 50-50 balance is maintained.  Considering the demise of Champcar that should be self-evident but it’s not.  Improving the quality of road courses would help immensely.  As my WSBK love indicates I’m not against all road racing, just boring road racing.  A lot more people would be open to the road and street courses if it didn’t result in horrifically boring races where the top five at the start of the race are the same top five at the end. Back on topic…

Parity and Purity Meet in the World Superbike Series

The debate over what direction racing series should take come up all the time.  It all comes down to what people want to see out of their racing.  Why someone watches racing in the first place?  Do you want to see unpredictability or see perfection?  I’ll be honest I desire and demand unpredictability.  I have zero interest in watching a race where I know with 99% certainty who’s going to win and I have no shame in admitting that.  Not everyone feels that way and that’s fine.  There is a mid ground and the goal of the sanctioning bodies should be to try and find that.  Both sides have their positive and negative aspects.  Too much purity can become boring while too much parity can turn a racing series into WWE on wheels.  Obviously fans aren’t going to watch a series that goes too far away from what they value in racing.  They’ll get nothing out of it.  Coming back to Indycar I really believe finding the moderate position is vital.   I don’t see how a series too focused on Purity is going to survive in the United States as anything more than a niche racing series with .3 ratings.  Taking a broader approach the middle ground makes sense for all racing series.  The “biggest tent” brings the most fans in and thus makes the series more attractive to sponsors and manufacturer.  Any series that can appeal to both purists and parity fans will draw a lot more fans than a series that draws only one or the other.

What Will NBC Sports Mean For Racing?

It has finally happened.  Versus been officially renamed and re-branded as NBC Sports.  Indycar fans hope that this move will finally produce some real results out of the partnership between Indycar and Versus which has struggled to get ratings above .5.  NBC Sports doesn’t just affect Indycar.  The goal of NBC Sports is clearly to create an alternative to the sports giant ESPN.  Which any reasonable sports fan should be excited about.  NASCAR’s TV contracts come up soon.  Could we be seeing the Sprint Cup back on NBC?  NBC Sports already does the Dakar Rally as well as the Tour De France.  With SpeedTV potentially moving away from racing NBC Sports could become the alternative.  Versus was at one time interested in the American Le Mans Series.  Should the ALMS finally abandon the Non TV Deal could this be the alternative?

Indycar on Versus had a lot of potential.  Even before the Comcast/NBC merger it appeared Comcast had big plans for the channel.  The Tour De France and NHL do well on Versus.  As do cage fighting and PBR.  Sure the rest of the programing was a mixed bag of outdoor shows and random other programming but that just meant there was less competition Indycar had to deal with for attention.   Everything appeared to be great.  The first race was fairly well done.  Then the TV ratings for the first race came out.  Two years latter and the ratings weren’t a whole lot better.  A few bright moments in the 2011 season (two of which came right after the Tour De France) couldn’t make up for the fact that 3 years of Versus has added up to ratings that are significantly down from the 2008 season when Indycar was on ESPN.

NBC Sports represents the last, best chance to turn the Versus/Indycar partnership around.  Otherwise it will go down as the biggest failure this side of the Champcar/Spike TV partnership.  At least Champcar was able to abandon Spike; Indycar is on Versus with a long term contract.  With NBC and Comcast working to build NBC Sports into a major channel the household distribution should improve.  Increasing viewers and new properties also give Indycar a chance to advertise to more fans who’re watching other properties.  I expect ratings to rise next season.  That doesn’t vindicate the 2012 Indycar schedule; what it means is that with more people watching the channel Indycar is going to pick up some residual benefit.  In fact, 2012 is the worst time to risk having boring racing because it’s got the chance to show people Indycar for the first time.  Do you really want their first experience with Indycar being a parade around China or Belle Isle?

Ratings on Versus Haven't Improved Much since 09

There are some reasons to be concerned.  Since Versus and ABC have been splitting the TV schedule there have been 17 races.  Versus took 12 and ABC took 5.  Now there’s only 16 races and that’s if the Baltimore issues are resolved and the TBA is announced.  How will this affect how NBC Sports and ABC feel about Indycar?  What happens if there are just 14 races?  Just as problematic is the lack of a 2012 TV schedule.  People have complained NBC Sports and ABC/ESPN don’t promote Indycar enough, but, how are they suppose to promote Indycar when they don’t know which races they will have?  Oh, and what happens if NBC Sports get’s stuck with the boring races and ABC get’s all the good ones (season opener, 500, Texas, season finale)?  Indycar already re-upped with ABC as the exclusive network broadcast partner for Indycar until both contracts are up at the end of this decade.  Could it be that NBC Sports will get tired of Indycar and either buy it out or just stop trying?  If they can’t have the “good races” then what’s the motivation to try?  The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  If NBC Sports becomes the next ESPN then Indycar might get treated just like they were on ESPN.

NBC Sports doesn’t just affect Indycar.  NASCAR’s TV contract’s end after the 2014 season.  They are going to have to start negotiation’s soon.  The problem is the last round of contracts where signed when NASCAR was going up and up and up.  During the current television contracts ratings were in free fall until the 2011 season when they started to regain some lost ground.  The question is will the same companies still be interested in NASCAR next time?  NBC left NASCAR in the last contract.  Before that they partnered with TNT to broadcast the Sprint Cup series.  Should NBC want back in the goal most likely will be to get races on NBC itself.  Comcast and NBC may want races on NBC Sports to give their channel more leverage over broadcasters.  From NASCAR’s perspective any races on NBC Sports is a risk.  Just ask Indycar.  From Indycar’s perspective a NASCAR addition could be a repeat of NASCAR’s return to ESPN.  All of that said if NBC Sports does start to turn into ESPN then moving to that channel could work out.

AMA Pro Racing Would Likely Benefit from a Move to NBC Sports

NBC Sports also is a potential home for any of the other series NASCAR owns.  AMA Pro Racing, Grand AM, and Camping World Trucks are on SpeedTV while Nationwide is on ESPN.  Should they lose the ability to use those channels NBC Sports could be the alternative.  Whether that happens or not will likely depend on what is going on at SpeedTV right now.  There are some interesting rumors and idea’s out there about what may happen and whether or not SpeedTV will continue to focus on racing.   In theory AMA Pro racing, or any motorcycle road racing series, could work well on NBC Sports as it could be tied in with the Tour De France and other cycle racing that are already on the channel.  That makes so much sense it’s probably not going to happen.

The ALMS was at one time pursued by Versus.  Instead they went with the Non TV Deal on ESPN 3.  Ask Risi Ferrari how well that went (too bad they had to remove that blog post; thankfully the comment section of the article I linked has a copy).  Should ALMS ever admit defeat on ESPN3 then NBC Sports is the best (and possibly only) option.  A move to NBC Sports would also be bring Indycar and ALMS closer together which in my (controversial) opinion is a good thing but which many disagree with.

Promised Much and Delivered Little

NBC Sports is a potential partner for any racing series out there.  Whenever the contract’s are up even F1 and MotoGP may want to consider it.  Whether the NBC Sports thing ultimately works out or not for Indycar is still up in the air.  For Indycar’s sake it needs to work out.  No, it has to work out.  They don’t have any other options and it’s a long term contract.  It’s make or break time for Indycar to get better ratings.  I don’t know whether or not they will succeed but I’m guessing ratings will improve some next year.  With more households and more exposure  (and a bar set so low) it will be hard not to improve some; no matter how poor the racing may be.  NBC Sports also has the potential to be a destination for NASCAR if the current situation doesn’t work out.  NBC Sports is being built as a competitor to ESPN.  How that develops will have long term affects on all racing series broadcast in the US.  For better or for worse.

Triple League Racing Podcast #1 With John Hall of LiveFastRacing.com!

It has finally arrived.  The Triple League Racing Podcast is now live!  We have a very special guest interview with John Hall from LiveFastRacing.com and the LiveFastRacing podcast.  His podcast ran from 2007-2009 and was one of the top racing podcasts around with an eclectic mix of racing series that included NASCAR, Indycar, ALMS, AMA Pro Racing, MotoGP, and World Superbikes.  Personally it was my favorite racing podcast and a major influence on my blogging.  I managed to find John and drag him out of “retirement” and get him back into the podcasting business for my inaugural show.  John may have been out of the game for longer than this blog has been around but he was still on his A game.  As it was my first time podcasting I have a few area’s I need to work on.   So you’ll need to give me that. I think I was okay but hopefully when we do future podcasts I’ll do better.

I hope that readers, whether you like what I say and think or not, give this show a listen.  Especially for fans of the LFR podcast.  It’s nice to get John back out here.  I’m incredibly grateful that John was willing to spend the time over his Thanksgiving break to cut a show with me.  Yes, it was a few weeks ago but most of the information is still relevant.  Due to being awhile ago we didn’t (thankfully) talk about the Kurt Busch incident, so those of you who are angry with me about that should still listen.  Also no mention of the end of Newman Haas or any other recent (since Thanksgiving) news stories.

Topics covered included NASCAR, Indycar, ALMS, AMA Pro Racing, MotoGP and a little WSBK.  Hopefully you guys enjoy it!  I also need to thank Eric Hall (No relation) of Another Indycar Blog for helping edit the show.  Make sure to read his blog and follow him on twitter.   Eric will be a regular co-host on our show although he couldn’t make this one.  We’re also planning to get John back sometime right before the season starts next spring and do a “pre-season breakdown” show.  With a little luck this will be the first of many podcasts out of us!   Thanks again to John Hall for coming on and getting us off to a good start.  We’ll try and get onto Itunes within the next two weeks.  And with luck, a new show next week.

Triple League Racing Podcast #1 FINAL

Race Fans Are Uneducated (well no not really but others think this malarkey)

For now the tears I shed have dried, until Sunday when I watch the memorial. It’s so weird that its been a week since Wheldons passing it still doesn’t seem real. It seems any moment we will all awaken from this dream, and he’ll be there smiling. But now, in this moment, racing is obviously under attack. The sudden self ordained experts of motorsports have come out of the woodwork. Like distant cousins when you win the lotto. Some have stated racing is ridiculous and that cars going round and round is entertainment for the uneducated masses. Others have said racers only do it for the money. Me personally I have huge issues with those statements. Taking a cue from Daniel Tosh, “let’s take a look at this in this weeks ‘Blog Breakdown’”

Money. Ehhh have you seen the prize money from ALMS? Ya not to much to brag about. I work with several aspiring dirt track guys, and I can tell ya its not about money. It’s about going out in a car and having fun. Granted winnings great, but nothing beats battling somebody cleanly lap after lap. Trying to out smart him corner upon corner. I did it in a go kart this summer and let me tell ya its a rush. After I finally put enough pressure on him to screw up he did. He wasn’t happy I got the better of him. He even bitched about it all the way out to his vehicle, to me that’s winning.

Back to the money topic, some people have said Dan Wheldons accident was a product of the $5 million dollar prize. The only thing the prize money did was get him in the car. He didn’t race any harder then he usually did. If some of these “experts” would do some research they would see that well here’s a shock Wheldon was a damn good racer, and what happened was an accident. Not an overzealous narcsist that a commentor on the LA times wrote.

Race fans being uneducated is something that bothers me greatly. Neat how people who really don’t know why racing exists and what advancements it has given the auto industry, are saying we are uneducated. Motorsports is farther reaching then anyone on the outside could ever begin to comprehend. Passenger safety compartments, safety glass, turbo charging, crumple zones, all came from racing. The cars we lust for were born from racing, the 911, the Corvette ZR-1, any Ferrari. All made in the name of racing. If not for racing we would be driving some horrible crap wagons. If we took racing away then what would the stick and ball guys pimp out? Civics? Oh wait those were perfected through racing too. Ehhh I’m done with that rant.

Should racing be banned…..
Football in between ’91-’06 averaged 4.3 deaths a year. Yet, stadiums fill up 6 days a week. Do I think racing should be banned. NO! When Eric Medlen died in one of John Force’s funny cars. Tire deflated causing the car to shake violently down the strip. Essentialy he was shaken to death. What came of that? John Force made it his mission to make a safer car with the Eric Medlen Project. Now the roll cages are heavly padded and covered by nomex among other safety features. This is exactly what REAL race fans are talking about. Don’t stop make it better, make it safer.

Jimmie Johnsons quote about ovals was taken more out of context than the Danica Patrick Brazil quote. Give me a break folks. “Ehhhhhhh he’s never been in an indycar blah blah blah” Atleast he had the cajones to say something. He’s a racer that doesn’t want to see more drivers hurt or worse killed. Can’t say I blame him.

So what’s next for IndyCar. Well……alot. The ball is in the court with the investigation group. There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered, of not only why, but how can we prevent such an accident from happening again. Several actual race fans not the ones seeking fifteen minutes of fame and internet clicks, and drivers have suggested closed cockpit cars. I’m a firm beleaver in this idea. If done right the cars will look not only bad ass, but fast sitting still. I’m sure two Audi drivers wake up everyday thanking the engineers they went to a closed cockpit car. One concern is the obvious what if the cars upside down, or on fire. I’m sure there’s an easy solution maybe a three piece top with doors. I can envision I just suck at PhotoShop.  Thought of the minute, see how the H1 Unlimited Hydroplanes build thier cockpits. Better catch fences, is another area of improvement. One that doesn’t involve the cars ripping apart. Ballistic glass is one I heard, I say make it close to (I’m sure Tony Johns will like this) what a hockey rink looks like. I’m sure there’s more that can be done in the name of safety, like grass at road courses, tire barriers, and others.

Let’s be honest all that can start Monday. Let’s get through Sunday together first.

Team Meeting; Chase Update: Charlotte In the Mirror, Talladega upcoming

The Chase for the Sprint Cup has obviously been overshadowed by the tragedy that took place in the Indycar season finale.  As a side note the NASCAR community deserves massive props for generally (a certain 5 time Chase winner excluded) reacting with class and with intelligence and not using this as a “we’re better than you” moment.  As well the NASCAR community has been great with getting involved with the charity auction being prepared for Wheldon’s family and for various teams and driver planning a tribute for Wheldon at Talladega.  With that said it is time to see where we stand with the Chase.  Can a driver who interjects himself when his thoughts aren’t really needed win his 6th Chase in a row, or will someone else finally dethrone the loud mouth?

The main story Chase wise was the Indycar Safety Expert’s crash.  He was thankfully unhurt after what was a really hard crash.  It brought an end to a two race surge that had seen Indycar’s wannabe CEO finish 2nd and 1st in two races.   As such the driver who dislike’s Indycar oval racing now is 8th in points.  If you consider the “cut-off” point being a full race (43) or more points back than he’s the last driver to be within it, at 35 back.

Carl Edwards maintain’s his points lead with a 5 point lead on Kevin Harvick and a 7 point lead on Matt Kenseth.  Kenseth’s win put’s him firmly in contention for his second title.  Of course we’re hoping for a return of excitement to NASCAR, not it’s continued destruction.  And Kenseth winning is about as boring as a driver who talks about things he doesn’t understand winning another title.

Brad Keselowski also struggled in Charlotte.  That dropped him down to 6th in points, 25 points out of the lead.  He’s not out of it but Keselowski has got to find his momentum before it is too late.  Kyle Busch’s 2nd place finish allowed him to jump into 4th place in points only 18 behind Edwards.  So far this is Busch’s best Chase yet.  Tony Stewart moved into 5th while Kurt Busch dropped into 7th.  Neither one is a favorite but neither should be counted out either.

Up this weekend is Talladega.  The unpredictable nature of Talladega and the uncertainty about whether or not it will include the infamous Two Car Tango  add to the mystery.  This race and the specter of the “Big One” could radically change the championship.  I would imagine that afterwords we’ll have a much clear view of who’s a legitimate title contender and who’s not.  If the 5 time Chase winner who’s scared of pack racing leaves here significantly (43 or more) points out of the title then it’s almost certain that Excitement will be restored to NASCAR, but if he does not… the the specter of his 6th Chase remains over us.  Keselowski needs to regain his momentum or his title hopes look to be finished.  Stewart and Kurt Busch need to avoid wrecking or else most likely they’re gone.  How this race shakes out will be a key moment in the title.

Team Meeting; Weekend in Review: We Shall Not Return Edition

NASCAR: Well, the opening to the Chase has been delayed, so I’ll try and post a “Team Meeting; Weekend in Review: Monday Update” later for it.

Cup drive won Cup lite.  It was Brad Keselowski so I guess that’s a little better than Busch or Edwards or Harvick.  But seriously Brad, just focus on winning your first Cup, not beating up 2nd level drivers.

Austin Dillon won the Truck race, preventing it from turning into Cup Zero.

The closing of KHI is still shocking to me.  They seemed like a team with such a bright future.  I fully expected them to be a winning Cup team by the time Harvick retired.  And after this year it’s all over?  WTF.

In some unexpected news all the Chase races except Charlotte will be broadcast online via Turner.  That means you’ll get to watch online, and better yet, not through the worthless ESPN3 site!

Brad Keselowski started a twitter war by claiming NASCAR was “more competitive” than Indycar.  This was in response to Dan Wheldon’s comments after the Vegas announcement.  This started a massive twitter war between Indycar and NASCAR fans.  Since I follow both my loyalties are split.  While it’s easy to jump down Brad Keselowski’s throat as another un-informed NASCAR driver, he might be right.  Certainly, if he’s talking about parity when he used the word competitive, he’s right.   87.5%.  That’s the percentage of races over the last 3 years Penske and Ganassi have won.  Prior to this year, it was over 90% between 09/10.    Add Andretti (4 wins over 3 years, 3rd most) and it’s almost 96%!  Since 2009, the only 2 teams to get a win outside of the “Big Three” are Herta and Coyne.  Each with 1 win.  As well remember that both this year and last year, the Red Car’s have been able to hold down the entire top 5 during multiple races.  Once this year, it was the same top 5 (all Penske/Ganassi) that qualified 1-5 that finished the race 1-5 in the exact same order.  That’s what you call parity.  Or not.

Yes, you can argue NASCAR has more teams and more races.  You can try and play around with the percents to make Indycar look better.  The fact is, on any given weekend over any given season, you’re favorite NASCAR driver (excluding Start and Parks) has a lot better odds of winning than your favorite Indycar driver, unless you happen to be a huge fan of a driver on Penske or Ganassi.  Look at the tale of cars numbered 78 (Regan Smith/Simona De Silvestro)… one has a win and one doesn’t.

Indycar:  Twin Ring Motegi.  I’ve devoted mutliple articles to this subject.  The main point of contention was whether it would produce good racing or not. I argued it wouldn’t, others tried to present more positive viewpoints.  I got some critisism, here and on twitter, for not being more optimistic and excited about the potential for a great race at Motegi.  And guess who ended up being correct???  Just saying.

In no way could Motegi have been called a good race.  Dixon pretty much led the entire thing with Power in 2nd.  They paraded around for most of the race, occasionally stopping to wreck.  Once in awhile someone in mid pack passed another car on track, but that was rare.  Speaking of double file restarts and starts, there were none.  I had the pleasure of explaining that one to a NASCAR fan on twitter.

Insanity. That’s what seems to run rampant in  Indycar race control.  This is out of hand.  Going back to NASCAR fans, a few who I follow on twitter who watched where shocked and horrified by the lack of sanity among Indycar’s wonderful Race Control group.  The way they decide penalties, trying to take into account whether a driver’s been “punished enough” or will be punished by his/her team owners is insane.  It leads to absolutly no consistancy.  I’m no fan of an avoidable contact penalty, but how does Dario get one type of penalty and someone at Baltimore get a harsher one?  Is Race Control trying to gift wrap a title to the Scottish Douche?

The only decent thing about the race was Dario crashing into Briscoe.  It’s ashame he was able to avoid losing a lap and work, through attrition, back up to 9th.  Oh well, I hope the golden horseshoe is gone and has been given to someone else.

Actually there was one other decent thing about the race.  The TV broadcast crew basically stopped self-censoring themselves and said whatever came across their minds.  It was past midnight, about 5 people were watching, and they had no control over the camera’s.  So there were effectively no limits.  Which was a great thing because otherwise no one would have been awake for the finish.  Comments ranged from blasting Race Control to discussing a late night run to White Castle.  One of them (Jenkins, I think) yelled out “I’m not Drunk” as they talked about running to White Castle, and how it’s mainly done when you’re drunk.  So we at least had that.

On the other hand, the Japanese should never be allowed to run the camera’s at the race track.  They are more obsessed with Mutoh and Sato than ESPN is with Danica.  Just spend the extra cash and send the regular crew over.  Or don’t go at all.  Because no one in the US want’s to spend half the race watching Sato and Mutoh.

The moral of the weekend?  No 2am races.  One thing I found a little disturbing was how many Indycar fans on twitter seemed to want to have Indycar continue at Motegi, even though it’s never produced good racing, oval or road course.  And it creates a 3-4 week gap in the schedule where Indycar get’s zero media coverage in the US!  So please for the love of god, no racing in China!

Or Detroit!  Schedule Watch continues with bad news.  Belle Isle rumors continue to grow.  As I’ve said earlier, better not be any state or city money.  Especially state.  If the State of Michigan cannot afford to pay out their scholarships to college students, welfare to the unemployed during a major economic crisis, and money for schools and teachers, (according to our Governor, who believes we can afford tax cuts to the rich and to major corporations) then they had better not be giving Roger some money for a parade on an island.  Sorry for the political soapbox, but combing Champcarification and politics, and you’re entering some dangerous territory.

Danica started a major fight over some comments she made earlier this week.  I really didn’t find them offensive.  Others however flipped out.  I even heard one person accuse her of being “xenophobic”.   See for yourself.   The comment “I didn’t start like a Brazilian” really seemed to upset people, including Tony Kanaan.  But again, I don’t see what the big deal is.  I mean, go read anyone’s interviews, and unless they’re completely vanillia (RE: Johnson) there’s going to be an equal if not greater amount of controversial comments in them. If you really want to read a happy, friendly interviews (note the sarcasm) go read one from Tony Stewart, Kurt  Busch, Casey Stoner, or Dario Franchitti.  If you’re unhappy with Danica then you’d better be chewing those four out week in, week out.   Stoner and Dario are apt to whine in victory lane while Stewart and Busch will chew out and potentially attack a member of the media after a bad day.

It is a little concerning though to hear her comments.  It would be a major disaster for Indycar if she leaves by throwing Indycar under the bus.  Because Danica’s words are the main ones a “casual” fan will hear about Indycar…

MotoGP:  As much as I love MotoGP and ridicule Indycar for producing bad road racing, this week’s GP was about as bad as Motegi’s Indycar race.  No fuel mileage racing, though.  The fact Rossi had to start from pitlane did nothing to help add to the excitement.  Stoner won pole and went on to win the race without a challange.  Pedrossa had no real challange for 2nd.  Spies ran 3rd for awhile until a worn tire caused him to tumble to 5th, behind Lorenzo (3rd) and Simoncelli (4th).  Rossi recovered to 10th.

The engine rule needs to go.   Limiting engines per season was suppose to save cost and increase parity.  Uh huh.  Ask Ducati how much help that has been.  All it does is force riders to race on worn engines, or in the case of Ducati and Rossi, start from pitlane.  Not good for the racing, not good for the fans.  It’s not just this one.  The “fuel limits” were also suppose to save money and increase parity and it has done the opposite.  Same with banning testing and limiting trackside practice.  Suppose to save money and increase competition, in reality, hurts those things.

Honda will enter two of their test riders into Motegi.  So we’ll have 19 bikes if everyone remains un-injured.

According to his twitter account, Stefan Bradl will join Tech 3 for the next three years.  The first in Moto2 and the next two in MotoGP

Unlimited Racing Championship:  Not everyone likes the URC.  While I understand it’s just a club series, what I’m hoping for is that the concept eventually get’s expanded into the ALMS. Because it’s a lot better than seeing 2 prototypes or the stupid LMC/Daytona Prototypes.

Closing Comment: I hate Honda.  I mean this in both the MotoGP and Indycar sense.  Can you say Evil Empire?  Everyone says you should support Honda because they supported Indycar… so driving GM and Toyota out is supporting Indycar?  In MotoGP they may have been with Hayden for his title but they’ve brought us Pedrossa.  Hopefully next year Yamaha and Ducati in GP and Lotus and Chevy in Indycar bring down the Empire.  To use a Pressdog reference, blow up the Death Star!

Team Meeting; Weekend in Review: Penske Edition

Indianapolis. Spa.  Bristol.  Infineon.  Which track is not like the others?  Where as the first three are historic, classic tracks famed for great racing. Infineon is mainly famed for being unimaginably boring.  And it lived up to it’s reputation this week.  Penske had a strong weekend with Keselowski winning in Bristol and a Penske 1-2-3 in qualifying and race at Infineon.  It was a good weekend of racing but an awful weekend for Indycar fans.  China, Danica, Simona, and Infineon headed the list of things that made this a week to forget for open wheelers.

NASCAR:  Brad Keselowski’s hot streak continued with another win.  This win put’s him 11th in point’s, one spot away from the Chase.  If he get’s in the Chase by being in the top 10 in points instead of by Wildcard, he then get’s the bonus points.  Brad K has become many Chase bubble driver’s worst nightmare.  Especially those without wins.  Keselowski also has a very real chance of winning the Sprint Summer Showdown.  I just hope Keselowski doesn’t peak too soon.  With this many top 5′s in a row in the Chase a driver would almost certainly win the title….

The only downside about Brad K’s win is it came at the expense of Jeff Gordon.  Gordon dominated the early stages of the race only to lose the lead during the last pitstops.  But at least it looks like the real Gordon, the championship winner, is back.  Time for him to get title #5 and remind people who the best active NASCAR driver is.  Hint, it’s not the guy in the #48.

I’m not Johnson fan but, on twitter, he’s pretty funny.  He asked someone who accused him of “hating white people” (seriously) if they had forgotten their meds.  When asked why he responded to haters he replied “because it’s fun”.  Almost makes me like the guy.  Almost… if he hadn’t killed excitement in NASCAR.

Somewhat concerning is that JJ has now tied Kyle Busch for 1st in regular season points.  Still Edwards, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Brad Keselowski are really strong.  Surely one of them will be able to take JJ down and make themselves a hero to NASCAR fans everywhere.  The first guy to do it will instantly become NASCAR’s second or third most popular driver.  Unless it’s a Busch brother.

Speaking of 2nd most popular NASCAR drivers, Danica has left Open Wheel.  It’s sad.  I talked about it at length here so not a lot to add.  All I can say is while I still hate the idea of her leaving Indycar, after the China announcement I can’t say I blame her much.  I’d want to get off the sinking ship too.

Not surprisingly a Cup driver won in the Cup Lite series.  And in the Trucks, which should be renamed Cup Zero.

Indycar:  Infineon was a parade.  It was so bad even F1 fans complained.  When an F1 fan calls a race boring that says something.  The Red Cars qualified 1-5 with the 3 Penske’s leading the 2 Ganassi’s and Power on pole.  The race ended with the 5 Red car’s in positions 1-5.  Power won ahead of the other 2 Penske’s and the 2 Ganassi’s behind them.  In other words the top five ended the same way they began!

Hinchcliffe started sixth but at the end of the day finished 7th.  What’s his name, subbing for Wilson finished 6th but got a very questionable blocking penalty that dropped him to 17th.  That was a pretty dick move by Race Control.  However it may have a positive affect and keep him from perusing an Indycar career.  I know he’s talented but I just don’t care.  You know who else is talented?  The 2005 Indy 500 winner.  The 2009 Atlantic’s champion. The 2011 Indy 500 winner. The driver who finished 2nd last year at Kentucky.  What do they all have in common?  None have fulltime rides.  So… I really don’t care about nameless GP2 drivers.  Plus Paganaud, Carroll, and Tung all want in too.  There’s only so many rides and at some point enough is enough.   Down with the F1 Rejects!   Or at least bring in some NASCAR rejects (Speed, Leffler, ect.) to balance it out.

The F1 rejects/faceless international drivers came out of the woodworks this weekend.  Tung joined Dragon and Paganaud subbed for Simona who was stuck in Switzerland.  Which was really sad; seeing a fan favorite not at the track (a track she runs well at) and having her replaced by a faceless ALMS driver.  If one fan favorite can’t be there you’d think some other fan favorite on the sidelines (RE: Sheckter, Wheldon, Edwards, Summerton) might be a good idea.

As for Simona the whole situation sucks.  There’s really not much more to say.

Another situation that sucks is China.  I wrote all about it on Sunday so there’s not much more to say.  I was estatic to see the end of Motegi.  I thought it meant the end of 2am parades.  I was wrong.  This is Champcarification at it’s worst.  I’ve also heard people say “just wait, there’s more.”  As in, China is just the start.  Don’t know if it’s true or not… but if it is I’m scared.  After all, there’s been a lot of rumors about Mexico and Quebec….

The only plus side of China is it leads to some easy, funny, and possibly offensive jokes. Like “Things You can’t Say In Indycar Anymore” or “Things You Can’t Do In Indycar Anymore”.  Here’s an example.  Free Tibet: Thing’s You Can’t Say In Indycar Anymore.  Or General MacArthur is our Hero: Thing’s You Can’t Say In Indycar Anymore.  Maybe Panther could break out a MacArthur tribute paint scheme.  We’d never here from them again but it would be funny while it lasted.   The Panther/National Guard sponsorship is going to be awkward there.  If you don’t know why, look up the Korean War and Boxer Rebellion.  Also do you like social media?  Do you like teams and drivers on twitter and facebook?  You’re out of luck in China.  Social Media: Thing’s You Can’t Do In Indycar Anymore.

Losing you’re most popular driver. That also sucks.  Wheldon is rumored to be her replacement at AA which does not suck.  KV is planning on joining Chevy from what Curt Cavin says.  So Lotus may be vaporware.  Unless they get Newman Haas or DDR to join.  Maybe HVM.

F1:  Spa is a great track and the race featured some passing.  On the other hand we basically knew who was going to win after quali’s, though Roseberg got up front for a few.  Schumacher qualified horribly but did manage to pass and work his way back to the points.  Hamilton’s fun weekend involved lot’s of crashing.  Both in qualifying and the race.

MotoGP:  Sadly, Casey Stoner won.  Ben Spies was fast all weekend and qualified 2nd but some issues on the start dropped him to 9th.  He fought back up to 3rd but ran out of time and couldn’t catch Pedrossa or Stoner.  What really was unfortunate was he had the pace during the race to have stayed with the HRC guys.  Still Spies has the win at Assen and we’re coming up on Valencia and Phillip Isle.

Stoner’s win seems to be the end of Lorenzo’s title hopes, pending either injury or Pedrossa taking Stoner out the way he did to Hayden in 06.  The HRC bikes are fast.  While the Yamaha’s are also very good it’s going to be tough for Lorenzo to catch up.  He really needs Stoner to have a couple bad races.

Ducati continued to struggle.  Hayden gambled on tires and while it worked well at first in the long run it was a disaster.  He finished dead last.  Rossi finished 10th and had gearbox troubles.  Not a good day for the Italians.  Or American fans, as Rossi is pretty popular here among GP fans.  Only behind Spies, Hayden and Edwards.  Some might even argue he’s ahead of one or two of them in the US.

Suzuki got to 6th with Batista.  Good run, if only Suzuki was a full factory effort.

Colin Edwards is now rumored to be heading towards a CRT team next year.  Perhaps a Suter/BMW.  Edwards is known as a great development rider and has plenty of talent.  Putting him on a CRT bike could be the best thing possible for said team.  However BMW engine’s struggle with electronics and that could be a major issue.

On Motegi it looks like things will go on.  Lorenzo now needs to go if he’s to have any hope on winning another title.  Same for Stoner, he can’t afford to give up that many points.  While Spies isn’t excited to go it sounds like he’s planning on going.  Same for Hayden.  Rossi continues to be pretty vague but if he really didn’t want to go he probably would have done more.  Especially because out of all the riders, Rossi has the most clout with fans, journalist, and the series itself.

Eric should be putting up some reports from the track this week.  He attended the race at Indy.  Speaking of attendance race day attendance was up from last year, total weekend attendance slightly down, but it didn’t look like a big deal to me.  I expect the GP to stay.  Indy want’s it and re-paved the infield. Dorna is okay with 3 American rounds as Austin, Indy, and Laguna are spread out from each other.  The big issue is Dorna would like to move Indy’s date and Indy doesn’t want that.  IMS has said they would bring in another motorcycle racing series if MotoGP leaves.  Only problem is who?  I doubt AMA or WSBK would bring in enough of a crowd.  Although a WSBK race at Indy would be cool, GP’s really their best bet.

Danica Patrick to NASCAR Is Official: Time For A Career Eulogy

So for those who haven’t heard, yes, Danica is going to NASCAR.  This hasn’t come as a surprise to most fans.  The question is if it’s a good move and who won and lost.  As I’ve said before, with Danica to NASCAR there are no winners except Bob Parsons and her managers.  Danica, Indycar, and NASCAR all lose, at least in the long run.  I know a lot of Indycar fans are tired of her and glad to see her go but losing the only Indycar driver that get’s mainstream attention is not good, to say the least.  Besides, having multiple competitive female drivers is one of Indycar’s mains selling points and Danica is currently the only one who’s got a win.  NASCAR may think they’re the winners but let me ask you this, does NASCAR need another non competive superstar?  And Danica will make a quick buck but it’s not like she’s not making a TON of money right now in Indycar.  If this goes badly it could kill her career and destroy her legacy.  It goes without saying that I don’t think she’s going to be that successful in NASCAR.

How successful have other recent open wheel convert’s been in NASCAR?  Scott Speed,  He Who Must Not Be Mentioned (Dario Franchitti), Sam Hornish Junior, Jacques Villenuve, even Juan Montoya has had his struggles.  She should have a better team and more time in Nationwide than any of the aforementioned drivers (and more stable sponsorship) but outside of Scott Speed, they all have done a lot more in open wheel than her.

A Common Scene from Danica's NASCAR Experience

Her Nationwide race’s haven’t done anything to change my mind.  Her first few Nationwide races were awful.  She looked as bad out there as Speed or Dario or Hornish ever did in Cup.  Difference was she had better equipment and was in a lower tier series.  This year at the first Daytona race Danica struggled with the “Two Car Tango”.  Things have improved however as she was much more competitive at the summer Daytona race and has generally moved herself into top 20 and even top 10 range in Nationwide.  But she’s still behind the Cup drivers and most of the Nationwide regulars who have decent rides.  I mean, she’s generally behind Steven Wallace (when he hasn’t crashed) and Elliot Salder (who had a pretty forgettable Cup career) despite Hendrick equipment.

That said I’m not going to go so far and say she’ll never win a race.  It’s possible.  I mean, Micheal Waltrip won 2 Daytona 500′s but had a pathetic career.  Paul Menard won the Brickyard this season and no one has ever accused him of being the next Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson.  Certainly in Nationwide she could win.  Maybe even multiple times.  She could do very well in the final Nationwide standings too, since Cup drivers aren’t counted for points.  But in the end she still has to go to Cup and that’s not going to be easy.  Ask Jeff Burton about it.  She may win a race but I doubt she’ll ever become a consistent winner or title contender.  I don’t think she’ll do as well as Junior or Burton have done.

Finally on NASCAR, at least in Cup, Danica’s not the #1 driver in popularity.  That’s Dale Junior’s spot.  There’s also a lot more fans of other drivers (Edwards, Stewart, Gordon, Keselowski, even Busch) in NASCAR than there are fans of other drivers in Indycar.  There’s also a lot of people in NASCAR who dislike open wheelers and dislike drivers who didn’t “earn their way in” through short tracks and then Truck/Nationwide.  I bet they’re going to just love Danica.  Half the NASCAR media can’t stand her as it is and I personally know of many fans who feel the same way.

The Only Indycar driver that Mainstream America knows

For a variety of reasons many Indycar fans have turned against Danica and are not concerned (or even happy) about her leaving.  While I can understand why the feel that way they are seriously underestimating how big of loss this is.  She is the ONLY driver who get’s “mainstream” attention.  The only one.  How do you replace that?  I am as big of Simona fan as it get’s but she isn’t enough to replace Danica.  Neither is Hildebrand or Rahal or Andretti.  The combination of an American women driver who has the potential to win is pretty special and at the moment there is no one out there who can fill both roles.  Indycar also has a problem because it lacks American drivers.  There aren’t very many of them; in all honesty Indycar can’t afford to lose another.   Attention wise the only thing that can replace her is if  Simona and Hildebrand win regularly and Power gives Barnhardt the double birds every other week.  That’s the only thing that’s going to make ESPN care about Indycar at this point.

If you really think Indycar is better off without Danica can I please have some of whatever you’re smoking?  I honestly cannot wrap my head around how so many people think that losing the biggest star in Indycar is a good thing.  Yes she get’s too much coverage, yes she needs to win more, and yes, ESPN’s gushing over her get’s old.  But still, Danica is a huge asset to Indycar.  In reality the problem is Danica’s participation was never used well.  At first it was all Danica all the time without an attempt to devlop more stars for new fans to support and by the time Bernard got in it was too late to fix things.  Danica needed to be used as a “gateway” into Indycar.  The person who got a casual person to turn in, and then Indycar shows them other drivers that they become fans of too.  Instead ABC, ESPN, and pre Bernard Indycar management (RE: Tony George, Terry Angust, ect.) were content with All Danica All the Time.

For NASCAR Danica is a double edged sword to say the least.  NASCAR already has an under preforming super star does it really need another?  I’m sure Danicamania will help ratings a little for a few races (in Cup) but unless she’s a contender for wins it won’t last that long.  Without wins, even if she does bring fans in, it’ll just create a second fanbase that’s pissed off their driver never wins.  And how are the other sponsors, drivers and teams going to feel about being overshadowed by Danica?  I’m sure Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Carl Edwards will be magnanimous about it.  I mean, who’s more calm and even tempered than them?

For All of Danica's problems; being the first female winner is massive.

Danica’s legacy, leaving out all the outside factors and over-hype that have caused a lot of controversy is incredibly strong.  The first female driver to win a major circuit race (I know Desire Wilson won a British F1 race but that doesn’t really count).  The first female driver to get into the top 5 in Indycar points.  The first female driver to hold a consisantly strong ride through her career.  But if it all blows up in Cup it’ll diminish her accomplishments greatly.  No one considers Sam Hornish Jr one of the greats any more.  And Jacques Villenuve won the CART and F1 title and the combination of his disastrous end to F1 racing and non entrance into NASCAR has sullied his image to many fans.  While Dario’s return to Indycar has erased the images of his NASCAR disaster in many peoples minds, some of us (RE: me) have not forgotten and can never see him as one of the “greats”.

Since this is also an eulogy it’s time to discuss Danica’s on track talent.  In the interest of full disclosure I started out watching Indycar as a Danica fan in 07 but have drifted away as time has gone on.  Danica’s lower series resaults (British Formula Ford, Atlantics) was not especially good.  No wins.  However there are plenty of examples of drivers who didn’t start out great but improved.  After running up front at Motegi her rookie year she then went on the the famous (infamous?) 2005 Indy 500 where she led laps and ran up front.  Dan Wheldon won the race but Danica left a star.   Danica also began her modeling career, first with the magazine FHM.  The aspect of marketing herself on sex appeal has been one of the great controversies of her career.   I think it’s fine.  As I’ve said many times racing needs more personality and should not be just vanilla pr clones trying to be as non offensive as possible.  Largely the issues has been the fact that the focus was on her looks and not talent.  Add onto that the lack of wins and you get a lot of negative backlash on her.  Which is fair, even if I’m not one of them.  Wins cure all ills, and conversely, not winning brings a lot more criticism of your extra curricular activities as a driver.

Danica's modeling has been controverisial, but honestly, racing needs more personalities and less Vanilla PR Cardboard cutouts

Then for the 2007 season she joined Andretti Autosports (then Andretti Green) which was one of the top teams (the Big Three).  The results were mixed.  Tony Kanaan and the Scottish Douche (Dario) battled for the title while Danica and Marco, didn’t.  At least she didn’t have the number of DNF’s Marco had.  And she qualified on the front row at Mid Ohio.  She also finished 2nd at Belle Isle.  It looked like Danica had reached a turning point.

Then Unification struck.  Danica finally got her first win at Motegi on fuel but the game was changing.  Road and street racing and road and street racers were in.  That said there was hope maybe Danica would figure out road racing.  Micheal Andretti bought the US A1GP team and was planning on running Marco and Danica to train them on road courses.  However for whatever reason Danica didn’t do it.  And that, looking back, was the fall of Danica the Racer and the beginning of Danica the Marketing Experiment.

2009 saw Danica reach 5th in points

2009 saw the begining of “Sunshine and Rainbow’s” Danica where she tried to be more happy and friendly.  To be honest I wasn’t a huge fan of it.  Racing needs some personality some, as Miller put’s it, hate.  Why try and take away from it.  Looking back it’s another sign of the end of the “serious” Danica.  2009 also saw Danica start off strong even doing well at Long Beach.  She finished the season 5th in points, the highest non Red Car driver.  Maybe, just maybe, she would finally start contending like Indycar desperately needed.  2009 also saw another contract year.  She resigned with Andretti Autosport and ultimately that was a huge, huge mistake.  Andretti is a decent team but it’s unstable.  It’s believed she had a shot with Ganassi and ultimitly the combination of Danica and Target I think would have been huge.  Danica fits into Target’s marketing image more than the robotic Dixon and douche Dario.  More importantly it would have gotten her away from Go-Daddy which would have done wonders for her image.  Not to mention great equipment.  Back to reality she also signed with JRM for a few Nationwide races.

2010 would not see Danica improve on her 5th in points.  Instead it saw a regression.  She had some top 5′s and even 2nd places but the problem was most races she was no where.  On many of the road and street courses she was less than no where.  Often on those tracks rookie drivers Simona De Silvestro (HVM) and Bertand Baugette (Conquest) were out running her in practice, qualifying and races.  Her Nationwide races were worse if anything.  She got lapped at Daytona.  To put that in perspective Daytona is a plate track, where most of the field is in a pack together and thus very few people fall a lap down.  The rest of her Nationwide races went about as well athought she finally got a lead lap finish on her last race.

2011 has been just a continuation of 2010.  It’s become clear she’s just coasting while she waits to go to NASCAR.  Indy qualifying was disastrous.   And the only thing of note she’s done is qualify second for Iowa only to fall back and barely make the top 10.  While she’s improved some in Nationwide she’s not even on the level of Steven Wallace or Jason Leffler who both are in much worse equipment than her.  That’s a real recipe for future NASCAR success.

There used to be a serious racer here... what happened?

I really believe Danica is talented and at some point she was a serious driver.  While many didn’t like her off track antics (Briscoe pit stop, for example) they also showed a driver who cared about there results and wanted to win.  A real racer.  Casey Stoner (like punching Randy De Puniet while on track, for example), Kyle Busch, Sebastian Bourdais can be kind of aggressive towards others but that’s just a sign of how competitive they are.  For whatever reason that side of her got put on the back burner while a more vanilla and less competitive side was brought out by her managers to maximize profit.  It’s just unfortunate that in the end she went from a serious racer to a “celebrity.”  Combine the loss of her more serious side with the decision to stick with Andretti Autosport, not to run A1GP, and to run some NASCAR races and it ends with Danica’s Indycar potential unfulfilled and her becoming more and more of a celebrity, less and less a racer.

Which brings us to a “what if” scenario.  What if Danica was a winner in Indycar.  A champion?  How much better off would Indycar be.  I would argue a winning Danica, who won multiple races and a title would have Indycar leaps and bounds ahead of where we are right now.  It’s really sad to see that potential never was realized.

I finally put a finger on what I hate about Danica to NASCAR so much.  It’s a complete cash out.   Unlike other open wheelers she hasn’t “accomplished all her goals in open wheel.”  Her Nationwide results do not suggest that going to Cup is going to bring her more success than staying in Indycar.  With this being the case there’s only one reason for her to go… and that’s money.  While I understand the desire to make money it’s not like Danica is broke.  She’s earned quite a bit of money out of Indycar.  In my opinion she’s better off being like Shaun White, Tony Hawk, Ken Block and Travis Pastrana, a big deal in an obscure sport rather than going to NASCAR and trying to compete with Junior.  Danica has brought a lot of coverage on Indycar but it’s a two way streak.  Indycar has brought Danica a lot of her fame.  Without Indycar, where would she be?  Struggling in Europe trying to get into F1?  In the ALMS or Grand AM?  Remember coming out of Formula Ford she wasn’t famous enough to get into NASCAR straight away with no stock car experience.  Had she tried to work up from the feeder series it’s very likely she never would have “made it.”  ALMS?  Like the series but I doubt she’d be nearly as famous without her good runs in the Indy 500.  She’s made a ton of fame and fortune out of Indycar and the 500.  To just dump it for the “greener pastures” of NASCAR kind of hurts.

No matter what, this scene should be how we remember Danica.

The more I think about this (and writing a large article on it has given me plenty of time to think) the less I like it.  Outside of Go Daddy and her management team no one wins.  Danica doesn’t, Indycar certainly doesn’t, and really, unless she wins, NASCAR doesn’t in the long run.  I know a lot of open wheel fans are tired of her and tired of hearing about her but it’s a massive loss to Indycar.  It’s not fatal, but it’s momentum killing to say the least.  It’s worse than losing aero kits.  While there are lot’s of good and bad things to say about Danica the fact remains she’s the first consistently competitive female driver.  That is huge.  There have been many trailblazers before Danica who deserve credit, from Desire Wilson to Sarah Fisher, Janet Guthrie to Shawna Robinson. But Danica is the first one to hold onto a consistently good ride and get consistently good results.  More importantly she won a major league race.  Whatever happens in NASCAR that’s something that cannot be forgotten and should not be diminished. But I do feel a lot of sadness about it.  Danica and Indycar had the potential to be something great.  It never fully worked out but she brought Indycar a lot of press, and in turn, Indycar and the Indy 500 made her rich and famous.  And, as it turned out, ended up getting her a ride in NASCAR.   In my opinion Ce Lo Green’s “F*ck You”  seems appropriate, so here it is.

 

Team Meeting; Weekend in Review: Patrick Carpentier Edition

NASCAR:  Michigan International Raceway was the scene for the Cup and Truck race while the Nationwide series went across the border to Montreal.  In Cup Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth took the front row.  Biffle started out strong and ran up front all race.  Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson also led laps.  In the end it came down to Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson battling for the lead.  In what will hopefully be replicated in the Chase, Kyle passed JJ and went on to win his 4th race of the season.  Busch is the first driver this year to get 4 wins.  Brad Keselowski continues to impress by finishing 3rd.

Keselowski has caught on fire in the last month.  He was top ten at Indy and then won Pocono, was 2nd at Watkins Glen, and 3rd at MIS.  It’s moved him up to 12th in points.  Keselowski also has the potential to race his way into the Chase without needing a wildcard spot.  The advantage to that is that he would keep his bonus points for the two wins.

Denny Hamlin switched over to a TRD engine for Michigan.  He had an awful race especially for a driver who’s won multiple times at MIS.  He tapped the wall and that set off a series of issues that dropped him to 35th by the end of the race.

Shockingly when you put a bunch of Cup driver into a Truck race the Cup drivers win.  This week it was Carl Edwards.

Cup drivers again swept all three races as Marcos Ambrose won the Nationwide race in Montreal.

Montreal also saw the final race for Patrick Carpentier.  His race went okay and he finished 8th.  He would likely have finished higher had he not become one of the many victims of Steven Wallace.  Rusty’s son has his dad’s attitude, but instead of inheriting his dad’s racing skill, he has the same amount of racing talent as Rusty Wallace has at announcing. Carpantier’s career has spanned Indycar and NASCAR.  While his NASCAR career didn’t go well he did get a pole at New Hampshire.  It’s also true that while his NASCAR career was a disaster the 10 car at Gillett/Everham was not the best place to put a driver with no stock car experience.  Really, the 10 car at Gillett/Everham was not a good place to put anyone.

Alex Tagliani finished 2nd.  That was pretty impressive considering it was only his 3rd Nationwide race ever.  He has run Canadian Tire NASCAR but that really doesn’t count.

Much less impressive was Danica.  While she hasn’t had the greatest road racing results she’s done it for her whole freaking career.  She qualified poorly and didn’t finish well.  She ran better in the race than the results showed, getting into the bottom part of the top ten.  Unflattering she was behind other open wheeler’s including the great Micheal McDowell, who accomplished so much in Sprint Cup and Champcar,  Scott Speed, and Alex Tagliani to name a few.  When an open wheeler with even less stock car experience is 2nd and you’re not even running top 5 it may be time to stop and think about what is going on.

Indycar:  The fallout from New Hampshire continues.  Newman Haas and Target Chip Ganassi are appealing the finish because Indycar reverted to the results before the restart.  Only the top 3 spots are available for appeal.  While that sounds a bit dumb I feel like other racing series (Not NASCAR, but maybe AMA or WoO?) have that rule.  Mainly because all the prize money’s been handed out.  As I said last week it’s a horrible idea to change the results of a race after the fact.  It will really confuse fans, especially the more casual ones.  Racing needs to be decided on and at the track, not in a courtroom/appeals committee.  And you can’t change the result a week after the fact, that is insane.  I like Newman Haas and want them to win, but not like this.

In more International Ride Buyer news Ho Pointless Tung has a ride with Dragon for Infineon.

Schedule Watch 2012:  The St. Pete news worries me.  St Pete has been confirmed for 2012.  What I don’t get is with all the rumored road and street races either the schedule needs to be expanded to 20, the rumors don’t happen, or some current road/street races die.  Otherwise it will become Champcar again!  St Pete isn’t that well attended and doesn’t have much history so it would have been a relatively painless one to kill off.  Houston and 2nd Brazil are both still rumored and if that happens some street courses have to die.  It could be Baltimore, as they are rumored to be struggling financially.  Or Edmonton or Toronto.  New rumors about Montreal continue to abound.  I also heard one about Cleveland but I think that’s most likely wishful thinking.  Obviously Road America is always in the discussions.  If Indycar were to pick up Road America, Montreal, and Cleveland that would be a huge step in the right driection for Indycar.  Finally 3 road courses that are wide and long enough for Indycar!  But some of the current tracks need to go, cause otherwise that would be 12 road/street races and 7-ovals, and that’s not acceptable.  If Montreal were added and China and a 2nd Brazil race that would also be way too many international races (6).  Champcar died for a reason, very few American’s want to watch an international road/street racing series.

MotoGP:  Some concerning news for Colin Edwards.  It seems that Yamaha want’s Tech 3 to focus more on young talent and may not be kept in his ride next year.  That would be pretty sad though, as outside of Spies, Edwards has out preformed his teammates and even finished 5th in points during the 2009 season!  Laverty and Bradl are the two main riders rumored to be looking at Edward’s ride.  I like Laverty but the guy probably should get another season or two of WSBK or Moto2 before making the jump up.

It’s the Indy GP this weekend!  It’s the home race for Spies, Hayden and Edwards.  Rossi is also fairly popular among MotoGP fans in the US while Pedrossa is effectively an Enemy of the State.  Of the three Spies has the best chance by far of winning on his factory Yamaha.  Last year at Tech 3 he won the pole and finished 2nd.  This year he just has to move up one place.  Standing in his way are the HRC riders Pedrossa and Stoner.

Speaking of Spies, he and Lorenzo will be using the classic Red/White Yamaha livery that Spies used at Assen when he grabbed his first GP win.  Hopefully a good sign.

ALMS:  Road America saw the closest finish in ALMS history.  Sadly I, like most race fans, didn’t see it due to the brilliant Non TV deal that is eating away at ALMS’s fans race by race.