Yes, it is that time of year again. Final qualifying for Indy, bubble day. As it has been for the past decade, Indy is a shadow of its former self. It has become almost a spec series. Yawn.
Gone are the days when the big money teams powered by Ilmor, Cosworth, Merecedes or Ford would be challenged by the upstarts with Indy specials powered by stock blocks, unique one-off engines or even a gas turbine.
The argument for a spec series is that racing is about the drivers. Well maybe, but I for one was more intrigued by the creativity which showed up annually at Indy. We will never again see a feat performed by Mario Andretti when he earned his only Indy 500 victory in his Brawner Hawk which was designed for shorter races.
The entire racing world is going spec dammit!!!
well, its simple...everything is pricing itself out of the way and the lack of cash right now dones not help.....
Indy specials with stock blocks and home brewed tech would bring costs down. No one is saying to go to F1 technology, quite the opossite. Imagine Indy cars with Audi LeMans diesels or with Mazda Rotaries or Cadillac (or Chevrolet) V8s? It used to be that stock block powered cars receive weight benefits (among others). Bring creativity back to Indy. Or bring back CanAm. In the old CanAm series, there were few rules. Limit tech and drivers aids, but let teams run wild within a set of parameters.
Remember the Lotus turbine Indy car? Seems to me that things like that car could never exist again. I stopped watching Indy races a long time ago.
Dr. Hess wrote: I stopped watching Indy races a long time ago.
So has everybody else, based on the few dozen people in the stands on "bump" day...
How about the RAMBLER-powered attempt?
slantvaliant wrote:
How about the RAMBLER-powered attempt?
Stuff like that was great. With smaller, more efficient engines poised to become popular again, Indy featuring stock blocks form various manufacturers would be better advertising that the NASCAR pushrod-fest.
While I agree that spec racing allows you to get into a series knowing fairly well what you're gonna spend for a competitive car, It's not really exciting to watch if you don't know any of the drivers.
Up front, we have a vicious battle between a Miata and a Miata... behind that is the #23 Miata, trying to hold off the #2 Miata.
Oh! The Miata just had a big off in turn 4, allowing two more Miatas by! If he can get back in the race, he'll have a hard time getting those positions back!
It also seems like spec racing really doesn't work well for advertising. If Ford beats Chevy, Ford can brag about it in their ads, talk about how they win races because their engines are faster/more reliable/whatever, and sell more cars.
Call me stereotypical, but the only thing I really care about for Indy is how well Danica Patrick is (or isn't) doing.
ReverendDexter wrote:
While I agree that spec racing allows you to get into a series knowing fairly well what you're gonna spend for a competitive car, It's not really exciting to watch if you don't know any of the drivers.
Up front, we have a vicious battle between a Miata and a Miata... behind that is the #23 Miata, trying to hold off the #2 Miata.
Oh! The Miata just had a big off in turn 4, allowing two more Miatas by! If he can get back in the race, he'll have a hard time getting those positions back!
It also seems like spec racing really doesn't work well for advertising. If Ford beats Chevy, Ford can brag about it in their ads, talk about how they win races because their engines are faster/more reliable/whatever, and sell more cars.
Call me stereotypical, but the only thing I really care about for Indy is how well Danica Patrick is (or isn't) doing.
I'll tell ya, Danica does things for me that A.J. Foyt never did.
Moparman wrote:
I'll tell ya, Danica does things for me that A.J. Foyt never did.
What, vomit? If so, you're not alone...
She is much easier on the eyes than Ol' AJ.
Maybe, but she's no Mario.
