A.J. Allmendinger
Alex Barron
Colin Braun
Patrick Carpentier
Bryan Clauson
Conor Daly
John Edwards
Jeff Gordon
Robby Gordon
Daniel Herrington
J.R. Hildebrand
Tracy Hines
Sam Hornish, Jr.
Kasey Kahne
Buddy Lazier
Jaques Lazier
Casey Mears
Juan Pablo Montoya
Robbie Pecorari
Buddy Rice
Joey Saldana
Scott Speed
Tony Stewart
Jonathan Summerton
Brad Sweet
Kevin Swindell
Paul Tracy
Josh Wise
J.J. Yeley
Roggie,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think this is? 1964?
Your list would have made a hell of a lineup on Sunday. Betcha they still wouldn't be advertising "good tickets still available" on Indy local radio either.
Plus I think you need to have a name that ends in a vowel to race at Indy nowadays. Or not be able to get into F1.
If I could throw in a couple more names into the mix, how about PJ Chesson (he might be more bluster then actual talent, but Mo Nunn liked him and he would be VERY good with the fans), Jason Leffler, Chad Boat (at least to run in Indy Lights), Bobby Santos III and Phil Geibler (whose last effort at Indy he tried to qualify was one of the biggest jokes to hit Indy in the last 20 years).
Too Smart,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the 1964 reference. That was before my time, but I would have liked to have seen it.
Hell, I'd take the 1978 line-up (my first). It wasn't exactly star-studded, but it was better than what we have now.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
Yeah...
ReplyDeleteTHE single circumstance that most aggravates me, in regard to this year's 500, is the rookie lineup:
4 foreign drivers (Beatriz, de Silvestro, Romancini, Saavedra) who all finished BEHIND 3 Americans (Hildebrand, Edwards, Summerton) in "feeder" series last year.
It's just hard to fathom how things could BE like this. Emotionally, at least - I think you've explained the cold, hard dynamics quite well on here....
Thanks BC,
ReplyDeleteYes, we all know why things are the way they are, don't we?
I'll still be at Indy. They can't get rid of me that easily. I'll pull for Hamilton, Bell, Scheckter, Fisher and John Andretti. Hopefully, at least one of them can pull off a top ten finish.
I agree wholeheartedly about the rookies. I'm happy for Ana Beatriz, who toiled respectably in Lights and had her noggin knocked around pretty good last year.
The rest? well, I'm sure that somebody somewhere cares.
I don't ever expect to see the likes of Tracy Hines and Kevin Swindell in the 500 again. But I do hold out some hope for drivers like Hildebrand, Summerton and Edwards. The seem like IZOD guys to me. Perhaps the door will open some day soon.
We can hope.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
You should take Montoya off the list, I reckon. His name ends in a vowel.
ReplyDeleteSaavedra is a star. I mean, he almost beat his teammate last year in Lights and then came home a solid 9th (in a 16 car field) in the Freedom 100 on Friday.
ReplyDeleteHe earned his way to Indy the old fashioned way....thanks to investors in Columbia.
The question is who was the last American-born rookie to start in the Indy 500? I don't think we've had any the past 2 years.
I am glad you had Kevin Swindell mentioned in your rundown. If Kevin (who has major league talent, BTW) could bring half of his daddy's fanbase to Indy Cars, it might shock people how many people that would be.
Hell, I'd give Kraig Kinser a chance too. He didn't show well in NASCAR's lower divisions, but maybe he'd take to the open-wheel stuff better. And his daddy has more then a few fans out there.
That is what this sport needs most...drivers who come to the sport with fanbases already established and accomplishments that show that they belong at the top rung of AOW. I don't know how many fans Hildebrand, Summerton, Edwards and Pecorari would bring, but I know they have won a bunch of races in their lives and have beaten many of the current "stars" of Indy Cars along the way. If you had them in the series for a few years, it would only help.
The drivers are out there. Buddy Rice should be in the prime of his Indy Car career. Townsend Bell, Ed Carpenter, and both of the Lazier's should be racing full-time (or at least running all the ovals) instead of only showing up in May each year. Phil Geibler should have gotten a real shot, with a real team. PJ Chesson should have too. There should be a place somewhere in the series for a few American short-trackers.
Would they all become future stars and future Indy 500 winners? No. Some would succeed and some would not. But at least we'd get to see them TRY. At least we'd get to see them ascend to the top rung of AOW and be given a real chance to either sink or swim.
There can be a place for the Dixon's, Castroneves's, Power's and Kanaan's. They are talented and some have solid fanbases now. But there also MUST be a big part of this series made up of drivers listed above. Because otherwise, you have a sport whose biggest race cannot sell out anymore, with TV ratings most weeks that tractor pulls and college golf would be happy with and a confused and apathetic fanbase.
Was it just me, or did the crowd appear smaller this year? There seemed to be many gaps in the seating, for example, in the Tower Terrace and third turn grandstands. The Helo-pics were especially bothersome. Fix the 500 and the rest follows...
ReplyDeleteRocketman,
ReplyDeleteThe crowd looked bad, when they showed the blimp shots.
TONS of empty seats and BIG gaps in the crowd. Yes, it was hot. But people knew that before they left for the track. Hard to believe that thousands and thousands of fans would go find shade and leave their seats. My thought, is nobody was sitting in those seats because either the seats weren't sold or the folks that bought the tickets didn't show up.
If you want to see how the Indy 500 SHOULD look and COULD look again, go back and watch the 2001 Indy 500 (which ESPN Classic showed this weekend). You had Helio, DeFerren, Junquiera and Brack in that lineup along with American road racers like Sharp, Cheever, both Lazier's, Hornish, Dismore, Ray, Vasser, Mike Andretti and Robby Gordon along with American short-trackers like Boat, Stewart, Beechler, Fisher and Hamilton. That was a hell of a field.
The racing was competitive. The speeds were close. Small teams could run with the big teams. Cars could actually pass one another on TRACK. Cars didn't run into everything and everybody either all day long.
CART's teams swept the top 6 spots back then. But, in reality it was Ganassi, Penske and Andretti. No different then its been for the past several years in the "new" Indy Car series. They dominated and will continue to dominate in all eras of current-day Indy Car.
2002 saw, many different teams (Penske, Ganassi, Nunn, Green, Cheever and Blair) run up front and do it by passing cars ON THE TRACK. Penske still ended up winning, but they were far from dominant.
If only the IRL had kept going with their original vision (which was starting to show the fruits in 2001 and 2002) and not morphed back into CART, maybe the sport wouldn't be in the sad shape its in now.
I only watched the ABC coverage, and there looked like far too many empty seats to me.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't any evidence that promotional efforts are reaching outside the existing fan base. I'm hopeful that Sunoco's increase in participation will be promoted through their retailers, but that might not start until next year. If at all.
Maybe Izod will sell a lot of clothes, and feel like they are getting their money's worth. I think their advertising budget is being squandered.
Next week's Versus ratings will tell the story of the season. Saturday night race at Texas, six days after the 500, no Nascar competition, good local promotion, everybody who lost Versus has had service reinstated for a good while. Sink or swim time.
Andy
Sink or Swim? You got that right!!! This thing is like the Titanic and if it doesn't right itself quickly I can see IZOD dropping its sponsorship. I do not doubt that there is a drop clause in the contract. This thing is sinking by the bow and if it continues, it will bring down IMS with it!
ReplyDelete"Ganassi, Penske and Andretti. No different then its been for the past several years in the "new" Indy Car series. They dominated and will continue to dominate in all eras of current-day Indy Car."
ReplyDeleteSince 2000 these three have won ten 500s, Rahal in '04 the exception. From '86 to '95 only six of ten. In fact, one could argue that '83 was the last race of the truly competitive era. In the 25 races since (excluding '96 -99) those three teams have won nineteen - Penske taking twelve. That really goes against the grain of how hard it is to win, etc.
Andy,
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much promotion we should anticipate from Sunoco. The release on the IndyCar website made it pretty clear that the "sponsorship" is a supply chain arrangement with UNICA, the ethanol promotion division of Apex Brasil.
This probably helps to finance the series to some degree. Otherwise, IndyCar would not have done it.
But Sunoco is obviously fully committed to its NASCAR sponsorship, which is touted at every retail outlet. Is there room for legitimate IndyCar activation? Frankly, I doubt it.
*Sunoco gets an ethanol vendor
*UNICA (Apex Brasil) gets a new customer
*IndyCar gets (likely) some consideration with regards to fuel costs
That, to me, appears to be the essence of the deal. That's par for the course when it comes to supply chain arrangements.
I hope I'm wrong on this one. We'll see.
Roggespierre
Bewrnard's comments suggested a broader public participation by Sunoco. If it's just another B2B deal, it won't amount to squat.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Andy,
ReplyDeleteYes. Bernard said that he looks forward to developing in-store and at-the-pump promotions with Sunoco. I'm sure he does look forward to that.
Unfortunately, he isn't going to do better than the "Official Fuel of NASCAR" signs that are inscribed on every overhang above every pump at every Sunoco station.
Even if he does pull it off, it's possible that he'll only create confusion.
But you're right. If it's just another B2B deal, then it won't do any good.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
Andy,
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Texas ratings on Versus.... they'll suck. Ratings for the night races always do. The only question is - to what degree will they suck? A national TV audience of 600K would have to be considered an enormous success.l
This is a fact that I hate because I really enjoy the night races. I don't have to give up anything to watch them. Unfortunately, it seems that I am representative of no one in particular.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre