It is no secret that Tony Cotman wants to revamp the IndyCar ladder system. To that end, Andersen Promotions, an offshoot of Andersen Racing, is planning to add a retooled U.S. F2000 National Championship to the 2010 schedule. The Indy Racing League will sanction the new entry-level series.
You can read the entire story at Racer.
My criticism has little to do with the US F2000 announcement. In that regard, I have only two relatively minor concerns.
The first is that drivers who are not yet 18 years old would seem to be natural targets for the new series but for the presence of Phillip Morris USA. Because the marketer of Marlboro participates in the IRL, drivers who are not yet legal adults are not permitted to drive in IRL sanctioned events. That one of the IRL's biggest sponsors works against the interests of the new entry level series strikes me as being a bit odd.
Second, I wish that F2000 would embrace ovals. Racer reports that two ovals are under consideration for 2010, but that most if not all of the schedule will be composed of road and street races. Is this supposed to be a proving ground for drivers who wish to participate in the Indianapolis 500? I guess not.
Another Bottleneck
One can sense that IRL management is trying to attract young American drivers who might some day revive the IndyCar Series. For this, I commend Angstadt, Barnhart and Cotman.
However, I would also suggest that the new Indy Lights feeder series will do little if anything to actually solve the problem. There are and have been plenty of talented young Americans who would have liked to have been IndyCar drivers. That they did not achieve their dreams is not due to a lack of viable feeder series.
Drivers such as Robbie Pecorari, Cole Morgan, and Kevin Swindell fell from the IndyCar ladder because the cost of operating a team at the top rung is five times greater than that team's market value. Put another way, if the IndyCar Series can not afford to keep 2004 Indianapolis 500 Champion Buddy Rice, then it can not afford to attract Pecorari, Morgan and Swindell.
The new U.S. F2000 National Championship might become a fine lower level formula championship. Regrettably, it is also likely to create yet another bottleneck of drivers whose accomplishments warrant an upgrade in competition that their personal resources and connections can not purchase.
Roggespierre
