1007 replies to this topic

[Massa]

Oh, and, one more thing:

I've heard Brian Vickers linked to a full-time Dodge ride that he'll confirm soon.

Almirola is up at the end of the year, and Ambrose may stick with Ford, so...just watch for that...

[Massa]

Another thing:

James Finch is sticking with his driver Kurt Busch.

In **** you can't make up, the Jerry Springer show might sponsor him.  Seriously.

But back to Kurt, HE'S SUCH AN AWFUL TERRIBLE PUPPY-KILLING SEAL-BEATING CHILD-HATING MAN WHO PUTS TOGETHER A BUNCH OF SYLLABLES DEEMED OFFENSIVE AND DOESN'T LIKE BEING ASKED DUMB QUESTIONS AND ENJOYS WINNING RACES AND HATES LOSING RACES THAT HIS TEAM IS STICKING WITH HIM.

He can't be any worse than anyone else, or he's a NASCAR champion or something like that, since his team isn't firing him.  But glad NASCAR tried to tell the team how they should feel about it.

[Massa]

Richard Petty Motorsports will NOT announce a move to Dodge this week.

We will have to wait now to see if they ever will, or if they stick with Ford.

We will also have to wait to see how much I can bring myself to care about NASCAR for the rest of the year.  It's always this way after the Indy 500...I'm desperate to find anything to latch onto and I never seem to.  That Indy 500 high is always met with a big crash for me because no auto races are ever as good as Indy to me...and now I don't even have ice hockey...what problems these are...

[Massa]

IndyCar canceled the race in China.

Possible replacements include Texas in October (no no no no no no no, do not run the same track twice in the championship, **** Eddie Gossage, too) and Pocono (no no no no no no no no no, I'm not ready to make killing someone an annual tradition for the season finale, sorry).

[HandyNZL]

An Indy 250??? That would be a cool finish.....or the Indy F1 track????

[Massa]

They may have to.  Not much time to get a new event and sell tickets, so it maye be hard to get another venue that they don't own to agree.

I'm under the impression that their preference is to hold the season finale in Texas in October to give it the most possible time to be promoted and sell tickets, while still ending the season somewhere that they would consider exciting (the response to the Texas race was very positive; I must have only seen the bad parts though it was better than pack stuff, for sure).  It does upset Fontana, who assumed the finale was there, and having a finale at Fontana is sort of cool because, you know, we used to do that when I was a kid and couldn't tell you the difference between CART and IRL other than you used to get two races instead of one and that was alright with me.  I'm so glad I was a kid because I got to enjoy all the good racing.  I'm probably the only guy with a couple of Champ Car shirts who considered Buddy Lazier a racing hero (still do).

If Texas does not agree to that, since the Cup race is in November for them and all, they would look to fill the August gap with Road America (partnering ALMS) or Laguna Seca.

It was unclear when they would want to run Pocono; the Cup race is in late July there, I believe, so it could be in August.  A little cold in October.

But I believe Texas and Road America are the top choices, in that order.  The thing with Texas is that, I don't want 12.5% of the championship points to be awarded from one track in a season.  If any race should award more points, it's the big one, and with qualifying points I guess it does, but anyway, having Texas count so much toward the championship when it's not exactly a drivers' track is sort of weird.

Though Iowa has heat races.  Are those counting for points?  I don't remember.

I guess you could argue that ovals are so under-represented that having two at Texas is good enough.  Oh well.  They'll do what they do and I'll complain and complain and then I won't even remember to watch so I'm not sure why I care.

[HandyNZL]

First race at COTA? Stranger things have happened.....get in a few weeks before F1 and all

[The Shadow]

Why not another venue in South America? Mexico or Argentina?

[HandyNZL]

Wrong look for a US series finale to be raced somewhere other than the USA.  Even considering China was dumb.  The past few years the championship has been going to the last and to take it to China and race when the yank's are asleep....fail.

[Massa]

The Shadow, on 14 June 2012 - 09:06 AM, said:

Why not another venue in South America? Mexico or Argentina?

IndyCar Series travel outside of the U.S. in Canada is subsidized.  Someone has to pay to fly all the cars out there (I guess technically you don't have to fly them to Mexico), so the logistics of scheduling a race to be run in a few months in a foreign country is a lot harder than scheduling one in the U.S.

They are looking to add a second race in Brazil soon, and a race in Mexico.  Australia's also been mentioned.  Randy Bernard would like to have 20 races next year; the team owners don't want more than 16 or 17.  I guess they have to balance cost for teams with getting the series some continuity and exposure.

HandyNZL, on 14 June 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:

Wrong look for a US series finale to be raced somewhere other than the USA.  Even considering China was dumb.  The past few years the championship has been going to the last and to take it to China and race when the yank's are asleep....fail.

I think if it's in a similar time zone, it isn't too bad.  You'd probably get more people at the track if you did the finale in Brazil since they have a much larger TV audience for Indy races than the U.S. does.  The only times in this era that more people ever watched the season finale over any other race was 1) in 1996 when the Indy 500 was the season finale and 2) in 2011 when they heard there was a fatal accident.  Las Vegas 2011 was the most-watched IndyCar "race" since the 2005 Indy 500.

HandyNZL, on 14 June 2012 - 07:32 AM, said:

First race at COTA? Stranger things have happened.....get in a few weeks before F1 and all

Eddie Gossage is a big obstacle for that.  Even though DFW, Houston, and Austin are all separate markets, he's really upset about the Houston street race in 2013.  Add a third race down there, whether it's 2012 or 2013, and he's going to take his Texas Motor Speedway and leave...

...and I'm not sure I mind that, actually.

[Massa]

Useless trivia:

Lee Frayer, Bert Dingley, and Robert Evans finished thirteenth in the first three Indianapolis 500s (1911-1913).

For each, it was the only time he would contest the 500.

[Massa]

A small project I've been working on in my free time (how big of a loser am I? ): calculating and compiling the median Indy 500 classification of every driver who has ever contested the race (which has been called the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes, the International 300-Mile Sweepstakes, the Liberty 500-Mile Sweepstakes, the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and now the Indianapolis 500).

I'm only through 1922, but it's amazing how many drivers get forgotten from the early days.  There were some statistically impressive drivers who I've never even heard of...and it was no less of a challenge then as it is now, perhaps even moreso...

I'm expecting the data to favor the modern runners only because of the reliability of equipment.  They would have fewer bad finishes to suck up the good ones...but I don't know.  It's mostly just for my own amusement than to conclude anything at all.

[Rainmaster]

Massa, on 15 June 2012 - 04:35 PM, said:

A small project I've been working on in my free time (how big of a loser am I? ): calculating and compiling the median Indy 500 classification of every driver who has ever contested the race (which has been called the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes, the International 300-Mile Sweepstakes, the Liberty 500-Mile Sweepstakes, the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and now the Indianapolis 500).

I'm only through 1922, but it's amazing how many drivers get forgotten from the early days.  There were some statistically impressive drivers who I've never even heard of...and it was no less of a challenge then as it is now, perhaps even moreso...

I'm expecting the data to favor the modern runners only because of the reliability of equipment.  They would have fewer bad finishes to suck up the good ones...but I don't know.  It's mostly just for my own amusement than to conclude anything at all.

Eric you fool! You can find all of that information on www.medianIndy500classificationofeverydriverwhohasevercontestedtherace(whichhasbeencalledtheInternational500-Mile SweepstakestheInternational300-MileSweepstakestheLiberty500-MileSweepstakestheIndianapolis500-MileRaceandnowtheIndianapolis500).com

Edited by Rainmaster, 15 June 2012 - 05:56 PM.

[BradSpeedMan]

Rainmaster, on 15 June 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

Eric you fool! You can find all of that information on www.medianIndy500classificationofeverydriverwhohasevercontestedtherace(whichhasbeencalledtheInternational500-Mile SweepstakestheInternational300-MileSweepstakestheLiberty500-MileSweepstakestheIndianapolis500-MileRaceandnowtheIndianapolis500).com

trust Eric to miss that one

[BradSpeedMan]

Massa, on 11 June 2012 - 10:11 PM, said:

Ford tweaked the 2013 Fusion Cup car.  The grille bars are no longer a sticker...they're actually real.  That's pretty cool.



This is the 2013 Fusion production car, for comparison.

looks a monster, hopefully it will go as fast as it looks

[Massa]

No, George, the reason I don't have to do it is that there is zero demand for this, even among Indy 500 enthusiasts.

Texas declined IndyCar.  If they don't add a sixteenth race, they lose their IZOD money for the year.  Bernard's a lot of talk, isn't he?  "18 races in 2012"...we have 15.  "20 races in 2013"...no way.  "China in 2012"...same as China in 2007 or Korea in 2005-06 for Champ Car.  "Aerokits"...nope.  "50/50 oval/road course split"...haven't seen any progress toward that.  "We have a Plan B for China"...well, it seems to me if you're scrambling and getting declined, you never actually had a Plan B...

It looks to me like we've gone absolutely nowhere since 2007.  I've seen Champ Car look a lot like this and a few months later it was gone.

Somewhere in all of that, there's an Indy race in about an hour.

[Massa]

Don't expect the Indy race in Milwaukee to happen today.  Track is soaked and it's still raining.  So much for my plan to watch.

[Massa]

So the race did happen and it was sort of okay because Servià finished fourth and Tagliani did alright.  His moves on the outside were CRAZY.  So was Wilson's before he let go.

Power and Franchitti are doing everything they can to let Hinchcliffe win the title with zero race victories.

The race started on ABC, moved to ESPN News for Nationwide on ABC, went commercial-free because it was on ESPN News (I've never seen ad free racing before ), then the Nationwide on ABC got cut off by my local affiliate at 5 PM so I had nothing to go to during commercials of Le Mans on SPEED which I am now taking a break from.

Why we can't just race on Sunday afternoons like we did when I was a kid...though I think I was actually watching Thursday Night Thunder as a kid but it may have been Friday or Saturday by the time I was born...whatever...

[HandyNZL]

Move to NZ...get it all live and no ads...except Le Mans - its not covered

[Massa]

I like the ads...they build suspense.

[HandyNZL]

Indycar has admitted they stuffed up with the penalty on Dixon.  They penalised him for the waved off restart as they "looked at the wrong restart".  Chumps.

Dixon had a shot at the win today.  Instead, he gets 11th and drops to third overall...

[Massa]

I've had it with Beaux Barfield as race control.

He ****s up every weekend.

Indy he admits to holding a yellow for extra laps to avoid cars running out of fuel.

Detroit he admits he should have made them put on wet tires before restarting.

Texas they admit (not necessarily Beaux) that they didn't catch illegal parts on Wilson's car.

Milwaukee he admits he screwed up the restart.

You know I'm not Dixon guy, but they really ****ed him over.  The whole thing was odd to begin with, because Indy has no rules on restarts.  See the 500?  The restarts were half the fun.  As soon as you're told "green," you do what you want, that's how IndyCar has always been, no rules on restarts.  So enforcing it on any restart was weird...and then to find out they enforced it on a restart that was waved off...

...sometimes I don't feel so bad that the sport's on its last legs.  It certainly isn't there because it's a victim...

[Massa]

Leave Kurt alone!!!

James Finch was going to fire Kurt Busch.

Guess who saved his job?

The crew members.  The guys who have to listen to mean bad mentally ill Kurt say bad words.  They told Finch they liked working with Kurt and having him has their driver.  The absolute irony of how a biased media (recall that Jimmy Spencer, the guy behind "Kurt Busch Radio Sweetheart," had an on-going feud with Kurt starting in March 2002 and going until August 2003 when Spencer punched Busch in the face and broke his nose) portrays Kurt Busch and how his team actually feels about him.

And from Jayski.com:

Quote

#51-Kurt Busch's troubles with the media continued on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Busch had a brief, heated exchange with ESPN reporter Marty Smith after Saturday's Nationwide Series race at MIS, a week after serving a one-week suspension for making threatening comments to Sporting News reporter Bob Pockrass after the Dover Nationwide Series race. Busch, on orders from Sprint Cup team owner James Finch, avoided talking to reporters upon arriving at MIS on Thursday. But when he finished third in the race won by Joey Logano on Saturday, he had to make a mandatory appearance in the media center. As he waited to be interviewed, an MRN Radio pit reporter said on the live broadcast that Busch left the top-five area without interviewing. Busch was told of the comment and replied, "That's what everybody says, don't they." Busch then left the room to cool off. Several reporters, including Smith, with a camera crew, followed. Busch then told Smith to come over with his camera. When Smith got there, Busch said he wasn't doing interviews there, adding, "You ever hear of sarcasm?" That led to a brief exchange during which Busch said, "You don't know how long I've been working on this."(see full post at ESPN.com)(6-17-2012)

Sorry, Marty Smith, but that's just...you asked for it.  "Let's follow a driver with a history of being candid out of a room with a camera."  What do you expect?  You can't complain to NASCAR that Kurt's being mean and bad and horrible to you when you're provoking it.  There are good journalists in racing, but they're very much outnumbered by those who are there for the buffets.

And NASCAR, since you suspended Kurt Busch, I hope you suspended Tony Stewart in 2011, too, denying him the championship he won, since he wasn't exactly nice to the reporters in this video:



Never mind the fact he physically assaulted one in 2001 or 2002...

[Massa]

But that's all negative so here's something good: the next three ALMS races are LIVE on U.S. television for once.  ESPN2 with Lime Rock on July 7 to start off that little string for them.  Good stuff.

And you have a NASCAR road course double-header next weekend.  Nationwide at Road America (with Grand-Am) featuring two-time Elkhart Lake CART winner Jacques Villeneuve driving for Roger Penske and, as ever, Danica Patrick, who last raced at Road America in 2004, finishing fourth in the Atlantic Championship race there.  Sunday has Sprint Cup at Sonoma Raceway, where Marcos Ambrose looks for a critical win (and he might be carrying some momentum into that one; he starts from the pole this afternoon) having taken Watkins Glen in 2011.  A sweep of the two road races would make Ambrose a clear candidate for one of the wild card spots in the Chase.  You also have Jeff Gordon, once-dominant at the road races, looking to get his season going again, and an extensive list of experienced road racers in the field that includes new Le Mans 24 Hour veteran Brian Vickers and a few Rolex 24 champions (Casey Mears, A.J. Allmendinger, Juan Pablo Montoya, Robby Gordon if he enters...I'm definitely forgetting someone) while sports car racing is still fresh on everyone's minds.

Michigan race is this afternoon...I will evaluate my interest in it later today.

[Massa]

I'll do the unthinkable...and share a Marty Smith article...about Kurt Busch...

http://espn.go.com/r...-phoenix-racing

Quote

Intrigued as to exactly why they voted that way, I sought those Phoenix Racing crewmen out for answers. What I got was an eye-opening explanation of the value of elite talent in NASCAR racing, from a group of gritty, no-nonsense racers who aren't apt to care about being cussed or chided -- and are oddly inspired by it.

The No. 51 crew painted a completely different picture of Busch than that which we see during the tirades and the meltdowns and the tantrums. They discussed a guy who is willing to get his hands dirty right alongside them, who rides with them to testing sessions, and who buys them beers at the bar.

But...but...but...TV said Kurt's a crybaby...but...but...but...you mean when coaches swear at players...it's just like a driver swearing at his crew...but...but...but...

Quote

"He's a cool guy who dies to win every lap," [car chief Lee] Dodson said. "He's all passion, really. That's what we see -- the passion. Does he get mad? Yes. But we can handle that. He's really old-school."

But...but...but...that idiot Massa said...hey maybe Kurt's just passionate and loves winning and hates losing...he must have been wrong...all wrong...

Marty Smith, you get a pass for the weekend.  That was a good article.  You aren't the sharpest tool when it comes to soliciting drivers for interviews apparently, but, good job.  It's great to see some recognition that the small team, the team that has to drive back for spare parts, the people who are actually impacted by Kurt (media and fans aren't)...really like having him around.

[Massa]

Ralph won today.

Will he ever win again?

[Massa]

In things only I care about, FOX is trying to negotiate an early extension with NASCAR before NBC has a chance to make a bid that will drive up the price.

I don't like this.

FOX coverage is awful.

NBC's coverage of every sport is really, really great.  I'd love to see NASCAR on NBC and NBCSN.  I'd hate to have to see more years of NASCAR on FOX and perhaps the new FS1 channel.

[Massa]

These videos are cute.  You know the IndyCar community is lucky because in twenty years or so, we're going to get James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden doing the commentary on TV and it will be pretty good, I suspect (I hope Dario Franchitti goes into TV after he retires, too).

[JHS18]

"Who's your favourite driver?"
"Uhhh...I don't know."

And there's Indycar's problems summed up in two sentences.

No, I joke, thanks for sharing that, it was pretty funny. I have to admit, I've grown to like Newgarden quite a bit.

Edited by JHS18, 18 June 2012 - 09:06 PM.

[Massa]

Well, IndyCar has it's shot at the big time this weekend in Iowa...they are the support series for the real American open-wheel: USAC Silver Crown and the USAC National Midget Championship.

IndyCar, in USAC's style, will be doing heat races to determine the starting lineup this weekend...

...but they won't be televised live.  They'll be shown before the actual race for people who want to watch seven million consecutive hours of IndyCar racing.  Those people are, admittedly, not me, because it's ROAD RACING WEEKEND IN AMERICA with USAC on YouTube and F1 on FOX and I can only take IndyCar in small doses before I just get really down about everything.