"If I were the Commish" by Eddie Gossage

[SurfaceUnits]

GOSSAGE SAYS ...

TMS president Eddie Gossage has no interest in becoming the commissioner of a unified IRL/Champ Car league, but he does have five specific suggestions about what the principals should do:

1. Form a consistent schedule: "Stop changing venues every year and confusing people. Pick events that have stability and continued success."

2. Find an independent commissioner: "Don't have a person from either league have absolute authority over the decision-making process. And don't have the team owners run the league. Find a respected outsider, a creative guy who both sides can trust to make unbiased decisions."

3. Make the cars bigger: "The chassis of these cars has gotten so small that it makes it difficult for sponsors to advertise effectively. Make the body space larger, similar to how the cars were in the 1980s."

4. More American drivers: "They don't call us the ugly American for nothing. People want to see American drivers. They want to see drivers they know. We're not going to follow a driver from wherever as much as an American success story."

5. Make sure the car formula works for high-speed ovals: "If that means slowing the cars down, do it. But don't make cars that are too fast or too dangerous for tracks that produce the most exciting racing. America is an oval-track country."

[Spicoli]

:gomer: .

[RaceGrrl]

Gossage is an idiot.

[Cam]

GOSSAGE SAYS ...

3. Make the cars bigger: "The chassis of these cars has gotten so small that it makes it difficult for sponsors to advertise effectively. Make the body space larger, similar to how the cars were in the 1980s."

IOW.... Make it even more difficult to pass than it is now.... :rolleyes:

[pchall]

GOSSAGE SAYS ...

3. Make the cars bigger: "The chassis of these cars has gotten so small that it makes it difficult for sponsors to advertise effectively. Make the body space larger, similar to how the cars were in the 1980s."



:rolleyes:

We all had no problem recognizing the Foster's and Quaker State Porsches, and those had to be some of smallest Champ Cars of that era and certainly smaller than a current Lola.

[Ankf00]

bigger cars, slow cars for ovals, american drivers...

he already has the IRL :gomer:

[jcollins28]

4. More American drivers: "They don't call us the ugly American for nothing. People want to see American drivers. They want to see drivers they know. We're not going to follow a driver from wherever as much as an American success story."

Nothing pisses me off more then this line of thinking. I guess as Americans we really are lazy and narrow minded. Who wants to go through the hassle of learning a talented drivers name that may have multiple syllables when we can just cheer for a crappy American driver with a name that rolls off the tongue like Foyt.

I got into a debate with a NASCAR fan the other day about this. While he wants everyone to support Toyota because as he said they are damn near and American car company. He can not see that a foreign driver that comes over here and earns a living and pays taxes is living "The American Dream".

If an American driver is the best driver then I will support him. I do not want to see a bunch of "Foyts" though just because they are American.

[rosawendel]

cough cough <armchair quarterback> cough cough.

not much difference betwen him and, oh, i don't know, you or me... he just has a bigger microphone. we should get bill gates to weigh in on being commissioner. he'd be just as relevant.

[gjc2]

bigger cars, slow cars for ovals, american drivers...

he already has the IRL :gomer:

He already has NASCAR

[gjc2]

Nothing pisses me off more then this line of thinking. I guess as Americans we really are lazy and narrow minded. Who wants to go through the hassle of learning a talented drivers name that may have multiple syllables when we can just cheer for a crappy American driver with a name that rolls off the tongue like Foyt.

I got into a debate with a NASCAR fan the other day about this. While he wants everyone to support Toyota because as he said they are damn near and American car company. He can not see that a foreign driver that comes over here and earns a living and pays taxes is living "The American Dream".

If an American driver is the best driver then I will support him. I do not want to see a bunch of "Foyts" though just because they are American.

I agree.

[Wabbit]

#1 - Right on. Get some consistancy in the schedule
#2 - Also Right on. We need someone to run a combined series with the series as the number one priority, not a track. Robin Miller? :D
#3 - :gomer: This isn't NASCAR
#4 - Yes, we need more domestic drivers, if they are qualified. We need all drivers regardless of nationality that have qualifications beyond a big checkbook.
#5 - Yes, we need a diverse car/engine combination. Come up with a car that can race all kinds of circuits, but an engine that can be tuned down to slowdows the cars on superspeedways.

[cameraman]

GOSSAGE SAYS

1. Okay - that would be nice.
2. Whatever
3. **** you *******. Why not switch over to racing 40 ft semis while you are at it.
4. Bite me. I want sponsors that will allow off season testing for the best driver. I don't care if the best driver is from Botswana. I don't want to see Jeff Simmons & Ed Carpenter just because they are ****ing Americans. ****ing knuckle dragging morons.
5. Fine, run Indy to pay for the rest of the season.

[Insomniac]

Nothing pisses me off more then this line of thinking. I guess as Americans we really are lazy and narrow minded. Who wants to go through the hassle of learning a talented drivers name that may have multiple syllables when we can just cheer for a crappy American driver with a name that rolls off the tongue like Foyt.

I got into a debate with a NASCAR fan the other day about this. While he wants everyone to support Toyota because as he said they are damn near and American car company. He can not see that a foreign driver that comes over here and earns a living and pays taxes is living "The American Dream".

If an American driver is the best driver then I will support him. I do not want to see a bunch of "Foyts" though just because they are American.

I disagree. Most people have a sense of nationalism. You don't root for people from other countries nearly as much as the people from your country in any international sporting event. You can certainly respect them and recognize their talent, but most people would be much more inclined to root for their own countrymen, whether they are underdogs or top dog.

[jcollins28]

I disagree. Most people have a sense of nationalism. You don't root for people from other countries nearly as much as the people from your country in any international sporting event. You can certainly respect them and recognize their talent, but most people would be much more inclined to root for their own countrymen, whether they are underdogs or top dog.


Well the IRL has more then enough under dog "Mericans" enjoy....

[Accipiter]

Who TF asked?

[Insomniac]

Well the IRL has more then enough under dog "Mericans" enjoy....

Yeah, I wouldn't call someone with no potential an under dog.

[devilmaster]

Ed, go tell your boss to stop building and buying 1.5 mile high banked cookie cutters and perhaps OW cars can help you guys out more often....

[cart7]

I guess the American drivers Eddies referring to are more guys like PJ Chesson? :gomer:

[oddlycalm]

If an American driver is the best driver then I will support him. I do not want to see a bunch of "Foyts" though just because they are American. Exactly right. If having American stars was the magic ingredient then how is it that FIM GP racing (now MotoGP) in which US riders have won 14 of the last 30 world championships and in which a US rider currently shares the points lead doesn't even warrant a mention?

Gossage knows as much about professional formula car racing as your mail man does.

oc

[Insomniac]

Exactly right. If having American stars was the magic ingredient then how is it that FIM GP racing (now MotoGP) in which US riders have won 14 of the last 30 world championships and in which a US rider currently shares the points lead doesn't even warrant a mention?

Gossage knows as much about professional formula car racing as your mail man does.

oc

When was motorcycle racing ever mainstream?

[Boatdesigner]

#5 - The only way to do this is to take the wings off the cars. If they are going to slow the cars down, they become nothing but foot to the floor drafting contests. Who cares? I think these things have outgrown the super speedways, but are still good on small ovals (I used to like Phoenix and there was some good racing yesterday, well . . . for 2-16 :D ). Maybe Indy needs to be a one-off, non series race with unique rules. That or we need to uncork the turbos again and have 240 mph speeds, although there probably aren't enough qualified drivers for that type of speed anymore.

[oddlycalm]

When was motorcycle racing ever mainstream? Exactly my point. If all it takes is to have American champions there would be a lot of sports that would be front page news. Lance Armstrong had to dominate his sport for nearly a decade and win the biggest bicycle race in the world 5 times before the mainstream media caught on and made a big deal of it in his final two seasons. If it wasn't for the story hook of his cancer survival you have to wonder if they would have paid any attention ever.

Gossage is a nose picker with a reporter in front of him.

oc

[Ankf00]

The lance analogy is perfect. The US ski team's had plenty of success the past 4 years but until the olympics no one GAF.

and regardless, if points 3 through 5 were the answer, the IRL would be #1 in american motorsports considering where the sport was in 1995.

[emjaya]

Exactly my point. If all it takes is to have American champions there would be a lot of sports that would be front page news. Lance Armstrong had to dominate his sport for nearly a decade and win the biggest bicycle race in the world 5 times before the mainstream media caught on and made a big deal of it in his final two seasons. If it wasn't for the story hook of his cancer survival you have to wonder if they would have paid any attention ever.

oc

Just ask Greg Lemond. :)

[gjc2]

Maybe Indy needs to be a one-off, non series race with unique rules.

If two or three of the IRL's big teams come over to Champ Car for 2007 the one-off scenario may be Tony George's only choice. Over at TF there's a drawing of a really cool looking modern front engine Indy Car.

[Insomniac]

Exactly my point. If all it takes is to have American champions there would be a lot of sports that would be front page news. Lance Armstrong had to dominate his sport for nearly a decade and win the biggest bicycle race in the world 5 times before the mainstream media caught on and made a big deal of it in his final two seasons. If it wasn't for the story hook of his cancer survival you have to wonder if they would have paid any attention ever.

Gossage is a nose picker with a reporter in front of him.

oc

I see what you're saying here. But while OWR isn't very popular right now, they still have Indy which still pulls people in and it's more in the mainstream (tv coverage, press) than motorcycle racing, cycling or skiing. There are some small foundations and they need to somehow pull more people in, or get people to care about more than Indy. Having Americans who can contend and race will help.

[Sean O'Gorman]

Gossage's ideas may be stupid, but at least he is thinking about how those beyond his buddies in the paddock will benefit from it, unlike the guys actually running open wheel.

[GOFAST1]

This guy is a big time idiot. :thumdown: