Brian Brainfart announces another announcement coming in May...

[pchall]

A new single provider chassis spec and a new exclusive engine supplier.

Read about the whole messed up thing here. (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/irl/2010-02-03-irl-new-chassis_N.htm)



Barnhart says the chassis are on parallel paths: An evolutionary approach by traditional IndyCar players Dallara, Lola and Swift, and the revolutionary option offered by DeltaWing, which will unveil its blueprint Feb. 10 at the Chicago Auto Show.

"At this point they're all concepts," Barnhart said Wednesday. "There's more questions around the radical car, but until they become realities, we can't be in position to pick one until they're off the computer screen and on the track.


"The hard part is it's somewhat of an economical equation," Barnhart says. "Most of them are more inclined to be in an exclusive supply situation. They don't want to lose volume, and they're looking at maximizing the parts they're building."

Barnhart also says IndyCar's length of schedule and its diversity (running on street courses, road courses and ovals) also could make multiple chassis options a cost-prohibitive problem for teams.

"If you find one car is better on a speedway than a road course and then a third car is better on 1.5-mile ovals, suddenly you find yourself needing two to three chassis to give yourself the best shot at a championship," Barnhart says. "That just raises costs of racing."

So, IMS and the IRL spend fifteen years destroying the sport and slowly killing the Indy 500 and all they can come up with for 2012 is crap like this? A spec chassis from single supplier and an exclusive engine deal. This is pathetic. So much to fix and still they have absolutely no clue about why their product sucks and is unpalatable to the motorsports demographic to which they most desperately need to reconnect.

[Napoleon]

So, IMS and the IRL spend fifteen years destroying the sport and slowly killing the Indy 500 and all they can come up with for 2012 is crap like this?

Yes.

Any more silly questions? ;)

[Don Quixote]

This after they have run off all of the passionate life long fans and all that are left are a couple hundred koolaide chugging place fans.:shakehead

[Sean Malone]

My god, put the animal out of its misery already! There are those on the boards that call for Indy Car to finally die so that something unrelated to IMS can emerge. Well, how much more dead does it need to be? If there were anyone with the inclination to start another series, they would have no problem with the competition from Indy Car. The interest just isn't there. Tony did more than ruin the Indy 500 and the Indy Car series, he alienated and betrayed an entire fan base thus ruining the sport from the foundation up.
No one is left to care about Delta Wings or third gen Dallara's.
If Bull Boy has a brain he'll broker a deal to sell the carcass to NASCAR within his first month on the job. At least they won't hesitate to put a bullet in it.

[NismoZ]

If $$ are the most important consideration and they are actually worried about road/oval compatibility all they have to do is buy up and dust off the DP01s, contact KK.:) and grease the wheels at Elan/Panoz. That'd put a smile on Haas' face!:D I was drawn to the mention of Swift as a tub consideration. Is that new? There ya go, Cotman's "Super Atlantic" idea!:thumbup:

[NismoZ]

I see Wilson has left Coyne for D&B and Coyne is looking to land Rahal. He'd consider Hildebrand, Summerton and Edwards too if they had oval experience.

[dando]

This after they have run off all of the passionate life long fans and all that are left are a couple hundred koolaide chugging place fans.:shakehead

But they still gots BiF. :gomer:

-Kevin

[pchall]

I was drawn to the mention of Swift as a tub consideration. Is that new? There ya go, Cotman's "Super Atlantic" idea!:thumbup:

Swift has their Formula Nippon chassis to draw up for "Super Atlantic":

http://andrelotterer.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/andre_1.jpg

The problem is -- as we all know -- that a spec chassis and an exclusive engine supplier won't bring any magic back to the events. That's where CCWS messed up. As nice a concept as the DP-01 was for 1997, two competing versions of the same concept would have been much better even if both were powered by XFEs.

[Duroc]

It's amazing they have so many adept at meaningless drivel in one organization.

Check out aportinga's post (http://www.smackforum.net/showpost.php?p=130138&postcount=13) at smackforum (NSFW-duh). He postulates Versus foisted :saywhat: on the league and IMS/IRL finances are a spreadsheet hustle.

I think he's right. The place is no longer economically viable as a racing facility. Which means NOBODY is going to cut a fat check for the track. So they're doing the cash flow dance and trying to keep the place from going under. Hey, maybe the new specs will save us, maybe Penske will return our calls with an offer.... meh.

Sell the grandstands for re-use\recycling. The museum collection to auction. Pull up the asphalt and sell the bricks (with certificate of authenticity). Sell the land to a developer. Light industrial, warehousing, truck terminal, warehouse stores.

Done, done and done.

Bringing in this guy :saywhat: and Brainfart's supercar is just costing the H-G clan money they don't have.

[emjaya]

The proposed design by Dallara (which supplies virtually all the teams with the chassis that's been in use since 2003) would cost $385,000. Dallara's new chassis would feature narrower tires, less horsepower (a drop from 630 to 570) and a lighter design (1,390 pounds vs. the current model's 1,530 pounds). The reduction in power, weight and tire width would increase fuel efficiency.

So they want to lose 140 pounds, and 60 horsepower. Right.

Get the Swift chassis and stick in a stock block 3.5-4.0lt V6, bolt on a turbo and go racing.

[oddlycalm]

The problem is -- as we all know -- that a spec chassis and an exclusive engine supplier won't bring any magic back to the events.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

They keep repeating the mantra "the equipment doesn't matter, it's all about the drivers" yet the lack of audience says otherwise. If they really believed it's all about the drivers they should have spent some of the squandered $600 million buying some drivers with a fan base for their series. :tony:

oc

[Sean Malone]

It's amazing they have so many adept at meaningless drivel in one organization.

Check out aportinga's post (http://www.smackforum.net/showpost.php?p=130138&postcount=13) at smackforum (NSFW-duh). He postulates Versus foisted :saywhat: on the league and IMS/IRL finances are a spreadsheet hustle.

I think he's right. The place is no longer economically viable as a racing facility. Which means NOBODY is going to cut a fat check for the track. So they're doing the cash flow dance and trying to keep the place from going under. Hey, maybe the new specs will save us, maybe Penske will return our calls with an offer.... meh.

Sell the grandstands for re-use\recycling. The museum collection to auction. Pull up the asphalt and sell the bricks (with certificate of authenticity). Sell the land to a developer. Light industrial, warehousing, truck terminal, warehouse stores.

Done, done and done.

Bringing in this guy :saywhat: and Brainfart's supercar is just costing the H-G clan money they don't have.

He gives them too much credit for having brains to think of that scenario. :)

[Napoleon]

They keep repeating the mantra "the equipment doesn't matter, it's all about the drivers" yet the lack of audience says otherwise.

Maybe, but I would be willing to bet that the economics of the situation is so bad that in order to have any chance at anything resembling a full field for an entire season they have to use spec chassis and engines to keep the cost down to a level to have that happen. Champcar didn't go that route because the variety it had at one time didn't draw crowds.

It is easy enough to sit here and say the racing would be better if x,y and z happened, but unless the money is there to make z, y and z happen it is not happening. So they have to adopt a plan that is economically plausible and cross their fingers and hope it works.

[Napoleon]

He gives them too much credit for having brains to think of that scenario. :)

That scenario is way to tin foil hat for me.

I have a hard time believing the IMS does not positively cash flow, and as long as they cut off new investments they can run that place for years at a positive cash flow just like the steel mills in my home town did forever and a day. I suspect that would be true even if only the Nascar race ran there.

The killer is there is no way the IRL is positive cash flowing. The best I would think they could hope for is break even. So the question becomes if it is in negative cash flow territory how negative can it go before the pull the plug (I would think at a min. it would be whatever they make in income over variable expenses off the 500).

[SteveH]

IMS probably does put money in the bank. The bigger question is how much does the IRL withdrawal? I suspect that sometime in the late 90s the amount deposited decreased annually and the amount withdrawn to support the IRL increased. And in the past several years the rate of each increased significantly.

[oddlycalm]

Trying to imagine all the details is neither necessary or productive, the known facts themselves are sufficient to have a clear enough picture.


Given the screaming showdown and subsequent departure of TG it's clear the IRL financial losses were painful enough to cause a full meltdown.

Welfare to the teams is over. Doesn't matter whether it's Vision or NHL, if they don't have sponsors they will be running ride buyers or not running at all.

The new CEO came from PBR which is heavily involved with Comcast/Versus.

The IRL is worth arout $12 and was lacking a CEO.
Comcast didn't need to buy the league in order to get control, they just had to make a few calls and nominate someone with the ability to breath air and with a resume that rose above the low-water mark left by TG. Ability to speak in whole sentences not required. :tony:

oc

[Sean Malone]

Trying to imagine all the details is neither necessary or productive, the known facts themselves are sufficient to have a clear enough picture.


Given the screaming showdown and subsequent departure of TG it's clear the IRL financial losses were painful enough to cause a full meltdown.

Welfare to the teams is over. Doesn't matter whether it's Vision or NHL, if they don't have sponsors they will be running ride buyers or not running at all.

The new CEO came from PBR which is heavily involved with Comcast/Versus.

The IRL is worth arout $12 and was lacking a CEO.
Comcast didn't need to buy the league in order to get control, they just had to make a few calls and nominate someone with the ability to breath air and with a resume that rose above the low-water mark left by TG. Ability to speak in whole sentences not required. :tony:

oc

:thumbup:

[JohnHKart]

It's a commentary on current events hat Motorsport magazine is writing recently about the Cart cars of 97 and 2000 with great fondness. So much so recent was so great and so bloody gone.

[TravelGal]

Trying to imagine all the details is neither necessary or productive, the known facts themselves are sufficient to have a clear enough picture.



The IRL is worth arout $12 and was lacking a CEO.

Comcast didn't need to buy the league in order to get control, they just had to make a few calls and nominate someone with the ability to breath air and with a resume that rose above the low-water mark left by TG.

Ability to speak in whole sentences not required. :tony:

oc

No, but it would be a pleasant change. I felt like I was drowning in tapioca, just trying to read the first post.

Agreed that Versus had to have a hand in this and they want something from it. Just think: commercials for rodeos and bull riding in the middle of the IRL races. Irony hangs heavy in the air.

[oddlycalm]

Irony hangs heavy in the air.
Yup, like the fetid pall of rotting citrus....:D

oc

[Indy]

He gives them too much credit for having brains to think of that scenario. :)

It doesn't take much brainpower to be a petty schemer.

I am convinced the IRL from the beginning was all about money. Tony saw the CART teams rolling in cash and had been taught by his grandpappy that all proceeds from AOW belong to the Family. He fumbled around with how to steal it until some cronies with their own motives helped him design a scheme for a hostile takeover.

It's all an accounting shell game with the primary motive being the serfdom of the team owners. Of course, their greed brought them down. Instant karma, baby. And now the boy King has been eliminated so Momma and the Sissies get to prove that they are equally stupid and greedy.

[Chief]

UhhhOhhh (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/pruett-say-no-to-kee-rock/)

If you are a fan of Indy-style racing and its history, you might find some parallels between the efforts of the paddock and the 2012 car and those of the disenfranchised group that broke from USAC to form CART more than 30 years ago.

While I won’t go so far as to say the ‘Delta Wings’ are looking to break from the IndyCar Series, it doesn’t take a degree in Political Science to figure out that with the 2012 initiative, the Delta Wings sent a somewhat subtle message to the League that they know who holds the real power in the relationship.

Aiding and abetting? Plagiarism? A little bit of both, maybe?

The Delta Wings kept their Chicago Auto Show launch under wraps for a while, but eventually word got out and they confirmed their 2012 model will be unveiled next week in Illinois.

Rather than collaborate with the Delta Wings, the League saw an opportunity to gain a tactical advantage – one that is purely political – by working hurriedly to scoop the Chicago Auto Show launch.

First, the IndyCar Series sent out a release on Thursday, written by Ben Bowlby, sorry, Brian Barnhart, that outlined everything the League wanted to see in a new car for 2012.

[Sean Malone]

Ganassi as the 'good guy' makes me sick to my stomach.:yuck:

[Duroc]

UhhhOhhh

History repeats, first as tragedy, then as farce. I'm not sure Karl had Indy racin' in mind.. but damn, what a bunch of idiots.

So Roger and Cheap on one side and whoever has the Babylon sisters ears at the Speedway this week on the other? :laugh:

What can you say?

What in the wide, wide, world of racing is this (http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=tsn-indycargetsinontheda&prov=tsn&type=lgns)???

[Shadow]

History repeats, first as tragedy, then as farce. I'm not sure Karl had Indy racin' in mind.. but damn, what a bunch of idiots.

So Roger and Cheap on one side and whoever has the Babylon sisters ears at the Speedway this week on the other? :laugh:

What can you say?

What in the wide, wide, world of racing is this (http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=tsn-indycargetsinontheda&prov=tsn&type=lgns)???

Amazing. A sign of real trouble brewing for IMS IMO.

[Easy]

That commentary by Marshall Pruett is very interesting. I hadn't read the copied outline from the league, just glanced at Dallara's renderings. Barnhart is a disaster.

Barnhart's motto should be: Making the possible impossible.