I Enjoyed It

[DaveL]

The elimination of traction control made for a much better race. There was more passing today than all of last year. There are some drivers out there who will be the Larry Foyt's of C^RT, but there were some impressive runs too.

This is a rebuilding year, but I saw a lot to build on. The great crowd is the reason why C^RT lives. The fifth column tried to kill us, but my hat is off to those teams out there that didn't let it happen.

[cart7]

damn fine race.:thumbup: :D

Amen to no TC!:cool:

[WickerBill]

Very true Dave. Bourdais, Hunter-Reay, and insane Haberfeld... it'll be a fun year.

[Eagle104]

Enjoyed it, too.

The (doom and)gloomy winter is over!

Feeling good.........

:thumbup:

[ChrisB]

I agree... I very much enjoyed it. The cars looked and sounded fast, the level of competition and drama was pretty good, and the number of wrecks seemed very much reduced. The TV production was great too!

[lone_groover]

Great track too. Wide enough for creative corner entries and four-wheel power slides. Soooo sexy! :thumbup:

[Napoleon]

I really enjoyed it. Here is to what looks to be an interesting season.

[RacinM3]

If I had more thumbs up it's be more thumbs up!! (copyright 2002 Anna Nicole Smith):thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[JT265]

No arguement here. :thumbup:

[eric1]

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Hot Rod Otis]

I enjoyed the h3ll out of it. Count me as one of those who thought CART was finished. I'm so frigging glad I was so wrong. All hail to Chris Pook.:cool:

Nice circuit, good crowd. Glad T/C was gone. Thought CART did a good job keeping the yellow time to a minimum. A LOT fewer yellows than I anticipated as well. I was expecting a non-stop parade of yellow flag laps for repeated spins by Gonzalez, Lavin and Camathis, but they did ok. Its a shame that such a wanker like Rodolfo Lavin drives such a good looking car. Haberfeld needs a good talking too, but other than that, every body drove a smart race.

Things are looking up. I might even have to go to the St. Pete race next year. The in-laws spend Feb. in Bradenton, so "mom" might have some company next year.

[RTKar]

Absolutely, also Al Speyer mentioned that the tires may have been a bit harder for the circuit than what they should have been, which may have made the cars a little loose. I also don't think I heard any mention of marbles during the entire race. :thumbup:

[rabbit]

I can't seem to wipe this stupid grin off my face!:D :thumbup:

[Railbird]

I saw more actual driving today than I've seen in quite a while. Thank God for no TC.

[Hurling Frootmig]

It was a very good race. The track was very interesting for a street circuit and the new rules allowed for more "driving". I think CART has found a very workable formula that should provide us with a lot of passing.

Kudos to all of the people who worked so hard to show that the only hammer Tony brought to work each day was simply a toy hammer he stole from a toddler.

[nrc]

No doubt about it, the best race of the season! :) Better most of last year's, too.

Besides the increased passing, getting rid of traction control increased the entertainment value of the race even when they're not attempting a pass. CART really didn't provide a product that could make the most of Lingner's production last year.

They did have a few miscues on the coverage. Hopefully they're just knocking off the rust, but I was disappointed that we never got to see the contact that knocked Bourdais out of contention.

[molive]

My $0,02:

GREAT RACE!!

:cool:

[JSR]

I was very impressed with the race especially considering it was a street race. I am not much of a fan of street racing. The passing was a pleasant surprise. It is so nice that CART got rid of TC. Now if they could just get rid of that damn mandated pit window. :cool: :D

[nrc]

Originally posted by JSR
Now if they could just get rid of that damn mandated pit window. :cool: :D

I agree, it may have had an unnecessary impact on the race because of Bordais getting out of sequence and then being forced to stop.

This would be another good question for Portland. Since they no longer have fuel mapping why not get rid of the pit window rule? With fewer full course cautions and no fuel mapping fuel an economy run would be pretty difficult to pull off.

[mnkywrch]

I enjoyed it.

I hope to see some kind of mid-field develop that can occasionally contend, though - it still seems like Newman-Haas and Player's are the class of the field.

But it is early in the season.

[FortyOneFord]

Wow! Great stuff. I can't wait for more.

[nz_climber]

Great race - soo good to see some racing again!!

[Kiwifan]

Just finished watching the race. (tape delay for half of it, had to work) Well done to all that made had a part to play in keeping this fantastic series alive.

I don't think we could of had a better winner today. Well done Paul, as a C^RT stalwart you deserve plenty of kudos.

Rusty.

HRO, I'm surprised at you. ;) Please go to the corner and give yourself a couple of wacks to your rear end. :) :) Long live C^RT!

[GOFAST1]

Real racing!!! I love CART and this racers are for real.:thumbup: Great race!!!!

[racer2c]

It was a fine race. A damn fine race. I was pleasantly surprised that the 'rookies' looked not only competitive but down right comfortable. There will be mistakes, by rookies and vets alike, but St Pete just reiterates the level at which ChampCar represents.

Bravo. How many days to Mexico?

[Hink]

That was a good race. I really liked the track since it's wide and has straightaways where you can pass.

[Hot Rod Otis]

Originally posted by Kiwifan

HRO, I'm surprised at you. ;) Please go to the corner and give yourself a couple of wacks to your rear end. :) :) Long live C^RT! [/B]

:laugh: Guilty as charged, 50 lashes with a wet noodle. This is the 1st time I've been optimistic about CART in a while. I thought CART was finished, I told Ziggy as much the day before the IRL500. It was tough the last year and a half watching a great racing series I lived and breathed for years, self-destruct. Things are definately looking up. :) :thumbup:

[Kiwifan]

Oh bugger, looks like I'm gonna be standing right there beside you. I thought I could spell whack but obviously I can't.:o Now where's that noodle? :D :D

Cheers HRO, great to see you on the bright side. ;)

Rusty.