May 12, 2001 - Indy 500 Editorial

Is CART welcome at Indy?

Some IRL Voices...

"As Chip Ganassi found out last year, CART teams get more exposure from this one race than they do from their entire series," said IMS spokesman Fred Nation. "You can't ignore the biggest race in the world. The reason CART teams are coming is because they know at the end of the day, that it's in their economic best interest. The market will rule, and in the end, they'll all be here."
Asked if the IMS would do anything thing to give the IRL advantages, Nation replied, "There's no interest in creating any perceived barrier to CART teams. At the Indianapolis 500, teams have always been bumped. IRL teams have had every opportunity to be ready for CART teams to be added, and we have every belief they will hold their own. But there's no guarantee. If the teams are not ready by now, they'll never be ready."
At this point, most IRL team sponsors welcome the exposure CART teams bring to the Indianapolis 500.
"We feel we have a pretty competitive team, so we expect we'll get extra publicity out of this," said Ray Kennedy, vice president of marketing for Delta Faucet, which sponsors Hemelgarn Racing, piloted by driver Buddy Lazier.
Menard, whose team is sponsored by his own Menard's lumber and hardware store chain and is one of the better-heeled IRL teams, is not concerned about his driver, Greg Ray, making the race. But he said he's already heard rumblings from other team owners that run the majority of the IRL circuit. "I think everybody worries about CART cherry-picking our best races, but I'd rather see open competition. That's racing."
From a fan standpoint, adding the CART teams has taken this race to a different level," said Reinbold, who formed Indianapolis-based Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 1999. "The crossover validates that our series is growing and getting better."
[ref. Indianapolis Business Journal]

Dan's Viewpoint:
May 12, 2001
Doesn't more CART teams showing up create more interest?
Doesn't that prove that CART should be here?
Sure, I think that CART fans can't help but be more attuned to the 500 as some of their heroes bring their cars and drivers and money to compete against the hated Indy Racing League. They are bound to be pensive, hoping that their heroes are successful. Being pensive is one of the hallmarks of being a happy race fan.
IRL fans also are more likely to be paying attention. After all, this is something different, some new challenges. The serious IRL fans are also pensive. Can the IRL's experience with the cars overcome CART's big-money teams? After all, the IRL lost at least one driver and 11 cars a few weeks ago, while the CART teams stayed away from Atlanta, resting their IRL steeds.
What I have found the most invigorating about the IRL is that room has been made in the highest echelon of American open-wheel racing for guys who are not billionaires to start up teams and room for the best up-and-coming Americans drivers to get their chance.
THE INDY 500 IS ABOUT A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN A COUPLE BILLIONAIRE TEAM OWNERS. There are TENS OF THOUSANDS of folks who make the Indy 500 the event it is. You have the local neighbors and businesses providing parking and putting up with the traffic. Most of the people you'll see cleaning up around the speedway are doing it for charity. All of those guys in the yellow shirts who stand around in the hot sun (or the pouring rain) all day directing auto and pedestrian traffic, are not doing it for the money! Nor are all the gals working all day in the snack bars and souvenir shops. The safety crews out on the track really have it hard as they swelter in their fire proof suits. You've got a legion of media from all over the world working for weeks to get the news out to the millions of fans. The police forces of Indianapolis have a huge task before them as do the hotels and restaurants; as they get bombarded by nearly half a million people. And of course, you have the hundreds of thousands of people who show up and lay their money down to get in to watch.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE THE 500 WHAT IT IS FOR THE LAST 90 YEARS!
And you want me to care about a couple of billionaires who have the audacity to think their money and ego is more important than these millions of people???
"Buffalo" Chip Ganassi has just shown us what kind of class his money brings. His actions remind us as well that he doesn't even understand the words "loyalty" and "honesty".
As you know, he brought his two new foreign drivers, Bruno and Nicolas, to Indy. He is going to run them in the biggest race in the world!
Then, Chip went to the richest auto racing circuit in America, Nascar, where he also has his hand in, and buys one of their best drivers who just happens to be an ex-IRL driver. Getting a Winston Cup contender to be at Indy on the day of the big Charlotte race is impressive. More than likely, Tony Stewart will be too worn out to be competitive in the 600-miler later that day. Fact is, its downright dangerous. Does Chip care? Heck no! It works out better for him both ways.
Then he demonstrates how he can play with mens lives with his and Target's money. Jimmy Vasser gave up Indy for Chip, and he brought Chip a CART title and Ganassi fired him last year.
Well Buffalo butt gets himself the above mentioned foreign boys and brings them along to Indy to play with. As his right hand is getting their hopes up, his left is buying Vasser and Stewart. He then yanks the rug out from under Bruno and Nicolas! He thinks he can do whatever he wants! Fire Vasser, hire Bruno, fire Bruno, hire Vasser, fire Vasser, hire Bruno...
Does Vasser have any dignity left? I guess we'll see. If he's not going to win on Sunday, and he suddenly takes Tony Stewart out, we'll know he does. Now THAT would teach Ganassi a thing or two! Of course I'm kidding, but wouldn't that be something?!
I think we all prefer to watch races where everyone has a chance to win. The IRL has a few powerhouse teams too, but the way the rules are layed out, we still see the little guys winning and being competitive (although many teams really need more sponsors, which we would have, if it wasn't for about 6 CART team-owners). When you bring in more powerhouse teams from CART, it GREATLY reduces the chances of the smaller teams ever getting a break. So far, the smaller teams in CART don't seem to be able to afford to buy the extra IRL equipment to show up, so when CART teams come now, its the big-money teams. Many were excited about Ganassi and Target showing up last year. Was it a better race for their presence? I didn't think so.
This handful of rich CART owners thought they would just screw hundreds of thousands of people by boycotting the Greatest Spectacle in Racing back in 96. Now that CART is on the major decline, they've seen that they weren't so hot after all. Have they learned anything? The IRL, the fans, Tony George and IMS has put up with five years of their put-downs and lies, while those on the Indy 500 side, have turned the other cheek. Now they welcome them back with open arms, like the prodigal son. I think old Roger and Chip and their fans, should take a hard look at THEIR value system and be thankful that THEY HAVE BEEN WELCOMED BACK TO THE 500.

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