Debate Question

This is your just your opinion and please debate about this question, With the changes that the IZOD Indycar series are making, within the next few years, be a CART 2.0? Debate.

It already is becoming CART 2.0. In terms of drivers, it's pretty much been that way for years (IRL/Indy Car being an American series?!? Yeah, how is that going?!?). In terms of the types of courses run, I think it's just about at that point.

Yes. Schedule is more road course focused, and a couple of other changes have made it feel real champ car-esque.

What I think of the whole mess:

I'm confused as to why they wanted to split from CART, just to become CART

Not terribly educated in CART-related matters so...how exactly is it becoming CART?

Blake Camphausen wrote:I'm confused as to why they wanted to split from CART, just to become CART

NASCAR was gaining traction with the American audience, and the higher ups at IMS looked at NASCAR's governing model as the recipe for success in the early 90's racing economy. Tony George added the Brickyard 400 in 1994, thus starting a partnership with the France family and NASCAR. It is believed that Bill France Jr. and his aide at ISC, John Cooper, suggested to Tony George that the Hulman-George family take control of IndyCar racing before the car owners of CART took their control of the series too far. I have heard speculation that Bernie Ecclestone loaned George money to form the IRL and hold the USGP at Indy as a cover, as CART was a very serious threat to Formula One at that time. Tony George probably got spooked at the scare tactics of the Frances and Ecclestone and created the IRL, full of American drivers on American ovals. For the first several years, the IRL stayed that way. In the early 2000's CART owners like Rahal, Ganassi, Penske, and Andretti came over from CART. Therefore, it can be concluded that the owners had a say in the IRL after they joined. With the majority of the big shot owners and drivers in the IRL rather than ChampCar (save for Newman Haas), the series used those key players and the Indy 500 itself as leverage against CART/CCWS. ChampCar, already somewhat tight on funds, introduced their new car in 2007 (which provided great racing), probably cost the teams, and the series, a lot of money. ChampCar's financial stability collapsed, and with IRL running a combination of ovals/streets/road courses, couldn't justify continuing on with car counts lower than 14. They merged in 2008, and many of the people who ran the IRL are now gone, replaced by outsiders or former ChampCar officials. The reason that the IRL is turning into CART 2.0 is because the street courses, Iowa, Texas, and the Indy 500 draws the most fans. Natural terrain road courses and other ovals can't keep up, and NASCAR, being the douches they are, won't let IndyCar run on ISC tracks, and Bruton Smith won't run the IndyCars unless he has title sponsorship. This is just all my opinion on it. I think the IRL should have never been formed, but Tony George at least knows what Indy means and he tried to protect it.

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