Pook Gone

[Audi_A4]

Packed up his office and has gone back to California.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/101760-2403-037.html

[ChrisB]

Mixed feelings. He did accomplish some good... he streamlined the franchise vote by reducing it to a simple 51% majority instead of the previous 70 or 80%... and he kept the 2.65L turbos, mainly to avoid having the 3.5L engine be a source of funding for Toyota and Illmors IRL program. And he generally did do a lot of promoting the series.

But boyohboy, did he say a LOT of dumb things! (feeder for F1, drop trousers, etc...)

[Spicoli]

His office has been empty for weeks.

Sad.

[Ziggy]

From the "we will never know" department. What would have played out had they hired Chris instead of Joe H.?

I think Pook would have had a fighting chance.

He did what he could. Everyone knew it would involve spending huge amounts of dollars.

Thank God for Ford

Ziggy

[pfc_m_drake]

I agree that everybody knew (or at least figured) that it would involve spending a large amount of money.

However, I don't think that anybody (honestly) thought that the money would be spent so quickly (e.g. gone after only one season).

[jonovision_man]

Originally posted by pfc_m_drake
I agree that everybody knew (or at least figured) that it would involve spending a large amount of money.

However, I don't think that anybody (honestly) thought that the money would be spent so quickly (e.g. gone after only one season).

Indeed, it was quite shocking just how fast he burned through cash vs. the previous year. They should have thought about letting some of the self-promotes go, those were almost all dogs, and not neccessary given the number of races already scheduled.

jono

[Railbird]

just another page of history.

Get the sale done and move on.

I agree with Zig, Ford was the most important player in keeping the series alive last year.

Pook stepped into a no-win situation last year and just managed to keep it afloat by throwing around the bucks, not to mention some pretty stupid quotes.

time to move on

[cart7]

He may have been praying for an economic turnaround that would loosen corporate marketing purse strings which would have infused some sponsorship into the leagues sponsorshipless teams. Those teams were a massive drain on the reserves not to mention having to pay to buy airtime and promote a number of the races. Lets hope most of the most popular venues hang in there and hold on till the new regime takes over.

[Accipiter]

Pook came too late, so all he could do was apply Band-Aids. He deserves our thanks for keeping the series running.

[RTKar]

Originally posted by Accipiter
Pook came too late, so all he could do was apply Band-Aids. He deserves our thanks for keeping the series running.

I have to agree, too late for an impact to guarantee a series beyond a year or two. No homerun was forthcoming; a major title sponsor spending wads of cash. The obvious solution to have a 2003 season was to use any cash to ensure a field, that decision didn't take a Harvard MBA. His comment regarding the Atlantics series was regrettable, however I'm thankful he was able to rally the troops and put together a season for us.

[Railbird]

this time last year I was calling for a more nafta orientated season, pulling in the horns so to speak, in an effort to rebuild. Pook chose the euro fishing expedition and series-promoted events to hopefully attract sponsors and manufactures.

Hard to say which direction would have been better for who. If they still had money in the warchest I believe the battle for control would still be going on. As it now stands, with private ownership and series control on the horizon, the situation should be much more workable.

[sadams]

Ford helped the EARL in the begining too.:flame:

[jons]

Spending money was the only way to attract a sponser IMO. It didn't work, but he tried hard. I'm sure he is breathing a sigh of relief that this year is over and he is out of the situation. I believe he did the best he could and hindsight is far easier than being in the trenches. There will be racing next year and that is a huge accomplishment for Ford, Pook and the others involved.

[jons]

[QUOTE][i]Doh!

[JLMannin]

Originally posted by sadams
Ford helped the EARL in the begining too.:flame:


. . . . . and Ilmor did not. Look where Ilmor is today. Then there is the Chevy Gen4ord. Ford stuck with CART and stepped forward to give the series a shot at 2005 when the other manufacturers bolted.

[JT265]

Originally posted by sadams
Ford helped the EARL in the begining too.:flame:

And so did the greedy cabal of CART team owners. Where do you think they got all those '95 Reynards from anyway?

[cartcanuck]

Pook and CART burned through a bunch of bucks, but he didn't have much choice. If he'd started dropping races mid-way through last season he might have saved some money but I'd be willing to guess that doing so would have created some substantial black marks on the series that would have scared away more potential buyers than a broke company would. Unfortunately, his direction failed because there just weren't any other buyers interested. It was a calculated risk, and worth it in my mind. YOu gotta spend money to make money and while it created a great season with great racing and a great champion, it wasn't enough to attract any big money sponsors to keep things alive.

Could anyone have done what Pook did? Not likely. Most would have given in to the pressures in the paddock and the press and from some fans, and tried to penny pinch and likely would have ended up talking to TG again. Pook pulled a hard line, turned his back on TG and the IRL, and tried to build on CART's own identity. For that, I'll always be thankful to Pook. I got tired of feeling like CART was chasing Tony and wanting to play on his field. I like Pook's "screw 'em" attitude. If we'd had him in place 4 years ago, we likely wouldn't be where we are today.

Who knows? Either way he gave us racing last year instead of divesting the company and paying out the shareholders a few bucks and shutting things down. He gave us racing last year, and he lead CART into the OWRS era. Was he perfect? No. But he deserves our thanks that's for sure!