sundaydriver
02-28-03, 04:20 PM
Here's the "story":
Indy Racing Series zooms by CART
By Richard Biebrich
Staff writer
Posted February 27 2003
IRL or CART? That decision has been before the open-wheel racing fan in North America since 1996, when Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George formed the all-oval based Indy Racing League.
Seven years later, when the gentlemen and lady start their engines for Sunday's Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, they also begin the IRL's first season since the split as the dominant open-wheel series.
Starting with Marlboro Penske in 2002, more teams have made the jump from CART to IRL, bringing names such as Andretti, Franchitti, Brack and Rahal with them. Engine manufacturers have made the switch, with Toyota and Honda joining the series as engine providers this season.
And the people have voted with their wallets -- series attendance and TV ratings are up.
"The 2002 season showed a 17 percent increase on ABC and a 31 percent increase on ESPN compared to 2001," said Ken Ungar, senior vice president for the series' business affairs, during a recent teleconference. "Attendance grew 9 percent from 2001 to 2002, with some of our tracks experiencing significant growth."
With so much attention focusing on the series, the 2003 season is shaping up to be its most important since its first.
The series, which started with only two engine suppliers in Infiniti and Oldsmobile, now has three in Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet.
Most importantly of all, it has the Indianapolis 500.
Like the Kentucky Derby is to horse racing, the Indy 500 is to open-wheel, oval track racing. When CART did have the names and the manufacturers, the one thing it didn't have was the mystique of the Indy 500. Sure, it raced all over the United States, and in Japan and Australia, but the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is to the open-wheel fan what the Daytona International Speedway is to the stock-car fan. Holy ground.
It didn't matter if an Andretti wasn't racing there. It was still Indy.
"The Indy Racing League was founded to build an oval-racing series around the heritage of the Indianapolis 500," said series founder and CEO, Tony George.
That formula, combined with taking some of the high-priced technology out of the cars to make the series more affordable, has resulted in wheel-to-wheel, highly competitive racing that looks to be even more competitive this season.
"You look at the teams and the level of professionalism in each team and the drivers, I think it is going to be a really competitive year, along with I think it is going to be a fun year," said Michael Andretti, competing as an owner/driver in the IRL this season. "I think the cars are going to be fun to drive, and I think there is going to be a lot of passing and a lot of side-by-side racing, and I just think it is going to be a banner year for IndyCar [Series] racing."
It better, as there are no more excuses. The series, which didn't have many of the big names in motor sports, now has those names.
Coming over from CART with Andretti are Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan, who will drive for the Andretti/Green team. Kenny Brack, a series champion in 1998 with A.J. Foyt, will drive for Bobby Rahal. Chip Ganassi, whose team won consecutive CART titles from 1996-1999, brings sponsor Target over the fence. After winning the IRL's stepladder Infiniti Pro Series in 2002, A.J. Foyt IV will drive for his grandfather and will try to add an Indy 500 win of his own to A.J.'s four.
"We've made significant progress in growing the Indy Racing League," George said. "I think it's good for motor sports when we can show positive signs, especially in challenging times, of growth."
Growth includes looking at different venues, which may make the IRL look at road courses.
And that may make the series look like that other series. Only different.
Richard Biebrich can be reached at rbiebrich@sun-sentinel.com
Make sure you tell DICK what you think of his "article".
Indy Racing Series zooms by CART
By Richard Biebrich
Staff writer
Posted February 27 2003
IRL or CART? That decision has been before the open-wheel racing fan in North America since 1996, when Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George formed the all-oval based Indy Racing League.
Seven years later, when the gentlemen and lady start their engines for Sunday's Toyota Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, they also begin the IRL's first season since the split as the dominant open-wheel series.
Starting with Marlboro Penske in 2002, more teams have made the jump from CART to IRL, bringing names such as Andretti, Franchitti, Brack and Rahal with them. Engine manufacturers have made the switch, with Toyota and Honda joining the series as engine providers this season.
And the people have voted with their wallets -- series attendance and TV ratings are up.
"The 2002 season showed a 17 percent increase on ABC and a 31 percent increase on ESPN compared to 2001," said Ken Ungar, senior vice president for the series' business affairs, during a recent teleconference. "Attendance grew 9 percent from 2001 to 2002, with some of our tracks experiencing significant growth."
With so much attention focusing on the series, the 2003 season is shaping up to be its most important since its first.
The series, which started with only two engine suppliers in Infiniti and Oldsmobile, now has three in Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet.
Most importantly of all, it has the Indianapolis 500.
Like the Kentucky Derby is to horse racing, the Indy 500 is to open-wheel, oval track racing. When CART did have the names and the manufacturers, the one thing it didn't have was the mystique of the Indy 500. Sure, it raced all over the United States, and in Japan and Australia, but the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is to the open-wheel fan what the Daytona International Speedway is to the stock-car fan. Holy ground.
It didn't matter if an Andretti wasn't racing there. It was still Indy.
"The Indy Racing League was founded to build an oval-racing series around the heritage of the Indianapolis 500," said series founder and CEO, Tony George.
That formula, combined with taking some of the high-priced technology out of the cars to make the series more affordable, has resulted in wheel-to-wheel, highly competitive racing that looks to be even more competitive this season.
"You look at the teams and the level of professionalism in each team and the drivers, I think it is going to be a really competitive year, along with I think it is going to be a fun year," said Michael Andretti, competing as an owner/driver in the IRL this season. "I think the cars are going to be fun to drive, and I think there is going to be a lot of passing and a lot of side-by-side racing, and I just think it is going to be a banner year for IndyCar [Series] racing."
It better, as there are no more excuses. The series, which didn't have many of the big names in motor sports, now has those names.
Coming over from CART with Andretti are Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan, who will drive for the Andretti/Green team. Kenny Brack, a series champion in 1998 with A.J. Foyt, will drive for Bobby Rahal. Chip Ganassi, whose team won consecutive CART titles from 1996-1999, brings sponsor Target over the fence. After winning the IRL's stepladder Infiniti Pro Series in 2002, A.J. Foyt IV will drive for his grandfather and will try to add an Indy 500 win of his own to A.J.'s four.
"We've made significant progress in growing the Indy Racing League," George said. "I think it's good for motor sports when we can show positive signs, especially in challenging times, of growth."
Growth includes looking at different venues, which may make the IRL look at road courses.
And that may make the series look like that other series. Only different.
Richard Biebrich can be reached at rbiebrich@sun-sentinel.com
Make sure you tell DICK what you think of his "article".