I care, I've started to watch NASCAR after 10 years of "Indy only." It may be too little too late for the sport as a mainstream American entity.
IRL has been plucking most of its new drivers from outside of North America for the last couple years and folding the Champ Car teams in is basically going to add Paul Tracy and Graham Rahal with nearly all foreign drivers. The original intent of the split basically revolved around dissatisfaction that a guy like Jeff Gordon couldn't get an Indy ride while the CART teams looking for new blood were only looking for short term foreigners bringing their own funding like Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villenueve, and Alex Zanardi. Tony George tried to re-stabilize the IndyCars as part of the USAC ladder (to align with his vision for the sport, and also Im sure as a way to grab more control over the sport), where American sprint and midget drivers like then "future superstar" Tony Stewart would move into Indy rides. It kinda worked...until nobody gave a **** anymore because of brand confusion, split coverage causing lack of media attention, and the rise of NASCAR pushing its way into the vacuum left behind.
The USAC ladder is toast. The last generation of very good American open wheel race car drivers at short ovals and dirt tracks who grew up dreaming of racing at Indianapolis are guys named Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, JJ Yeley. They probably wont ever be back, and those that follow them in sprints and midgets are probably going to be racing for teams owned by those guys. They will be dreaming of following in their predecessors footsteps and dream of one day racing at Daytona. I think open wheel as a sport with an Americasn identity at the highest level is dead.
New Army lives at Reed Arena
[This message has been edited by JJxvi (edited 2/27/2008 1:05p).]
