The online racing simulator
Yea but Wilson did win a race on meh equipment in 2009.
Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :Yea but Wilson did win a race on meh equipment in 2009.

3 seasons back is meh, if he's truely good he would be in a better team by now.
Quote from Mustafur :Wilson has been meh in Indycar imo.

Well, two wins in 4 seasons (of the total 6 races won by non Ganassi/Penske/Andretti drivers in the period - first driver to win races for two non-top3 teams since Tomas Scheckter in 02/05 and Scott Sharp in 03/05), a top ten in Indy and a top five last year (same as Danica, Meira, Simona and Conway), ahead of Bourdais in Edmonton, say otherwise.
Quote from Mustafur :3 seasons back is meh, if he's truely good he would be in a better team by now.

You really think that good rides are given according to sole (driving) talent these days?
Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :You really think that good rides are given according to sole (driving) talent these days?

Eventually.
Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :Yea but Wilson did win a race on meh equipment in 2009.

He did better in CART in 06 at RuSPORT though, his Coyne IICs stuff...arguably miles better than what he had back in 06
Quote from Mustafur :Eventually.

Just going through the big 3's latest 3 recruits... We have Conway, Kimball and Hinch.

Do you really think that those 3 were the best possible picks for a championship assault?
i can't remember the source but outside of maybe 6 drivers in indy car, all the rest rely on what money they can bring to the table to help get a drive, sponsorship is far more important than it is in NASCAR, you only have to look at the driver earnings for last year, dario's earnings wouldn't place him in the top 50 in the NASCAR table, that lack of prize money's reflected in the teams as well hence driver sponsorship being so important.

mush as a hate to say it i think dario may struggle this year relative to previous years, there's less ovals which have been his strong point whilst drivers like power will benefit from the greater emphasis on road courses. given a bit of luck someone like wilson who, unlike barrichello, knows the courses may be able to make an impression as everyone gets to grips with the new car, especially early in the season before the big teams resources start to take effect.
Saw this comment and it made me stop and think

Quote :
Indycar's turned into CART 2.0, multiple chassis and engine configs, barely any ovals

Not my comment, but....
i'd hope that over a few years the oval content goes back up once the post wheldon hysteria fades away, it's the oval / road mix that makes indy car so unique
the problem is not wheldon's death. There've been only 5 ovals on the schedule prior to the accident due to financial issues. Many oval track owners don't want IndyCar to race as they make loss with the races and due to the current economy, it is hard to find sponsors who could make it possible.
Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :Just going through the big 3's latest 3 recruits... We have Conway, Kimball and Hinch.

Do you really think that those 3 were the best possible picks for a championship assault?

Conway is not at Andretti this season. But regardless no they suck(apart from hinchcliffe) however I do think if someone is genuinly talented they will eventually have the ride they deserve.

Power is a good example of this, battling up the front in a Meh car in champcar, then when the team folded he put all he's hopes on getting the part time penske seat, he did well and eventually got the full time ride.

Sponsership is important no doubt but talent can overide it with future potential results(which is what Roger went for).

You do get the odd drivers who get gifted the best even though they suck, regardless the fall from grace is usually worse for these drivers.
When they go back to ovals, I hope it is more smaller ones. Mainly because they actually bring racing without a dead right foot.
Quote from Mustafur :Conway is not at Andretti this season. But regardless no they suck(apart from hinchcliffe) however I do think if someone is genuinly talented they will eventually have the ride they deserve.

Power is a good example of this, battling up the front in a Meh car in champcar, then when the team folded he put all he's hopes on getting the part time penske seat, he did well and eventually got the full time ride.

Sponsership is important no doubt but talent can overide it with future potential results(which is what Roger went for).

You do get the odd drivers who get gifted the best even though they suck, regardless the fall from grace is usually worse for these drivers.

Unfortunately Roger only has 3 rides to offer. And he isn't really known to change drivers every other race.

Power should be thankful for getting THE opportunity of his career, and being at the right place at the right time. Especially since he got owned pretty hard by Servia the year before. But kudos to him for getting the best out of it, of course.

(BTW, was he even supposed to race in 2009, before Helio got arrested?)

__

Oval tracks wise... Here's a cool listing lizardfolk posted on another forum Sums up well the situation IMO.

Quote :But there's a lack of ovals suitable/willing to have IndyCar... Let me give you a few example:

1. Kentucky and Loudon: Left IndyCar cause of poor attendance
2. All ISC ovals: would rather not have IndyCar as they are fairly dedicated to NASCAR (this includes Richmond, Kansas, Michigan, and Phoenix). Phoenix is thinking about coming back, but they already said that the earliest they would consider is 2013.
3. Nashville closed starting this year
4. Nazareth closed a long time ago
5. Gateway closed
6. Milwaukee originally left IndyCar due to poor attendance as well (a friend told me the crowd was the same size as a Star Mazda race which is pathetic) and they don't have a title sponsor, which is stopping Milwaukee from coming back.
7. Rockingham UK and Eurospeedway are off the radar as both would require too much funds and Rockingham doesn't have safer barriers.
8. Smaller ovals like Myrtle Beach, Memphis, Lucas Oil Raceway, and ORP are too small and do not have the facilities to accommodate a series like IndyCar. Walt Disney Speedway needs a massive facility upgrade if it can even be considered for IndyCar.
9. Pikes Peak actually closed but reopened in 2008 and they are too small to host something as big as IndyCar at the moment. Right now the only thing PP is doing is just providing a testing ground for nascar. That's it. So that's a no unless PP starts seriously upgrading their facilities too starting now. They maybe in a few years.
10. Atlanta and Charlotte are now considered too dangerous since the racing there will be a carbon copy of the racing at Las Vegas and we all know how well that turned out. (Surprised Texas isn't on this list but whatever).
11. Motegi was damaged by the earthquake and the Japanese owners aren't really doing much to repair the oval sections at the moment due to Japan's economic recession.

So tell me... what options does IndyCar have? Iowa, Texas, California, and (if it returns) Milwaukee all wants IndyCar after the Indy 500. IndyCar is in no position to demand anything when it comes to the ovals. In fact, RB has to practically beg for the schedule to even have a couple of ovals.

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :Unfortunately Roger only has 3 rides to offer. And he isn't really known to change drivers every other race.

Power should be thankful for getting THE opportunity of his career, and being at the right place at the right time. Especially since he got owned pretty hard by Servia the year before. But kudos to him for getting the best out of it, of course.

(BTW, was he even supposed to race in 2009, before Helio got arrested?)

__

Oval tracks wise... Here's a cool listing lizardfolk posted on another forum Sums up well the situation IMO.

I wouldn't say owned by Servia, he sucked in the Ovals because it was hes first ever time on them(not saying hes any good now on them) unlike Servia(thanks to experience in CART), but was dominate compared to him on the road courses(he did get 2 Poles and a win to Servias none of either).
Now thàt are what we call front wings on those cars!

Will tune in for some IndyCar races, seems to be interesting with less oval and the new type of cars.
Quote from tinvek :i'd hope that over a few years the oval content goes back up once the post wheldon hysteria fades away, it's the oval / road mix that makes indy car so unique

Don't worry Randy has said that he actually wants to maintain a 50/50 schedule as best he can. Right now not a lot of ovals want IndyCar at the moment as most oval racing attendance have been very low. (18k at Loudon... I think more people goes to GP2 races...)

But as soon as IndyCar gets into a more stable financial situation, you can expect the ovals to return. What Randy does is he actually pays to rent the track to host IndyCar. It's what he did with Vegas and he might do that with Milwaukee if Milwaukee can't get a title sponsor. The problem is, if Randy just pays out of IndyCar's pocket for 3-4 oval races the series would be instantly bankrupt. The best situation would be, of course, if the ovals want to come on their own. But Randy is aware that ovals are important to the American Open Wheel culture

I would like to agree with PMD, I would want IndyCar to go to the smaller ovals. I don't mind Indy and Texas being on the list but I'd rather see the rest of the ovals be much smaller and require much more right foot input.

BTW thanks for sharing my OP Yann
Quote from Mustafur :The Mile is back!

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97490

the good news keeps coming.




Edit, completely unrelated but:

http://indycar.com/news/show/5 ... t-progam-rewards-results/

Quote :INDYCAR also capped the starting field number at 26 entrants for events in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in April and Qingdao, China, in August. The field will be composed of the top 24 in the 2012 entrant point standings entering the event, the highest finisher in the 2011 entrant point standings and a promoter option for the 26th entrant.

Better not get in Tracy's or Viso's way during the first 3 rounds, or you might not be able to make it to Sao Paolo.

2012 IndyCar Series
(957 posts, started )
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG