Over the past few days (years, for that matter) I have noticed with amusement the brusque defensiveness of racing fans (if you can call them that) whose preference lies toward the twisty-turny side of the sport. This small group of people usually begin howling whenever two things happen:
-The Indy Car Series is the primary topic.
-Whenever anything critical (whether real or merely perceived) is ever said about cart or Formula One.
Why do such people even bother? Are they that insecure about their own preferences? What is wrong with simply enjoying what it is you like? Formula One is a wonderful branch of the sport. Although it is not my favorite it remains ONE of my favorites and I never miss an event on television or in person if I can make it. It is a refreshingly different alternative and worthy of watching. It is my belief many fans whose primary preference is Indy Car feel the same way as I do. Live and let live. I very rarely hear or read from Indy Car fans the type of goofy, obsessive, malicious lunacy toward Formula One that gets hurled at Indy Car by many Formula One or cart fans.
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n the past I have pointed out that same variety of extreme mentally challenged behavior by a small cadre of mostly illiterate NASCAR-centric residents of southern regions who are equally insecure and tend to screech even more incoherently for no apparent reason whenever any real or perceived NASCAR sleight is encountered.
Usually any such argument ends up going circular to the same meritless destination every single time. This phenomenon was articulated by our good blog friend Neil (a lawyer), who offered the following recently: ??however, we will never find common ground on the Tony George issue and his actions and conduct following his decision to create the IRL?I will always blame TG and his failed vision for splitting the American Open Wheel community and allowing NASCAR to become the most popular and lucrative form of motorsport in the US?
See what I mean? I believe that once a few more years go by and some of the more vociferous cart enthusiasts obtain some more maturity, Tony George will be respected for his accomplishments. The quaint but decidedly tasteless and ignorant stereotype his critics concocted then deluded themselves into swallowing will become irrelevant primarily because 
such critics may eventually figure out how to operate their brains. ?When Tony George created the IRL he did not split the sport. cart?s arrogant ?leadership? huffed away like the spoiled rich kids they were and subsequently proceeded to scorch the landscape of the sport for the next decade or so, foolishly blaming Tony George every step of the way, until shamelessly slithering back after they had wiped themselves out of existence. Twice. ?THAT is what split the sport.
??you can continue to support his efforts and applaud his formation of the league which contained very valid arguments in favor of more ovals, more participation by American drivers, teams and manufacturers and a sharper focus on the Indy 500 as the crown jewel of the series?in counterpoint, I will continue to denounce his foolish decisions to sell out IMS to the Brickyard 400, his nonsense in bringing a hammer to work everyday, his complaining about IMS breathing money (doesn?t every business?) and his vindictive and pointless shut out of cart teams to the ?500? during the early years of the IRL?
Whacko stereotyping is but one of their consistent and non-endearing characteristics. I fail to understand how renting IMS to NASCAR (for a lot of money) for their consistently most attended race is bad. It gives actual racing fans more chances to enjoy the grandeur that is IMS. I never fail to get a huge laugh from the knee-jerk hypersensitivity about Tony George?s ?hammer? comment. Are you people genuinely that insecure about a sound bite? IMS is not breathing so much money these days. The current leadership is composed of risk-averse bean counters.? This becomes apparent when trying to enter the Flag Room, walking through tall grass on the grounds, trying to flush many toilets, or searching for meaningful self promotion. Finally, cart was not shut out of the 500. cart CHOSE to boycott, then stupidly referred to it as a ?lockout.? Talk about vindictive. That was their collective ego at work, and those are the facts. The handful of militant cart-centric holdouts can nail themselves to crosses all day long over this issue but it won?t ever change facts. You might as well join the rest of the planet in 2011.
? ?one thing that you can?t deny is the fact that but for Penske?s and Ganassi?s deep pocket sponsors pushing both teams to return to the 500 early in the last decade, cart?s top tier teams never would have migrated to the IRL along with Honda and Toyota?we continue to focus on the glory years of the 1990?s because we will never again see a reigning F1 champ come over to race in American Open Wheel, we will never again see the national media pay attention to Indy Car events, and we will never again match the general interest of NASCAR.?
It is all cyclical. I also enjoyed cart in the mid-1990s, but the way in which the world communicates with and entertains itself has completely changed in fundamental ways. The world is COMPLETELY different now than it was then. Over the course of my following Indy Car since 1959, I have seen periods I thought were BETTER that the ?utopian? years to which cart enthusiasts pine. Can you imagine 500s that included short trackers, current NASCAR stars and current Formula One stars? That all happened a few decades ago and was wonderful. The sport of auto racing has become one of specialized disciplines with little crossover. The IRL or Tony George did not cause that. Neither did cart?s arrogance. Natural evolution did. Longing for 1995 as if it is a possibility is well beyond stupid. It is just never going to happen. We are in a whole new century. Allow personal evolution to occur. Thank Tony George for saving the sport from itself.
While evolving, take an objective look at actual reality:
-Formula One continues to be exorbitantly expensive for no apparent reason. They keep changing rules, and the vacuous, white headed midget who runs that show may sell the whole kit and caboodle to Rupert Murdoch. Formula One is as much a nutjob circus as it ever was. As a fan I would definitely like to see them return to IMS (a venue they spent eight years being completely disrespectful about) even if the Austin facility actually gets built in time. I enjoyed all of their visits to IMS before the price tag got ridiculous.
-NASCAR can no longer come close to selling out any of their venues and ratings are flat. It is not the 800 pound gorilla it used to be. Again, these things tend to be cyclical.
-Indy Car is poised to continue an impressive resurgence that began a couple of years ago. Dynamic leadership has made bold moves, and all key metrics are on the rise, including attendance, ratings and sponsorship spend. The Versus deal was well ahead of its time and as they evolve into the NBC Sports brand and pick up as many or more households as ESPN, Indy Car will be exposed and promoted to an audience unclouded by the hysterical teeth grinding of the past.
?That said, I really wish you would stop bashing us who supported cart/champ car and instead focus on the positive aspects of the series moving forward and concentrating on ways to improve the racing and the health of the series?do you not agree??
Wholeheartedly. ?Bashing? is largely an imaginary phenomenon made possible by the vivid imaginations of those whose twisted obsession has convinced them their series did no wrong and was victimized by a man otherwise positioned to be some sort of cocaine-ingesting idiot. In other words, that type of squawking is hollow. I already enjoy all forms of motorsport and only waste time on such pointless, counterproductive posturing when one of you trots out your dated insecure obsessions. 2011 is a wonderful place to be, and Indy Car is stronger than it is has been in years. Let?s all enjoy it together.
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