IndyCar
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
MILLER: Riding the Crisis
Unless some radical measures are taken by the IRL’s top brass, the 2009 IndyCar season could feature a significantly reduced field, SPEED’s Robin Miller warns…
Robin Miller  |  Posted November 20, 2008   Indianapolis, Ind.

Tony George won't want to read this but he needs to.

It's still five months before the IndyCar season opener but his series has more obstacles, dangerous terrain and bumpy roads than this week's Baja 1000. And hopefully the Indy Racing League founder recognized the car owners’ meeting he sat in a couple weeks ago at Las Vegas wasn't a bitch session as much as it was a universal cry for help.

The IndyCar paddock is in big trouble and it needs an immediate infusion of cash, common sense and corporate cooperation.

Think not? Ethanol is out as the sponsor for Rahal Letterman and, even though Bobby Rahal is searching for a replacement, driver Ryan Hunter-Reay has been told to find work if he can find any.

Newman/Haas/Lanigan, the core of CART/Champ Car and a two-car attack for the past 20 years, only has McDonald's on board for Graham Rahal and a second car looks like a longshot as Justin Wilson was also told to fend for himself.

KV Racing has not been able to offer Will Power or Oriol Servia a contract because its future is unsure, at best.

That's four front-running cars and four damn good drivers outside looking in. Marty Roth isn't a loss but his two cars certainly are and little guys like Dreyer & Reinbold, Conquest and Keith Wiggins are always scrambling to stay on the grid. Sure, Greg Beck is coming in with one car and it looks like Jim Freudenberg is putting a deal together with Pacific Coast for one car. And it's only November, so a lot can still happen for those other teams but let's get realistic.

There's very little money out there for racing (ask NASCAR), the potential title sponsors appear to have retreated and the current IRL budgets can't begin to be justified by IndyCar television ratings.

It may not be Def Con 5, but it's not far off and some things must happen to try and ensure the car count and depth of competition doesn't drop to embarrassing levels. It's going to take some concessions from Dallara and Honda, as well as some help from George and a rethink on policies and schedules by the IndyCar brass.

Here are some ideas, In no particular order:


Page 1 of 2
Prev
12
Next
robin_miller's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robin Miller

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.