“A unified series won’t fix all the damage, but it’s the only way open-wheel ever has a chance to regain some of its audience and luster,” says SPEED’s Robin Miller.
Robin Miller
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Posted February 22, 2008
Indianapolis, Ind.
Graham Rahal is one of the promising youngsters who could get a better chance at the limelight through unification. (LAT photo)
SPEEDtv.com columnist Robin Miller, who has covered motorsports for nearly 40 years and was first to report on the re-unification of American open-wheel racing, answers a few questions about today’s agreement in principle to unify the IndyCar Series and Champ Car World Series in 2008 after more than a decade apart:
SPEED: These two groups have flirted with re-unification for years. Why now? What changed?
MILLER: Both sides got tired of spending millions propping up their series. Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe had to buy television, tracks, an engine company, promote their own races, meet a huge payroll every month and help support teams each year. Tony George spent millions subsidizing teams and purses and probably helped a third of the field at Indy the past couple Mays. I believe it happened now because Kalkhoven no longer wanted to throw that kind of money away. And George’s offer of free cars, engines and money wasn’t that much different from his 2005 proposal, but it had to sound pretty damn generous.
SPEED: Is this a case of “too little, too late” or a possible foundation for rebirth of American open wheel racing?
MILLER: It’s a damn sight late but, better than never because without one series nobody would ever take open wheel serious again. Looking back, what was accomplished in the past 12 years? Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt and Tony Stewart got to run in the Indy 500 and they never would have without the IRL, but its original purpose morphed into CART’s game plan, so the American short track sprint driver is still shut out of Indy unless they hit the lottery. CART was so arrogant, went public and ruined a good thing by 2001. It will take years for open-wheel to even get close to the mid-90s, if at all.
SPEED: Should NASCAR be concerned with this development?
MILLER: Not right away. Stock cars are so far ahead in the mainstream media and changing that perception is going to take a long, long time. But with young Andretti, young Rahal, Ms. (Danica) Patrick and the Dancing King (Helio Castroneves), open-wheel does have four recognizable names to try and combat the NASCAR PR machine. A unified series won’t fix all the damage, but it’s the only way open-wheel ever has a chance to regain some of its audience and luster.
SPEED: Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves have made inroads into American pulp culture over the last few years. Who are best-kept secrets race fans should get to know?
MILLER: Graham Rahal is 18 and drives like he’s 30. Poised, polished and articulate, he was not intimidated by being Sebastien Bourdais teammate and kept getting better. Aussie Will Power has a great racing moniker and backs it up with aggressive driving. Brit Justin Wilson is a quick driver with a pleasant personality, while fellow countryman Alex Lloyd is an IRL rookie stamped for success. Ryan Hunter-Reay is sneaky fast and finally with a team that believes in him.
SPEED: What is “Job No. 1” for this group as a single series?
MILLER: Get that nice mix of ovals, street circuits and road courses that made CART big in the ’90s and then promote the hell out of the young Americans. Maybe go back to Michigan and Fontana and have a Triple Crown, but get off the cookie-cutter NASCAR tracks because they don’t draw. Find a place for Cleveland and Elkhart Lake.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator
and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
