In this author’s opinion ,Tony George didn’t do anything that would warrant his removal from not just one, but ALL of his leadership positions.  Sure, he retained a seat on the BoD (guaranteed as a family member isn’t it?) but that’s a largely symbolic position now since he has lost their respect.  Apparently, his direction for the league and IMS was not where the girls wanted to go.  Yes I know that his Mother offered him a chance to stay on as President of the IRL.  Oh Boy!!!!  That’s tantamount to offering him a job as a “Yellow Shirt”.  (No offense meant to Yellow Shirts, but they are the brunt of many jokes at IMS.)

From what I know of Tony George it perplexed me why he was going away so quietly.  I guess the saying when you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all, takes a foothold here.  Tony George, (regardless of what you think of him) is a competitors competitor.  I don’t care if you’re playing “Tiddly-winks”, Tony wants to win it and won’t quit until he does.

Take for instance the success of the “N word” series.  There’s ONE person making the decisions regarding ANYTHING “N” word. Anytime you get too many cooks in the kitchen the soup will surely taste like CART.  We’ve been there and done that.  When you let the “Team Owners” run the series, you can’t ask them to put on the Fedora one day and a STETSON the next.  That’s just asking for trouble, and we already have proof that trouble leads to bankruptcy.  Conversely, a week before Tony’s tenure ended, ALL of the owners in the IRL and FIL wrote a letter to the board supporting Tony George.  WOW….what a sea change from 3 years ago.

My friends, this change is HUGE for the IndyCar Series and not in a good way.  Just as we were getting it all back together with more full-time teams added each year including 3 well funded teams (De Ferran, Fernandez and Highcroft Patron) who are actively seeking cars. Maybe they’re not the caliber of Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi or even Andretti Green Racing, but the teams we’re hearing about can likely be successful.    In my opinion the old adage of “…you must walk before you can run” comes into play.

This change could be and IMHO…WILL be felt not only throughout American Open Wheel racing, but all Motorsports as well.  If you recall, just last year the “Unification” of Open Wheel Racing came to fruition.  We all know that had to happen for Open Wheel Racing to even exist anymore.  The IRL’s ratings weren’t very good and CCWS ratings didn’t even exist!  With all that happening, Tony George negotiated a 10 year Television contract with an up and coming sports network – Versus.   Versus actually WANTS us on their Network, and they have given the IRL incredible coverage!  That move took a lot of huevo’s and the response from IndyCar fans is definitely a preference of Versus vs. the Mouse.

Tony George was named one of “The Most Powerful People in Motorsports” just a year or so ago.  He’d brought 5 Engine Manufacturers together who were interested in supplying engines to the IRL in 2011.  That list has now been wittled down to 3, but those 3 are serious about racing in the Indy Racing League.  I believe Tony should be applauded for that, especially considering the state of the world’s economies.

Tony George has done numerous things that have brought more fans to the Speedway throughout the year, instead 0f just 1 race.  More good than bad has happened under his watch.

The IMS & the IRL will be in the very capable hands of Jeff Belskus and Curt Brighton.  I feel comfortable that Belskus and Brighton AREN’T anything like Chris Pook, Joe Heitzler, Gerry Forsythe and definitely not Paul Gentilozzi.  But is the leadership there?

In closing, this couldn’t have happened at a worse time as far as the IMS/IRL are concerned.  By 2011, I believed the IRL would be mostly self sufficient, meaning less money spent from the “Girls” inheritance.

Is that what this whole ordeal boils down to?

IrlfanNPHX

Did he have a “mole” in the meeting room camouflaged to look like a Lamp?  Was he under the meeting table?  That could go in a different direction, but I’ll stay on topic….  Would Tony George himself give the scoop to Robin Miller?  I honestly don’t think Tony would give him a scoop of ice cream.  Was he in the next room with a glass to the wall hanging onto every distorted word being said?  I’ll bet it was the lawyer in the room.   You KNOW you can’t trust a lawyer…..can you?

The family swore that they didn’t talk to anyone outside of that room.  Well then, how did Robin get the story correct, immediately after the post-Indy 500 board meeting and BEFORE this week’s meeting was even held?  I’ll bet I know how he found out…Robin’s got to be secretly having an affair with one of the sisters, and it slipped out during “pillow talk”.  That’s IT, that’s GOT to be IT!  You know, come to think of it…Mari has been known for her work rescuing horses.  (God bless her for doing that, and I really mean it)  She’s quite the animal lover, and we all know that Robin’s been referred to as a “Horses Ass” on numerous occasions (tell me I’m wrong).  Hmmm…Do you see a correlation here?

Bottom line here however is the fact that this meeting/gang tackle of Tony George will make a couple hundred fanatical OWRS/Champ Car fans happy, but the timing of this couldn’t be worse. It may indicate that the Hulman-George family and others don’t believe the Indy Racing League is a “viable investment” going forward.  It also shows that the family lost faith in their boy Tony, and that’s terrible thing to happen at this time.  The Indy Racing League was just starting to come into it’s own, and was FINALLY being showcased/promoted the way the fans felt it should be. Tony had the support of the team owners and had fought for 12 years to bring everyone back together in Open Wheel Racing at a time when AOWR was rapidly circling the drain.

And, let’s not forget that a certain “free agent” has a contract up this year.  The NASTICAR dogs are foaming at the mouth over that one.

And what of all of the work Tony George has done to bring in more engine manufacturers to compete with Honda (who, btw, have been VERY patient and loyal to Tony).  Fiat, Volkswagen, and Audi (iirc) were in the mix.  What of the discussions for an engine formula to race in 2011?  At present, those discussions were with Tony.  However, I doubt if Brian Barnhardt, Kevin Blanch, Les Mactaggart & Roger Bailey were being kept out of the loop, so hopefully, that deal will STILL go through.

If the Hulman-George family is opposed to the direction Tony was headed, it could bring along something that we DEFINITELY don’t want – the “Team Owners” running the series or deciding to form their own series again.  Yeah, that’s an “Oh S#*t!” that this writer wonders if it was thought through.

Bottom line is….Who the hell’s DRIVING this thing?  We’ve not found out from Robin Miller the answer to that very crucial question.  He’s STILL a horse’s ass, but he sure did pull one over on us, didn’t he?

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Irlfannphx ; )

I know we’re all very glad that we’re back on Versus, as that’s where we get the best coverage. Coverage that we’ve clamored for from ABC/ESPN for years, but never got.

It could be argued that it’s also great on”cable” because that’s where pretty much anything and everything, goes.  Do we really need much more proof than one of the first commercials of the night?  There we were, the wife and I and all of a sudden out comes MORE of the Danica Patrick sexy commercials to sell her sponsors product.

Then it happened……  We see Danica’s sponsors break out, “sex sells” with a commercial for her “Primary Sponsor” and out come the BOOBS!  DON’T LOOK ETHEL!!!  Well, she done got a boob shot.  Danica’s on the television signing her name to a nice set of errrrr…..MAN BOOBS?  Oh My God!!!  How far will they go before I hit the “gag reflex”?  Seems they won’t go too far at all, cuz here comes the NEXT idiot.  They not only found ONE, but TWO idiots who had no shame.  Gee Mom….”our Man Boobs, got us our 15 seconds of fame…”, every time they run that commercial.

We finally get down to the racing.  Here we are, the cars on their pace lap, the Green flies and before approaching ANYWHERE near race speed, Team 3G’s driver Jacques Lazier loses it and hits the wall.  Out comes the yellow for a driver who hasn’t raced in 2 years!  What’s up with that?  I don’t usually rag on drivers because it takes balls to do what they do.  I just happen to think there’s a more talented set of balls out there with some recent racing experience.  Let me count a few for you: Let’s  see here….how about Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice, Darren Manning who did as much as he could with the the #14 car the last couple of years.  A.J. Foyt IV who’s a good driver when not driving for Grandpa.  Townsend Bell, who got a Podium finish for the 2009 Indy 500, in a “one-off, and what about someone with the talent the likes of “Alex Lloyd”?  The list goes on and on and…but Jacques Lazier got the ride?  What the hell did he do, to get that ride?

Well now that we’re settled into the race, it pans out that the usual race unfolds.  Penske & Ganassi fight for the lead for the most part.  I thought this would be a different type of race and that the track would allow smaller teams to be competitive.  They were…all the way up to the “first stint”, which should have been a good and exciting pit stop.  Well, it wasn’t, in my opinion.  It was GREAT in the Ganassi & Penske’s pits, but isn’t that the usual?

The fans were even picking up their stuff and leaving at the halfway point in the race.  I don’t have the answer to what needs to be done to bring back that competitive style of racing if the IndyCar Series is going to survive.  We can’t continue having these 2 team races.  It really sucks that when you arrive at the track, you’re trying to find enough speed to finish in fourth place (unless you drive for the Captain or Target).

We haven’t had ONE Race Winner outside of the Penske or Ganassi stables so far this year.  It really has to be disappointing for the other drivers, knowing that they’re NOT going to win, week in and week out.  Not even AGR’s Fab Four can catch a break this year.  But has it been only THIS year that the racing’s gotten this crappy?  I’m damned near, I mean REALLY near watching an “N” word race.  At least I’ll get to see some passing on the track, ya think?  Granted it’ll require my Recliner, a Soda, and a 4 hour snooze, in order to be able to watch the last 20 laps of the race, but Lord knows I’ll be refreshed.

I don’t know how they’re going to “open up the Rule Book” in order to obtain the type of racing that we’d all come to love.  But whatever they do, they better do it fast.  When people are leaving our races at the half-way point in the race, something HUGE needs to happen.  Do we allow actual development with the chassis?  Do we allow teams to actually WORK on these “Spec Engines”?  Do we invert the field?  Do we DRAW for Pit spots, like we do at Indy?  What do we do?  If any of you have the answers to this question, I’d love it if you’d throw your ideas out there.  If they’re reasonable enough, I promise you that I will forward them to the people that make those decisions.

While this is a contract year for Danica and she IS the only woman to win a “Major League Automobile Race”.  She’s probably the biggest household name in the IRL.  She also has “Personal Sponsorships” running out of her “hm-hmm”.  With all of that in her corner, do you believe that she’s really ready to or even WANTS to take her marbles & go play in NASCAR?  I don’t!

Danica’s got a lot going for her, but let’s face it.  The Indy Racing League has done a helluva lot for her already while she’s chasing her DREAM… “The Indy 500″.  Danica’s not even achieved the goals she’s set for herself  to attain at this point in her career.  She’s close to achieving them, but she needs more time to really get there.

Personally, I think NASCAR’s mouthpieces in the media are so desperate for headlines and so incensed that Danica is not in their stable that they have to speculate her jump to NASCAR because they have nothing else to write about.  They know if they put DANICA in the headline, the story will be read.  Really?  Is there nothing else for them to write about?  They’ve got 43 cup drivcrs, 30 or so Nationwide drivers, plus 30 something truck drivers, and they write about Danica Patrick, an IRL driver?

The way it stands now, Danica’s a BIG FISH in a small pond.  If she chooses NASCAR, she’ll be just the opposite and I’m really not sure if her ego could take such a hit.

A NASCAR car weighs at least 3,400 lbs., with all fluids and a 200 lb. driver. An Indy Car weighs approximately 1300 lbs. with all fluids and a driver as well.  Danica however isn’t even close to 200 lbs..  With just the sheer weight differential of the 2 cars, would Danica be anything more than a back-marker?  Right now, she’s competitive and a possible winner most weeks.  Can you imagine her over there for 36 races, stuck in the back, lap after ridiculous lap, her temper boiling and then bam! some idiot decides to take her out and put her into the wall.  Yeah, sure, she really wants to make that jump to NASCAR.

All in all…. Danica just may jump to NASCAR, who knows?  Not this writer, nor any other writer for that matter.

Danica’s got it made in the shade in the Indy Racing League.  She will have more money thrown at her at the end of her contract with Andretti/Green Racing.  However, will all that money be the end all, be all, in negotiating her next contract?  The Indy Racing League’s going to pitch in a lot of $$$ (regardless of the fit the Sisters put up)  to help keep her in the IRL, as well as will Honda, Firestone and several others.  It honestly would be in her best interest to stay in the Indy Racing League.  Again, look at all the publicity she already gives to her sponsors.

She’s also had talks with some of the Open Wheelers that have won the Indy 500 as well as an IRL Championship, that had already  jumped after the money, and didn’t finish higher than the Top 20 in ANY race.  Danica couldn’t take that, because she’s too much of a competitor.  You think her stomping down Pit Road after Briscoe knocked her out at Indy was funny? Wait til she stomps down after Kyle Busch punts her into the wall because she’s just too slow.

NASCAR may be the big money, but in my humble opinion.  Danica wouldn’t be competitive against 42 other drivers, in Cup, 30 some drivers in the Nationwide Series and another 30 some drivers in the truck series.

This author isn’t in any way stating that NASCAR drivers are better than Indy Car drivers in ANY manner.  These are two different disciplines in racing.  Some people grew up driving Late Mods, ARCA cars, etc..  Others spent their young lives racing Go-Karts, Formula Fords, Star Mazda’s, Atlantics and then into the Firestone Indy Lights before attempting Indy Cars.  Another huge difference not factored in by many is the differential in the amount of drivers per race.  NASCAR has 43 Drivers on every grid; Indy Cars have place for only 20 some drivers on the grid, except for the Indy 500.

We hear all of the time how Open Wheel Drivers that go over to NASCAR aren’t very successful.  But what about a NASCAR driver coming to IndyCars and becoming successful in the IRL?  So that argument cuts both ways there.  Look at Juan Pablo Montoya, who was an F-1 World Champion.  Supposedly the BEST Drivers in the WORLD, and he’s not been too successful in his attempt to race out of what his best discipline of racing is.

So Main Stream NASCAR Media….write about something other than your pipe dream of Danica Patrick moving to NASCAR.  You have young drivers in your own Series that you could/should write about.

irlfannphx / Jetdoc

The first time they fire up an engine, people can hear it for miles (or they’ll swear they can) and that’s as they’re just “pickling” the engine.  People hear that sound from far and wide and start asking everyone, “…who’s over at the Speedway today?”  Then all the speculation and rumors run wild…  Everything that’s happened so far this season -  St. Pete, LBGP and Kansas was the lead up to the “Indianapolis 500″.  Many of the smaller teams actually used Kansas as a “test” for Indy, perhaps without actually calling it that.  But with the equalizing conditions at Kansas, including that wind, a lot of those teams actually scored more points than they expected.

This year the cars kick off on May 6th, but that won’t be the first day of attendance, I guarantee you.  IMS is putting on the Balloon Festival tonight,  to commemorate the first race ever held at the track in 1909.  The mish-mash of events held at the Speedway over the years that even included a bike race, actually overshadowed the 2 1/2 mile oval (that wasn’t fully finished) until 1911; and then the dream of running a car race around it became a reality.  When the first race was run, a guy named Ray Harroun ended up being the first face on the Borg-Warner trophy and a name that no one that’s a fan of the Indy 500 would ever forget.  From that point on the “Grey Lady” has been host to some of the most awesome times that fans have ever expereinced.  The Indianapolis 500, the dream that came true.  Now known around the world as the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, people from all over the world come to watch it.  The 500 was and is – the race that every driver wants to win.

“…a sport that makes money based on the number of people watching, it is insane to do anything that decreases that number. The IRL should have sucked it up and done whatever it took to stay on a legitimate, high profile channel. Versus is where 2nd tier sports go to wither and die.”

The problem with this statement is the fact that the IRL sucked it up for 13 yrs with a “legitimate, high profile” network and received virtually NO coverage, promotion, respect, nor numbers that were channeling upward. The Mouse cut races short, so that they could go to “Knitting with Aunt Martha” in a Paid Programming format. They would join races that were already underway, so viewers wouldn’t miss the end of a Billiards Tournament. That’s absolutely zero respect from a supposed “Partner” of the IRL. Instead of sitting stagnant with that “legitimate, high profile” network, the IRL chose to contract and grow with a channel that’s in it’s stage of infancy. If I remember correctly, the Mouse’s sports channel began with similar programming 30+ years ago.

I remember as a teenager, faking that I was asleep and then sneaking out into our living room just to watch ESPN. It didn’t matter what was on, I sat mesmerized by a 24/7 Sports Channel. What was the programming back then? Rodeo’s, outdoor shows, hunting shows, fishing, curling tournaments (I kid you not), darts, lumberjack competitions and…SportsCenter! With the exception of SportsCenter, Versus programming is shaping up much like ESPN’s started out to be. Versus has decided to latch on to the IRL and it’s IndyCar Series, exactly like ABC/ESPN latched onto a regional, southern motorsport called NASCAR, that had nothing but “Rum Runners” driving cars. ABC/ESPN has proven that if you actually advertise a commodity, it just may grow a bit. Sure, that 1979 infield fracas with three rednecks jumping out of their cars and throwing down didn’t hurt either.

I think it’s safe to say that both entities ( IRL & Versus) knew that they weren’t going to drastically raise the viewership in the first year of a 10 year $40M contract. However, Versus wants to cover all of the races and promote them as if they’re the INDY 500. ABC/ESPN only wants to air the Indy 500 and cover the other IRL races as an afterthought. Something had to give in this relationship and we should be happy that T.G. saw an opportunity and jumped on it (seems to me he’s done that before). I actually believe that his decision took the Mouse by surprise, because it meant they might lose the Indy 500 as well. Versus has provided the IRL with more promotion/exposure in the past 2 months than the Mouse ever did. Instead of sitting by idly to watch the IRL relegated to ESPN “nowhereville”, Tony took a giant leap for change, much like he did in 1995. Why should his league continue to be disrespected every week like a red headed step-child? It shouldn’t, and that’s why Tony George found a new broadcast partner.

Versus and the IRL have decided to partner together and help one another grow. What a concept that is!

In 2008 came the end of the Open Wheel Racing feud in America. The IRL had an opportunity like never before, yet the Mouse treated us as if the split were still in effect; no effort on their part to promote this new beginning, just the same old announcers, small time slots, and lousy coverage.

Viewership of the NHL had dropped dramatically over the last 5 yrs. while on that 1^st Tier Network. Sure the “Blue Puck” was cool, but not creative enough to grow the NHL. There was virtually no promotion of the upcoming games. Thus, the NHL took a giant leap of faith. Their numbers with Versus haven’t moved much, but they have moved slightly upward. Not much difference so far, but it IS moving upward, and progress is progress, however you slice it. Maybe Versus is on to something after all…

]]> http://irlfannphx.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/the-mouse-vs-versus/feed/ 0 jetdoc http://irlfannphx.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/hello-world/ http://irlfannphx.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/hello-world/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:51:07 +0000 irlfannphx ]]>

New Faces in New Places

Yesterday started the beginning of a New Era in Indy Car Racing. There have been a plethora of driver changes, rule changes, as well as a new 10-year television contract with a network that actually wanted to sign a 10 year deal to grow the network right along with the series itself. All these together have been a HUGE change for IndyCar fans. Finally, it’s a breath of fresh air for we the fans of IndyCar who have been clamoring for change for years.. I’m not sure that we’ll know how to act with all this coverage that Versus has contracted to provide us.

Let’s start off with Versus providing coverage of Indy Car Qualifying. Before now, we thought that was only reserved for the “N” word series. However, Versus thought that IndyCar racing deserved the same type of coverage, and offered it up to Tony George, et al…. After TG picked himself up off of the floor, they got down to the specifics of what not only the fans and the IRL wanted, but Versus as well. Bottom line is… this is a “win-win” for both entities. With all this coverage we’re going to hopefully, have the “trickle down” effect for drivers without rides. All of a sudden, sponsors are starting to pay more attention to the league. The IRL has obtained many new faces on the sponsor front for 2009. It’s too bad that once these sponsors started paying attention, the economy in America ran into the Bernie Madoff’s of the world and bonuses paid to executives who ran away with millions. That in and of itself makes these corporations a little gun shy on the sponsor front. I also believe that this economy cost the Indy Racing League a “Title Sponsor” for 2009. But with all the coverage that Versus is giving the Indy Racing League, this author believes that at least a few more CEO’s will find value in their sponsorship.

It seems very odd not seeing Buddy Rice, Tomas Scheckter, and AJ Foyt IV, on the grid. An Indy 500 Winner that can’t find sponsorship? How about the same thing for drivers with the talent of Bruno Junqiera & Oriol Servia, who’ve shown that they’re surely deserving of a ride somewhere. I’m not so naive’ to think that when the music stops everyone is going to have a seat. There will be a few that deserve rides that won’t get them. That doesn’t stop them from working the paddock though, and that’s at least good to see.

The production of the St. Pete race was clear, crisp, and downright refreshing to see. Loved the graphics! No more of the “monotone” work of Scott Goodyear in the booth. He was a good race car driver, but a horrendous voice in the play-by-play booth, although he was damn sure better than ANYTHING Rusty Wallace threw out there. Oh My God, was he bad, and I’m doing him justice by stopping at bad. No more of the comparisons of “…in “N” word, we call that Aero-puuush…”, as well as dropping the ole “…I’d say they need to go down on the “Track-bar…”. That was worse than listening to Goodyear drone on and on about nothing. For once we had booth announcers that actually fed off of one another, and didn’t even interrupt each other. It’s just too bad that the Mouse has contracted to produce as many races as they have. Bob Jenkins, Robby Buhl and Jon Beekhuis did a helluva job, especially for their first race together. The pit reporting left a bit to be desired. That however, is through no fault of their own. Somehow they’re going to have to find microphones that can actually be heard above the whine of those engines. I DID enjoy the fact that we had Pit Reporters that would actually go right up to the “war wagons” of the teams and ask pertinent questions from the OWNERS as the race ran right on.

Not one time did we see a pit reporter run immediately up to a driver who had just been taken out of the race by a STUPID move, that someone shouldn’t have made. Even Danica kept her cool and that’s an achievement, the magnitude of an 8.5 Earthquake on the Richter scale! Did anyone else notice that Danica actually seemed calm and rational when Matos took her out? Also, when the two were walking back to the Paddock, Danica looked to have her arm around the shoulder of Matos and although mad enough to spit nails, kept her composure and seemed to be giving Rafa the what for in an civil tone. After she had time to cool off is when they stuck the microphone in her face. For the first time, she gave a sorta “…well that’s racin” type of answer. Not one time did she throw out the verse she’d become accustomed to and call Matos an idiot, or break out the “…he has no business on the racetrack, and I’m going to have a talk with Brian about this, meow, meow, meow…”

After all of this wonderful coverage that Versus gave us, it’s a damned shame that the racing didn’t live up to the billing it received by Versus. They were given a real turd, to try to make exciting, but with only 12 Drivers still running at the end, I give them an atta-boy for making it somewhat interesting in a race between Ryan Hunter-Reay making an attempt (although futile) to catch Ryan Briscoe . Versus I say, thanks for the GREAT coverage. IRL……please give them a product they can work with.

Let’s start off with Versus providing coverage of Indy Car Qualifying. Before now, we thought that was only reserved for the “N” word series. However, Versus thought that IndyCar racing deserved the same type of coverage, and offered it up to Tony George, et al…. After TG picked himself up off of the floor, they got down to the specifics of what not only the fans and the IRL wanted, but Versus as well. Bottom line is… this is a “win-win” for both entities. With all this coverage we’re going to hopefully, have the “trickle down” effect for drivers without rides. All of a sudden, sponsors are starting to pay more attention to the league. The IRL has obtained many new faces on the sponsor front for 2009. It’s too bad that once these sponsors started paying attention, the economy in America ran into the Bernie Madoff’s of the world and bonuses paid to executives who ran away with millions. That in and of itself makes these corporations a little gun shy on the sponsor front. I also believe that this economy cost the Indy Racing League a “Title Sponsor” for 2009. But with all the coverage that Versus is giving the Indy Racing League, this author believes that at least a few more CEO’s will find value in their sponsorship.

It seems very odd not seeing Buddy Rice, Tomas Scheckter, and AJ Foyt IV, on the grid. An Indy 500 Winner that can’t find sponsorship? How about the same thing for drivers with the talent of Bruno Junqiera & Oriol Servia, who’ve shown that they’re surely deserving of a ride somewhere. I’m not so naive’ to think that when the music stops everyone is going to have a seat. There will be a few that deserve rides that won’t get them. That doesn’t stop them from working the paddock though, and that’s at least good to see.

The production of the St. Pete race was clear, crisp, and downright refreshing to see. Loved the graphics! No more of the “monotone” work of Scott Goodyear in the booth. He was a good race car driver, but a horrendous voice in the play-by-play booth, although he was damn sure better than ANYTHING Rusty Wallace threw out there. Oh My God, was he bad, and I’m doing him justice by stopping at bad. No more of the comparisons of “…in “N” word, we call that Aero-puuush…”, as well as dropping the ole “…I’d say they need to go down on the “Track-bar…”. That was worse than listening to Goodyear drone on and on about nothing. For once we had booth announcers that actually fed off of one another, and didn’t even interrupt each other. It’s just too bad that the Mouse has contracted to produce as many races as they have. Bob Jenkins, Robby Buhl and Jon Beekhuis did a helluva job, especially for their first race together. The pit reporting left a bit to be desired. That however, is through no fault of their own. Somehow they’re going to have to find microphones that can actually be heard above the whine of those engines. I DID enjoy the fact that we had Pit Reporters that would actually go right up to the “war wagons” of the teams and ask pertinent questions from the OWNERS as the race ran right on.

Not one time did we see a pit reporter run immediately up to a driver who had just been taken out of the race by a STUPID move, that someone shouldn’t have made. Even Danica kept her cool and that’s an achievement, the magnitude of an 8.5 Earthquake on the Richter scale! Did anyone else notice that Danica actually seemed calm and rational when Matos took her out? Also, when the two were walking back to the Paddock, Danica looked to have her arm around the shoulder of Matos and although mad enough to spit nails, kept her composure and seemed to be giving Rafa the what for in an civil tone. After she had time to cool off is when they stuck the microphone in her face. For the first time, she gave a sorta “…well that’s racin” type of answer. Not one time did she throw out the verse she’d become accustomed to and call Matos an idiot, or break out the “…he has no business on the racetrack, and I’m going to have a talk with Brian about this, meow, meow, meow…”

After all of this wonderful coverage that Versus gave us, it’s a damned shame that the racing didn’t live up to the billing it received by Versus. They were given a real turd, to try to make exciting, but with only 12 Drivers still running at the end, I give them an atta-boy for making it somewhat interesting in a race between Ryan Hunter-Reay making an attempt (although futile) to catch Ryan Briscoe . Versus I say, thanks for the GREAT coverage. IRL……please give them a product they can work with.