Champ Car vs IRL 2007

Discussion in 'Automotive' started by the cup, Mar 14, 2007.

  1. CRASH 4 ARSENAL

    Jan 26, 2006
    Chicago
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    One thing I like about this thread is we did a good job all year of not falling into a CC vs IRL pissing match. Most racing sites I visit have unreadable message boards because they fall apart so quickly
     
  2. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. However it helps with the kind of year CC is having. There isn't much left to say but, "ouch". I'm not saying IRL's steaming along. They did lose a fine race in Michigan this season, and Danica Patrick still hasn't won a race, despite being their showgirl. And they are losing 2 of their best drivers to NASCAR while also losing ratings on TV. But CC's woes have gotten to the point of being just sad.

    They lost races in Korea, China, San Jose, Phoenix, Denver, and are likely to lose Portland and possibly Houston during the off season. The Mexican race has turned into a debacle. They're not even selling tickets for it yet and had to fire two of their better drivers and replace them with Mexicans or they would have lost that race too. Their TV ratings dropped so low they were bearly measurable during the Europe run, not that they were high before that. I mean an average of a .7 rating for Road America isn't that good when the American Le Mans Series can draw that kind of rating, but a .07 in Europe was just pathetic. More people were watching infomercials on Discovery Channel. And now there are big rumblings that the RuSport team and Rocketsports are both folding and that CDW is leaving at season's end. I always loved the SJGP, but I don't know how much more punishment CC can take. I'd go so far as to say that this is worse than when CART went bankrupt.

    Overall it's been a sad year for OW in America. I'd be shocked if CC survives the winter. And IRL is shrinking instead of growing.
     
  3. Pack87Man

    Pack87Man BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 1, 2001
    Quad Cities
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm sure IndyCar could always use another fan. Wouldn't you rather go to Sonoma than Laguna Seca?
     
  4. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Nah, I'd rather go to both to see NASCAR and the Le Mans Series :). I'm hitting the latter next weekend and would have gone to the former if not for a trip to the hospital with a grade 3 concussion.
     
  5. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah I'd heard rumblings about this, but now that it's official it's bad news. CC is losing one of their 2 "real" car sponsors in CDW, the other possibly also leaving with Bourdais (McDonald's). Plus losing a team and car which brings them down to a 16 car field. And that's assuming this doesn't start and exodus. There are rumors that Rocketsports is also calling it quits.
     
  6. the cup

    the cup Member

    Jul 10, 2002
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Bourdais wins the championship for a fourth straight time. It will be interesting to see next year who can step into his shoes.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. the cup

    the cup Member

    Jul 10, 2002
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    The crowd at Australia was huge! 314,000 over the three day period.

    Champ Car is going to survive, it's just going to become more international than domestic since that is where the big crowds and money are (especially now that the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US dollar, good hell). That sucks for us here in the US with fewer races but maybe that will force us to savor more the races we do have.

    But it's good to see crowds like this,

    [​IMG]
     
  8. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Don't go singing Aussie's praises yet. CC's contract with the Surfer's race ended after this weekend's race and no extension has yet to be signed. And Surfer's doesn't need the CC's to survived as the V8 Supercars are the biggest drawing race over the weekend, not CC. CCWS would do well not to let this race get away however and should resign with Surfer's ASAP.
     
  9. the cup

    the cup Member

    Jul 10, 2002
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Actually it looks like the Champ Car contract goes through next year but you are correct, they needs to lock that race down asap. But I don't think we have anything to worry about with Team Australia being such a big player in Champ Car.

    http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2007/10/10/3631_gold-coast-news.html
     
  10. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Is it me or nobody seems to give a ******** about his achievement. I can only tell for this side of the Atlantic though but I'd be surprised if Bourdais' record win was hot news in the US...
     
  11. Pack87Man

    Pack87Man BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 1, 2001
    Quad Cities
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No, you're right, it isn't big news on this side of the ocean. I'm an Indy fan, but I recognize he's a great driver. My only question is, though, would he have won four in a row in a league that had Ganassi, Penske, and Andretti Green? IndyCar has had a run of different winners (albeit all from those same teams), which would suggest there's more competition there. In Champ Car, absolutely no one can compete with NHL Racing, and it shows.
     
  12. PsychedelicCeltic

    PsychedelicCeltic New Member

    Dec 10, 2003
    San Francisco/London
    Are you freakin kidding me?
     
  13. the cup

    the cup Member

    Jul 10, 2002
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Champ Car released their 2008 schedule today. There are some good things and there are some bad things but at least there is a schedule, especially after many critics said Champ Car would not return this next year.

    April 20 - Long Beach CA
    April 27 - Houston TX

    May 18 - Laguna Seca CA

    June 1 - Zolder Belgium
    June 8 - Jerez Spain
    June 22 - Cleveland OH
    June 29 - Mont-Tremblant Canada

    July 6 - Toronto Canada
    July 20 - Edmonton Canada
    July 27 - Portland OR

    August 10 - Elkhart Lake WI

    September 14 - Assen Holland

    October 26 - Surfers Paradise Australia

    November 9 - Mexico City Mexico


    Bad news is no Las Vegas, we have to wait until April for our first race, the series ends outside of the US again, and there are still some huge gaps in the schedule.

    Good news is the addition of Jerez Spain, races that were rumored to be dead are still alive (Houston and Portland) and Champ Car looks like they may be striving for stability. Yes the schedule only has 14 dates, but better to hopefully establish some stability and then grow slowly but surely from there.

    Now the big question is car count, returning drivers, and sponsorship. Champ Car has a lot of work to do this off-season to try and create some stability in the areas of teams and drivers. Here's to hoping they can work some magic during the long and dreary winter.
     
  14. Nanbawan

    Nanbawan Member

    Jun 11, 2004
    Haute Bretagne
    Club:
    Stade Rennais FC
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Sea Bass bids farewell to ChampCar with a last victory at Mexico.

    Maybe his departure might help the sport in the end...Hopefully, a fellow countryman can follow his trail. :p

    That said, it's true that the GP2 (formerly F3000) is a feeder series for the CCWS at least as much as for Formula One. I wonder how many debutants will come from the European scene this time around.

    Jerez is fine but still no race in froggyland...:(
     

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