Brian France and Tony George to form New NASCAR Open Wheel Series?
August 11, 2006
Jay Staton - SCR
Actually this is NOT the official announcement, but it does make for an intriguing concept.
In order for some of the newer stock car fans to understand open wheel racing, a little history is perhaps in order.
“Indy Car” racing actually predates stock car racing, and had it’s heyday back in the 1950’s
and early 60’s. The cars looked like longer, lower, sleeker sprint cars and, in fact, the design, construction, ownership,
and drivers were all from the same group as sprint cars. Amazingly the tires were remarkably narrow (wider designs would blow
out at that time) and although low in drag, there was virtually no down force to stick the cars to the track, forcing mechanical
grip to get through the corners.
The engines were non-turbocharged offenhausers and the occasional Novi. The men that drove them were just
that—men, such as A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Jim Hurtubise, and the Rathman Brothers... The cars were also of very lightweight
tube frame construction devoid, of course, of a roll cage, and death was a constant possibility.
Meanwhile, stock car racing was in it’s infancy, and the cars were just that—largely stock,
and significantly slower. In the early sixties stock cars had door handles and stock floorpans and chrome bumpers. The Cup
series was without sponsorship and was called the “Grand National” series, and the tracks were largely within
a 200 mile radius of Charlotte in the south.
The Indy cars were purpose built from the ground up, the trailers shinier, the pit crew’s uniforms
matched, and the drivers spoke without a southern drawl. They were thought of as the elite division and the upper class type
fans followed the Indy car circuit more closely while the short track types favored Darlington or Daytona. However, all race
fans generally watched all the races, because the competition and the personalities all had drawing power.
But in the late sixties, seventies, and eighties, the pendulum started to swing. Indy cars became rear engine based,
the drivers sunk into the cockpits largely out of fan view, turbochargers came into vogue, and huge wings were employed for
down force. The speeds went up, but slowly the cars began to spread out on the track.
And then there was the big split. The car owners ran the series in the eighties and there were whisperings that they
wanted part of the gate and concessions, as opposed to prize money.
Tony George, who runs the Indianapolis Speedway, elected to take matters into his own hands and formed his own series
(the IRL), with somewhat reduced technology, while the car owner based series boycotted and ran their own deal (CART). Both
series continued to have lackluster and sporadic wheel to wheel competition, and reduced car counts.
Formula One, of course, is Indy Car racing exaggerated to the next level, and then some. Budgets of three
hundred million per year, sponsorship by entire nations, and football fields of space between the cars are the norm, not the
exception. Bernie Eccolstone is the somewhat tyrannical director (dictator?) of the series, and, among other things, has proclaimed
that women should be in the kitchen, not in the cockpit, or something similar. Due
to a tire dispute, they recently held a race at Indianapolis featuring fewer cars than NASCAR sends home on a typical Sunday…
Currently, the Formula One followers look at Indy Cars (both groups) as archaic, and the Indy Car types look at Stock
Car Racing as a Ricky-Bobby-kind of a world.
Meanwhile stock cars have grown more and more technical, although, interestingly, are still based on what
they raced in 1970. Competition is unbelievable, and mainstream America has fallen
in love with the honesty displayed in the driver’s personalities, and the excitement of constant wheel to wheel battles.
Stock Car racing is where the money is in the United
States, period. ANY track owner will
attest to this.
Additionally, many say that the Brickyard 400 has become the premiere event at Indianapolis,
and drivers ranging from Tony Stewart to Juan Pablo Montoya have defected from the open wheel ranks to stock cars.
What is open wheel racing to do? There is talk of a re-union of the two series, but the question that raises is self
evident—is that not simply two times zero?
Here is a completely viable alternative: Ignore the entire past from the beginning of rear engine cars to the present!
Ignore Formula One. If the rest of the world wants to go literally out of their minds every thirty seconds or so when a Formula
One car passes, let them have it.
This is America, and we are leaders, not followers.
This may seem ludicrous on the surface, but remember, Americans vote every Sunday with their ticket money and their
cable channel, and, by and large, we are not remotely interested in what the open wheel set—any and all of them-- are
doing!
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The Solution:
A joint series first
and foremost has to be under the NASCAR banner. Lets call it the Indy-Modified class. Although everyone complains about NASCAR
from time to time (this column included), they still put on the best show on earth, and there is no close second. Tony George
has Indianapolis, so he needs to
be involved. Lets make him the “Grand Poobah” of the series or something similar.
The cars: This is
so incredibly simple that development to track time could be done in two years, tops.
Not unlike the “Daytona
Prototype” sports car series, which also has much better car count and competition that the “elite” American
Lemans series, specifications could be drawn up that car builders must adhere to.
Picture something
between an open wheeled Cup car, a Supermodified, and a 60’s Watson roadster.
Engines—why
not run Cup engines? Same specifications, four manufacturers ready to support the deal right off the bat. Similarly, same
tires, same transmissions (ok, use a five speed if you must run on road courses), and differentials. Fuel Cells in a safe
location. Make SURE that engine is up front in the chassis, and make sure that the thing looks fast, not ungainly.
Limit the size of
the wings, front and rear, so that mechanical grip far exceeds aero-down force, like Cup, and like the old days at Indianapolis.
This and a smaller NASCAR-style cage would protect the most precious resource on the planet—human life. Indy cars from
both series have a serious loss-of-life problem. Christian DaMatta is seriously ill with a closed head injury after contact
with a deer, but it could just as easily be a suspension component or tire and wheel assembly invading the cockpit on any
given weekend. A few years agoMario Andretti’s car got approximately 50
feet in the air after hitting a piece of metal about the size of a softball. It is not a matter of if, but when, one of these
things flies into the grandstands. More mechanical grip, more weight, less downforce—all add up to cars slowing down
for the corners and largely staying earthbound.
Would the speeds
drop? Of course, but who cares? They would run much closer together, look cooler, sound better, and best of all, just as today’s
drivers can switch between Craftsman trucks, Busch and Nextel Cup cars, the transition to Indy-Modifieds would be no problem.
In fact, Truck and
Busch races could be at one venue and Cup and the Indy-Modifieds could run as companion classes at another. Or any combination
that was the most financially viable.
Once they hit the
track, the Indy-Modifieds would not take ten years to take off; they would take one, at most.
Mr. France and Mr. George, the stock car fan base is available now, the drivers and sponsors and chassis
builders and engines are available now, and the big money is on the table. What
are you waiting for?
2006 StockCar Review.
