Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

During the month of May a race fan will hear a lot about how the Indy 500 has fallen from is place as the premier motor sports event in the US. Many open wheel fans have lost interest in the 500 due to the lack of American drivers they can relate with. All of the 500's problems would be fixed if the starting grid of the 500 looked like this with American drivers we could love, not a bunch of foreign guys we can't understand. (Forgive me if I misspelled a drivers name or two)

Row 1

Jerry Coons Jr.

Tony Stewart

Joey Saldana

Row 2

Sam Hornish Jr.

Sarah Fisher

Dave Darland

Row 3

Graham Rahal

Kevin Swindell

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Row 4

Bud Keading

Tracy Hines

Levi Jones

Row 5

Cole whit

Bobby East

Lucas Wolfe

Row 6

Dale Blaney

Jason Myers

Damion Gardner

Row 7

Jeff Gordan

Ryan Newman

Brian Tyler

Row 8

Stevie Smith

Aj Fike

Corry Kruseman

Row 9

Alex Gurney

Scott Sharp

Jason Leffler

Row 10

Steve Kinser

Bryan Clauson

Chad Boat

Row11

Brian Mcknight

John Fogarty

Boston Reid

Wow! Man that would be way cool. A few chassis and engines would finish off the improvement.

Luna's Ford engine style that won 2 WoO titles and 3 
Kings Royals before a weight rule against the best EVER
in their prime and now DOMINATES super dirt late model
racing is no longer allowed/wanted in a WoO sprint
car.... Was Luna a miracle worker?

Hopefully, the motors are in the FRONT!

TSA...It's not a GROPE...it's a Freedom Pat!

If Mr George and his yuppie buddies had any balls at all, the current Silver Crown rule book would apply. Now that would be cool.

Luna's Ford engine style that won 2 WoO titles and 3 
Kings Royals before a weight rule against the best EVER
in their prime and now DOMINATES super dirt late model
racing is no longer allowed/wanted in a WoO sprint
car.... Was Luna a miracle worker?

AAAHHH..................But Mr George is long gone from both Indycar and IMS.

SUPPORT WILDLIFE, go to a sprint car race! 

Sure you can understand the Aussie guys out of 2 & 4.lol

The current head of the whole thing is the former CEO of the PBR............

That proves that anything is possible, and the smartest most financially feasable thing to do is--drumroll please-------------these guys at Indy in May, and yes as drivers.

By the way, it's been more like 37 years, CART was started, Gary B. hurts his arm while driving for Penske, etc,etc..

Now? It is an insane circus loaded with pretty people.

I'd watch that race. And gloat over the full stands. Which it would be.

I completely agree that major open wheel racing needs more American drivers to spark the public's interest.

I feel that one of the major reasons NASCAR has been so successful is because the drivers that compete in that series bring a legion of fans with them. The "yeah, I used to watch Tony Stewart drive sprinters at Terre Haute" factor connects fans with the driver. People can relate to where that competitor came from.

With a foreign driver, you don't know anything about them until they're already competing in the US. You don't know what they did, or where they came from, and you most certainly haven't grown up watching them compete on a Saturday night at their local track.

However, I don't think you necessarily have to get rid of all foreign drivers to make it a successful series. Look at the height of Indy in the mid-60's. Americans vs the British invasion. I think a good mix of domestic and foreign drivers can make for a great series with a lot of interesting and more importantly easily marketable personalities.

We were at the Iowa Speedway Saturday for the USAC show, and commented there were several guys in Iowa that should have been in Indiana at the Speedway. How great would it be to see a Dave Darland and Jerry Coons Jr. get a shot? We came close to that in the late 90's, but obviously that was more window dressing than anything.

Aside from the money factor, I think the biggest issue with grassroots drivers not getting a chance at Indy is the lack of rear-engine experience. Of course, you could solve that by putting the motor in front (which would be the single greatest thing ever to happen in American motorsports) but it just ain't gonna happen.

I still love Indy and the 500, but it pains me to see drivers in that field who probably don't belong there, while talented open wheel racers venture to fenderland. I long for the days of sprint car drivers aspiring to be IndyCar drivers, and not stock car drivers.

I guess I was born 50 years too late.

.

That fantasy line-up in the original post contains way too many WoO drivers with no experience on pavement. If Midget and Sprint Car racing was still a viable road to Indy, the USAC guys that race on both surfaces would be the overwhelming majority of the field. Dirt guys that never race on asphalt not so much.

I used to think that the Indy series needed more of an American presence... I've come around to the thought I'd rather see the best drivers regardless of where they are from.

You have programs for minorities and for women in Nascar... I think the IRL had a program for Americans through its Vision Racing Team funded by Tony George & family money. They didn't call it that... but that's what it was.

A lot of foreign drivers gather up enough $$$ to make a run at Indy and that's about it. That really makes it tough to call the lineup the best drivers in the world... just the ones that had enough sponsorship to show up.

Judging by some decisions the teams made yesterday (yes, hindsight is 20/20)... Indy doesn't appear to attract the best teams/engineers/strategists anymore either. That or they're severely out of touch/practice.

Amazing what happens in that last 30 minutes of qualifying. You dug your hole all month... and should have shown more earlier. Don't put it on the line at the last second... you had time to avoid the situation entirely.

Great tv, though.

Across the board it is obvious no one knows the answer to finding the very best drivers. Still, it's the teams that have the balls to hire the best drivers, and deliver the tools they need to make the history, and of course-the money.

The best drivers come from everywhere, yes even midgets too. We are just a minority fighting for the idea of giving them the chance they need, and not just a token gesture.

I agree with everything but the 50 years too late part. That means I'd be 50 years older now than I am!

I admit that there are a lot of Woo and dirt driver on this list. I left off a few guys that should be on their Dave Steele being one of them.