With the latest migration of open wheel drivers to NASCAR it seems more and more evident that open wheel racing in the US will no longer be considered an "A" level formula. With no reconciliation in sight involving the twelve year rift between Tony George's IRL and Champ Car, and losing the F1 race at Indy, what's left for open wheel fans in the US?
In what seems like a millennium ago, when the likes of the Andretti's and Unser's where household names on the American racing scene in the 1990's, one bad decision after the next has buried open wheel racing. With the recent defection of former Formula 1 and IRL stars to NASCAR'S Cup series, the life of this American form of racing is all but extinct. Sure, the lower formulas will survive, but the likes of any major American racing star to come out of open wheel racing is bleak at best.
Look at the list of names; Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Robbie Gordon, Dario Franchetti, Juan Montoya, Jacques Villenue, Carl Edwards, Clint Bohyer; all stars in various formulas of open wheel, jumping ship to stock car racing. The remainder of the better open wheel drivers are all looking for a seat in a NASCAR series rather than stay in a form of the sport they know and love.
How is it that car makers such as Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Toyota, all with Formula 1 teams, do not insist on having a race in their biggest consumer market? Because the people who run open wheel racing have no clue as to what they need, or the resources to build a proper race track in a major market in the US. The track at Indy was one of the worst designs I have ever seen, lacking any character or challenge to the F1 driver. Why can't we modify a track like Road America to world class status to host the US Grand Prix?
This race fan has become so disillusioned with the state of open wheel racing to the point of giving up the notion it will ever improve. I guess the forces of NASCAR are to imposing and their marketing reach to far for any competitor to make a dent in. Not to exaggerate the obvious, but a truth must be told, the death of open wheel racing is upon us and likely not to recover.
In what seems like a millennium ago, when the likes of the Andretti's and Unser's where household names on the American racing scene in the 1990's, one bad decision after the next has buried open wheel racing. With the recent defection of former Formula 1 and IRL stars to NASCAR'S Cup series, the life of this American form of racing is all but extinct. Sure, the lower formulas will survive, but the likes of any major American racing star to come out of open wheel racing is bleak at best.
Look at the list of names; Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Robbie Gordon, Dario Franchetti, Juan Montoya, Jacques Villenue, Carl Edwards, Clint Bohyer; all stars in various formulas of open wheel, jumping ship to stock car racing. The remainder of the better open wheel drivers are all looking for a seat in a NASCAR series rather than stay in a form of the sport they know and love.
How is it that car makers such as Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Toyota, all with Formula 1 teams, do not insist on having a race in their biggest consumer market? Because the people who run open wheel racing have no clue as to what they need, or the resources to build a proper race track in a major market in the US. The track at Indy was one of the worst designs I have ever seen, lacking any character or challenge to the F1 driver. Why can't we modify a track like Road America to world class status to host the US Grand Prix?
This race fan has become so disillusioned with the state of open wheel racing to the point of giving up the notion it will ever improve. I guess the forces of NASCAR are to imposing and their marketing reach to far for any competitor to make a dent in. Not to exaggerate the obvious, but a truth must be told, the death of open wheel racing is upon us and likely not to recover.
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