With apologies to Mr. Mark Wilkinson (Twitter: @newtrackrecord) as he posts some really provocative views and thoughts on all things IndyCar, here we go:
I have been taking a sabbatical for the past 60 days in what I like to call “IndyCar Fans Held Hostage as Offseason Grinds On”. The silence has been deafening; the lack of methanol in the air has left me literally gasping and the lack of color save for winter snow white, has left me visually numb.
I felt that last off season was pretty interesting and filled with palace intrigue, but then came the off season of 2012/2013. Sweet Jesus, will this carnival of change and aimless wandering EVER end? Let’s review, shall we?
-The only friend IndyCar fans ever had since the days of Anton Hulman was unceremoniously dumped
-Steve “Shuncky Monkey” Shunck is dumped in an attempt to save the bottom line
-Jeff Belskus steps into the void left by the demise of the Cowboy/Bull Rider
-Mark Miles steps into the void caused by a rudderless ship
-Doug Boles is kicked up stairs to become COO
-Robby Greene, formerly head of IMS Productions is appointed COO as well
At this point, I am in serious need of a score card. I have not even touched on the froth released upon the racing public, regarding the sad state of Jay Penske. At least my racing tweeps pumped out onsite pictures of the building of the course that will become again the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Finally, the dull ache of the off season’s manufactured drama will give way to the whine of turbos and the aroma of combusted methanol. That is what really matters and I wonder how many members of Randy Nation will REALLY boycott the sport.
It seems to me that the state of Indy Car is a lot like life, nothing is ever permanent. Change is inevitable, relentless and occurs at its own pace. Hey, it took over a decade, but the DW12 came to be and based on last year’s results the vehicle sure seemed pretty racy. I believe that folks got used to the look of the Karashians in road course trim, but it sure looked like a pre baby fat Jessica Simpson in speedway trim. And no, please do not try to engage me in a discussion about aero kits as I don’t drink that koolaide. The days of building a backyard engineered vehicle and attempting a qualification run at Indy ain’t gonna happen any time soon, folks. The cost is just too prohibitive for the small fry fabricator these days and no, you cannot borrow my autoclave…… So that leads to the hated spec car and spec series. That all will be forgiven with the first turn of the wheels come May, perhaps as soon as the Barber test. Besides, the car looks so good in speedway trim.
The bottom line to my current rant is this, people: these so called IndyCar life ending issues will all come to pass. Racing will continue for the foreseeable future as most of the direction and vision for the 2013 season was in place before the changing of the guard. Long term contracts between the vendors and stake holders are settling down and the necessary discussions about parts is out of the way…..for now. I see a 2013 season with racing even better than the fabulous contests of 2012, with a close finish again for the championship.
As a point of reference I present the following link to the inaugural event for the newly formed Indy Racing League:
Thanks for reading! I strongly encourage you to go view Mark’s site ( http://Newtrackrecord.com ) so hit the link that will definitely get your mind flowing.
We’ll talk to you next time!
GForcePaul
WideOpenWheel 