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American Open Wheel naming (Historical)
American Open Wheel naming (Historical)
Hi,
I am getting interested in the two current open wheel racing series in
America as F1 racing here in the UK is getting far too political!
I know the two series split in 1996 to form Champ Car and IndyCar but what
were they called before this (IndyCar or CART?) and what was the state of
play before 1979?
Thanks
Graham
Hi,
I am getting interested in the two current open wheel racing series in
America as F1 racing here in the UK is getting far too political!
I know the two series split in 1996 to form Champ Car and IndyCar but what
were they called before this (IndyCar or CART?) and what was the state of
play before 1979?
Thanks
Graham
Re: American Open Wheel naming (Historical)
Graham Naylor wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I am getting interested in the two current open wheel racing series in
> America as F1 racing here in the UK is getting far too political!
>
> I know the two series split in 1996 to form Champ Car and IndyCar but what
> were they called before this (IndyCar or CART?) and what was the state of
> play before 1979?
>
> Thanks
>
> Graham
The cars and race series date back to 1909 making them the worlds first
Championship auto race series, and they have been refered to as both
"Champ cars" and "Indy cars" pretty much the whole time. AAA a US auto
club (for maps, travel agency, insurance, etc) sanctioned the races up
until '55. They got out of racing after the LeMans accident.
Tony Hulman (TGs Grandfather) started USAC to sanction the races from
'56 on (and later Silver Crown, Sprint & midget series). Then in the
mid/late '70s Hulman died and there was a plane crash with several of
the USAC officials aboard. This left the already morbid series in worse
shape (other than Indy most races had only been getting about 10k
spectators, and there wasn't any TV coverage).
Dan Gurney put out his "White paper" on how to move open wheel racing
in this country out of the 50s, and they formed CART. Most top drivers
(other than AJ Foyt) joined CART. After 2 years and a lawsuit a deal was
cut, USAC sactioned Indy, and CART sanctioned all the other races. I
think when PPG came in as a series sponsor they signed a license
agreement to call the series "PPG IndyCar world series". Soon afterwards
Tony George got the idea that since Indy was in the name and he
controled the Indy 500, that he should control the series. Everythings
been $#@% since.
Graham Naylor wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I am getting interested in the two current open wheel racing series in
> America as F1 racing here in the UK is getting far too political!
>
> I know the two series split in 1996 to form Champ Car and IndyCar but what
> were they called before this (IndyCar or CART?) and what was the state of
> play before 1979?
>
> Thanks
>
> Graham
The cars and race series date back to 1909 making them the worlds first
Championship auto race series, and they have been refered to as both
"Champ cars" and "Indy cars" pretty much the whole time. AAA a US auto
club (for maps, travel agency, insurance, etc) sanctioned the races up
until '55. They got out of racing after the LeMans accident.
Tony Hulman (TGs Grandfather) started USAC to sanction the races from
'56 on (and later Silver Crown, Sprint & midget series). Then in the
mid/late '70s Hulman died and there was a plane crash with several of
the USAC officials aboard. This left the already morbid series in worse
shape (other than Indy most races had only been getting about 10k
spectators, and there wasn't any TV coverage).
Dan Gurney put out his "White paper" on how to move open wheel racing
in this country out of the 50s, and they formed CART. Most top drivers
(other than AJ Foyt) joined CART. After 2 years and a lawsuit a deal was
cut, USAC sactioned Indy, and CART sanctioned all the other races. I
think when PPG came in as a series sponsor they signed a license
agreement to call the series "PPG IndyCar world series". Soon afterwards
Tony George got the idea that since Indy was in the name and he
controled the Indy 500, that he should control the series. Everythings
been $#@% since.
Re: American Open Wheel naming (Historical)
On Mar 31, 3:15 am, "Graham Naylor" <s...@spam2,com > wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am getting interested in the two current open wheel racing series in
> America as F1 racing here in the UK is getting far too political!
>
> I know the two series split in 1996 to form Champ Car and IndyCar but what
> were they called before this (IndyCar or CART?) and what was the state of
> play before 1979?
>
> Thanks
>
> Graham
Graham First let me say that I agree with you on F1. Its been way
too political for me for a long time. I got sick of hearing just how
great Michael Schumacher was when if fact anyone can be great when the
sanctioning body actually has a vested interest in you winning. Rules
decisions just seem to have a way of falling in your lap. Things like
mass aero dampeners, intentionally knocking people off track as a
means of preventing rivals from scoring points to beat you, and having
it in your contract that a teammate must move over and let you by
other than being expected to race the only driver out there in
equipment like yours. If you are that $%^& good you should be able to
pass the guy and not hit him. In the US Steve M is doing some of the
F1 broadcasts and he has been known to say jokingly, "If you want to
know if something is legal or not, go look at Ferrari. If they are
running it its ok. If they are not, even if it is legal now it won't
be soon." Trouble is he isn't joking.
Now to end my F1 ramp and maybe help guide you to the information you
need. Much of the information now you get from comments here is
likely to be jaded with personal perception, including mine. Some of
it is typical passion for motorsports, but much of it is down right
dislike and worse. Rather than to get the info here, let me give you
a few things to google, then go read it for yourself and make up your
own mind.
First you know about the Indy Racing League and Champ Car. You may
also want to google OWRS which if I recall correctly was Open Wheel
Racing Series. It was a company formed to replace CART, which stood
for Championship Auto Racing Teams. Some key things to note and
google. Dan Gurney's role, his white papers, and his vision for auto
racings future. First its formation in 79, the attempt to bar some
of the Cart teams from competing in the Indy 500, and the legal
actions that followed. An induction was ordered forcing the speedway
to allow the Cart teams to compete. Other key moments in time you
might or might not know about would be the decision to make CART a
publicly traded company, some of the CEOs you might find informative
like wasn't Andrew Craig, Bobby Rahal (yep him) Chris Pook. Not
associated with Cart but former racer Bill Simpson should be checked
out as well. Find the story online where he intentionally set himself
on fire in the days in his new helmet and drivers suit. He later told
the story that while he was on fire a couple of the drivers that had
been invited to the demostration brought hot dogs and marshmellows
that they cooked on the flame. He opened his eyes and saw a frank
roasting on a coat hanger. Some things are interesting reading, like
the US 500, the Cart bankruptcy when OWRS took over the assets of Cart
and once again became a private company under the control of three
partners that are involved today. Others show just how dumb some
mistakes were like the Cart race at Texas Motor speedway, which by the
way never happened.
You also need to check out USAC which stands for United States Auto
Club, a Tony Hulman formed association. If that name rings a bell it
probably does. He bought and repaired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
after World War II. It was the sanctioning body for all of open
wheel prior to 79 and still is active today in the sprint cars and
midget racing. You should learn a little about those forms too, an
its a shame there isn't much in the short oval track racing in
Europe. Live it can be great fun to watch. That gets you back to
WWII, and really you need to go back that far to understand some of
the seeds that were sown and how the split developed, and frankly why
fans here basically choose sides instead of being a fan of both.
Prior to that is interesting reading and a good lesson on how far we
have come. IIRC it was AAA that sanctioned the races then.
Well hope this gives you an idea of things to check out and give you
are direction to guide your learning of the history that is US open
wheel racing. Right now its a mess, but the only way out of the mess
is to grow one new fan at a time. We hope you are a part of that
growth.
On Mar 31, 3:15 am, "Graham Naylor" <s...@spam2,com > wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am getting interested in the two current open wheel racing series in
> America as F1 racing here in the UK is getting far too political!
>
> I know the two series split in 1996 to form Champ Car and IndyCar but what
> were they called before this (IndyCar or CART?) and what was the state of
> play before 1979?
>
> Thanks
>
> Graham
Graham First let me say that I agree with you on F1. Its been way
too political for me for a long time. I got sick of hearing just how
great Michael Schumacher was when if fact anyone can be great when the
sanctioning body actually has a vested interest in you winning. Rules
decisions just seem to have a way of falling in your lap. Things like
mass aero dampeners, intentionally knocking people off track as a
means of preventing rivals from scoring points to beat you, and having
it in your contract that a teammate must move over and let you by
other than being expected to race the only driver out there in
equipment like yours. If you are that $%^& good you should be able to
pass the guy and not hit him. In the US Steve M is doing some of the
F1 broadcasts and he has been known to say jokingly, "If you want to
know if something is legal or not, go look at Ferrari. If they are
running it its ok. If they are not, even if it is legal now it won't
be soon." Trouble is he isn't joking.
Now to end my F1 ramp and maybe help guide you to the information you
need. Much of the information now you get from comments here is
likely to be jaded with personal perception, including mine. Some of
it is typical passion for motorsports, but much of it is down right
dislike and worse. Rather than to get the info here, let me give you
a few things to google, then go read it for yourself and make up your
own mind.
First you know about the Indy Racing League and Champ Car. You may
also want to google OWRS which if I recall correctly was Open Wheel
Racing Series. It was a company formed to replace CART, which stood
for Championship Auto Racing Teams. Some key things to note and
google. Dan Gurney's role, his white papers, and his vision for auto
racings future. First its formation in 79, the attempt to bar some
of the Cart teams from competing in the Indy 500, and the legal
actions that followed. An induction was ordered forcing the speedway
to allow the Cart teams to compete. Other key moments in time you
might or might not know about would be the decision to make CART a
publicly traded company, some of the CEOs you might find informative
like wasn't Andrew Craig, Bobby Rahal (yep him) Chris Pook. Not
associated with Cart but former racer Bill Simpson should be checked
out as well. Find the story online where he intentionally set himself
on fire in the days in his new helmet and drivers suit. He later told
the story that while he was on fire a couple of the drivers that had
been invited to the demostration brought hot dogs and marshmellows
that they cooked on the flame. He opened his eyes and saw a frank
roasting on a coat hanger. Some things are interesting reading, like
the US 500, the Cart bankruptcy when OWRS took over the assets of Cart
and once again became a private company under the control of three
partners that are involved today. Others show just how dumb some
mistakes were like the Cart race at Texas Motor speedway, which by the
way never happened.
You also need to check out USAC which stands for United States Auto
Club, a Tony Hulman formed association. If that name rings a bell it
probably does. He bought and repaired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
after World War II. It was the sanctioning body for all of open
wheel prior to 79 and still is active today in the sprint cars and
midget racing. You should learn a little about those forms too, an
its a shame there isn't much in the short oval track racing in
Europe. Live it can be great fun to watch. That gets you back to
WWII, and really you need to go back that far to understand some of
the seeds that were sown and how the split developed, and frankly why
fans here basically choose sides instead of being a fan of both.
Prior to that is interesting reading and a good lesson on how far we
have come. IIRC it was AAA that sanctioned the races then.
Well hope this gives you an idea of things to check out and give you
are direction to guide your learning of the history that is US open
wheel racing. Right now its a mess, but the only way out of the mess
is to grow one new fan at a time. We hope you are a part of that
growth.
