My Plan for the IRL Part I
Dear Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp.,

With Tuesday’s announcement that Tony George has resigned as both CEO of the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, please accept this letter as a formal application to be considered to be named the successor to Mr. George. While you already have named Jeff Belskus to fill Mr. George’s duties, I feel I offer more of what you need in a leader, not only to restore the Indianapolis 500 to its rightful place as the premiere motorsports race in the world, but also to elevate the Indy Racing League to levels that it has yet to see.

When the Indy Racing League was founded by Mr. George in 1994 I was very much onboard with his initial concept; giving American open-wheel drivers the opportunity to race in the most prestigious race of them all, the Indianapolis 500.

Unfortunately though, somewhere along the way the series has woefully gone wrong. From it’s over-reliance on foreign drivers to the lack of competition to the outrageous costs associated with running an IndyCar, the IRL has become everything fans, including myself, didn’t want it to become. In fact, the IRL has become almost identical to the series that it was intended to disassociate itself from, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART).

If you name me as the successor to Mr. George and put me in charge of the IRL and the Indianapolis 500, I promise you that under my leadership, open-wheel racing will return to the prominence that it once enjoyed in this country. My plan is as follows:

1) An immediate townhouse forum meeting with the teams to prevent another debacle like the one that occurred Saturday night at Richmond. Having zero lead changes on the track is in-excusable! People didn’t pay good money to see what was essentially a 300-lap parade. Something needs to be done to fix the lack of passing on the ovals. While it was nice that the series made concessions on Tuesday in an attempt to fix the product, more needs to be done and it needs to be now. Whether it’s adding more downforce or allowing teams to make more adjustments to the car, let’s talk to the drivers, owners and the mechanics to see what they think needs to happen and I will make it happen. There will be no excuses, only positive results.

2) An opening-up of the rule book so as not to allow any longer, what is essentially a spec series to exist. Fans want to see innovation and various car manufactures from around the world competing head-to-head not only for Indy 500 supremacy, but for a yearly championship as well. I’m not saying IndyCar should go the way of Formula One, but somewhere in between there is a happy medium. I promise I will find it.
Posted: 7/2/2009 8:27:23 PM
Comments:

Report Inappropriate Content

Select the reason that best describes why you think this content is inappropriate, and then click Submit. We'll review the content to determine if action is required. Thanks for your input!
 
Submit
Cancel