1994 CART Featurette - Indy Racing League (IRL) Formation

[UltimateEEnEFan]

Based on these comments, I can clearly tell that most of you want an American Formula 1. That what you got with CART. And guess what? If Tony George never did this, there would be no Indy 500. Because that's what CART would have turned into. The 2007 ChampCar World Series. IndyCar is not a joke. It's just not run the way YOU all want it to be. You all live in the past. Now, believe me, I live there as well, but you must accept that this is what happened. Stop complaining and watch what you have.

[Dqnyur]

@UltimateEEnEFan CART never talked about dropping Indy or any ovals, the split causing oval attendance to go down, is what caused Champ Car to drop ovals.

[Dqnyur]

The beginning of the end

[8188ify]

George = American idiot

[sonitusdeus]

sad.

[HollywoodSheen]

CART destroyed itself just as much as Tony did. I don't like TG, but a lot of that blame should be directed towards CART as well. The people running that series made disastrous mistake after disastrous mistake. They tried too hard to compete with the IRL when they already had the upper hand. Why? It seriously makes no sense. Instead of focusing so much on trying to outdo the IRL, they should've just focused on running their own series and creating new ways for it to be more entertaining.

[PeterMayer]

@HollywoodSheen Yeah, CART destroyed itself. Yes, they made a lot of mistakes. But in the end, Tony and his stupid ego should have never done it. Now look at Indy Car. Nobody goes or cares. Buh bye....

[HollywoodSheen]

@PeterMayer Ya ur right, attendance is horrible (even @ Indy this year there were whole sections of empty bleachers). Barnhart is sinking that series, & even tho I like Bernard, I don't think the guy has any clue as to what he's doing. The new car is a joke, same shit all over again (Dallara/Honda), dont these people learn? Not to mention that its F'n ugly & no one (be it GM, Ford, Boeing, Swift, Lola, etc) is gonna develop removable parts for 70k to be mounted on a Dallara chassis. Wake up IRL

[TheRealVonScratch]

Fuck you Tony George you fuckin idiot. Your ego fueled war destroyed what was the best series on the planet,, then you took down what was left by destroying ChampCar .. to leave us with what? Ugly lawndarts with farting bee engines that are slower than the cars of 1995? People are abandoning grand stands faster than events can take them down. Nice legacy shit head....

[TheRealVonScratch]

F you Tony George, you cooked the golden goose. The IRL sucks, the cars suck, half the drivers suck and the mindy 500 sucks. Way to go jackass...FTG

[Grayqboufan]

How to rebuild American Open Wheel Racing:

1. Bring back track diversity. Check

2. Get rid of Tony George. Check

3. Bring back turbos. Pending

4. Get new chassis. Pending

[ochentin]

Tony George hijo de la gran..... por tu ambicion es que ahora el automovilismo open wheel esta asi, nunca volveremos a ver esos años dorados, por culpa de un imbécil que se cree el dueño de todo. Aunque ya no esté en la Indy Car actual, el daño caudado es irreparable.

[FoxifiedNutjob]

"American racers", "Oval racing", "Easier entry".

Well guess what, we have the same foreign drivers, the same road circuits, and the same money dominating the sport.

Now all we have is cheaper, slower, cars with no room for technological development.

Brilliant, Einstein!

[HollywoodSheen]

TG is such a dial tone

[FoxifiedNutjob]

George split up a wonderful time for open wheel racing in our human history. And those that think open wheel should only be run on ovals are either very young or just plain naive. Road America, Long Beach, Mid Ohio,

Laguna Seca drew some of the largest crowds and televised audiences of their time.

CART = technological development and achievement

IRL = cheap, rigidly dictated chassis and engine dimensions and aesthetically awkwardness.

[weallfollowmanutd]

Why are there so many thumbs down here. A lot of these comments are right. Are there many IRL fans here or something?

[HappyJack01]

@weallfollowmanutd Because we're we have been watching long enough to know that CART split AOW racing back in 1979 and all the best drivers were retiring and being replaced with F! re-treads and want'a be's. Sad part is that after all the pain expense and venom were back with go kart tracks on city streets and import rent-a-car drivers. It's very depressing.

[HollywoodSheen]

@weallfollowmanutd I dnt think the thumbs down are so much for the fact that people don't like the video (it's a great video), I think it's more so that they don't like what's being said in it or what has resulted to AOW since that time. They're not "thumbs downing" the video itself, but the message it's delivering. 

[weallfollowmanutd]

Tony George should've been shot in the head bck then. We still would've had the awsomeness of a real Indycar series, not this fucked up IRL.

[TeOdeioEclesstone]

TG seu Filho da Puta!!! Parabéns pelo que você fez com a IndyCar World Series. Seu merda!!! ChampCar forever!

[RedneckBart]

The open wheel war was unnecessary. Look at the IRL now. It's a big joke. No real TV coverage. Weak TV ratings. A lack of sponsorships on cars.

Thank you Tony George for destroying "American Open Wheel Racing" with your arrogance.

[encinobalboa]

Tony sounds dull and slow-witted. Typical of someone who is not self-made.

[encinobalboa]

Tony George is an idiot. CART had international coverage, F1 superstars, multiple engine and chassis suppliers, and the 500 was the biggest race in the world (before the split). Today, he is out as CEO after the ignominy of being ousted by his family. I read IMS lost $500 mil supporting IRL.

[Tonio31]

Thus began the gradual fall of open-wheeling racing in the United States. Fucking Tony George! "WAAAA WAAAAH, I DON'T WANT THE CARS DRIVING ON STREET AND ROAD COURSES! WAAAAH I WANT MORE AMERICAN DRIVERS, WAAAH WAAAAH!"

[HappyJack01]

@Tonio31 Street races are just a big cheat for the fans.

[jbracer86]

2:29 famous last words by Paul Page, drastically effect as in ruin the sport of American open wheel racing and leave it shattered into peices that will take years to even get its head above water.

[prevenger]

this was the end of open wheel racing in the u.s. as a sport showcasing the best technology and drivers.

[2014cwajts71]

Hey, how about this? Let's bring USAC back.

[markko17]

Tony George @ 2:10 "grassroots" which I guess explains why those pieces of crap race in Iowa and not Vancouver or Australia (or even Road America) what a moron!!

[poko111]

Tony George had it right in his original vision. Low costs, all ovals, moslty American drivers. Too bad the series has now turned into a joke, foreign drivers and stupid street races.

[gentiloser]

you are a fucking moron. and everything that is wrong with Indy Car. morons like you asked for the IRL, and assholes like you got what you deserved.

fuck off.

[IndyandNascarsuck]

This was the beggining of the end for aow racing.

Thanks for killing it F'ing Tony!

[brundlefly2084]

I don't think that meeting between Andrew Craig and FTG wen't very well if it every

happened after this announcement by FTG in

Mar of 94.Tony George was determined to go his own way thinking he knew what was best for Indycar.The aftermath of course is that American Open Wheel Racing has lost some much

like race tracks,engine manufactories,drivers

and most important moumentum to gain a large

amount of people to come to the races or to

watch on tv.

[eako2107]

Wow TG is such an articulate speaker!  Uhhh.(pause)...uhhh.. you know... um.. uhh... pause... you know..

[afannell]

Seems like it was just yesterday when the two series split. Not that the split is over I hope it will be like like CART with International flavor.

[lukeCART1]

one series looking good.

[FrodothePuppet]

(Continued)

...have 5 or 6 North American races to open the season, go to Europe, Asia, and Surfers Paradise for the middle part of the year, and return for an American run to the title, and it can be a legitimate F1 feeder series (which it unofficially is anyway). This way, no more direct comparisons are made between Champ Car and IRL. IndyCar racing can be on top again (with time) and maybe we can find the next American F1 star!

[FrodothePuppet]

Instead of a merger between CCWS and IRL, perhaps this would be more realistic: in Europe, there is an F1 feeder series (below GP2) called the World Series by Renault (formerly by Nissan), of which Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica are former champions. I like the sound of the Champ Car World Series by Renault (a title sponsor in open wheel racing?). Combine their 26 entries with the 15 or 16 CCWS entries, maybe merge a few teams, and we have at least 30 car fields...

[jbracer86]

true the irl or indycar series is stronger than champcar now. but if there had never been a split. the series would have stayed strong. Indy car racing was the best series in america. it was so good that ppl from F1 would come to the US to race. Cart never would have failed if there hadnt been a split. all of the sponsors and revenue would have stayed and grown in the series

[airben3]

Tony George destroyed indy car racing as we knew it in the 1990s (before the split) and replaced it with a series akin to what Indy Lights used to be. He is a fool who inhereted the speedway. It take one generation to found something, the second generation to make it prosper, and the third to drive it into oblivion....what a waste!

[6007AC]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Open wheel racing was already starting to circle the drain in 1994. That's when CART replaced racers like Rick Mears, AJ Foyt and Al Unser Sr. with Hiro Matushita, Didier Theys and Dennis Vitolo. No wonder NASCAR thrived in the 1990s.

Tony George had is right in the beginning but then decided to make the IRL into CART2. Sadly, the rest is history.

[toiletsrus]

TG realized that the sponsors want international involvement and road racing as well as oval racing so he gave up on his "vision".

And thankfully. The old IRL was a joke. NASCAR Jr. basically. It looks like its finally headed in the right direction.

[2014cwajts71]

I must say it's sad, but you are right.

[malliabird42]

I tried to watch an irl event on tv. How many cars is one team allowed to have?, you might aswell lable the whole feild as andretti/green, Chip Ganasshole, rahall and leave two for penske. Pointless. Nothing beats the spectical of champcars at surfers paradise.

[toiletsrus]

those same teams dominated in CART too when they were there, whats your point?

[champcar4ever]

You are right that everybody else is to blame for American open wheels problems EXCEPT Anton Hulman George.

[reading70]

you must see the reality: the irl costs too much for many teams, and the fans are going to the champ car (it's true), howhever the pattern of racing generated by irl is not wrong, but remember: the union will be the better thing for both the series. They are failing for their mistakes(ccws and irl), an advantage for nascar.

[senna60]

tony george has destroyed the indycar. Now i hope in the union between the two series. This is the only possible solution or both the series won't survive

[champcar4ever]

It's too bad you don't know how good AOW was BEFORE the split was initiated by your beloved Tony George. It was only a short 12 years ago and if your profile is truthful, you would've been only 11 years old. Plus it looks like you're bashing NASCAR also so I think a lot of your comments are just to troll around and get a reaction.

[FrodothePuppet]

TG is a bigger idiot than any of the 12 you mentioned. Had he left well enough alone, CART would still be on top and Gordon, Stewart, Franchitti, Allmendinger, Carpentier, and possibly Hornish wouldn't be racing spec taxicabs for 5 million a year.

In 1996, CART had the legitimacy, the drivers, the teams, and the ratings. Along with only 5 or 6 only decent drivers, the IRL had the Indy 500. All that said, a conflict was inevitable. If TG didn't intend to rival CART, I'm Mr. Bojangles!

[Zabouskie]

Hey Indyfan, stop putting you're foot in you're mouth will ya? Seriously dont make any claim if you cannot back it up, provide proof of that paticular fact, how did IRL save american open wheel racing? Only thing I see it did was destroy it instead.

[Zabouskie]

This was the beginning of the end of American Open Wheel racing, I consider 1995 the last truely golden year for open wheel racing. Then Tony George Launched a massive assault upon all of us, he doesn't give a fuck how anybody felt, if he didn't have his way, he would make a problem out of it, and the IRL was the result of that. How could the IRL be all American if he attempted to destroy what we all loved? How is that American? You tell me George, you tell me.

[donger8]

Tony George you've killed open wheeled racing in the United States. I'd rather watch monkeys racing than watch that worthless POS IRL.

[redriverman2006]

You should cut out the audio and replace it with "Adagio for Strings".

[drinklime]

the death of american racing

[davegto67]

TG....what a mumbling, incoherent moron.

[davegto67]

Nope. TG is a moron and a fool. Anyone who follows TG is the same.

[AJ1964]

IRL is the best thing that ever happened to AOW. The new ChampCar sucks!

[champcar4ever]

Yes, ask Walt Disney World, MIS, Nazareth, Pikes Peak, Fontana, Las Vegas, New Hampshire and other ones that escape me, all former tracks that hosted the IRL's main goal of keeping the heritage of oval track racing alive. Yup the Road To Indy goes through Belle Isle now.

[AJ1964]

I don't see nothing wrong with that. Indycar has allways been the best racing, better than F1 and NASCAR, and it is now with IRL. Mid-Ohio had a better TV rating than Mid-Ohio back in 1993 with Nigel Mansell, Emmo, Mario.... Its better now than then.

[champcar4ever]

But what does Mid-Ohio have to do with the oval heritage? Oh I see, 5 letters H O N D A.

[AJ1964]

Mid-Ohio has been an Indycar track more than 20 years. Ovals are great, but its good that Indycar has these roadtracks, because Indycar has a lot fans form outsidu US where road racing is very popular, you know because of Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, a lot good european drivers have raced in Indycars.

[Dqnyur]

@AJ1964 Right, because losing a whole fan base, and dozens of sponsors to NASCAR, turning IndyCar into the joke it is now, was THE BEST THING EVER!

[vuetube]

Spoiled Trust-Fund kid. How many millions do you pay each team to race in the IRL? *yawn* Champ Car Forever

[devilmaster73]

bwahahahahahahahaha! good one 22k! :D

[Lotusxx]

Just shows what we've all known since the beginning: Tony just wanted control, period. His "vision" is gone and all he has is CART circa '07 with less cars, less fans, less viewers, less engine manufacturers, less chassis, less sponsorship, less interest.....If Tony won anything it's the legacy of being the single individual in history who destroyed Indy Car racing. Enjoy Belle Isle...again.....

[TheHolySmurf]

Wow, Tony George is an idiot. Why do you people want NASCAR to die? I mean, I watch lots of different series but I want any other series to die.

[boardroomjimmy]

Spoken like a true incoherent, mumbling jackass, Tony. Glad all your lies and false goals have worked out so well. How many millions out of your pocket to make a field of 33 this year?

[xpidf1]

the IRL came to life in 1996, being independent from CART

[PeterMayer]

Haven't seen the 500 since 95, proud to say1 Won't go to Kentucky either and I live about 45 minutes away!

[PeterMayer]

f TG, Penske, Ganassi, Michael Andretti. "With more of an American Flavor" Yup, 'Mericans like Scott Dixon, Neves, Kaanan, Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, etc. etc...jack ass!

[racingfan87]

Tony George. It is really hard to like him after seeing that. What happened to ovals? Seems to me the IRL is becoming what Indy Car used to be (non-American drivers, road and street courses) but without the cash. With NASCAR starting to decline NOW is the time to bring these two series together once and for all. Lets get back on top, it can happen!

[JACoz]

There he is.. Tony George..the moron who destroyed American Openwheel racing...

I especially love the bit where he says 'a series with a more American flavour' 'a series focusing on oval racing'..well he didnt take long to break his promises did he

[indyfan2]

Well, There are a lot of DieHard Fans out there.... The OW Cold War needs to end, NASCAR got all the guns that neither CCWS or IRL got. Blame the NASCAR not your fellow or unfellow Open-Wheel Sport. Geez...

No wonder Penske13 snapped me out of hate!

[AJ1964]

Injury League Rocks. ChampCar sucks!

[Warlock67]

Earl needs to die

[indyfan2]

and what CCWS do with the Indy-500 if IRL died off?

[AJ1964]

Earl's much better than ShamCar.

[indyfan2]

Face the facts, neither series is on top. Wakeup AJ1964. IRL and CCWS are weak, sad to say. You need to understand both are weak. And stop bashing Champcar without bashing your own series!

[indyjim1969]

Funny to see 10 years after the IRL has been formed the same group of characters continue to cry in their beer! Get a life guys. Indy Car racing has, was, and will always be about the Indy 500. We have F1 for the high tech road course, wine and cheese crowd, etc. High speed oval indy car racing is not for everyone, let alone the faint of heart that makes us the typical CART ONLY fan.

[donathandorko]

tony george is an eejit.

[VampireYoshi]

Ummm....yeah? The 500 got more attendence this year than the Allstate 402.5.

[VampireYoshi]

Comment above directed to "Got crowd?", and it didn't put it where I wanted it, sorry.

[OWfan]

It certainly did drastically affect OW racing. Sad thing is: the whole owners/drivers vs. the Speedway conflict had been around for years before this moment.

[Senninha70]

Fuck you Tony George.

[indyfan2]

If you don't like ovals then don't watch it, unless you had a mental problem with Oval racing. Or otherwise your statement puzzles me. Please Explain

[Dudujones]

Interesting point of view...

From my side (France), I thought that IRL was more popular than that...

Personnaly, I prefere ChampCar since the 1999's J.P. Montoya show ^^

I suppose that Champcar come back even harder in the heart of U.S. Fan's with the "blossom" of A.J. Almendinger this year ? (or with the Tracy show^^)

[guzuky]

hahaha A.J is on NASCAR now!!

That shows you how the end is near for open wheel racing in USA

[Rcrby525]

to indyfan2. is they got rid of the allstate 400 it would not matter. the only thing that would kill nascar is if they took darlington or daytona off

[Rcrby525]

AND NASCAR BECAME MORE POUPULAR!

[indyfan2]

"NASCAR the fastest race on earth" (< a commercial says). To get Indycar (as one) on its feet again, get rid of the Allstate 400 (nascar), that should ruin NASCAR. It ruins our popularity and the track is for OWR only, he can keep F1 though. Host four 500mile racing sweepstakes including indy500. Kevin, Continue CART's race tradition since 1996. We want our only bloody indycars back to where it supposed to be TONY!!! IRL is a hold up!

[indyjim1969]

It was, is, and always will be about the Indy 500. The day CART started hiring overseas CEO's who failed to grasp that concept was the day the IRL was born. Fewer and fewer Americans, and more and more follow the leader parades on street circuits was a bad idea. I love road racing on road courses, not cement mazes like Belle Isle.

[G1212]

"not cement mazes like Belle Isle. "

HA!

Belle Isle added to 2007 schedule. Thanks, Tony!

[indyfan2]

Belle Isle promoter was Roger Penske and he still is. Surely that IRL starts running CART's former premier circuits.

[indyfan2]

Tony George is an idiot!

He Killed off Open Wheel Racing with his conflicting IRL!

[PrincePurple]

You know what sucks most? NASCAR had its breakaway series announcement, it went nowhere. Formula One had its breakaway series announcement, it went nowhere. But this video of IndyCar's breakaway announcement actually came true. I'm still saying "FUCK!!!"

[Rcrby525]

umm.. i've never heard of such announcement from NASCAR, nor did i from FIA (FIA owns the Formula One world championship)

[PrincePurple]

Regarding rival breakaway series in NASCAR and F1:

The rival breakaway NASCAR series was called TRAC. It tried to get going about five or six years ago. They tested cars, lined up a few tracks, even had Cale Yarborough working for it, but it soon died.

The rival breakaway F1 series was just over the last two years. The car manufacturers themselves threatened their own series. It also fell apart.

[VVT4ME]

Wow. I never saw the first shot in the war fired before. What a piece of shit. He single handedly sodomized the American open-wheeled fan with his backdoor deals with NASCOCK, his oval-only format, and sub par car formula and forever damaged and endangered the sport. FUCK THIS COCKSUCKING SODOMITE AND HIS spINDY CARS. Just rake in the cash from your track and let open wheel re-attain its greatness without injecting your moronic 'VISION'. You filthy fuckbag.

[photoray]

Tony G is such an idiot.

[woonster]

"and.....ah.....um....and....a­h"

Tony is a quick one!

[woonster]

Tony ruined the sport, it's as simple as that

[gojenson]

FUCK YOU TONY GEORGE!!!!

[ScottOmatic]

Yeah Tony, lets make it more american, it has less americans in the IRL now than Indycar when it ended. And grass roots? Where are any of those sprintcar drivers like JJ Yeley and Billy Boat? Thats right, they all suck, its not training ground for a modern openwheel car.  Someone get some bullets and a time machine.

[Rcrby525]

jj yelay drives for joe gibbs in nascar!

[guzuky]

-- Someone get some bullets and a time machine.

Couldn't been said better...

[pburland]

Tony George is an idiot!

[mustang6172]

It was a good idea, just poorly executed.

[travo11er]

Good idea?? It failed miserably--now they are trying to morph it into what CART used to be (the very thing he said he didn't like), except they (Tony George and IRL) have screwed everything up so much that without a merger with ChampCar (the true IndyCar series) open-wheel racing in America is going to die and all that we will have is taxicabs turning left. No, my friend, this is and always has been about the spoiled little rich kid who inherited the Indy 500 and wants all the power.

[mustang6172]

He can't control who the teams hire. I'd like to emphasize the "poorly executed" statement. And if Champ Car can't survive with out the Indy 500, then maybe Champ Car has the problem.

[toracer32]

Wow, Tony sure was eloquent back then, and so smart.

[racephan]

How sound to look back at this idiot's plan and to know now how it has ruined our sport.