So Long Champ Car

The news came out last Friday... the IRL had bought out Champ Car. The teams would be offered financial incentive to move over the the "League" and a few (it looks like 3) events will be attempted to be squeezed into the existing IRL schedule. It's the death of the series I loved and to top it off the end of the Toronto race (Molson Indy/Steelback Grand Prix). To say I'm disappointed is an understatment. A lot of casual observers to the sport would ask me, "What's the big deal? I can't see the difference between the two." Believe me, there was a difference. There were the venues (more road/street courses vs. oval after oval), there was the Canadian Content (3 races and drivers like Paul Tracy, the late Greg Moore and Alex Tagliani), there was the cars (just compare pictures of the two types of cars, paying special attention to the nose and sidepods), and the engines (the sound of turbos are so cool).

Of course there was also the fact that the IRL was started as a blatant power-play by the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway disguised as the protection of American grass-roots racers and oval tracks. Just look at what the IRL was becoming... adding more street/road races and leaving oval tracks. Now you'll say, "well, wasn't that what you wanted a series to be in the first place?" You'd be partially right, but it's the hypocrisies of it all that I can't get past. Not that the opinion of one guy will change anything, but it's something I felt I had to stick to.

Now I'm faced with a choice. Don't watch the IRL, or follow my favourite drivers and teams there and watch them struggle against the existing IRL teams all season (with 6 years of experience with the equiptment) and hope that magically the series is drastically altered for 2009 (there's talk the the Toronto race would come back after a year's hiatus... but we'll see). I'll probably watch to begin with, to tell you the truth, and see what happens from there.