In this day and age, it is nice to read a motorsports-related article in the United States that is not centered around NASCAR; however, Sam Rendall's article on Race Day ("Straight From the Mule's Mouth," May 15) completely missed the mark when describing the current state of open-wheel racing in the United States. Rendall makes the claim that both the Indianapolis 500 and the Indy Car series are "on top" and that "CART went bankrupt" following pressure applied by the supposed success of the Indy Car series. Both of these statements are significantly misleading and display a lack of research into the present status of both series. Although the Indianapolis 500 continues to draw a large attendance at the track, television audiences have steadily declined since the CART/Indy Car split in 1995.
Furthermore, the international prestige of the event has continued to decline; do you know who won last year's Indy 500 and the Indy Car championship? I can answer both: Dan Wheldon. I can also guarantee that a large portion of both the North American and European public -- Wheldon is a native of Great Britain -- have no clue who Wheldon is, or what he does. The fact that Wheldon actively sought, and was unable to obtain, a seat in Formula One following his dominance of the Indy Car series in 2005 should be a tell-tale sign of Indy Car's decline. Former winners of the Indy 500, including current F1 drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya, secured drives with top-flight F1 teams as a direct result of their successes at Indy.
Indy Car might enjoy large crowds at Indianapolis for one weekend in May, but attendance is stagnant at other tracks on the series schedule. Indy Car also came close to a total collapse over the past off-season with engine manufacturers Toyota and Chevrolet pulling their support for the series, leaving Honda as the sole engine manufacturer. Ironically, Honda has voiced its displeasure with its status as the sole engine-provider for Indy Car, and has announced a significant program with its Acura brand in the high-growth American Le Mans Series for the 2007 season.
Rendall's most significant omission, however, is that although CART (which was renamed the Champ Car World Series, or CCWS, in 2004) went bankrupt in 2003, the series is far from "liquidated" or in a position to be bought by Tony George. Since 2003, CCWS has embarked on an ambitious pro-growth platform including new races in major markets such as Houston, San Jose and Denver, as well as new international events in Mexico City and China. Future proposed races include events in Philadelphia, Beijing and Zuhai in 2006, as well as in New York City, Phoenix and Las Vegas in 2007. Furthermore, CCWS has announced that the series will switch to a single chassis built by Panoz Motorsports and a turbocharged Cosworth engine for the 2007 season. The changes will significantly cut operating costs and increase car counts in 2007 and beyond.
It seems to me that CCWS is in a much better position than the Indy Car series, and maybe Tony George believes so too. Rendall failed to mention that there have been some serious discussions between the two series on reunifying in 2007 under the new CCWS format. We already have too many "racertainment" oval series in the United States, and the oval-heavy schedule of the Indy Car series will continue to drive the series' downfall. What should be more concerning for American motorsports fans is why the world's most popular form of racing, Formula One, continually fails to attract a significant following in the United States. Only soccer outmatches Formula One on the global scale of importance and viewers; will the United States continue to fall out of touch with the rest of the world when it comes to sports? With the rumblings of one of the "Big Three" domestic automotive manufacturers quitting NASCAR after the 2006 season and concentrating on international sports-car racing, the rising success and massive growth of the internationally-styled American Le Mans Series, and the expanding American interest in soccer, there is room for optimism.
