So Karoline landed a set of nice passes for the IRL (Indy Racing League) Detroit Grand Prix yesterday and I had a few thoughts on the whole deal.

Belle Isle and the IRL offered a very nice layout for those who had suite passes. They included a place out of the sun in the suite area, catered food and drinks and something I have never seen before, air conditioned first class porta pottys (5 star bathrooms).

But what I really wanted to write about is the battle between Cart (Champ Car World Series) and Tony George and the IRL (Indy Racing League) which is just about over.

Sadly I have to think that the once mighty Cart is on it's last legs. The sad reality is that all of the big teams have packed up and left Cart and joined Tony George’s IRL. Yep most of the original founders of CART including Roger Penske have bailed out of Cart and joined the IRL.

What I find interesting is that after years of running two American road racing series that we may finally have one series without all of the drama that these two corporate groups have created over the past few years. Ya right!

Tony George has given piles and piles of money to this deal and so he deserves to win, I guess. I mean after attending this race you begin to see that Indy Car racing is simply a corporate show of money and power. As with all other motorsports the past few years, the teams and drivers are nonexistent to the core racing fan. This means that if you got money, Michael Andretti is at your beck and call. No money, no Michael.

Today you either buy grandstand seat or good luck seeing the race. By that I mean it is very difficult to wander around and watch as banners cover a great majority of the track. Next to Formula One (Number One boring race series in my opinion) there is little offered other than a sweet corporate party for a bunch of rich people.

Despite what was reported on Speed TV, the Belle Isle race was not all that great. As a roving spectator I found the viewable racing to be rather uninteresting. The reality is that it is next to impossible on a location like Belle Isle to really get more than a passing glimpse of the cars during the race.

Although we did have grandstand seats over the pits. They to offered little real viewing, even with the mega tron TV the had set up.

We did have paddock access which proved to be the best part of the day. A few of the LeMans series teams actually hung around and so there were some cool cars that you could actually walk up to and touch. They were even letting people (yes regular Joe's) sit in the cars for photo ops. The truth is the LeMan teams were very nice to the crowds. Of course there were no LeMans drivers to be seen.

None of the IRL teams were offering up anything other than a flyer or two on their drivers. In fact Team Penske had no flyers on their drivers! We found that very strange considering that this race was put back on the schedule by Roger Penske’s hard work, god bless him for bring the race back to a town that is so far on its knees that it’s hard to believe we still build cars here.

The bottom line is that the IRL teams, especially the drivers were pretty much closed off affairs.
When you did see a driver they were surrounded by corporate types and had their hands full dealing with the usual ass kissing photo ops. This is the sad reality of becoming a professional sports athlete of any sort today.

Again the race itself was a bore when compared to the AMA Motocross at Red Bud or the AMA Supermoto event at Waterford Hills. Both of which were super cheap and offered really competitive racing compared to an IRL or Cart event.

Truth is I love all motorsports. Problem is the whole corporate thing in your face at every turn is ok for showing off your product. What it has done is more though. Now the drivers are pinned down to constant corporate ass kissing. The fans are just a byproduct of a bunch of rich people looking for a pat on the back.

There is nothing wrong with sponsors playing a big role in a team’s situation. But that gets back to the heart of the problem because the drivers are constantly busy and when they have a moment of free time they hide away in there mega million dollar toter coaches until more ass kissing is called for or they have practice or the race to attend to.

Tony George (aka Mr. we want to groom American drivers from the dirt tracks of America, ect) seemed to have changed his tune. Today’s IRL has few American drivers. Sarah Fisher who is a competent race car driver despite what the press wants you to think is still driving an underfunded car that functions as a convenient backmarker. The sad state of the Toney George/IRL era of racing.

Danika Patrick on the other hand is sitting in a drivers dream situation. Lots of money coming and she still can't win a race. She raced for Bobby Rahal who through a pile of cash down to get her started. She left him for Andretti /Green and has no excuse for not winning at this point in her career and yet she continues with the standard "Book of excuses" As do Andretti/Green whose stock piles of cash can't get her to the front.

In the end Buddy Rice (another awesome US driver) who was kicked to the ground a while back (after winning the Indy 500) managed to move all the way to second place in the race (finally we had an American to cheer for Tony G) and he runs out of fuel with a lap to go. At the same time Rice ran out of juice, Scott Dixon plowed right into him collecting Dario Franchitti along the way. Yet another Yellow flag finish. Something we all looked forward to (NOT).

All around good guy (Brazilian) Tony Kannan won the race. He was a deserving winner.

He then spent at least an hour changing hats at victory circle while hugging a gazillion wanna be rich folk and of course every free loading politician from Michigan. I felt bad for the guy. I mean he just got done spending 3 hours in a massively hot racecar and now he's got to suck up to the Armani gang. After all that crap they hauled him off to the interview room for more grilling.

Along with the above mentioned torture I'm sure he made a few bucks and had a little fun along.

So here's to Tony (Mr. All American) George for dropping them Cart boys like a lead weight. Wait a minute, isn't 90% of the teams that raced in Cart back in the day now racing in Tony's IRL?

Now that I think about it who the hell do I know in Cart nowadays. Oh yes Rahal's kid. But didn't I see Rahal/Letterman Racing at Belle Isle. I suspect that Rahal knows which series might (yes I said might) get his kid to Formula One. Not that it means anything, just ask Scott Speed what it’s like to be an American in Formula One today.

I am so happy to have grown up in the 60's and 70's when racing (abate very dangerous racing) was still in the hands of MEN who raced for the love of racing. Who took chances, yes life and death chances every time that sat in a race car. Those guys and gals were racers inside and out.

That is my take.