Snake in IndyCars

[BF]

Ed is just fine on ovals. Maybe you didn't see him battle for a win last year where he ended up second by a couple of hundreths. Most of the time he has been in sub par equipment. Who out there was available and cheap? Sarah has been on a shoe string budget most of the time.

 

[sdwarf36]

Last year at Christmas,the last present the wife let me open was heavy. I open it up and its a 10 lb brick----with a paper on its history-it was a brick from Indy back when they tore it up to pave it. How cool is that!

 

[rocketman]

I think part of professional drag racing died when the Snake gave up after not finding a sponsor. He damn near carried the sport on his back in the years after Shirley and Garlits quit. Besides his winning, I don't know what it was about the Snake but he was the sport's greatest icon in my opinion love him or hate him. He was the coolest of them all. He was a giant. Now he's 70 and he's gone and who can blame him? Where has time gone? He's my favorite driver of all time and national events are not the same without him around. What does it say that he doesn't even watch NHRA on TV any more?

 

[BF]

Last year at Christmas,the last present the wife let me open was heavy. I open it up and its a 10 lb brick----with a paper on its history-it was a brick from Indy back when they tore it up to pave it. How cool is that!

That is very cool. My father has had one with the paper work since I was a kid...and I'm 50 years old.

 

[Jim]

Quote:

Hey Chris,

You were right. Monaco was the first Grand Prix I've watched (wire-to-wire) in years. It was a very good one ('course what's not to like about THAT venue).

Thanks for the heads-up!
----------------------


Originally Posted by Chris Cook

. And whoever said there is no passing in F1 hasn't been watching this year. The DRS system, new Pirelli tires, coupled with KERS conspired for 81 passes for position on the track at Turkey 2 weeks ago.
Monaco is this week, n.

Thanks Chris - You sold me.
I always love the Monaco race but, I'm glad to hear the other events are getting "interesting".
F-1 USED to be my favorite motorsport to watch, until I wandered back to Drag Racing - in the late 1980's (or was it early 90s ? CRS). Kinda hard to top NITRO!

 

[amanda Speed]

This has always occurred at the Speedway. Smaller teams or lesser funded drivers get bought out so bigger stars or sponsor paychecks can be rolled into the 500. They said on the Versus broadcast yesterday that if Danica didn't qualify, they had a contingency deal to bump John Andretti out of his ride and put Danica in that car. Luckily for the former Top Fuel racer, Danica qualified. (EDIT: Robin Miller said this last night on either SpeedCenter or Wind Tunnel)

Ryan Hunter Reay is sponsored by IZOD, which is the IndyCar series sponsor. While it made for compelling TV watching him be bumped out at the end of qualifying by his teammate Marco Andretti, I never thought for a second he wouldn't be in the race.

I was SUPER bummed how uncompetitive the Dragon team was. It is basically a satellite Penske team, and they were out to sea all week. They ostensibly blamed Scott Speed (husband of Rickie Smith's daughter and Matt Smith's Sister and fellow 'Mater, Amanda) and brought in Patrick Carpentier to attempt to get the car up to speed, and he promptly wadded it up in the wall yesterday morning ending all hopes of getting that car in the show. Scott Speed was also signed up to drive that car in the IndyCar finale here in Vegas, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

PS get well "Tricky" Rickie Smith, I heard he had back surgery.

PPS Barry, I can't root for Ed Carpenter. By all accounts he is a nice enough guy, but his ride is paid for by Tony George (he is George's son-in-law). I haven't fully buried that hatchett yet and will root against anything Tony George related out of general principles.

----

Just a heads up Scott never crashed his car at Indy. They ended up putting Patrick Carpentier in his car Sunday morning to see if what Scott was saying was true about the car, and Patrick wrecked it. Scott never even got a chance to qualify it.

Also, we spoke with THE SNAKE while we were there. He is a huge fan of all auto racing, and has a lot of good friends in IndyCar. He owns the shop that one of the teams works out of, so he was there rooting them on. He is a great guy!

Also, dad's back is getting better. He will be in Englishtown this weekend racing.

 

[Toejam]

----

Just a heads up Scott never crashed his car at Indy. They ended up putting Patrick Carpentier in his car Sunday morning to see if what Scott was saying was true about the car, and Patrick wrecked it. Scott never even got a chance to qualify it.

Also, we spoke with THE SNAKE while we were there. He is a huge fan of all auto racing, and has a lot of good friends in IndyCar. He owns the shop that one of the teams works out of, so he was there rooting them on. He is a great guy!

Also, dad's back is getting better. He will be in Englishtown this weekend racing.

Amanda, Prudhomme has been a fan of Indy car racing from WAY back! One of his former Drag race buds from So. Cal. Danny Ongais ran in Indycars for a season or two, his crash at the '81 Indy 500 almost cost him his life!!!

 

[.]

If all of the IndyCar races are as good as yesterday's 500 I'll watch them all. There was a lot of good racing, I was impressed.

 

[Paul]

If all of the IndyCar races are as good as yesterday's 500 I'll watch them all. There was a lot of good racing, I was impressed.

Brent- I went to the Indy car race the last 2 years at Chicagoland and the racing was jaw dropping. The cars were 2 and 3 wide the entire race and the finishes were within inches.

 

[MichaelD]

Absolute best place to watch Indy Cars was Laguna Seca in Monterey. With the exception of the outside portion that bordered Fort Ord, you could view the entire track from both sides. Nothing compares with a road course with elevation changes.My favorites were Riverside, Laguna Seca and Sears Point.

Michael

 

[vegasnitro]

----

Just a heads up Scott never crashed his car at Indy. They ended up putting Patrick Carpentier in his car Sunday morning to see if what Scott was saying was true about the car, and Patrick wrecked it. Scott never even got a chance to qualify it.

Also, we spoke with THE SNAKE while we were there. He is a huge fan of all auto racing, and has a lot of good friends in IndyCar. He owns the shop that one of the teams works out of, so he was there rooting them on. He is a great guy!

Also, dad's back is getting better. He will be in Englishtown this weekend racing.

Great to hear from you Amanda ... tell Scott to keep his head up. That had to be a tough deal for him at Indy but hopefully he will be better for it. I hope they can get the car sorted and still take a shot at the finale here in Vegas, I will be there rooting him on. I also apologize if my original post wasn't clear, but I did not mean to infer that Scott crashed at Indy, it surely wasn't anything Scott did, and Patrick went over his head trying to get that car up to speed.

PS Good news about your Dad!

 

[vegasnitro]

Amanda, Prudhomme has been a fan of Indy car racing from WAY back! One of his former Drag race buds from So. Cal. Danny Ongais ran in Indycars for a season or two, his crash at the '81 Indy 500 almost cost him his life!!!

The one that really stings for Ongais is Indy '87. Ongais wrecked the car opening weekend and broke his leg. Penske hired Al Unser, Sr. to drive the car after Ongais's wreck ... and Al went on to win the race. Ongais was also an excellent Funny Car driver, he drove for Roland Leong and Mickey Thompson.

 

[Toejam]

The one that really stings for Ongais is Indy '87. Ongais wrecked the car opening weekend and broke his leg. Penske hired Al Unser, Sr. to drive the car after Ongais's wreck ... and Al went on to win the race. Ongais was also an excellent Funny Car driver, he drove for Roland Leong and Mickey Thompson.

You sure Ongais ran in '87? I thought his racing days were long gone by then!!!

 

[vegasnitro]

Nothing compares with a road course with elevation changes.
Michael

Supposedly the track they are building in Austin, TX (Circuit of the Americas)has a lot of elevation change and makes good use of the natural terrain. I hope so, because F1 needs a good permanent home in the USA. I will be there next year for the F1 race.

 

[vegasnitro]

You sure Ongais ran in '87? I thought his racing days were long gone by then!!!

Ongais subbed in at Indy in Menard's team in '96 after Scott Brayton got killed on Carb Day. Brayton had qualified the car on pole, so Ongais started 33rd in Scott's backup car and finished 7th. Ongais's last shot at Indy was '98 I believe, and he failed to qualify.

 

[NHRAMike]

Nobody has brought up how much money it costs to run one of these cars for a season yet, does anyone have any idea? I just can't imagine Snake getting into open wheel cars if the cost is equal or greater than running a Top Fueler, not even including all the start up costs involved.

 

[vegasnitro]

Nobody has brought up how much money it costs to run one of these cars for a season yet, does anyone have any idea? I just can't imagine Snake getting into open wheel cars if the cost is equal or greater than running a Top Fueler, not even including all the start up costs involved.

It is WAY more than running a season in Top Fuel. The Honda engine lease just for the month of May at Indy is around a million dollars. A Dallara roller with gearbox and spares is also around a million dollars. To do the whole season would be about 4 million minimum (assuming you have a shop, crew, transporter, etc), but you aren't going to be competitive. Penske and Ganassi are in the 8 to 10 million per year neighborhood, per car.

The good news is with the new chassis and engines coming next year, there are supposed to be price caps which is supposed to reduce the cost of racing by 50% or more. So maybe Snake is scouting now in preparation for next year.

 

[vegasnitro]

Here are some of the payouts for the Indy 500 from Speed.com (you can see why teams are willing to spend so much money for 1 race):

Dan Wheldon earned $2,567,255 from an overall purse of $13,509,485 for his victory Sunday, May 29 in the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Hildebrand, who started 12th, crossed the famous "Yard of Bricks" start-finish line on three wheels to place second, earning $1,064,895. He also won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 Chase Rookie of the Year Award, which includes a $25,000 bonus and the Chase Rookie of the Year Trophy.

Graham Rahal climbed from the 29th starting spot to finish third in the No. 38 Service Central car fielded by Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing, the best position advancement of any driver in this year's race. He earned $646,945 for his career-best Indianapolis finish.

Tony Kanaan earned $438,745 for charging from 22nd to fourth in his #82 GEICO KV Racing Technology-Lotus. It was the fourth top-five finish at Indianapolis for 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion Kanaan.

2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon, who started in the middle of the front row and led a race-high 73 laps in his No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry, earned $519,345 for finishing fifth. It was the fourth top-five finish at Indianapolis for two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dixon.

PEAK Performance Pole Award presented by AutoZone winner Alex Tagliani placed 28th after an accident on Lap 148 in his No. 77 Bowers & Wilkins/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry but still earned $492,245.

 

[Toejam]

It is WAY more than running a season in Top Fuel. The Honda engine lease just for the month of May at Indy is around a million dollars. A Dallara roller with gearbox and spares is also around a million dollars. To do the whole season would be about 4 million minimum (assuming you have a shop, crew, transporter, etc), but you aren't going to be competitive. Penske and Ganassi are in the 8 to 10 million per year neighborhood, per car.

The good news is with the new chassis and engines coming next year, there are supposed to be price caps which is supposed to reduce the cost of racing by 50% or more. So maybe Snake is scouting now in preparation for next year.

Al Unser Sr. told me his budget for his 1972 winning car was $500,000! That was just for the month of May for Indy, the rest of the season who knows! That was Huge money back then!!!!

 

[NHRAMike]

If it costs Snake 8-10 mil to run a competitive indy car team, and he's able to find a sponsor to fund it, then it really is a sad state of affairs in the NHRA that even Snake can't find a sponsor to sign on for half of that amount to run a top notch top fuel operation.