As the open-wheel world turns…

So yesterday, out of frustration, I wrote an op-ed piece for CCW.net, writing about the lack of any solid information coming from anyone anywhere since the “big announcement” (take your pick on that…)

As Murphy’s law would have it, shortly after going live with that, two more black cloud announcements dropped into my inbox.

The Grand Prix of Houston officially announced the cancellation of their race. That, in and of itself, was neither shocking nor surprising. Houston was never on the “maybe” list for 2008, and Lanigan had already made public statements intimating this would be the outcome. What was disturbing to learn however, was that the entire event has been scrapped. The ALMS, and all it’s support races, lose an event on their already sparse schedule. Ah … the trickle down effect.

Moments later, the bigger bombshell: Sierra Sierra announced they were pulling out of the Atlantic Championship. This, to me, was the bigger and more messy announcement. The ramifications of this one are much larger. This is the defending championship team. This is one of the better funded/sponsored teams. If they are convinced that this is going to damage them and their bottom line, what the hell does this mean for the smaller, less funded teams.

A couple of thoughts:

I too thought the same thing when I heard the Atlantics were going out on their own (or hitching up with IMSA) What is the end game from there? The direct path to a seat in the big show is now a detour. This can’t be appealing to either sponsors or drivers, unless their idea of the big show is ALMS and not Indy.

Next, I wonder how much of their decision stemmed from the bitterness over the shitty handling of Raphael Matos and the “2 million” in scholarship money. I sensed from conversations I had with folks directly involved with the team that this left a real bad taste in their mouth.

My sense is that they will jump over the the IPS.
(what should have happened is that the IPS was “absorbed” into the Atlantics, and the Atlantics became the official feeder series to the Indy Racing League, but that is merely my humble opinion)

So how many more shoes will drop? I predict a cloud burst of Uggs and Nikes in the next week. Stay on the porch kids. They don’t make umbrellas strong enough for this kind of shit storm.

ouch…

that’s gonna leave a mark…

“We’re at a crossroads where we need to make a change that will elevate the No. 84 team to success,” said VP and General Manager Jay Frye. “AJ’s our guy and he’s a talented driver, but there’s a lot being asked of him. In order for him to be successful, we have to get this team pointed in the right direction. We hope we can do that with the help of a veteran driver.”

Unlike some other classless “fan” folks, I’m not going to dance or cheer for a driver being out of work. Considering the plight of several of our open wheel drivers at the moment, it certainly would be pushing the karmic boundries.

Do I like what AJ did a couple of years ago? No.
Truthfully, I didn’t much like the kid when he was a Champ Car driver. His ego and attitude far outshone his talent.
Do I think he got some bad advice from people looking out for their own best interests instead of his own? Yes.
Do I think he simply ran out of talent? Yes and No.
The ridiculously convoluted “owner’s points” qualifying is probably to blame for 80% of his lack of success. (a conversation for another time) Of course once you do get into the show, you’ve got to be able to drive the wheels off the car and bring it across the finish line in one piece and in a good place. He had the same problem in open wheel too. They don’t call him “wallmandinger” for nothing…

All that said, had he stuck it out with Champ Car and signed on the bottom line with GF, he would be sitting on the sidelines beside PT with an iron clad contract and nothing to drive now anyway.

I sincerely hope for AJ’s sake that this truly is a temporary situation, that he gets the training and guidance needed and that he can get back in the show and prove the naysayers wrong. Although this is Red Bull we are talking about… Their treatment of their drivers in all genres of racing is questionable at best.