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IOwnCalculus posted:They moved a race with poor attendance already, to a mid summer afternoon when it would be even hotter in the stands. Then didn't renew the contract because attendance was poo poo. @MazeOfTzeentch Ontario/California/Fontana/AutoClub makes best sense when it's running in late october/early november. Great place for a finale race. Weather is nice, etc. However the NFL is such a looming giant that I think Indy is trying to get away from any potential cross over in that realm. Oval wise? It's also rather difficult to pull off without Marlboro throwing wads of cash to help with the sanctioning fee while at the same time also throwing free/reduced tickets at nearly everyone's dad and uncle. Not to mention NASCAR a.) owning the track b.) having a better name recognition to this very day. NASCAR can make them money even if not a single soul enters the turnstiles due to the tv contract set up that SMI, ISC both have. (rather ingenius of them.). Did I mention that Roger Penske once owned that venue, MIS and Nazareth? Quite a bit easier to get him to "rent" it as well than ISC I think. (He finally got a few Cup titles out of selling it so there's that at least) I think one day they'll be back (along with quite a few other venues) but it's going to have to be when things sort of level out economically. Remember...There's docs on the internet that predicted exactly what we saw in the early 2010's when tobacco money wouldn't be in IndyCar any more. I could bore ya'll with some stupid theories that could work, but whatever. Sport is doing okay atm IMO.
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Feb 11, 2019 08:38
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FuzzySkinner posted:@MazeOfTzeentch also IIRC wasn't the operator of the track very insistent that they wanted the season finale in late October because of weather and (presumably) prestige? I know they were very very vocal about wanting the race in the fall, which does make sense. Can't tell if that's just an excuse they can use because IndyCar has actively tried to get the season done before footbaw or because they really want that back, but yeah. Even as that 2015 thrill-a-minute race made for great television it was happening in the baking 90-plus degree valley sun, so nobody was out there in the stands. Can't blame 'em.
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Feb 11, 2019 14:33
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O'Ward parting with Harding Steinbrenner before the start of the season! Man I hope this dude lands a good ride.
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Feb 11, 2019 16:54
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*Farts*.
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Feb 11, 2019 17:19
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harperdc posted:also IIRC wasn't the operator of the track very insistent that they wanted the season finale in late October because of weather and (presumably) prestige? I know they were very very vocal about wanting the race in the fall, which does make sense. Can't tell if that's just an excuse they can use because IndyCar has actively tried to get the season done before footbaw or because they really want that back, but yeah. Even as that 2015 thrill-a-minute race made for great television it was happening in the baking 90-plus degree valley sun, so nobody was out there in the stands. Can't blame 'em. Both are true. The "finale" race is a good one to have - look at 2012 between Power and RHR. But Indycar has been vocal about fear-of-handegg so they want to end the season before that gets too bad, and they were also dealing with other tracks who also demanded to be the finale (Sonoma). Sonoma/Laguna also have a major advantage for sponsors. They're in wine country, while Fontana's best other claim to fame is "part of Terminator 2 was filmed at this geographic location". There's also the fears - founded or unfounded - that too many races in a given market will oversaturate things, and the relative / perceived proximity of Long Beach, Fontana, and Sonoma/Laguna all complicate that. Nobody is moving Long Beach around, and I'm guessing they'd also complain a bit if Fontana was given a date too close to them. Sonoma/Laguna would have complained equally loudly even though there's a much greater physical distance. Personally, the crowds at LB and Fontana seemed diverse enough in makeup that I don't think either race would have stolen fans from each other at all. So that leaves them with putting a race in a part of California that has only marginally cooler weather than Phoenix, in the middle of summer. And thanks to time zones, they can't run it as a late-night race that would start at/after sundown. Fuckin sucks. Reynold posted:O'Ward parting with Harding Steinbrenner before the start of the season! Man I hope this dude lands a good ride. Also fuckin sucks. The guy is fast and needs to be in a car.
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Feb 11, 2019 18:51
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I dunno how true the rumours are but apparently Harding didn’t even have a second engine lease secured.
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Feb 11, 2019 18:53
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Frond posted:I dunno how true the rumours are but apparently Harding didn’t even have a second engine lease secured. Likely because that second lease requires actual cash down which they likely don't have so George IV's money is gonna prioritize Herta over O'Ward. I'm sure someone (likely Andretti) will bring him on for at least the scholarship 3 races, but if Michael is smart he'd personally bankroll a full-ride for Pato given the talent.
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Feb 11, 2019 18:59
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Yeah, Pato, at Sonoma, was loving on FIRE. Never drove the car in any serious capacity before that race and would have done well had he not hosed his tires over.
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Feb 11, 2019 19:03
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What the gently caress ever happened to the aeroscreen?
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Feb 11, 2019 19:03
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The Kimoa Kid posted:What the gently caress ever happened to the aeroscreen? Info update coming this week, according to Pruett. 
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Feb 11, 2019 20:00
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Reynold posted:O'Ward parting with Harding Steinbrenner before the start of the season! Man I hope this dude lands a good ride. This sucks an rear end. Harding has now messed up the driver contract situation two years in a row by apparently thinking sponsorship was just going to land in his lap magically. Carlin and Juncos have open dates in their cars, but frankly Pato deserves more. The Kimoa Kid posted:What the gently caress ever happened to the aeroscreen? Apparently there is going to be a release about it this week as part of the off season series meetings with all the teams/drivers at COTA. Frye did say on Pruett's podcast a few weeks ago that they weren't 100% satisfied with the results on ovals, and there were new prototypes in testing.
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Feb 11, 2019 20:06
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Cygni posted:This sucks an rear end. Harding has now messed up the driver contract situation two years in a row by apparently thinking sponsorship was just going to land in his lap magically. I don’t remember if it was on Pruett’s podcast or in the Racer mailbag, but Robin Miller has alluded a couple times to Harding having bigger eyes than stomach. Would be sad to see things scaled back — the bigger question is how bad the Steinbrenner side messed it up.
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Feb 11, 2019 23:15
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https://twitter.com/Santi_Urrutia/status/1095042916563804162
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Feb 12, 2019 01:31
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Bleh, hope he gets something figured out. I see he's got a number of personal sponsors on top of his IndyLights scholarship. Are they not worth that much or is just gonna be difficult to find anybody with a seat at this point?
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Feb 12, 2019 03:16
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I'd have to assume they're not worth enough all together to be able to pay for a second engine lease + crew salary. 
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Feb 12, 2019 04:01
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 Cars on track at COTAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2bBlUjAeZM
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Feb 12, 2019 17:21
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Interesting top 5 in the first session: https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1095385038118477825
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Feb 12, 2019 19:42
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https://github.com/uujfwmnp/upgraded-telegram If anyone has Python3 installed and wants their own little T&S on their command line. https://twitter.com/marshallpruett/status/1095387081386405891 https://twitter.com/Open_Wheels/status/1095393750547861506 https://twitter.com/Open_Wheels/status/1095384976256843783 Bentai fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Feb 12, 2019 |
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Feb 12, 2019 19:46
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Green again. Even on Twitter live: https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1095419846848737280
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Feb 12, 2019 21:41
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Watching the test live at work, a coworker is at COTA sending me videos from pit lane. Those 'sausage kerbs' are no joke! I wonder if they'll keep em for f1? 
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Feb 12, 2019 22:39
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https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1095437715657682944 Standings with 1h 45m left in the session: code:
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Feb 12, 2019 22:44
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I finished 1985. What a season. The final races at Laguna and Miami kicked rear end. Perhaps Laguna Seca's old layout needs to be revived.
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Feb 13, 2019 03:24
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In the ongoing  saga of Pat O. O. Ward:https://twitter.com/autoweekusa/status/1095503938571460608 https://twitter.com/PatricioOWard/status/1095552533148430338
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Feb 13, 2019 07:11
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An 8 race deal with Andretti is nothing to scoff at, a bit of performance and talent (already amply demonstrated last year) would likely land him more sponsorship and races later in the season. I hope he didn't make a bad move here.
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Feb 13, 2019 07:24
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I can only assume he (or his management) believed a full season, even in a backmarker team, would be preferable than a half-season in a top-level team. Or maybe there was more to the offer that made it so he wasn't able to accept. It's all a mess.
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Feb 13, 2019 07:47
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So worst case, if he gets literally no ride at all in Indy this season, where does he go? Lights (or is it too late for that?) sports cars?
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Feb 13, 2019 14:14
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Basticle posted:So worst case, if he gets literally no ride at all in Indy this season, where does he go? Lights (or is it too late for that?) sports cars? Well he's guaranteed 3 races for winning Lights last year, beyond that 
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Feb 13, 2019 14:24
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KingShibby posted:Well he's guaranteed 3 races for winning Lights last year, beyond that are those 3 races with Harding? I may have misunderstood whats happening
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Feb 13, 2019 14:31
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No, they don't have to be with any specific team - it's pretty much a blank check to cover that cost with any ICS team.
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Feb 13, 2019 14:36
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Then is it 3 specific races or can they be whatever races the driver and team agrees to?
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Feb 13, 2019 14:40
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Basticle posted:Then is it 3 specific races or can they be whatever races the driver and team agrees to? One of them is the Indy 500, the other 2 are up to the driver/team
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Feb 13, 2019 14:51
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I wouldn't mind seeing Pato in a DPi, tbh
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Feb 13, 2019 15:59
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Askew and VeeKay moving up to Lights will be fun this year. Weird that Kyle Kirkwood hasn't announced anything yet. I imagine he's got some competing development offers on the table, though.
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Feb 13, 2019 17:52
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No live stream today?
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Feb 13, 2019 19:10
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It's looking that way so far.
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Feb 13, 2019 20:05
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Bentai posted:In the ongoing There has got to be more to this story. It would be a bad idea to turn down an Andretti drive.
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Feb 13, 2019 20:45
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Maybe 8 races but no Indy or something? I know Michael has said no more cars from him for May.
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Feb 13, 2019 21:00
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90 minutes to go in the sessioncode:
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Feb 13, 2019 22:32
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Herta to P1 again, this time by 7 tenths. Either Harding is running out of spec like Bourdais suggested or Colton is a god. Also another disaster of a trip for Foyt. After packing up and leaving Laguna without turning any laps, Tony has run 13 laps in the last 2 days at COTA. Cygni fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Feb 13, 2019 |
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Feb 13, 2019 22:52
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