My Take on Texas

I went to bed thinking last night, "Would someone tell some of these IndyCar drivers to just shut up?" I think the last words ringing in my ears as I drifted off to sleep were those of Dario Franchitti, whining about the "unfairness" of the blind draw that determined the starting field for the second of the twin 275's.


Yes, Dario has a point. After pretty much OWNING the first race last night, Franchitti gets relegated to the next-to-last row while his championship rival, Will Power, draws the third starting position and wins fairly easily. To his credit, Franchitti ran his ass off to finish seventh from the back.


Dario even made a thinly veiled reference to NASCAR in suggesting that the blind draw was ok for an "all-star" race, but this is for championship points.


What hit me in the face at that very moment was the fact that, even though NASCAR has tried to shoot itself in the foot with some of its contrivances, that series isn't looking at so much exposed tin as I saw at this, the second most popular INDYCAR race after Indianapolis. AND, they're about to take INDYCAR's most recognizable and marketable "star." Into their SECOND TIER series.

Facing all of that, those purists like me who have been following since the USAC days, may decry the use of a blind draw to set the second half field, but our series needs new fans. There, I said it.


Hello, Mr. 800 lb. gorilla, pleased to meet ya'.

If the stands at our venues were AS full as NASCAR's, we would be reaching way more folks. And, like it or not, this gimmick could bring more interest. If, in a couple of years, you aren't showing half -empty venues, then we can refine this idea. But anything that is going to get and maintain interest (within reason) is what we shoud be doing. And besides, this format only happens once a year anyway.

Do we want the "lucky dog"? No? Well, like it or not, our "wave around" keeps some from getting lapped. Pretty much the same effect.

Randy Bernard was hired to give this series a pulse. So far, he's listened to the fans when it really matters, but until we're generating a bit more "buzz," we have to accept some things we might not like, IF IT WORKS.

We've come a long way from where we were a couple of years ago. But we have MILES to go.

As for the racing itself, there was minimal intrigue. Both "halves" were won in fairly dominant fashion, and I have to give credit to E. J. Viso and his teammate Takuma Sato for keeping their equipment together, as in not in contact each other, someone else, or a wall. Never saw that coming. For that matter, everyone deserves credit for keeping caution time to a minimum. We saw a lot more green flag racing last night than we have in the past at Texas, probably because everyone wanted to stick around for both races.

As to the production, I think Versus drew out the proceedings between races a lot more than needed. As a result, I am guessing that there were several viewers who fell asleep before the end. Hell, my wife did. They explained the prcedure from top to bottom several times, so let's get on with it.

Dan Wheldon should replace Wally Dallenbach any time he's available. I found him to be a breath of fresh air on the telecast, and he definitely knows his stuff on the series, the venues, and the cars. He's a keeper, at least until someone puts him behind the wheel. If I'm ABC, I am on the phone to Mr. Wheldon tomorrow first thing.

Now, it's on to the famed Milwaukee Mile, the oldest venue on the circuit. I'll be interested to see what type of crowd they draw after their absence from the scene. And, we purists can leave the gimmicks at the door.