TSO Surmises That TMS is gone after 2012

[Sea Fury]

All Eddie has done was defend his track which is safe. The series has been running at TMS since 1997 and nothing has changed to make it unsafe now.

Nothing has changed, alright, because it's ALWAYS been unsafe. (Kenny Brack is lucky to be alive.) And if we're honest, we all knew it.

There is such a thing as "dodging a bullet."

And there is also such a thing as "denial." It's like the Space Shuttle program-dodged enough bullets that complacency set in. (Twice in NASA's case.)

Now, I'm not saying we should stop racing there, but we should keep racing there only if the track fencing can be made safer. And honestly I think there is a way for fencing at ALL oval tracks to be made safer. Just a matter of finding it.

[Chris Paff]

Yes you are right, it is the 2nd best attended race so everyhting else should be forsaken to appease it and make sure it stays on the schedule for years to come.

There is no reason to take it off the schedule. TMS has been loyal to Indycar and it is a very successful event. Why should it go?

[Chris Paff]

Nothing has changed, alright, because it's ALWAYS been unsafe. (Kenny Brack is lucky to be alive.) And if we're honest, we all knew it.

There is such a thing as "dodging a bullet."

And there is also such a thing as "denial."

Racing is dangerous. Mike Conway is lucky to be alive but no one is saying we shouldn't racing at IMS.

[mcman7890]

There is no reason to take it off the schedule. TMS has been loyal to Indycar and it is a very successful event. Why should it go?

Who's say IndyCar is dropping it, and not the other way around?

[Sea Fury]

Racing is dangerous. Mike Conway is lucky to be alive but no one is saying we shouldn't racing at IMS.

True, but it could be made safer. Just because you keep dodging the bullet doesn't mean it's a good idea to remain in the line of fire.

[Andretti91]

TMS has been loyal to Indycar and it is a very successful event.

You are right, it has been successful and has been loyal, maybe a little more loyal to someone else but whats it matter.

[raskav]

So how is dumping the 2nd best attended race going to help with the survival of OWR? Sounds like there is another agenda.

Long Beach and Baltimore easily outdraws Texas.
Texas used to get 90K+ for Indycar.
But last year, I think they were down to 50-55K tops.

[bikermick]

There is no reason to take it off the schedule. TMS has been loyal to Indycar and it is a very successful event. Why should it go?

TMS was loyal to Indy Car till they got the 2nd Cup Race.Thats a shame,cause when the NASCAR crowd was ripping TMS,Indy Cars were putting on wild thrilling races.

[goldie19]

Great news if true, one of the last ties to the old IRL and its deal with NASCAR a thing of history. A little closer to the sport being able to move forward beyond the mess Tony made of it.

So let's not go to Houston and its CCWs track? Nice logic. Texas is our second biggest event

[Doyouloveit?]

Racing is dangerous. Mike Conway is lucky to be alive but no one is saying we shouldn't racing at IMS.

there was some fallout after that though....the questioning of cars being on the track going that slow, systems within the car to warn other drivers a certain car is out or low on fuel, etc.

[goldie19]

Long Beach and Baltimore easily outdraws Texas.
Texas used to get 90K+ for Indycar.
But last year, I think they were down to 50-55K tops.

Well that's 165,000 if you count the same people 3 times....as in Baltimore or Long Beach crowd estimates

[goldie19]

there was some fallout after that though....the questioning of cars being on the track going that slow, systems within the car to warn other drivers a certain car is out or low on fuel, etc.

Cough cough, ehem....apron...cough cough

[Grinder-Tank]

If so, that would be a really dumb trick.

Agreed. It's been dumb all along. Este Stupido!!u

[Andretti91]

So let's not go to Houston and its CCWs track? Nice logic.

What?

Texas is our second biggest event

Yeah that horse has been beat already.

[akh_v2.0]

Eddie Gossage has been a great friend to Indy Racing (and it's fans) for many years. Sometimes that spirit is still evident...meeting with TF folks a couple years back, providing great service for the fans like running golf carts to the hotel across the highway...but every year there seems to be a crankier general attitude. Eddie has always been about one thing, promoting Texas Motor Speedway, and when he is taking fire from a series, it's drivers, fans, he fights back. If SMI is smart, he will be the successor to Bruton Smith, and he'll probably be very successful. But...all that said, the attendance has been falling, and the relationship failing for years. I think there are legitimate safety concerns and if Eddie and SMI (and the IRL) are unwilling to make the needed fixes...

The Reliant Stadium track that CCWS ran was not great, downtown Houston was better, but the growth of the city makes it harder to do now. Perhaps the Austin F1 track is the answer.

[Scuff]

With the present state of Indycar, one could substitute the name of any venue presently on the schedule, and have a 50/50 shot at being correct in "surmising" 2012 might be the last year for awhile.

[ARROWZ46]

Well that's 165,000 if you count the same people 3 times....as in Baltimore or Long Beach crowd estimates

Come on goldie... you know that TMS & many of the ovals are ghost towns on Fri/Sat, as pratice & qualifying just don't bring out the crowds these days.

I can't speak for Baltimore, but the LBGP gets 90K just on Sunday & used to have a "Free Prix Day" on Friday that attracted people that didn't return on Sat/Sun. These folks spend $$$ on food & souvenirs, & if they had a good time had them return as paying customers in the future.

[Shrub]

Fellow St. Louisan here....When did that happen? I grew up here, don't remember that!

i'm with you, this was new to me.

[red5champ]

no rotor no motor

[Spike]

Check out the stuff Bernie pulls in Formula One. He's a snake oil salesman but it works.

Sounds like you must have some specific examples in mind. Perhaps you will provide a list of dumb tricks pulled by Bernie.

[TexManZero]

Yeah, I'm figuring this will be the last year of IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway, which is a shame because IndyCar is really going to hurt not having these fans come to their race. If this does indeed fall through, I'm not spending money to watch cars play follow the leader at a cruddy street course in Houston; I'm saving money and going to the F1 race in Austin. Minor league sports would do well not to shove off of their fans.

[Inline]

Sounds like you must have some specific examples in mind. Perhaps you will provide a list of dumb tricks pulled by Bernie.

Among other things has said that Hitler was a great leader, women should not drive race cars but should be kept in the kitchen, sprinklers should be added to race tracks to keep things interesting. This past year he complained that the '13 engines were going to be turbo 4 cyl and won not make enough noise but when he was a car owner in the '80s his team ran 4 cyl turbo BMWs. Anything to keep F1 in the media, he works on the premise that any PR is good PR. He seems to do it more in the off season to get attention for the coming year.
In regards to TMS I suspect Gossage is throwing stuff out as a negotiating ploy. Get some press, always good, position yourself that you've been hurt by driver remarks so ICS is not as valuable. If it works he gets a better deal or he can say it's ICS's fault because of a "threatened boycott" he had to drop the race.

[railroad]

Long Beach and Baltimore easily outdraws Texas.
Texas used to get 90K+ for Indycar.
But last year, I think they were down to 50-55K tops.

Wrong. 73,000 was the estimated attendance at Texas last year.

[filmlightingguy]

I won't miss it with Milwaukee coming back.

[Todd Gack]

1. Nothing has changed, alright, because it's ALWAYS been unsafe.

2. Now, I'm not saying we should stop racing there, but we should keep racing there only if the track fencing can be made safer.

1. That is a load. Some of you act like Texas has killed a bunch of drivers and put 2-3 drivers in the hospital each year. You be completely wrong. You know what is unsafe now? The way a bunch of our oval-novice drivers DRIVE on ovals. That is damn unsafe. Maybe a few of them finally learned something from Vegas. You can't drive like a moron forever and get away with it. You can on a road/street course.

2. If an open-cockpit, open-wheel race car gets into a catchfence at any sort of speed, its going to be bad. This whole "fencing" debate is ridiculous. Keep the damn cars out of the air and you aren't going to have problems. Keep sending them somersaulting into the fence and there is literally NOTHING that can be done to keep the driver completely safe from harm.

[Todd Gack]

In regards to TMS I suspect Gossage is throwing stuff out as a negotiating ploy.

This is something I keep hearing about and it makes ZERO sense.

This isn't being done for "hype" or to sell tickets. If anything, the Texas market has been turned off by the new ICS, since the "merger" with the crowd slowly dwindling each year. I don't think you are going to sell more tickets when a bunch of IC folks keep talking about how "unsafe" the TMS is and how they really don't want to be there.

The new ICS wants to shuffle Texas out and Gossage knows it. Hell, they almost lost the race this year. Everybody knows its long gone for 2013. The folks Gossage were loyal to, are mostly gone from the new ICS (Barnhart being one). He just doesn't want his track to made look like a fool, like its something "they" did to lose the race. Texas was on its way out as soon as the name "IRL" was banished from the record, like the plague. Texas = IRL. And that's no good now. Which means goodbye Texas.

[Jim Wilke]

Why is it that we always hear complaints from Gossage and never a peep from other promoters?

Gossage doesn't own TMS, Bruton does.

[craftygalinstl]

Because THAT'S the way (UH HUH UH HUH) he LIKES IT (UH HUH UH HUH).

Also, he doesn't own a race track.

That's hilarious! So, I guess I was confused about Eddie's position. He calls it "his track," so I assumed he owned it.

uncommonsense-thanks for the link to the story. I thought I remembered most things that happened since 2006, but I guess not!

So, I read this tweet tonight by Eddie that said "Self inflicted wounds kill." Wondering what that means.

[Disciple]

All I see is that Eddie and Randy have a dangerous running game of chicken going on that will ultimately screw racing fans badly. They need to knock it off and look at the bigger picture. What is getting them and all of us in trouble again is the same as it always has been. Ego, arrogance and hubris.

-The 2012 Had Best Not Be The Last Texas Race Disciple of INDYCAR

[lkchris]

IndyCar is ultimately holding the cards here, not TMS. More people need to realize that. We're not here to satisfy Gossage, Gossage is here to satisfy us.

Joke of the month.

Where are the tracks in the queue to get an Indycar race again?

Who owns Indycar lock, stock and barrell? A track owner ... who conclusively proved CART needed him.