You know, the races need some dressing up too...
The drivers should be allowed to carry paintball guns...a good shot in the visor would make your opponent jam on the brakes or crash. That would up the TV ratings even more than Ernest's idea.
You know, the races need some dressing up too...
The drivers should be allowed to carry paintball guns...a good shot in the visor would make your opponent jam on the brakes or crash. That would up the TV ratings even more than Ernest's idea.
This type of out of the box thinking is why we have boxes to begin with. Worst idea since the IRL.
Then at really big events, like Indymania 500, late in the race an old roadster could come tearing onto the track as some Texas swing plays over the speakers, and AJ could beat Dario with a steel chair as Scott Goodyear monotones, "Oh my God, that's AJ Foyt's music!"Originally Posted by rrrr
That should drive some ratings, right?
Or we could NOT turn the series into a twisted abomination of the sport of motor racing. Let's see what happens if we try that, and just sell the hell out of it.
Where were you when Pandora screwed things up?
Rut roh.......
Doc, Doc, Doc
Those with an appreciation of motorsport's history are not always trying to erase it it, or (LOL) improve it. Students of the sport embrace it's past and realize a lot of things are done the way they are simply because gimmicks and bullpoop have failed so many times.
Like Hurley says, sell the hell out of it. Don't try to make it like lesser sports. Sell it on it's uniqueness. Sell it on it's greatness.
Doc, Doc, Doc
"Is that my *** that I smell burning?" ... Helmet Stogie from "Death spasms of the Mabuchi"
Why?
Faster than a bullet from a gun
He is faster than everyone
Quicker than the blinking of an eye
Like a flash you could miss him going by
No one knows quite how he does it but it's true they say
He's the master of going faster. -George Harrison
Ernest, i don't think you're thinking big enough.
You're assuming that the only effect on the driver is their qualifying spot. There are also certain parts of the race that can sometimes hide the qualities of a good driver. After all, a good driver needs to be a riding mechanic, an athlete, an onboard engineer, a modern gladiator, and have the nerves of a fighter pilot. It's unfair to those who are great at setup when it becomes a fuel mileage race, or to the aggressive driver when there are marbles on the track.
To make sure that the race takes all of those qualities into account, we need to expand your draft idea. Now, after the draft, we will make sure that the drivers are absolutely the best at their craft.
First, we're gonna have a LeMans style start, and to satisfy the riding mechanic qualification, the driver must assemble their car piece by piece. Seriously, if a driver doesn't know their car inside and out, they don't belong in Indycar.
Second, we're gonna have them push the completed car around one circuit of the course. This will separate the men from the boys (and the women from the girls) when it comes to the driver's athleticism.
Third, we need to test the engineering acumen of the drivers. They will be put through three rigorous mental tasks to make sure they can hack it as an engineer. First they must solve a Rubik's cube, and then they must do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division timed tests, finally they must construct a Rube Goldberg machine of no less than 100 steps that will start their car.
Fourth, we need to test the drivers' gall, their gladiatorial spirit. They will drive their cars 2 at a time to the top of ramps (think 2 of the hot wheels tracks pointed at one another). They will then launch at one another trying to hit each other with those giant American Gladiator q-tips until one of them misses their landing zone. There's a 30 second penalty for losing the battle.
Finally we will put them in an Air Force centrifuge for 5 minutes to test their fighter pilot skills before strapping them in and allowing them to start the race.
This will make sure that nobody has any sort of disadvantage for being any different than any other driver, because all the driver skills will be tested, and there will be no advantage for the "Red cars"
Red.
How about two cars running towards each other with the drivers holding a lance made of new technology materials....
>Full Carbon Jousting<
Well there ya go...I have put up five different suggestions to Ernest's one.
Now who's doing the conventional stilted thinking? Hmmmmm?
Well, I have learned some new things from this thread. People who have no ideas of their own hate it when someone suggests something new. People are happy that top notch drivers like Justin Wilson are always starting mid-pack through no fault of their own. People who think they are funny are not. But the one thing that isn't new is that no one can come up with one valid reason why my idea wouldn't work. Not one. They are the same people who think an airplane can't fly or man would never go to the moon. It must be very sad to be stuck in a world with no new ideas. Kind of like being in the movie "Groundhog Day" where its always the same. Enjoy your boring lives. Ernest
You have proven you don't know the history of Indy or you wouldn't have asked the question why Daytona was shown live on TV before the 500. I don't ignore you because at least you try most of the time to get some points in on your side of the discussion. The same can not be said for the ones on my ignore list. ErnestNo one is paying me to do this... however IMS is paying a hard working & talented guy named Randy Bernard to be their "Idea Man"
As for "not knowing my history"
DIA seems to know your limitations suggesting the ignore button?
But will you learn from what you learn? That's the big question.
No. But people who have an idea of their own seem to hate it when not even a single soul supports their "out of the box" thinking.
How could have possibly learned that from this thread? Not one person here said anything about being happy to see drivers like Justin Wilson always starting mid-pack.
People who think they are being oh-so-serious can be quite funny.
Not true.
Oh look! A thread wherein Ernest sums things up by issuing forth broad-brush insults to everyone who didn't adopt his line of thinking.
Who ever could have seen that coming?
Spike.
"The IRL's future should be good, but it can't be the grass-roots series Tony George envisioned. That was a wet dream." - Bobby Unser
I could actually go for Ernest's idea if I'm understanding it correctly.
Starting fields for all the races, except Indy, would be set pre-season? Teams would have to analyze each race based on their driver and car to figure out which races starting position was less improtant, etc? Penske and TCGR would be "checking" each other on starting position picks in order to stay close?
It's different. It's gimmicky. But I can see where he's coming from.
It would jumble starting lineups, thus making the races more interesteing...but not a completely random jumble. The jumble would be based on individual team strategy, based on which tracks they value the upfront starting position more, based on their driver strengths/car.
It would kill the qual competition on Saturdays, but would make the Sunday starting grids more equitable and interesting.
"Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and your going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down." -- Edward Blume
Doc.
Matt, You have restored my faith in mankind. Thanks for "getting" and understanding my concept. If you have any more to add I would like to hear it. Ernest
Nah, I get it. No way they would do it, but I get it.
I've had wacky ideas such as "Pave the Fairgrounds" to add an add'l Labor Day season ender in Indy; and the Indiana College State Basketball Holiday Championship Tourney, that has been poo-poo'd by the masses as maniacal, so I get where you're coming from.
I figure eventually, Penske and TCGR would hire some MIT geek to do a regression analysis on which races they should target first for pics based on historical data, so they still would have an advantage...but I think the more "non-typical" starting grids that your proposal would ensure would pique my interest.
Now if you added the ability for cars to drop oil slicks, tacks, shoot lasers, have extendable samarai sword in the wheels, and allow drivers to strap their dogs into the car with them, as long as they had a snarky laugh...you'd really be onto something.
Kidding.
I see nothing wacky about adding a season ender in Indy! Good idea. But here is some more information about the sacred cow we call "qualifying." The only thing traditional about qualifying is nothing at all! Do you know how they established the starting grid at the first Indy 500? Whoever got their entry mailed in first. True story. The grid was set by who had the best post office. Another instance of truth being stranger than fiction. I encourage everyone to go to their history books and see just how many changes have taken place in over 100 years at the speedway concerning qualifying for the race. It will knock your socks off. Matt ,thanks again for adding meaningful dialog when others couldn't. ErnestNah, I get it. No way they would do it, but I get it.
I've had wacky ideas such as "Pave the Fairgrounds" to add an add'l Labor Day season ender in Indy; and the Indiana College State Basketball Holiday Championship Tourney, that has been poo-poo'd by the masses as maniacal, so I get where you're coming from.
I figure eventually, Penske and TCGR would hire some MIT geek to do a regression analysis on which races they should target first for pics based on historical data, so they still would have an advantage...but I think the more "non-typical" starting grids that your proposal would ensure would pique my interest.
Now if you added the ability for cars to drop oil slicks, tacks, shoot lasers, have extendable samarai sword in the wheels, and allow drivers to strap their dogs into the car with them, as long as they had a snarky laugh...you'd really be onto something.
Kidding.
Phenomenal idea! Outstanding! Love it!
Now that's the kind of constructive criticism he's talking about
RIP Daniel Clive Wheldon, 2005 & 2011 Indianapolis 500 Champion
Boogity boogity boogity
The Pay-Per-View Indy 500 option you referenced was not a nation wide option. Yes, ABC Sports management thought they were honoring the Indy 500 by giving it a primetime time slot, but it doesn't change the fact that the "mainstream" sport of Indycar & its crown jewel race was not on live TV until after the less popular (@ the time...) stock car series (NASCAR's Daytona 500 & its 2nd or 3rd scheduled event...) I know my Indy history just fine thank you. I'm no Donald Davidson, but not many are.
As for the ignore list... its your loss not getting the knowledge offered by Spike, Dex & others. JMO.
Do you NEED a car this fast...? NO, but do you WANT a car this fast?? YES!!! -Tom Hnatiw
Race CARS Not DOGS!!! Adopt or foster a retired greyhound -Me
Assuming that what one really wants is knowledge.
I have never put Dexter on my ignore list and wouldn't consider it either. I wish he would post more. Its always good to know he is reading my thoughts and ideas on IndyCar whether he agrees with them or not. Ernest
.
.
l>FCJ<l
If it's any consolation, rrrr, your essay contest idea is growing on me.
I personally like this one alot. There - that's a positive response
Well, you know what they say about ASSUMING...I lived it. I doubt seriously you were even alive then.
You lived it from your little world in Oklahoma last I checked their were 49 other states in the USA & much larger TV markets . Again instead of staying on topic you act like a grumpy old man & ramble off topic with some smart-ass comment that addresses zero.
Of course, with his new psuedo-socialistic view on "opportunity" in sports, Ernest must now conceed that had Houston beaten Southern Miss in the Conf USA Championship, THEY would have been the rightful selection in college football's de facto "national champiosnhip".
Arrow, you forgot to sign you post. Doc.
Sorry Doc... I only sign snail mail letters, select emails, & misc. contracts
So your argument is that the folks at the Speedway chose my little market of Oklahoma to show the Indy 500 on closed circuit television and ignored the rest of the country? Ernest
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