An Engine For Shank

[pitwall3]

IMHO these last minute deals for engine leases with Fisher and Dragon Racing did not make Indy Car look good.

Quote:
This offseason has seen several last-minute deals come together, or potentially out of nowhere. Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing was fortunate to accrue a Honda lease to run its talented rookie Josef Newgarden, although it was late, and the Dragon Racing two-car Lotus effort caught everyone off guard when it was announced.

Shank's intentions to enter IndyCar were made official in October, a full two months before either of the SFHR or Dragon deals, and despite making investments, saying largely the right things, and remaining consistent in saying, “I want to be there!” he still isn't, yet. It's been more than six months and he's still basically a Fred Flintstone body-double in trying to pedal his chassis around the track.

The sad saga that has been Shank's attempt to get on the grid is a cautionary tale for prospective team owners who want to make it to IndyCar. You may have enthusiasm, passion, dedication and investment, but if you don't have an engine lease, you don't have a spot. To be honest, it's ridiculous – and far from welcoming. Besides the Lotus comments, Shank also told the AP Monday he had asked IndyCar to guarantee the team an engine, regardless of which one, and “they never Responded"

[aaron5572]

Howard looked very good at Indy last year, and definitely could have finished Top 10 if not for circumstances beyond his control.

I'm not saying Jay is bad but a top 10 in a team's first ever race is kinda unrealistic, if it was like Wheldon then maybe but other than that I don't think so

[Racing Steward]

I'm not impressed with Shank so far. Sure he went out and got a rolling chassis, but he did not have the money lined up to run a complete season. Then he made a big deal of not getting the Team Money. In my opinion he was being naive thinking he was going to get the Team Money and I was not impressed that he basically tried to hold Indycar hostage by claiming he couldn't run the season without their money. I really don't think the Team Money would have gotten them enough to run the complete season. Now he's telling anyone that will listen (Speed TV) that he can't get an engine and that he doesn't want a Lotus and that Indycar hasn't gotten back to him. The whole thing is just very unprofessional.

Shank refusing to take a Lotus reminds of the time when I was young and my dad bought my little brother a red power ranger and he cried because he wanted the white ranger.

[Oben]

If Shank really does lose the sponsor if he doesn't hear back in a day or two, then he's out. Frankly, besides DRR and BHA, I think that some of the full time teams may not be completely out of adding cars.

I think that is part of Shank's problem.

[ARROWZ46]

Shank refusing to take a Lotus reminds of the time when I was young and my dad bought my little brother a red power ranger and he cried because he wanted the white ranger.

Yeah... because a $10 Power Ranger (made for less than $1 in China...) compares equally to a $450,000 Dallara chassis...

... the $150,000 (Indy only?) for the engine lease...

... & the $2-350,000 (again a low-ball for the 500 only) commitment from sponsors... HOW???

Come on RS, you think Mike Shank is acting like a 6 year old stomping his feet for a Chevy or Honda? Really??

Childish & immature behavior would be MSR entering into long term negotiations with potential new partners/sponsors & then selling them that even though the Lotus engine was underperforming that a miracle would happen at the end of May. Hell, if it didn't MAYBE the new team would get a promoters option for the Indy 500... & so what if the engine went ka-blamo on lap 16. Hopefully no one is injured & P33 at the 500 pays pretty well. The crash might make its rounds on ESPN too... every sponsors dream,eh!

[Racing Steward]

Yeah... because a $10 Power Ranger (made for less than $1 in China...) compares equally to a $450,000 Dallara chassis...

... the $150,000 (Indy only?) for the engine lease...

... & the $2-350,000 (again a low-ball for the 500 only) commitment from sponsors... HOW???

Come on RS, you think Mike Shank is acting like a 6 year old stomping his feet for a Chevy or Honda? Really??

Childish & immature behavior would be MSR entering into long term negotiations with potential new partners/sponsors & then selling them that even though the Lotus engine was underperforming that a miracle would happen at the end of May. Hell, if it didn't MAYBE the new team would get a promoters option for the Indy 500... & so what if the engine went ka-blamo on lap 16. Hopefully no one is injured & P33 at the 500 pays pretty well. The crash might make its rounds on ESPN too... every sponsors dream,eh!

Its called an analogy. And all im saying is that Shank cant get mad and point fingers IF he was offered a Lotus because that appears to be his only option if he wants to race. I dont blame him for not wanting a Lotus, who does? But its that or dont race and I know if we have a 32 car field, IndyCar & RB will be the ones getting blamed for it and im calling it B-S before it happens. Once the facts come out, it will either be Shanks fault for turning down his only option or Lotus for not coming up with a 4th engine when they WERE running 5. My whole point in this is when we get a 32 car field, blame one of these two, not Indycar. Thats all im saying.

BTW that $450,000 chassis isnt worth much without an engine in it is it? Atleast that $10 Ranger has some Power in it.

[Glenn]

Shank refusing to take a Lotus reminds of the time when I was young and my dad bought my little brother a red power ranger and he cried because he wanted the white ranger.

Good one!

[ARROWZ46]

Its called an analogy. And all im saying is that Shank cant get mad and point fingers IF he was offered a Lotus because that appears to be his only option if he wants to race. I dont blame him for not wanting a Lotus, who does? But its that or dont race and I know if we have a 32 car field, IndyCar & RB will be the ones getting blamed for it and im calling it B-S before it happens. Once the facts come out, it will either be Shanks fault for turning down his only option or Lotus for not coming up with a 4th engine when they WERE running 5. My whole point in this is when we get a 32 car field, blame one of these two, not Indycar. Thats all im saying.

BTW that $450,000 chassis isnt worth much without an engine in it is it? Atleast that $10 Ranger has some Power in it.

Sorry, I thought it was a poor analogy. The $450K Dallara will sell for a helluva lot more than the unwanted Power Ranger.

I'm also not blaming Indycar. However, not having viable engine partners that could manufacturer engines to all paying customers was bad planning. Asking a team to pay for a flawed engine program + sell their sponsors on how great it will be to finish at the back of the Indy 500 field is not realistic either. Those sponsors don't give a damn about "33"... or paying for it.

Lotus just cut two of their teams, & my guess is that the ICS community knows what that means. Even if Lotus had an engine for MSR... its like having two choices. Do you want to be shot in the head or the chest. Two seriously bad options

EDIT: OOPS!!! My bad... the 2012 Dallara chassis was capped @$350,000

[ndcrs]

besides pride in operating your own team, what has stopped msr from having some kind of alliance/partnership thingy like conquest and andretti have this year? no way conquest would get a chevy and no way ana would on her own and unlikely ma hired her to run up front. i would think tha eric paid heavily to make that happen and satisfy ana's sponsors? why couldn't mike do this?

[AFColt]

That's an interesting question. Perhaps if DRR gets a Chevy, for example, he could do some sort of alliance with that team. It sounds better than going at it alone.

[Peabody]

Why would Shank go with Lotus? Unless something BIG happens in the next week or so, they will likely be well off the pace at Indy, and if there is any bumping, it is almost a guarantee it will be a Lotus powered car. If you are doing a single event (and Shank appears to be Indy only) why spend all of the extra money just to end up where you started - sitting in the shop watching the race on TV?

I get the feeling Lotus won't even make it to the end of the year as even Wiggins is beginning to grumble publicly in a PR release. He calls the latest engine debacle "very disappointing". but that is the first time he has been openly critical.

[RS2]

Too bad, too sad, If I had a million bucks in my pocket I could not get a Chevy or Honda deal either at this late date. It seems like he would try and get all his ducks in a row before whining to the media. It is like showing up at a sold out concert and crying because they wont sell you a ticket.

[AFColt]

Too bad, too sad, If I had a million bucks in my pocket I could not get a Chevy or Honda deal either at this late date. It seems like he would try and get all his ducks in a row before whining to the media. It is like showing up at a sold out concert and crying because they wont sell you a ticket.

This is not some fly-by-night team showing up. Shank bought a chassis, has been working since before the season started to field an entry, and secured a driver with sponsorship. If this were Bob's Race Crew showing up unexpectedly with no work having been put in to making this work, that might be different.

[THE BEAR]

It is hard to comment from 50,000 feet on whether Shank's effort is sincere or not. It wouldn't be the first time that a make-believe has tried to show up at Indy and fallen into the cracks before ever fielding a viable entry.

But let's assume that the effort is sincere. Newman Hass folded with a Lotus engine in hand long before this. They cited, in part, the lack of time necessary to prepare a competitive entry. Now we are some weeks later, and Shank still doesn't have a competitive entry. And if we assume he has been offered a Lotus, would You plop down $5 million for the month to prepare, practice, qualify and race if you knew going in that you might run only a few laps before the thing blows to bits, or lags the field so badly that by ten laps in you were watching the leaders.....as they lapped you?

It's hard to say, but as we have seen in the past, these last minute deals which capture so much emotion rarely perform well when they start putting laps down at the Speedway. It takes a whole lot more than just the pieces to run competitive laps at Indy. Maybe Shank knows this.

[mlauman20]

This is not some fly-by-night team showing up. Shank bought a chassis, has been working since before the season started to field an entry, and secured a driver with sponsorship. If this were Bob's Race Crew showing up unexpectedly with no work having been put in to making this work, that might be different.

Our opinions differ greatly, but I tend to agree with some of the other posters here that Shank sounds like a bunch of hot air to me. It seems like every time we turn around he is short on cash. Maybe his deal with Howard is legit, but at this point "wolf" has been called too many times. I won't lose any sleep over the deal, I doubt greatly that Jay Howard in a Lotus, Chevy, or Honda is going to move the meter much for the month of May.

[Jingle5616]

Shank is a racer and he wants a chance to win so why would he even consider a Lotus? To make a bunch of guys on Track Forum happy the field is filled to 33? Just a number indeed.

[AFColt]

Our opinions differ greatly, but I tend to agree with some of the other posters here that Shank sounds like a bunch of hot air to me. It seems like every time we turn around he is short on cash. Maybe his deal with Howard is legit, but at this point "wolf" has been called too many times. I won't lose any sleep over the deal, I doubt greatly that Jay Howard in a Lotus, Chevy, or Honda is going to move the meter much for the month of May.

I don't know; that Jim Beam sponsorship sounds pretty legit, from what I'm hearing.

[Grizzlor]

That's an interesting question. Perhaps if DRR gets a Chevy, for example, he could do some sort of alliance with that team. It sounds better than going at it alone.

Unfortunately DRR is not one of the current Chevy teams which the Chevy guy was talking about satisfying first. Chevy and Honda know how many engines they will have. DRR and BHA have money in hand to pay them, why is it taking so long? I think there are perhaps future considerations, like perhaps they won't sign them for more than this year, to be safe? However, I have to think there are other deals on the table that haven't been totally dismissed yet.

[Grizzlor]

The problem I have with Shank, as Glenn here said, is that he has yet to sign a sponsor on his own. I thought going in he would have one, and a la BHA, would force the series to get him an engine back in February. He didn't, he was relying on Paul Tracy's. Now he's relying on Jay Howard's. Don't get me wrong, I want to see MSRIndy in the series, but at some point, how are they any different from a Conquest, who never has a sponsor?

[doitagain]

Candle and darkness merged.

[crispy]

Too bad, too sad, If I had a million bucks in my pocket I could not get a Chevy or Honda deal either at this late date. It seems like he would try and get all his ducks in a row before whining to the media. It is like showing up at a sold out concert and crying because they wont sell you a ticket.

Unfortunately for IndyCar, there is still a seat left at this concert (32 entries) and HE STILL CAN'T GET AN ENGINE!

[doitagain]

Seats = Engines, not entry spots, in that analogy.

It's the way it is, and its part of the series, not to be changed easily.

If you want to rail about the philosophy or Direction of the series, we have another forum just for that.

[crispy]

Seats = Engines, not entry spots, in that analogy.

It's the way it is, and its part of the series, not to be changed easily.

If you want to rail about the philosophy or Direction of the series, we have another forum just for that.

Then why haven't you moved this entire "Let's beg IndyCar for an engine for Shank" over there?

[AFColt]

Then why haven't you moved this entire "Let's beg IndyCar for an engine for Shank" over there?

Because the thread started with hope for positive involvement, not repetitive negativity.

[mdkiel]

Then why haven't you moved this entire "Let's beg IndyCar for an engine for Shank" over there?

He made it a split topic and moved related posts there. Sometimes I wonder, but whatever, at least they weren't deleted. I don't see how we can be sitting here with willing paricipants being turned away for lack of engines and not see that something is basically wrong on the most fundamental level.

[lotuspoweredbyford]

Because the thread started with hope for positive involvement, not repetitive negativity.

Certainly not the first time here..

[AFColt]

Certainly not the first time here..

No, you're definitely correct on that count.

[crispy]

Because the thread started with hope for positive involvement, not repetitive negativity.

By "positive involvement" you mean begging IndyCar to intervene and force the big bad engine manufacturers for another engine...?

[mdkiel]

Man, I'm all for positivity and do my share of cheerleading but sometimes you've got to be in touch with reality.

[debdrake]

By "positive involvement" you mean begging IndyCar to intervene and force the big bad engine manufacturers for another engine...?

So why was it ok when it was Sarah Fisher's team, and not ok when it's Shank's?