Monday, June 2, 2008

Racing News: Briscoe Wins at Milwaukee

I haven't been posting racing updates lately for two reasons. I am still on the fence since the merger. I have always been a strong Champ Car supporter and now that's its been gobbled up by the IRL, I have to admit, its been harder to accept than I would of thought. First off, I do not like the Honda/Dallara chassis at all. It just looks fat, ugly and slow. And without the turbo's, they don't sound right either. The Champ Car Panzo DP01 chassis was by far the sexier of the two machines. I also didn't like the way the merge happened with just over a month to the start of the season. It made for a messy shot gun wedding with Champ Car getting the short end of the stick. Champ Car teams that could afford to make the jump to the IRL on such short notice were given scraps and second hand equipment.
That being said, it was a deal that needed to be made in order for Open Wheel Racing in North America to survive.
And the second reason that I haven't been following as closely is because the Canadian TV coverage has totally sucked. The only place to find it, is late at night in a condensed replay. If you can't air it live and you are going to replay it late at night, why would you need to cut out segments? Its late at night! The only people watching, are those watching the race, so why not show the entire race?
Well ... yesterday I had the opportunity to watch the Milwaukee race live and in its entirety. And what a race it was. Ryan Briscoe narrowly avoided a crash with two laps remaining and went on to win the A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile, his first victory in the IndyCar Series and the 300th overall win in the history of Penske Racing. And the race was exciting from beginning to end.
This is how you get back the fans. AIR IT LIVE. Simple.
After the Indy 500 live last week and Milwaukee this week, I am back on board.
pictures courtesy of http://auto-racing.speedtv.com

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