"Tell me, what was there not to love about a series that included superspeedways, short ovals (not to mention a tri-oval and even a 'roval'), natural road courses and street circuits? There were several different chassis and several different engines. It was the most unique series in the world and, by the account of many, the greatest series in the world. A series so great, that the reigning world champion left
F1 to run CART rather than defend his title. Additionally, CART was a series that drew drivers from all over the world, and there were still plenty of Americans running the series.
"I realise that CART had its problems. The original concept was to mimic what other pro sports were doing, where the teams would run the sport. It was an attempt to save the sport from USAC, and rightly so. But, in other pro sports, the big teams in big markets have to look out for the interests of small teams in smaller markets. The CART board had some members who were self-serving individuals who only wanted to 'dominate' instead of looking after the little guys and really nurturing and growing the sport. You know who you are. If you don't know who you are, call up Dale Coyne. I'm sure he would be glad to explain it to you. But none of this is news to any of you. You already know all of this. I am rehashing this merely to make a later point.
"Since the split, both sides have worked tirelessly to take something really great and reduce it to near ashes. Both sides have a complete disregard for the people that are supposed to matter: the FANS! Tony George, I once read a quote by you where you stated that "the people I talk to don't care about street racing. I'm sure that was true if the people that you were talking to were USAC officials. The fans that I have spoken to are still mourning the day you announced the IRL (I have spoken to many fans who will not watch or have anything to do with the IRL on principle alone). Since then, the IRL has gone from horrible to merely being bad, but only after abandoning everything that the IRL set out to do in its original mission statement and now resembles 'CART lite'. CART has gone from great to lame. All of this is at the expense of those who buy the tickets. Both sides have created something so far removed from what the fans really crave, it's a wonder anyone shows up at all. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, listen to what I am saying. I am begging you to create something brilliant and to stop wallowing in mediocrity.
