Eddie Gossage says TMS will only honor winner

[SoTex]

The IRL plans to honor the top three finishers at the majority of its races. But not Indy and Texas.

"It's perfectly fine for road-course racing or street-course racing, but you don't do that in oval-track racing," said Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway.

Gossage said honoring more than the winner of a grueling oval-track race is trivializing the accomplishment.

[Fangio]

The IRL plans to honor the top three finishers at the majority of its races. But not Indy and Texas.

"It's perfectly fine for road-course racing or street-course racing, but you don't do that in oval-track racing," said Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway.

Gossage said honoring more than the winner of a grueling oval-track race is trivializing the accomplishment.

Wow, this might really be a merger.

Keep the podiums, IMO. Once again, there is no need to be NASCAR. I really don`t care for Eddie`s track for open wheel cars, so his opinon does not weigh any heavier. Dump TMS for Phoenix. :D

[garyshell]

The IRL plans to honor the top three finishers at the majority of its races. But not Indy and Texas.

"It's perfectly fine for road-course racing or street-course racing, but you don't do that in oval-track racing," said Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway.

Gossage said honoring more than the winner of a grueling oval-track race is trivializing the accomplishment.


What a steamin' load of horse ****! I dare him to say that immediately after a race to the second place driver who just finsihed .02 seconds behind first place. He better wear a helmet or run real fast.

Gary

[pvtjoker]

I agree with Gossage -this isn't F1 or CC, its Indy Car. Honoring 2nd and 3rd has always been a road racing tradition. The IRL should keep it as such.

[JasonD]

So in other words he thinks very little of road/street racing. What a d!ck head.

[BobGarage]

Gossage may be onto something here...... by only honouring the winner it ensures that Danica is never going to be "celebrated" for her result after a race :p


in all serious though, I'm all for podiums and would like to see them implemented at all races including indy and texas.

[pvtjoker]

So in other words he thinks very little of road/street racing. What a d!ck head.


Cut him some slack. He manages a Texas Motor SPEEDWAY not Elkart Lake or Road Atlanta.

[garyshell]

I agree with Gossage -this isn't F1 or CC, its Indy Car. Honoring 2nd and 3rd has always been a road racing tradition. The IRL should keep it as such.


Why? What possible harm could come of having a real podium ceremony? It's a chance for the fans to honor three of the gladiators. It's a chance for two more sets of sponsors to get a little face time. It's a chance to see the interplay between three of the drivers right after the heat of battle. Are they smiling at each other, are they glaring at each other? Are they friends or foes?

Sorry, but I have always felt a little cheated by the series that only honors the winning driver and totally ignore the guy or gal who finished a mere .02 seconds behind. I don't think having three folks on the podium in anyway diminishes the honor of the winner. If anything it enhances it, by putting a face to the players the winner just vanquished.

I don't understand why it appropriate for a road course but somehow not for an oval. That makes no sense to me at all. What does the track layout have to do with it? It's either a good idea or it isn't. Right turns have nothing to do with it.

Gary

[SoTex]

The interesting part is the EG insinuates that road racing is not grueling. At least not as grueling as oval racing.

According to the IndyStar article, podiums for the top 3 finishers will be done everywhere except Indy and Texas.

IRL spokesman John Griffin said all other races on the league's schedule will have a podium celebration, beginning with the March 29 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/SPORTS0107/803050447/1052/SPORTS01

[HoustonCartFan]

Since when does the owner of a track dictate to a series how they should or should not celebrate post race? Gossage should just let IndyCar do its thing. Gossage always attempts to stick his nose in other people's business.


IndyCar should do what they need to do.

Bring their own podium if needed.

Since when does the owner of a track dictate to a series how they should or should not celebrate post race?

When he's called Prince Ranier?

[gshevlin]

Eddie Gossage is a professional *****...when CART abandoned its 600 mile race at TMS, after it became clear that the drivers were virtually blacking out at points on the track due to g-forces, all I read from Gossage was vituperation and bloviation about how this was a disaster, he was going to sue CART etc. Barely a word about how the race cancellation was necessary to avoid one or more large accidents. Now we are subjected to King Eddie's latest pompous gasbaggery about how He will not obey the IRL podium rules. Given that the last time I looked there was no road course of any consequenc e at Texas Motor Speedway, this looks like a classic case of somebody proving that empty vessels do indeed make the most noise.
Mr. Gossage needs to heed the old saying that it is better to be keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and promptly prove that you are one.

[JasonD]

Stupid IMO, podiums are an opportunity to celebrate for the FANS not just the team(s).

[nigelred5]

Well, I have to say, many of us seem to cling to TRADITION, myself included. When It comes to Indycar racing, the TRADITION in oval racing of all sorts in the US is you have the WINNERS CIRCLE. To celebrate the WINNING team. Not the almost winner, or the almost-almost winner. Not in Motorcycles, not in sprint cars, not in stock cars. Not on dirt, or ice, or pavement. One winner. I'm not sure why they announced the change, pre-merger by the way, but it makes no sense to me. One or the other.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I could live with 10 road races with podiums and standing starts and 10 oval races with victory circles and rolling starts. How about that?

[Dave Brock]

I agree with Gossage -this isn't F1 or CC, its Indy Car. Honoring 2nd and 3rd has always been a road racing tradition. The IRL should keep it as such.


WRONG!
Win, Place & Show are vestages of HORSE RACING (as is oval racing in general) which were carried over by our more civilized forefathers when we passed into the industrial age and all like that.

1st & 2nd loser is a bit trite so why not put a promoters spin on their finish and give'em recognition before the accomplishments of the day are lost forever due to the current state of the sport...wiki -special olympiks, who remembers 2nd & 3rd unless there is a trophy on a dusty mantle in a home were a fan never visits..eh?

[tbyars]

Since when does the owner of a track dictate to a series how they should or should not celebrate post race? Gossage should just let IndyCar do its thing. Gossage always attempts to stick his nose in other people's business.

By the same token, when does the series dictate to a race promoter how the post race celebration is conducted? It's traditional for the promoter be in charge of pre-post race activities.

In this case, I believe Eddie is right. Based on the venue itself, a podium celebration is pretty worthless to the fans at the race. If you are sitting in the stands, Victory Circle is a LONG way away, and the fans in the stands can't really see anything anyway.That's quite a bit different than most road courses, and even than some smaller ovals.

From a tactical standpoint, the current arrangement works very well for TMS. While the Victory Circle celebration is going on, which is generally a ceremony for the visual media, the second and third place drivers are in a press conference with the rest of the media in the media center. Good opportunity for quotes and such. Once that is done, then the media gets a chance exclusively with the winner at his press conference. Why is this important? For a night race, such as TMS, most of the folks in the media center are really bumping up against deadlines. They need all the help they can get, and the current situation helps get those deadline stories written as quickly as possible.

That's just looking at it from a practical media standpoint.

[MAX_THRUST]

Well if Eddie doesn't like it, he could break away and form his own series promoting oval racing, with American drivers, and all in the tradition of Indy if he wants....

What is it with track owners thinking they should have a say in how things are done????

If the IRL wanna keep sponsors happy and have podium ceromonies, then let them. By just going here's the winner doesn't get all the dignitries that want and need to be seen presenting trophees with their corporate logos on.

I say stick to running the track and making things better for the fans that come and visit the circuits and for the teams who race there. Don't start saying how the business of racing should be run.

Yes 1st should be celebrated, but 2nd and third means those teams get in lots of promo shots, which keeps sponsors happy. At the end of day racing only happens because of the sponsors these days......

[indycool]

Eddie's getting some attention out of his viewpoint for his track. If the IRL has "issues" with Eddie's stance on it, I'm not so sure that they're important enough to want to "win."

tb just brought up a good point. If you want to know why a Long Beach or Portland doesn't get a lot of East Coast exposure, just check the time difference when they get done from Victory Lane and finally get those guys to the media center.

With NASCAR, and the interminable hat dance, it's usually 45 minutes to an hour.

[tbyars]

WRONG!
Win, Place & Show are vestages of HORSE RACING (as is oval racing in general) which were carried over by our more civilized forefathers when we passed into the industrial age and all like that.

1st & 2nd loser is a bit trite so why not put a promoters spin on their finish and give'em recognition before the accomplishments of the day are lost forever due to the current state of the sport...wiki -special olympiks, who remembers 2nd & 3rd unless there is a trophy on a dusty mantle in a home were a fan never visits..eh?

Just curious....what color of roses do the place and show horses get at the Kentucky Derby.................

[pits4me]

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

A contingency sponsor pays big dollars for the opportunity to celebrate their contingency award with the appropriate recipient driver or team in public.

If EG is willing to write those checks for TMS, clients can always line item veto HIS RACE and find somewhere else to put their money. Oops -- I thought open wheel was trying to fix the sponsorship picture, not perpetually damage it. He must want more NASCAR dates pretty bad.

[Turn-In]

When does the 2009 CART schedule come out? I want to secure my hotel for Vancouver, Long Beach, and Portland.

thanks!

[pvtjoker]

WRONG!
Win, Place & Show are vestages of HORSE RACING (as is oval racing in general) which were carried over by our more civilized forefathers when we passed into the industrial age and all like that.



Fair enough, but this isn't horse racing now is it.

[pvtjoker]

Why? What possible harm could come of having a real podium ceremony? It's a chance for the fans to honor three of the gladiators. It's a chance for two more sets of sponsors to get a little face time. It's a chance to see the interplay between three of the drivers right after the heat of battle. Are they smiling at each other, are they glaring at each other? Are they friends or foes?

Sorry, but I have always felt a little cheated by the series that only honors the winning driver and totally ignore the guy or gal who finished a mere .02 seconds behind. I don't think having three folks on the podium in anyway diminishes the honor of the winner. If anything it enhances it, by putting a face to the players the winner just vanquished.

I don't understand why it appropriate for a road course but somehow not for an oval. That makes no sense to me at all. What does the track layout have to do with it? It's either a good idea or it isn't. Right turns have nothing to do with it.

Gary
To be truthful I really could care less either way, but I do get what Gossage is saying by only honoring the winner. That said, I have zero problem if they do decide to honor 2nd and 3rd (as they did in CART). At the end of the day, it won't affect how I view the series.

[garyshell]

To be truthful I really could care less either way, but I do get what Gossage is saying by only honoring the winner. That said, I have zero problem if they do decide to honor 2nd and 3rd (as they did in CART). At the end of the day, it won't affect how I view the series.


It won't really bug me one way or the other either. I just don't see how it diminishes the honor bestowed on the winner to have two of their comrades there to congratulate or glare at him or her.

Gary

[JasonD]

Seeing the top 3 on the podium is a preference, not a deal breaker.