"the sport is in an inflationary spiral

[Hoop-98]

"that is cutting down the number of competitors by the hour"

"our big league racers are heading towards black Friday"



Wonder who is writing this dire prediction of the future?

Any Guesses?


rh

[The instant classic]

not to sound like a egg head,
back in dec 2000 i always said, i have a bad feeling for Dale sir and i have a feeling something is gonna happen to him, i said that all the they till the night befor the daytona 500, in 2001, need i say more what happen?
in 2003 i made my nascar prediction again and i said, nascar wolud get so big and after time lose fans money, and thats happen
just last year i made my indycar prediction for the next 5 years, the very next day, the story broke that indycar might go under in 2013, and indycar is losing alot now, so i wont make anymore predictions, but i will say right now i feel that Dancia better make up her mind now, and let her fans know where she stands, cuz if she leaves, i think we all better put the fights aside and make up for her fans they will leave with her
if anyone wants to know, i dont have forum or blog to prove, i can only give you my good word, if anyone doesnt belive me, i 100% understand that

[Hoop-98]

This prediction of a bleak future was made in 1970 by Brock Yates in Car and Driver magazine.

To read it is to hear Robin today... strange resonance...


rh

[The instant classic]

ah ok. i wolud have never knowin that, i wasnt born till 85 lol
but kind of fun to get my predictions out there some how

[chuck34]

The sport of racing has always been, and always will be, in a state of "inflationary spiral". It was the same thing back in the '20s and '30s. Ever hear of the "junk formula" at Indy? Same goes for speeds. People have been worried about the "risks of speed" since probably Ben Hur's day. It's the same story over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, again. People just need to realize that it will never change, get over it, quit trying to cut costs, quite trying to cut speeds, and just watch the d@mn race already!

[V12]

The sport of racing has always been, and always will be, in a state of "inflationary spiral". It was the same thing back in the '20s and '30s. Ever hear of the "junk formula" at Indy? Same goes for speeds. People have been worried about the "risks of speed" since probably Ben Hur's day. It's the same story over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, again. People just need to realize that it will never change, get over it, quit trying to cut costs, quite trying to cut speeds, and just watch the d@mn race already!

Couldn't agree more! You only need to look at what's happened with F1 lately, with their attempts to cut costs. If you stand back, and accept that now and again things may be bleak over the short term, over the long term the thing will regulate itself.

[beachbum]

There have always been doomsday prophets who periodically claim the world is coming to an end. Some are well known, like Yates and Miller, and some are anonymous internet posters. They are almost always wrong but still have a following.

I learned about Yates a long time ago. In the late 80's the Daytona 200 for motorcycles was being televised and 2 of the announcers / pit reporters were Gary Gerould and Brock Yates. The contrast between the 2 was huge. Gerould showed up days before the event, sat on the pit wall watching practice talking notes, and wondering the pits talking to everyone. When I asked him why he arrived so early, he admitted he was a race fan and just liked being around the racing crowd, and coming early allowed him to meet the people and gave him a better perspective and more information for his announcing duties come race day.

Yates blew in the morning of the race with an entourage, talked to almost no one, and was setup and ready to go. As most races go there were lots of stories. Gerould was always given straight answers as everyone knew him by then and respected his professionalism. On the other hand Yates was pompous and a bit arrogant, and he mostly fed pablum or totally false information. In one case, the story was a whopper and obviously made up, yet he reported it as fact and put it out on the air. Everyone got a chuckle out of that. From that day on, I pay no attention to Yates.

[Bob Riebe]

Actually racing is in the toilet probably for reasons other than cost or inflation, but that one is easy to blame, so everyone jumps on that bandwagon and ignores the politically incorrect things that are a cancer-- in my opinion.
Think god wannabe sanctions rules-- in my opinion.
Bob

[The instant classic]

Actually racing is in the toilet probably for reasons other than cost or inflation, but that one is easy to blame, so everyone jumps on that bandwagon and ignores the politically incorrect things that are a cancer-- in my opinion.
Think god wannabe sanctions rules-- in my opinion.
Bob
i agree

[CCWS77]

The sport of racing has always been, and always will be, in a state of "inflationary spiral". It was the same thing back in the '20s and '30s. Ever hear of the "junk formula" at Indy? Same goes for speeds. People have been worried about the "risks of speed" since probably Ben Hur's day. It's the same story over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, again. People just need to realize that it will never change, get over it, quit trying to cut costs, quite trying to cut speeds, and just watch the d@mn race already!


The overall technical objective in racing is the achievement of a vehicle configuration, acceptable within the practical interpretation of the rules, which can traverse a given course in a minimum time. -Milliken
There seems to an opinion that the act of putting in place new restrictive rules causes turmoil and racing would be great if people stopped trying to do that. That is not really it though. Your opinion is even at odds with the quote in your own signature. SOMEONE has to be in charge of setting what those rules are. Turmoil is caused by disagreements about who it is that is making those rules and what their agenda might be.

The idea that whoever wants the least restrictive rules must always be seen as "right" is a real problem in terms of it sabotages the credibility of whomever was proposing restricted rules. Thus racing becomes more and more "inflationary" and in turmoil. No particular mechanical rules are ever the real problem. That this thing called motor racing never really has a stable rulemaking body with credibility that people trust, is the real problem.

[indycool]

Crises occur. The Indianapolis 500 was not run during the two World Wars.

[Colin_Harvey]

Crises occur. The Indianapolis 500 was not run during the two World Wars.

That's not entirely true - races were held in 1915 and 1916 as well as in 1940 and 1941.

[indycool]

True. But not run in other years of the wars.

[Lousada]

That's not entirely true - races were held in 1915 and 1916 as well as in 1940 and 1941.

At that time the USA were not part of the war.

[chuck34]

There seems to an opinion that the act of putting in place new restrictive rules causes turmoil and racing would be great if people stopped trying to do that. That is not really it though. Your opinion is even at odds with the quote in your own signature. SOMEONE has to be in charge of setting what those rules are. Turmoil is caused by disagreements about who it is that is making those rules and what their agenda might be.

The idea that whoever wants the least restrictive rules must always be seen as "right" is a real problem in terms of it sabotages the credibility of whomever was proposing restricted rules. Thus racing becomes more and more "inflationary" and in turmoil. No particular mechanical rules are ever the real problem. That this thing called motor racing never really has a stable rulemaking body with credibility that people trust, is the real problem.

Been gone for a week so sorry to dig this back up.

I don't understand how what I said is in any way being at odds with my sig. Actually it proves my point. Every racer is trying to find the "Unfair Advantage". As the rules become ever more restrictive, the advantages become harder and harder to find. And thus, more expensive. So the way I see my comments and sig., they complement one another and prove both points.

[CCWS77]

The quote implies there will always be some kind of rules to limit things, racers will always try to find a way around them, and both these things are natural. Your statement seems to imply that ultimately it is useless to try and impose limiting rules and you wish people (such as the FIA?) would stop trying. That is very different, and IMHO a badly damaging blow by fans to the credibility of the sanction.



As the rules become ever more restrictive, the advantages become harder and harder to find. And thus, more expensive. So the way I see my comments and sig., they complement one another and prove both points.Sure it becomes harder to find the advantage, meaning skill and talent are more important to find them as opposed to just opening the checkbook to get an advantage and attacking the problem with overwhelming manpower or technology. You can't really believe more restrictive rules raises costs?

[chuck34]

You can't really believe more restrictive rules raises costs?

Yes I can believe that. Does it cost more or less to field an IndyCar team today than it did 5-10 years ago?

[underpowered]

Yes I can believe that. Does it cost more or less to field an IndyCar team today than it did 5-10 years ago?

I'm fairly certain it cost less (infation adjusted) to field a car now. The problem is more likely the shortage of sponsorship dollars coming in.

[Chaparral66]

Brock Yates is the one who used to complain about drivers holding hands with their wives along pit lane. He is a very good writer and a passionate person, but often his content leaves a lot to be desired. I am not sure what he was referring to in 1970, but people like him don't react well to change and Indy Car racing was changing very fast at that time, from putting more into aerodynamics to full face helmets. Yates may have gotten the shaft from Car and Driver when he was ousted a few years back (ironically, so was the guy who fired him just recently, former editor Csaba Csere), but everytime I read something from him, I make sure I have a container of Morton's nearby.