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New Songs with John Posted

Ten new songs with John have been posted on the Listen to Us page

Tue, 2008 02 26 at 11:26 AM | Permalink for this entry

A 12-Year Power Play

On Windbag, FTG said something about 20 races, mix of ovals and road courses, and "the Indy 500 has always been an international event" when asked about American drivers. Several said that by 2009, it will probably look like CART before the split. So why the f did he split it? [b]Because this was a 12-year power play.[/b] This split wasn't about an oval series, American drivers, engine leases, [i]or even the Indy 500.[/i] It was about FTG putting himself in charge of American open-wheel. Clearly, it wasn't because he had lots of great ideas no one was listening to. He's had 12 years to show us how smart and creative he is. He's just a big baby that wanted to be in charge, and we lost because one guy we thought would be our saviour turned out to be a big baby himself. It sickens me that one after another, people who stood up to him turned and stood with him even though he's a terrible leader and in no position to lead anything.

Mon, 2008 02 25 at 5:30 AM | Permalink for this entry

It Was More Than That

There are those who say they won’t support a series that doesn’t run the 2.65L turbo. But before the current engine, many different types of engines have been used in the Championship, including Ford, Offenhauser, Honda, Miller, Duesenberg, Cadillac, and over 200 others. Engine types included turbocharged as well as naturally aspirated, four cylinders, eight cylinders, 151 cubic inch, 220 ci, 252 ci, and many other configurations and technologies, some that are lost to history. But it was not about the engines. It was more than that.

There are those who say they won’t support a series that doesn’t use the Panoz, or one that uses the Dallara. Before Panoz, there was Lola, Reynard, March, Swift, Eagle, Penske, TrueSports, Chaparral, Fiat, Acme, and over 400 others. But it was not about the chassis. It was more than that.

There are those who say they won’t support a series that doesn’t run at a certain track. Races have been held at Long Beach, Japan, Brands Hatch, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Daytona, Long Island, Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, Pikes Peak, and over 200 other locations around the world. They raced on bricks, city streets, permanent road courses, paved ovals, dirt ovals, hill climbs, and board tracks. But it was not about the tracks, the type of tracks, nor the locations of the tracks. It was more than that.

There are those who say they won’t support a series if a particular driver doesn’t drive. Sebastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy, Cristiano da Matta, Gil de Ferran, Juan Pablo Montoya, Alex Zanardi, Jimmy Vasser, Jacques Villenueve, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Ralph DePalma, Earl Cooper, and countless others have competed for the Championship, but it was not about the drivers. It was more than that.

It also was not about the teams, the sanctioning body, or the owners. All of these things, engines, chassis, tracks, drivers, teams, are all part of the Championship that evolved over nearly one hundred years of American-based open-wheel racing. Each one of those things was important, but none were constant and none would be able to be part of the competition for the Championship forever. No, the Championship was more than that, and that is something was lost on February 22, 2008.

What we now have is a series that exists to support and promote one race.

The “division” in American-based open-wheel racing was never about technology, owners, or drivers. It was about whether the Championship, or one race, was more important. Working together, we could have had a great series that had as its focal point, a great race. Instead, we now have a series that exists to promote one race, keep drivers and teams occupied the rest of the year, and to have a sideshow that comes to towns to show the cars that run at that one race to those who haven’t been.

The Championship was more than that.

Sun, 2008 02 24 at 7:56 AM | Permalink for this entry

Steak Houses

For those that wonder why "racing fans" are going to turn away from FTG's leegue, let me use a metaphor. Say you love steak. You go to a steak restaurant, and while the meal was a steak, it wasn't the best steak you've had, the service was slow and crappy, and there were other things you were not crazy about. But, you could see giving it another try.

Later, you find out the owner of the steak restaurant is trying to put other steak houses in town out of business and he frequently fails health inspections. So that seals it, you don't go back.

Now, he's managed to take over your favorite steak house, making his chain the only game in town. Do you still go or do you avoid steak altogether?

Thu, 2008 02 21 at 12:58 AM | Permalink for this entry

Willow

Sat, 2008 02 16 at 11:21 AM | Permalink for this entry

Angel From Montgomery

Sat, 2008 02 16 at 10:50 AM | Permalink for this entry

Weak Young Blues

Sat, 2008 02 09 at 11:20 AM | Permalink for this entry

Memphis

Sat, 2008 02 09 at 11:00 AM | Permalink for this entry

Lightnin’ and Thunda

Sat, 2008 02 09 at 10:59 AM | Permalink for this entry

Breakdown

Sat, 2008 02 09 at 10:55 AM | Permalink for this entry

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