Earlier today I went to see a screening of this new horror/monster flick “Cloverfield”, a movie that for fear of giving anything away is pretty much a ground-level view of an unimaginable disaster with people running around finding different ways to scream “What’s going on!?!”
Coincidentally, it’s turning out to be that kind of day for Champ Car fans. This just in from John Oreovicz of ESPN.com:
Tony Cotman has resigned his position of vice president of operations and race director for the Champ Car World Series.For those who do not follow Champ Car, Cotman was that league’s equivalent of the IRL's Brian Barnhardt. OK, that’s an over-simplification of the responsibilities of both men, so let’s just say Cotman was the man in charge of making sure the other league had a (ahem) quality product on race day. And although he hadn’t held his position at CCWS as long as our own Iron Hand of Justice, it’s never a good thing to hear from such a prolific figure that the guy’s “heart just wasn’t in it.”
As Champ Car's race day chief steward, the 43-year-old New Zealand native earned a reputation for being tough but consistent and fair, earning respect from the drivers in a series where officials were often openly mocked in the past. Cotman also streamlined Champ Car's racing and technical operations, maintaining high standards while cutting costs.
"He came back from the break and tried to get into the spirit of the offseason, but I think his heart just wasn't in it," said David Higdon, Champ Car's vice-president of strategic operations. "Tony did a great job in his many roles, and we obviously need to find someone who can handle the pressure of race control."
Is it time to send Champ Car fans a funeral bouquet? Almost?
Adding this with the Raphael Matos defection also announced today reminds me of a point in “Cloverfield” where a character describes something (my lips are sealed) as “...it’s terrible”, and then describes another something else (seriously, lips very sealed here) as “...it’s terrible, too.” Oh, and I’m definitely not telling you or Champ Car officials how this movie ends.
Jeff,
Blow the whistle and give me a penalty for unnecessary "piling on", but this little snippet from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn't sound too good either:
"For Craig (Gore, partner in Team Australia) and I, we are seriously considering the future," team owner Derrick Walker said in an e-mail Thursday. Walker isn't sure whether his team will field one car or two.
"It's fair to say 2008 is an important year for the series to regain momentum and (establish) a clear strategy where Champ Car is going for it to make business sense to remain in Champ Car."
Sounds like Walker's on the fence. If Australian Winery is yanking the $$$$$, it could be one car. Then CCWS is down to 16 cars.
Wow!! I am really looking forward to the IPS races this year. The number of cars keeps going up and up!! I am happy to say that I witnessed the closest recorded finish in motor sports history at Chicago this past year. I am a Speedway resident, but have traveled to Chicago and Kentucky the last two years to watch the races. I'll tell you what, the Pro Series races are quite a spectacle. Nothing like seeing Indy style cars bumping tires going into turn 1 at IMS. I'm almost as excited for the IPS season as I am for the ICS.
Kudos to TK for his New Years resolution on indycar.com: continue to help the IRL grow!!! Yes people!! It's happening before our eyes. It's a slow process, but us diehards have been watching it unfold for years. I'm lovin' the offseason. I hope P.J. is competitive this year. Did anyone watch the video clip of him in his hotel room during May? What a character. Reminds me of someone you'd see at jackslash.com. Exactly what the series needs.
Will the last Champ car owner/driver please turn out the lights? IRL survived, yiphee! Now I want all the Champ fans to eat Crow!
Champ Car hasn't been in this bad of a way since 2003...but if I had a nickel for every 'CART/CCWS is dead' said over the years, I'd be on a private island somewhere in the Caribbean.
I don't consider Champ Car dead and even if it does actually die, I probably still won't believe it. That's telling of how much we've been told that CC's toast only to see them survive by the skin of their teeth.
chrisestrada,
Sadly, you are correct. When you are wealthy, stubborn, and foolish, you can keep things going for a good long time, past the time when most other people would have called it a day. At this point it's not about racing, it's about pride. As long as the Three Stooges can keep things going, they don't have to admit they're wrong.
chrisestrada and mmack,
exactly!!
AROOGAH! AROOGAH! ABANDON SHIP! ABANDON SHIP!