Rahal withdrawl shows IRL’s lack of commitment
Written by Scott Keller · March 27, 2008
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing has withdrawn Graham Rahal’s entry from Saturday’s IRL race, because they cannot get enough parts to repair the car after a testing crash. Wow, this merger thing is going great so far. And the pro-IRL people used to call Champ Car “bush league”? The IRL has fumbled early in the merger game, and it is unfathomable that they cannot figure out a way to put Graham Rahal in the merged-series opener. These developments reveal an utter lack of commitment on the part of the IRL towards Champ Car teams that are trying to make the jump.
Here’s some key points from the story from SpeedTV.com:
- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing has announced that the team has been forced to withdraw its No. 06 Dallara-Honda to be driven by Graham Rahal at this Saturday’s GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, due to accident damage sustained in Tuesday’s test. Rahal’s car sustained extensive damage when the 19-year-old rookie driver crashed here on Tuesday night during the final day of a two-day test for teams transitioning over from the Champ Car World Series.
- In spite of the best efforts of the IndyCar Series and series suppliers, the team was unable to overcome the shortage of some key parts and the time needed to prepare for Friday’s first practice,” the team said in a press release. “The team is now focused on rebuilding the crashed car for a test at Sebring International Raceway on Tuesday, April 1 and the Honda Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, April 4-6.”
This is absolutely appalling that a shortage of key parts is the culprit. I wonder how many of these parts are sitting in stock on the shelves of the IRL’s top teams? And just imagine if all the teams had tried to make the jump from Champ Car. It is plausible, given the latest details, that the IRL wouldn’t have had enough parts to put together cars for even one more team. If they don’t have enough parts to cobble together an entry for one crashed car, then the situation is worse than we thought.
Many fans (including myself) have been critical of teams like Minardi and Forsythe for not making the jump to the IRL, but the Rahal story may reveal why these teams chose to stay home. They must have seen the writing on the wall about the equipment shortage. If I was NHL, I’d withdraw Justin Wilson as well and save his car for St. Petersburg. The IRL supply chain can’t handle one crash, let alone two crashes.
This has to be one of the most unprofessional bungles I’ve ever seen in auto racing. Is there any question why American open-wheel racing is as unpopular as ever?
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You’ve got to be kidding. This deal came together a month ago and the fact that NHL can not get some parts does not reflect badly on the IRL. The suppliers have to support about 10 more cars then they had expected to, and the fact that only 1 car will not make the race is a testement to how well they are keeping up with the new demand. Lighten up and give this league a chance.
Don’t be a —- Scott!!! I am more than sure that some parts are in short supply after the IRL gave almost everything in their current inventory to the Champ Car teams. Please read the story again, “the time needed to prepare for Friday’s first practice”.
I guess the IRL didn’t have enough chewing gum and duct tape in their inventory. Once a crapwagon, always a crapwagon.
Tony George got caught opening his wallet and his mouth before his brain caught on to what he was doing.
If TG had just waited another season Chumpcar would have filed bankruptcy again and he could have bought everything at firesale prices.
But instead he overpaid for a useless series with no assets and very little credibilty.
Now we have one series with few additions except rookie drivers who don’t know when to push a car or when to wad one up.
I’m sure NHL racing knew of the shortage of parts and knew of the consequences of trashing a car this early in the season.
Well at least Chumpcar made a bundle on this “merger”.
I hope someday we will see a real racing series, the way racing used to be before CART was formed by some renegade team owners and Mario Andretti with his sponsors. We’ve all seen that team owners running the series will never be the correct way to operate prodessionally.
Maybe if Tony Gorge rings up his good friends at the FIA (the Bernice and Maxine show) for some much needed guidance we will someday get racing the way God intended, ruled with an iron fist and squeezing the bollocks out of the track owners.
Here’s an alternative theory: Based on Rahal’s prior oval track experiences in the IRL (one wreck after another) maybe Rahal dumped the car on purpose to avoid a race crash.
And why should any pre-merger IRL team strip their spare supplies to help ANY of the former champ teams, only to leave themselves without spares? Ridiculous I say.
Nobody expected this season to be a bed of roses but some thorns are beginning to show already.