2014 United Sports Car Championship

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That's what separates us here, different perspectives on the move. I think it'll help every one become more serious and do a better job, you seem to think it's like a link in a chain deciding to explode itself which will lead to a collapse.

Do you really think that's going to happen? They made a sacrifice, they know they're going to get a lot of flak for it, but they did it anyway. It was a really hard decision to make and, again, I applaud their courage to do it in that sense.

Nothing in what they did says "coward" to me, or they they're whiny, they're a smart team and made a smart decision, it's not their fault that they see things going south for themselves if they stay.

If this was F1, and Ferrari finally left after threatening it so-many-times over the years because they weren't satisfied, I'd applaud them too. You need these sort of shake ups to get things going! Same principle behind disaster movies where everyone unites after the big event to work together rather than continue to bicker with each other over petty things and reasons. It's healthy for the sport, you'll see.
I would be more in agreement with your point of view; however, this isn't the first time(and won't be the last time) L5 has bailed. I honestly think IMSA will consider this with a "well that's one less whiner we have to deal with" mentality. Can I blame IMSA for that...in some ways no. I also think barring many teams at once doing what L5 is(like when every DP owner said no to the first draft rules for obvious cost issues), IMSA will do whatever it wants to. I could sit here and hate on IMSA for novels of type, or I can accept its laundry list of faults and hope for the best. After going to the Rolex 24, my confidence level in this series skyrocketed. The Rolex 24 was marketed locally as per friends who live in the Daytona beach area for example is a monumental step in the right direction. If I was in charge, I would let the team owners decide the specs based on budgets because after all, they won't be around long if they choose the US government's business model lol
 
Wow man, seriously? No one's going to care, trust me. If they're a good team and have the money they're more than welcome anywhere. You can rest assured that series organizers won't be seeing their "bail" as a mark against them at all. I'm not sure how the other teams in TUSCC are gonna take the news, but I really doubt they'd just wanna turn on them as friends for leaving, that's middle school dramatics.

You also seem to think that the teams are psychic and knew the issues they were going to face before starting the season, so they're "cowards to a degree" for going in anyway and pulling the plug when they realized things weren't looking ideal. That's just being unfair.

You have no idea how much L5M had to deal with yet pressed on either, you're assuming a whole hell of a lot with the things you're saying here.


Maybe they won't care but teams/series will know that they might be the team who whines. Teams/drivers have known what could go wrong or what some issues might be, we had some of the same bad calls in Grand-Am/ALMS tool; why expect different? I was half joking about other series but if you keep bailing on series or whining alot, don't think people won't pay attention.

How is it unfair? It's my opinion that I think they whined about something (which ok the call made was completely false even if there was contact) but to come out with a press release talking about how you are leaving the series because of alot of stuff from Daytona for the most part; how does that leave a taste in your mouth when NO other teams have bailed that were only running the 24. You see my point now in some of the same people who are having issues, being unfair are trying to find out how to fix it or hope there is green grass up ahead.

You know we wouldn't be having this conversation at all if they hadn't got screwed out of the winners circle for a few hours!
 
The thing that gets me is yes, IMSA shouldn't have put out the yellow that bunched everyone up in the first place, and yes they made a really bad call with the no- contact contact, but they reversed the call and got it right in the end. Sorry for the mistakes and inconvenience, L5, but they got it right in the end. Everyone makes mistakes, and this series is only one race old! I openly admit I have no idea what was going on behind the scenes, but from it's face it seems like a lame move on L5's part. Talk about sore winners.
 
The thing that gets me is yes, IMSA shouldn't have put out the yellow that bunched everyone up in the first place, and yes they made a really bad call with the no- contact contact, but they reversed the call and got it right in the end. Sorry for the mistakes and inconvenience, L5, but they got it right in the end. Everyone makes mistakes, and this series is only one race old! I openly admit I have no idea what was going on behind the scenes, but from it's face it seems like a lame move on L5's part. Talk about sore winners.

Exactly my point!
 
http://www.racer.com/index.php/imsa...n-sentence-for-former-alms-entrant-greg-loles

Interesting... especially considering all the talk about Scott Tucker again..
Loles had huge teams in both grand am and ALMS at different points. I remember one Rolex 24 where there were about 25-30 entries in the GT category, and 14 or so of them were either Farnbacher/Loles or TRG Porsche. He's not the only one to recently be convicted.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131213/grand_am/131219929

This is an interesting point about Tucker though. No one really knows how much hot water he's in
 
A series without Scott Tucker is a series that is slightly better overall.
 
Level 5 leaving is just one of a number of the changes to be expected as the series moves through this transition year.

I wouldn't call them cowards but I also would not applaud them leaving a series. I don't at all understand how this helps NASCAR. I guess I am saying I don't have a reaction other than the series opening race winner leaving the series, which is a bit surprising.

It is unfortunate they have issues with the organization and operation of the series but I think anyone who thought the merging of two very different series would be painless was not realistic.

There will be more change this year but in the end the merger was the only way to save sport-car racing in the US. Some will be happy some won't but this news doesn't have an impact on the series one way or another.
 
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Level 5 leaving is just one of a number of the changes to be expected as the series moves through this transition year.

I wouldn't call them cowards but I also would not applaud them leaving a series. I don't at all understand how this helps NASCAR. I guess I am saying I don't have a reaction other than the series opening team leaving the series which is a bit surprising.

It is unfortunate they have issues with the organization and operation of the series but I think anyone who thought the merging of two very different series would be painless was not realistic.

There will be more change this year but in the end the merger was the only way to save sport-car racing in the US. Some will be happy some won't but this news doesn't have an impact on the series one way or another.
If I had to speculate, my bet would be that their renters jumped ship. L5 is a top notch team, so they more than likely charge top notch prices to renters. Since no one was renting, they were going to be losing money, so they pulled the plug and blamed IMSA. That's all my personal speculation though.
 
A series without Scott Tucker is a series that is slightly better overall.

I wasn't aware he played a major role in the demise of the ALMS
If I had to speculate, my bet would be that their renters jumped ship. L5 is a top notch team, so they more than likely charge top notch prices to renters. Since no one was renting, they were going to be losing money, so they pulled the plug and blamed IMSA. That's all my personal speculation though.

Right, sounds plausible.
 
I'm seriously confused - why is this series going down hill? What happened?
 
I'm seriously confused - why is this series going down hill? What happened?

Well lets face it, its not entirely been well organised from the off. The DP / P2 balancing is a joke. The DW has gone from P1 spec to a P spec and is really there just to boost grids. It's a pretty sorry state when you have the top GTLM (GTE) cars being passed by GTD's, who are in turn passing prototypes. Further proof of how badly it went was that FLM (LMPC) cars beat P2's at Daytona in Quali. I've not even mentioned the massive cost for DP teams with the new aero packages and how long it took to get regs sorted, leading to short notice for the teams.
 
I'm seriously confused - why is this series going down hill? What happened?

No need for confusion. The IMSA series had its opening race at Daytona and that is all. Nothing is going downhill, one team has left the series that is all.
 
No need for confusion. The IMSA series had its opening race at Daytona and that is all. Nothing is going downhill, one team has left the series that is all.

Two, don't forget GAINSCO.
 
They didn't leave though; their problem was just a lack of funds to continue, plus they want to be back next year.
 
They didn't leave though; their problem was just a lack of funds to continue, plus they want to be back next year.

...Which seems like what L5 should've done. "The first year is going to be full of controversy. Let's sit this year out and come back next year."


L5 might have a few hoops to jump through to re-join if they decide to.
 
I wasn't aware he played a major role in the demise of the ALMS


Right, sounds plausible.
L5 has been really skittish in the past. Renters not wanting to pay top dollar when they can get the same ride for less money is more than likely their main cause; however, they've jumped ship multiple times. Last season, they were going to jump ship because they were going to be racing themselves until an 11th hour program from ESM materialized. L5 jumped ship when Tucker didn't get his way with DPs being made pro-am. All of this combined with the fact that Tucker has been doing some shady business and might have the feds on him. We may see Loles, Zogaib, and Tucker all cellmates here soon
 
If I were a team owner, I'd strongly consider moving to a different organization after the carnival we had at Daytona.
If that's the real reason L5 is leaving good on them.
 
If I were a team owner, I'd strongly consider moving to a different organization after the carnival we had at Daytona.
If that's the real reason L5 is leaving good on them.
Unless you're a very well funded team, there's really nowhere else major to go. There's PWC which has the rules set up even more unfair(non-GT3 homologated factory teams allowed in)
 
Does not compute - self destruct sequence initiated :lol:


Seriously, though... :mad: if it's a pain to schedule the race for the fans, I can only imagine what a burden it is for the teams. That's what I'm trying to say - it's such a huge burden to ask that twice in a row like that - for fans and drivers.


We all have other things outside of racing, fans and teams alike.

What's the pain, in this thread alone that is a culmination of fans of sports car racing your the only one to complain about the endurance racing on the schedule. Let me make it easy the Rolex series wasn't sports car racing of the conventional sense, I guess you avoid Daytona or watch the last hour of it and avoid the glen as well.

EDIT:

As for those bashing L5 I agree with what they did and I think more teams should put brass tacks to NASCAR and IMSA to do a better job. I rather see true quality racing then stuffing every one and their mother on the grid because some fans have a warped perception that some how more is better. I also think it would help to speak out from other teams because in the end we don't want yet another series where drivers and owners can't speak their mind in a private or public forum with out being fined.

Stupid calls and rules shouldn't be induced for this idea of "entertainment" at the cost of making a circus show instead of a race. We can obviously all hope for better growth as L5 have done. Also they said they were leaving for now, if you read the entire piece on it they don't see it as a good fit for them right now, but will probably come back in the future.

Also I don't see how L5 staying would have helped NASCAR/IMSA run an operation that from the sounds of it is their ideas above the teams, unless enough teams yell loud enough for a change. L5 is their own group and if they feel this series isn't for them they should have the right to leave without the group of people that seem like hoarders yelling no.
 
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Just read Gainsco sad entry news. At 1st I was mad memo pushed and crashed the 1 and only entry for the year, but I just read the clause they had winning pace and if they did win Gainsco owners would race the full season so overall he had too, or even told to push in the 2014 Daytona 24H
 
Like I said before, the sports-car scene in the US was in jeopardy and the merger was the best idea. It will take a year or so but these growing pains here will be a memory by then.
 
Time to get prepped









Lets pick up where we left off! :sly:👍
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Good lord, the coverage for Sebring is just flat out ridiculous. 3 hours of coverage and that's it for the TV. They're not even showing the finish. Thanks NASCAR.
 
Thanks NASCAR.

Unless NASCAR is in charge of scheduling the Big East basketball championship I really don't see how it's their fault. Plus, it would be in NASCAR's interest to have it televised.
 
Good lord, the coverage for Sebring is just flat out ridiculous. 3 hours of coverage and that's it for the TV. They're not even showing the finish. Thanks NASCAR.

Last I checked, NASCAR doesn't do TV coverage, Fox does.

http://www.racer.com/index.php/imsa...n-sentence-for-former-alms-entrant-greg-loles

Interesting... especially considering all the talk about Scott Tucker again..


Good to see the other greedy crooks getting busted. I'm just waiting for Scott Tucker to get his next.

Two, don't forget GAINSCO.

There's a huge difference between being forced to abandon it due to a massively expensive accident and voluntarily quitting because of a penalty.


Also, can we stop with all the damn Doom & gloom crap? It hasn't even completed a full season and I already see people thinking its "going downhill".
 
I am actually super excited for the rest of the season! Now to figure out what all I need for Petit so I can camp that weekend...
 
Unless NASCAR is in charge of scheduling the Big East basketball championship I really don't see how it's their fault. Plus, it would be in NASCAR's interest to have it televised.

To be fair, with NASCAR's stake in the series I think if they weren't solely responsible for signing with FOX they at least very heavily swayed the decision. When I first heard this I thought it would be great for the series since NASCAR is the only form of motorsports in this country that gets live flag to flag coverage of every race, all 36 of them plus a couple of non points races, but FOX's ineptitude seems to be getting worse and worse. First is the FS1/FS2 mess and then did you here about the coverage of the new knock out qualifying in Phoenix? With FOX's supposed "live" coverage the final round was over before they even began showing it on TV. So it seems FOX is even screwing NASCAR now. Really, regional college b-ball over the premier sports car series in the country, I know it's the US, but seriously :crazy:
 
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