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There's no way Hamilton will come to Indycars

Roger Penske couldn't pay him anywhere near what hes getting now, and the IRL is a struggling series.

If Hamilton decided to go racing state side he would race in NASCAR because it is the USA's biggest motorsport series and most importantly pays the most $$$ in contracts and advertisement opportunities. There's no telling what NASCAR would throw at Hamilton so they could get a competitive big name black driver. Can you imagine what that would do to the ratings?

There's a very small chance of that happening of course, but I don't see why anyone would be attracted to the IRL in it's current condition.

Even Jacques Villeneuve turned down the IRL.

The IRL is not the CART of the early 90s that attracted Nigel Mansel
 
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Why would Hamilton leave F1 for the IRL in its current condition? He didn't say he would leave F1 nor did Mercedes.

Lewis threatened to leave mclaren after getting him into the "lie-gate" scandal and i'm sure he'll consider joining another F1 team before thinking about moving to the USA. Also, no one in the IRL can afford to pay that kind of salary.
 
Earth
There's no way Hamilton will come to Indycars

Roger Penske couldn't pay him anywhere near what hes getting now, and the IRL is a struggling series.

If Hamilton decided to go racing state side he would race in NASCAR because it is the USA's biggest motorsport series and most importantly pays the most $$$ in contracts and advertisement opportunities. There's no telling what NASCAR would throw at Hamilton so they could get a competitive big name black driver. Can you imagine what that would do to the ratings?

There's a very small chance of that happening of course, but I don't see why anyone would be attracted to the IRL in it's current condition.

Even Jacques Villeneuve turned down the IRL.

The IRL is not the CART of the early 90s that attracted Nigel Mansel
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This.

I read that compared to last year's race, the St. Pete race viewer ratings went down 79%, even with Versus promoting their IRL coverage since the middle of last year.

I highly doubt that McLaren will pull out despite the Hamilton incident at Melbourne. They already went through the Stepney-Gate scandal a couple years ago despite paying the $100 million fine and disqualification from the constructors championship, and this incident really didn't/couldn't have affect(ed) the out come of the race.

IMO that incident was just a product of the mass confusion of the revised safety car rules that the FIA enjoys to change every year. Also, McLaren have taken a stand on this issue and already fired Hamilton's engineer who told him to lie to the stewards.
 
From SPEED:
F1: Mclaren Play Down Hamilton “Quit” Story
F1: Mercedes’ Exit Back On The Table
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Please consider that money isn't the only thing professional athletes care about. LH may not make as much money in IndyCar Series, but IndyCar officials, teams, drivers, and fans would treat him better. And the American media would definitely treat him better than the European media. If LH did sign with Team Penske, he would still make millions from his Team Penske salary and his Vodafone/Verizon sponsors. If he sticks around until manufacturer competition returns to the IndyCar Series in 2011/2012, then he could earn even more.

I also said that Mercedes-Benz, not McLaren, threatened to leave F1. And even if they don't leave F1, the idea that Mercedes-Benz would return to America as an IndyCar engine manufacturer isn't far-fetched given the fact that North America is Mercedes-Benz' biggest market, F1 abandoned North America, Mercedes-Benz was a winning IndyCar engine manufacturer, and Ilmor currently designs and builds the current Mercedes-Benz F1 engine and the current Honda IndyCar engine.
 
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VNAF Ace
I also said that Mercedes-Benz, not McLaren, threatened to leave F1. And even if they don't leave F1, the idea that Mercedes-Benz would return to America as an IndyCar engine manufacturer isn't far-fetched given the fact that North America is Mercedes-Benz' biggest market, F1 abandoned North America, Mercedes-Benz was a winning IndyCar engine manufacturer, and Ilmor currently designs and builds the current Mercedes-Benz F1 engine and the current Honda IndyCar engine.
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An excellent example of Mercedes-Benz's work with engines would be Team Penske during the 1994 season. ;) Remember back then?
 
VNAF Ace
Please consider that money isn't the only thing professional athletes care about. LH may not make as much money in IndyCar Series, but IndyCar officials, teams, drivers, and fans would treat him better. And the American media would definitely treat him better than the European media. If LH did sign with Team Penske, he would still make millions from his Team Penske salary and his Vodafone/Verizon sponsors. If he sticks around until manufacturer competition returns to the IndyCar Series in 2011/2012, then he could earn even more.
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I have a hard time connecting Hamilton to anything but F1, he was brought up just for it, he idolised Senna, etc. If he did indeed leave McLaren (highly unlikely in the first place entirely because he was brought up by the team), he would look for another F1 drive, not a completely different race series he presumably never had any interest in. And I'm 100% sure he would find many interested teams in his ability, especially with his recent driving with a bad car.
 
What I feel lets down the IRL is the poor road courses.

Apart from Watkins Glen nothing stand outs for me, maybe I'm being naive but what is the "Eau Rouge" of IRL?
 
VNAF Ace
Please consider that money isn't the only thing professional athletes care about. LH may not make as much money in IndyCar Series, but IndyCar officials, teams, drivers, and fans would treat him better. And the American media would definitely treat him better than the European media. If LH did sign with Team Penske, he would still make millions from his Team Penske salary and his Vodafone/Verizon sponsors. If he sticks around until manufacturer competition returns to the IndyCar Series in 2011/2012, then he could earn even more.
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Well wouldn't it make more sense if MB and Hamilton waited until the IRL approved the manufacturer competition before deciding on moving stateside or staying in F1?

And the fans, to my knowledge appear to like Hamilton (unless if they're in Brazil in Spain) as he's quite a people person and is very humble considering his status as an F1 driver.
 
crooky369
What I feel lets down the IRL is the poor road courses.

Apart from Watkins Glen nothing stand outs for me, maybe I'm being naive but what is the "Eau Rouge" of IRL?
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Bad course selection is one of the IRL's many problems. They need to stop trying to be NASCAR with open wheels, get off the 1.5 mile ovals, and start getting back to what CART/IRL fans want, great roadcourses with the occasional oval that requires some sort of driving skill with openwheel cars (Milwaukee, Phoenix, St. Louis etc)

Another problem is the cars the IRL uses. They were built for oval racing. LMP1/LMP2 cars are just as fast or faster.

Another problem is all the prima donna drivers in the IRL. Drivers like Marco Andretti, Milka Dunno, and Danica Patrick are more celebrities then actual worthwhile drivers.

As for the IRL's Eau Rouge, there's Laguna Seca's Corkscrew, but the IRL doesn't race there. A travesty.

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But you sound as though F1 has great permanent road courses. Modern F1 road courses are boring and are nothing special compared to courses in North America

I say to save the IRL it's going to need an overhaul, and they should start by getting rid of the 1.5 mile ovals and adding Laguna Seca, Road America, Portland, Cleveland and other great North American courses to the Schedule.

Round 1. Sunday, April 5, 2009, 2:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. St. Petersburg GP.
Round 2. Sunday, April 19, 2009, 3:30 PM EDT, VERSUS. Long Beach GP.
Round 3. Sunday, April 26, 2009, 4:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Kansas 300. - Portland
Round 4. Sunday, May 24, 2009, 12:00 PM EDT, ABC. Indianapolis 500.
Round 5. Sunday, May 31, 2009, 3:30 PM EDT, ABC. Milwaukee 225.
Round 6. Saturday, June 6, 2009, 9:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Texas 550.
Round 7. Sunday, June 21, 2009, 1:00 PM EDT, ABC. Iowa 250. - Cleveland
Round 8. Saturday, June 27, 2009, 8:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Richmond 300.
Round 9. Sunday, July 5, 2009, 1:00 PM EDT, ABC. Watkins Glen GP.
Round 10. Sunday, July 12, 2009, 1:00 PM EDT, ABC. Toronto GP.
Round 11. Sunday, July 26, 2009, 5:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Edmonton GP.
Round 12. Saturday, August 1, 2009, 8:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Kentucky 300. - Road America
Round 13. Sunday, August 9, 2009, 1:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Mid-Ohio GP.
Round 14. Sunday, August 23, 2009, 5:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Sonoma GP.
Round 15. Saturday, August 29, 2009, 9:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Chicagoland 300. - Laguna Seca
Round 16. Friday, September 18, 2009, 10:30 PM EDT, VERSUS. Japan 300.
Round 17. Saturday, October 10, 2009, 4:00 PM EDT, VERSUS. Miami 300.
 
I doubt they would remove Chicagoland because of all the historic close finishes.

I'd also love to see indy at circuit gilles villeneuve more than anything
 
To Earth:

The IRL is moving towards a 50/50 mix of oval and road/street racing. Contracts with other tracks prevented the IRL from adding Portland International Raceway, Cleveland, and Road America. Cleveland will most likely be added to next year's schedule since this year is the last year the IRL is contracted to race at Iowa Speedway (which is a 0.875 mile short oval not a 1.5 mile oval). The IRL did try get Phoenix International Raceway back on the schedule, but ISC only offered them a Thursday date during the April NASCAR weekend. Thursday is a horrible day to race so I don't blame the IRL for turning down ISC's ridiculous offer.

As for the cars, the IRL did plan to introduce a new chassis and new engines in 2011 before the recession hit. Due to the recession, the next IndyCar may be delayed til 2012. But the good news is the IRL and 3 manufacturers (Honda, Fiat, VW) want to put turbocharged engines back into IndyCars.
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To TS: The Detroit GP @ Belle Isle has been on the IndyCar Series schedule since 2007. It was also on this year's schedule, but was cancelled since Detroit has been hit hard by the recession. However, Roger Penske (who owns the rights to the Detroit GP) hasn't ruled out a future return.
 
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Autosport
Castroneves acquitted in tax trial

Helio Castroneves has been acquitted of all charges in his tax evasion trial, allowing him to resume his IndyCar Series career with Penske.

The double Indianapolis 500 winner had been accused of failing declare several million dollars of income between 1999 and 2004, but his defence argued that he had not been due to receive the payments until later this year.

The jury had deliberated on the seven charges for almost a week, and had to ask for clarification on several legal issues. Yesterday they informed the judge that they had reached a verdict on two of the charges but remained hung on the others, with Judge Donald Graham urging them to find common ground as soon as possible.

Castroneves has not raced since the IndyCar Series' non-championship event in Surfers Paradise last autumn, with Will Power taking his place in Penske's IndyCar line-up.

But the team has already indicated that Castroneves would immediately reclaim his Penske drive if he was declared not guilty.

He had originally hoped that he might be able to return to the IndyCar Series as soon as this weekend's Long Beach race, for which practice is already underway.
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It's a shame to see Power out of a seat, given his good start to the season in St Petersburg, but I'd rather Helio stay out of jail.
 
Great news! Look forward to seeing him climb a fence soon. 👍
 
VNAF Ace
Roo, Team Penske will run 3 cars for the rest of the year for Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, and Will Power. Helio will be back in the #3 car and Will will move to the #12 car. This is indeed great news!
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Excellent! I did wonder if Penske would run a third car, but couldn't recall having heard anything about it.
 
Dave Lewandowski
Castroneves to race
By Dave Lewandowski - Indycar.com
Friday, April 17, 2009

Team Penske announced that Castroneves will compete in the No. 3 car in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Will Power will drive the No. 12 Verizon Wireless entry for Team Penske.
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Sunday's race will be even better now! :D
 
Roo, Team Penske will run 3 cars for the rest of the year for Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, and Will Power. Helio will be back in the #3 car and Will will move to the #12 car. This is indeed great news!
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I thought Luzco Dragon was running the #12 with Matos?
 

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the streets of Long Beach, California, United States Race Results
Congratulations to Dario Franchitti for winning the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. I hope Will Power's 2nd place finish convinces Verizon and Mobil 1 to sponsor him for the rest of the season. He's now 2nd in the points standings. And how about Andretti Green Racing? Tony Kanaan started 11th and finished 3rd, but now has to let his hair grow out since Dario won. :lol: Danica Patrick started 22nd and finished 4th. She also looked great running with the leaders. Marco Andretti started 19th and finished 6th racing aggressively like his grandfather, Mario, and father, Michael.
 
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So I hear Dario Franchitti won at Long Beach, anything interesting happen? How was Helio in his first race back?

edit: tree'd
 
Congratulations to Dario Franchitti on a job well done. I'm proud of Danica Patrick for finishing high after starting poorly. I wasn't able to see all of the event. But the best story for me was seeing that #3 car with Mr. Helio Castroneves back on track.

Up next, time to run an oval- Kansas this coming weekend!
 
VNAF Ace
Today, Tony Kanaan finished 3rd, but now has to let his hair grow out since Dario won. :lol:
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Any guesses as to what vehicle he'll be arriving at Kansas Speedway in?:sly:
 
JohnBM01
Congratulations to Dario Franchitti on a job well done. I'm proud of Danica Patrick for finishing high after starting poorly. I wasn't able to see all of the event. But the best story for me was seeing that #3 car with Mr. Helio Castroneves back on track.

Up next, time to run an oval- Kansas this coming weekend!
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There is a rerun of the race tommarrow at 3:00 I believe.
 
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