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- JMarine25
After struggling to find sufficient sponsorship monies, IROC's called it quits. Most of the cars and such were auctioned off. It was a very nice concept to put together some of the best drivers to take on the challenge of racing in the States. Some don't care for it much simply because of how it's mostly about American racing with competitors from around the world. How will you remember IROC?
I best remember IROC as being a wonderful concept of putting together some of America's finest racers competiting in American series. First IROC races I've seen were in 1999 with those awesome Pontiac Firebird/Trans-Am machines. The winners proven to be among some of the finest.
I have one other sort of criticism on IROC. Read along. And I wouldn't be surprised if I got on anyone's bad side with the following comments:
The other side of this is... given all the history and the drivers who raced this series, we're not really missing much of anything. I have personally grown issue in American sports in which people and teams are called "World" Champions when not really competing on a world stage. And since when have most series campaigned mostly in America can call themselves (and legitimately so) World Champions? You know, World Championship of Off-Road Racing. World Series (there are players from around the world including America in baseball). You see, there are a world of champions in motorsports. Now let's look at IROC- the INTERNATIONAL Race of Champions. International carries only one significance to the sport- not all drivers competiting are from America. You can say that America is the best country in the world in your opinion, but it doesn't mean that winning a championship like IROC shows you're one of the absolute best in the world. There are F1 champions, grand prix motorcycle racing champions, sportscar and endurance racing champions, even touring car champions. If you ask me, it's not really an international race when the majority of events are on American ovals using American stock cars.
Do you want to know why the Michelin Race of Champions and even the A1GP are highly-regarded as being true international championships? It's because national pride on a true international stage is on the line. National pride is on the line all the time in the A1GP. They race internationally to try to show the rest of the world why they are true champions. They even race at some venues I didn't know exist. I think they raced in Indonesia and South Africa one time. Maybe the prestige of glittering championship resumés aren't there since most of the racers are mostly amateurs and not so much like major racing stars, but what the A1GP has shown is that you can have true international competition without having to spend too much of royalties to race the fastest cars in known space. The Michelin Race of Champions is an even more true race of champions than what IROC has shown. Some of the finest champions in racing all compete in this wonderful event late each year in a variety of displines to show who's the best champions overall. IROC only tested who could pilot a stock car around a superspeedway to victory. The unique format of racing in the Michelin ROC makes this a true showcase of international talent.
Something I always believe is that it's okay to claim being the absolute best and actually proving it among other people. However, to be the very best, you have to prove yourself against people from around the world that specialize in the same field of study that you do. I always have an international perspective about things. Because America isn't the only nation in the world and because I'm part of the world before I'm part of America, I think IROC provided a great challenge for international stars racing in America to showcase why they are the best. The cross-discipline format of IROC made it appealing. Where else could you see a World of Outlaws star mix it up against a talented non-American competitor who races in the IndyCar Series? Don't get me wrong- IROC is a wonderful concept. I would have liked the competition to be campaigned around the world on a variety of courses. I would have liked more international venues and different track types rather than just ovals in a stock car. I don't know if dirt track racing would be a good venture for international stars (dirt tracks meaning short oval tracks covered in dirt). As for the cars themselves, I probably would have liked something besides a stock car.
Part of me says I miss IROC. Another part of me says that IROC isn't really worth missing despite the past history of this series and all the racers that competed in this. Some say that its ties to NASCAR kind of helped kill off the modern IROC series. Jeff Burton mentioned that there were not enough open-wheel stars, not enough international stars, can't put it together very well. So having said all of this... how will you remember IROC?
I best remember IROC as being a wonderful concept of putting together some of America's finest racers competiting in American series. First IROC races I've seen were in 1999 with those awesome Pontiac Firebird/Trans-Am machines. The winners proven to be among some of the finest.
I have one other sort of criticism on IROC. Read along. And I wouldn't be surprised if I got on anyone's bad side with the following comments:
The other side of this is... given all the history and the drivers who raced this series, we're not really missing much of anything. I have personally grown issue in American sports in which people and teams are called "World" Champions when not really competing on a world stage. And since when have most series campaigned mostly in America can call themselves (and legitimately so) World Champions? You know, World Championship of Off-Road Racing. World Series (there are players from around the world including America in baseball). You see, there are a world of champions in motorsports. Now let's look at IROC- the INTERNATIONAL Race of Champions. International carries only one significance to the sport- not all drivers competiting are from America. You can say that America is the best country in the world in your opinion, but it doesn't mean that winning a championship like IROC shows you're one of the absolute best in the world. There are F1 champions, grand prix motorcycle racing champions, sportscar and endurance racing champions, even touring car champions. If you ask me, it's not really an international race when the majority of events are on American ovals using American stock cars.
Do you want to know why the Michelin Race of Champions and even the A1GP are highly-regarded as being true international championships? It's because national pride on a true international stage is on the line. National pride is on the line all the time in the A1GP. They race internationally to try to show the rest of the world why they are true champions. They even race at some venues I didn't know exist. I think they raced in Indonesia and South Africa one time. Maybe the prestige of glittering championship resumés aren't there since most of the racers are mostly amateurs and not so much like major racing stars, but what the A1GP has shown is that you can have true international competition without having to spend too much of royalties to race the fastest cars in known space. The Michelin Race of Champions is an even more true race of champions than what IROC has shown. Some of the finest champions in racing all compete in this wonderful event late each year in a variety of displines to show who's the best champions overall. IROC only tested who could pilot a stock car around a superspeedway to victory. The unique format of racing in the Michelin ROC makes this a true showcase of international talent.
Something I always believe is that it's okay to claim being the absolute best and actually proving it among other people. However, to be the very best, you have to prove yourself against people from around the world that specialize in the same field of study that you do. I always have an international perspective about things. Because America isn't the only nation in the world and because I'm part of the world before I'm part of America, I think IROC provided a great challenge for international stars racing in America to showcase why they are the best. The cross-discipline format of IROC made it appealing. Where else could you see a World of Outlaws star mix it up against a talented non-American competitor who races in the IndyCar Series? Don't get me wrong- IROC is a wonderful concept. I would have liked the competition to be campaigned around the world on a variety of courses. I would have liked more international venues and different track types rather than just ovals in a stock car. I don't know if dirt track racing would be a good venture for international stars (dirt tracks meaning short oval tracks covered in dirt). As for the cars themselves, I probably would have liked something besides a stock car.
Part of me says I miss IROC. Another part of me says that IROC isn't really worth missing despite the past history of this series and all the racers that competed in this. Some say that its ties to NASCAR kind of helped kill off the modern IROC series. Jeff Burton mentioned that there were not enough open-wheel stars, not enough international stars, can't put it together very well. So having said all of this... how will you remember IROC?
