But who really won the war, and does it matter?
Yeah, I suppose I’m the only one who cares
about this topic? But since I lived thru it and its my Blog. I can Gory well
scribble about what I want!
Although thirty years is a long ways to go in
the Wayback’ machine, and my recollections are Hazy at best…
As what most prominently stands out, beside
that scourge simply known as TG’. Whom I preferred calling Ronnie or ‘lil
Napoleon, aka Tony George forever ruining Open wheel Racing, with the creation
of the Indy Racing League and that infamous 25/8 rule! And yes, I’m well aware
it takes two to Tango.
Since All I really recollect now is that
tag-line of CART having All the Stars, IRL All the Cars! Or something to that
effect. Which one must say bit CART in the Toosh when having a massive pile-up
on lap one of its competing race, Butterfingers!
Although I do recall a T-Shirt which one side
said This is your Brain. (CART) And the other side saying This is your Brain on
Drugs! (IRL) A takeoff of that infamous Just Say NO to Drugs era…
Supposedly Anton Hulman George didn’t like the
escalating costs and lack of American drivers in His namesake’s race. And as
early as 1989 proposed a new racing series, which didn’t progress pas the
planning stage.
George than became a Board member of
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) between 1992-94 before resigning, to
ultimately create the Indy Racing League. (IRL)
The IRL would begin in 1996 wit a three race
schedule, with the Indianapolis 500 its showpiece. And since the new, normally
aspirated “lower” priced racecars wouldn’t be ready until 1997, older CART
machinery (circa 1991-95) was allowed for the inaugural season.
The final straw in what became irrevocably
known as The Split was the invoking of the 25/8 rule. With the top 25 drivers
in IRL points guaranteed starting places in the Indy 500, and eight “At large’
open entries for all competitors, including CART.
1996
Indianapolis 500 Rookies (17)
Michele Alboreto, Robbie Buhl, Buzz Calkins,
Mark Dismore, Paul Durant, Raccin Gardner, Joe Gosek, Jim Guthrie, Davey
Hamilton, Scott Harrington, Richie Hearn, Michel Jourdain Jr, Brad Murphy,
Johnny O’Connell, Tony Stewart, Johnny Unser, Fermin Velez.
Reportedly, there were 49 entries, albeit I
could only come up with 44. With 17 rookie drivers being the third most ever,
only eclipsed by 19 rookies in the 1919 and 1930 races. With former CART
entrant Hemelgarn Racing and driver Buddy Lazier winning “the Greatest
Spectacle in Racing”.
CART boycotted the race, with the exception of
two teams, i.e.; Galles Racing and Walker Racing participating. Although both
teams sent backup drivers instead. With Galles running Davy Jones and Walker
utilizing Mike Groff.
The Cars of
the 1996 Indy 500 Part 1
CART Drivers at the rival U.S. 500 had 109 starts
and 5 wins amongst entrant vs. 75 starts and one win for the Indy 500 field,
the lowest since 1932. And further highlighting this disparity; CART Drivers
had 127 wins and seven National Championships vs. IRL Drivers having a paltry
14 wins and no National Championships.
27 Drivers in nine rows of three took the green
flag at the U.S. 500 held on the same day as the 80th running of the
Indianapolis 500 at Michigan International Speedway, with Jimmy Vasser the
eventual winner.
1996
U.S. 500 Rookies (7)
Mark Blundell, Fredrik Ekblom, Juan Manuel
Fangio II, Greg Moore, Jeff Krosnoff, Eddie Lawson, Alex Zanardi.
Yet I suppose one could say that the IRL
effectively won the war the following year, when CART raced at Gateway on
Saturday, choosing not to go head-to-head with the Indianapolis 500 for the
remainder of the arduous, stupid 12 year split!
25
Years Ago: CART used the U.S. 500 to take down the Indy 500
Chip Ganassi Racing was the first CART team to
race at the Speedway in 2000, when rookie Juan Pablo Montoya waxed the field.
And I still recall crowing over how the first seven drivers finishing were CART
drivers, albeit not 100% correct…
Marlboro Team Penske joined the field the
following year, and the floodgates essentially opened. With Penske winning
three consecutive Indy 500’s.
CART further shot itself in the foot with the
Firestone Firehawk 600 at Texas Motor Speedway having to be cancelled just
hours before race’s start in 2001. As drivers had complained of dizziness,
along with experiencing vertigo and blackouts due to the excessive G-Forces
their racecars generated at over 230mph upon the 1.5-mile oval.
Penske was the first major CART team to leave
for the rival IRL in 2002, after having won the CART Championship the previous
two years.
Then seven years into The Split, the landscape
truly shifted. As both Honda and Toyota moved to the IRL, along with CART teams
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, Team Rahal and Mo Nunn Racing.
I tend to recall that Chris Pook, the creator
of the Grand Prix of Long Beach and then CEO of CART spent $100 million before
filing for Bankruptcy at season’s end!
As the miserable Split should have ended then,
but Tony george’s bid was still deemed “Hostile” and the Champ Car World Series
(CCWS) arose out of the ashes of CART. With Gerald Forsythe, Paul Gentilozzi
and Kevin Kalkhoven as its owners.
CCWS, or what soon became Chump Carz’ to Mwah
soldiered on a further four seasons before finally, mercilessly The Split ended
with Mergification in February 2008 with that year’s unified IndyCar series.
Then the strangest thing occurred in 2019.
Ironically being the 40th anniversary of CART’s inaugural season.
Tony George sold His beloved Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, IndyCar series and IMS Productions to Roger Penske for an undisclosed
amount. With the irony being that El Capitano’, nee Roger Penske had been one
of CART’s primary founders…
For those interested in a more detailed examination of The Split. May I recommend John Orovitz’s Indy Split: The Big Money Battle that nearly Destroyed Indy Racing book, which hopefully I can read one day.
