All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

I get what you're saying about Mario, but there's just something special about that man. I don't know if I can fault anybody for him still being more popular than any current driver.

 

For what it's worth, Colton and Connor both started becoming pretty popular baby names in the early 2000s and have just become more popular. I expect we'll see a fair number of American athletes - and other celebrities - with those names come along as those kids come of age.

My wife is intrigued with the international contingent of IndyCar drivers, which makes sense given that we live in, and she was reared in, NASCAR country. But she's not really into racing enough to follow it, just enough to tolerate the small number of races I watch every year and occasionally going with me to the 500.

During the race this year we played a little game of me telling her a driver's name and her guessing where they are from.

Anyway, the sport needs Rossi and Newgarden to succeed - more than Rossi winning a 500 or Newgarden winning the series. I think both have the personalities that they connect with people on a larger scale. And as always, the series needs to do a better job of promoting its champions.

Ferucci impressed me a lot on Sunday. I hope that wasn't just a flash in the pan, or that he doesn't end up in that trap so many other talented young drivers have: not being able to bring enough sponsorship money to the table to hold on to a decent ride.

 

Plus she's hot, which can't be avoided if you're talking TV

 

I guess I am in the minority, but I didn't find Danica helpful at all. I was a big fan of her as a driver and think she's a great ambassador for the sport. If NBC is going to keep her on, I hope somebody is coaching her on getting better and that she's open to it.

I think Dale could be great on IndyCar if he puts in the work to understand it better. He seems like a natural on t.v.

 

How come most of the best Indy Car drivers are not Americans. I am not trying to be xenophobic, just curious.

 

Of the top 10 drivers in points through Detroit, four of them, Newgarden, Rossi, Hunter-Reay and Rahal are American while a fifth, Hinchcliffe, is Canadian. Doesn't seem like a bad ratio to me.

 

A big part of it is that the ladder to get up to a high level in open wheel racing is almost exclusively in Europe. The American drivers who are in IndyCar largely got there by going to Europe as teens.

 

The number of open-wheel drivers produced in Canada has cratered after Player's pulled out.