CART IndyCar rivaled F1

Who would have ever thought this guy might be designing yachts someday

A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, At one time IndyCar, under CART rule rivaled F1 in popularity and annual sponsor dollars. So successful were IndyCars under CART that Bernie Ecclestone would badmouth CART every week for fear it would go worldwide and displace F1.

And it attracted the best drivers in the world and some of the best engineers. Who is that engineer for Bobby Rahal in 1984 (top right)?

Who is that engineer for Mario Andretti sitting on his sidepod in Nazareth in 1987 at Nazareth?

In both photos it is Red Bull F1 design great Adrian Newey, who thought CART IndyCar was challenging enough in the mid-80s to work in.

Despite all of its egotistical car owners that hurt the CART series, the series was a true testament to what IndyCar could be today (open competition and engineering genius) had Tony George not taken the Indy 500 away from it and then spent a family fortune doing everything in his power to undermine and kill it.

Let history show how one misguided man can destroy an entire sport because he thought he had a 'Vision' (remember Vision Racing) and he was above the sport, he was IndyCar (recall his slogan "I am Indy"). So instead of IndyCar being up there with F1 today, we have an IndyCar series barely hanging on for survival.

Would an Adrian Newey come work in the spec series IndyCar today? Absolutely not. When IndyCar became a spec series under Hulman George family rule, fueled by team owners who took the free handouts (money – voodoo economics money) and switched to the IRL, it was all downhill from there. To all those who supported Tony George's vision of destruction, revel in what you have done. Look in the mirror and know you too were the problem, not the solution. And if you want to punch your face in the mirror, go ahead. You deserve it. Steve H.