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The ChangeoverBy Anne Proffit
As Joni Mitchell said, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone,” and I’m starting, already, to miss the sublime talents of (at least) three drivers who have been at the top of their games in the North American open wheel arena. Say goodbye to Sebastien Bourdais, Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr, among others.
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Think about it: It has been so easy to take someone like Bourdais for granted: since 2003, he went out on any given day and gave everything he had. Losing was never an option for Bourdais; he always looked ticked off when he wasn’t on the top step of the podium. Throughout five seasons and an unprecedented four consecutive championships, Bourdais’ race- and pole-winning ratios are simply amazing at 42.4 percent, with 31 poles and wins in only 73 starts. Wow.
Some might attribute Bourdais’ records to his formidable team and yes, the Newman/Haas/Lanigan crew deserves as lot of credit for preparing a car capable of winning every time out. They’ve done their homework and it shows. But it takes more than that: their driver has to have “it” and Sebastien sure does.
Great in the car and one with the crew – it doesn’t get any better, does it? Sebs has already shown his mettle in F1 testing with Scuderia Toro Rosso this fall, and I think he’ll be fine there. Certainly, Bourdais will have the thoughts and prayers of all American open wheel racing fans, whether they’re followers of CCWS or IRL, behind him.
The same can be said of the No. 27 Canadian Club crew and their driver, Dario Franchitti. They did the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series “double” this year, taking a long merited victory at the Indianapolis 500, overcoming three disasters – a pair of highlight reel end-over gymnastics and being politically assassinated by one of three Andretti Green Racing team bosses – to help their driver earn his first American championship. Franchitti, it might be recalled, was Honda’s longest-tenured driver until the close of this season.
There was a lot of emotion in that championship as the word was out at the end of the IRL year – Franchitti was going to NASCAR. A kick in the stomach, just as the news that Sam Hornish Jr. was leaving after earning three championships and the coveted Indy 500 title he joined Team Penske to take.
The fact that the IRL didn’t celebrate Franchitti’s title at the Chicagoland Speedway start/finish line – Racing president Brian Barnhart was nowhere to be seen – said a lot about the lack of class in that group.
Franchitti has been racing open-wheel in the United States since 1997, but he came from a Mercedes-Benz junior team, specializing in touring cars. So this move is not totally off the wall and pretty much gives this Scot a chance to revive some of his old skills in a new environment. The travel will be heavy – he’ll have to take it. Hopefully his father George will be there with him, even though there’s no lollipop to hold.
Hornish Jr., the IRL’s poster boy has done it all, now that he got the elusive Indy 500 title last year along with his third League championship. The road courses have been a problem for Sam, but he appeared to be getting with the program as of late, so you’ve got to wonder if that was part of the reason for his change?
The pace of the Sprint Cup series will be quite different for the Ohio boy and his soon-to-be enlarged family. Wife Crystal will probably have to be absent during the first few races of their child’s life, but you never know. Many racing progeny go to the track from birth – and with a motor coach available as a getaway home – perhaps that will be the glue that helps Sam cope with the difficulties of getting on a NASCAR Sprint Cup grid – with or without any special assistance from his team owner, Roger Penske.
Open wheel racing on the North American continent continues to be in disarray and the departure of these three gents for greener pastures is disheartening, as is the news that Paul Tracy might be dismissed from his position with Gerald Forsythe’s Champ Car team. Should Tracy not accept a lower fee to race – after signing a long contact with Forsythe last year – there’s no telling what the result will be, particularly in his home nation of Canada.
The Canadians have already “lost” rising star Michael Valiante to American closed wheel racing, together with former CART and F1 star Jacques Villeneuve. To have Tracy off a CCWS grid – or in a lessened position – would be devastating to Champ Car. Would PT accept an IndyCar Series position? Even more important, would one be offered?
After the tough, protracted decision that denied Tracy his 2002 Indianapolis 500 victory, I’d be surprised if Paul accepted a ride in the IRL. Still, it could happen, but who is ready to take the chassis rebuilds that PT would need with his “take no prisoners” approach???
Open wheel racing in North America will continue to decline, just as NASCAR will, in an era where diminished returns are the norm. The American airwaves have been over-saturated with NASCAR offerings, leaving little space for anything else. How can fans know where and how to find their rising stars if it’s not on a NASCAR grid? Or will all of the rising and current open wheel stars be on a NASCAR grid, sooner than later?
(c) 2007 Anne Proffit
PaddockTalk Perspective
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