9:32 "And in 2001, Alex Zanardi suffered career-ending injuries." In case anyone was wondering what nascarman was meaning by "career-ending", the man lost *BOTH OF HIS DAMN LEGS* in a crash where the front of his car got sheared off by another. The man's now a paracyclist on the Italian Special Olympics hand-cycling team. The guy also had crashed into a truck while training in 2020 and was put into a coma, but came back out of the hospital in December of 2021. The dude is a tank in human form.

@diogosilva27

Жыл бұрын

Also technically his motorsport career has not ended in 2001. He ran touring cars and GTs. The cars were adapted but he ran very competitively against regulars in these series

@nathanstroud2223

Жыл бұрын

I didn't hear anything about his most recent recovery, so it's nice to have some closure on that.

@mitchell-wallisforce7859

Жыл бұрын

@@nathanstroud2223 Zanardi definitely cast invincibility on himself at some point. I, too, am glad to hear the spell is still working.

@luisvaldes1568

Жыл бұрын

THANK YOU!

@RBZENKI

Жыл бұрын

He raced at the daytona 24 with modified hand pedals too. It was awesome to watch his onboard live while he drove

Think Indycar is on the upswing. Some of the best racing and talent America has to offer!

@nolancain8792

3 жыл бұрын

Even I’ve started watching more of it. We just need early 90’s competition.

@dibslin985

3 жыл бұрын

Best racing, my ass. IndyCar racing hasn't been good since 2017. You know, back when they could PASS.

@theman13451

3 жыл бұрын

No it isn't. They don't have the big names anymore. The cars and the engines have been bastardized to the point they hardly look or sound recognizable to anything 10 or 12 years ago. Safety is a massive upgrade.. but the tracks and names that helped make indycar what it was in it's peak in the early mid 90's, are long gone. Sadly that isn't going to change unless you get a transformative star that breaks out soon

@joshandlena13

3 жыл бұрын

@@theman13451 sooo dixon is a joke to you?

@nolancain8792

3 жыл бұрын

@@theman13451 honestly, we need engine and chassis competition and have the 230+ speeds for most cars.

If IndyCar kept the type of schedule it had in 2010, the series would be near perfection. Obviously swap some tracks in and out, but the balance was great.

These 4-part splits of Indycar is just beautiful, informative, emotional. It's worth the time.

@ravBuffalo

3 жыл бұрын

This series is a one-sided love affair for the IRL and Tony George... if Tony George was so good, why did the family sell the IMS and Indy Car to Penske?

@-kajczy7659

2 жыл бұрын

you speak from my heart man ;)

@SilentSpades

2 жыл бұрын

@@ravBuffalo maybe if CART didn't self destruct, the series would be a CART love affair.

Holy! Brock, Nascarman once again knocking it out of the park! Purely visually its hard to see the late 90s IRL cars side by side with the CART cars and not see it as a B-type series. That racing though, WOW. There is definitely something to be said about how the IRL developed real oval talent. These days the drivers don’t race ovals enough to pull off something like that. I don’t know if I love the pack racing now knowing how it all ended.. I still think about that 2015 race at Fontana though. Seeing Dan now hurts. A full-stop at the end of an era. RIP Dan Wheldon. It can’t be understated how hard Tony George tried to make his idea work. As absurd as it sounds, US Open Wheel Racing might not exist today if he hadn’t. 2003 was definitely that turning point and I’ve always seen it as the ‘start’ of the healing. The comparison to Nascar popularity is interesting. I believe a lot of net-new racing fans make up some of that difference. Racing Sports as a whole BLEW UP in the late 90s - early 2000s and many new fans started watching racing. Indy/Cart definitely lost fans, but I believe Nascar gaining fans make it look even worse than it was. I used to be upset about the PT finish, but… knowing who he is these days its tough to feel bad. Thank god for the Safer Barrier. Every racing series in the world is in debt to that amazing development. I think the series is as popular as its been in the last 10 years. Will we ever reach 1993 Mansell Mania ever again? Probably not. But I think Indycar is established as a serious racing series and deserves it spot in the top 2 series of the United States.

@TheTotallyRealXiJinping

3 жыл бұрын

Man I remember that race like it was yesterday. The second I saw that fireball in the catch fence my heart sank and all my complexion completely drained. Those few hours were the longest of my life besides the 2001 Daytona 500.

@mitchell-wallisforce7859

3 жыл бұрын

I say give the series time. A lotta time. If it plays its cards right it could get back where it was in the mid-to-late 90's or at least close.

@francisnimick8171

3 жыл бұрын

Tony George is the person who almost killed the sport. Saying it wouldn't exist without him is ludicrous.

@matthewscott8692

3 жыл бұрын

@@francisnimick8171 Tony and the CART owners tried to kill the sport. It kills me when I see someone solely blaming Tony George for the split. CART got very greedy and would've fell off at some point. Two wrongs don't make a right per say.

@Bitterman5868

3 жыл бұрын

@@matthewscott8692 and now you have Roger Penske who played the Long Game against the two and won. Unfortunately people nowadays developed a unholy hate against Oval tracks due to F1 brainwashing paired with Safety Issues, which is not only affecting IndyCar but also NASCAR, but that is already paired with the Inept idiots ruling them after the france family got out, even EuroNASCAR got more relevancy of late. also the Entire IZOD era was cursed.

Ive never seen Rusty Wallace that humble.

One more thing, about the international races. I always loved when Champ Car went to other countries. Especially as Europeans and Australians really seemed to enjoy watching them. It was just pretty cool that the American series was becoming international, too many people don't think beyond the states. I want the series that represents where I live to be international, and have the best drivers, not just be a national series everyone ignores.

@theman13451

3 жыл бұрын

One of my favorite international races was always Surfers Paradise. The other was Twin Ring circuit

@paulo9504

3 жыл бұрын

Outside the North American continent, Surfers was hands down the best race for CART, imo.

@theman13451

3 жыл бұрын

@@paulo9504 agreed. I loved the 93 and 94 races.

@dcdude345

3 жыл бұрын

I really hope they can add more ovals and have international races that make economic sense

@yellow_x522

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not American but I wouldn't ignore the series if it was only taking place in America.

Man, already 10 years from the DW fatal crash? I remember that day as yesterday, the feeling and the crying inside. Those couple of weeks with Simoncelli was painful for Motorsport

Correction, Brock. The IRL cars were slower, but they were not safer, at least not at first. No deaths, but a lot of people sent to the hospital. The early cars had very hard gearboxes that wouldn't obsorb energy. Sharp, Salazar, Guthrie all suffered major injuries. Glad they got those fixed.

@simrigpc27b12

3 жыл бұрын

Safe is that last term i would ever use to describe the IRL.

@pulishem

3 жыл бұрын

Remember Sam Schmidt as well

@SwineBrothers

3 жыл бұрын

@@simrigpc27b12 So many drivers put in the hospital, and so many seasons ended.

@GregBrownsWorldORacing

3 жыл бұрын

Buddy Lazier?

@SwineBrothers

3 жыл бұрын

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing That was before the IRL cars came in. He was talking about the 97 IRL cars, saying they were slower and safer. They were slower, but not safer.

Ironically the IRL/INDYCAR now has more in common with CART than ever before. The only difference is the lack of multiple chassis manufacturers. Foreign born drivers mostly dominate the series (Except for Newgarden), most of the races are held on former CART road courses, and the series is as hard to be competitive in for a small team as ever. Not saying that it is a bad thing that this is the case, but all of the reasons for the split have returned. And now that sponsorship is getting harder to find, I expect that it will be even harder for the smaller teams to survive. And with NBC Sports shuttering at the end of the year INDYCAR is going to be looking for a new tv package as well.

@Altamonteric

3 жыл бұрын

I'd argue that there isn't really that foregin domination later and the American class in the series the best they've ever had considering Newgarden is the star they need to promote the hell out of and Colton Herta is really, really great as well. I think once Dixon calls time on his career it will be very interested to how the field re-aligns. A lot of Indycar's issue now a day has to do with racing world as a whole rather than self-inflicted stuff. (Exception being they still can't figure out to market themselves and do from time-to-time make dumb decisions on things)

@alexthesniper1952

3 жыл бұрын

Indycar is nowhere near Cart buddy. Single Spec Chassis is IRL to the Max. Cart was a no rules engineering dream.

@roeboat72

3 жыл бұрын

@@alexthesniper1952 Honesty a CART style engineering rule set would likely be unsustainable in today’s world. You forget Cart has significant sponsorship from both tobacco and alcohol companies that allowed many of those teams the budgets to engineer their chassis a lot more. Much of that sponsorship is gone now, and the single spec chassis rules set we have no is partially a consequence of that. If you had a no rule design to it all that would change is the top 2-3 teams would have more engineered cars while everyone else was using last years cars or the basic chassis as they wouldn’t have the money to develop their cars. Were the Cart cars superior? In many metrics yes! But unfortunately today’s economics is a lot different than early 1990s economics.

@alexthesniper1952

3 жыл бұрын

@@roeboat72 I still prefer Cart I don't like the idea of single spec chassis, if I wanna watch that I'll just go watch Nascar. Cart was the opposite of that and that is the reason why I just started watching tons of old cart races for the first time in my life because it was a no rules fest, I appreciate the effort cars like T-Rex or the 94 Penske Cars did for the engineering aspect of the sport.

@extragoogleaccount6061

3 жыл бұрын

Honest question: If the cars and engines are spec, why can't smaller teams compete?

What irony! Tony George spend family´s fortune to fund series that at the end had less american flavour than the original CART in early 90s and he had to sell the series and the track to the person they blamed in early 90s for what CART had become - Roger Penske. And RP went from most hated man in Indianapolis to most beloved because he literally saved the sport and the Indy500 in covid year... I really hope he'll be around for many years because if there is a man who can grow this sport, it's Roger Penske. We can only imagine where IndyCar would be right now, if George instead of starting IRL decided to sell the IMS to Penske, CART or somebody else in early 1990s....

@andreafossati2147

7 ай бұрын

Totally agreed.

That Michael Schumacher quote is depressing in hindsight.

@TheFoyer13

3 жыл бұрын

Definition of irony.

@23GreyFox

3 жыл бұрын

Well F1 had 20 years without a single death.

@mortenfrosthansen84

3 жыл бұрын

There's a difference between calculated risks and unforeseeable... Although it might be a lifestyle and a dream for some, being a race driver is also a job. Consider being Walter Rohrl... he just said, "nah I don't like to jump, I don't like the mud so I won't go. Not many places you can pick your duties

You can talk shit about how bad the Chase/Playoffs has been to Nascar and it's popularity. It doesn't even hold a candle to all the toxic decisions leading up, during, and after the Indycar split.

@alanluscombe8a553

2 ай бұрын

They are totally different problem. Nascar is far too gimmicky. I love all racing including nascar I try to be positive and I watch nascar but the points and playoff system is a joke. You can win 35 races in a row and have an engine problem last race and lose the title to someone with no wins and not even real consistent pace all year. That’s a problem

Watching Dan Wheldon's Interview before the vegas crash makes me emotional

I actually really enjoyed this 4 part series. It’s given me a new perspective on Indycar as a whole. I gained a whole lot of knowledge about it too, and found it fascinating. Thanks Brock for sharing this series with all of us

Entertaining, informative and deeply respectful. Thank you.

RIP dan wheldon can't believe it has been 10 years. I think 2021 will be a bumper year for the sport romain has brought a lot of f1 fans to the sport

@paulo9504

3 жыл бұрын

No one, I mean no one, brought as many F1 fans to Indy Car that Nigel Mansell did in 1993. RoGro will not have that much impact on moving the needle for Indy Car, I predict.

@aidengraves7737

3 жыл бұрын

@@paulo9504 In an alternative timeline, imagine if Senna actually made the jump in 1994.

@paulo9504

3 жыл бұрын

@@aidengraves7737 Actually, imagine Senna and Mansell in CART in 1993. Senna tested with Penske at Firebird following the 1992 season and was out of contract with McLaren at the time. 1993 Indy 500 would have been off the hook even more for sure.

@TheFoyer13

3 жыл бұрын

I can't wait for the "ericsson hit me" memes in indycar this year lol

@timmyb7734

3 жыл бұрын

I'll think you will find Romain will flip NASCAR fans who watch for crashes to IndyCar

These 4 videos are really good !!!! However I think this part 4 could be two episodes , one from 96-2003 and the other explaining reunification

Michael Schumacher "I'm not going to risk my life to have a good time" -goes skiing-

@mortenfrosthansen84

3 жыл бұрын

That's just plain dumb.. You risk your life, every time you go out. Perhaps even just staying in your home, at some areas of the world. Guessing you're not that old, so perhaps don't know the difference of foreseeable risks and unforeseeable. Otherwise you must try to make your life better. Change come when you know your problems and accept them, instead of ignoring it. You're only letting yourself down. Humor is a great way of dealing with difficult situations.. sorry to say, but you're not funny

@mvd4436

3 жыл бұрын

Schumacher was a dirty driver

I will always wonder what would had happened if Continental became the official and exclusive tire supplier of IndyCar. Just one of those "What If" sort of scenarios...

I've been looking for the document that would explain the reasons behind that split for some time and I found it. Great job. Over 100 minutes of good documentary. Thank you Nascarman and Brock

@Mario_Ramirez

3 жыл бұрын

There's a book about it coming out next month.

Well done on this four part series. I could watch over and over again and still wouldn't get tired of it.

Watched the first part of this series like months ago and finally got around to watching the final part now. Thanks so much for this, was a really fascinating and insightful look into The Split.

Great series. I was never really an Indy fan, but remember vaguely the back and forth between the series over the years with no real idea of what went down. You did a great job or laying it all out for a feller like myself. You narration is also top notch.

Man as an European F1 fan who's been really interested about Indycar really only since last year, these kinds of videos are fantastic. I knew about the split but this 4-parter is amazing. Great great videos! Thank you!

In that newspaper Article called "Why allow an appeal if you can't appeal? There's a paragraph that starts [SNORT] You had to be there.

@DoctorAustin

2 жыл бұрын

Meanwhile, Helio wins his fourth Indianapolis 500 and cart is still dead.

@GregBrownsWorldORacing

2 жыл бұрын

@@DoctorAustin Like Generalissimo Francisco Franko.

@DoctorAustin

2 жыл бұрын

@@GregBrownsWorldORacing He's been dead a bit longer but your point is well taken.

Man this 4 part series was so well done. I tip my hat to you for the time and focus. I'll say it again this was a beautiful series congratulations.

Bravo @nascarman History. This has been a very fun series to watch. I grew up as a CART fan watching and going to races. Those were some of the best times I can remember.

Thanks for sharing! I am honestly a NASCAR fan first and foremost, but I also enjoy watching IndyCar Series races. I definitely think it was cool for CART (and later Champ Car) to include international races, as it gave some of their international drivers a chance to run on home soil.

Met Tracy's parents after the 500 controversy and they said they were privately told that because Helio was on the inside he was closer to the finish line even with Tracy being ahead side to side and that was why he was counted as being the leader. It was 100% political.

@DoctorAustin

3 жыл бұрын

Like his parents are going to admit Helio won.

@Bitterman5868

3 жыл бұрын

Paul Tracy's Nickname will always be Mr Partybreaker for obvious reasons.

Thank you Tony George for getting the ball rolling on the SAFER Barrier Saved so many lives

@GregBrownsWorldORacing

3 жыл бұрын

But Riddle me this? Why isn't it all the way around the Speedway? Pocono, Talladega, Daytona are 100% coverage...

@NewmanRacing

3 жыл бұрын

Indy is narrower than those tracks so space is at a premium. The chances of a high G impact are a lot lower on a flat straight compared to a banked corner.

@benmalec3258

3 жыл бұрын

Although I was firmly on the ChampCar side of the fence, the SAFER barrier was a huge step forward and I appreciated George's efforts to bring F1 back to the US.

@Mario_Ramirez

3 жыл бұрын

It's the only thing that I can give him credit for.

@GregBrownsWorldORacing

3 жыл бұрын

@@NewmanRacing Weak, but that's probably is the reason!. You can get hooked anywhere on the track. I believe they should spend the money. I still worry about a Krosonoff style wreck around the pylon too.

This guy I tell you just when you think he’s done BAM comes out with another banger. I have to thank you for this series I was always interested in the split but could never get the whole story until now

Excellent series, thanks for putting this together. Nostalgic and emotional at the same time. My father passed away a few years ago and is the one who got me into all forms of racing. This brought up many fond memories of watching Indycar/Cart with him over the years.

Another brilliant installment. Amazing job and thank you so much

What a great series of videos. Thank you so much for producing this !

The tides starting to turning on AOWR Civil War... This series should be included as an essential introduction for new IndyCar Series fans, to learn more about the sport we love

To answer the question, maybe. Now that Roger Penske is the definitive man on control of the series and track, I think it can become popular again, but they need to reclaim a lot of tracks that defined the CART era. Tracks like Michigan Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile. Penske used to own Michigan, and the Milwaukee Mile is up for grabs. Use the State Fair grounds to make an Indyfest where people can come meet and greet current and former drivers. Bring in some rides and food vendors. Make a huge event out of it. I think they need to start thinking outside the box to grow the sport. So much competition as far as entertainment goes these days. You need to give people more incentive to come out of their house and down to the track. Especially these days.

Excellent series. A totally needless civil war killed American open-wheel racing. Now Formula 1 is on a growth march in America that threatens to snuff out any chance of IndyCar recovering.

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

It's not going to snuff out IndyCar, but Drive To Survive is bringing more people to every race series and attendance/ratings have been increasing at a faster rate.

I've enjoyed this series, great documentation of one of my favorite sports. I was always on the CART side of the fence, but was lucky enough to attend the 1996 Indy 500 which was still an amazing event to witness in person as a young teenager.

Renna's crash might be the most horrific ever and it's dumb luck that it didn't happen in front of an audience.

@joshuacoombs1955

3 жыл бұрын

wot actually happened ??

@SAVikingSA

3 жыл бұрын

@@joshuacoombs1955 he went airborne, missed the wall completely, went through the catchfence and impacted the grandstand

@joshuacoombs1955

3 жыл бұрын

@@SAVikingSA how on earth did he go over the wall ??

@SAVikingSA

3 жыл бұрын

@@joshuacoombs1955 IIRC he had a snap spin on corner entry and air got under the car. got high enough that he missed the concrete part and just punched straight through the fence. there's pictures online but look for them at your own risk. the story is far more graphic than I'm sharing here

@SAVikingSA

3 жыл бұрын

it's one of the most covered up auto crashes ever, because like I said originally, had it happened during quals or the race and there would have been a national tragedy on par with Le Mans in 1955

I loved this series!!!! great job!

Fantastic series! Great work on these.

Really enjoyed this four part series, thanks! Interesting how the series has almost gone back to a CART style schedule with roads and less ovals. And you could even say the cars resemble those late 90s CART cars in a more modern fashion.

Thanks for a detailed story on the whole split. I havent really found something this informative and in-depth about the subject. Liked and sub'd 👍

Amazing job, thanks a. Lot for the hard work put on the videos. Really love your videos. I wish you would continue with the “who was” type of videos, talking about perished drivers

Thanks for making this series. Really well made.

Been loving this series, started watching indycars right after it

indycar is slowly but surely returning to the international spotlight it once achieved

@gchampi2

3 жыл бұрын

Funnily enough, by going to road courses & bringing in overseas drivers...

@Christopher_TG

3 жыл бұрын

By being a retirement graveyard for Formula 1.

@JohnDoe-td7mu

2 жыл бұрын

@@Christopher_TG how many former over the hill formula 1 drivers have come over to IndyCar and had any success since reunification?

@MarcBarkyMarta

Жыл бұрын

​@@JohnDoe-td7muTakuma Sato won his share of races, including two Indys. Marcus Erickson has been fairing decently since joining IndyCar as well, though I'm not sure if you'd define him as "over the hill".

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this. I’ve rewatched part 1-3 a few dozen times and now I’m gonna rewatch them again for this. I can’t get enough of you my man!

Today is Memorial Day 2024 and I'm watching the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since the Cart / IRL split. It has been quite entertaining.

I feel like the continuous removal of oval tracks on the schedule is a big mistake. No offense to IndyCar, but the oval racing is what made it unique and frankly, if I want to watch an open wheel road course race, I watch F1, not IndyCar.

@tolldoll1007

3 жыл бұрын

So, you think Indycar sucks on road courses?

@xSoccerxCorex

3 жыл бұрын

they get removed because no one goes. why keep going to tracks no one gives a fuck about showing up to?

@Bitterman5868

3 жыл бұрын

No one is watching Oval Races anymore outside Indy500 Even Nascar learned of that but Nascar ATM is a shitshow

2021 will be a pivotal year for IndyCar. Despite COVID wreaking havoc, the series has gained some serious off-track momentum, which stems from its truly all-star driver lineup consisting of the standard regulars, sports car stars, V8 Supercars stars, F1 stars, and even a NASCAR icon in Jimmie Johnson. Fans from every side of the racing world will be tuning in, I can guarantee that. This is a circumstance I don't know if American open-wheel racing has ever been in, and they desperately need to capitalize on it. If they do then I see the popularity coming back, albeit not to pre-split levels most likely. I'm glad IndyCar is essentially a second coming of IROC. The series needs the kind of names and talent it has for it to grow. Hopefully the pendulum swings into their favor. After all, it's been a long while since they've caught a live-saving break. As for the CART/IRL unification, that in itself was massive. Everything American open-wheel racing is today wouldn't be such without the split unifying. It's also interesting to see the different methods of both parties integrated into a single series, and that in itself has taken a life of its own based on what I just said above. Extremely fascinating stuff. Hopefully we don't see another split anytime soon. From the looks of it, IndyCar is in good hands w/Penske. You love to see it.

@t.mitchell9135

3 жыл бұрын

Another thing Indy is benefiting from internationally is the dominance of Mercedes AMG and Lewis Hamilton in F1.

Another awesome video!

Mate, that's was a brilliant work! Amazing from the start to the end. Your narration married perfectly with video footage and images. Your storyline nailed it. Some time ago I read 15 long-read texts about the split in a Brazilian Indy blog and both your works were awesome. Anyone, familiar with Indy or no, can understand what happened. I wasn't aware about this oval tradition in Indiana which comes from midgest and sprints cars. I understand Tony George worried about what to offer to those guys coming from oval experience on their youth, on the other hand young American racers could race at Formula Atlantic and Indy Lights before graduate to Indy Cars. Here in Brazil CART was very popular back in 90s, as many drivers from here were chasing for wins and titles, meanwhile in F1 we were struggling just after Senna's death. This made TK, Hélio, Christian Fittipaldi, Cristiano da Matta, Raul Boesel, Maurício Gugelmin, André Ribeiro and Roberto Moreno local heroes for a generation. And as the races were broadcast on open TV, this represent a chance to see good and eventful races probably won by a Brazilian. This CART heritage kept even Champ Car popular for a while, but in 2007 the series was a hipster thing and the IRL has become the mainstream. I went to São Paulo Indy 300 in 2013 and it was amazing. Four years later I went to Indy 500 and double header at Detroit. On this last one almost no one in the city was aware about the races. Hugs from Brazil!

5:32 when ur running the soundboard and the play hits the climax and you forget to turn the music up

Fantastic job on this documentary.

The push for driver safety didn't come not when Greg Moore died in 1998.. not when Adam Petty and two other drivers died in the year 2000. It took Dale Earnhardt dying to shake up the entire racing world. Then it took the horrifying death of Dan Wheldon to bring safety back to the fore front.

@TheNewChevyRoll48

3 жыл бұрын

Don't forget Blaise Alexander. Dale's death made the Hans device recommended, but Blaise Alexander's death is what made it mandatory.

@danielmazzola9374

Жыл бұрын

Then F1 having Jules Bianchi dying before the windshield idea came from Red Bull and the HALO

Foyt: *slap* hahaha that tickled me Great series, thank you. You have a new subscriber... Keep up the good work.

Good work on the series! Very well done.

That was an excellent series, thanks for clarifying the Indycar craziness

The fact that NACAR season ticket holders in Texas were forced to buy IndyCar tickets explains a lot. I attended several IndyCar races, starting in 2003, where there were thousands of pissed off drunk people in Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, etc. gear, dragging giant beer coolers, non-stop bitching about how boring IRL was, and how bad it sucked. I always thought to myself, "Why are you here?" Now I know. Granted, I am speaking only about those NASCAR fans that aren't racing enthusiasts. I like NASCAR myself. Speaking of the people that are just there for crashes, chaos, and most of all alcohol.

I know nothing about racing, I just found this interesting!

Thank you for a very fair-minded overview of this subject. I enjoyed it immensely.

Brock, I love your content, I love this channel, and I have loved every minute of this mini series. You’ve done a great job putting this all together. But please don’t do my boy Alex Zanardi dirty by describing his injuries as “career ending”. His accident was horrid, but he recovered to achieved four victories in WTCC using hand controls and then became an astonishing Paralympic athlete racing hand bicycles. Four Olympic golds. His career is simply racing, and it seems he was damned well determined it wasn’t going to end just because of what happened at Lausitz. For those interested, Alex is currently in a long rehabilitation following a training accident in 2020 and appears to be making slow but marked progress. Looking forward to what you make next dude!

@LASTCARonBROCK

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you - and I absolutely understand where you're coming from. Zanardi has had an extraordinary career after his accident. However, in the context of that particular section of the script about CART losing its stars, it's an accurate statement. While Zanardi did keep racing, he no longer did in CART. It's also consistent with Robin Miller's statement later in the video when he points out Zanardi never got to run the Indy 500 and implies he, like Greg Moore, never would.

IMO they need to get indycar to Daytona Road Course during Speedweeks, that'd be a great help for it methinks

@danielmazzola9374

Жыл бұрын

We got the Rolex 24 hours, then all 3 NASCAR series, then I think AMA comes right after that. Indy would have to do it in the summer if they wanna piggyback on NASCAR timing.

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

Add to that the 24 Hours of Daytona is seen as the start of the racing year and a lot of drivers and mechanics use that race as a "pre-season" to get back into the routine.

I think the popularity will return, if for no other reason than F1 is getting more popular. I grew up in rural North Carolina, so NASCAR was all I knew growing up. Early in the pandemic, I watched Drive to Survive and got hooked on F1, and from there I've branched out into tons of other motorsports including Indycar.

@robertmusgrave9236

2 жыл бұрын

The Hulman family business model was a failure outside of the Indy 500 after USAC founder Tony Hulman died and if the Hulmans didn’t have IMS the IRL would have never gotten of the ground and if IMS wasn’t a independent racing organization and race the split would have never happened but I’m glad the Hulmans don’t run any part of AOWR.

@flips220

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed. I don't know how significant it will be, but the DTS effect is helping to some extent. Whether it's people following Grosjean over, or if they're actually interested in seeing more open wheel and checking out what we have here at home, DTS has had some small effect. Whether the fans stay or not, that's a different question. I don't believe Indy puts out as good a product as F1 to your casual fan. It's still slathered in southern good ol' boy yee-haw nonsense, which doesn't have mass appeal to outsiders. Also I don't know what it says about Indy when a couple of their brightest young stars are gunning to get out and go to F1 instead.

Very nicely done.

Great video series

I’m an F1 fan that, for the first time, will also be following IndyCar full time this year so this introduction to the history of it all is awesome! Thanks for putting this together.

Given the state of Formula one I’ve definitely watched way more IndyCar this year.

I was out with Indycar for a few races, the summer of 2018. Mid-Ohio, Indy 500, And the Sonoma finale, the energy was much better than any race I had attended, in 20 years prior. The air is electric again.

Great video

What a fascinating 4 part documentary! As a Brit who has been a massive F1 fan for decades, the past few years I’ve really got into Indycar since it started being shown on the SkyF1 channel in the UK. Alonso & Grosjean have made European motor racing fans interested in ovals! F1 will always remain my first love (!) but Indycar is a close second for me now due to great drivers & great tracks.

@freedom6919741

Жыл бұрын

F1 is your favorite? You must like follow the leader racing. F1 is a snooze fest.

@wibblewabblewoo6249

Жыл бұрын

@@freedom6919741 congratulations on being a negative person. You win a point. Bravo. ✌️

Great series

After helios 4th indy win, the popularity has definitely surged upward again

Great series. I watched F1 and Cart in the 80s diligently and checked out after the split in 96 and just kept with F1. F1 is far better and more exciting but after watching this maybe I'll give Indy cars another go. Again great series!

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

It's more technical, but F1 is not more exciting than IndyCar as F1 needs Drive To Survive to make their product exciting through the Mercedes/Red Bull total domination.

I was born in 94, so grew up during the split. As a result, I don't treat Indy with the same worship that older fans do. I understand the history a lot better these days, and recognize that, but there's still some sort of block, because I didn't grow up loving it, I grew up as a champ car fan. Indy was for the boring cars.

Excellent 4 part series, thank you. No the popularity will not return. What once was an American racing series is now loaded foreign drivers. NASCAR for all its faults, is still uniquely an American racing series with predominantly American drivers. With the consumer having less and less time to sit for a race on TV, NASCAR with more drama, and USA born drivers, pulls the viewers.

I think Indycar is gaining popularity today. I keep seeing comments along the lines of "The more I watch Nascar, the more I like Indycar." I have been a huge Nascar fan for years but honestly I feel the same way at the moment.

@Christopher_TG

3 жыл бұрын

The issue for IndyCar is that F1 is growing much faster in the US. A combination of better marketing, excellent social media presence, Drive to Survive, and being on ESPN is thrusting Formula 1 ahead of IndyCar, especially in the 18-49 demo.

Looking forward to part 5

I still think that the split was two sides squabbling over shrinking territory. If they came to a compromise, I think they wouldn't have lost much.

If they stay on the current trajectory with mostly road courses and mostly European drivers, IndyCar will continue to be looked at as a second rate version of F1, but the danger to both drivers and fans is much lower. They can't risk going back to the intermediate ovals due to the danger and the fact that they can't get anybody to show up to races outside of the 500 anyway. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place and I don't know how they can make people actually care about IndyCar when F1 is becoming as popular as it is in the US.

I really hate remembering how Bernard was treated in wake of Vegas. He didn't create the huge problem that somehow the IRL avoided since its inception. It is truly a miracle the open wheel death toll from 1996-2011 was as low as it was. It was unbelievably sad that Dan had to pay the price for such a stupid concept in motorsports, but it certainly was no fault of Randy Bernard. I think most of that blame sits at the foot on Tony George and his hairbrained idea of a spec all oval open wheel series pushing 200mph everywhere they went. Insanity.

@GregBrownsWorldORacing

3 жыл бұрын

I believe his problems started with the 'draw your start position' for the second race in Texas and Dario got hosed. And we still 'usually/sometimes' have double file restarts thanks to him. The reason standing starts failed was due to the (lack of?) driver skill, not Randy.

If Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t find himself a F1 championship contender in the next 2-3 years I hope he finds a home in Indycar with an expanded Mclaren works effort. That move would help the sport as much as Mansell’s move to CART.

@SAHOYT71013

3 жыл бұрын

I can't see why McLaren would want to set up an Indy Car effort when they're struggling for performance in F1 and their ventures with Alonso never really panned out. With that said, Riccaiardo moving to Indy Cars once he's finished F1 seems like such a no-brainer.

@nolancain8792

3 жыл бұрын

@@SAHOYT71013 even Ferrari is potentially coming to it.

@danielmazzola9374

Жыл бұрын

@@SAHOYT71013 Alonso didn't like the Honda engines. He was fine with the Mercedes engines.

@-PVL93-

Жыл бұрын

This aged in an... Interesting way to put it lightly

@sasspurrella2164

Жыл бұрын

@@-PVL93- even more so today considering mclaren's start to 2023

When I look in on Indy Car, I see a trumped-up version of Formula 2. It's just not the heroic sport I grew up with. It's sad. I went to Michigan, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Pocono, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Indianapolis and saw multiple engine and chassis manufacturers, 1000 hp engines, and some really great drivers. Now, I can't be bothered to watch IndyCar on TV. Sadly, I am not sure IndyCar will ever overcome the damage the split did. Your presentation was great.

@danielmazzola9374

Жыл бұрын

Teams designing their chassis like F1 would be fun. Hell, F1 is having a royal court change as Mercedes absolutely lost it's form with the current ground effect cars and Ferrari keeps getting in their own way.

@MartinRiggs1820

8 ай бұрын

Agreed. IndyCar is crap

Any chance you'll make a similar series on the American sports car split between the ALMS and Grand-Am?

25 years and things have gone full circle. Only this time Penske is the Emperor and not just a representative. I just hope that in the coming years Indycar can return to pack racing on mile and a halves especially since SMI has two of em that don't have any races scheduled.

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

Pack racing is dead and should remain dead. Texas 2023 was a perfect blend of non stop action without risking driver safety.

Yeesh....anybody else cringe at the irony of Schumacher's statement in hindsight?

@danielmazzola9374

Жыл бұрын

Planned risk vs unplanned risk

One thing about that fateful las vegas race. iRacing ran a contest for free tickets and a money prize for that race.

@lyrictenor1

Ай бұрын

Also, Indycar offered a free ticket to that championship race if you had attended any other race that season!

Micheal Schumacher said he wouldn't risk his life for a good time. Dang that's ironic.

@xSoccerxCorex

3 жыл бұрын

yep! talked all that shit and ended up a vegetable in his mansion cause of his love of skiing

I'm an eternal optimist, prividing the sport can find the right venues, balancing history, viewership and breaking into new markets, I can see Indycar growing to what it could have been if it hadn't split in the 90's. I have followed F1 since 1996 and there are times when I think, if only Indycar had some races here in the UK, which has a big connection to the building of the cars and in general loves Motorsport, it would be positive from a PR perspective. If that failed, I would, when times and finances allow, happily cross the pond to watch racing in the US :)

@TheFoyer13

3 жыл бұрын

Heck yeah brother. If you do cross the pond, come see us at Mid Ohio or Road America. It's the only way to watch an Indycar race. You can stay at my place, I live 20 minutes from Mid Ohio.

@SiVlog1989

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheFoyer13 Two wonderful tracks :) I remember my fellow countryman, Nigel Mansell, 1992 F1 world champion and 1993 Indycar champion, singing the praises of Road America. He compared Road America to Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, which is very high praise indeed :)

@danielmazzola9374

Жыл бұрын

A running of Indy at Silverstone would get interesting to see.

As someone who lives a half hour away from watkins glen and as someone who absolutely hates NASCAR with a passion I hate that Indy cars dont race there anymore

I think the tragic events at Michigan were in 1997. But please accept my sincere thanks for all the time that you invested in creating these videos. They are very informative

@Nitroracer1320

3 жыл бұрын

The tragic Michigan 500 was actually held in 1998 Greg Moore would go on to win but it was overshadowed by the tragedy in the stands

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

@@Nitroracer1320 We're mixing years again. The tire incident in Michigan happened in 1998. Greg Moore was killed at Fontana in 1999.

@Nitroracer1320

Жыл бұрын

@@danielhenderson8316 actually in my comments I talked about how the Michigan event the one where the fans were killed in 1998 was actually won by Greg Moore.

I don't understand how anyone would take one side over the other between irl and cart. Both sides had their issues and it did ruin IndyCar's fanfare of a while but in recent years i have felt like it has had a resurgence. Indycar is so much more stable and in 2022 i like the current state indycar is in and how stronger it has become. Now i don't know what would of happen if the split never happened but i feel like indycar would be in an interesting state, maybe better, maybe worse, who knows.

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

Because Tony George took the nuclear option to win a pyrrhic victory. Nearly every CART fan will tell while the racing product was the best it's ever been, they will also say that behind the scenes CART had a lot of problems and would be heading for problems. While it would have taken longer to sort out, you could still do it and keep the interest and popularity up instead of driving everyone away.

Indycar needs more engine manufacturers and multi-chassis rule. Honda and Chevy is not enough and somehow the series promoter missed out on interested manufacturer like Porsche.

@iancooley9848

3 жыл бұрын

But hey there is persistent rumors of McLaren and Ferrari joining the sport

@sonang7721

3 жыл бұрын

@@iancooley9848 Ferrari just used Indycar as a weapon against the FIA's budget cap rules, they have officially dropped the Indycar plan in favored of WEC Hypercar.

@iancooley9848

3 жыл бұрын

@@sonang7721 Ah I accidentally forgot about this thank you

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

@@sonang7721 Ferrari dropped out because they also wanted to build a chassis for themselves and build engines. When the DW12 was selected, Dallara was the only car maker that approved of other competition while everyone else wanted exclusivity. They were also the only one willing to build a shop in Indianapolis to produce parts for the series.

What a terrible waste of what had been a wonderful thing before the CART/IRL split in 1996. All that drama, confusion, tragedy, lost momentum, blown opportunities, self righteousness and stubbornness(on both sides) and in the end Roger Penske still ended up owning it all. Its actually quite funny.

The current popularity rise for Indycar in my opinion is exaggerated a bit. They should have went with the ABC ESPN deal rather than the NBC deal. Also they need more ovals, and I say that as a big IndyCar and NASCAR fan.

@xSoccerxCorex

3 жыл бұрын

nah, abc/espn only offered that deal because they didn't want to lose the 500. they couldn't give a fuck about the sport. and all this oval talk from people that never bought tickets to any of the ovals that USED to be on the schedule. maybe buy tickets to what's on the schedule instead of moaning about tracks/markets that already showed they didn't want them

@polycube868

3 жыл бұрын

I think it was growing then stopped around 2019, NASCAR has leveled off, some races have better ratings than others, while some have worse, has IndyCar ratings even grown at all?

@OnwardSoldier

3 жыл бұрын

@@xSoccerxCorex You say ESPN doesnt care yet all of NBC's stuff is moving to Peacock and on top of that they are getting rid of NBCSN. What a joke that is. ESPN gets way better ratings than NBCSN ever would have gotten. As for the ovals, people go to them when IndyCar doesnt screw it all up. Pocono was getting a growing and decent crowd until IndyCar left because a few drivers complained. Gateway is a success. They need more Midwest oval tracks. And I go to the races. In 2019 went to Indy, Mid Ohio, and Detriot.

@OnwardSoldier

3 жыл бұрын

@@polycube868 Honestly I do not even know, 2020 and the weird scheduling has thrown everything off.

@danielhenderson8316

Жыл бұрын

@@OnwardSoldier And as a result, Toronto is only on Peacock and every other IndyCar race is on free NBC except for 3 on USA. And with ESPN's trash coverage of IndyCar over the last 20 years, that's the last place IndyCar needs to be.

If Foyt ever backhanded me and pushed me to the ground I’d stand back up and say ‘Thank you, sir’ and run away

Indy has a pretty great mix now. I think it is essentially American f2.5 it's f2 speeds with solid drivers and a chance for maybe an American or two go get a shot across the pond

To answer your question at the end of the video it feels like the popularity is slowly starting to return. 2 years after this video was released they put 89,000 people in the stands for the Long Beach race. In 2022 well over 300,000 people attended the Indy 500. And just as many will likely attend this year. There were Indy 500s in the 2010s with less than 200,000 so that’s saying something. I also live in Michigan and people here are excited to see racing on the streets of downtown Detroit. If that goes well IndyCar will only keep getting better ratings