Commentary: If it's over

... some speculation on what I'd like to see happen for the long-term future of the sport.

As I noted recently, a lot of decisions on both sides of the OW war in the last 13 years have been made solely to gain the upper hand in the war -- e.g., the decision to shut Lola out from making a "common chassis" during the last cycle, the decision to allow engine leases in the IRL to bring Honda & Toyota over, the decision to boycott the initial Indy 500 to begin with.

If all of OW racing is going to be under one banner soon -- and if it doesn't happen in 2008, it will most certainly happen in 2009 -- the sport will need to be remade to cement its future.

A few things that absolutely have to happen:
*-With the new car coming in 2010, the price for a team to get in and field a team has to be lowered. The chassis can't be compromised at the expense of safety (which is causing it to be expensive in the first place), so lowering the price there will be difficult.

The one way to really lower a price to race? Get rid of engine leases. Allow teams to purchase, and then work on/rebuild, their own engines. This allows the smaller teams to have a fighting chance to stay in the game financially ... and, for example, an Indy-only team can enter several more races if they have miles left on the engine. In 1997, an engine cost in the neighborhood of $30,000. Even if you go through 10 in a year, the cost per season is still $300,000 (even adjusted for inflation, you're looking at maybe $500,000). A Honda engine lease is close to $900,000. Honda wants engine leases, we know ... and it's possible Cosworth might, as well. But there are several other engine builders out there who could bring diversity to the series and a lower cost to racing through selling engines. NASCAR has four manufacturers, none of which lease engines in any one of the three major series. IndyCar racing has gone from two, to three, to one manufacturer since the decision to allow engine leases, and has lost numerous teams (Kelley, Treadway, Hemelgarn, Menard ...).

*-Open things up to more chassis manufacturers. Invite Lola, Swift & Penske to design chassis within a basic framework, as well as Dallara & Panoz. Somebody might create another Riley & Scott, but having some diversity adds to the intrigue level.

*-With that, heavily regulate/limit dyno/wind tunnel testing by individual teams, to keep the wealthier teams (AGR/Penske/Ganassi/NHL) from being able to get an upper hand over the not-as-wealthy teams.

*-TV is vital. Understand that. Road racing translates *terribly* to TV. Street racing translates even worse to TV -- it's hard to get too excited about watching cars turn a corner at 30 mph in a concrete canyon. Get back to emphasizing ovals, with road races making up no more than one-third of the schedule. That, and American racing is oval racing. Leave road racing to IMSA/ALMS.

*-Eliminate ride-buyers. This is impossible (even NASCAR is getting them), but they're bad for the sport and keep legitimate drivers out of good rides.

*-Lengthen the schedule to 24 races -- starting in February (beginning with the Copper World Classic in Phoenix the week before the Daytona 500, perhaps?), and continuing through September (I understand the need to avoid the start of football, and also the NASCAR Chase for the Cup, but the weekend after Labor Day is way too early).

*-Get Michigan, Phoenix, Las Vegas & California back on the schedule.

*-Exposure is key. The doubleheaders with the NASCAR Trucks at Michigan & Texas have been good so far. Run a doubleheader with NASCAR at California -- with the IRL running a prime-time Saturday night race the night before the taxicabs run a prime-time Sunday night race. Encourage crossover drivers with a bonus to the highest combined finish in both races -- you think Stewart, Hornish, Allmendinger & Patreek wouldn't jump at the chance to try to run an IndyCar since they're already there ... it would also give a chance to guys like Wheldon to try their hand at the stock cars. This has been discussed, and the IRL has balked at it.

*-Two words: Triple Crown. (500s on Memorial Day, July 4 & Labor Day weekends).

*-The IRL has ties with the Stars of Karting series, which is great. Also, try to firm up the ladder by reestablishing formal ties with USAC -- the idea of giving the WoO champion an IPS test was a great idea, although WoO then imploded. A similar program for the Silver Crown champ, or for that matter, all 3 USAC champs, would rebuild some prestige in that series. USAC has long ties to 16th and Georgetown, and with it being a Midwest/West Coast-based open-wheel series, the ladder to the IRL that was first opened in 1996 needs to be reopened. Too many drivers have fled south from USAC, and too few Americans are competing full-time in the IndyCar Series. There are already concurrent events with the Silver Crown series -- Richmond & Milwaukee, for starters. Start there.

*-Refine the tire/aero package so passing/side-by-side racing is possible. The early-2000s Texas races were unbelievable. We haven't seen anything like that in a while.

*-Court sponsors/teams that have been priced out of NASCAR ... the IRL should be a lower-cost alternative.

Open-wheel racing is at a crossroads. Ensuring the long-term success and future of the sport is vital. It begins by having a better product than NASCAR -- which the IRL has always had, save for the low car counts of the last two years and now, too few competitive teams. It continues with having a marketable product to sell to the American people, and getting it out there for everyone to see. The IRL did a great job of this at one time -- having Tony Stewart do "demonstration laps" at Charlotte before a NASCAR race, for example. Unified, it will be at a point to do that again.

These are a few ideas ... toss out your own.