The grass isn't greener

[cider_and_toast]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77414

For most of this season the crowds at IRL races have been down and the standard complaint is the lack of overtaking. Now where have we heard that before !!!

Since the reunification of IRL/Cart the series has struggled in the US with falling TV audiances and falling crowds at races.

Part of the problem is the lack of top line US drivers in the series. One of the most popular and well known of course, is Danica Patrick and she is considering a move to NASCAR.

If anything, Formula one can take a leaf out of the IRL book since identical chasis and engines do not produce more overtaking in races. Quite why IRL is suffering, no one can quite establish but it's more than likely down to the fact that recent rule changes including a rule about driver weight that was most likely to effect smaller drivers such as Danica have brought all the cars closer together and therefore less likely to pass each other. Does that sound familiar.

The A1GP style push to pass button may be the answer to IRLs problems but like F1, can you really artificialy engineer overtaking or does IRL need to review how it got into this mess and reverse some of those decisions?

 

[Speshal]

They could try driving around more than 4 corners per lap?

 

[teabagyokel]

Yeah, even the Hungaroring is a different challenge to the last place...

What is the ruddy point of driving around an oval?

 

[Brogan]

Well it would seem IRL is suffering from the same syndrome that is affecting F1; too much fiddling with the rules and regulations in an attempt to "equalise" the field and then they have to create artificial overtaking possibilities.

For single make series they need to get rid of the aero as much as possible to enable cars to be able to slipstream.
How else can you catch and pass the guy in front if you have identical cars?

Notwithstanding all the usual safety features, the tech reg's for non single make series should be as basic and simple as possible to allow designers and engineers the freedom to come up with innovative designs.

By specifying everything down to the tiniest detail, is it any wonder the performance is almost identical across the board?

How do the governing bodies expect drivers to be able to race and pass when the cars are identikits of each other?