I apologize that I have this posted in the "Formula" folder. If it needs to be moved please feel free to do so.

Anyway, I have a question for possible discussion. Indycar, and it's previous incarnations as CART and Champ Car, has struggled with an image problem. Is it a step on the way to the "big show" of F1, or is it a final destination? Can it successfully be both? What is the actual competition level of this series?

In the past, former F1 drivers have made both long and short visits to the series, such as Fittipaldi and Mansell. Some were rather unsuccessful, like Barrichello, but it can make the series appear to be a bit of a retirement home, like the MLS is to football/soccer. On the other hand, some young drivers have used the series as a launch pad forward, most famously by Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya. That's where this question really lies.

In case you missed it, JPM has won two of the first six races this Indycar season, including the 99th Indy 500. This has put him in the points lead. He is a bit of a fan favorite, so many viewers likely get a kick out of seeing him do well. Is this good for the series overall though? Juan Pablo is not going back to F1. His stay in NASCAR is better known for his relations with jet dryers than wins.

Is Indycar hurt or helped by having JPM winning the series?

I wouldn't say that it's hurt or helped the series per se.

The thing that's hurt (and still hurting) the series was how it was marketed and ran by those in control. Before the CART/IRL split, the series was healthy. Afterwards, both series management lied to themselves thinking that apart that they were better.

On the question of if it's a stop on the way to F1, I couldn't accurately answer that as being from the US and my brain oriented more towards stock cars, drifting, and rally, I give IndyCar a passing interest.

I think it's going to pretty much be used like you're thinking, both as a retirement home and as a place to launch careers from towards Europe. I'm not quite sure the Europeans take IRL seriously to be honest. On the other hand I can't blame them.


IRL's a formula car, so the topic's in the right place.