@@TheNewChevyRoll48 Would only work for 1 lap qualifying, but I would buy that. IndyCar needs to focus on speed. Seeing how the top fuels crash, with the new aeroscreen and more safety improvements, I think we could go well above 240 mph laps at Indy.
I certainly did not expect to hear Mike Joy and Barney Hall on the MRN coverage. What a great reminder of how awesome those two are/were as broadcasters.
There was also a feud within SCCA in the early 1960’s over professional drivers. USAC was formed as a professional series. Penske, Foyt and Gurney were there.
CART brought the finest open wheel racing in the history of the sport. The cars of the nineties were some of the most beautiful open wheel race cars ever designed. Reynards, Lolas and Penske's PC's were fabulous works of engineering. Every race was sold out and it was the epitome of the best open wheel racing ever in the US. Thank you Tony George for setting open wheel racing back 25 years. Open wheel racing still has not recovered from the 96 split.
I'm actually happy Penske owns the Indy track and the IRL. He's so passionate about racing, it can only help in the long run. I know lots of people hate him, but as a racing fan I think he's good for the sport.
Kenneth Butler Hulman George family IRL experiment failed. People think another split will happen don’t think so this time and who would fund the series. The only reason the IRL got any tracks was the Indy 500 funded it and now with the Hulmans-George’s out of the sport another split isn’t possible anymore with Penske owning the series and race now.
Arian Gomez Penske dosent own a race track anymore. Back during the cart years he owned Michigan at first and then built the California speedway in Fontana and ran CART race at them but then sold them to ISC. Don’t forget that the US 500 was held at the then Penske owned MIS.
@@robminmonaca Which is unfortunate because those were popular races among race fans. I've always hoped that those two races would return to the racing schedule but that doesn't seem very likely.
Sanjay Thallam atleast he bought IMS to keep peace and is giving up competitive coaching responsibilities if their was a major rule change like a 25/8 rule we would have heard more about it.
It's pretty interesting to see the similarities and differences between the USAC-CART and the CART-IRL split. It makes me wonder what would've happened if the 96 US 500 never happened and CART still went to Indy and got the remaining 8 spots
Considering CART teams entered seven cars in the 2001 Indy 500 and swept the top six positions (which was also the entire lead lap), I think they would've made an immediate mockery of the upstart IRL, and CART might've eventually won the war instead of going bankrupt. The racing now is good, but I miss CART in the '90s, and the split is 100% to blame for the loss of Michigan, Milwaukee, and Cleveland.
I have always believed that Al Unser Jr would probably be a 3 time, maybe 4 time, Indy 500 champion. Yes Penske failed to make the 95 race, but with that chip on their shoulder, no telling what they would of done in 96. You can bet Roger would of came there with vengeance. It also could of been one of the years, Michael Andretti could of finally broke the "Andretti curse" and won the Indy 500. Most of the regulars at Indy didn't race again at Indy until the early 2000's. It's the biggest "what if" stories ever in open wheel racing.
@@davesoverthere to be fair, both Michigan and Milwaukee had post-CART races. Only Cleveland was never given another chance. Although I would love to see any of them return.
Really loving your openwheel videos. We all know about the 1996 split, but there's so little about the '79 split on the internet. Thanks for filling the void! I would love to read any of those newspaper clippings in full detail.
I still wonder how drastically this battle was affected by the USAC plane crash in 78. Wonder what the motorsport landscape would look like if that never happened...
Its funny how everything came full circle and Roger Penske now owns the Indy Racing Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It just goes to show if you live long enough, persistence, and a huge heavenly bank account you eventually get what you want! I'm not saying its right or wrong, it is what it is.
Letting NASCAR sanction the Indy 500 would've been the right way to go that year. Neither USAC or CART would've had a leg up over each other because Bill France Jr President of NASCAR back then ran a tight ship and didn't put up with any of that political behind the scenes garage area BS! It would've went down as the fairest Indy 500 ever ran of all time.
@@KK-ex5zu I agree. Let the two organizations feud, have Nascar sanction it so the drivers don't get punished by the two organizations and fans win. Drawback is how involved NASCAR would get. Their flag and signalling methods are simpler. Also, the technical specifications, limits, etc I suspect would be more exact. Neither teams running offy's or cosworths would like it much. Last thing, when the France family runs things, it's like a dictatorship. Political shenanigans are punished with pain and fines by them. However, I believe they could have solved many problems that Indy had at the time.
How about an "apples to apples" comparison? Would an '87 Cup car be as fast around IMS as Mario Andretti's pole speed? Or, could Mario have driven his Lola faster around Talladega than Elliott could his T-Bird?
Classic story of "Okay, let's race. Here are the rules" Versus "Well I've got so much money and resources, why should I have to play on an even playing field?"
When the narrator mentioned about how race teams felt USAC was "out of touch," that resonated with me. Even as a kid, I always thought the wording of the "United States AUTO Club" did not connotate as being a automobile racing organization . . . as the name of the United States Auto Club sounded more like a service organization that did roadside repairs and vehicle towing.
@Bluegrass Railfan . . . Yep! I recall my history about the AAA being the racing sanctioning body back in the 20th century, which surprised me when I read about it. But, even the term: "American Automobile Association" had a professional sound to it; whereas USAC, with "Club" being it, made it sound more like a socializing group with drinking beers and smoking cigars.
I had forgotten a lot of the facts behind this war of wills. I guess you could say Roger Penske ultimately won, because he owns the track now. He has pretty much owned it for years will all his wins, now it's signed, sealed, and delivered. I believe it's in good hands, though Roger's age is a bit troubling.
3:40 a 1978 article about USAC and CART.... by Robin Miller? I had no idea he’d been reporting on US open wheel racing that long. Glad to see he’s still around at Racer!
Imagine one of those Cart's smacking the wall head on. I have a Flashback to Gordon Smiley in May of 1982 at Indy. 200MPH the cart looked like a Airline crash. There really wasn't much of Gordon to be buried. A guy explained exactly what he saw on that horrific day in May of 1982. I'm pretty sure Rick Mears also known as Rocket was on the Pole at a average speed of 215MPH around that 2.5 Mile Track. Wouldn't be much drafting at Talladega because of the rear engine setup. And if you blew a bearing in a Turbo charger would put you down 45-65 Horse power. You would probably be Black Flagged and sit out the rest of the event. I think if they did run the Indy Cart's at Talladega. You would have seen a lot of Cart's blowing up. Popped Valves, Tires Blowing from debris either engine parts, Parts from the body of the Cart or overheating. Crank shafts blowing with Rods and piece's of lifter's and some Camshaft lube's whatever it is it's gonna blow a tire or two out. The RPM'S on the engine would be a little to much for 1979-1980 technology. Results would be a few death's and ALot of expensive scrap metal.I could be a little off but some driver's would die or be horribly injured for life.
davidallenroth NBC documentary in 2021 marking the 25th anniversary of the US 500 and IRL split. Like they did with Mario Andretti during the mouth of May that year.
I really like the racing history you go over. It sounds like you’ll be getting into the 1990s CART and IRL battle. Does that mean we’re getting something on all the shenanigans at the 2001 CART race at Texas? I hope so!
I was there at Texas that day - could not believe they waited that long to cancel - was walking around the merchandise trailers late morning when they announced. Kicked a can that almost hit a kid - would've felt awful if it connected
On another vote, I'll give you half of my race collection for that copy of that MRN copy of the 1979 Pocono 500 that you featured in this video. Seriously, tho, I commented a couple months ago on Mike Pinto's UL of the 1979 World 600 that if anybody had any copies of MRN broadcasts of CART/USAC races, as I am pretty sure MRN did not archive those races, as I am 100% sure that they don't want to let their NASCAR fanbase know that once upon a time, MRN did broadcast AOWR. At any rate, thanks for the great post, as always!
I was at that Pocono 81 race that was AJ's last win as a kid. I remember him and Sneva had a great fight until Sneva dropped out and it ended early for rain.
@@robminmonaca If you loved watching Penske and Haas dominate year after year, then CART in that era was perfect for you. If you liked to see competitive races......not so much.
This might be the best and easiest to understand version of this story I’ve seen. As a kid I would notice the little differences in rules between USAC’s Indy 500 and the rest of the CART season and some seemed so petty (different pop off valves, USAC requiring backup cars to have unique numbers (hence the tiny numbers on the roll hoops that would only match on the primary cars), even the difference between putting a T or an X next to the big number on a backup. I was a little too young to see how it got to be that way but my parents clued me in and I learned early on that when you see people being that petty you can assume there’s big egos and big money at play beneath the surface.
If only Offenhauser would have purpose built a small V8 engine of their own design, Cosworth would have been in trouble. The Offy 4 cylinders were little workhorses putting out up to 420 horsepower and that is naturally aspirated! Offy made performance parts for Detroit built V8s but what would have been if they designed and built a racing V8?!
CART couldn't stop feuding with people, banning its drivers from competing in outside races, and on top of that had NUMEROUS PR disasters when it became Champ Car.
There could have been a series of American Open-Wheel unifications in 1980 and 2004. The supposed 1980 Open-Wheel unification was the Championship Racing League or the CRL, while the could have been 2004 Open-Wheel unification was the IRL-CART Merger which what would have been the CART IndyCar World Series
because the buck stops at IMS. it's as simple as that. the sponsors don't give a shit about any other race. it became clear the moment target bullied ganassi into the IRL after montoya won indy in 2000
However the 25/8 rule was total bullshit and CART should have done something else and still came to Indy in 1996 and maybe the IRL would not have lasted and CART would still be around and Indycar would have a bigger following than it does now. NASCAR even in a overall low in popularity still gets more fans than Indycar gets even when Indycar is gaining some what more fans.
CMartin6688 However the 25/8 rule was total bullshit and CART should have done something else and still came to Indy in 1996 and maybe the IRL would not have lasted and CART would still be around and Indycar would have a bigger following than it does now. NASCAR even in a overall low in popularity still gets more fans than Indycar gets even when Indycar is gaining some what more fans.
@@robminmonaca 25/8 was a power grab by Tony George, plain and simple, although I do wonder what we could have seen if the CART teams attempted to qualify anyway. Bump Day would have been insane.
And now one of the major figures in this split (and the 1996 split as well), Roger Penske, just today bought out the Hulman-George Family and now owns the current IndyCar Series, IMS, and the Indy 500 as well. You know how the saying goes, the more things change....
We'll probably see another split. We probably will. Teams and drivers will get tired of Penske's monopoly on IndyCar racing and him having it where only Penske cars win every single time
Tyler the Driver who is going to fund the new IRL 2.0 then. It can’t be IMS or the Hulman George family. Nobody will have balls to it again I’m my opinion . Also IMS funded the series as long as Mari Hulman was alive and since she died Tony her son Sold it to Penske. Who will be the big name to form a new Indycar Series ?
If North Wilkesboro can return to NASCAR so could Milwaukee to IndyCar. Milwaukee should have never been left. They were racing there even before Indy 500.
When IRL first started, it was a novel refreshing version of the old USAC-Indy days plus the fact that the new Indy car series raced at a variety of oval tracks not just tracks a mile and a half or longer in length aside from the USAC days at the Milwaukee Mile. I didn't mind seeing the IRL have a few road course races on the schedule at first. But now most of the tracks on the circuit are road courses which made CART racing suck and makes the IRL too much like the old Cart series. IRL just like CART did, is trying too much to be like an American version of Formula 1, they should go back to what made USAC-Indy and the early days of IRL so great. Open wheel American Indy cars that races mostly on North American oval tracks!
First of all, the IRL isn’t really a “thing” anymore. It’s the IndyCar Series now. Secondly, the road and street circuits are more prolific because they attract many more fans/sponsors than the average oval race. If more people bought tix to the oval races, there would be more on the schedule. IndyCar doesn’t just pick & choose where they want to race. Those tracks/promoters have to invite them...
Man imagine if what happened with the Indy 500 in 1981 happened in 1988 or '89. Then the TNT Renegades Monster Truck Championship could've thrown their name in the hat to sanction the race.
You got something wrong... Open wheel split started way earlier than that! In the 1950s, nascar had their series... And in 1967 SCCA had Formula Continental/Formula A/F5000. Also, IMCA had big car series from 1915 to 1977. The thing is that AAA was in charge of Indycar up to 1955 when USAC was created. USAC goal was to regulate races and also put some control over Outlaw shows, Imca, and stay away from Nascar. It did work, but SCCA had issues over road courses that USAC did not seem to care.
the only reason AAA backed out was because of the fatal crashes of that year at le mans and indy, plus didn't the national champion that year die at the final race? it was a bloody year
Thanks for this and the IRL/CART videos. I've been a racing fan for years but primarily F1 and European racing, US open-wheel racing always seemed like a hot mess of different series, different sanctioning bodies and constant arguments about who controlled what, and this has helped me get my head around some of this history. So as I understand it, there was one unified championship from 1905 to 1978, then the USAC/CART split for 2 years, then CART took full control for 15 or so years (USAC did award a championship but not one that was formally recognised), then from 1996 to 2007 it split again between CART and IRL, then it re-united again and that's where we are now. Is that right?
@@xSoccerxCorex In a way the split continued through the 80's as USAC sanctioned the Indy 500 and there was a USAC gold crown championship that was won by Indy 500 winner. Formally Indy 500 never was a CART race.
remember in the mid 90s when papyrus had made both NASCAR Racing, and INDYCAR Racing...you could port the tracks from one game to the other. from what i remember avg speed around dega was like 250mph...completely understand why they wouldnt run there.
You left off something that I've been curious about for years, the dirt Gold Crown races. in 82. Were those special events, or Silver Crown races that USAC decided counted to the national championship?
Talladega would be nothing short of a graveyard if they put 30 open wheel cars on the track. Cars would definitely be flying into the grandstands. Speeds would be 240 or more & hit 250 on the backstretch.
Back then? AJ Foyt set 217mph lap. I don't think it would be bad. Back then IndyCars were more about attrition and not real close racing. I don't think it would have been pack racing with many Joey Logano style too late blocks.
@@kg0173 Foyt was on the track by himself. I heard setting that record at Dega even scared Foyt. But I image the cars weren't as stable at that speed back then.
@@kg0173 I live approx 10 miles from the Dega track. I remember as a kid drivers coming to Dega for world record attempts. I wish they they would do that more often. Id like to see Bill Elliot run a lap unresticted & break his own record of 212
I don't think Indianapolis-type auto racing has fully recovered from the CART/USAC split (and the more recent Indy Racing League/Champ Car, formerly known as CART).
Seems to me that is quite a difference. Wow sadness for sure making such big impact. Pretty interesting racing information. I like it as I can get more of the understanding of sorts. Wow never knew such happened. Tysm for the information 👍
Say what you will about the France family running NASCAR like a dictatorship, but at least Big Bill France was smart enough to recognize that it was necessary--giving too much power to team owners would have subjected stock-car racing to the same instability and politics that IndyCar went through.
MusicManSamwise however they started to act like they had a monopoly on all of auto racing here in America and made decisions and rule changes to think they are making nascar better but drove more fans out of that sport than Indycar did with the spilt but the sports media gave Nascar so much hype that somehow they are still the top motor sport in America but it dosent have the racing feel to it anymore like it did in the 70s-early 2000s.
I can tell I'd be a USAC fan, why, they came to the Milwaukee Mile twice a year! I got into the late 90s Nascar boom, but fell off about 05. But have gotten into open wheel the last year, F1 or Indycar, I'm enjoying it.
I was at Texas Motor Speedway to watch Nascar I was building a water tower nearby and cart was supposed to show up and race for the first time after practice drivers were saying that the track was so banked that they would getting dizzy in the corners and that they could not compete because it was too dangerous and they pulled out
We had one in my town from the late 60’s through the late 70’s/very early 80’s. They sponsored my dad when he drag raced. Numerous people told me that the JC Penney Auto Centers were actually decent parts stores/speed shops. Now the mechanics was another story............
Don’t forget also in 1979 NASCAR got popular after the fight during the Daytona 500. Then in the 90s when Indycar divorced again NASCAR was reaching its peak INDYCARs loss was NASCARs gain but NASCAR is just a mess like USAC was before the 1979 Indycar split but today NASCAR is still making money while Indycar back then was struggling until CART came and Indycar was profiting but due to huge sponsors not being at Indy during then split with CART or IRL Indycar was losing money except for the Indy 500 but the IRL was being bankrolled but the booming NASCAR machine and the race at Indy The Brickyard 400 created and started in 1994 was as Tony George announced the IRL.
man i miss the glory days of Indy car racing i think Tony George had a good idea it just never worked out to me race car with fenders is not racing nascar is starting to fall on hard time, Indy car needs more main stream dirt and pavement drivers brian clausans death didn't help Woo drivers go to nascar for the money but nascar sucks, they need to promote Indy car series better and bring more ovals but street and road coarses are the money makers!
I knew that Foyt tested at Talladega, didn't know they have planned a real race there. That would have been amazing. Probably way too dangerous even for those years.
I know I'm very late coming to this video, and I'm sure it's going to be great to watch and good information ( as you always do Sir) .......but at the beginning, I had to pause momentarily pertaining to the quote about "the Cosworth being a more powerful engine than the Offy"..........to which I must reply: Whoa.......whoa.....WHOA there. Let's put this into proper perspective & context: The Offy engines were SO dominant in open wheel cars, that a plan was hatched to FORCE Offy out of competition due to corruption in the new rules implemented. I can't remember at the moment if it was "fuel type to be used" or what, but make no mistake: a dirty rule was put into place for the sole purpose of DISABLING the potency of the Offy engine. Under this dirty new rule, the Offy engine was now unable to make the power it did before. The officials who were BRIBED knew this, and so the famous Offy faded away. Right up to this point, the Offy engine was dominating & winning damn near every race, and had done so, for years. The race record to this point proves it. It was simply TOO good. Had that dirty corrupt rule NOT been put in place, and with the advancements in technology, can you imagine what the venerable Offy engines would be capable of today? They would most likely still be kicking everyone's ass.
They put so much meaning into the Indy 500 that all of them forgot a couple of other races like NASCAR can be Crown Jewels like Darlington and talladega but the leadership of USAC,CART,IRL and Indycar only put it into the Indy 500 only.
How anyone could have actually liked the IRL is beyond me...the IRL was like what would happen if the Super Bowl decided to "let the little guys play the big game" and let high school football teams play.
m e imagine if Tony George didn’t get all that power his mother Mari Hulman-George gave him. I’m sure the rest of the family didn’t care for CART but they were making so much money and the Indy 500 was the true super bowl of racing and a major relevant event on the sports calendar like the NFL is and just don’t try to touch It However once Tony George came up he had to have 1979 on his mind and didn’t care for CART. However the 25/8 rule didn’t need to be put in place. CART still should have had a good or decent relationship enough to not cause a split. This was all due to Jeff Gordon not being able to race at Indy and Tony George in 1992 wanted Indiana homegrown USAC dirt stars that were going to NASCAR to be showcased still and the thus started the creation of the Brickyard 400 a fundraiser for the IRL. That is why the CART/IRL split happened and let NASCAR get enormous popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s.
This is the best doc on the '78 split I've ever seen!
I'll second that.
Just imagine if the Indy 500 was a NHRA event and they allowed Top Fuel Dragster engines
Yes sir indeed it is the best on the matter
I'm old school IndyCar from 1950 to 1959 last but not least 1970 to 1993 era it was amazing
@@TheNewChevyRoll48 Would only work for 1 lap qualifying, but I would buy that. IndyCar needs to focus on speed. Seeing how the top fuels crash, with the new aeroscreen and more safety improvements, I think we could go well above 240 mph laps at Indy.
This really is the cutting edge of motorsports RUclips as far as I’m concerned. Excellent editing, pacing, story building throughout
All of the content on this channel is absolutely fantastic!
I certainly did not expect to hear Mike Joy and Barney Hall on the MRN coverage. What a great reminder of how awesome those two are/were as broadcasters.
MRN also did CART's July Norton 200 at Michigan as well.
The best, always listened on radio because hardly no live TV back then
The saddest part of this, is that the folks that knew how THIS split went, did it AGAIN 20 years later (though under different circumstances).
It's like the old saying, and im kind of butchering it: "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
@@bigdrew565 While we're offering old clichés: “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”
Just watch. PENSKE will try to ruin indybcar again
There was also a feud within SCCA in the early 1960’s over professional drivers. USAC was formed as a professional series. Penske, Foyt and Gurney were there.
CART: "we'll form our own series, with Blackjack, and hookers!!"
I miss futurama
That is more toward the 1996 split.
Tony George said the same thing in 1996. As it turned out, he had a marked deck and the hookers had AIDS.
zlinedavid he had the glabber girl money and the money flowing in from the nascar race that just was added 2 years before the split in 1994.
You know what, forget the series, and the blackjack
CART brought the finest open wheel racing in the history of the sport. The cars of the nineties were some of the most beautiful open wheel race cars ever designed. Reynards, Lolas and Penske's PC's were fabulous works of engineering. Every race was sold out and it was the epitome of the best open wheel racing ever in the US. Thank you Tony George for setting open wheel racing back 25 years. Open wheel racing still has not recovered from the 96 split.
So many splits. Indycar is not good at relationships.
If IndyCar was a person, his longest relationship would be 3 weeks.
Luckily it seems to be pretty good right now.
Not internationally. They've screwed up Broadcast Rights and it's taking a massive viewership hit. @@andrewr7982
planchetflaw true but in the states it’s doing pretty ok
What's ironic about this split is that Gurney and Foyt teamed in the winning Ford GT in the '67 Le Mans endurance race.
I'm actually happy Penske owns the Indy track and the IRL. He's so passionate about racing, it can only help in the long run. I know lots of people hate him, but as a racing fan I think he's good for the sport.
Kenneth Butler Hulman George family IRL experiment failed. People think another split will happen don’t think so this time and who would fund the series. The only reason the IRL got any tracks was the Indy 500 funded it and now with the Hulmans-George’s out of the sport another split isn’t possible anymore with Penske owning the series and race now.
This comment is not aging well
@@BlueSkyCrystals I admit I agree with you!
@@BlueSkyCrystals 🙂
Didn’t blink a single time haha great work
I hope we don't have a third civil war in open wheel racing.
Arian Gomez Penske dosent own a race track anymore. Back during the cart years he owned Michigan at first and then built the California speedway in Fontana and ran CART race at them but then sold them to ISC. Don’t forget that the US 500 was held at the then Penske owned MIS.
@@robminmonaca Which is unfortunate because those were popular races among race fans. I've always hoped that those two races would return to the racing schedule but that doesn't seem very likely.
rob mush welp
@@robminmonaca umm about that...
Sanjay Thallam atleast he bought IMS to keep peace and is giving up competitive coaching responsibilities if their was a major rule change like a 25/8 rule we would have heard more about it.
It's pretty interesting to see the similarities and differences between the USAC-CART and the CART-IRL split. It makes me wonder what would've happened if the 96 US 500 never happened and CART still went to Indy and got the remaining 8 spots
Considering CART teams entered seven cars in the 2001 Indy 500 and swept the top six positions (which was also the entire lead lap), I think they would've made an immediate mockery of the upstart IRL, and CART might've eventually won the war instead of going bankrupt. The racing now is good, but I miss CART in the '90s, and the split is 100% to blame for the loss of Michigan, Milwaukee, and Cleveland.
I have always believed that Al Unser Jr would probably be a 3 time, maybe 4 time, Indy 500 champion. Yes Penske failed to make the 95 race, but with that chip on their shoulder, no telling what they would of done in 96. You can bet Roger would of came there with vengeance. It also could of been one of the years, Michael Andretti could of finally broke the "Andretti curse" and won the Indy 500. Most of the regulars at Indy didn't race again at Indy until the early 2000's. It's the biggest "what if" stories ever in open wheel racing.
@@conniesanders5928 idk Penske was much weaker in the late 90s...
@@davesoverthere to be fair, both Michigan and Milwaukee had post-CART races. Only Cleveland was never given another chance. Although I would love to see any of them return.
@max kaeser honestly, the CART/IRL split is directly related to this USAC/CART split.
Really loving your openwheel videos.
We all know about the 1996 split, but there's so little about the '79 split on the internet. Thanks for filling the void! I would love to read any of those newspaper clippings in full detail.
I still wonder how drastically this battle was affected by the USAC plane crash in 78. Wonder what the motorsport landscape would look like if that never happened...
its one of the biggest what ifs in motor sports.
Its funny how everything came full circle and Roger Penske now owns the Indy Racing Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It just goes to show if you live long enough, persistence, and a huge heavenly bank account you eventually get what you want! I'm not saying its right or wrong, it is what it is.
NASCAR tried to sanction the Indy 500? That would’ve been something to see
I can't imagine Mary Hulman going for that at all. Not in the least.
Letting NASCAR sanction the Indy 500 would've been the right way to go that year. Neither USAC or CART would've had a leg up over each other because Bill France Jr President of NASCAR back then ran a tight ship and didn't put up with any of that political behind the scenes garage area BS! It would've went down as the fairest Indy 500 ever ran of all time.
@@KK-ex5zu I agree. Let the two organizations feud, have Nascar sanction it so the drivers don't get punished by the two organizations and fans win. Drawback is how involved NASCAR would get. Their flag and signalling methods are simpler. Also, the technical specifications, limits, etc I suspect would be more exact. Neither teams running offy's or cosworths would like it much. Last thing, when the France family runs things, it's like a dictatorship. Political shenanigans are punished with pain and fines by them. However, I believe they could have solved many problems that Indy had at the time.
Bill Elliott was damn near as fast as INDY CAR in 1987 No compression limits , no plates.
How about an "apples to apples" comparison? Would an '87 Cup car be as fast around IMS as Mario Andretti's pole speed? Or, could Mario have driven his Lola faster around Talladega than Elliott could his T-Bird?
No compression limit. No restrictor plate. All balls. Be insane as manic as possible. Trueskill.
Even recently Cup cars hit 220+ mph top speed at Michigin. I want IndyCars to go faster.
200 laps of Pocono must have been hell on the engines of those Silver Crown cars.
As an open-wheel first guy, loved this. Thanks for this, I learned a lot.
Classic story of
"Okay, let's race. Here are the rules"
Versus
"Well I've got so much money and resources, why should I have to play on an even playing field?"
Exactly. The Penske problem.
When the narrator mentioned about how race teams felt USAC was "out of touch," that resonated with me. Even as a kid, I always thought the wording of the "United States AUTO Club" did not connotate as being a automobile racing organization . . . as the name of the United States Auto Club sounded more like a service organization that did roadside repairs and vehicle towing.
Bloqk-16 also USAC sounds pretty bad a well and if you take out the u and just say sac it would mean the sensitive area.
They pretty much took over sanctioning auto racing from AAA (yes, that triple A), in '55. I guess it kinda inherited it from that.
@Bluegrass Railfan . . . Yep! I recall my history about the AAA being the racing sanctioning body back in the 20th century, which surprised me when I read about it. But, even the term: "American Automobile Association" had a professional sound to it; whereas USAC, with "Club" being it, made it sound more like a socializing group with drinking beers and smoking cigars.
I had forgotten a lot of the facts behind this war of wills. I guess you could say Roger Penske ultimately won, because he owns the track now. He has pretty much owned it for years will all his wins, now it's signed, sealed, and delivered. I believe it's in good hands, though Roger's age is a bit troubling.
505197 however Tony George shouldn’t have Nuked the worlds most famous race with the 25/8 rule.
3:40 a 1978 article about USAC and CART.... by Robin Miller? I had no idea he’d been reporting on US open wheel racing that long. Glad to see he’s still around at Racer!
Robin was at the Indy Star since ‘69, I believe. He was always the best beat writer that Indy racing had.
politics in f1 looks like childs play in comparison
Good point
This point has been this way since day one
Yep. As cut throat as F1's boardroom politics can be, it's never gotten to the point of threatening the sport's existence.
Phenomenal and fascinating story - great job as always!
great documentary- chock full of original newspaper articles and footage!!!
These documentaries should be on TV
Wonderful job. I still talk w/ old timers at IMS about that entire period. The consensus is that Tony could've fixed thing if he'd survived.
Tim Wohlford what about the other Tony with a George as a last name. The one that drove indycar and the Indy 500 to near obscurity.
@@robminmonaca What about it? And? Dude, the war is over... let it go.
...and drivers would have had a few more years of starching their engines.
Imagine one of those Cart's smacking the wall head on. I have a Flashback to Gordon Smiley in May of 1982 at Indy. 200MPH the cart looked like a Airline crash. There really wasn't much of Gordon to be buried. A guy explained exactly what he saw on that horrific day in May of 1982. I'm pretty sure Rick Mears also known as Rocket was on the Pole at a average speed of 215MPH around that 2.5 Mile Track. Wouldn't be much drafting at Talladega because of the rear engine setup. And if you blew a bearing in a Turbo charger would put you down 45-65 Horse power. You would probably be Black Flagged and sit out the rest of the event. I think if they did run the Indy Cart's at Talladega. You would have seen a lot of Cart's blowing up. Popped Valves, Tires Blowing from debris either engine parts, Parts from the body of the Cart or overheating. Crank shafts blowing with Rods and piece's of lifter's and some Camshaft lube's whatever it is it's gonna blow a tire or two out. The RPM'S on the engine would be a little to much for 1979-1980 technology. Results would be a few death's and ALot of expensive scrap metal.I could be a little off but some driver's would die or be horribly injured for life.
You should do a Documentary on the 1996 split
espn 30 for 30
davidallenroth NBC documentary in 2021 marking the 25th anniversary of the US 500 and IRL split. Like they did with Mario Andretti during the mouth of May that year.
@@robminmonaca oh really! Shiieet can't wait to watch that!!!
I really like the racing history you go over. It sounds like you’ll be getting into the 1990s CART and IRL battle. Does that mean we’re getting something on all the shenanigans at the 2001 CART race at Texas? I hope so!
I was there at Texas that day - could not believe they waited that long to cancel - was walking around the merchandise trailers late morning when they announced. Kicked a can that almost hit a kid - would've felt awful if it connected
WOW! This was SO MUCH more CRAZIER than I remember...of course I was pre-teen to teen when the majority of this was happening.............
On another vote, I'll give you half of my race collection for that copy of that MRN copy of the 1979 Pocono 500 that you featured in this video. Seriously, tho, I commented a couple months ago on Mike Pinto's UL of the 1979 World 600 that if anybody had any copies of MRN broadcasts of CART/USAC races, as I am pretty sure MRN did not archive those races, as I am 100% sure that they don't want to let their NASCAR fanbase know that once upon a time, MRN did broadcast AOWR. At any rate, thanks for the great post, as always!
MRN posted it on their Classic Races series a few years back. You might be able to find it on their website or maybe thru itunes
It's sad, I used to love that racing in the 90's...
I had heard of the on going fights with CART and the IRL, but never understood it, and it's still hard.
I was at that Pocono 81 race that was AJ's last win as a kid. I remember him and Sneva had a great fight until Sneva dropped out and it ended early for rain.
The CART series of the 80's and 90's is still in my opinion the greatest series in American motorsports.
Absolutely
Epaddon
@@robminmonaca If you loved watching Penske and Haas dominate year after year, then CART in that era was perfect for you. If you liked to see competitive races......not so much.
This might be the best and easiest to understand version of this story I’ve seen. As a kid I would notice the little differences in rules between USAC’s Indy 500 and the rest of the CART season and some seemed so petty (different pop off valves, USAC requiring backup cars to have unique numbers (hence the tiny numbers on the roll hoops that would only match on the primary cars), even the difference between putting a T or an X next to the big number on a backup. I was a little too young to see how it got to be that way but my parents clued me in and I learned early on that when you see people being that petty you can assume there’s big egos and big money at play beneath the surface.
Incredible Knowledge and Data and Facts!!!!!! Just incredible.
If only Offenhauser would have purpose built a small V8 engine of their own design, Cosworth would have been in trouble. The Offy 4 cylinders were little workhorses putting out up to 420 horsepower and that is naturally aspirated! Offy made performance parts for Detroit built V8s but what would have been if they designed and built a racing V8?!
Cart made open wheel a lot more professional.
Bologna
@@jessiehenry5405 yeah, you know more than Dan Gurney.
CART couldn't stop feuding with people, banning its drivers from competing in outside races, and on top of that had NUMEROUS PR disasters when it became Champ Car.
There could have been a series of American Open-Wheel unifications in 1980 and 2004. The supposed 1980 Open-Wheel unification was the Championship Racing League or the CRL, while the could have been 2004 Open-Wheel unification was the IRL-CART Merger which what would have been the CART IndyCar World Series
I never knew about this! Thanks for the great post! (As always!) 😀😃👍👍👍
NHRA sanctioning the Indy 500? Whaaaaaa
What I don't get is how the IRL series managed to survive this. When CART/Champ car had more fans and better racing.
because the buck stops at IMS. it's as simple as that. the sponsors don't give a shit about any other race. it became clear the moment target bullied ganassi into the IRL after montoya won indy in 2000
However the 25/8 rule was total bullshit and CART should have done something else and still came to Indy in 1996 and maybe the IRL would not have lasted and CART would still be around and Indycar would have a bigger following than it does now. NASCAR even in a overall low in popularity still gets more fans than Indycar gets even when Indycar is gaining some what more fans.
CMartin6688 However the 25/8 rule was total bullshit and CART should have done something else and still came to Indy in 1996 and maybe the IRL would not have lasted and CART would still be around and Indycar would have a bigger following than it does now. NASCAR even in a overall low in popularity still gets more fans than Indycar gets even when Indycar is gaining some what more fans.
@@robminmonaca 25/8 was a power grab by Tony George, plain and simple, although I do wonder what we could have seen if the CART teams attempted to qualify anyway. Bump Day would have been insane.
ReutimannFan83 Penske still should have came but was hosting the US 500 at his track Michigan speedway which was owned by him at the time.
And now one of the major figures in this split (and the 1996 split as well), Roger Penske, just today bought out the Hulman-George Family and now owns the current IndyCar Series, IMS, and the Indy 500 as well. You know how the saying goes, the more things change....
We'll probably see another split. We probably will. Teams and drivers will get tired of Penske's monopoly on IndyCar racing and him having it where only Penske cars win every single time
Tyler the Driver who is going to fund the new IRL 2.0 then. It can’t be IMS or the Hulman George family. Nobody will have balls to it again I’m my opinion . Also IMS funded the series as long as Mari Hulman was alive and since she died Tony her son Sold it to Penske. Who will be the big name to form a new Indycar Series ?
@@robminmonaca mainly Ganassi, Andretti and RLL. CART was formed by 3 teams and lasted for over 20 years
Insane that roger penske was banned from usac/ Indianapolis, now he owns the track💀
3:36 that 2nd car looks just like the f1 penske pc-3
Documentary on the IRL vs. CART war?
Wow. Milwaukee on the schedule twice. Oh how I miss you.
If North Wilkesboro can return to NASCAR so could Milwaukee to IndyCar. Milwaukee should have never been left. They were racing there even before Indy 500.
damn this channel is so good. desires so many views
Now that there's a video on the 90s/2000s split, this might be as well called "The IndyCar Split: Part Zero".
A Silly idea like the Firestone 600 2001 or NASCAR in Monaco circuit.
Griffdawg, if you are watching this
What if......
Great documentary!!! Very well done 👍
Very informative! Thank you!
Who's here after the European Super League drama?
Is that Mike Joy at 7:17?
Now Penske has it all.
Yep. Except for the multitudes of fans that lost interest
CART is Penske....the real deal...top shelf.
Buff Barnaby don’t forget that the US 500 was held at his track he owned. If he didn’t now that track CART would probably never have split.
Trenton was a great track.
I just found this. Great Job.
Today's IRL is same as the old CART so it's like the '96 split never happened.
yes sadly...
@@johnstratos9336 Sad indeed.
When IRL first started, it was a novel refreshing version of the old USAC-Indy days plus the fact that the new Indy car series raced at a variety of oval tracks not just tracks a mile and a half or longer in length aside from the USAC days at the Milwaukee Mile. I didn't mind seeing the IRL have a few road course races on the schedule at first. But now most of the tracks on the circuit are road courses which made CART racing suck and makes the IRL too much like the old Cart series. IRL just like CART did, is trying too much to be like an American version of Formula 1, they should go back to what made USAC-Indy and the early days of IRL so great. Open wheel American Indy cars that races mostly on North American oval tracks!
Pay attention. There is no IRL today. They bought the assets of CART out of bankruptcy and formed INDYCAR in 2008.
First of all, the IRL isn’t really a “thing” anymore. It’s the IndyCar Series now. Secondly, the road and street circuits are more prolific because they attract many more fans/sponsors than the average oval race. If more people bought tix to the oval races, there would be more on the schedule. IndyCar doesn’t just pick & choose where they want to race. Those tracks/promoters have to invite them...
Great videos. Thank you for putting so much time into creating the content you do. Love watching your stuff and following your twitter account.
Great job on the video. Thanks for this!
Wasn't ABC going to have carried live flag to flag coverage of the August 24th, 1980 Talladega IndyCar race that was eventually cancelled?
How the hell do you run 4 and 8 cylinders in the same class lol
Look up motorcycle racing in the 60s. It can be done. Problem is... It can't be done when the focus is all on top speed.
Great vid on the first Indycar split.
Holy Shit. Barney Hall broadcasting IndyCar is so strange. But feels soooo good.......
Barney Hall could broadcast a demolition derby from South Bumfuck, Tennessee and make it sound good.
Man imagine if what happened with the Indy 500 in 1981 happened in 1988 or '89.
Then the TNT Renegades Monster Truck Championship could've thrown their name in the hat to sanction the race.
You got something wrong... Open wheel split started way earlier than that!
In the 1950s, nascar had their series... And in 1967 SCCA had Formula Continental/Formula A/F5000.
Also, IMCA had big car series from 1915 to 1977.
The thing is that AAA was in charge of Indycar up to 1955 when USAC was created. USAC goal was to regulate races and also put some control over Outlaw shows, Imca, and stay away from Nascar. It did work, but SCCA had issues over road courses that USAC did not seem to care.
the only reason AAA backed out was because of the fatal crashes of that year at le mans and indy, plus didn't the national champion that year die at the final race? it was a bloody year
'Humpy Wheeler'? That name just scream good old Southern boy.
Thanks for this and the IRL/CART videos. I've been a racing fan for years but primarily F1 and European racing, US open-wheel racing always seemed like a hot mess of different series, different sanctioning bodies and constant arguments about who controlled what, and this has helped me get my head around some of this history.
So as I understand it, there was one unified championship from 1905 to 1978, then the USAC/CART split for 2 years, then CART took full control for 15 or so years (USAC did award a championship but not one that was formally recognised), then from 1996 to 2007 it split again between CART and IRL, then it re-united again and that's where we are now. Is that right?
basically!
@@xSoccerxCorex In a way the split continued through the 80's as USAC sanctioned the Indy 500 and there was a USAC gold crown championship that was won by Indy 500 winner. Formally Indy 500 never was a CART race.
remember in the mid 90s when papyrus had made both NASCAR Racing, and INDYCAR Racing...you could port the tracks from one game to the other. from what i remember avg speed around dega was like 250mph...completely understand why they wouldnt run there.
You left off something that I've been curious about for years, the dirt Gold Crown races. in 82. Were those special events, or Silver Crown races that USAC decided counted to the national championship?
Talladega would be nothing short of a graveyard if they put 30 open wheel cars on the track. Cars would definitely be flying into the grandstands. Speeds would be 240 or more & hit 250 on the backstretch.
Back then? AJ Foyt set 217mph lap. I don't think it would be bad. Back then IndyCars were more about attrition and not real close racing. I don't think it would have been pack racing with many Joey Logano style too late blocks.
@@kg0173 Foyt was on the track by himself. I heard setting that record at Dega even scared Foyt. But I image the cars weren't as stable at that speed back then.
@@kg0173 I live approx 10 miles from the Dega track. I remember as a kid drivers coming to Dega for world record attempts. I wish they they would do that more often. Id like to see Bill Elliot run a lap unresticted & break his own record of 212
@@reginaldhall6871 Pre groundeffect era.
I don't think Indianapolis-type auto racing has fully recovered from the CART/USAC split (and the more recent Indy Racing League/Champ Car, formerly known as CART).
Seems to me that is quite a difference. Wow sadness for sure making such big impact. Pretty interesting racing information. I like it as I can get more of the understanding of sorts. Wow never knew such happened. Tysm for the information 👍
Say what you will about the France family running NASCAR like a dictatorship, but at least Big Bill France was smart enough to recognize that it was necessary--giving too much power to team owners would have subjected stock-car racing to the same instability and politics that IndyCar went through.
MusicManSamwise however they started to act like they had a monopoly on all of auto racing here in America and made decisions and rule changes to think they are making nascar better but drove more fans out of that sport than Indycar did with the spilt but the sports media gave Nascar so much hype that somehow they are still the top motor sport in America but it dosent have the racing feel to it anymore like it did in the 70s-early 2000s.
I can tell I'd be a USAC fan, why, they came to the Milwaukee Mile twice a year! I got into the late 90s Nascar boom, but fell off about 05. But have gotten into open wheel the last year, F1 or Indycar, I'm enjoying it.
damn this channel is so good........
I was at Texas Motor Speedway to watch Nascar I was building a water tower nearby and cart was supposed to show up and race for the first time after practice drivers were saying that the track was so banked that they would getting dizzy in the corners and that they could not compete because it was too dangerous and they pulled out
Long before IndyCar and cart split.
CART threatens to make their own 500 mile race in May huh
13:44 Woah! JCPenny used to have an auto center? When did those close down?
We had one in my town from the late 60’s through the late 70’s/very early 80’s. They sponsored my dad when he drag raced. Numerous people told me that the JC Penney Auto Centers were actually decent parts stores/speed shops. Now the mechanics was another story............
The glory days of Indy car racing died in 1996 and has never recovered!
NO in 2008 in Long Beach after Patricks Fake win
No It Died In 1978
@@jessiehenry5405 the Indy 500 died in 1996 then!
it’s not dead, indycar is in a revival!
@@eliteflite8395 i sure hope so!
Awesome video as always nascarman!
Ain’t no way in hell Indy goin back to Dega
Don’t forget also in 1979 NASCAR got popular after the fight during the Daytona 500. Then in the 90s when Indycar divorced again NASCAR was reaching its peak INDYCARs loss was NASCARs gain but NASCAR is just a mess like USAC was before the 1979 Indycar split but today NASCAR is still making money while Indycar back then was struggling until CART came and Indycar was profiting but due to huge sponsors not being at Indy during then split with CART or IRL Indycar was losing money except for the Indy 500 but the IRL was being bankrolled but the booming NASCAR machine and the race at Indy The Brickyard 400 created and started in 1994 was as Tony George announced the IRL.
man i miss the glory days of Indy car racing i think Tony George had a good idea it just never worked out to me race car with fenders is not racing nascar is starting to fall on hard time, Indy car needs more main stream dirt and pavement drivers brian clausans death didn't help Woo drivers go to nascar for the money but nascar sucks, they need to promote Indy car series better and bring more ovals but street and road coarses are the money makers!
I knew that Foyt tested at Talladega, didn't know they have planned a real race there. That would have been amazing. Probably way too dangerous even for those years.
Say how's the costs going now ? ( looks like the crowds are smaller these days )
I knew I had read about Indy cars supposed to race at the big Talladega Superspeedway
I know I'm very late coming to this video, and I'm sure it's going to be great to watch and good information ( as you always do Sir) .......but at the beginning, I had to pause momentarily pertaining to the quote about "the Cosworth being a more powerful engine than the Offy"..........to which I must reply: Whoa.......whoa.....WHOA there. Let's put this into proper perspective & context: The Offy engines were SO dominant in open wheel cars, that a plan was hatched to FORCE Offy out of competition due to corruption in the new rules implemented. I can't remember at the moment if it was "fuel type to be used" or what, but make no mistake: a dirty rule was put into place for the sole purpose of DISABLING the potency of the Offy engine. Under this dirty new rule, the Offy engine was now unable to make the power it did before. The officials who were BRIBED knew this, and so the famous Offy faded away. Right up to this point, the Offy engine was dominating & winning damn near every race, and had done so, for years. The race record to this point proves it. It was simply TOO good. Had that dirty corrupt rule NOT been put in place, and with the advancements in technology, can you imagine what the venerable Offy engines would be capable of today? They would most likely still be kicking everyone's ass.
Amazing they split again after this mess!
But do you not see how it was the same fight? Same people over the same concerns?
@@The52car Sure. I just don't understand why they keep fighting the same battle to that degree. Always hurting both
They put so much meaning into the Indy 500 that all of them forgot a couple of other races like NASCAR can be Crown Jewels like Darlington and talladega but the leadership of USAC,CART,IRL and Indycar only put it into the Indy 500 only.
So many years fighting with the IRL folks on the message boards. Ah, the crapwagon years.
S M dude I made a comment on a IRL race video calling them crapwagons and someone got offended and said never to say crapwagons again lol.
@@robminmonaca lol, yeah, the IRL guys were super sensitive about that name.
How anyone could have actually liked the IRL is beyond me...the IRL was like what would happen if the Super Bowl decided to "let the little guys play the big game" and let high school football teams play.
m e imagine if Tony George didn’t get all that power his mother Mari Hulman-George gave him. I’m sure the rest of the family didn’t care for CART but they were making so much money and the Indy 500 was the true super bowl of racing and a major relevant event on the sports calendar like the NFL is and just don’t try to touch It However once Tony George came up he had to have 1979 on his mind and didn’t care for CART. However the 25/8 rule didn’t need to be put in place. CART still should have had a good or decent relationship enough to not cause a split. This was all due to Jeff Gordon not being able to race at Indy and Tony George in 1992 wanted Indiana homegrown USAC dirt stars that were going to NASCAR to be showcased still and the thus started the creation of the Brickyard 400 a fundraiser for the IRL. That is why the CART/IRL split happened and let NASCAR get enormous popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s.
That The change IndyCar forever in 1979 cart Championship auto racing team took over USAC United States Auto Club IndyCar I stick it to it
Is there an internet copy of the Gurney White Paper???
www.ringcar.com/9_494e505142eb0bf8_1.htm
nascarman History Thanks Fam
So Indy Cars shot themselves in the foot this way! I remember when I was a little kid Indy Car Racing was the biggest.
sivvybee more like the Indianapolis Motor speedway and CART shot themselves in the foot in the 90s.
Almost have to do a video on the second split.
Great stuff thanks