As what did ‘Ol Gordon Gecko say about Money Never
Sleeps?
The title of IndyCar website’s Bright, Shiny, Bunnies
and Rainbows article was Season Anticipation Kicks into Top Gear this week at
Thermal. For which after I’d “read” the article, my Blood was Boiling!
As I was uncharacteristically seething wit
Anger after having read this Puff piece on Indycar.com. Y’all know, Indy Cars
official House Organ!
As I’d read this following IndyStar’s Nathan
Browne’s article on the Thermal Club and it’s Gated community, for which at
least it’s owner was Honest by admitting that the ultimate goal of Hosting Indy
Cars “Open” Cough Cough, Butterfingers! Test at the Thermal Club was All about
hopefully selling more Housing lots via $175,000 initiation Memberships. Where
the average Home was said to cost $2.6 million in 2019. But now All of the
Headlines are titled what your $5.2 million Membership (Fee) Gets you…
As the owner of the Thermal Club seemingly
boasts over having sunk more than $275 million into this project and has $500
million in property left to sell!
As seriously IndyCar? You couldn’t find a
public venue that was Open to the General Public anywhere in North America to Host
your vaunted Spring Training? And then even worse. IndyCar was too Cheap to
bother sending a small contingent of it’s IndyCar Radio Crew to cover the two
days of “Action!” Not to mention IndyCar, Err Penske Entertainment being
unwilling to fork out a few Hundred thousand Dollars to Have NBC cover it on
Peacock. What a Fucking Joke!
Hmm, may be they’re
saving the Cash in order to write Linus Lundqvsit a Checque for winning last
year’s Indy Lights Championship?
As I understand
your feeble attempts at pandering to a younger Audience by only using Social
Media Channels, but this shouldn’t be at the cost of Alienating your Core
Audience! Since Not everybody does the social Media thing, especially if you’re
blind! Ooh, look at them purdy Instagram pictures…
And this Cockamamy excuse about Not being able
to find any Warm weather venue for Spring Training just seems ridiculous. As why
not have Held it at Willow Springs International Raceway? Or how about Sonoma,
Homestead or Sebring? Although there’s gotta be more than just two race tracks
available in Florida, Righto? Whilst I’m guessing that Laguna Seca’s busy
getting it’s new Asfault right now? And it’s definitely a bit Chilly at
Portland International Raceway currently, but I digress…
Also, I do Not want to Hear or read any more
Bullshit about How Amazingly Sustainable IndyCar is! Since let’s consider how
everybody involved got to the track from Indianapolis. Hmm, guessing they All
flew on Commercial Airplanes? Not to mention who flew their private Jets into
Thermal, Roger Penske? And Arse-suming that All of the Catering vehicles and
other various supplies weren’t delivered by vehicles running on Bio Fuel or Synthetic,
“Clean, Green” Gasoline!
And Don’t even get me started on what All of
the Crews, Support personnel and Drivers used for transportation to and from the track…
And then
there’s the whole issue of building a luxury, Gated Compound over 300 Acres
enclosed by 18-foot High Brick Walls in the middle of the Desert! Where you’re
required to build a 30,000 square foot House within five years of being granted
membership.
Making me wonder where’s the community’s water
for each member’s Mansion coming from? As I think California’s still in a Super
Drought.
As can Y’all say the Salton Sea? With the Coachella
Valley taking it’s water from the ever Shrinking Colorado River…
All of which just Reeks of How Out of Touch the
Senior leadership at IndyCar is! I mean the only thing missing at the Thermal
Club were the live Entertainment Acts like Donny Osmond. Since His Ah ‘lil bit
country, and A little bit Rock ‘N Roll would have been perfect. Oh Never Mind!
Meanwhile Formula 1 Doesn’t get a Free pass
either. Since “America’s” Haas F1 Team’s new title sponsor MoneyGram says it
All! As I prefer the moniker Money Grab. And I sure Hope it works out better
than their previous two title sponsors Rich’s Energy and Uralkali…
As it was Grizzled F1 Journo’ Joe Saward who
said it best about the ten little F1 Teams saying No No No to Mikey A’s
intentions of joining the Club when He used the word Poppycock!
Now has Michael Andretti ingratiated Himself
with the ten Formula 1 Team bosses and Liberty media, probably Not. But then
again, I’m fairly certain Nobody Forced the current ten F1 Teams to sign the
present Concorde Agreement that says a maximum of 12 F1 Teams can take to the
grid with 24 Cars, and not the current 20!
As I was glad to Hear Joe using the word I’d been
saying to myself, that being Colusion. While Messer Saward also rightly threw
in the word Cartel!
As I’ve been a Fan of Formula 1 long enough to
remember when the staggering sum of $48 million was the asking price to buy a
new team “Membership” into F1. And there wasn’t any extra $200m Fee to pay the
current Formula 1 Teams for projected loss of income.
Or how about when four of the smaller teams like
Williams, Minardi and others went to the EU with a Lawsuit about F1 being a Cartel
and How they weren’t getting a proper slice of the Cake financially. For which
I believe they filed with the Anti Corruption Branch of the European Commission?
But that was so long ago, I can no longer remember the exact details, other
than they got more money to seemingly make the Lawsuit disappear…
As Sorry Toto Wolff, Chris Horner and the
majority of the other F1 Team Bosses crying Crocodile Tears! You indeed Are
Greedy just like Michael accused you of being! Although I’d say what Michael
left out is that He desperately wants to join this “Rich ‘N Famous” Club and
become one of the Elite Himself!
Since after all, Michael Andretti is a
Businessman just like the others, but at least He’s willing to proclaim that He
wants to become a Global Playah’ like the rest of those Cut Throats and Has
found the necessary money and everything else the F1 Boys Club currently
requires a potential, interested New F1 Team Constructor to do!
And that’s without even going into How Liberty
Media has made it virtually impossible for the “Common Folk” to attend either the
Miami or Las Vegas Grand Prix! With Austin close behind, for which may be I’m
Cornfuzed? But if the whole idea is to attract a New, vibrant, younger
Demographic. Then Don’t you need to make it Affordable for those with less
income to be able to attend your motor races?
Or is this just one more example of the Uncle
Bernaughty’ method of simply making money? When I believe Mr. Bernard Charles
eccelstone used to Crow over How He Didn’t give a Tinkers Damn over how many people
attended Grands Prix, since He made His money off of the TV Broadcasts!
So perhaps Y’all can “See” why right now at the moment I’m having a really Difficult time getting excited. Or kicking into Top Gear with Anticipation over the fast approaching Open Wheel Racing season…