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Question: Let's start out with a softball: Can you tell us about whether
or not the Hawaii race is on?
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): Bobby's planning on going, but John and I are
not! (laughter)
Mike Zizzo (CART moderator): Kirk Russell (CART vice-president of
competition) has made a preliminary [race weekend] schedule, and our CART
staff is making flight arrangements now through the promoter.
John Della Penna (Toyota): As far as we know, this race is going to
happen.
Question: Can you tell us about any changes as far as equipment for your
teams next year?
Bobby Rahal (Ford): We're staying put (Ford Cosworth engine, Reynard
chassis, Firestone tires).
John Della Penna (Toyota): No changes (Toyota engine Reynard chassis,
Firestone tires).
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): No comment.
[Derrick Walker arrives at the conference at this time]
Question: Can anyone give us a preliminary schedule of events for the year
2000. Will there be any major changes next season?
John Della Penna (Toyota): I think the schedule is going to essentially be
the same as what it was this year. A couple of dates may shift a little,
but I don't think there's going to be much different. I know there's been
a few schedules flying around on the internet but I wouldn't put a whole
lot of faith in that.
Bobby Rahal (Ford): I think, as John said, that dates you see on the
internet, like that on 7G or 7th Gear, whatever - oh, is that you guy's
column? - we all see the rumors and unsubstantiated speculation.... I think
the dates are still open. There are a lot of issues, TV and you name it,
there's a lot more that goes into it, but I think there will be something
to announce in the next couple of weeks.
Question: Were there any other issues come out of (today's) owner meeting
that you'd care to discuss?
Bobby Rahal (Ford): I don't know if there really, other than confidential
things, but I think we can talk about the package we voted on, the
aerodynamic package for the short ovals, which I think makes a lot of good
sense. I think that's a real positive step, for all of us. I think the
manufacturers and aerodynamics people did a hell of a job. From everything
I have seen, understand, and have read about, I think we'll have a very
good aerodynamic package next year. Because as you know this year was a
little bit of a, they had to make a little bit of a 'silk purse' on that
front - maybe not to the satisfaction of everybody. I think it had the
desired effect of making it much safer but maybe the racing suffered a
little bit more. But I think the new aerodynamic rules are going to be
very, very good.
Question: Let me try and rephrase an earlier question. Is an effort being
made to keep Memorial Day weekend clear on the CART schedule in 2000, in
case anybody might like to do a 'side venture' of sorts?
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): You know, if I could comment on that. It's
not just that simple because the people at Gateway want to change that
date. They're very adamant about changing the date. We didn't have quite
the [turnout] there last year that had been there in previous years, so
it's a situation of keeping them happy, and television, whether we get an
alternate date or not. I don't think there's been a final decision made on
that, yet. There's been discussion, I can tell you that.
Bobby Rahal (Ford): I'd just like to add that it was free - it was clear -
this year. The actual day. It was possible, like Robby [Gordon], to run
both. But like Carl said, I think you always tweaking the schedule each
year and, just the way things fall. I don't want to get into it too much,
it's really Andrew's (Craig) doing, but I think, from what we've been told,
in the next couple of weeks things should be solidified, the dates for
everything.
Question: To Bobby and Derrick, are either of you at liberty to comment on
the state of talks with Tony George at this point?
Question: Oh yeah, we've got all afternoon....
Derrick Walker (Honda): Well, I'll just say this. This isn't CART's
position, this is just one of the people that have been involved in some of
the discussions. The discussions, and the intent which was started, still
go on. You might not hear about it every day in newspaper articles, but
the movement is still there, the interest is still there. It didn't happen
overnight, the split, and it's not gonna be solved overnight. So it's
going to take time to sort out all the issues. All I can say is it's still
a positive objective from the part of CART, and there's not been any change
in direction. We're still on track.
Question: If Bill France Jr. intervenes, not intervenes, but is part of
these discussions because he has now an interest in open wheel racing with
his additional tracks. Do you get any indication which way he may be
leaning, technologically, considering he has some CART races and some IRL
races at his new tracks. Do you get any indication from him where he seems
to be leaning in the technological difference of ideas between the two
series?
Derrick Walker (Honda): Well, I don't think any of us are here to talk on
behalf of where he's leaning, and I certainly personally haven't heard him
voice an opinion one way or the other. All I can say is he is supportive
of our attempts, and still is. I don't think he's splitting hairs like
'technology or no technology'. He has said publicly that he wants to see
both series back together again and he has been pretty supportive all
along.
Question: Concerning the schedule for next year, you said it was going to
be pretty much the same. Have you guys talked at all about the testing
schedule? I know some of you maintain some pretty heavy test schedules.
Any talk about cutting those back, or making them open tests, or doing any
kind of change in that department?
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): Yeah, what's up for discussion are the various
proposals that have been put before the board, that's one of the things
we're discussing right now. And I think it's probably fair to say that
everyone would like to curtail some of the testing, particularly during the
season. There's a proposal on the table, and it's a subject that I think
will be addressed when the CART schedule is released.
Question: Can you discuss, or comment on the thought processes that go on
when you're looking for a driver. I know you, Derrick, and Bobby, are
looking for drivers next year. Do you reach a point where you want the
best driver out there, or do you take a driver who might not be the best
driver out there, but can financially help your team. Can you talk a
little bit about how you reach a decision, who's going to be the best for
your team and who's going to be the best for the series?
Derrick Walker (Honda): I don't know why everyone is looking at me! The
first position when you look at a driver, I'm sure from everybody's
perspective up here, is that, really, the driver is not the first choice
you make to go racing. You've got to find a sponsor and as much as it's
about money, it's also about what the sponsor's - you know, what he's
getting and what's important for him. You have an American company
(sponsor), would they want to have a Brazilian driver or an American
driver? You always start from where the money comes from and what drives
them, why they are involved with you. If you don't have something, then
it's purely a simple issue of you've got to stay in business and you've got
to find the money. And if a driver or a sponsor walks in the front door
with it, then you have to go with where you get the money which keeps the
business afloat. It's a numbers issue, just that. It's not like you just
go get a sponsor, then go get a driver. It could be the sponsor's
demographics or maybe he wants the most competitive guy and how much money
he's got to spend. There's a number of issues like that, that all have to
come together.
Bobby Rahal (Ford): I guess the only thing I've got to add is this: if
you have the program, and the money, and you have the option, then the most
important thing is to win. And to me it doesn't matter where he comes from
- or she, for that matter. Companies want to be associated with winners,
and I believe that is the first criteria to fulfill. Whoever it is has to
have the ability to win races. And of course off track capability is very
important as well. But the nicest guy in the world, if he's not winning,
the sponsor loses patience very quickly, no matter how nice he might be, or
no matter where he might be from. Sponsors want to be associated with a
winner, or at least someone who shows he can run up front and be in a
position to win. That holds true in NASCAR, in Formula One, and here.
Question: Bobby, you drove with Max (Papis) through the end of last year.
Did that experience help you as an owner in dealing with him, already
knowing his personality and characteristics as a driver?
Bobby Rahal (Ford): For me, for Max, I think some people maybe thought I
was taking a big chance. I thought, having been around him, on the race
track and what have you, I felt he was, you know, a pretty good guy. And
to their credit Miller Brewing never questioned me. I'm sure they might
have, behind closed doors, you know 'who the hell is this guy?' Now of
course they think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. But they
have to have faith in you as a team owner and realize you want to win, too.
It's not like you're just out there to win for them. Ultimately, you have
to want to win for yourself.
Question: Assuming that any accommodation or what have you is at least two
years away, can each of you just address that if there was one specific
area in CART that you would like to see changed or somehow improved?
Bobby Rahal (Ford): Honestly, you become a little bit defensive. There
seems to be a lot of negativism about the future of this sport. And I went
to Elkhart Lake this year and I saw a record crowd. I went to Mid-Ohio and
there was a record crowd. I went to Toronto and there was a record crowd.
Yeah, there were a couple of places that didn't have record crowds, that
didn't do very well for whatever reasons. But I think there's a perception
that isn't quite reality. I think this series is the most competitive form
of motorsports in the world. We've had what, 10 winners in 16 races, 17
races. I was counting up NASCAR winners and I think there have been 10
winners there in, what have they done, about 20 races. So all the talk you
hear about lack of competitiveness, or this or that. I think the reality
is, certainly there are shortcomings, challenges we face, but I think
ultimately the core product we have here is above question. That's not to
say we're not trying to make it better, whether it be testing rules or this
or that. But you go out there and I'm telling you, the reason I retired is
I saw what the reality is. That these guys are unbelievable. And this
series and this sport has changed dramatically in the last five years. And
I'm not sure that really gets out. Yeah, there's Indianapolis and that
seems to be hanging over everybody's head but the reality is this series is
going from strength to strength in a lot of respects. And I'm not sure
that ever really gets out. Maybe that's just human nature, that you always
dwell on, you know, the challenges. But suffice to say, in trying to meet
those challenges, things don't happen overnight. If anything, I'd like to
see some recognition for just how truly good this series is.
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): I think that what Bobby is saying is right,
and I think that sometimes the criticism of television (ratings) and
everything doesn't take into consideration the impact the internet has,
that 500 cable stations and things like that. We sometimes address how
that really affects us instead of saying 'yes, they're down, but they're
down almost everywhere but NASCAR' and I personally don't want to race 36
weekends of the year. So, I think we definitely have a good product and
we're constantly trying to make it better. As for the rest, most of those
are internal issues, but as far as the product that we put on the track, we
get all these cars qualifying within one second and you've got to say the
product is right."
Derrick Walker (Honda): Well, I certainly endorse everything Bobby and
Carl have said. There's a lot of issues with CART that one can see can be
enhanced - building the series, and the feeder series. And if you look at
how you're going to get there, you're only going to get there if we have
the money to be able to do it. If I had one wish, it would be that CART
had a lot more resources, like some other series that we put up on a
pedestal that have acquired a lot of money and has gotten big enough to go
out and get all these things done. CART, as an organization, we're only 20
years old and the one that is grabbing all the 'numbers' is 50 years old,
and has had a tremendous amount of funding that has helped it do what it
needs to do. And CART has never had that luxury. So I guess if I had one
wish, I'd love to see us be able to be in that position to show that the
sport could be promoted as well as it should be. It is the best open wheel
series in the world.
John Della Penna (Toyota): I think it's all be said. I think the one
thing that sticks out in my mind this year has been the race in Chicago.
That was unquestionably a real good race and great promoting. A lot of
times we look at these races and we wonder why the promoters maybe don't
put a little more effort into promoting them. Everybody sits around and
think that CART can't fill up the place. What Chicago says to me is that
if you do the job promoting the race you'll get the people there. And so,
I think the product is good. We're always working on new things to make it
better. Testing is being looked at, and cost containment is being looked
at. Safety certainly is an issue that constantly is in our minds. And I
think the (CART) board's done a really nice job of making the series more
competitive every year. And I don't know how much you guys get a sense of
it but I know for me, from a competitor's standpoint, every year we come
out here with great expectations and the field is just that much tougher,
that much closer. The drivers are that much better. I know this year was
tougher for us than last year, and so forth. I think the product is
unquestionably as good as it can be right now, and it will get better in
the future. But I think the perception out there is almost a
self-fulfilling prophecy, some of these cases where there's a lot of
negative talk. I think that we've got everything in place and we need to
succeed in the matter of getting the word out.
Question: Indianapolis next year, it's still going to be an IRL race. Do
any of you have plans to participate in it?
Bobby Rahal (Ford): Not at this time.
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): I think it's still too premature, while talks
are going on. Not that we won't, down the road, possibly. But right now I
don't think it's really time to be considering that. We're still hoping
that the negotiations going on will come up with some kind or a solution to
that problem.
Derrick Walker (Honda): I'd be at the Speedway in a heartbeat, but we've
actually turned down sponsors' requests in the past. And the main reason,
I guess, is that we all want to be at the Speedway, it should be part of
the series. But I think the thing you continually come up against 'is it
going to help the situation, or is it going to hurt the situation' if we
all start turning up at the Speedway. And that's the question that I don't
know the answer for, but in our own case, that's the dilemma. You've got
business interests, sponsorship, all the guys on the team want to run
there. But is the long-term future of the sport helped or hurt by taking
part in one race in another series? We're talking to the sponsors, and
we're talking to the Speedway, and we hope to resolve it that way.
John Della Penna (Toyota): I'm in the same boat with Derrick. You look at
the costs for that one race, and they're very, very high. But is the
return there? Is the Indy 500 today the same Indy 500 we all left in '95?
So, the best way to solve the situation is to make the race what it (once)
was, when everyone was there.
Question: Without trying to sound like a Republican congressman or
something, is there any consideration of backing off the sanctioning fees
that may be several times, for example, those of Winston Cup, and sort of
letting the individual venues keep their money to do this sort of intense
local promotion that you're looking for?
Bobby Rahal (Ford): Well, I've never seen a promoter if he has the
opportunity to not spend money, generally, they won't. Let's face it,
there's almost a contrarian relationship between a sanctioning body and a
promoter. The sanctioning body wants to make as much money as possible for
the teams and the promoter wants the money for him. I think that, like
John said, you see what they did in Chicago, you see what they did in
Toronto and I think that to me you'll more than make up the difference.
More people will come. That's how you grow your sport, grow your track and
make more money. By investing it. I don't think these people would've
re-upped, frankly, if we were driving them out of business.
John Della Penna (Toyota): I think there's two factors we need to look at.
First of all, we have turned down venues at our board meetings that are
willing to pay even higher sanctioning fees than we have right now. That's
number one. So the demand is basically there. Then you to a race and 30%
of the seats are empty, and they're looking at us to lower the sanctioning
fee. I think if the seats are full, and they're having a problem making
money, then maybe we should sit down and talk. But until the seats are
full, and they're sold out, then I think the problem really lies with them.
Since CART's become a public company they've taken a lot of criticism on
the sanctioning fees, but they really haven't changed much over the years
that I've been an owner. You know, everybody needs to stay in business and
make a profit and go on. Honestly, though, I've been to a few events this
year, one very close to home, which I think the promoter can do a hell of a
lot better job promoting than he's currently doing. You don't see (ads)
for the race on TV, nobody even knows the race is going on. Then they come
to us and say the sanctioning fee is too high well, I have a problem with
that.
Carl Hogan (Mercedes-Benz): I think you also have to understand that the
cost normally escalates but I believe our costs have gone up higher in
proportion to our budget than the promoter's have.
Question: Also on the subject of costs. I believe our friends in
Indianapolis have made a big deal about the cost of competing in the CART
series. As team owners, how do you see the bottom line? Can you talk
about the value that you or your sponsors get out of CART racing? Do you
think it is reasonable, or an issue that needs to be addressed?
Derrick Walker (Honda): Let me try to answer your question. If you took
the IRL costs, I don't really think you know what that number is. And I
say that because of two things. One, they don't have, with all due respect
to them and I'm not trying to trash them, they're a five-year-old
organization. But for an organization that's been around as long as they
have, they don't have the competitive field, in my opinion, and cost is
driven by competition. The more competitive it is, the more it will cost,
and the harder it will be to do it. That's one factor that I don't think
they put in when they compare their numbers to where we are. The other
thing is, if they raced 20 races and tested, and did as many things as we
do to stay up with each other, I think their prices would be quite a bit
different, too. So they're not doing obviously, the same things as we are.
So their price lines I think at the end of the day, we raced in their
series, the same number of times, with the same costs involved, would be
pretty close. But as long as I've got 100 grand more than Bobby Rahal I'll
try and do something with it. I'm not going to put it in my back pocket.
Racers keep on spending it. That's probably why they're not good
businessmen. They're terrible. The answer to the second part of your
question, 'is it too expensive?', I think we always keep an eye on the
costs. But we've got to look at what's it all about. Is the problem with
CART that it's too expensive, or are we not promoting the series well
enough? Or are we looking at the income side instead of where it goes out?
You know, are we doing enough to make the series as attractive as it need
to be to obtain the fans and sponsors to come and participate in our
series. I'm not saying that's where we want to go. But when you look at
CART's bottom line, you need to keep an eye on some of the costs. But
there was a point mentioned earlier about the new rules for short ovals.
We don't want to say exactly what it is, because there will be an
announcement coming out of CART, but it is as big a step as the Handford
wing was in terms of a step that introduces simplification in the rules, a
cheaper 'template' if you like of aerodynamic pieces that we can use to
slow the cars down. But it's inflation that you want to slow down, because
you're never going to make it the same for everybody to go racing, 'cause
you're never going to get that.
Transcript provided by the CART manufacturers.
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