| | HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- What do Michael Andretti and Jimmy Vasser have in common? Well, aside from being former CART champions, the pair were the only drivers Sunday in the Miami Grand Prix who call America home.
When the CART FedEx Championship season ended last year, you could count eight Americans in the series. Sunday in the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami, that number was down to two -- Andretti and Vasser. This is a huge blow to CART, which holds 15 of its 20 races within North America and is struggling to draw fans to what's considered America's premier open-wheel series.
|  | | Former series champion Jimmy Vasser says its tough to get into a CART driver's seat no matter where you live. |
Juan Montoya certainly made a name for himself last season winning the championship as a rookie. But CART is dealing with an identity crisis. Simply put, nobody knows who the drivers are. A few more Americans in the driver's seats would certainly help.
Vasser is a former series champion, but isn't the most popular driver among fans. The best thing that could happen to CART this season, and I hate to say it, is for Andretti to win the championship. At least he's a name people have heard of and a champion with the name Andretti would give the series some sort of identity.
I'm not saying CART struggles name recognition to the extent of the Indy Racing League (oops, make that the Northern Lights Indy Racing Series). But each series has its own problems when it comes to fans just not knowing which drivers are in which series.
Where did CART's American drivers go? Well, Al Unser Jr., is now in the IRL. Bryan Herta and Richie Hearn are both still looking for full-time rides in CART. P.J. Jones has moved to the Busch Series, while Scott Pruett is driving with Cal Wells as a rookie in Winston Cup.
Herta will most likely be back by Nazareth next month, once his team resolves some franchise issues. And while on the surface it may appear as though Hearn lost his ride at Della Penna Motorsports because of the sponsorship money Norberto Fontana brought with him from Argentina. But what happened to Richie was Fontana was just quicker in the test session and earned his shot in CART.
And that's where the real issue begins. There is a world full of talented drivers out there, and plenty of avenues into CART. Young American drivers need the same.
There are currently nine Americans in Indy Lights this season and 12 more driving in the Toyota-Atlantic Series. Plans are in the works to create another feeding series in America based on the world karting championship. An American scholarship fund is also being created, which will hopefully build more American drivers from the ground-level up to CART.
But, on the other hand, if CART is struggling for an identity, what is preventing young drivers in this country to simply turn to the other alternative -- NASCAR. It's very difficult to deny the popularity of stock car racing, and if you are a young driver growing up in this country I can only imagine how difficult it would be for those drivers to not to say, "'Why wouldn't I pursue NASCAR." After all, Winston Cup is the pinnacle of auto racing in North America.
The IRL may have only five non-Americans, but that series is based on former midget and spring-car drivers, where CART is getting most of its drivers from Lights, Atlantics and even Formula 3000. The CART driver usually comes from a more traditional open-wheel proving ground.
There is no way owners can be expected to change the trend of bringing in the best available driver. But it's up to those same owners to correct the situation if they feel it's a problem. And if it's not a problem, at least every owner understand the importance of having a much more American influence in CART.
It's up to owners to hire Americans to drive their cars. At least give them the opportunities. It's not unlike other sports in America, which have had to deal with the issue of minorities in the front office. African-Americans may make up to 70-percent of the athletes in some sports, yet they aren't represented nearly as well in front offices of those sports.
And it's not that the owners are going back to their own countries to give drivers a chance. The majority of owners are Americans. All the big-named owners live in North America -- Ganassi, Rahal, Carl Haas, Roger Penske, Pat Patrick.
If you look back over the past few years, the plumb rides have not gone to Americans. Ganassi and Rahal may agree there is a void of American drivers in CART, but both filled their cars with non-Americans in the past few years. But the pressure was on both owners to win, which is why they chose the best available driver and couldn't give just any countryman a chance.
When Rahal retired two years ago and was looking for an American to replace him in the car, he openly admitted he just couldn't find an American. He made a concerted effort, but ultimately turned to Max Papis. Then, when Rahal was looking to replace Herta this past offseason in his "show ride," he brought in Kenny Brack -- last year's Indy 500 winner from the IRL.
When Ganassi had to replace Alex Zanardi, who did he turn to? A test driver in Formula One named Juan Montoya, who came in last year and blew everyone away. No one ever thought Montoya would win seven races and win the championship as a rookie, but he was probably the best driver available. And Ganassi was told to put someone in the car he felt was the best driver -- no matter where that driver called home. The team was used to winning races and wanted someone who would win races.
It's very tough as an owner to say, "Okay, I'm going to take a American with less experience just because he's American and put him in the car." What is that owner's sponsor going to say when he isn't winning races?
It's a Catch-22 really. You can't fault these owners for wanting the best talent in their cars -- it's just not going to be Americans until a system is designed to bring young Americans along to the level needed to drive, and more importantly win, in CART. They need series that give them the proper experience, so when the time is right, they're ready.
But if the owners say they feel more Americans are needed, it's their responsibility to support Indy Lights and Atlantic teams, and promote those drivers. There simply needs to be a true American feeder system into the CART rides that open up each season.
Remember, Andretti and Vasser aren't getting any younger. | |
ALSO SEE
Nunn's new team a surprising quickest on first day of CART practice
Kernan: Americans outnumbered, but among CART's best
It wasn't broke, but Ganassi still tinkers with success
From second to Nunn, to starting over
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Alex Tagliani's car slam into the pits during CART practice for the Miami Grand Prix.
avi: 1950 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 |
