Drivers reject TMS boss' oval push

On Thursday, Gossage said IndyCar's success depended on its schedule remaining "80 percent" oval-based.

Initially an all-oval category, the IRL has steadily introduced more road and street course events since adding St Petersburg, Sears Point and Watkins Glen to its schedule in 2005.

The merger with the Champ Car World Series is set to result in a more event balance of ovals and road circuits in future years - a concept Gossage criticised.

"IndyCar officials have to understand that it will take 80 percent ovals to truly succeed," Gossage told espn.com. "Otherwise, this is nothing more than a niche sport. If they're comfortable with that, fine, but I don't think they are. The Indy 500 and high-speed ovals like TMS are why the IRL won this war."

Some driver scorned his comments, while others simply brushed them off.

"If that's the way he feels, then we shouldn't race here," Tony Kanaan said. "It amazes me that he said that. If somebody who has such good vision and can organise a race as good as this thinks we should be racing on 80 percent ovals, (then he) isn't looking out for the series' best interests. He's looking out for his own interests. We don't need those people around if that's the way they think."

Series points leader and Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon smiled when told of Gossage's opinion.

"Eddie should stick to running his track and let the series run itself," Dixon said. "He's probably a little biased because he's got an oval. Everybody is going to have different views. I'm biased because I like road courses. He's just putting that out there because he and his owners (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) have a long list of racetracks, and most of them are ovals."

Gossage said he is concerned that the IndyCar Series, in the wake of unification with the former Champ Car Series, is preparing to move heavily toward road and street courses.

"Along with all the good this merger brings, the IRL also had to absorb some bad from Champ Car," Gossage said.

"They had to take on some baggage with the transition. But the American public has made it very clear they will not accept European-style road racing. It's not even an arguable point. It's a fact. I'm telling you that would be a big mistake."

The series added street races in Long Beach and Edmonton to its 2008 schedule, making the count 11 ovals, three road courses and four street courses.

The Surfers Paradise and Toronto street courses are also expected to join the calendar in 2009, bringing more balance while possibly threatening some of the weaker oval races.

"If you can go to places where they draw big crowds, I don't know why they would all have to be ovals," Dixon said. "The vibe is with street races."

Other drivers, like Vitor Meira, said the series should maintain ovals as at least 50 percent of the total.

"That's where we have been successful and NASCAR has been successful," Meira said. "We've proven that the American fan likes it, and that's our fan base. It's more entertaining.

"I'm talking only about the business side of it. I'm taking myself out of the equation, because, man, it's dangerous. You can get hurt much easier on ovals. Personally, I'd like to see us race less on ovals, but you have to. Fifty percent of it has to be ovals."

Still others, like Ed Carpenter, leaned more toward Gossage's line of thinking.

"I'm not going to lie; I wouldn't mind if it was all ovals," Carpenter said. "If there were more promoters like Eddie Gossage at the other ovals, that would be an easier decision to make. The problem we have is that a lot of road and street races are profitable events for everybody, but you can't say that about all of the oval events we go to."

Champ Car attempted to race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2001 but cancelled the race when drivers reported bouts of vertigo and some feared losing consciousness as speeds approached 240 mph. Justin Wilson, who circled the 24-degree banking for the first time on Thursday night, said racing at TMS is a daunting challenge for newcomers.

"I can't imagine going 20 mph faster than what we're doing now," Justin Wilson said. "It's already crazy fast. I can understand why they were passing out. You can definitely feel the strains and the G-forces compressing in. It's different to the other tracks we've raced on, where the Gs are lateral. You start to feel the effect."