IROC Racing needs to come back

[IROC2419]

OK here is the plan. At the end of the NASCAR seasion lets have one more race. Sat night after the NASACR awards (Friday) lets have the top 12 drivers in the chase strap into 12 IROC prepared Camaros at the Las Vegas race track. That means Jay Signore will over see the setup and check the cars before the race so they are matched. GM and Camaro can be the manufacture and someone will sponsor the race and build the cars. They can also put a real motor in the car 800hp. Winner gets $5-10M to win. Now I would watch this race. Let it rip boys! What do you guys think.

www.hondamonkeybike.com

[Mike-D]

Hell yeah that would be awesome. I have never been a fan of NASCAR but i would always tune in to the IROC races.

[heRS]

I'd watch it!

[joe h]

Unfortunately IROC, and NASCAR, died when Earnhardt died. Penalizing Clint Bowyer early in the Chase this year pretty much was the final nail for me.

[2010 SSRS]

Originally Posted by heRS

I'd watch it!

+1

[IROC2419]

who says Nascar has to have anything to do with it. It would be an IROC Race. Sorry if it only has Nascar drivers.

[IROC2419]

[KKreme15]

trans ams or camaros? lol

[cowjazz]

It would be tough in today's world. Too many of the top drivers are tied to manufacturers. Now way Ford, Honda or Toyota would allow one of their contracted drivers pilot a Chevy into victory lane, and no way would Chevy allow one of their drivers to go to the dark side.

[IROC2419]

They did it before. Mark Martin won 5 Championships and he was a Ford guy. And Ford never had anything to do with IROC. They could get it done if they want too and it would be a great way to end the racing year. Kinda like the Bud shootout or the All Star Race. No points, No Chase, just balls out racing for the win.

[IROC2419]

IROC Camaro Pictures from the good old days

[greenrail]

Sorry, I would rather see a rebirth of the Old Trans Am series like we had back in the '60's.

Those were great races.

Camaros, Mustangs, Barracudas, Javelins, Challengers......

Now that would be something I would watch.not today's contrived spec racing. Sorry NASCAR fans, the last several seasons have been so boring.

[cowjazz]

Originally Posted by IROC2419

They did it before. Mark Martin won 5 Championships and he was a Ford guy. And Ford never had anything to do with IROC. They could get it done if they want too and it would be a great way to end the racing year. Kinda like the Bud shootout or the All Star Race. No points, No Chase, just balls out racing for the win.

That's why I said it could not be done today. There is a reason you have not seen Tony Stewart at Indy to race Honda engines. It is not a coincidence Stewart's USAC championship car is Chevy powered. Jimmy Johnson ran a Chevy powered Riley at the Daytona 24 hour race. Top Ford, Chevy and Toyota teams will not release their drivers to run their competitors products.

Now, spare/mid level drivers not receiving manufacturer backing are free to jump around, but who want's to see spare drivers competing for the title of an international champion?

It is just a sad reality of today's motor sports world. We will never see cross-over drivers again like Foyt, Andretti, and Jones driving different makes in different series in the same year.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by cowjazz

That's why I said it could not be done today. There is a reason you have not seen Tony Stewart at Indy to race Honda engines. It is not a coincidence Stewart's USAC championship car is Chevy powered. Jimmy Johnson ran a Chevy powered Riley at the Daytona 24 hour race. Top Ford, Chevy and Toyota teams will not release their drivers to run their competitors products.

Now, spare/mid level drivers not receiving manufacturer backing are free to jump around, but who want's to see spare drivers competing for the title of an international champion?

It is just a sad reality of today's motor sports world. We will never see cross-over drivers again like Foyt, Andretti, and Jones driving different makes in different series in the same year.

Never say never. They follow money; come up with an idea where they get their "cut" of the purse, you might be surprised at what can happen. Add to that some "brand" advertising for each of the parties involved in a championship series that pulls in the fans, and you might have a winner.

Although I'd love to see a rebirth of the old Trans Am series, the realities of the costs involved today probably puts that out of reach. A reborn IROC series has the advantage of fixed costs for the cars and teams. You could change up the cars used each year where a different manufacturer is the "host" for a season and provides the cars that year. That would give each manufacturer their "cut" at the advertising, marketing, promotional rewards such a series would have.

It would give each company a chance to showcase whatever car they choose; produce a "championship edition" for that year; merchandise, market, promote, etc. That way they aren't directly competing head-to-head but get the full benefits of all the exposure and publicity. It would be more about the racing and competition between drivers rather than cars which was the whole point of the original IROC series.

I would love to see something like this but it's hard to say if companies want to commit to this kind of deal in the current economic times.