Hey BERNIE ! THIS "1"s for YOU!
What a debacle! Michelin and Federation Internationale Automotive (F.I.A.), the French based governing body of Formula One totally ruined what could have been a fabulous weekend for the United States Grand Prix.
As the guy stiing in front of me at the "race" said, "Another reason to hate the French."
Anger and outrage spilled over, and the Michelin Man (see photo) had to run for his life ahead of angry Grand Prix fans.
And Bernie Ecclestone, the head of F-1, was like the house guest who spends a weekend doing nothing but criticizing his host. Ecclestone bad mouthed the Speedway and even Danica Patrick, commenting, "I've got one of these wonderful ideas that women should be all dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances." If you don't believe anyone could make a comment that stupid, CLICK HERE.
Hey Bernie, I've got a great idea: Why don't you strap into one of those race cars and race Danica?
Ecclestone treated everyone with disdain -- and in the end, he couldn't do anything more than put on a parade of high-priced machinery. Of course, Bernie didn't stay around to see the end. He left with 14 laps to go -- heading back to his Chicago hotel. You see, none of the hotels in Indianapolis are up to Bernie's standards.
Hats off to the Speedway though. NONE of this was the Speedway's doing. Tony George refused to waive the checkered flag and refused to have any Speedway personnel take part in the victory ceremony. Speedway President Joey Chitwood Jr. called the event a disservice to the racing fans who attended, tens of thousands of whom traveled from other countries for this event.
This was such a lost opportunity. Until the moment the 14 Michelin cars pulled off the track, it was a near-perfect weekend. Perhaps 70,000 fans attended Saturday's qualifying and racing. The Porsches and the IRL's Menard's Infinity Pro Series put on two outstanding races. The young drivers in the BMW series put on a decent show, too. And the Sunday morning Porsche race was an exciting 4-car battle, which included Indy 500 veteran Alex Zinardi.
But at 1 p.m. it all fell apart. Like Humpty Dumpty, I don't think it can be put back together again. What's worse-- I don't think anybody cares.
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