IndyCar Racing - We Need Speed :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Every year on Memorial Day auto racing fans around the world wake up in anticipation to see the most famous race in the world. The Indianapolis 500 is an annual IndyCar race that has been run since 1916 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is a race of great tradition that is supposed to represent the fastest racers in the sport at the fastest raceway in the sport. However, Tony George, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IRL, is changing everything about the race and the sport. This year at Indy, Tony George and his Indy Car Racing League (IRL)) broke a long standing tradition at Indy and forced another race to occur on the same day. In Michigan the US 500 was raced on the same day by members of CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) in protest to the IRL. It was the first time another race was held opposite of the Indy 500. There were a record 17 rookies starting at Indy because many of the more experienced drivers were racing at Michigan. There was only one driver in the race who had won at Indy before. The IRL had dramatically changed the Indy 500. The IRL and CART are two racing leagues with opposing views on where the sport of auto racing is going. CART is supporting the way the sport has been progressing in recent years. That includes trying to increase the speed of the cars at whatever means possible. The IRL was formed a few years ago under the direction of Tony George. He is trying to make the sport less expensive and safer by using different motors /chassis and slowing down speeds. Racing has always been about going faster than the next driver. It was about trying to beat course records and lap speeds. But if Tony George has his way, all course speeds will be reduced due to switching from turbo Indy V6 engines to normally aspirated V8's. The result is less horsepower, thus slower speeds. Records would never be broken, and the sport would lose some of its appeal. Racing has always been a strive to go faster; there is no real reason to change it now. One of Tony George's justification is that the sport would become safer. That is not true. The difference would not be much . The fatality rate for a 230 mph crash, and a 210 mph crash, is not that much different.