Sport of the '80s: The Decline & Fall of American Open-Wheel Racing
For over a decade, American open-wheel racing experienced tremendous
growth in attendance and television viewership. By 1995, CART races
were seen in an average of 1.9 million homes, and the Indy 500 added
another 10 million to the total. Now, CART is bankrupt and gone.
OWRS's Champ Car series is all but invisible, reduced to a rich men's
hobby. By default, the Indy Racing League is open-wheel racing, but
the series is headed down the same path trod by CART, and will lose
its first manufacturer just three years after reinventing the series
for them. We consider what took the sport to the brink, where it is
now, where it is going, and what can be done to save it.

Max's Rules Imposed. Call It Formula IRL.
As promised, FIA president Max Mosley has imposed major
aerodynamic restrictions for 2005, ostensibly to slow the cars for
safety reasons. He's also imposed a 2.4-liter V8 engine for 2006.
We provide, for now, the information released by the FIA, and some
of the initial reaction from manufacturers. Our analysis will
follow.

Max Redux
The reason Max Mosley kept his hands behind him when announcing his retirement is now clear: he had his fingers crossed. In addition to announcing that Mosley will see out his full term, the FIA has provided a detailed version of the rules Mosley wants introduced in Formula 1 for 2005 and 2006.

Where Do We Go From Here?
F1’s ship has lost its rudder, and the captain is preparing to leave. As the purser tallies the receipts, the crew debates the proper course, oblivious to the absence of rudder and compass. What F1 desperately needs is a wise old first mate, with the power and willingness to hang a few people from the yardarm, and set a bold new course. What it has is a leadership vacuum, the precursor to an implosion.

Max Plays the Safety Card
Unable to obtain agreement on his measures to cut team and engine costs in Formula 1, FIA president Max Mosley is attempting a flanking maneuver, by wrapping versions of his changes in the guise of safety advances. This may be Mosley’s last stand, as a day later, he announced he will retire from his office in October, a year before he was to stand for re-election.

Formula 1: Pulling a CART
Everyone involved seems to agree that Formula 1 is in need of a major overhaul. Issues on the table are the declining audience, the increasing dependence on manufacturers, spiraling costs, and how the sport generates and divides well over a few billion dollars a year. The problem is, there’s virtually no agreement on what needs doing, and even if there were, no one knows how to go about it. Sure sounds like CART to us.

Mosley Provides Update on Proposed Rule Changes
A transcript of Max Mosley's May 24, 2004 press conference, held at Monaco.

OWRS Says, "We're Back." Unfortunately, They're Right.
Long Beach marked the debut of Open Wheel Racing Series as the custodian of the spirit of CART. What they promised was a solid field, new sponsors, much-needed promotion, better racing and significantly improved television, but what was delivered was just old, dead CART with a new logo.

Silence at the Water Cooler
Our Indianapolis 500 Pole Day preview.

Indy, Light
Our Indianapolis 500 preview, with event and U.S. television schedules.

An Agreement in Principle
Transcript of remarks by Max Mosley on needed F1 rule changes, following his meeting with Bernie Ecclestone and the team owners.

Of F1 Cats and Pigeons
Max Mosley is preparing to make Formula 1 over in his own image. This week, he’s meeting with the F1 team owners in hopes of gaining their agreement. What isn’t widely understood is that, as much as anything, this is all about killing off the potential of a rival series being mounted by the manufacturers, and assuring the continued control of the sport by Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone.

Seismic Days in Formula 1
At Imola, FIA president Max Mosley gave the teams a long list of rule changes the FIA is proposing for Formula 1, to take effect with the 2008 season. And while he told them he intends to listen, he also said he will decide on most of the rules, by the end of this June. Mosley’s timing was either very good, or based on good intelligence, as scant hours later, the manufacturers said their talks with Bernie Ecclestone’s SLEC had been ended, giving them an alternative to the proposed rules, in the rival series they are again threatening to create.

Sifting Through the Rumors
A look at the buzz surrounding OWRS's Champ Car series in the days leading up to the first scheduled race of 2004.

The Jury's In
OWRS held its Champ Car season premiere at Long Beach on March 8-9. The purpose was to instill much-needed confidence in their ability, not to start the ’04 season, though that was needed, but to be able to end it in November, rather than earlier. To that end, OWRS offered fans 12 confirmed cars, and 14 confirmed races. What they offered the team owners who showed up and the race promoters was simply a request that sounded more like a plea: ‘trust us.’ Just 48 hours after it was over, Adrian Fernandez showed his level of trust by taking his car to the IRL.

2004 Race Planner
The 2004 race calendar and broadcast schedules for Formula 1 and the Indy Racing League, and the tenetative Champ Car schedule. Also provided: a recap of the new F1 practice and qualifying procedures.

It's Alive! It's Alive!
The CART Bankruptcy Files, Part Seven

Jordan EJ14
An analysis and photos of the 2004 Jordan.

BAR-Honda 006
An analysis and photos of the 2004 BAR-Honda.

Renault R24
An analysis and photos of the 2004 Renault.

The Bankruptcy Files, Part Six
Still more on CART's Bankruptcy

The Bankruptcy Files, Part Five
More on the continuing saga of CART's bankruptcy.

Ferrari F2004
An analysis and photos of the 2004 Ferrari.

Bankruptcy Files, Part Four
The latest installment of our continuing look at CART's bankrupcy.

Twin Sons of Different Mothers
But for the paint and decals, a photo comparison shows the new Sauber is a Ferrari in Swiss clothing.

Jaguar R5: The Product of Modest Goals
An analysis and photos of the 2004 Jaguar.

Toyota TF104
One small step for Toyota, and one large challenge for Mike Gascoyne

Bankruptcy Files, Part Three
The third installment of our continuing coverage of CART's bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Files, Part Two
Part two of our CART bankruptcy coverage.

Bankruptcy Files, Part One
The initial filing of CART's bankruptcy.

The American Revolution
CART’s bankruptcy won’t be a long-running show, but what it lacks in length, it promises to offset with high drama, low politics and a seismic change in racing’s landscape. Over two weeks, as many court hearings, and nearly 50 court filings and orders, a picture of the likely future of American racing is emerging, one in which the Hulman-George and France families have complete control of the sport.

Nose Job
An analysis of the new Williams.