State of the Dillusion Address
February 2, 2007

OK, it's time for us to put away those pink tinted glasses and look reality in the eye... let's see how much KK resembles our once famous Pookie...

#1 - SCHEDULE = KK vowed we're going to get 16-18 schedule this year, fine, but Denver cancellation was not on the agenda... so we got Las Vegas, Phoenix, and China plus the two "Euro Trek" races added... and instead of Montreal we have a Quebec race on the sched -> and this one is FAAAAR from being definitive as well - smells of another Ansan... ...should we be smiling when we'll wind up with only a 15 race sched ?!...

#2 - TV SCHED = when the 15 race thingy was announced KK said we'll have TV sched announced in two weeks and we should expect more exposure on regular network TV (7 races last year, btw)... month later ABC/ESPN kaka is announced which we all welcomed with open arms since ESPN hits more households than SPEED... then prior to the "Euro Trek" being announced the TV networks HAD TO BE LET KNOWN of the final schedule so they can schedule their programming - meaning that KK already KNEW what will happen and what not... that is why DENVER hasn't figured in any network's schedule... and now it looks like we'll have: Las Vegas and Long Beach on NBC; Cleveland and maybe Edmonton on CBS; Portland, Road America, and Phoenix on ABC, and the rest on ESPN/ESPN2 -> that amounts to 6 or 7 races on network TV - NOT "more than 7" as KK has vowed...

3 - CAR COUNT = KK said: "22 cars cap"... KK said: "we'll have 20-22 cars on the grid in 2007 and 24-26 in 2008" and "I'll have Kathy placed somewhere"... and the way it looks at the moment is 17 cars for certain and no room for Kathy:

a/ NHR will not go 3 cars
b/ Forsythe may be a 1 car operation
c/ Conquest may be a 1 car operation
d/ RocketShit may be a 1 car operation
e/ PKV will stay a 2 car outfit and all thanks to Red Bull
f/ Gelles was announced as a new team, KK even said that they were the first ones to order the Panoz chassis, and as it stands Gelles won't make the cut this year and it is very doubtful they'll manage it the next year
g/ CTE/HVM became "Minardi Team USA" with Paul Stoddart coming on board but there still is no sign that the team has the capability nor desire to expand into a 3 car operation as Stoddie has been blabbing about
h/ Kathy Legge still has no clue where she'll wind up (and my friend who is her "ghost writer" at Crash.net talks with her every week, btw)
i/ Junky and Servia looking for a ride and they do not have money to fork out - nor should they need to

4. - SPONSORS = KK have said that "with the new Panoz car coming in, which will result in lesser dollar amounts teams shall need, expect new teams to enter the series" - fine, he didn't lie here, BUT with three more races added overseas the teams DO NEED more $$$ to run a full schedule... and all that money must come from sponsors -> let's take a peek:

a/ NHR - Newman's McDonald's is the only bona fidé sponsor here, Centrix is almost gone, CocaCola is going to come in when I'll be too old to give a damn, and Rahal's Gehl won't but you burgers at White Castle
b/ Forsythe - no sponsorship since Players pulled out and none on the horizon
c/ Walker - thank Craig Gore for sticking his 2¢ in
d/ Coyne - always manages to glue together some scraps but never anything major
e/ Bachelart - with Mi-Jack almost gone all he MAY have is a few bucks from Golden Palace... if he doesn't come up with something he's up the shit creek
f/ "Red Bull PKV Racing" - says it all -> without Red Bull we would have to look at Gulfstream and BellMicro who are NOT actual sponsors but friends of KK ?!
g/ "RüSport" - CDW/HP is an actual sponsor, but the team needs more in order to succeed
h/ "RocketShit" - the name says it all -> never had a real sponsor and most likely never will... whatever crap they put on their sidepods is worth peanuts at a circus
i/ "Minardi Team USA" - and this one we've got to see -> Stoddie is an Euro version of our Coyne
j/ PCM - still yet to be seen who is really backing them

And then we have Bridgestone pulling out from sponsoring the series and now word is that KK is talking with Kumho and Pirelli about a possible replacement as tire supplier in not so distant future... and then Ford pulls a plug and now KK is looking to have some Asian manufacturer to slap their name on his Cosworth engines... and still no sign of series' TITLE SPONSOR ?!

So, add it all up and tell me that "ALL'S WELL" aboard this ship...

No, I am not pointing all this out with intention to say that "the ship is sinking" - that is not true -> I'm merely trying to point out that KK, however shrewd businessman he is, has stepped into a venture that is beyond his capabilities and fixing a toy that TG has screwed up is almost beyond possible... but he's trying - that credit I'll give to him...

All we can do now is pray for better days... and don't try looking through those pink-tinted glasses again = you'll "hurt" yourself at the end...

zerO

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