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Although CART ushered-in a golden era in the ’80s and ’90s, what has since come to be collectively called “American open-wheel racing” (i.e. the rival Champ Car and the Indy Racing League) is arguably in worse shape than when Gurney put pen to White Paper. As bad as things may have been in ’78, USAC champion Tom Sneva was universally regarded as America’s “National Champion.” Today, although NASCAR has stopped short of co-opting that lofty title, few would argue Jimmie Johnson, not Sebastien Bourdais or Dario Franchitti, is America’s de facto National Champion; just as he was in ’06, and Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth were before him.

Gurney could scarcely have imagined that turn of events 30 seasons ago. As for paying spectators, sponsors, “vigorous” media coverage and money coming back to the tracks...it hardly gets better. Although CART produced some of the greatest open-wheel racing ever seen (with crowds, media coverage and sponsorships to match), much of that has since been lost. With few exceptions, attendance is down compared to the ’80s and ’90s. Open-wheel racing has failed (or is failing) at former hotspots like Michigan, California, Phoenix, Portland and Milwaukee while new events from Las Vegas to Orlando have gone bust.

Strictly speaking, media coverage has improved compared to an age when auto racing was only noticed on the day following the Indy 500 or in the wake of a fatal accident, and television exposure was limited to ABC’s Wide World of Sports. But open-wheel racing struggles to generate anything but negligible TV ratings and, in the case of Champ Car, only gets network coverage via time-buys.

Can anybody say On Track, IndyCar Racing or Champ Car magazines? They all devoted serious coverage to American open-wheel racing, and they all went belly-up as subscriptions dwindled and advertising pages vanished. Sponsors? For every Target, McDonald’s, CDW or Motorola that has embraced or remained loyal to the sport, scores of Millers and Budweisers, Valvolines and Pennzoils, Kmarts and Gigantes are spending their money elsewhere. How about Chevrolet, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Toyota? PPG, FedEx and Pep Boys?