Another option, since they're already sactioned by IMSA, would be to run primarily as a support series on ALMS weekends. It's a nice step up from Star Mazda.

there should be an announcement in the next month or so. the biggest problem is getting KK to sell and for what price. Tg doesn't want the series, it isn't truly his like the lights has turned out to be. with the exception of the larger ovals an atlantic will kick a lights ass on all road courses including sears point. no doubt about it. and the atlantic will run on an oval with no problem. Vicki saved the series in the 80's when the super vee series was the flavor of the month... she put together the east-west series and waited the vee's out, the rest is history. robin millers prediction of the demise of the atlantic is premature. he will eat crow on this. more to be revealed later.

I hope RM will be wrong on this.

Crewguy Dan - 15 August 2008 10:53 AM

marshallbanana - 13 August 2008 06:38 PM

i think the best thing that could be done was if mazda agreed to pay for some promotion and a prize fund if the atlantic cars were used in indy lights as a replacement for the now rather old dallaras. it would be the best possible scenario in my view...

Sounds good to me. Now some one just needs to convince TG.

Can't see this happening as long as Honda is the sole engine supplier in the IRL. Notice how there's no engine company involved with Indy Lights?

loveallracing, honda as a engine supplier has nothing to do with the support series. nissan has dropped out of financial support of the lights program. the thing hurting the atlantic series is no new ownership for the series, no pot of gold at the end of the championship for the winning driver. several other bad news items for you to consider, the atlantic's will not be at long beach next year. Tony george and roger bailey do not want the atlantic series at all. especially bailey. the lights program has been his life. with the economy the way it is, it will be very hard for most people to come up with a sponsor program for next year, and to come up with the funding , teams need to know now, in the fall, whether there will be a series to run. its all up in the air right now. sept and oct is prime time for pitching a sponsor.....

Tony George dosen't want Atlantics to survive due to his well known allergy to good looking race cars

westsideclay - 23 September 2008 12:45 PM

Tony George dosen't want Atlantics to survive due to his well known allergy to good looking race cars

hahahaha

still interesting to see what happens to them. I'm sure there's interest from IRL members and it's movers and shakers, but I don't there's quire ENOUGH interest, especially with the task of repairing AOWR as a whole after the split while the economy is poor

ILS has no ladder program and other then matos who has won championship and went up the ladder system, the other drivers dropped out of the sky with money. Since Tg has had the feeder series, there have been more fall outs and on top of that I don't think any Indy lights driver has gone up to ICS and won even a race (the regulars not Rahal and marco who have raced a few). The atlantics has always had skilled drivers that started karting and went through the ladders series, it would certainly will hurt AOWR if it does not exist. I think reintroducing the ladder series defiantly rejuvenated CC before its demise.

I don't think there's enough money or even drivers to have two series. Look at the Atlantic series its barely alive with just under 20 drivers and the number is going to drop once the European drivers see there's no 2 million dollar reward and there's no respect for even winning the series (moving to Indycar or even GP2). What needs to happen is that Indy Lights and the Atlantics needs to come together as one and follow the Indycar series around much like GP2 does with F1. Follow the big dogs and get to know the courses so when they graduate to Indycar they have a lot of experience on the courses and driving styles and then you'll have skilled drivers that actually know how to drive on both ovals and road/street courses.

In return the ladder series well succeed and well bring in money into one main pool. Plus scouting a driver well be helluva easier for the Indycar teams and everyone else.

Hitokiri2 - 24 September 2008 09:32 PM

I don't think there's enough money or even drivers to have two series. Look at the Atlantic series its barely alive with just under 20 drivers and the number is going to drop once the European drivers see there's no 2 million dollar reward and there's no respect for even winning the series (moving to Indycar or even GP2). What needs to happen is that Indy Lights and the Atlantics needs to come together as one and follow the Indycar series around much like GP2 does with F1. Follow the big dogs and get to know the courses so when they graduate to Indycar they have a lot of experience on the courses and driving styles and then you'll have skilled drivers that actually know how to drive on both ovals and road/street courses.

In return the ladder series well succeed and well bring in money into one main pool. Plus scouting a driver well be helluva easier for the Indycar teams and everyone else.

+1

The main draw for Atlantics was the offer of $2m in in kind support for a CC ride. That brought the drivers from Europe that had a little money. Maybe the Atlantics sticks around, maybe it doesn't, but I think they are going to be hard pressed to fill the field since a number of Europeans with decent money won't see the relevance in it any longer and they will instead either spend it in FIL or the new junior series in Europe (Bernie's and Max's new feeders).