IROC Est Mort?

Auto racing is unlike other sports in that within-league all-star competitions are largely meaningless. The best you can do is to take drivers from different kinds of racing and put them together in one race/series and see who comes out on top. A long time ago, that was the premise of the International Race of Champions, a 4-race series featuring drivers from all over the world competing against each other in identically prepared cars.

When the first IROC series took place in 1974 featured the likes of Bobby Unser, AJ Foyt, Richard Petty, Emerson Fittipaldi and Denis Hulme charging around in Porsche 911 RSRs. The great Mark Donahue won the series. From those beginnings, the series has slid into meaninglessness. The cars switched to NASCAR-style tube-framed cars, the track selection slowly turned oval only, and the drivers involves could hardly be called "international" (or "champion") for that matter. For that last several years, it's been nothing but another NASCAR support series.

Alas, it might all be coming to an end. Speed is reporting that the first round of 2007 series, scheduled for Daytona, has been "delayed" while the search for a sponsor continues. Hopefully, the motor racing gods will let this second-rate IROC die the death it so richly deserves.