I will not disagree that the situation with Lotus and/or Dragon is anything but unfortunate. It is very unfortunate, it’s a bummer, and (the way I personally feel about it) it’s a disappointment. But the situation is far from being something that should outrage any of us to the point where we HAVE TO absolutely know what is going on right this second. I’ve been in somewhat similar situations in the past (well, situations that look like tiddlywinks, compared to anything that’s going on in IndyCar, but enough that I can understand what it’s like when a vendor is behind on delivery and/or you’re waiting for a check to clear, whichever applies to this particular situation), and in these situations, things change by the hour. That’s probably the reason for no forthcoming details or press releases, because such information would probably be out of date within hours. Why cast dispersions on the other party with a tersely worded press release or statement to Jenna Fryer when you A) still have to work with the other party for the rest of the year and B) they may yet come through for you in the extremely near future. None of us commenting here (well, unless any of us work for Lotus or Jay Penske, in which case, apologies, and I’m rooting for you this season) NEEDS to know the details right now,so that’s why we don’t know. We’ll know what the story is in due time (like, before St. Pete, I guarantee it).

Really, this next part isn’t a slap at George (and, really, I don’t even think George seems all that upset about this issue, he’s just asking questions), because he’s been one of the voices of sanity in this long, drawn out offseason, but in this Age of the Internet, people are waaaayyyyy to easily drawn into being outraged about whatever might not be going perfectly today. “The new car didn’t stack up to my aesthetic ideal.” IT’S AN OUTRAGE! “The new car only did 215 at the first test at The Speedway.” IT’S AN OUTRAGE! “The new engine situation is an ongoing, well, situation, and isn’t perfectly hammered out yet.” IT’S AN OUTRAGE! “Driver X and Y are on the sideline while some loser [insert whatever guy you don't particularly like here] walked in with a check and kicked him out of a ride that Driver X or Y might not have been a candidate for in the first place.” IT’S AN OUTRAGE! “The chuckleheads over at NASCAR got the drop on IndyCar on splashing Twitter handles all over the on-screen graphics during races.” OUTRAGE! “Some engine supplier or team didn’t come through on a promise.” OUTRAGE! Jeez. That stuff is all disappointing, but I try to reserve actual, palpable expressions of rage for stuff like human rights violations or stories of people getting screwed by insurance companies. I mean, to each their own, but not getting that wound up allows me to sleep better than I used to in the days where I flew off the handle at the slightest thing. In the grand scheme of zero to Auschwitz, IndyCar’s relatively minor issues don’t really move the needle for me. We’re still gonna have a season, and it still promises to be better than anything that we’ve seen in the world of open wheel racing in year. Again, to each their own, though. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

Sorry for the late comment, but the IE6 on my work computer does not allow me to post a comment on any website that was created post-Friendster.

To me part of the problem is that the off season is just too long and as a result everyone has too much time to spend talking about anything other than ACTUAL RACING. Here’s to Getting Started at Phoenix the week before the superbowl,

The first without the second two is just irrelevant noise…