yeah im gonna wait to judge daly that much until he puts all his time into a season in europe, then we will see.
i still think the ladder system here in the states is good, it sucks that the skip barber national is going away, because i really feel like driving a car without downforce out of karting is critical to becoming a complete driver. anyway, the jump between usf2000 and star mazda is kinda pointless. the cars drive a bit different. but still, on a technical track an f2000 is hardly slower at all. the whole ladder needs a bit of a refresh, but I think they have the right idea. and following every step of the ladder will produce better drivers than the people who jump straight into an indy lights car. competition wise there is some very good talent, just not a lot of it, you have maybe 3 or 4 really good drivers per series, not 10 or 15 like in europe. and i almost feel like there is better talent in usf2000 than in star mazda.
and the college thing, yeah, if you have family or someone who can back you then yes. go for it dont waste your time with college, but if you have limited funding, you better be amazing at getting sponsors and raising money for yourself, or your racing career will be done very fast. so for someone without family that can back them, i think its a great idea to get through college, and then put all your time into racing with a very good understanding about how business, money and sponsorship works. the best would be to do both at the same time. especially if you want to race sports cars, where age doesnt really matter much. open wheel, i think if your going to do college, you need to find a way to do both at the same time. getting a start at a young age is important, but in reality, if you start at 22 instead of 18, you will have a 15 year career instead of a 19 year career, i dont see it as a very big deal.
