IndyCar: We have seen the Enemy...

The product is the problem. That part is easy. The solutions are not.

Some have asked why I dedicate so much of The Indy Idea to analysis of television ratings. This is a good question that warrants a serious answer. I shall do my best to provide one here.

I believe it is important that IndyCar participants recognize how bad things have become. They do not want to believe it. That is why they prefer racing venues such as Toronto, where the urban backdrop allows for a "major league" feel and a crowd consisting of 30,000 to 40,000 spectators looks good enough. That is also why they will be very excited about "phenomenal" fan turnout at Barber Motorsports Park, never mind the fact that the place can only hold approximately 30,000 spectators.

The Barber race would not exist if not for government subsidies. Toronto might be similarly subsidized, although I freely admit that I do not have evidence of it. Nevertheless, these events allow IndyCar participants to fool themselves into thinking that they are part of something that is cool and popular.

The IndyCar Series will not make the changes that must be made until those in power have no choice but to admit that change is necessary. They tend to like the dream world that they currently occupy. They want to keep it intact for as long as it is possible.

Many in IndyCar do not want to lower themselves to the point of serving an audience. IndyCar racing has no history of purposely serving anybody except for a very small group of insiders. Those insiders still exist and exert significant influence over the Indy Racing League and its feckless managers.

That is why IndyCar always blames others - race promoters, television partners, NASCAR, International Speedway Corporation, and sponsors that do not execute grand activation strategies on IndyCar's behalf. Versus is only the latest in a long line of pariahs. IndyCar participants like what they do and believe that others should, too. Any evidence to the contrary must therefore be the fault of someone else.

One of my goals here is to turn a mirror to those who are destroying this once great sport. Serious economic analysis leaves no doubt that IndyCar has failed in the competitive marketplace. I want the participants to know that they are not only not cool, but also not relevant. They act more like spoiled brats, having inherited market acceptance and then thrown it away so that they could spend what they want to spend and do what they want to do.

No more!

IndyCar's failure is directly attributable to those who have exercised power over the sport for more than 30 years. They refuse to believe it. My goal is to leave them no other alternative. The time for truth and reckoning is now.

Beginning Monday, October 14, I intend to begin looking to the future. The off-season at The Indy Idea shall be all about what IndyCar racing could and should become. It will be subject to economic discipline. Otherwise, I invite your thoughts about how IndyCar might become competitive in the marketplace. We shall continue, "As If."

Currently, IndyCar racing ranks fifth in the competition among auto racing series in the United States. NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Grand National are the undisputed Number One and Number Two players. The National Hot Rod Association and the NASCAR Truck Series are third and fourth. IndyCar is fifth, followed by ALMS.

Together, we can work to improve IndyCar's competitive positioning. I hope that you will contribute your good ideas, dispassionate analysis, and constructive debate.

Roggespierre