The Republic has learned that the IRL Chassis Advisory Board - we shall avoid calling it the Looney Board - has at least two members signed, sealed and delivered.
The first is Eddie Gossage, President of Bruton Smith's Texas Motor Speedway. This makes perfect sense, not just because I suggested that either Smith or his emissary should be offered the race promoter's seat on the board, but also because TMS pays by far the steepest sanction fee of any race track or temporary circuit in the IndyCar Series.
That Gossage accepted IRL President Randy Bernard's offer is seen as nothing but good news in these quarters. Gossage sells tickets and corporate sponsorships more ably than any race promoter in North America. The IRL event at Texas continues to draw more race fans than any other IndyCar event, including those that enjoy millions in public subsidies.
You can like his tactics or not, but you must admit that Gossage is good at his job. Let's hope that those who want to turn IndyCar into the kind of series that has failed repeatedly in the U.S. marketplace will be willing to listen to someone who forgets more about marketing every day than they'll ever know.
The seco
nd appointment is more curious. I am a fan of Gentleman Gil de Ferran. He was an outstanding technical racing driver and a magnanimous Indianapolis 500 Champion.The oddity is not that de Ferran was selected for a leadership role. He is a business-minded, intelligent man whose cool temperament will be appreciated by other members of the Advisory Board.
No, the strange thing is that de Ferran, the newly named president and managing partner of Luczo Dragon Racing, was chosen to represent the car owners. Because he is a "partner" in his racing team, we can assume that de Ferran is in fact a car owner. But we're left to wonder why his contemporaries selected one of the IRL's least experienced owners to represent them.
To that end, I have a theory, as you might have imagined.
Several IRL car owners are aligned with the various would-be chassis suppliers. Gil likely has no such conflict of interest. Perhaps even more important, he was not perceived to have had a conflict. In cases such as these, appearances are often at least as important as facts.
As a fan, I appreciate that de Ferran does not carry the baggage that some of his more seasoned IndyCar team owners must carry around. Is that sufficient to make up for inexperience?
My guess is that, given de Ferran's understated, cosmopolitan demeanor, yes, it probably is.
Best of luck to both men. The future of a once-great sport depends on them.
Roggespierre
"Gossage sells tickets and corporate sponsorships more ably than any race promoter in North America."
ReplyDeleteBombardier dropped its title sponsorship of the Texas 550K. Gossage sold the title sponsorship to Firestone. There wasn't a new source of corporate investment to be found instead? I guess that's the best he could do.
I'm pretty sure Eddie Gossage has sold a fair number of $1.00 tickets to the Texas IndyCar race in the past. I'll look into that, since deep discounts and free tickets have been repeatedly vilified here in the past.
"Several IRL car owners are aligned with the various would-be chassis suppliers."
There are eight team owners who are investors in the Delta Wing Group: in total, they field 15 of the current full time entries on the grid. Likely 20 entries for the 2010 Indy 500.
If there are any other owners aligned with any of the other constructors who have submitted chassis proposals, please break the news.
Gil De Ferran's technical expertise and administrative background as the head of his own ALMS team, and the Honda F1 team, make him an excellent addition to the panel. If his view is objective, he will be free to critically analyze specific design elements of the proposals and cut through some of the sales pitches.
It would be particularly interesting to listen to Ben Bowly explain to an Indy 500 winner how to drive a car with a 24" front track width, steer-by-wire differential torque vectoring, and load leveling systems.
If Gil was selected by the other owners as their representative because he is not entrenched in a particular agenda, great. Perhaps the owners made the appointment as one of indifference, since most are so firmly entrenched themselves.
Even the timing of the announcement of De Ferran's selection was done in opposition to Mr. Bernard's request. And there have been reports that Mr. Gossage was invited to the ICONIC position, but this page is the first I have read which claims he has accepted the request.
There are many critical decisions to be made in the area of promotion, and some recent ones have already proven to be less than effective.
Product engineering to revise and select a race car that will create good competition has nothing to do with promotions.
Andy
"You can like his tactics or not, but you must admit that Gossage is good at his job."
ReplyDeleteI like the way he does his job in this respect:
"Special Pre-Sale Event for Texas Tickets: In a year where Texas Motor Speedway has offered its lowest ticket price ever for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race with the $20 “Backstretch Buster” seats, sold $1 seats in a special promotion for the June IndyCar Series race and unveiled a special two for $99 Dickies 500 frontstretch ticket package, “The Great American Speedway!” is extending a thank you Sunday to all its fans attending the Dickies 500."
Jayski
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That's good promotion to fill otherwise empty seats, conducted "...more ably than any race promoter in North America."
When IICS enables such promotions, they were accused here as "propping up" something or other in a rather unflattering way. Here, October 5, 2009:
IndyCar: APEX Brasil Flexes its Fuel (and Moraes)
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Let Eddie promote all the races, fine with me. Full grandstands makes you money, even if it takes comp and discount tickets. John says it better: "The direct ROI is only one piece of the value puzzle."
And if the race cars are not designed to enable entertaining competition, you get people to watch once. Eddie Gossage is a lot of things, and a race car designer is not one of them.
Andy
"It would be particularly interesting to listen to Ben Bowly explain to an Indy 500 winner how to drive a car with a 24" front track width, steer-by-wire differential torque vectoring, and load leveling systems."
ReplyDeleteSomeone's working on it:
GM unveils three futuristic, urban EN-V concepts:
http://green.autoblog.com/2010/03/24/gm-en-v-concept-futuristic-urban-transportation/
GM and Segway working on new balancing two-wheeler P.U.M.A. project:
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/07/gm-and-segway-working-on-new-balancing-2-wheeler/
General Motors Corp. unveiled a two-wheeled electric vehicle in conjunction with scooter maker Segway:
http://ub-news.com/news/gm-segway-partnership-for-2-wheel-scooter/1777.html
Come to think of it, someone representing the auto manufacturing industry should be on the ICONIC panel. Or at least go out and talk with the major manufacturers to get an idea of where they're going and what IndyCar might do to get them involved in the sport.
-John
Bowlby's concepts aren't new, they are adaptations of existing road car technologies.
ReplyDeleteThe point is that the racing vehicle he has simulated will require driving techniques that no IndyCar driver, or ladder series driver, has previously developed.
Auto manufacturer R&D is well funded and far in advance of racing technology. I think it's a great leap in logic to assume that the Delta Wing will attract manufacturer participation just because some contemporary systems have been carried over. If that claim has merit, wouldn't they already be involving auto companies in adapting electronic control systems for the Delta prototype?
On the other hand, I'd think that bolting a GM Ecotec engine into a Dallara and inviting a company rep to the track to see it run might be a more effective approach. Perhaps there would be enough interest for GM to paint their name on the side of the car. Or Vauxhall or Lotus, since they have used the same engine in production.
Manufacturers were invited to round table discussions to develop the new engine specification and new suppliers. Two years later, IICS has no engine specification or new supplier.
How a bespoke $150K racing engine that makes 300 HP is of interest to manufacturers is not clear. It's a variant of an old Mazda design, and that's what Bowlby has selected for the Delta. If that has relevance to Mazda, or to the "half the price" objective, or to the claim that a variety of engines can be used as alternates, the connections have not been established.
Andy
Great, now there are two delicious flavors of Koolaid to enjoy, both endorsed by champions.
ReplyDeleteChip Ganassi points to the Series as irrelevant, too costly, outdated and regulated by the wrong people.
So what does Roger Penske tell the USA Today?
"There's nothing wrong with the series right now," Penske said.
He didn't get that from me, either. There's nothing wrong from the perspective of the guy who's winning the deal, I suppose. Everybody else, not so sure.
Andy
A more complete version of Penske's quote:
ReplyDelete"I'm all about saving costs right now for all the teams. There's nothing wrong with the sport right now. I'm not sure that if we changed engines in the cars right now that it's going to put 50,000 more people in the stands. We need to promote the drivers and the teams and the sponsors."
OTOH, this from Bernard; "I do not want to be the ultimate decider. That's why we have seven experts on that panel."
(www.thatsracin.com/2010/03/27/30706/notes-new-boss-wins-penskes-praise.html#ixzz0jnOOewUe)
Well, if the board is to make a recommendation, and Bernard won't be the decider...who will? Mari?
BTW: Anyone know that Dan Wheldon has a "photo biography" in bookstores? Just $59.95. I'll wait 'til it hits the seconds table.
Yep, Bernard said he will read the recommendations, and report to the IMS Board.
ReplyDeleteRocket, you are probably right when you say about ICONIC "...this is not serious."
I still believe the deal is already in place with Dallara, and ICONIC is nothing more than political cover for the Board.
Now the decision date has been floated as July 1. So is Bowlby thrashing away to finish a working Delta prototype, or has the project lost momentum because of Penske's apparent difference in views?
Andy
I vote lost momentum, if it ever gained any...my guess is nothing they threw at the BIG WOW wall stuck. Makes it easier to maintain old stuff with "kit" improvements, even go cross gen with Dallara working the details, and declare victory while creating environment for large number of potential 2011 Centennial entries. If they claim 40 this year, maybe 45+ next.
ReplyDeleteMr. Dallara did not pay for all those lunch dates for nothing, you know?
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that no member of the IMS Board would be considered for the BOD of any firm if not for blood. That's not criticism; it's reality.
Yet that is who will ultimately make this decision. In time, things will not improve. Bernard will be blamed.
If he isn't the decider, then why did he leave Professional Bull Riding, where he was successful and popular? Is the IRL pay really that good?
Roggespierre
Let's not confuse the 500 and IRL. Barnard is IRL President, which is not a family business in the sense IMS is. My guess is he can play with all but The International 500-Mile Sweepstakes at Indianapolis. The equipment decision is at the heart of the 500, which is the heart of the IRL. Mari Hulman George is well-versed in the game, a former car owner and 500 entrant, etc. She sat at her sainted father's right hand through formation of USAC and the hey-day of the event. I wouldn't sell her short, and I'd expect to see A.J. Foyt somewhere is the shadows behind her when a decision is made.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Toso of Dallara said in a February interview that discussions for a U.S. manufacturing facility have been ongoing for several years.
ReplyDeleteThis from Mr. Dallara on March 8, 2010:
“The new Dallara Indy car will be built in Speedway, Indiana, and it will set new standards in terms of safety, fuel efficiency, race-ability, technology performance and cost containment,” said company founder Gianpaolo Dallara. “We can achieve all of these objectives. Dallara as a company, a trusted, credible, stable and loyal partner for the Indy Racing League for the past 12 years, commits to support, service and develop this new car by locating a dedicated facility near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
The board doesn't have to know anything about race cars to see that the financial and political incentives of this deal are too good to pass up.
I still say that means "game over" before ICONIC assembles. But I have been wrong before, once back in the 70's....
Why did Randy Bernard take the job. And why was he offered it?
My only guess is that the Board offered him a fat stack of cash. They wanted to bring in an intermediary to negotiate with the owners, who the Board felt were ready to break away. That blows up all of the existing IICS contracts and leaves them with only the liabilities. And no income every May for IMS, which is then devalued as a result of losing the 500.
Bernard may also have been seen as a good candidate to solidify the relationship with Versus. If they were grumbling about the pathetic '09 ratings, IICS would have to shore up the deal or risk folding without it. So Versus stays patient for another year to give their pal Bernard a chance. Losing Versus blows up the Izod deal too, I would think.
But I sure can't figure out if the board expects him to right the ship, or to simply plug some leaks to make the IICS easier to sell.
I have a lot more questions than answers too: either chaos rules, or all of the real decisions are being made far above the public view. There isn't any consistant logic to the actions that have played out over the last few months, from owners or management.
Had the Delta wing been viewed as palatable when test marketed, I think we would be in a very different place today. Now Penske APPEARS to be balking, and Ganassi APPEARS to be vacillating.
I could see financial consideration from Dallara, tax breaks from the city and State, moderate income growth from Series sponsorships, and continued cuts in operating costs as being enough to put IICS in the black and hold it together. Easier to keep, easier to sell.
Unless the owners bolt. Then it all goes looney.
Andy
And we're back at the beginning. Without the 500 there is no ICS. No ICS frees IMS from that drama, and offers a return to an open event. Put the money on the table and let the 33 fastest (per reasonable specs) run.
ReplyDelete"Is the IRL pay really that good?"
ReplyDeleteMaybe an equity stake. If he can pull the IRL out of the red... bring in a private equity firm...
It wouldn't be his first rodeo:-)
John
No IICS = no full season sponsorships = no source of income = no capital for R&D or construction costs = no viable entries for the Indy 500, save for a few wealthy industrialists. Mr. Penske will still think everything is fine.
ReplyDeleteYou can't assemble a team and race a car with no money,which is exactly what you end up with if you don't defeat the wealthy industrialists to win the Rocketman Trust Fund 500.
Don't argue it with me, write Sarah Fisher a letter and see what she thinks. Or Wiggins, Coyne, Beck, Bachelart, etc.
Andy
The whole mess is damned to perpetually slogging through unrequited respectability to unlamented failure unless the 500 is first restored to public prominence. It is just that simple. Open the rules, offer the purse, and competitors will find a way to race for it. And if Bernard can fashion a wonderful series out of it, which is highly likely once the general public again pays even scant attention, so much the better. It will not happen the other way around.
ReplyDeleteI understand and admire your intention, but it only worked that way when the technology was crude and the danger was disregarded. Then you could build a car on the cheap and be competitive.
ReplyDeleteThe Indy 500 is still reasonably healthy. A stronger participating series enables more and better competition at every race, and attracts more interest to the biggest one.
And like the Indy 500, it appears that the perpetual slogging will press on regardless.
Andy
"A stronger participating series enables more and better competition at every race, and attracts more interest to the biggest one."
ReplyDeleteThe flow is exactly the opposite. There are few events that create stars. And now, no one is becoming famous by winning Indianapolis, either. Indeed, the slogging continues, but the expiration date will eventually be reached as demographics catch up. No one much under 30 recalls the Sweepstakes as a "big deal." It better become one again in a hurry.
OK, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Teams and drivers that run the 500 as a one-off do so because they can't generate sponsorship for more than one race.
ReplyDeleteThey can't be competitive with well-funded teams and drivers who perfect their craft every other weekend. That's what a full series with a full season sponsorship enables you to accomplish.
Hemelgarn comes to mind. Sam Schmidt couldn't race without Ganassi's help. Most of the other one-off entries are seat rentals which would not be available.
Andy
Let's be clear. What I am advocating is a 500 that stands as its own event and offers the most significant purse on the globe. That's what it was; that's what needs to be, and could be by 2011.
ReplyDeleteThe 500 should have reasonably open specs, which will allow all sorts of equipment, including obsolete Dallara spec mobiles and delta wings, diesels and turbos, to race.
Now, if Bernard, owners and promoters desire to stitch together a series, they're welcome to it. It is highly unlikely they'll ever strike out alone to extort the 500 - they've already spent years in the desert. But the 500-Mile Sweepstakes must not ever again become a "series event."
Directly linked to the IRL the 500 has increasingly become an orphan trademark living off its residual prestige while becoming equated with this "inferior" series. Sever the IRL connection, make it at all compelling, you may save your series.
"The flow is exactly the opposite."
ReplyDeleteTHAT is the key concept. In any reasonably broad view of motorsports, the Indianapolis 500 is the sole identity of this form of racing.
A series can be an important extension of the 500 - ASSUMING it is composed of those whom have proven first and foremost desirous and worthy of competing at Indianapolis. In the past, those are exactly the drivers and teams that carted around their equipment to the rest of the events on the calendar.
But the series now is not composed of talent and teams tailored first and foremost for Indianapolis. It does not look at all like the thing that it WOULD look like if competing at Indianapolis were the ultimate aim. It looks like an international formula road-racing series.
THIS kind of series, unlike the first I described, is not a thing that can possibly elevate the importance of the Indianapolis 500 - the relationship is, in fact, exactly the opposite. The current series does nothing but drain the remaining power of the 500 by making it a contest between not-quite-F1-quality road racers. These aren't the guys who WOULD be racing if Indianapolis were the only event. The fans know this truth, and hate it.
Remove the 500 and the pursuits of our current teams and drivers fall right off the sporting map. The series loses all identity, becomes impossible to explain to the layman. Remove every other event from the calendar EXCEPT the 500, and the essential identity of this sport...remains.
A series will not reinvigorate the 500 unless it accurately reflects the identity of the 500's ideals, and the current series simply does not do that.
"...identity of the 500's ideals..."
ReplyDeleteWhich means what, exactly?
Make the Indy 500 a huge sweepstakes event with a relatively open set of rules, and you won't attract 33 competitive new entries. You won't get ten.
You'll get a few contemporary new designs, a few cars converted from the rules under which they currently compete, and a field full of Dallaras and older, less competitive cars.
The rich get richer, most others put their cars back in the shed and wait for next year. With no budget or series to continue development of their car or their skill. Or to make upgrades.
What is the basis for this claim: "The current series does nothing but drain the remaining power of the 500.." ?? The Indy 500 is saddled with a decline in popularity?
That may be true because of the tastes of the contemporary audience, and the decline that most entertainment outlets are now experiencing. But that makes the Indy 500 far from ignored.
Legends and stars are missing, and that's one aspect that turns away the casual fan. Very few of the legends and stars you can name achieved that status from their competition in one race a year.
Most rose to prominence through the many IndyCar events they competed in, and through racing in other series. Even F1.
A Series can invigorate the pinnacle event on the schedule: it happens when competitve events and promotion establishes the drivers as recognizable personalities. Then the pinnacle event has greater significance.
Just like the Daytona 500.
Andy
"Make the Indy 500 a huge sweepstakes event with a relatively open set of rules, and you won't attract 33 competitive new entries. You won't get ten."
ReplyDeleteRubbish. Cars several years old were commonly entered in the race through 1996. Running the 500 as a Sweepstakes does NOTHING to prevent a series from forming and operating to provide additional return on equipment investment. Hell, the Sweepstakes format was the reason why there were 60 or more entries over the years up to the split - 75 entries to the combined Indy and U.S. 500s in 1996. To collect a nice chunk all one must be is among the top 33.
"Legends and stars are missing, and that's one aspect that turns away the casual fan."
The lack of stars is a reason the series fails to attract casual fans, which is much different than turning them away. Turning them away may be the lack of American drivers and/or equipment. And that despite a current three-time 500 winner, ironically better known for dancing! The bigger problem is a lost generation of fans - leaving a huge hole in a prime demographic of 15-30 year old males.
"A Series can invigorate the pinnacle event on the schedule..."
Where is this true? NASCAR? I'm not sure I'd even concede that as the Daytona 500 has long exhibited vigor since drivers like Goldsmith, Foyt, Andretti and Gurney were field regulars. Nonetheless, the Indianapolis 500 is clearly the second event on the same day as an another that is not NASCAR's pinnacle show.
The latest from Roger Penske:
ReplyDeleteA Conversation with Roger Penske
4/05/2010 4:32 PM ET By Holly Cain
Roger Penske:
"My recommendation is one manufacturer and force everybody (to have the same) block, cylinder head, the crank, the rods. All of that cost, we all buy the same stuff. then we take that to Chevrolet and say, you develop your intake manifolds, and put your stuff on the web so we can see what it is. ... everybody would have the same base for the expensive stuff.''
Penske: "If there's going to be an engine change, let's do the engine change and put it in the existing car because that would save us. You've got 24 teams with two or three (cars), that's 75 cars, you've got 20 million bucks that would have to be spent by the teams right now in an environment where you don't want to spend that (much) capital. That's a lot of money.
http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010...-roger-penske/
_______________________________________________
Yeah, kinda like that, Cap'n. But not JUST the Chevy.
Of course, I don't know what in the hell I'm talking about anyway. IRONIC, I guess.
Andy
To Rocket:
ReplyDeleteLet's see...first, you parsed my words to exclude the phrase about older cars being entered. Nice snip.
Second, you don't like the way I turned a phrase, and then write your own confirmation of the point I was making:
"... drivers like Goldsmith, Foyt, Andretti and Gurney were field regulars."
Yep, at least two household names there, who "...rose to prominence through the many IndyCar events they competed in, and through racing in other series."
Whatever you say about Daytona, fine. I already agreed that we'd have to agree to disagree.
The inference I draw from what you wrote is that you want to see the Series that now runs the 500 disappear, invite all comers, and allow another series to form in its place.
?
So you write your plan, and I'll shut up and read for awhile.
Andy
Let me put it plainly - I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CURRENT SERIES RELATIVE TO THE 500. If it survives, great. If it goes away, that won't bother me. History indicates one will form. But to proffer that any series somehow "invigorate(s) the pinnacle event on the schedule" is conjecture. Where's the evidence supporting the proposition?
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Rocketman. The "500" should stand alone and be the reason as to why you want to race. The series is a good way to test and work on improving the ability to obtain sponsors. Any benefit the series gets from having a bunch of cars and new teams is just an added bonus.
ReplyDeleteAs we know, road, street or oval get specialist drivers. That might be a good way to determine driver value, but as a fan of the ovals and road courses, it cost far more in setting up a car for road type racing than ovals. Ovals, the risk is higher on damaged equipment. But in the long run, the costs are less if the driver keeps it off the wall. So, if cost is the primary concern, I would just do ovals. I believe you would get a counter arguement for someone who wants to do road racing. Bottom line, more drivers, more cars and hopefully a improved series. Better to have lots of small teams than a few big ones. Indy would just bring everyone to the big show and that would restore its glory!
"But to proffer that any series somehow "invigorate(s) the pinnacle event on the schedule" is conjecture. Where's the evidence supporting the proposition?"
ReplyDeleteDAY
TO
NA
Disagree all you want. I will agree to disagree with your disagreement.
Andy
I believe they call this a question wrapped inside a riddle located inside an enigma!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe know of use will truly know the answer, but we keep looking and trying. That is half the battle. Doing nothing would only make it worse!
Andy: re DAY
ReplyDeleteTO
NA
The Daytona 500 did not become the pinnacle event of the NASCAR series until CBS started broadcasting it live in the mid 70's. Up to that time the Southern 500 was considered the prize to win. Mostly because of the difficulty of the track (Darlington). Atlanta, Talledega and others were essentially clones of Daytona. Who cares about the Southern 500 these days. It is only because of the "fight' between Cale and Lee Roy at the end of the 500 in 1975 did the national audience start watching NASCAR in great numbers nationwide. Up to that time the Daytona 500 was just one of the races on the series, albeit on of the ones everybody in NASCAR desired to win. In any event the Daytona 500 was NEVER a stand alone event like the Indy 500 was.
Slightly off topic here, but it could/can be argued that NASCAR has overbuilt/oversaturated the market for it's product and is now paying the price.
You guys are really good at this.
ReplyDeleteTha statement I made was:
"A Series can invigorate the pinnacle event on the schedule: it happens when competitve events and promotion establishes the drivers as recognizable personalities. Then the pinnacle event has greater significance.
Just like the Daytona 500."
Thanks for substantiating my point, even if the intent was misdirected.
"...the Daytona 500 was NEVER a stand alone event..."
Thanks for misdirecting the point, even though it wasn't mine.
Andy
On a related note to the central thesis of this series of blog posts. Check out the latest from PressDog. (http://pressdog.typepad.com). Note the article : "Insiders Worry Randy Bernard Doesn't Know His Place". Very good reading. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI like that, GM! Hope the real dynamics are almost as true as P-dog presents them.
ReplyDeleteThe Daytona 500 is a good counterpoint. The Daytona 500 does not transcend NASCAR in the same way that the Indy 500 transcends Indy car. Take away Daytona tomorrow and you still have a ton of history and tradition wrapped up in NASCAR.
Take away the 500 and you have hardly anything left in IndyCar.
"IndyCar IS the Indianapolis 500"
"NASCAR IS the Daytona 500"
Only the first statement could possibly be arguable.
So the question is: take an enormous one-time investment, to be placed at IMS's discretion.
The options are:
1) Allocate the funds evenly among the series events.
2) Allocate all the funds directly toward 500.
The question is, which is the best course of action? Rocketman53 argues that option 2 is best, because of the transcendent nature of the 500 over other IndyCar events in terms of popularity, name recognition, star-building potential, etc. etc. And I agree.
As to the claim "The current series does nothing but drain the remaining power of the 500", I think there is a range of supporting evidence, and much of it has previously been discussed on this blog.
And of course there's got to exist evidence to the contrary. But here's something. This is what happens every year: the month of May comes, and everyone is excited. The race happens, IndyCar is on the map, and the term "momentum" circulates. But inevitably, the series gradually slides to the fringes of the sporting map...until next May, when it reawakens. May at Indy may not be the ONLY thing that matters in this sport, but it's darn close. NASCAR is a very different story.
Lots of counterpoints: none to the one I made, and none which affects its validity.
ReplyDeleteAs for your options, I don't get it. IMS doesn't allocate any funds to the Series now. If you want to profer that they are making up the $20M shortfall that the IICS is seeing...
That's why Belskus wants to wean owners off the TEAM fund. And increase revenues by selecting a CEO who will hopefully raise sponsorship investment and sanctioning fees for all the othr races on the Series schedule.
If IMS then wants to invest some of their profit to boost the 500 payout, fine.
That has nothing to do with the Series, or the fact that the 500 competition will suffer without 15 or so healthy teams to compete in it.
Andy
Andy:
ReplyDeleteFor most of its history the 500 has existed as a "stand alone" event i.e. an event that was not part of a series. It has been sanctioned by various sanctioning groups that allowed the drivers in their series to participate and accrue points towards their respective championships. Until the formation of the IRL, the 500 was an "extra-series" event. Tony Hulman resisted all attempts to make the 500 into "just one event in a series" Tony George stood that idea on it's head.
The Daytona 500, on the other hand, was always just one event in the series. This is the crucial difference between the two events. The Daytona 500 did not become the "pinnacle" event in NASCAR until NASCAR, in an attempt to gain television market share, started promoting it as "The Great American Race" in the early '90's. If the Daytona 500 were to lose it's status as the "pinnacle" event in NASCAR, NASCAR would still go on with all it's traditions and history. The same cannot be said for IndyCar racing if the 500 were to go away.
Without a vibrant viable 500 there would be no series. The series needs the 500 to be successful rather than the other way around.
Tony George used the profits from the events at IMS, the 500 and Brickyard 400, to financially prop up the IRL. Tony Hulman would have been livid. In fact he was probably spinning at 10,000 rpm in his grave when his grandson started the IRL
The Indy 500 was always about small teams doing one-off entries and hoping to score a big paycheck, and coincidentally tweak the noses of the bigger better financed teams. I don't ever recall seeing any of Smokey Yunick's cars participating at any other USAC events other than Indy.
The TEAM account was simply a glorified guaranteed appearance money scheme to get the car count up. That's all it was. Most of the smaller teams used it as part of their operating budget instead having a sponsor pick up the slack.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated above,
ReplyDelete"I understand and admire your intention, but it only worked that way when the technology was crude and the danger was disregarded. Then you could build a car on the cheap and be competitive."
There was a clown car from a privateer for a one-off at Indy when I was there in 1982. Name me some since.
Again, my valid point about Daytona is the focus of misdirection. Go back and read what I wrote, or make all the irrelevant arguments you wish.
The TEAM money was, and still is, appearance money used for the operating budgets of the teams. You got most of that right. Right now, smaller teams could not run the season without it. If they could not run the entire season, it is reasonable to assume that they sponsors which they have attracted would not fund the effort.
If sponsors were only interested in subsidizing one event a year, that's all we would see. There's a few of those now, that's about it. They are small packages which do not include the cost of assembling a car and the team to run it. They are sponsorships which cover two weeks of operating expenses and a short engine lease.
Andy
For Chrissake,at least change the picture. I keep getting reminded of all the bad songs Billy Joel wrote when he was old enough to look like Gossage.
ReplyDeleteThree decent races. Where's the promotion?
Andy
On the radio today: Mr. Bernard did not answer whether Mr. Gossage would be a member of ICONIC. He also said the board was to be named Tuesday afternoon April 13.
ReplyDeleteAndy
There were a reasonable number of commercials on ESPN advertising St. Pete. In fact, I thought they were quite well done and presented the IndyCar series in as compelling a manner as could be hoped for, at least for those who would not be considered road/street/formula racing aficionados* - which is to say, for the vast majority of race fans in the United States.
ReplyDeleteCould there be more promotion? Certainly. Could there be a better product? Certainlier.
*This is to say, crashing - notably Moraes hopping on Marco Andretti - and Danica featured highly in the spot. But it was very attention-grabbing, and even when I attempted to analyze it as cynically as possible I was unable to find it less that what could be hoped for.
Those were three decent races I watched. The product was good enough to sell.
ReplyDeleteSt. Pete was an ABC race, and there are four more remaining which includes the 500.
ESPN and Versus are adversaries: no promos will appear on ESPN unless ABC covers the next race, and no highlight coverage appears on ESPN Sportscenter for races broadcast by the competition. If the commercial you saw was more of an attention-getter, that's the only thing that has changed.
Some of the new Izod merchandise is out, but can only be found on the IMS website...not through Izod or Macy's. They have old stock, no selection.
As in that example, focus on the existing fan base is in evidence. The IndyCar website and live streaming have been pet projects, which do nothing to extend the scope and attract new eyeballs.
A sweepstakes was just announced for an Indy 500 package last Saturday. Anybody heard about it? Seems a shame to miss a chance to plug it during the first three races, and thus limit its length to six weeks.
I don't see any cohesive or effective strategy to the airtime buys or social media networking, but that's a layman's opinion. The Peak Antifreeze ads are no longer being aired regularly on ESPN Radio, and Danicamania has dwindled since her Nascar stint.
The compressed schedule and contrived new qualifying format for the 500 seems designed to attract the lost pre-race day audiences, and it will be effective to some extent.
So the 500 will see a bump. And a good race, followed by good attendance and competition at Texas on the following weekend would be perfect. How far that momentum carries, and how well it will be promoted, is anybody's guess.
The IZOD car still has no funding to run half of the events.
Local promotion was effective at Barber (see my posts from last September), so at least the gate was good and the TV pictures showed it. To very few of us. The race was scheduled head to head with the Masters tournament.
The rebroadcast on Versus was Monday afternoon. Even Versus can't bump Monday evening programming to show the race to everybody who was watching golf? Two hours of "Whacked Out Sports" preceded a "D League" Basketball game to fill prime time. And the IndyLights races have lost their time slot entirely.
If NBC ever super-sizes Versus, there is still no sign that IndyCar gets better than the third-rate treatment it presently receives.
Oval fans (and Danica) are impatient with the four-race string of road courses. Through all of July and until the end of August, five more consecutive road courses. Four ovals to end the season. More bad ideas.
Maybe mine are worse, but there is no indication that any initiatives for promotion, competition, or safety recommendations are being read by an organization that claims to be soliciting input. No response. As if.
With no changes made to improve the oval competition, or to thin out the pack racing, I am afraid the most memorable moments will make for more "attention-grabbing" commercials.
Maybe that will satisfy some secret wishes, and the "danger" of IndyCar that Izod promotes will fulfill their expectations.
No thanks, but it will be good enough to end my futility. There's nothing more certainlier than that.
Andy
Home Run. Touch 'em all:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/35247-industry-experts-fill-out-advisory-panel/
Andy
Since this blog appears to have withered on the vine, here's another you might be interested in:
ReplyDeletehttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/380816-stay-on-track-lets-play-two
You can click on my name at the top of the article to read other entries if you wish. Commenys invited.
Andy
Shout out to RP:
ReplyDeletehttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/385140-stay-on-track-p2-right-track-wrong-setup
Ashmore of BAT says that IRL won't even be accepting the formal proposals until mid-June. Eddy has been on Kyle Petty's motorcycle trip, and now has to get ready for the Firestone 550 the week after Indy.
ReplyDeleteHope everybody else is working real hard on the information they have so far. IRL chiefs will be busy trying to put together deals for next year's schedule, due in August.
Andy
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