I'm sorry. The headline is harsh but true.
What's more, today's horrid turnout at Kansas was entirely predictable.
The market is naturally segmented. Oval racing enthusiasts have rejected this product yet again. Is there any reason to believe that Chicagoland will be better?
IndyCar has been transformed into an international road racing product, one that has no business staging races at large oval facilities.
Good luck, Randy Bernard. Sadly, it seems that you're going to need a huge dose of it.
Bring on the (subsidized) Streets of Baltimore!
Roggespierre
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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Welcome bacl RP.... You are right the casual motorsports fan has rejected the current product. But I disagree with your contention that IndyCar has been transformed into an international "road racing" product. Granted the first four races of the season were road/street courses and yes they were subsidized, but the last time I looked at the schedule it is still at 8 ovals and 9 road/street courses. To me, the oval-centric mindset is predominately a Mid-American mindset. The right coast and the left coast have little interest in ovals,they seem to prefer the twisties more.
ReplyDeleteAs you and I have discussed before, I believe we ignore those fans at our peril. Together they can make a significant audience for the product, but it must provide racing that both types will enjoy. I think that the series is making progress towards recovering some of the luster it had while operating under the CART banner in the 80's and early 90's before the ugly greedy, arrogance monster reared it's head.
At the risk of playing to the LCD (Lowest Common Denominator) we must tailor our product to the broadest possible audience we can. But first and foremost, the on-the-track product HAS to improve. For this year we are stuck with what we have. Only minor tweaking will be the order of the day for this year. Let us continue "As If".
The real question is not just the product but how the average individual can relate to something it doesn't understand. Oval racing has and always will be a midwest sport. So how do you relate this sport to a bunch of names that do not live in your home town or next town over??? You can't! At the same time how does a person of another country who knows the driver relate to a type of racing that is not of their country?? The bottom is the product simply doesn't fit in ANY market at this time.Indy Car needs to evaluate where it is going and who is going to get it there. Home grown or overseas talent? You decide!! Welcome back RP!! Hope you and the family are well !
ReplyDeleteGreyMouser,
ReplyDeleteI live on the east coast. The best I can tell, people here don't care about racing of any kind. Sure, there are pockets of interest. But you should check the TV ratings for last year's IndyCar events. Boston, Providence and New York are almost always last among metered markets, regardless of circuit type.
I worked in Connecticut with a bunch of rich guys who would occasionally go out to Lime Rock for SCCA events. They were interested in driving. That's fine, except that the IRL doesn't weekend warriors. It needs spectators.
My argument is that the IRL needs to attract those who actually like to watch racing, both in person and on television.
You and I definitely agree about the present formula. The on-track product typically stinks. Changing the drivers won't change that. Then again, NASCAR's product has been pretty rotten in recent years, too. Yes, the House of France has its problems, but it's still kicking IRL tail because it has a loyal base of fans that cares about its stars.
If anything, the IRL must carefully examine the expected operating costs of the proposed new equipment packages. Any proposal that does not AT LEAST cut the present costs in half should be immediately discarded.
We will never have an international road racing series that is as successful as CART was in the 80s and early 90s. There are three reasons for this.
1. The competition (NASCAR) wasn't nearly as strong then as it is now.
2. There's no A.J., Mario, Mears, Sneva, Rutherford, Big Al, Little Al or Michael in the present crop of "stars".
3. The tobacco money is gone. This is a point that deserves more attention, in my view. Cigarettes were very, very good to CART.
The product - cars, engines and drivers - must be radically changed. Costs must be slashed so that new teams and American drivers both can and want to compete.
I wish that things were different because I like diversity in the racing circuits. Unfortunately, it seems that the markets for oval racing and road racing are completely separate. From where I'm standing, it sure looks like there is very little crossover among fans.
That could well be Tony George's fault, although that hardly matters now.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
Oldwrench,
ReplyDeleteI got so annoyed today when I saw the "crowd" on TV that I was compelled to post.
I'm guessing that Randy Bernard did not try to sell Professional Bull Riders in Paris and Brussels. So why does he think that he can sell the current IndyCar product in Kansas?
Maybe it's time to quit trying. The Indy 500 will continue to be a pretty big event. Why bother trying to cram Bertrand Baguette down the throats of oval fans in Kansas, Kentucky and Illinois? This seems like a lousy business proposition to me.
Why not just run all road courses races, plus Indy? The way attendance is going, the IRL might soon have no choice but to adopt that type of model.
If the present constitution of the grid is what is expected, then the IRL should just accept it and try to find an audience that likes it.
I'll continue going to the 500 and spend the rest of my weekends coaching my son's baseball team. There's no harm in that for either the IRL or me. Most products are not designed for my benefit. I never thought that IndyCar racing would join that group, but if it has, then that's okay, particularly if IndyCar has identified a better market elsewhere.
That's business.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
Several thoughts:
ReplyDelete1) The reasons to think that Chicagoland will be better than Kansas are as follows: A) Chicagoland produced an exciting race as recently as last year, whereas Kansas has had less exciting races for several years, and B) it's in easy driving distance of Indy, aka IndyCar central. Will Chicagoland be a sell out? Who knows? Probably not, but I'd bet my house on the crowd being bigger than Kansas had today. Also, the weather looking pretty iffy in Kansas up until about 11:00 this morning couldn't have helped the walk-up gate much, either.
2) You said in your comment above that "So why does [Randy Bernard] think that he can sell the current IndyCar product in Kansas?" Randy has been in office for 60 days now. You're putting the Kansas race at his feet? Should he have cancelled the race or something? I don't understand what he has to do with a race he inherited.
3) Your post about the inaugural USGP at Indy ignored the fact that part of the reason for the huge crowd was a large faction of people who flew over from Europe and South America for the race. Those folks aren't going to fly over to support 12-16 road races in the US. And, American F1 fans were able to focus on the one race to make plans for, hence why so many went to Indy. A series of 12-16 road races in the US will hold far less cachet value for American road racing fans, and there is no guarantee that you'll sell those events out, just on the basis that we got 100,000 people at Indy in 2000.
Otherwise, interesting column. Sorry the oval product doesn't interest you. Maybe you'll be back in a couple of years when the new cars (hopefully) produce better racing on ALL tracks?
Wow RP, good thing you didn't pursue this point, you would have gotten hammered in here:
ReplyDelete"My argument is that the IRL needs to attract those who actually like to watch racing, both in person and on television."
And this sounds more like a guy who runs this show, rather than one trying to prompt remedial action:
"But first and foremost, the on-the-track product HAS to improve. For this year we are stuck with what we have."
Well, all of the "Oval racing enthusiasts [who] have rejected this product yet again" had better get used to it, along with Mr. Mouser. Prolly for 2 1/2 more years, at the present rate.
Same for Mr. Bernard.
And the segmentation of the market is a lot more than natural: dividing the schedule into oval/ road "blocks" establishes a great opportunity for fans of either discipline to lose interest for a month at time.
The division of separate championship sub-catagories only reinforces this segmentation, instead of heralding the diverse skills demanded of the title holder.
Andy
Geek, Chicago did not draw last year and the logical conclusion on the day the ISC ticket program change was announced was to assume that sales at all of their races would drop.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bernard is dreaming when he stated this weekend that IICS will be back in Kansas. Barring a miraculous promotional blitz, Chicagoland and Homestead are likely to see their last IICS races this year as well.
Andy
Boring drivers with predictable racing/results with a terrible TV presentation (Reid and Goodyear are like a Class A baseball TV team) doesn't make for a very popular product.
ReplyDeleteThe people continue to speak loud-and-clear about Indy Cars. They don't care except for one race a year. That's it. The "event" fans at some of these road/street races aren't race fans. They just show up and party and have a good time getting liquored up and don't give a damn if its Bert Baguette in the #36 car or Bert Bacharach.
There are 4 race facilities on the Indy Car circuit that actually get REAL race fans to attend their event. Indy, Texas (although their attendance numbers have fallen in the past few years), Iowa and Mid-Ohio.
The rest? Ghost-towns, places to party or money losers that don't draw flies on TV.
This isn't that hard folks. Most of the drivers in the current Indy Car world are not going to sell in America. They don't "play" in Kansas, or Kentucky or Elkhart Lake or Milwaukee. Continue to trot out these types of drivers and we will continue to see a series swirling down the drain.
NASCAR has its own set of problems. But at least they still have a bunch of drivers that people know, and like and dislike. That is why their races get actual people to show up and watch them each week. Both in person and on TV. Its not because the racing is all that interesting (its not). Its because of Jimmie and Jeff and Kyle and Tony and Kasey and Juan Pablo and Carl and Kevin.
They might not all be "the world's best" (as our new CEO so ignorantly boasts about wanting) but they are most of America's best. And that is what sells in this country.
Always has and always will.
Lack of driver recognition and fan loyalty is an effect of the unpopularity of the IICS, not the cause of it.
ReplyDeleteEntertaining races leads to repeat customers leads to familiarity with the participants.
Andy
"April 2010 is the end of the line for us, and our goal at BRD is to actually close the deal way before then." - COO Jay Davidson, Baltimore Racing Development (BRD)
ReplyDeleteWell, it's May and no deal is closed. Part of it is undoubtedly that the city and state have no money, laying off employees, with an election coming in November. Unless an angel appears to juice this, I wouldn't bet on it.
As far as Kansas went, at least two cars just tooling around to get the drivers familiarized with oval racing got tangled in a wreck. Tough sell that these are among the best drivers in any slice of the game. The moment that summed it all up was when the lone confetti cannon fired while Dixon was being interviewed in a generally empty Victory Lane...what a waste of confetti.
One last oddity: Four of the top 10 on the PBR Elite circuit are Brazilians.
Yes, and selling an event that demands an eight second attention span is just like IndyCar racing. Same confetti cannon and everything.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Speedgeek,
ReplyDeleteI think you slightly misunderstand the sentiment Roggespierre has toward the sport.
Check out this post and the 6 it links to for a good summary of where RP is coming from.
And this sounds more like a guy who runs this show, rather than one trying to prompt remedial action
Roggespierre is one of those rare people who would rather see positive indicators of any kind than have his position on the issue confirmed.
The quote you selected was in reference to Mouser's letter, not Roggespierre's.
ReplyDeleteThis blog had nothing to do with an attempt to establish remedial positive indicators until it was redirected in response to my challenge. That didn't work out real well for this group, did it.
Andy
Oh, my mistake. I just read that particular quote in-line, assuming your comment was a response to RP. I see now that Gray Mouser was taking a different tack.
ReplyDeleteBut the point stands - according to what I've read on this blog, Roggespierre couldn't care less about what happens to "work out...for this group" if the decline of the 500 and IndyCar reverses.
Neither would I. If a hybrid international-looking road-racing series can combine with the 500 to produce something that, over the long term, packs the stands and excites a significant American audience, I'll be quite happy to be wrong.
But based on evidence over the last few years, that's not going to happen.
I agree with BC! I have and always will be a fan of Indy but if this becomes a road racing series that people will flock to, I am all for it. But looking at the current F1 situation and Indy car overall, things don't look so hot. I Do feel Andrew made his point in ragrds to the product and its relation to the fans.If you improve the product, you will get some fan recognition to the drivers regardless of their country of orgin. It simply is sad that it got to this point. In any case...Indy Car has a long road to climb and a short time to get there or it will be a foot note in history.
ReplyDeleteSad indeed. Wrench, right now a betting man would put it at 98 to 1 for a stressed engine Honda V6 turbo. No competitors named, no significant cost reduction. They are pushing for a June 1 approval to complete the design. No tooling has been done.
ReplyDeleteMeet the new bores...same as the old bores.
Andy
That is a pretty much a sure bet. I don't see any manufacturer wanting to dump money into a series that won't produce any benefits. It still come back to the same problem. It is time for the Indy Car series to come to terms with what I and others have been saying. Open the rules, let the older equipment back in and let people start thinking again. Spec racing is a dead issue!
ReplyDeleteMeet the new bores...same as the old bores
ReplyDeleteYeah...it's really a catch-22, isn't it: open the rules to gain popularity at risk of costs outstripping profits from that popularity, or keep the rules tight to reign in costs at the expense of stagnant popularity. And we sure know which of those the IRL tends to pursue.
NASCAR-ization. Without the variables you are putting out a product whose appeal relies entirely on the luck (or contrivance) of an exciting race. Right now we watch the Kansas race and feel sick because what happens on-track doesn't have a NASCAR level of "excitement" on-track. And as long as that's the measuring stick we're rarely going to succeed.
Yep, that's why the concept of competition between existing four cylinder race engines seemed like a worthwhile plan. I'm still of the opinion that independant builder sourcing would result in decreased cost in comparison to current levels.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the Honda V6 and its installation in a new chassis looks more like 2013 now.
I guess bolting luck and contrivance on the dyno will have to suffice. Pretty hard to calculate the correction factors: but if the barometer is ticket sales, this puppy isn't making many horses.
Andy
At this point, the series really just needs to be put out of its misery.
ReplyDeleteIndy Lights is a collosal joke. It should have been dumped 3 or 4 years ago.
There is no "ladder" system. The 2 supposed "top ladder" champions last year didn't move up and both are racing sports cars.
The whole thing is a complete cluster-youknowwhat.
Just give up, run Indy next year as a stand-alone event. Run it on Monday afternoon. Use all the money you will have wasted for the rest of the season to put up REAL money for the purse. 10 million dollars to win. 3 million dollars for the pole. 750,000 just to make the race. Get Stewart, Hornish, Montoya, the Busch brothers, Kahne, Harvick and whoever else wants to do it, and get them in cars. Get all the active former winners in cars (Lazier, Rice, Villeneuve). Have 50 cars trying to make the race.
Put on a kick-ass Indy 500 (which it deserves, in its 100th year of life) and then regroup and put the pieces of the puzzle back together again for the rest of Indy Car's future.
Nobody is watching and nobody cares about most of these other races anyway. Just run sports car races at these street races and the people will still show up (or just be done with them altogether as most are money losers for the cities/promoters). Texas and Iowa are the only ovals that draw flies. When Indy Car figures out what the hell they are doing, those places will be back and will still support a future series. Have a good enough product with drivers people actually care about, and other American ovals will suddenly have fans show up too.
Blow it all up and start over from scratch.
That pretty much sums it up TD !!! Andrew,Greymouser,BC,myself and others just keep coming back to the same square. We all agree that this just isn't going to work period. So I say...Enjoy the Indy 500 guys and keep on this post, but don't bother with the ICS events. It just isn't worth our time.
ReplyDeleteNot giving up yet, mate. But since the day the ISC announced the ticket package split, not a damn thing has changed...on this issue, or any other.
ReplyDeleteMore waste, less filling.
Andy
Screw Kansas.... we have Baltimore.
ReplyDeleteIan Faith: The Boston gig has been cancelled...
David St. Hubbins: What?
Ian Faith: Yeah. I wouldn't worry about it though, it's not a big college town.
So that means Kansas is Tapped out, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteDavey Hamilton: "So Wahlberg, wanna sign a few autographs for the Kansas faithful? Hop in the two-seater, I'll take to to the furniture store across the street".
Mark Wahlberg: "Not my kind of party. Let's roll it out on the National Mall in D.C."
In other news, Al Unser Jr. will be driving at MIS. In an electric car, entered in the automotive X Prize competition.
Congrats to Al for also acting as IICS point man to secure the Baltimore race. Rock lobster all 'round.
Andy
A few local nuggets:
ReplyDelete"This is a world-class racing series," said City Councilman William H. Cole IV. "There's a pride factor in being able to host it."
"The IRL has been looking to get into the mid-Atlantic marketplace for years," said Martyn Thake, Baltimore's track designer and builder.
The City of Baltimore "approved using $7.75 million in state and federal grants to make necessary road improvements before the inaugural race."
And just a few days ago the good mayor was announcing layoffs, rec center closings, and her support of a city bottle tax and 9% utility rate increase...but it's state and Fed (probably shovel ready "stimulus") money. This should be fun to watch...politically speaking, anyways.
"This should be fun to watch...politically speaking, anyways."
ReplyDeleteI can hardly wait !!!! I wonder how the unions will let this happen?
How quickly they forget Richmond. I guess they don't count for being "in the mid Atlantic"?
ReplyDeleteHey Wile E. Cotman is now thinking about Quebec too. When I think Quebec Canada, I think American Open Wheel Racing. I think that's where Jimmy Bryan, Jim Rathman and Rodger Ward got their starts in racing. I remember watching AJ and Mario duel up there at the Quebec Fairgounds Dirt Track.
Ahh the memories....
The people in charge of this sport are completely, 100% CLUELESS.
That's why IRL shuffles somebody new in every once in a while. Each guy has only so many feet he can shoot off.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Well IRL ran the Dover Monster Mile a time or two years ago, too.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't watching then. I think the vertical load from the banking was too much for the tires. Scott Sharp comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Rodeo Randy now wants to end the "IRL" connotation.
ReplyDeleteThat is sure a huge step. I know many fans who just won't watch or care about Indy Cars because of the term "IRL". Here in the IRL, err, Indy Car, we take care of the big stuff. Like putting no-name drivers names on the back of the wings, push-to-block and changing our name. Those are the kinds of game-changing moves that will make America care again.
Here we come NASCAR!!!
IRL is the sports league version of Edsel.
ReplyDeleteNext step is to re-use the proper name of the 500, "The Indianapolis 500-Mile International Sweepstakes" (and "Indianapolis 500,", of course), and fully divorce the event from any other branding, except a "presented by" sponsor...while concurrently opening the rules as discussed ad infinitum. 2011 could be special if they act smartly.
Let 'em run!
Whoever "Anonymous" is above, he deserves a trophy for "best comment by a guy named anonymous".
ReplyDeleteWhen we name the trophy, and find a sponsor to put up some prize money for it, we'll be announcing it at another blockbuster press conference. Stay tuned for more big chamges from the new IR...uh, the new IndyCar.
Andy
Interesting remark by Bruton Smith, who said he's working on an idea that would encourage drivers to race in both the Indy 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
ReplyDeleteHe'd like to see a huge prize - "maybe $20 million" - offered for a driver who could win both. And, Smith says, it could happen as soon as next year.
Story at: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/autoracing/93739084.html
JPM could do it.
ReplyDeleteBriscoe tested a stock car last week. Long and winding road before he could be competitive.
Nobody else would get a sniff. Worthless promotion if it doesn't attract at least a couple of bigtime Nascar boys. Cindric was working on that since last fall.
P*ssed Bernard off too, he wanted to announce it after Indy. And he sure needs Bruton on the same team to replace the ovals he is losing.
Another piece of window dressing for the new office is about it. The Iconic date has already been pushed back another month too.
Andy
$20 million is a mighty big carrot, even if its tough to reach. I can easily see guys with experience on both ends like Montoya or Hornish (who supposedly would be supplied with cars if they wanted) giving it a shot, and a few Indycar stars getting one offs in NASCAR too. Would make for the best day of racing in the world.
ReplyDeleteToo many road and street courses with too little passing is what is killing the IRL, not the oval races. In the Long Beach race, there were ZERO passes in the last 21 minutes of the race. Talk about a good time to take a Sunday afternoon nap.
ReplyDeleteIf, and only if, the IRL has more oval races, especially on tracks like Michigan and Fontana that offer infinite opportunities to pass, will the IRL move forward. Heck, if they only raced at Texas and Indy that would be a huge step forward. Nobody wants to watch the freight-train road courses and street circuits.
I think it is a good idea. I do agree with Andrew that the Indy Car drivers are at a disadvantage. Only a few have driven a 3700lb "lump". It would definitly be to NASCAR's advantage and could hurt the perception of Indy Car drivers as being "second rate". Not a great idea but it is worth a look.
ReplyDeleteThis $20 mil has zero value to the 500...if you aren't watching to see who wins, you likely will not watch just to find out who's eligible, either. Smith knows the promotional value is all his.
ReplyDeleteThen we get into the equipment issue - there's a vast difference between a car and a competitive car on both circuits. I'd offer million dollar race appearance money to past NASCAR Sprint Champions, F1 Champions, Daytona 500 winners, Pepsi 600 winners, and whatever else is worth it...up to $10 million, contingent on qualifying. Half a mil to lesser mortals, like F1 race winners, NASCAR Cup race winners, toss in overall winners at LeMans and Sebring, and such. And double the appearance money paid to the one of these "World Class Drivers" who wins.
I agree, but I can't see Burton offering anything but his winning smile. He is in this for the bucks and I don't see him shelling out that kinda money. Your talking 30-40 million just for ten "star champions" and the rest as you say for "just mortals". He better have deep pockets for that idea !!! I don't see myself lining up to buy tickets. How about you?
ReplyDeleteFrom last Sept:
ReplyDeleteSo, would there really be a lot of Cup drivers going to Indy if the starting time changed?
"I think you would see John and Robby as the two who would do it," Tony Stewart said. "I don't think you'd see anybody else do it. My belief still is if you're going to do the 500 and do it to win it, you're going to have to go and start the season with that team and run a lot with them just to get acclimated."
Said John Andretti: "Tony is being modest, believe it or not. It would be a piece of cake for him (to return)."
__________________________________________
Stewart can't fit in an IndyCar, and has sponsorship which precludes the possibility. The likelyhood of having competitive cars prepared for both events is slim and none. Even if Robby Gordon or John Andretti could somehow manage to win the 500, no way they get close to the front in the 600.
Hornish is no better that midpack in Nascar. No IndyCar driver could hop in a Cup car and be competitive right off the bat.
JPM could do it. But even Bernard called this plan a "dream", and that's all it will be.
Andy
Your right on the sponsorship. I can't see Gigantic Mistakes Corp. letting TS get into anything with a japanese nameplate on it. The rest is really mute. Your call is correct Andrew!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Wrench, I read somebody say that Ford was trying to make power out of an EcoBoost 4 cyl. Can the block handle it? Apparently the Duratec does.
ReplyDeleteBased on the findings I have.....Not totally sure. It has high rpm issues that require a stregnthed lower end but I do feel it will take increased power with some upgrading. Long run rpm tests indicate it has relatively good stability but some distortion at certain peak rpm points. I believe both problems can be corrected with a lower end "girdle" and block "pinning". Not a big change but if higher power and rpm is required, it will need to be done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, pretty cool heads up. It surprises me that some little stock blocks are over-enginered to the extent that they can handle so much extra power.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Pole speed 227.864 avg.
I posted my call for pole at 228.164. I think someone has a little something hidden away. So we shall see !
ReplyDeleteNot that I think marketing influences outcome...
ReplyDeleteNoting that speeds have been essentially down for several years...
Recognizing no one has run near the speed all year...
I say 228.225+ - and publicists and drivers will chalk it up to the "competition" presented by the new fast nine format. I expect plenty of "drama" to start in a few minutes - real or otherwise. And I expect Danica, and perhaps another woman, to do "surprisingly well."
Well, I'd have to say the new qualifying format was great. The championship points awarded, that one I still got a problem with.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am very glad that my concern of more wrecks was exaggerated, thanks to a number of pretty impressive examples of good driving and a little luck.
Can you remember ever seeing more close saves?
Andy
Actually yes Andrew! Back in the late 70's and early 80's. But I agree this was a better show today than the last several years. I hope the race is as entertaining as bubble day was. I do think that this is a positive sign but not sure if this is the be all to fix all. But you have to start somewhere!Time will tell. It was ashame that the stands were empty!
ReplyDeleteEven Robin Miller was positive: "The Shootout was for the fans, there more of them than we’ve seen since May died in ’96 and they approved so it has to be logged as a W."
ReplyDeleteHe estimated 20,000, BTW.
Certainly not 200,000 like years ago but a step in the right direction! Now let's see if the race can match bubble day !! We shall see !
ReplyDeleteI was at Pole Day from 11:30-6 and the thing that struck me the most was the SIZABLE cheer that arose from the crowd when Helio hit 228 on his second lap. It was far and away the most enthusiasm the crowd showed over the course of the day.
ReplyDeleteIn my Indy car jadedness, I was kind of surprised at the reaction, which was clearly to the "228" aspect of the equation and not the "Helio" aspect (when Helio took the pre-shootout pole earlier in the afternoon, the reaction was not nearly as big).
But because of this I am further convinced that if speeds ever approach 236 it will absolutely IGNITE the crowd! And uh...I'd probably join them.
And that's why you don't let it all fall to ashes: you fight for ways to keep the wheels turning, for the day in May when it will happen.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Ask Sarah Fisher about the relationship between the 500 and the rest of her IRL empire. I suspect the lack of IMS subsidy is hurting Andretti...and I don't mean John.
ReplyDeleteNo need, the answer was in her tears on Sunday. The decision was made to pull a qualified car out of the race, even though Tracy had proven 7 minutes before that he couldn't run more than 223 flat. That cost her something like $300K.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Welcome to bad decision making!I like Sarah, but if that were me I would have made Tracy bump me. I agree, he did not have enough speed. Indy is a big poker game and you have to know when to bluff.
ReplyDeleteWrench,
ReplyDeleteHoward HAD to qualify again. He had been bumped and he needed 223.7 to make the race. He didn't get it done.
The whole process is confusing. Even confuses guys like Mike King (which isn't saying much).
Cavin seems to say otherwise about Howard needing to re-qualify: "I understand all the ... confusion that exists, but Howard got to keep his 'qualified' time. The second run he made Sunday wasn't good enough to be considered, so that's why he got to keep his 'qualified' time. I'm not sure what I think about it, but that's the way it works. All of this came into play a few years ago when the IndyCar Series began allowing teams to use the same car three times in the same qualifying day."
ReplyDeleteHell if I know...I'm confused and admit it.
My understanding is that Sarah was NOT consulted before the decision was made and implemented. I believe her husband was said to be one of the brains behind the decision. Love hurts.
No sex for a month for him!!! Bad Call !!! I wasn't confused but I believe that as I stated earlier I simply would make someone else knock me out before I drop out. If I got blow out, I simply would have put the car in line as quickly as I could and do what helio did on Saturday. 4 laps in "vacation" mode and force the rest into a pressure situation.
ReplyDelete