Dismal IndyCar TV Ratings Continue

There is simply no other way to put it. If IndyCar racing hasn't already hit rock bottom, then we certainly can see it from here. Another race, another television audience of fewer than a quarter of a million viewers. Mid-Ohio was almost as bad as Kentucky. Anthony Schoettle of the Indianapolis Business Journal has the details.



Might we at least put the "teams and drivers need more exposure" argument to bed, once and for all? Versus promoted the IRL during the Tour de France more thoroughly than IndyCar racing has ever been promoted, anywhere. The spots, featuring Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, ran consistently during Lance Armstrong's return to the Republic.

Does anyone else see irony in the following real-life scenario? American television viewers tuned-in to a French bicycle race to see whether or not an American icon would win. Those same American television viewers have since demonstrated that they are not particularly interested in watching a Kiwi and a Brazilian race cars. Note that this is merely an observation and that the Republic is profoundly aware that markets can be unfair and ruthless.

Tough Tuberculosis!

Provided every opportunity to sample the IndyCar product, more than one half-million Lance fans declined the offer. The Tour de France and MMA have demonstrated that Versus is capable of drawing an audience of credible size. The problem is not the television partner. The problem is that the market has once again rejected the IndyCar product.


We do not blame IRL management for not wanting to believe that its present suppliers (drivers and teams) and partners (chassis and engines) are pushing the sport toward oblivion. But truth can no longer be concealed by comp tickets underwritten by Honda and Firestone.

Consumer interest in IndyCar racing was much, much greater when Scott Sharp, Greg Ray, Eddie Cheever and Billy Boat were battling under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway. If you revisit the attendance figures and TV ratings for those races, then you will have no choice but to concede the point. In spite of all the negativity that tarnished the IRL brand at that time, it nevertheless earned at least some measure of support in the consumer marketplace. We can not say the same for today's version.

Dixon Dominates Mid-Ohio

Defending IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon drove away from the field in Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Dixon regained the series points lead by three points over second-place Ryan Briscoe, who took the checkers almost 30 seconds behind the winner.

Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dario Franchitti, finished third, the same position he currently occupies in the season standings, 20 points behind Dixon.

The Republic was pleased to see Ryan Hunter-Reay finish fourth in A.J. Foyt's ABC Supply Co. entry. It was Hunter-Reay's best result since finishing second for Vision Racing at the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida. Andretti Green Racing's Hideki Mutoh logged a credible fifth-place finish.

The crowd appeared to be solid if not quite as big as in recent years at Mid-Ohio. The Versus coverage was not up to its usual standard. In an event that featured few on-track passes for position, Versus seemed to switch away from the all too rare developing battle to show a car entering the pits or the leader running by himself. The announcers touted the "overtake assist option" as if it would make a difference in this race. That it did not rendered the discussion, as well as the technology itself, little more than a gimmick, if only for this particular event. We shall see.

Interesting moments came courtesy of Mike Conway, who punted Danica Patrick into the sand trap; Justin Wilson, who gallantly attacked first Briscoe and then Dixon until a poor fuel stop ruined his race; and Milka Duno, whose (slowly) moving pick, enabling Dixon to get by Wilson, would have made Bill Laimbeer proud, had he been in attendance.

Roggespierre

Gentleman Gil de Ferran plans 2010 IndyCar Team

The IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series are paired this weekend for a road racing extravaganza at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The announcement Friday that 2003 Indianapolis 500 Champion Gil de Ferran will move his team from ALMS to IndyCar in 2010 demonstrates the zero-sum game that racing has become.

Honda's Acura division is rumored to have plans to leave ALMS following the 2009 campaign. The de Ferran announcement is the latest evidence that the LMP era at Don Panoz's outfit is likely coming to an end. De Ferran Motorsports is the unquestioned Acura "works" team, sporting primary sponsorship from Sirius XM, the satellite radio conglomerate that is owned, in part, by Honda. Although Highcroft Racing and Fernandez Racing also run Acuras in ALMS, they have independent primary sponsorship from Tequila Patron and Lowe's, respectively.

The good news is that de Ferran, quintessential gentleman racer, is bringing what will likely be a high quality, two-car team to the Indy Racing League. The bad news, at least from the perspective of high-tech road racing fans in the United States, is that yet another permutation of the sport is on the brink of financial failure. The core problem with the highest levels of ALMS-type racing is that they rely almost completely on investment by auto manufacturers. Unfortunately, the auto industry is highly cyclical, and when the cycle turns downward, as it has for the past 20 months, manufacturers are forced to cut non-essential expenses such as sports car racing.

The writing first appeared on the wall of the ALMS's Georgia headquarters when Audi dropped out of the sport prior to this season. Honda is willing to race alone in the IRL because IndyCar racing is a spectator-supported sport. Although sports car racing does indeed have some very passionate spectators, they are too few in number. In addition, the high-tech aspect of the sport tends to translate into high cost, a fact the IRL must keep in mind as it works toward new technical specifications for the IndyCar Series.

The Republic encourages fans to attend the Mid-Ohio twin bill this weekend. Roggespierre has enjoyed IndyCar races at Michelle Trueman's fine road course in the past and hopes to do so again soon. Next year, Gil de Ferran will return with the Indy cars. Whether or not they are accompanied by the ALMS - and if so, then what kind of ALMS - is another question entirely.

Roggespierre