IndyCar & F1: Technology & Innovation

The Autoextremist is lambasting the FIA again, and with good reason. The worldwide motorsports governing body, based in the Republic, seems intent on killing Formula 1.

What does this have to do with IndyCar racing? Everything.

When Mike Hull and others talk about "technology" in IndyCar, they typically mean "aerodynamics". Unfortunately, this particular permutation of automotive technology is becoming increasingly irrelevant. And don't get us started on "innovation". Needless to say, if mass-produced computer software is available for it, then it is by definition not an innovation.

It is not IndyCar's job to preserve the employment of aerodynamicists. Rather, IndyCar exists to attract an audience. Conservation is on the minds of many, and the IRL should do whatever it can to capitalize. You want innovation and technology in IndyCar racing? Let's start by reducing the size of the fuel tanks to 10 gallons. That would lend significant competitive advantage to any manufacturer that increases fuel economy at a rate that is greater than that of the resulting decline in speed.

That's innovation. That's technology. That's not good news for the aerodynamicists who have dominated the developmental portion of racing for three decades.

We admit that this idea requires considerable development. More important, this is the type of idea that ought to be discussed frequently on West 16th Street.

Roggespierre

IBJ lacks Drill-Down on IndyCar and IMS

The Indianapolis Business Journal ran a story dated August 8 featuring new Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus. The Republic has for some time considered the IBJ to be the best newspaper in Indianapolis, and the citizens always appreciate reporter Anthony Schoettle's contributions to the local motorsports literature.

That said, we must take issue with this article. It's fine as far as it goes. However, as the Wall Street analysts like to say, it needs more drill-down. Schoettle provides surface-grazing quotes from former IMS Senior Director of Marketing and Consumer Products Dave Moroknek, driver-turned-pundit-turned-racing dad Derek Daly, motorsports marketer and former Dreyer & Reinbold Racing partner Eric De Bord, and the increasingly ubiquitous Mike Hull, Team Managing Director of Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Each in turn identifies a problem that needs to be solved, and Schoettle provides some proximate causes. "To Do" lists for the IMS and IRL - they could have been written by someone other than Schoettle - appear in the left margin. These are vacuous. We'll examine the IRL version here.

IBJ Speed Needs (IRL)

1. Increase sponsorships, including finding a title sponsor.
2. Add engine and chassis makers to the series.
3. Expand series in the right national and global markets.
4. Contain costs for the teams.
5. Improve languishing television ratings of races as well as attendance.
6. Improve exposure for teams, and help them gain more sponsors.
7. Evaluate long-term viability of IRL under the Hulman-George family umbrella of companies or another owner.

That should solve the problem - a mere seven gargantuan tasks. And nowhere is it supposed that the product might in fact be central to the problem. Notice how each "problem" solves itself if we suppose that the IRL develops its product into something that a critical mass of customers actually wants.

1. With lots of fans, finding a title sponsor and increasing sponsorship overall are matters of course.
2. Packed stands and good TV ratings would likely attract new manufacturers of chassis and engines.
3. See above. Replace "manufacturers of chassis and engines" with "race promoters".
4. Pricing the product to its market value is a product development issue. (We shall investigate this in much more detail this week.)
5. Ratings and attendance are how you measure demand for your product. Say it with us. The Product is the Problem!
6. The claim that IRL teams need "exposure" is as old as it is erroneous. No amount of exposure is going to turn these cars driven by these drivers on these tracks into a pop culture hit. This product is hardly a product at all. It's an amalgamation of what the team owners 1) can afford and 2) are willing to provide. IRL teams are not going to attract sponsors that are remotely concerned about Return on Investment because the product is overpriced at every level of the value chain. Any new sponsor must originate with personal relationships, supply chain leveraging, phenomenal salesmanship, or some combination of these.
7. This point concerns corporate structure and governance. Both topics are worthy of attention, but they shall have to wait.

The Republic is very excited about tomorrow's keynote entry here at The Indy Idea. We shall look at what the cost of running a top IndyCar team should be, given the market value of the overall product. Danton is geeked. Marat has his quill at the ready. We hope that you will join us and provide commentary of your own.

Roggespierre

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

Milka Duno: Doing her Job in IndyCar

Being the slowest qualifier for an IndyCar race is not always an indignity per se. But doing so with a qualifying speed that is a statistical outlier, as Milka Duno did Saturday at Mid-Ohio, borders on the ridiculous. What to do, now that Milka has entered Marty Roth territory?

The answer is to be found in the cost of IndyCar equipment. It simply must be cheaper. Lowering the cost of equipment that is necessary for entry would allow for more teams, cars and drivers. If a full field at road courses were, say, 26 cars, then the IRL would need another six entries in order for Milka to be bumped.

Less expensive chassis and engines - no matter whether the latter is leased, bought, or, gasp, built by the teams - would also reduce the barrier to entry for prospective sponsors. The current roster of team sponsors is dominated by firms that might or might not have any real interest in IndyCar racing. Target and 7-Eleven use their team sponsorships to extract concessions from vendors. McDonald's seems to go out of its way to not activate its IndyCar sponsorship, perhaps because its participation hinges on its having Newman's Own products in its stores. Phillip Morris USA is, of course, prevented by the Master Settlement Agreement from advertising almost anywhere else.

And that brings us back to Milka. She participates in IndyCar racing not to win or even to compete, really. She is here to put a smile on the face of Hugo Chavez, a daunting task and one that she does rather well. Citgo, the Venezuelan state-owned retailer that works in concert with Venezuelan state-owned drilling giant PDVSA, sponsor of HVM Racing's E.J. Viso, is a financial and political tool of the Chavez regime. Milka Duno, a smart and tough cookie when she is not sitting in a race car, wears the Citgo colors with a friendly smile and without any apparent sense of embarrassment.

Unfortunately, she seems to be similarly unaffected by her on-track results.

Perhaps, some years from now, the cost of entry for prospective team owners will have been reduced. Only then might the IRL rid itself of faux racers. Only then might a critical mass of teams convince corporations to sponsor IndyCar racing for its own sake.

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