It is no secret that the IZOD IndyCar Series will announce this weekend that it will return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2011.
There are elements of this move that I like very much. NHMS promoter Jerry Gappens hails from the Rust Belt town where I completed my undergraduate studies, the same town that produced John Paul, Jr. Gappens is passionate about IndyCar racing. He has wanted a race date for more than a year.
I also respect Gappens for having been openly critical of the notion of IndyCar staging a race in the parking lot at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
But Can It Work?
I will admit that I attended the IRL race at what was then New Hampshire International Speedway in 1997. I was joined in the grandstands by approximately a dozen of my closest friends.
The race was fantastic. It was won by the handsome young man to the left, Robbie Buhl, who edged former F1 driver Vincenzo Sospiri at the finish line. The win was undoubtedly sweet for Buhl, a former CART Indy Lights champion whose reward had been a part-time ride in Dale Coyne's s#*$box. He then stood on the sidelines while guys like Andre Ribeiro and Carlos Guerrero landed quality rides in CART. Sound familiar, J.R. Hildebrand?So, yes, Buhl's win was warmly received. Unfortunately, there were virtually no fans there to receive it.
Incidentally, if you do go to the NHMS race next year, allow me to recommend that you include a quick jaunt to Portsmouth, New Hampshire while you're there. It has a great, authentic New England atmosphere without the great, authentic East Coast prices.
A NASCAR Track
Fans who supported CART during the split will no doubt recall that their favorite series drew fine crowds at New Hampshire. Unfortunately, The Split was not all that happened in the 1990s. There was also the unprecedented mainstream rise of a series called NASCAR Cup. NHMS was expanded to make room for all of those NASCAR fans.
One could argue that today's IndyCar Series is effectively a poor imitation of CART, one that features slower, less interesting spec cars and a whole lot less money from tobacco companies and arbitraged supply chains. Can this product draw a respectable crowd at a facility that has added capacity to accommodate NASCAR Cup?
And let's not forget that racing is a tough sell in New England.
Having seen the market breakdown for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 television ratings, I can tell you that the three local markets that had the lowest ratings were Boston, Providence and New York. Yes, there are racing fans in New England, but they tend to like NASCAR, Mods, and Supers. Will they want to watch an international road racing product at New Hampshire Motor Speedway?
As much as I want to see IndyCar succeed at oval tracks, I have serious reservations about this.
If Jerry Gappens can sell this bunch in New England, then he's one helluva race promoter. I wish him good luck and fear that he'll need it.
Roggespierre
Yours aren't all the same arguments Terry Angstadt made against running at Louden when presented with the option last spring?
ReplyDeleteAndy
Andy,
ReplyDeleteI never said that Angstadt was wrong about EVERYTHING. Most things, yes.
Believe me, I would love to see IndyCar thrive at New Hampshire. Unfortunately, I suspect that your theory about scraping together a 2011 schedule that doesn't include the ISC tracks is probably much closer to the truth.
Best Regards,
Roggespierre
Sure looks like that's the case...the Fontana idea, like Detroit, popped out of left field.
ReplyDeleteSame for Phoenix.
If IRL is going to invest in co-promotions, maybe some loser events can get turned around. The budget is still way in the red now.
Any news on who's paying for the road course/ street course championships?
As for the race you missed, it was a good example of what happens when drivers can't lap flat. When the schedule was dominated by 1.5 mile ovals, the best solution was to modify the cars to race accordingly on those circuits.
Something like 7 cars on the lead lap, marbles which narrowed the track down to one groove for much of the race and caused two crashes, more pit lane mishaps from bringing everyone in at the same time...thank goodness Kanaan hadn't taken the lead 15 or 20 laps earlier and walked away like he did. Everybody would have said the race sucked.
It was good enough product to sell, not the memorable event that you might have read about. Keeper venue.
Andy
whenever I get too unrealistically positive about the direction Indycar is headed, I like to read this blog and remind myself how truly awful it really is. it's funny how this new Bernard guy doesn't seem to realize he hitched his cart to a dead horse.
ReplyDeleteOff-topic, but I see some interesting parallels between what IndyCar is going through and the LPGA's struggles.
ReplyDeleteFrom: http://rocnow.com/article/sports/20106200321
Japan's Ai Miyazato Takes Over As World's Top Ranked Female Golfer
LPGA Struggling To Create Recognizable Stars
While LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan "can solidify the tour's financial foundation, the one thing he really can't do anything about is create recognizable stars that the public can attach itself to," according to Sal Maiorana of the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE.
The LPGA Championship is being held at Locust Hill Country Club outside Rochester, N.Y., this week and "one can argue that the woman who will draw the largest galleries" will be World Golf HOFer Nancy Lopez. That is because the LPGA, "whether it wants to admit it or not, is lacking in star power right now." That is "not to say it lacks great players," but there are no players "whom the public can really root for and be interested in." The recent retirements of Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa "would be almost like the men's circuit saying farewell and thanks for the memories to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson within 18 months."
The talent of current LPGA players is "undeniable," but whether any of them "can produce new fans, create larger TV ratings and convince sponsors that the LPGA brand is worth investing in, is another matter."
The LPGA's "perceived problem is that while it is a U.S.-based tour, it is dominated by foreign players, with more and more events being played overseas." Only seven Americans are ranked in the top 30, while there are 17 Asian players in the top 30. But Whan "thinks the worldwide nature of the tour is its strongest asset" (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 6/20).
I don't think New Hampshire is so much of a NASCAR area that Indycar can't manage to sell. There aren't any current Indycar races up there other than Watkins Glen. Fontana wouldn't sell well, that's a given, but if the TV racing's good, who cares?
ReplyDeleteI was at Loudon in 97 and then they couldn't even get 20% capacity. I don't see it improving that much this time around. New Hampshire is stock car country. They know what they like and this isn't it!
ReplyDeleteDoes Indycar sell anywhere? Plenty of corn farmers wearing green tee shirts promoting ethanol in the Iowa crowd.
ReplyDeleteThe magic of statistics....
ReplyDeleteNew Hampshire says ticket sales for the Nationwide Nascar race are up 30% from last year, thanks to Danica Patrick's participation.
The race starts in 17 minutes. It looks like nobody is there, and this race is the main event for the weekend. The undercard race already ran.
A successful IndyCar event at NH would seem to require a heck of a lot more promotion than this Nationwide race received, Danica or not.
Andy
My mistake, there is a Cup race at Hew Hampshire tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAndy
Very good crowd for the Sprint cup race today. Good finish, too.
ReplyDeleteAndy
I went to the 2011 race, it was the best racing i have seen at New Hampshire, I wish someday they will bring it back, but you are absolutely right, it just did not sell
ReplyDelete