IndyCar: Light Flickers at Penske & AGR

Apparently, management at Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing has figured out something that we've been trying in earnest to explain for the better part of a month.

The American public does not care and likely will not care about the present roster of drivers in the IndyCar Series.

According to Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star, the Penske and AGR teams have requested that the 2010 Indianapolis 500 take the green flag at its traditional 11am start time. But this isn't about tradition. It's about making it possible for NASCAR (sans-culottes!) Cup drivers, who U.S. race fans do care about, to race at Indy.

Cavin reported that Team Penske's Tim Cindric requested the change in a meeting between team owners and IRL management prior to the IndyCar event at Chicagoland.

Needless to say that we agree with the underlying logic of Cindric's proposal. Television ratings at Indy were lousy this year. Television ratings for the entire series have been lousy this year. The Indianapolis 500 needs an infusion of drivers that are in demand among consumers.

However, Cindric's idea is the wrong kind of solution. We are not prepared to admit that the Indianapolis 500 is subordinate to a run-of-the-mill Cup race. We would hate to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway concede this point and move the start time when a much better solution is possible.

What might that solution be, exactly?

We suggest that IndyCar teams hire IndyCar drivers that might appeal to U.S. racing fans.

Teams are responsible for the IndyCar racing product just as Delphi is responsible for the products of its auto manufacturer customers. IndyCar teams like to think of themselves as customers of the series, but they're wrong. They are suppliers to the series - and if you're not convinced, then ask yourself who pays whom.

As suppliers, IndyCar teams are responsible for enabling the IRL to put a product on the track that appeals to end users (fans). Drivers are a fundamental component of that product. This is true at every IndyCar race, and particularly at the Indy 500.

Of course, IndyCar teams can't afford to hire NASCAR Cup stars. That is both a problem and another reason to make the next generation of IndyCar chassis and engines much, much less costly than the present specs.

We applaud Tim Cindric and Michael Andretti for recognizing that IndyCar racing is not competitive in the marketplace. That is why team financing is not correlated with the value of the racing product. Solutions will come with structural change, some of which the present IndyCar teams will certainly not enjoy.

U.S. race fans will tune in to Indy again when it is re-established as a destination - and not a diversion - for racing drivers that are accepted in the marketplace.

Roggespierre

IndyCar Versus Ratings Analysis

We have written that IndyCar Series ratings on Versus are a mixed bag. Now, let's attempt to put that statement in its proper context.

• The first eight (8) IndyCar events on Versus averaged 273,108 viewers

That isn't much of a national audience. However, it's no secret that Versus is a fledgling sports network. Perhaps we should compare the IndyCar numbers to those of other sports properties on Versus.

• Versus 2008 Prime Time average audience was 278,000


• IndyCar Prime Time events (3) averaged 293,333

IndyCar is competitive with other prime time programming on Versus. Unfortunately, this is due to the audience that tuned in for the race at Texas Motor Speedway. Both Richmond and Kentucky failed to match the network average in prime time. Texas more than made up the difference. IndyCar races at TMS have been very good since the track opened. It is apparent that the series has earned some brand equity at TMS.

• NHL games in 2008-09 averaged 326,000 viewers

Texas easily beat the NHL average, which was also topped by Long Beach. Again, TMS and the Toyota Grand Prix are established events that have achieved some brand recognition. Indy 500 Pole Day (385,000 viewers) and Bump Day (349,000) also beat the average NHL game. This is impressive; the NHL should have an advantage because most of its games are in prime time. Less impressive is the fact that Kansas and Kentucky combined to draw fewer viewers than Indy Pole Day.

• Tour de France 2008 live coverage (8:30-9am) averaged 267,722 viewers
• Tour de France 2009 live coverage averaged 529,926 viewers

These numbers lend significant insight. Let's hope that IRL management is paying attention. As a function of television viewership, the Tour de France with Lance Armstrong among the leaders is worth almost 98% more than the same event without Lance Armstrong

The bicycles and the race stages were largely unchanged. Most competitors and teams were similar year-to-year. It was Armstrong's comeback that increased the Tour de France product's competitiveness in the U.S. television market by 98%.

This is why the IRL must actively manage its product. In most firms, this is considered a core management activity. Unfortunately, it seems that the IRL is more interested in serving its suppliers of racing teams than serving its U.S. TV distribution customer.

Now that it knows what one American star can do for ratings, Versus should press IRL management to provide competitors that might do the same for IndyCar racing. Currently, management is moving in the opposite direction. New cars that are too costly will necessitate more drivers who are also financiers. Additional road and street races will attract more competitors that can't be sold to a U.S. television audience.

We're guessing that Versus will soon become the latest excuse for IndyCar racing's failure to perform in the marketplace. The league and its teams will talk about limited reach and explain that they need time to make the partnership work. The latter might be true, but there is little hope for the long term or any term if the product is not changed in any substantive way.

Do not believe for a moment that Versus is not capable of drawing a credible audience right now if it has a product that U.S. television viewers actually want to see.

The 2008 Oregon v. Oregon State football game on Versus averaged 1.6 million viewers

DirecTV contract negotiations notwithstanding, Versus has increased its reach since the 2008 Civil War football game. The IRL would have to increase its average audience 586% in order to match a rating that Versus has already achieved.

Therefore, we shall restate the obvious. If IndyCar fails to increase ratings on Versus, then it will be the fault of IRL management and its suppliers of IndyCar racing teams.

Roggespierre

IndyCar Brazil 2010 Schedule Rumor

Is the 2010 IndyCar event in Brazil in trouble? Maybe. The Committee of Public Safety has learned that teams were told to hold off on any immediate plans to purchase airline tickets for the race at an Brazilian undisclosed location.

Do we not recall that the collapse of a certain race in Brazil was the first real sign of trouble at Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc? Perhaps memory fails us, but we don't think so.

IRL Management: is this really a good idea?

Marat is currently checking sources for The Indy Idea. If you have inside info, then we would love to hear from you (not anonymously, but of course confidentially) via email at IndyIdea@Mail.com.

Yes, that's the same Mail.com that's owned by Jay Penske, and yes, that's why we use it.

Briscoe Tops Dixon in Chicagoland IndyCar

Now that was some outstanding sports entertainment! Ryan Briscoe fought his way to the front after falling to 13th position and nosed past Scott Dixon to win the Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway by .0077 second.

Briscoe increased his lead in the IndyCar points standings with two races remaining in the season. Dario Franchitti finished 3rd at Chicagoland and is 2nd in points, 25 behind Briscoe. Dixon trails Briscoe by 33 points.

The race featured wheel-to-wheel action throughout. Side-by-side racing was the norm and three-wide battles were not unusual. The lone disappointment was that the top three finishing positions once again went to the teams that have figured out how to sell a $1.3 million product for more than $7 million. This remains a fundamental problem, but it is more easily forgiven in light of the quality of racing witnessed by IndyCar fans Saturday night.

One question: why such a late start? Waiting for the end of Shabbat?

Roggespierre

Franchitti & Dixon Part of IndyCar Problem

The Republic loves Pressdog. Good-natured satire is hard to find in the Age of Colbert, but the Dog does it right. We also appreciate his ability to blend fan-based insight and hilarious one-liners.

Reporting from Chicagoland this weekend, P-dog subtly identified the primary obstacles that prevent IndyCar racing from producing a racing product that is competitive in the marketplace. These, of course, are the series' own drivers and teams.

"Dario is not a fan of Chicagoland. Questioners
after qualifying asked Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon how Chicagoland ranked among their favorite tracks. Dario said it wasn't high on his list, although he did give it credit for entertaining fans. I think Dixon felt about the same."

The Republic would like to know why citizens should give a damn whether or not Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon enjoy racing at Chicagoland? They probably don't like Texas, either, but that race actually draws a legitimately competitive audience at the track and on television.

When the IRL first announced that it would race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Roggespierre asked a league official to explain the decision. The response was chilling.

"We're doing it because our teams want it."

This is gross negligence with regard to product management. The personal tastes of suppliers are irrelevant to strategic decisions further up the supply chain.

Serve the Firm, not the Suppliers

For example, Wal-Mart does not consider the wishes of Mattel, Samsung and Wrangler when it selects new store locations. Wal-Mart is hated by suppliers because its market share gives it power to dictate pricing, scheduling and payment terms. Suppliers can either live with the unfavorable terms or not sell their products at Wal-Mart.

IRL management can't match Wal-Mart, but it does possess more buying power than it seems to recognize. IRL cars and engines can't be used anywhere else. Other racing series are downsizing. Some teams might want to leave IndyCar, but they really have nowhere else to go. And it isn't as if IndyCar teams are furnishing a racing product that's easy to sell.

Franchitti and Dixon: Non-Performing Assets

Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon are two of the biggest stars in IndyCar. Unfortunately, in the greater sports entertainment marketplace, they are not stars at all. IndyCar is not a competitive product, and one reason is that Franchitti and Dixon are not competitive with Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Venus and Serena Williams, and so on.

There is a very good option for road racers who don't make it to Formula 1. It is called sports car racing, and it's a good fit.

1. High tech cars


2. Road and street courses


3. Financing not contingent on spectator support or market demand for the product

Franchitti and Dixon are talented racing drivers who have been rejected in the marketplace. If they and other top IndyCar drivers and teams were attracting fans in droves, then the Committee of Public Safety would advise IRL management to keep them happy. But that is not the case.

Would the IndyCar racing product become less competitive if Franchitti and Dixon were replaced by Paul Tracy and Buddy Rice? Casey Mears and A.J. Allmendinger? A.J. Foyt IV and Al Unser III?

TV ratings were better and attendance was similar when Greg Ray and Scott Sharp were the stars. The product was therefore more competitive in the marketplace despite the presence of CART, an entrenched and well capitalized direct competitor that no longer exists.

Franchitti and Dixon are talented but not valuable. NASCAR (sans-culottes!) has demonstrated where U.S. customer demand for motorsports can be found. The locations include lots of tracks that Franchitti and Dixon probably don't like. Ironically, they also include two road courses, so long as domestic oval racers are doing the driving.

Is that fair? No, but that's the marketplace. Despite their wishes, IRL management and IndyCar drivers and teams aren't going to change it. Past attempts ended in financial ruin. IndyCar will grow after it adapts to market demand, whether Franchitti and Dixon like it or not.

Roggespierre