(by John Oreovicz espn.go.com 12-22-09)
I was struggling to put together my traditional end-of-year compilation of classic comments from the open-wheel world, and then I stumbled onto a gem of inspiration embedded in a recent story by Marty Smith right here on ESPN.com.
"There's a market right now for folks who are willing to tell it like it is," he wrote. "It's a rarity these days."
Ain't that the truth. Marty was lamenting the way NASCAR and its sponsors tend to, shall we say, strongly suggest that drivers show as little personality as possible. It's pretty much the same way in Indy racing, and drivers almost never deviate from the script in Formula One.
So it's getting harder and harder to come up with memorable quotes from the year. Maybe the personalities just aren't as colorful as they used to be, and some of it is surely just me losing my memory, but instant classics like Tony George's "I take my hammer to work every day" and Bobby Rahal's "No harm, no foul" just aren't happening very often these days.
But there were still a few zingers -- especially when taken in context. We'll start with an entry from a veritable quote machine who ought to have a full-time IndyCar ride for publicity value alone. Paul Tracy is a hell of a race car driver, too -- the kind of aggressive, combustible racer that Marty and I obviously agree the sport needs more of …
"As I was laying on the couch watching the disaster of a race at St. Pete, I felt like I could get out there and clean everybody's clock, the way they were driving." -- Paul Tracy
"I continue to be perplexed by the board's recent decision to relieve me from my responsibility as CEO of the enterprise." -- Ousted Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Tony George, who therapeutically expressed himself with occasional statements on the Vision Racing Web site.
"I thought the verbal bashing from Marco [Andretti] was completely unwarranted. Who's on the outside on the first corner of the first lap, up in the marbles at the 500? Say no more." -- Jimmy Vasser defending his driver Mario Moraes after an avoidable first-lap accident in the Indianapolis 500.
Foul Language Dept.
"Where the f--- is everyone? I'm world champion, man!" -- Jenson Button's greeting to the near-empty interview room at the Brazilian Grand Prix when he arrived for his championship press conference.
"I'm definitely a guy that's done a lot of stupid s--- too. It happens." -- Scott Dixon defending Ryan Briscoe's pit-lane gaffe in Japan.
The Danica Files
Danica Patrick's pursuit of a NASCAR career was a yearlong story, and by September she grew tired of talking about it. "You'll know when I tell you," was the terse mantra she adopted. But she was still the IndyCar driver most in demand by the media and almost always a good quote.
"You have a million times more joy turning a good lap on a road course than an oval." -- Danica Patrick. Good luck finding joy in NASCAR, then.
"I'm learning how everything I say and everything I do, I just have to imagine that it's all on camera." -- Patrick's reaction to being questioned about throwing fewer tantrums this year.
"She should stay where she is." Pioneering Indy car driver Janet Guthrie assessing Patrick's move into NASCAR.
"I'm starting to get a little nervous. It's time to do my part of the deal and get in these cars and perform."-- Patrick, after her JR Motorsports deal was finally announced.
Milka Mania
Since she's riding Danica's coattails into stock car racing, maybe it's appropriate that we feature a Milka Duno quote as well. Before the season, when she was testing for that Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing ride that didn't quite pan out, I asked Milka how she would respond to the notion that some people maybe questioned her talent and whether she deserved the seat. Her reply was priceless:
"Yes, well, there's only two peoples … [writers] Robin Miller and Curt Cavin. I'm not thinking about what they say. They really don't understand about racing and it's not interesting for me what is the opinion that they have." -- Milka Duno
The Dario Diaries
"A championship doesn't all come down to one race or one point. That's the moment that everybody remembers, but it was a long season, and a lot of things got us there." -- Dario Franchitti, who said it 11 days before he won the IndyCar season finale -- and the championship -- by using a fuel-mileage strategy at the Homestead finale that had some competitors grousing.
"I apologized to the fans, because they came out to see good racing, and I didn't feel tonight was that." -- Franchitti, who wasn't the only one who noticed the lack of passing at what turned out to be the IndyCar Series' last race at Richmond International Raceway.
"He pays all the time; he's his own worst enemy. TK is always the first man to reach for his credit card." -- Franchitti explaining why his pal Tony Kanaan seemed so out of sorts all year long.
No doubt the happiest story of the IndyCar year was Justin Wilson's victory for Dale Coyne Racing at Watkins Glen. It was the only race in 2009 that Target Chip Ganassi Racing or Penske Racing did not win, prompting Coyne to say:
"We were David and we beat two Goliaths today. My wife and I didn't buy a new house; we bought an engineer." -- Dale Coyne, after his first win in 25 years of trying.
The New Car Follies
The IndyCar Series originally announced that its new formula for engines and chassis would be implemented in 2011. That quietly turned into 2012, and the way things are going, 2013 may not be out of the question. Here's a timeline of the IRL's progress -- or lack thereof.
"We've engaged multiple manufacturers. We're at a point where at least one of them in the next 60 days should be seeking board approval for participation in the IndyCar Series in the future." -- Brian Barnhart, now COO of the Indy Racing League, in February
"We have previously confirmed five engine manufacturers have expressed continued interest in participating in the IndyCar Series in the future … and they continue to show great interest. Plans for introducing a new engine spec, while remaining and maintaining the series position as a leader in the use of ethanol biofuels remains an ongoing process with considerable OEM [original equipment manufacturer] input. We are expecting to finalize the engine specifications in the next few months." -- Barnhart, July
"I think we'll have the package announced by Thanksgiving of this year. We expect the engine and chassis specifications to be announced in the fourth quarter." -- Barnhart, September
Showing posts with label indycar 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indycar 2009. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Vision for IndyCar, speedway still on track
(by John Oreovics espn.go.com 12-17-09)
One of the most important stories in Indy car racing during 2009 was the boardroom coup that resulted in Tony George being removed from power at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even more surprising was George's subsequent decision to relinquish leadership of the Indy Racing League and the IZOD IndyCar Series, which he founded back in 1996.
George's roles with the IRL and IMS were taken over by Jeff Belskus, a longtime associate of the Hulman-George family who has worked for IMS since 1987. Like the Hulman family and many key members of Speedway management, Belskus is a native of Terre Haute, Ind., and he has been a friend of George through high school and into their time at Indiana State University.
A certified public accountant by trade, Belskus has long been known as the money man in the background of the IMS hierarchy. But with George's ouster from IMS and surprise move to distance himself from the IRL, Belskus found himself thrust into the spotlight.
Shy by nature, Belskus was somewhat unfairly roasted by Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz following his first public appearance in his new roles. But the key constituents of the Speedway and the IndyCar Series are comfortable with their new leader, mainly because he was quickly able offer a sense of calm and a "business as usual" approach to the issues faced by the track and the league.
"I think it has gone as well as anyone could expect it to go," Belskus said of his first three months as the outright leader of IMS and IRL. "I'm pleased with the way it has gone. Tony and I have a good working relationship and I'm happy about that. I'm still spending a lot of time learning the lay of the land in some respects. It's been a great learning experience so far and I feel good about the way it has gone."
Belskus' longterm association with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation gave him an insider's view of the workings of the company, a huge advantage over hiring an outsider to take over the notoriously private family business. He's not concerned that he could be stretched too thin by being in charge of multiple facets of the company.
"We have a good team in place at IMS that is very experienced and we depend on them," he remarked. "Even though I'm not there, I get e-mails and phone calls, but I have responsibility for running the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."
After relying solely on the Indianapolis 500 through 1993, the Speedway now hosts three major events a year. In 2009, attendance was down for the NASCAR Brickyard 400 and the second running of the Red Bull Indianapolis MotoGP race, but Belskus is not significantly concerned.
"Renewals [for the Brickyard] have been strong -- they are in line with last year," he said. "It's a higher quality product when you don't have to stop every nine or 10 laps for a competition yellow [as happened in 2008], so we hope those problems are behind us and we can win back the fans we lost as a result of that.
"Having said that, it seems like NASCAR in general, whether it's the economy or whatever it is, has certainly had their share of attendance issues this year. It's a good event for us and we hope it continues to be a good event for us. We met expectations this year. We planned for it to be off, but I think that was as much about the economy as it was about the event."
A bigger adjustment has been required in terms of managing and being the public face of the IRL. One of the toughest tasks he already dealt with was cutting staff by approximately 40.
"It's an ongoing process," Belskus said. "We're doing what we can to review everything for efficiencies to try to be as productive as we can be. I know my way around the racetrack pretty well and there haven't been too many surprises about what's going on with the League at these events. Terry Angstadt [Vice-President of Marketing] and Brian Barnhart [Vice-President of Competition and Operations] are working hard and doing a good job, and I think we deliver a lot of value."
The IndyCar Series got a huge boost in early November when it was revealed that apparel manufacturer IZOD signed a multi-year contract for title sponsor rights. Most importantly from Belskus' perspective, IZOD is essentially going to pick up the tab for the TEAM subsidy program that pays each full-time competitor up to $1.2 million annually in lieu of prize money.
"Getting the right [title sponsor] was important," Belskus said. "We spent a lot of time talking about 'fair value' and what the series is worth. We're very excited about being associated with IZOD, a brand that we feel good about."
The other bullet the IRL dodged was Danica Patrick's potential move to NASCAR. In the end, America's favorite female racer elected to remain with Andretti Autosport in Indy cars fulltime for at least the 2010 season while beginning to sample the world of NASCAR with a limited schedule for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.
"She's great for our series and an important part of our series," said the IRL leader. "We hope to see her as a part of it for many years to come. I won't say it's absolutely necessary, but we'd prefer to have her here, given our druthers. My hope is that she's going to continue to be an Indy car driver first and foremost."
Belskus said that Indy car racing fans shouldn't expect radical changes to the IRL schedule or the Indianapolis 500 during his watch. However, at a Dec. 9 meeting, the IMS board did approve a plan to shorten the month of May Indy activities to include just one week of practice and a single qualifying weekend.
"We will still be primarily a North American series, though international events are important to us," Belskus said. "We need a compelling reason to do the international events and it is important from that perspective. For Japan, it's because of Honda. We're looking at three or four international events as the most. I don't see it as a significant portion of our schedule."
Thursday, December 17, 2009
For Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Jeff Belskus, it cuts like a knife
(by Anthony Schoettle ibj.com/the-score 12-16-09)
It doesn’t make any sense.
That’s the thought that went through my head yesterday when Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus told me business operations at the famed Brickyard “aren’t as bad as they look.”
Well, they look pretty bad.
There have been two rounds of layoffs within the last year, sending at least 70 people packing at the IMS—and its sister operations. That doesn’t include the people who vacated voluntarily.
There are a couple company jets for sale, the month of May is being sliced by one-third and the golf course and catering businesses are being privatized.
“The sky is not falling,” Belskus said yesterday from what looks like an unmistakable hard hat zone.
Belskus insists the Indianapolis 500 is financially strong and the MotoGP and Brickyard 400 races are “making positive impacts on the business.”
Belskus admits the motorcycle and NASCAR events aren’t making nearly as positive an impact as they once did. Still, something doesn’t jibe.
With all your properties presumably turning a profit, why all the cost cutting. And consider, this is a property—with its famed oval, 2.5-mile road course, broadcast facilities, pagoda, garages and other infrastructure—that was once estimated to have hard assets near $1 billion.
There’s another thing I don’t understand. The notion that shrinking the month of May won’t have much of an economic impact on Indianapolis.
What about all those thousands of motorsports related businesses in the region that the governor and Indiana Motorsports Association have been touting recently. Aren’t they hurt by this—at least a little?
My how things have changed. Steve Goldsmith thought the month of May was so important to the city, he threw all his support behind Tony George in the mid-1990s as open-wheel racing began to fracture.
A former top Goldsmith aid recently told me that the then mayor threw his support behind George after CART boss Andrew Craig told Goldsmith his plan was to cut back the month of May and emphasize the entire series.
In 2000, a study demonstrated the Indianapolis 500 had a $336.6 million economic impact on the city. It takes $6 million to $10 million annually on the conservative side to run an IRL team.
And we’re talking about reducing hotel and dry cleaning costs for teams and a week’s worth of yellow shirt staffing for the IMS. Oh, and a week’s worth of expenses for IMS Productions.
Belskus said the most recent move will create a six-figure savings for the Speedway. Team operators say they’ll save five-figures. By my calculations, this is a low single-figure percentage savings for the Speedway and IRL teams.
Now this startling revelation: Belskus said the IRL teams asked him to cut the month of May. I thought the Indianapolis 500 was the one thing that has kept the IRL afloat during the worst of times. I thought that’s what kept the teams, sponsors and TV partners hanging in there.
And in the same breath, Belskus told a small group of us reporters gathered yesterday at IMS’ headquarters that another IRL race could slide into the calendar space abdicated by the Indy 500—as soon as 2011. Wouldn’t that take a bit more luster off the Greatest Spectacle in Racing? This is the exact sort of idea that caused caused Goldsmith to turn his back on Craig.
This part of the puzzle does make sense: The Indy Racing League is not profitable, and its losses might now be outstripping the shrinking financial gains of the 500, 400 and MotoGP race.
Officials for the Performance Racing Industry Show, the nation’s largest motorsports industry trade show held last week in Orlando, told IBJ yesterday that business for all motorsports companies was down 30 percent in 2009—40 percent or more for open-wheel businesses.
And there’s this: The board that controls the Speedway and Indy Racing League didn’t care for Tony George’s proclamation that the IRL needs to be profitable by 2013 or else. They liked the idea of profitability, but another three plus years of sucking money from the family fortune didn’t sit well. That six-member board includes George’s three sisters and mother.
Belskus, the IMS’ former chief financial officer who replaced George as captain July 1, got the message. He sharpened his pencil—and his scalpel—to a very fine point.
And the transformational surgery is underway.
It doesn’t make any sense.
That’s the thought that went through my head yesterday when Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus told me business operations at the famed Brickyard “aren’t as bad as they look.”
Well, they look pretty bad.
There have been two rounds of layoffs within the last year, sending at least 70 people packing at the IMS—and its sister operations. That doesn’t include the people who vacated voluntarily.
There are a couple company jets for sale, the month of May is being sliced by one-third and the golf course and catering businesses are being privatized.
“The sky is not falling,” Belskus said yesterday from what looks like an unmistakable hard hat zone.
Belskus insists the Indianapolis 500 is financially strong and the MotoGP and Brickyard 400 races are “making positive impacts on the business.”
Belskus admits the motorcycle and NASCAR events aren’t making nearly as positive an impact as they once did. Still, something doesn’t jibe.
With all your properties presumably turning a profit, why all the cost cutting. And consider, this is a property—with its famed oval, 2.5-mile road course, broadcast facilities, pagoda, garages and other infrastructure—that was once estimated to have hard assets near $1 billion.
There’s another thing I don’t understand. The notion that shrinking the month of May won’t have much of an economic impact on Indianapolis.
What about all those thousands of motorsports related businesses in the region that the governor and Indiana Motorsports Association have been touting recently. Aren’t they hurt by this—at least a little?
My how things have changed. Steve Goldsmith thought the month of May was so important to the city, he threw all his support behind Tony George in the mid-1990s as open-wheel racing began to fracture.
A former top Goldsmith aid recently told me that the then mayor threw his support behind George after CART boss Andrew Craig told Goldsmith his plan was to cut back the month of May and emphasize the entire series.
In 2000, a study demonstrated the Indianapolis 500 had a $336.6 million economic impact on the city. It takes $6 million to $10 million annually on the conservative side to run an IRL team.
And we’re talking about reducing hotel and dry cleaning costs for teams and a week’s worth of yellow shirt staffing for the IMS. Oh, and a week’s worth of expenses for IMS Productions.
Belskus said the most recent move will create a six-figure savings for the Speedway. Team operators say they’ll save five-figures. By my calculations, this is a low single-figure percentage savings for the Speedway and IRL teams.
Now this startling revelation: Belskus said the IRL teams asked him to cut the month of May. I thought the Indianapolis 500 was the one thing that has kept the IRL afloat during the worst of times. I thought that’s what kept the teams, sponsors and TV partners hanging in there.
And in the same breath, Belskus told a small group of us reporters gathered yesterday at IMS’ headquarters that another IRL race could slide into the calendar space abdicated by the Indy 500—as soon as 2011. Wouldn’t that take a bit more luster off the Greatest Spectacle in Racing? This is the exact sort of idea that caused caused Goldsmith to turn his back on Craig.
This part of the puzzle does make sense: The Indy Racing League is not profitable, and its losses might now be outstripping the shrinking financial gains of the 500, 400 and MotoGP race.
Officials for the Performance Racing Industry Show, the nation’s largest motorsports industry trade show held last week in Orlando, told IBJ yesterday that business for all motorsports companies was down 30 percent in 2009—40 percent or more for open-wheel businesses.
And there’s this: The board that controls the Speedway and Indy Racing League didn’t care for Tony George’s proclamation that the IRL needs to be profitable by 2013 or else. They liked the idea of profitability, but another three plus years of sucking money from the family fortune didn’t sit well. That six-member board includes George’s three sisters and mother.
Belskus, the IMS’ former chief financial officer who replaced George as captain July 1, got the message. He sharpened his pencil—and his scalpel—to a very fine point.
And the transformational surgery is underway.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Stars aligned in open-wheel world
(by John Oreovicz espn.go.com 11-26-09)
There's a tendency in life to focus on what's wrong with things, and racing is no exception.
But in the spirit of the holiday season, here's a look at what's right. In other words, a few things to be thankful for in the world of open-wheel racing.
Everyone involved with the IndyCar Series is thankful that Izod has come on board as a title sponsor that will aggressively market the series.
Izod and IndyCar officials are thankful that Danica Patrick will concentrate primarily on open-wheelers for the next few years. But they wish she and her handlers would finally get around to announcing it.
A lot of people who spend time at IndyCar races are thankful for the quieter exhaust system Honda Performance Development created for the Honda Indy V-8 -- not to mention Honda's continued support of American open-wheel racing.
All the IndyCar Series drivers appreciate the consistent excellence of the Firestone tires they race on, and are also thankful for the introduction this year of red-sidewall alternate tires for road and street courses.
Speaking of road racing, the vast majority of the IndyCar field is thankful that additional road races (Brazil, Barber) are popping up on the schedule.
But I'm sure I wouldn't be the only thankful person if somebody figured out a way to solve the Milwaukee Mile's financial problems so Indy racing's century of history at the historic venue could be extended.
I don't think I am alone in wanting to see Cleveland and Road America on the IndyCar slate as well.
I'm glad that Indy car racing still attracts world-class drivers like Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves.
I'm thankful that Juan Pablo Montoya is starting to show NASCAR and the world that former Indy car drivers really can adapt to stock car racing.
Franchitti and almost every other IndyCar Series competitor are thankful that the ever-slow and always-erratic Milka Duno didn't ever sweep them into a crash.
Another world-class Indy driver, Will Power, is thankful that Roger Penske is stepping up to run a third car for him in 2010.
I'm thankful that the broken back Power suffered (and the broken leg sustained by Nelson Philippe in the same practice crash at Infineon Raceway) was the worst injury of the IndyCar season.
I'm also thankful that I got to witness Justin Wilson's victory for Dale Coyne Racing at Watkins Glen -- one of the best racing stories of the year. A surprisingly long list of drivers out there is grateful to Coyne for his 25 years in the sport.
I'm hopeful that the next wave of American road racing talent -- including JR Hildebrand, Jonathan Summerton, John Edwards, Alexander Rossi and Gabby Chaves -- gets a fair shot at competing in the IndyCar Series, or even F1.
Speaking of F1, world champion Jenson Button is thankful that Red Bull Racing didn't get its car sorted until midseason.
Kimi Raikkonen must be ecstatic at the thought of being paid an eight-figure salary to watch F1 from the sidelines next year.
Felipe Massa is thankful for the safety advances in modern helmets -- as are the Brazilian's legions of fans.
A lot of people remain happy that a few traditional F1 racetracks like Spa, Monza and Suzuka continue to endure the onslaught of fabulous yet characterless Hermann Tilke-designed facilities.
Finally, I'm thankful that my 3-year-old son, Patrick, seems to enjoy watching just about any form of racing as much as his daddy does.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
There's a tendency in life to focus on what's wrong with things, and racing is no exception.
But in the spirit of the holiday season, here's a look at what's right. In other words, a few things to be thankful for in the world of open-wheel racing.
Everyone involved with the IndyCar Series is thankful that Izod has come on board as a title sponsor that will aggressively market the series.
Izod and IndyCar officials are thankful that Danica Patrick will concentrate primarily on open-wheelers for the next few years. But they wish she and her handlers would finally get around to announcing it.
A lot of people who spend time at IndyCar races are thankful for the quieter exhaust system Honda Performance Development created for the Honda Indy V-8 -- not to mention Honda's continued support of American open-wheel racing.
All the IndyCar Series drivers appreciate the consistent excellence of the Firestone tires they race on, and are also thankful for the introduction this year of red-sidewall alternate tires for road and street courses.
Speaking of road racing, the vast majority of the IndyCar field is thankful that additional road races (Brazil, Barber) are popping up on the schedule.
But I'm sure I wouldn't be the only thankful person if somebody figured out a way to solve the Milwaukee Mile's financial problems so Indy racing's century of history at the historic venue could be extended.
I don't think I am alone in wanting to see Cleveland and Road America on the IndyCar slate as well.
I'm glad that Indy car racing still attracts world-class drivers like Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves.
I'm thankful that Juan Pablo Montoya is starting to show NASCAR and the world that former Indy car drivers really can adapt to stock car racing.
Franchitti and almost every other IndyCar Series competitor are thankful that the ever-slow and always-erratic Milka Duno didn't ever sweep them into a crash.
Another world-class Indy driver, Will Power, is thankful that Roger Penske is stepping up to run a third car for him in 2010.
I'm thankful that the broken back Power suffered (and the broken leg sustained by Nelson Philippe in the same practice crash at Infineon Raceway) was the worst injury of the IndyCar season.
I'm also thankful that I got to witness Justin Wilson's victory for Dale Coyne Racing at Watkins Glen -- one of the best racing stories of the year. A surprisingly long list of drivers out there is grateful to Coyne for his 25 years in the sport.
I'm hopeful that the next wave of American road racing talent -- including JR Hildebrand, Jonathan Summerton, John Edwards, Alexander Rossi and Gabby Chaves -- gets a fair shot at competing in the IndyCar Series, or even F1.
Speaking of F1, world champion Jenson Button is thankful that Red Bull Racing didn't get its car sorted until midseason.
Kimi Raikkonen must be ecstatic at the thought of being paid an eight-figure salary to watch F1 from the sidelines next year.
Felipe Massa is thankful for the safety advances in modern helmets -- as are the Brazilian's legions of fans.
A lot of people remain happy that a few traditional F1 racetracks like Spa, Monza and Suzuka continue to endure the onslaught of fabulous yet characterless Hermann Tilke-designed facilities.
Finally, I'm thankful that my 3-year-old son, Patrick, seems to enjoy watching just about any form of racing as much as his daddy does.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Focusing On The Future
(by Bruce Martin versus.com 9-24-09)
While the IndyCar Series teams were preparing for last Saturday’s Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, IndyCar president of competition Brian Barnhart and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation CEO Jeff Belskus talked about the future.
A highly entertaining fight for the series championship will conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 10 but the work continues for the men who are charged with plotting the course for the future and the first major decision coming up is the announcement of the new engine/car combination for the 2012 season.
Originally, that package was supposed to be announced this past April but with economic uncertainties regarding the international automotive industry that has delayed the decision.
Barnhart, however, said he expects a decision to be announced by the Thanksgiving holiday in November.
“We continue to develop a couple of parallel paths on the chassis with two different designs we are looking at,” Barnhart said. “We have four manufacturers who have expressed interest in participating in the series beginning in 2012. In this environment we feel very good about that. We are proud that with the automotive manufacturers going through what they are going through and four of them expressing interest to run. We are maintaining dialogue with them and hope to hear from them by Thanksgiving.”
The four interested parties include current engine supplier Honda as well as the German triumvirate that includes Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. All of the German nameplates are owned by the same company so it is likely that just one of those brands will join the series, most likely Volkswagen, which has shown the most interest out of that group.
“The manufacturers are in agreement in terms with engine specifications and the direction they want to go,” Barnhart said. “We have two significantly different chassis packages in terms of appearance and how different and radical they are from what we are running. What we need to do is make a decision on what direction that is going. The one is so radically different it will entail a lot more in terms of R&D, costs and time. We need to be careful not to jump ahead too much but at the same time be consistent with what the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League have been about and that is evolution.”
Volkswagen wants an inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine because it replicates the technology used for its passenger cars in Europe. Honda Performance Development favors a 6-cylinder turbocharged formula for the series engine specification.
“We’re not ready to announce that yet but the groups we have talked to are all pretty consistent with what spec they want to go with,” Barnhart said. “We haven’t narrowed it down to the devil in the details but the general specs have been agreed upon.”
Erik Berkman, the president of Honda Performance Development, continues to push for a V-6 engine and is hopeful that the decision on the new engine/car design will come soon.
“I think we are on track for 2012 still,” Berkman said. “I hope that as the season winds down and we go into the offseason that some things speed up that allows us to get the League’s clear direction on what that should be. If we can go into our Christmas break with some clarity to the future plan that we are still on track.
“We’ve been proposing the V-6 all along so I’m hoping we can go that route.”
Honda has stressed its desire for manufacturer completion, which would mean a new company getting involved with the IndyCar Series.
“I’m hopeful we will have some competition in the future,” Berkman reiterated. “This has been an unusual year. I’ve tried to not panic this year and each month this year my optimism is coming back.”
As for the design of the new car, it could look radically different from the current generation IndyCar that has been on the track since 2003. But while it may look different, it is more a subject of evolution, not revolution.
“The car we proposed is relatively feasible,” Berkman said. “It’s an evolutionary design. Honda will stay out of directing the chassis as much as we might have done in the past. We’re going to let the League do their job there. We can make an engine that can fit in the existing car or in a new chassis. We can do whatever.
“The engine we envision is smaller than the current package. If we raise the peak output then we have more heat rejection that we will have to manage. A new car will have room to grow and evolve from there.”
While the IndyCar Series wants to see better performance and innovation from the new design, safety remains the No. 1 objective of the new car.
And that is where the “Laws of Unintended Consequences” arise. Despite computer simulations and data research, the only way to find out how a car holds up under a crash is to actually crash it.
Any volunteers to serve as a test driver for that?
“We’ve had an interesting process in the last 18 months with the design project initiated by Honda with what the next chassis and iconic look should look like,” Barnhart said. “It’s a really delicate balance of form following function and the evolution of what we’ve had for the last 30 years. We have to be comfortable in how to race that car but more important how to crash that car.
“With the Will Power and Nelson Philippe crash at Infineon, to look at the level of that accident, the cars behaved exactly what they were designed to and you compare that to what has happened in previous years in similar accidents the level of injuries the driver sustained were considerably less than what was experienced previously. Those cars did what we needed them to do.
“If you make radical changes from the evolution of what this car has been for 30 years you’re going to have to go through a lot of work to make sure that whether it’s Tony Kanaan’s crash at Indianapolis or Vitor Meira’s crash at Indianapolis or what happened at Infineon all of those cars behaved as we thought they would and designed them to.
“Kanaan’s car down the backstretch sheered the right side off on the first impact and the second impact was one of the most violent impacts with nothing left on the right side. It did what we wanted them to do especially with the anti-intrusion panels we put on several years back.
“That is the kind of stuff you have to be careful with. If you are going to go out in terms of design and evolution you have to do your due diligence to not only race them but crash them to make sure they are safe.”
And then there is the economy.
By introducing a new engine/chassis package for 2012, that means every team in the series will have to pay for new cars and that could lead to a smaller field as some of the lesser-funded teams struggle to find the money for new equipment.
“The economy is a huge part and with this kind of R&D it isn’t cheap. It’s a very important aspect of that from a lot of different angles. When you package all of that together it’s a very important aspect from a lot of different angles. The teams ability to pay for it, the fact we have manufacturers interested in what we are doing, what the cost is going to be for R&D, it’s not much different for other businesses because money drives a huge part of it.”
AND THE WINNER IN BRAZIL IS?
IndyCar Series officials hope to announce the location for the 2010 season-opening race in Brazil imminently.
“We hope to know about Brazil within the next 10 days or so which location it will be,” Barnhart said. “They are all in the running over there. Terry and Tony Cottman have spent a week down there so we are working out the details.”
Terry Angstadt, the president, commercial division, of the IndyCar Series spent time in Brazil working out the details before departing for Japan last week.
“We are between Salvador and Rio,” Angstadt confirmed. “Both communities are still very engaged and we hope to make that opportunity any day. The desire is mutual because it appears all the funding is in place. It’s six weeks later than we would have liked for it to be.”
Belskus, who holds the overall responsibility for both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League in his role as IMS Corporation CEO, believes the IndyCar Series should pursue international races only if they make sense; that otherwise IndyCar should focus on building its domestic product.
“These international events are important to us,” Belskus said. “We need a compelling reason to do the international events and it is important from that perspective. For Japan, it’s because of Honda. To the extent we have those associations it’s important but we will still be looking at three or four international events as the most. I don’t see it as a significant portion of our schedule.
“We’re still talking to a group in China to bring an IndyCar race to that country. It’s still on the table and still an opportunity. It is a work in progress for us. That’s a 2011 or 2012 sort of conversation.”
A FAN OF THE TWO-DAY FORMAT
Barnhart contended that the two-day format has worked well for most of its events this season. That calls for practice and qualifications one day with the race the following day.
“The two day shows work really well on the ovals,” Barnhart said. “The challenging ones are the shows where there is expense setting up the race track like St. Pete and Toronto and Edmonton and Long Beach. Theexpenses the promoter has in setting up those events certainly justify making that a three-day show. But we are so familiar with the cars we are running that we get a lot of laps in practice so the two-day show works really well on the ovals. You balance it out from that aspect.
“When we go to a three-day show it seems like we are there forever.”
INDYCAR CLOSING IN ON A SERIES TITLE SPONSOR
IndyCar Series officials are hopeful of announcing a title sponsor for the series at the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“Terry Angstadt and his guys are working real hard at that and we are optimistic we can put something together,” Belskus said. “It’s a work in progress. We want the right sponsor. We spend time talking about fair value and what we think it’s worth we’re far more excited about being associated with a brand we should be associated with. Hopefully, we can find a situation that is fair value for that and brings a brand to the table that we want to be associated with.”
Angstadt remains optimistic after recent meetings with the potential sponsor.
“We’ve had the sixth meeting with a potential sponsor,” Angstadt said. “We had the VERSUS folks with them last week and the ABC people with them this week. If they make the decision it will be good for us and will be very well supported. It’s a consumer product.”
JOB PERFORMANCE REVIEW
It’s been 12 weeks since Jeff Belskus took over the leadership role of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation after Tony George was ousted from the family-controlled board of directors. Each week, Belskus has been more comfortable in his role as CEO.
“I think it has gone as well as anyone could expect it to go,” Belskus said. “I’m pleased with the way it has gone. Tony George and I have a good working relationship and I’m happy about that. I’m still spending a lot of time learning the lay of the land in some respects. I’ve visited the folks at Honda and on the racing teams. It’s been a great learning experience in 10 weeks and I feel good about the way it has gone.”
Belskus prefers a three-week “Month of May” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the annual Indianapolis 500 while some have considered cutting one week out of the schedule.
“I do see value in keeping it the way it is, “Belskus said. “In a lot of ways it’s a tradeoff between tradition and value. We need to do what we can to keep as many traditions alive as we can and sort out the ones that are critically important to us and our mission. We continue to have those conversations every year.”
Belskus has also become a big fan of the IndyCar Series 10-year contract with VERSUS because it gives more television time exposure to the sport.
“The VERSUS telecasts have been outstanding,” Belskus said. “Everyone seems to have enjoyed them and there is a lot of energy in them. We are prepared to go through a transition because VERSUS doesn’t have the distribution that ESPN may have but we can be patient while that grows. We have a lot of resources available to us.
“I negotiated the television contract with ABC and ESPN in 2000 and I remember in 1999 it was such a patchwork between FOX SportsNet and ABC and CBS. What we have today is so much better than where we were at that point in time. It’s a huge improvement. VERSUS is a good partner and will be a good partner for us.
“It’s about exposure and to the way we can maximize exposure is very important to the teams. That is reflected in ratings but coverage times as well. The beauty of the VERSUS telecast is it is a longer telecast than what we’ve had before. We continue to look for ways to provide as much coverage as we can to every competitor.”
“Danica Patrick is great for our series and an important part of our series. I’m optimistic about that. We hope to see
While the IndyCar Series teams were preparing for last Saturday’s Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, IndyCar president of competition Brian Barnhart and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation CEO Jeff Belskus talked about the future.
A highly entertaining fight for the series championship will conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 10 but the work continues for the men who are charged with plotting the course for the future and the first major decision coming up is the announcement of the new engine/car combination for the 2012 season.
Originally, that package was supposed to be announced this past April but with economic uncertainties regarding the international automotive industry that has delayed the decision.
Barnhart, however, said he expects a decision to be announced by the Thanksgiving holiday in November.
“We continue to develop a couple of parallel paths on the chassis with two different designs we are looking at,” Barnhart said. “We have four manufacturers who have expressed interest in participating in the series beginning in 2012. In this environment we feel very good about that. We are proud that with the automotive manufacturers going through what they are going through and four of them expressing interest to run. We are maintaining dialogue with them and hope to hear from them by Thanksgiving.”
The four interested parties include current engine supplier Honda as well as the German triumvirate that includes Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. All of the German nameplates are owned by the same company so it is likely that just one of those brands will join the series, most likely Volkswagen, which has shown the most interest out of that group.
“The manufacturers are in agreement in terms with engine specifications and the direction they want to go,” Barnhart said. “We have two significantly different chassis packages in terms of appearance and how different and radical they are from what we are running. What we need to do is make a decision on what direction that is going. The one is so radically different it will entail a lot more in terms of R&D, costs and time. We need to be careful not to jump ahead too much but at the same time be consistent with what the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League have been about and that is evolution.”
Volkswagen wants an inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine because it replicates the technology used for its passenger cars in Europe. Honda Performance Development favors a 6-cylinder turbocharged formula for the series engine specification.
“We’re not ready to announce that yet but the groups we have talked to are all pretty consistent with what spec they want to go with,” Barnhart said. “We haven’t narrowed it down to the devil in the details but the general specs have been agreed upon.”
Erik Berkman, the president of Honda Performance Development, continues to push for a V-6 engine and is hopeful that the decision on the new engine/car design will come soon.
“I think we are on track for 2012 still,” Berkman said. “I hope that as the season winds down and we go into the offseason that some things speed up that allows us to get the League’s clear direction on what that should be. If we can go into our Christmas break with some clarity to the future plan that we are still on track.
“We’ve been proposing the V-6 all along so I’m hoping we can go that route.”
Honda has stressed its desire for manufacturer completion, which would mean a new company getting involved with the IndyCar Series.
“I’m hopeful we will have some competition in the future,” Berkman reiterated. “This has been an unusual year. I’ve tried to not panic this year and each month this year my optimism is coming back.”
As for the design of the new car, it could look radically different from the current generation IndyCar that has been on the track since 2003. But while it may look different, it is more a subject of evolution, not revolution.
“The car we proposed is relatively feasible,” Berkman said. “It’s an evolutionary design. Honda will stay out of directing the chassis as much as we might have done in the past. We’re going to let the League do their job there. We can make an engine that can fit in the existing car or in a new chassis. We can do whatever.
“The engine we envision is smaller than the current package. If we raise the peak output then we have more heat rejection that we will have to manage. A new car will have room to grow and evolve from there.”
While the IndyCar Series wants to see better performance and innovation from the new design, safety remains the No. 1 objective of the new car.
And that is where the “Laws of Unintended Consequences” arise. Despite computer simulations and data research, the only way to find out how a car holds up under a crash is to actually crash it.
Any volunteers to serve as a test driver for that?
“We’ve had an interesting process in the last 18 months with the design project initiated by Honda with what the next chassis and iconic look should look like,” Barnhart said. “It’s a really delicate balance of form following function and the evolution of what we’ve had for the last 30 years. We have to be comfortable in how to race that car but more important how to crash that car.
“With the Will Power and Nelson Philippe crash at Infineon, to look at the level of that accident, the cars behaved exactly what they were designed to and you compare that to what has happened in previous years in similar accidents the level of injuries the driver sustained were considerably less than what was experienced previously. Those cars did what we needed them to do.
“If you make radical changes from the evolution of what this car has been for 30 years you’re going to have to go through a lot of work to make sure that whether it’s Tony Kanaan’s crash at Indianapolis or Vitor Meira’s crash at Indianapolis or what happened at Infineon all of those cars behaved as we thought they would and designed them to.
“Kanaan’s car down the backstretch sheered the right side off on the first impact and the second impact was one of the most violent impacts with nothing left on the right side. It did what we wanted them to do especially with the anti-intrusion panels we put on several years back.
“That is the kind of stuff you have to be careful with. If you are going to go out in terms of design and evolution you have to do your due diligence to not only race them but crash them to make sure they are safe.”
And then there is the economy.
By introducing a new engine/chassis package for 2012, that means every team in the series will have to pay for new cars and that could lead to a smaller field as some of the lesser-funded teams struggle to find the money for new equipment.
“The economy is a huge part and with this kind of R&D it isn’t cheap. It’s a very important aspect of that from a lot of different angles. When you package all of that together it’s a very important aspect from a lot of different angles. The teams ability to pay for it, the fact we have manufacturers interested in what we are doing, what the cost is going to be for R&D, it’s not much different for other businesses because money drives a huge part of it.”
AND THE WINNER IN BRAZIL IS?
IndyCar Series officials hope to announce the location for the 2010 season-opening race in Brazil imminently.
“We hope to know about Brazil within the next 10 days or so which location it will be,” Barnhart said. “They are all in the running over there. Terry and Tony Cottman have spent a week down there so we are working out the details.”
Terry Angstadt, the president, commercial division, of the IndyCar Series spent time in Brazil working out the details before departing for Japan last week.
“We are between Salvador and Rio,” Angstadt confirmed. “Both communities are still very engaged and we hope to make that opportunity any day. The desire is mutual because it appears all the funding is in place. It’s six weeks later than we would have liked for it to be.”
Belskus, who holds the overall responsibility for both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League in his role as IMS Corporation CEO, believes the IndyCar Series should pursue international races only if they make sense; that otherwise IndyCar should focus on building its domestic product.
“These international events are important to us,” Belskus said. “We need a compelling reason to do the international events and it is important from that perspective. For Japan, it’s because of Honda. To the extent we have those associations it’s important but we will still be looking at three or four international events as the most. I don’t see it as a significant portion of our schedule.
“We’re still talking to a group in China to bring an IndyCar race to that country. It’s still on the table and still an opportunity. It is a work in progress for us. That’s a 2011 or 2012 sort of conversation.”
A FAN OF THE TWO-DAY FORMAT
Barnhart contended that the two-day format has worked well for most of its events this season. That calls for practice and qualifications one day with the race the following day.
“The two day shows work really well on the ovals,” Barnhart said. “The challenging ones are the shows where there is expense setting up the race track like St. Pete and Toronto and Edmonton and Long Beach. Theexpenses the promoter has in setting up those events certainly justify making that a three-day show. But we are so familiar with the cars we are running that we get a lot of laps in practice so the two-day show works really well on the ovals. You balance it out from that aspect.
“When we go to a three-day show it seems like we are there forever.”
INDYCAR CLOSING IN ON A SERIES TITLE SPONSOR
IndyCar Series officials are hopeful of announcing a title sponsor for the series at the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“Terry Angstadt and his guys are working real hard at that and we are optimistic we can put something together,” Belskus said. “It’s a work in progress. We want the right sponsor. We spend time talking about fair value and what we think it’s worth we’re far more excited about being associated with a brand we should be associated with. Hopefully, we can find a situation that is fair value for that and brings a brand to the table that we want to be associated with.”
Angstadt remains optimistic after recent meetings with the potential sponsor.
“We’ve had the sixth meeting with a potential sponsor,” Angstadt said. “We had the VERSUS folks with them last week and the ABC people with them this week. If they make the decision it will be good for us and will be very well supported. It’s a consumer product.”
JOB PERFORMANCE REVIEW
It’s been 12 weeks since Jeff Belskus took over the leadership role of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation after Tony George was ousted from the family-controlled board of directors. Each week, Belskus has been more comfortable in his role as CEO.
“I think it has gone as well as anyone could expect it to go,” Belskus said. “I’m pleased with the way it has gone. Tony George and I have a good working relationship and I’m happy about that. I’m still spending a lot of time learning the lay of the land in some respects. I’ve visited the folks at Honda and on the racing teams. It’s been a great learning experience in 10 weeks and I feel good about the way it has gone.”
Belskus prefers a three-week “Month of May” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the annual Indianapolis 500 while some have considered cutting one week out of the schedule.
“I do see value in keeping it the way it is, “Belskus said. “In a lot of ways it’s a tradeoff between tradition and value. We need to do what we can to keep as many traditions alive as we can and sort out the ones that are critically important to us and our mission. We continue to have those conversations every year.”
Belskus has also become a big fan of the IndyCar Series 10-year contract with VERSUS because it gives more television time exposure to the sport.
“The VERSUS telecasts have been outstanding,” Belskus said. “Everyone seems to have enjoyed them and there is a lot of energy in them. We are prepared to go through a transition because VERSUS doesn’t have the distribution that ESPN may have but we can be patient while that grows. We have a lot of resources available to us.
“I negotiated the television contract with ABC and ESPN in 2000 and I remember in 1999 it was such a patchwork between FOX SportsNet and ABC and CBS. What we have today is so much better than where we were at that point in time. It’s a huge improvement. VERSUS is a good partner and will be a good partner for us.
“It’s about exposure and to the way we can maximize exposure is very important to the teams. That is reflected in ratings but coverage times as well. The beauty of the VERSUS telecast is it is a longer telecast than what we’ve had before. We continue to look for ways to provide as much coverage as we can to every competitor.”
“Danica Patrick is great for our series and an important part of our series. I’m optimistic about that. We hope to see
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Boldly into the future
(by Dave Lewandowski indycar.com 9-22-09)
Indy Racing League president of competition and operations Brian Barnhart is not unlike the man who sees two cars in a showroom - one perfectly practical for the foreseeable future while the eyes wander to that "Wow" machine with the matching price tag.
Parallel paths. One decision.
During the Indy Japan 300 race weekend at Twin Ring Motegi, Barnhart said he expects specifications for a new engine and chassis package to be announced in the fourth quarter.
"My anticipation continues to be for the package to roll out in the 2012 season," he said. "We have four manufacturers that have expressed interest in participation in the series beginning in 2012, which in this (economic) environment we feel very good about. So we're continuing dialogue with them and hope to have final word from them in the next couple of months."
Prospective engine manufacturers from around the globe, who initially met at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in June 2008, are in agreement on a specification, while the league continues to explore parallel paths in terms of chassis design.
"We have two significantly different chassis packages in terms of appearance and how different and radical they are from our current car," Barnhart said. "The one is so radically different it will entail significantly more in terms of R&D, cost and time. It's kind of out there.
"We need to be careful about jumping ahead of ourselves too much, but at the same time doing something that is consistent with what the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League have been about - evolution.
"It's a really delicate balance between form following function and the evolution of what (open-wheel racing in North America) has had for the last 30 years."
Honda, which began participation in the IndyCar Series in 2003, has been the sole supplier of the 3.5-liter, normally aspirated, fuel-injected Indy V-8 engine since 2006. A year later, the IndyCar Series became the first and only motorsports property to use 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. The Dallara chassis - developed for ovals -- has been in use since 2003, with alterations in 2005 as the IndyCar Series added streets and road courses to its schedule. By their longevity, reliability never has been an issue with either product.
Economics will be a factor in which path the league and its manufacturing partners follow, while from a competition standpoint safety is the highest priority.
"The economy affects everybody in every way, and especially doing this type of R&D isn't cheap," Barnhart said. "It's not much different than many other business decisions; money drives a huge portion of it.
"If you make a radical change from the evolution of what this car has been for 30 years, you're going to have to do a lot of work to make sure they respond (to at least the current cars) in similar situations."
The league continues to explore, test and implement safety features, such as side intrusion panels that surpass FIA thickness standards. Currently, crash tests and computer modeling of seat designs and harness packages are being conducted with the likelihood of a new generation being included in the 2012 chassis launch.
"You have to not only be comfortable knowing how to race that car, equally important is you have to know how to crash that car," Barnhart said.
Indy Racing League president of competition and operations Brian Barnhart is not unlike the man who sees two cars in a showroom - one perfectly practical for the foreseeable future while the eyes wander to that "Wow" machine with the matching price tag.
Parallel paths. One decision.
During the Indy Japan 300 race weekend at Twin Ring Motegi, Barnhart said he expects specifications for a new engine and chassis package to be announced in the fourth quarter.
"My anticipation continues to be for the package to roll out in the 2012 season," he said. "We have four manufacturers that have expressed interest in participation in the series beginning in 2012, which in this (economic) environment we feel very good about. So we're continuing dialogue with them and hope to have final word from them in the next couple of months."
Prospective engine manufacturers from around the globe, who initially met at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in June 2008, are in agreement on a specification, while the league continues to explore parallel paths in terms of chassis design.
"We have two significantly different chassis packages in terms of appearance and how different and radical they are from our current car," Barnhart said. "The one is so radically different it will entail significantly more in terms of R&D, cost and time. It's kind of out there.
"We need to be careful about jumping ahead of ourselves too much, but at the same time doing something that is consistent with what the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League have been about - evolution.
"It's a really delicate balance between form following function and the evolution of what (open-wheel racing in North America) has had for the last 30 years."
Honda, which began participation in the IndyCar Series in 2003, has been the sole supplier of the 3.5-liter, normally aspirated, fuel-injected Indy V-8 engine since 2006. A year later, the IndyCar Series became the first and only motorsports property to use 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. The Dallara chassis - developed for ovals -- has been in use since 2003, with alterations in 2005 as the IndyCar Series added streets and road courses to its schedule. By their longevity, reliability never has been an issue with either product.
Economics will be a factor in which path the league and its manufacturing partners follow, while from a competition standpoint safety is the highest priority.
"The economy affects everybody in every way, and especially doing this type of R&D isn't cheap," Barnhart said. "It's not much different than many other business decisions; money drives a huge portion of it.
"If you make a radical change from the evolution of what this car has been for 30 years, you're going to have to do a lot of work to make sure they respond (to at least the current cars) in similar situations."
The league continues to explore, test and implement safety features, such as side intrusion panels that surpass FIA thickness standards. Currently, crash tests and computer modeling of seat designs and harness packages are being conducted with the likelihood of a new generation being included in the 2012 chassis launch.
"You have to not only be comfortable knowing how to race that car, equally important is you have to know how to crash that car," Barnhart said.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Nobody is watching
(by Robin Miller speedtv.com 9-9-09)
Let’s get the positive stuff out of the way. VERSUS coverage of IndyCar racing is top notch, certainly a vast improvement over the past several years on ABC/ESPN.
The races are heavily promoted throughout the week and treated like a major sporting event from start to finish. Viewers always get to hear from the winner and there’s a healthy pre-race show.
Terry Lingner remains one of the premier motorsports producers in the business and the chemistry in the booth between Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl and Jon Beekhuis has been a pleasant surprise (especially Buhl).
But all that doesn’t matter because IndyCar is dying on VERSUS. It’s not a theory or an assumption, it’s a fact.
The ratings are abysmal, almost infomercial level. So far in its 11 races on VERSUS, the IRL’s average rating of 0.32 figures out to less than 240,000 people per race. The official numbers say that the VERSUS telecasts have reached 2,552,000 households and that represents roughly 3,310,000 viewers. And those aren’t average numbers, that’s the TOTAL for all 11 events.
By contrast, this year’s Indy 500 on ABC reached 4.5 million homes and was watched by 6.3 million. The other four ABC races in ’09 made it into 3,710,000 homes and totaled 4,619,000 eyeballs for an average of just over 1.1 million per telecast.
Without even figuring in Indy, there are five times more viewers watching IndyCar on ABC instead of VERSUS.
These numbers aren't shocking to IRL management since they claim they expected it. It’s also not the first time an open wheel racing series has been AWOL this decade (Champ Car vanished in 2004 when it ventured onto SPIKE).
The company line has been that it’s going to take time for IndyCar and VERSUS to grow together and that’s why they signed a 10-year deal. But the cold reality is that IndyCar doesn’t have the luxury of patiently waiting for VERSUS to try and establish itself as a player in the sports network world.
A series bereft of sponsorship at every level cannot hope to survive on a cable network that’s virtually unknown unless you’re into cage fighting. Whether it’s fair or not, the first thing potential sponsors want to see is the exposure they’ll receive on television.
“The issue is one of sponsorship. We’re seeing it now and we did back then,” said Kevin Kalkhoven, the co-owner of KV Racing who was referring to the disastrous decision to go with SPIKE when he co-owned Champ Car. “It’s quite simple. You need to be on national television in order to get proper sponsorship.”
Paul Tracy recently met with GEICO, which sponsored him at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen this season. The insurance company said it was happy with PT’s efforts and wanted to help him again in 2010.
“But they’re only interested in the races on ABC,” said Tracy.
The pressing problem is that IndyCar budgets are so unbelievably unreasonable compared to the value of the series. It costs $4-6 million per car to get near the front and $8-10 million to monopolize like Ganassi and Penske. Tracy went to Monster energy drink a couple years ago (when IndyCar was still all on ABC/ESPN) looking for $4 million and was told IRL was only worth $1.2 million.
So what in the name of Bob Reif would that number be today?
It’s an inverted financial pyramid because right now the series isn’t worth a fifth of what it takes to run up front.
The latest bit of news that DIRECTV has pitched VERSUS and its 16 million homes might seem like more doom and gloom. Yet it’s really good timing because it could be the out in the contract that IndyCar needs.
There appears to be a couple of options. Maybe IndyCar could re-negotiate its deal with ABC and, instead of getting big money for Indy, take less and get more races than the five that are currently promised for 2010.
If that’s not feasible, then simply go buy time on NBC and CBS (like ChampCar did in its final years), or call Fox or SPEED. Because IMS has its own in-house production company, a time buy wouldn’t be nearly as costly as it was for Gerald Forsythe and Kalkhoven (rumored to be $800,000 per race).
Of course there is one major obstacle in this plan.
VERSUS is supposedly paying IndyCar $6 million a year and it might be tough to convince the new IMS management to quit receiving money and start spending it.
But it needs to happen ASAP. Keep Lingner, the talent and the VERSUS attitude, just dump the channel and reconnect with the mainstream. Network television may not be IndyCar’s allies, but they damn sure can come to the rescue.
It matters not that VERSUS puts on a good show because nobody is watching.
Let’s get the positive stuff out of the way. VERSUS coverage of IndyCar racing is top notch, certainly a vast improvement over the past several years on ABC/ESPN.
The races are heavily promoted throughout the week and treated like a major sporting event from start to finish. Viewers always get to hear from the winner and there’s a healthy pre-race show.
Terry Lingner remains one of the premier motorsports producers in the business and the chemistry in the booth between Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl and Jon Beekhuis has been a pleasant surprise (especially Buhl).
But all that doesn’t matter because IndyCar is dying on VERSUS. It’s not a theory or an assumption, it’s a fact.
The ratings are abysmal, almost infomercial level. So far in its 11 races on VERSUS, the IRL’s average rating of 0.32 figures out to less than 240,000 people per race. The official numbers say that the VERSUS telecasts have reached 2,552,000 households and that represents roughly 3,310,000 viewers. And those aren’t average numbers, that’s the TOTAL for all 11 events.
By contrast, this year’s Indy 500 on ABC reached 4.5 million homes and was watched by 6.3 million. The other four ABC races in ’09 made it into 3,710,000 homes and totaled 4,619,000 eyeballs for an average of just over 1.1 million per telecast.
Without even figuring in Indy, there are five times more viewers watching IndyCar on ABC instead of VERSUS.
These numbers aren't shocking to IRL management since they claim they expected it. It’s also not the first time an open wheel racing series has been AWOL this decade (Champ Car vanished in 2004 when it ventured onto SPIKE).
The company line has been that it’s going to take time for IndyCar and VERSUS to grow together and that’s why they signed a 10-year deal. But the cold reality is that IndyCar doesn’t have the luxury of patiently waiting for VERSUS to try and establish itself as a player in the sports network world.
A series bereft of sponsorship at every level cannot hope to survive on a cable network that’s virtually unknown unless you’re into cage fighting. Whether it’s fair or not, the first thing potential sponsors want to see is the exposure they’ll receive on television.
“The issue is one of sponsorship. We’re seeing it now and we did back then,” said Kevin Kalkhoven, the co-owner of KV Racing who was referring to the disastrous decision to go with SPIKE when he co-owned Champ Car. “It’s quite simple. You need to be on national television in order to get proper sponsorship.”
Paul Tracy recently met with GEICO, which sponsored him at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen this season. The insurance company said it was happy with PT’s efforts and wanted to help him again in 2010.
“But they’re only interested in the races on ABC,” said Tracy.
The pressing problem is that IndyCar budgets are so unbelievably unreasonable compared to the value of the series. It costs $4-6 million per car to get near the front and $8-10 million to monopolize like Ganassi and Penske. Tracy went to Monster energy drink a couple years ago (when IndyCar was still all on ABC/ESPN) looking for $4 million and was told IRL was only worth $1.2 million.
So what in the name of Bob Reif would that number be today?
It’s an inverted financial pyramid because right now the series isn’t worth a fifth of what it takes to run up front.
The latest bit of news that DIRECTV has pitched VERSUS and its 16 million homes might seem like more doom and gloom. Yet it’s really good timing because it could be the out in the contract that IndyCar needs.
There appears to be a couple of options. Maybe IndyCar could re-negotiate its deal with ABC and, instead of getting big money for Indy, take less and get more races than the five that are currently promised for 2010.
If that’s not feasible, then simply go buy time on NBC and CBS (like ChampCar did in its final years), or call Fox or SPEED. Because IMS has its own in-house production company, a time buy wouldn’t be nearly as costly as it was for Gerald Forsythe and Kalkhoven (rumored to be $800,000 per race).
Of course there is one major obstacle in this plan.
VERSUS is supposedly paying IndyCar $6 million a year and it might be tough to convince the new IMS management to quit receiving money and start spending it.
But it needs to happen ASAP. Keep Lingner, the talent and the VERSUS attitude, just dump the channel and reconnect with the mainstream. Network television may not be IndyCar’s allies, but they damn sure can come to the rescue.
It matters not that VERSUS puts on a good show because nobody is watching.
What will happen to the IRL if Danica leaves?
(by Chris Estrada foxsports.com 9-8-09)
It looks like the Danica Patrick saga is finally coming to an end.
Labor Day weekend is usually meant for relaxation, but when NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Tony Stewart said Saturday that he could "pretty much guarantee" that Patrick would make the jump to stock cars, the racing world predictably exploded in a tizzy. Another report had a source saying that she would run both IndyCar and a mixture of NASCAR Nationwide, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and ARCA events in 2010.
So what does this mean for the IRL IndyCar Series? It's time to start laying down a plan for 2011, which is now being pegged as the year that Patrick could flip to NASCAR full-time. There's going to be a major void left behind when she leaves and it will take somebody with a lot of star power to fill it.
Unfortunately, star power isn't plentiful in the IRL, making it imperative that the league start working on raising the profile of a new batch of drivers that will replace the brand name that is Danica Patrick.
Who could step in? Here's a look at five drivers ready for their time in the limelight.
Helio Castroneves
The obvious choice, of course, would be the three-time Indianapolis 500 champion. On the racing side, Castroneves is a contender at almost every racetrack and although he's never won a series championship, his perch at Team Penske means he's never too far away from that goal either. But really, it's about the story: Race car driver comes to America and wins two Indianapolis 500s, then nearly loses everything in a tax evasion case. He ends up beating the Feds and then goes on to triumph a third time at the Brickyard. On top of that, his magnetic personality and dancing prowess on television has helped him gain a solid fan base. As long as he continues to perform at a strong level, he can definitely become the standard-bearer for the series.
Graham Rahal
For those that have clamored for another American star, Rahal appears to be their guy. The 20-year-old's second season in IndyCar has netted him improved results, especially on the ovals. If he and his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team continue their upward trend, Rahal will be a force in the future and that's incredibly important for the series as it tries to build up its fan count stateside. He's a bit more down-to-earth than Castroneves, but since his last name still carries some weight in the racing world (his father Bobby won the 1986 Indy 500), that humility is going to be a positive rather than a negative. You won't count on Rahal for flash, but that's okay; as long as he eventually becomes a regular winner in the next few seasons, he'll be something for the IRL to crow about.
Marco Andretti
The son of Michael and grandson of Mario can still do big things for the IndyCar Series, but his progress has been hampered by Andretti Green Racing's descent over the last two seasons. His team hasn't been able to stand up to Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing lately and as such, the Big Three is now the Big Two. Andretti also hasn't come up with another win to follow up his first one back in 2006 at Infineon Raceway. But with his dad taking sole control of the current AGR in 2010 — team co-owners Kim Green and Kevin Savoree will go run the promotions side of the organization — he might benefit from a more streamlined operation in later years. Perhaps that will be the key in having his obvious talent make him a regular threat for wins and top-fives. In any case, he's risen to sixth in the standings, so he's getting some momentum built up for next year.
Tony Kanaan
Staying with AGR, we have to bring up that team's de facto leader. Despite AGR's problems, Kanaan is still regarded as one of the best in the paddock and like his Brazilian compatriot Castroneves, he's also got a good personality on him. Beyond Danica, you're also most likely to see him on advertisements since he's backed by 7-Eleven, so visibility wouldn't be a problem for him. Kanaan's been part of the league's nucleus for a while now, so most race fans know him and what he's all about — which makes him a good choice for the league to push if they want to bust out of obscurity. Of course, AGR getting back up to snuff will only help his cause, as he'll likely be battling for a championship with that scenario.
J.R. Hildebrand
How can you miss with a guy that goes by the handle of "Captain America" and kicks butt in a race car? Hildebrand has already clinched the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights crown, the IRL's developmental series, with one race to go in a year that has seen him win four times. All of those wins were on road and street courses, which make him even more valuable as the IndyCar Series goes towards those styles of tracks in 2010. If Patrick leaves, could Hildebrand slide in at AGR? Or will another team try to go after him? He truly proved himself as the class of the FIL field this season and deserves a shot in the pro level.
It looks like the Danica Patrick saga is finally coming to an end.
Labor Day weekend is usually meant for relaxation, but when NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Tony Stewart said Saturday that he could "pretty much guarantee" that Patrick would make the jump to stock cars, the racing world predictably exploded in a tizzy. Another report had a source saying that she would run both IndyCar and a mixture of NASCAR Nationwide, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and ARCA events in 2010.
So what does this mean for the IRL IndyCar Series? It's time to start laying down a plan for 2011, which is now being pegged as the year that Patrick could flip to NASCAR full-time. There's going to be a major void left behind when she leaves and it will take somebody with a lot of star power to fill it.
Unfortunately, star power isn't plentiful in the IRL, making it imperative that the league start working on raising the profile of a new batch of drivers that will replace the brand name that is Danica Patrick.
Who could step in? Here's a look at five drivers ready for their time in the limelight.
Helio Castroneves
The obvious choice, of course, would be the three-time Indianapolis 500 champion. On the racing side, Castroneves is a contender at almost every racetrack and although he's never won a series championship, his perch at Team Penske means he's never too far away from that goal either. But really, it's about the story: Race car driver comes to America and wins two Indianapolis 500s, then nearly loses everything in a tax evasion case. He ends up beating the Feds and then goes on to triumph a third time at the Brickyard. On top of that, his magnetic personality and dancing prowess on television has helped him gain a solid fan base. As long as he continues to perform at a strong level, he can definitely become the standard-bearer for the series.
Graham Rahal
For those that have clamored for another American star, Rahal appears to be their guy. The 20-year-old's second season in IndyCar has netted him improved results, especially on the ovals. If he and his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team continue their upward trend, Rahal will be a force in the future and that's incredibly important for the series as it tries to build up its fan count stateside. He's a bit more down-to-earth than Castroneves, but since his last name still carries some weight in the racing world (his father Bobby won the 1986 Indy 500), that humility is going to be a positive rather than a negative. You won't count on Rahal for flash, but that's okay; as long as he eventually becomes a regular winner in the next few seasons, he'll be something for the IRL to crow about.
Marco Andretti
The son of Michael and grandson of Mario can still do big things for the IndyCar Series, but his progress has been hampered by Andretti Green Racing's descent over the last two seasons. His team hasn't been able to stand up to Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing lately and as such, the Big Three is now the Big Two. Andretti also hasn't come up with another win to follow up his first one back in 2006 at Infineon Raceway. But with his dad taking sole control of the current AGR in 2010 — team co-owners Kim Green and Kevin Savoree will go run the promotions side of the organization — he might benefit from a more streamlined operation in later years. Perhaps that will be the key in having his obvious talent make him a regular threat for wins and top-fives. In any case, he's risen to sixth in the standings, so he's getting some momentum built up for next year.
Tony Kanaan
Staying with AGR, we have to bring up that team's de facto leader. Despite AGR's problems, Kanaan is still regarded as one of the best in the paddock and like his Brazilian compatriot Castroneves, he's also got a good personality on him. Beyond Danica, you're also most likely to see him on advertisements since he's backed by 7-Eleven, so visibility wouldn't be a problem for him. Kanaan's been part of the league's nucleus for a while now, so most race fans know him and what he's all about — which makes him a good choice for the league to push if they want to bust out of obscurity. Of course, AGR getting back up to snuff will only help his cause, as he'll likely be battling for a championship with that scenario.
J.R. Hildebrand
How can you miss with a guy that goes by the handle of "Captain America" and kicks butt in a race car? Hildebrand has already clinched the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights crown, the IRL's developmental series, with one race to go in a year that has seen him win four times. All of those wins were on road and street courses, which make him even more valuable as the IndyCar Series goes towards those styles of tracks in 2010. If Patrick leaves, could Hildebrand slide in at AGR? Or will another team try to go after him? He truly proved himself as the class of the FIL field this season and deserves a shot in the pro level.
IRL can't survive a Danica defection
(by Bob Kravitz indystar.com 9-9-09)
When Danica Patrick makes the full-time leap to NASCAR -- and she will be a stock-car regular no later than 2012 -- where will that leave the IndyCar Series?
Nowhere.
As opposed to next to nowhere, which is where it currently resides in the American sports consciousness.
Patrick's eventual defection to NASCAR won't kill the sport, but it will deal the open-wheel types a painful and possibly even fatal blow. The folks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway don't want to hear this, but without Patrick -- their one and only marquee talent and celebrity -- IndyCar is as insignificant as celebrity billiards.
Even now, with Patrick competing full time and producing her best season in this series, almost nobody is paying attention. There are three drivers vying for the points title with two races remaining (Motegi and Homestead), and America couldn't care a whit about any of the three.
Nothing personal against three nice guys and accomplished drivers, but outside of the gearhead population, who can tell the difference between Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon? Which one's the Aussie and which one's the Kiwi? Scotsman Dario Franchitti, the third driver in the mix, is married to Ashley Judd, which is interesting for about 10 minutes -- unless, of course, you're married to Ashley Judd, and then it's interesting for far longer.
It doesn't matter if the IndyCar Series does ovals, road courses, street courses or competes on the moon, without personalities, without compelling stories that engage fans, it is doomed to eternal status as a micro-niche sport. They could put push-to-pass buttons or rocket boosters on the backs of those cars, but without personalities like Patrick, casual fans won't pay attention.
Patrick's exit will put the brakes on all the momentum the series gained when unification with Champ Car finally happened. This is even worse than the PGA Tour losing Tiger Woods, or Roger Federer retiring from tennis. Those sports have other marketable commodities; the IndyCar Series has, um, well . . . never mind.
Without Danica, the IndyCar Series has nothing, and nobody, to sell. Marco Andretti has a great name and pedigree, but he hasn't won much of anything. Graham Rahal also has the name and pedigree and is an unquestioned talent, but to this point, he hasn't been a podium regular. If the series is fortunate, one of those two young men will emerge by the time Patrick departs. But even then, they can't begin to demand the attention Patrick brings to the sport.
The word of Danica's eventual exit comes at a time when the series' leadership is in flux and the economy is in tatters. How do you sell a Patrick-less IndyCar Series?
There is still no title sponsor.
They are wedded for nine more years to a network, Versus, that does a great job artistically but isn't seen in nearly enough homes. And now there is a fight between Versus and DirecTV, which could mean the loss of tens of millions more homes.
As Patrick's very public courtship of NASCAR plays out before the cameras, where's IndyCar's leadership? Where is Jeff Belskus, wining and dining Patrick while subtly (and rhetorically) twisting her arm? Would this happen if Tony George were still in charge?
If Woods were making noise about leaving the PGA Tour to play pro baseball, I can promise you tour commissioner Tim Finchem, a cadre of sponsors and several golfers would be camped out on the porch of Tiger's Florida estate.
In the end, there might not be anything anybody can do to stop Patrick from going the good-old-boys route, but somebody at least has to try -- or make a good show of trying.
The question of whether Patrick can make it in NASCAR is immaterial to the point of the column, but we'll address it anyway.
The answer is, yes.
At the very least, she will be given every opportunity to succeed and there's no question she's tough and single-minded enough to push her way through any early adversity.
True, the stock cars are bigger, heavier and more unwieldy than Indy cars. And the 36-race schedule stretches over nearly 10 months, which is double the IndyCar Series race schedule.
But Tony Stewart did it. Juan Pablo Montoya did it. Sam Hornish Jr. is slowly improving. People make it sound like she's wrestling alligators. She's fitter than most of the men out there. This just in: Stewart is not exactly a beacon of fitness.
True, it takes time to get up to speed, but Patrick is willing to run the Nationwide Series, drive the trucks, play NASCAR's minor leagues while preparing for the big leagues.
This is a very tough-minded young woman. She isn't simply doing this for the acclaim or the money, although those don't hurt. She's doing this because it's another challenge.
Anyway, can you blame her?
More and more, the IndyCar Series feels like a Triple-A affiliate to NASCAR's major league. Who can blame Stewart for bolting in the late 1990s? Or Hornish? Or Montoya, who went from CART to Formula One to NASCAR?
Basically, the IndyCar Series has two years to wean itself off Danica-mania and establish a presence and personality independent of its biggest star.
Right.
Good luck with that.
When Danica Patrick makes the full-time leap to NASCAR -- and she will be a stock-car regular no later than 2012 -- where will that leave the IndyCar Series?
Nowhere.
As opposed to next to nowhere, which is where it currently resides in the American sports consciousness.
Patrick's eventual defection to NASCAR won't kill the sport, but it will deal the open-wheel types a painful and possibly even fatal blow. The folks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway don't want to hear this, but without Patrick -- their one and only marquee talent and celebrity -- IndyCar is as insignificant as celebrity billiards.
Even now, with Patrick competing full time and producing her best season in this series, almost nobody is paying attention. There are three drivers vying for the points title with two races remaining (Motegi and Homestead), and America couldn't care a whit about any of the three.
Nothing personal against three nice guys and accomplished drivers, but outside of the gearhead population, who can tell the difference between Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon? Which one's the Aussie and which one's the Kiwi? Scotsman Dario Franchitti, the third driver in the mix, is married to Ashley Judd, which is interesting for about 10 minutes -- unless, of course, you're married to Ashley Judd, and then it's interesting for far longer.
It doesn't matter if the IndyCar Series does ovals, road courses, street courses or competes on the moon, without personalities, without compelling stories that engage fans, it is doomed to eternal status as a micro-niche sport. They could put push-to-pass buttons or rocket boosters on the backs of those cars, but without personalities like Patrick, casual fans won't pay attention.
Patrick's exit will put the brakes on all the momentum the series gained when unification with Champ Car finally happened. This is even worse than the PGA Tour losing Tiger Woods, or Roger Federer retiring from tennis. Those sports have other marketable commodities; the IndyCar Series has, um, well . . . never mind.
Without Danica, the IndyCar Series has nothing, and nobody, to sell. Marco Andretti has a great name and pedigree, but he hasn't won much of anything. Graham Rahal also has the name and pedigree and is an unquestioned talent, but to this point, he hasn't been a podium regular. If the series is fortunate, one of those two young men will emerge by the time Patrick departs. But even then, they can't begin to demand the attention Patrick brings to the sport.
The word of Danica's eventual exit comes at a time when the series' leadership is in flux and the economy is in tatters. How do you sell a Patrick-less IndyCar Series?
There is still no title sponsor.
They are wedded for nine more years to a network, Versus, that does a great job artistically but isn't seen in nearly enough homes. And now there is a fight between Versus and DirecTV, which could mean the loss of tens of millions more homes.
As Patrick's very public courtship of NASCAR plays out before the cameras, where's IndyCar's leadership? Where is Jeff Belskus, wining and dining Patrick while subtly (and rhetorically) twisting her arm? Would this happen if Tony George were still in charge?
If Woods were making noise about leaving the PGA Tour to play pro baseball, I can promise you tour commissioner Tim Finchem, a cadre of sponsors and several golfers would be camped out on the porch of Tiger's Florida estate.
In the end, there might not be anything anybody can do to stop Patrick from going the good-old-boys route, but somebody at least has to try -- or make a good show of trying.
The question of whether Patrick can make it in NASCAR is immaterial to the point of the column, but we'll address it anyway.
The answer is, yes.
At the very least, she will be given every opportunity to succeed and there's no question she's tough and single-minded enough to push her way through any early adversity.
True, the stock cars are bigger, heavier and more unwieldy than Indy cars. And the 36-race schedule stretches over nearly 10 months, which is double the IndyCar Series race schedule.
But Tony Stewart did it. Juan Pablo Montoya did it. Sam Hornish Jr. is slowly improving. People make it sound like she's wrestling alligators. She's fitter than most of the men out there. This just in: Stewart is not exactly a beacon of fitness.
True, it takes time to get up to speed, but Patrick is willing to run the Nationwide Series, drive the trucks, play NASCAR's minor leagues while preparing for the big leagues.
This is a very tough-minded young woman. She isn't simply doing this for the acclaim or the money, although those don't hurt. She's doing this because it's another challenge.
Anyway, can you blame her?
More and more, the IndyCar Series feels like a Triple-A affiliate to NASCAR's major league. Who can blame Stewart for bolting in the late 1990s? Or Hornish? Or Montoya, who went from CART to Formula One to NASCAR?
Basically, the IndyCar Series has two years to wean itself off Danica-mania and establish a presence and personality independent of its biggest star.
Right.
Good luck with that.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Indycar madness
Ed Carpenter at Sonoma, like the colors, hate the car.
Indycar still struggling with right hand turns, this time at Sonoma.
Sarah Fisher feeling sassy. Why has her body gone all "exorcist" though?
Friday, August 7, 2009
Needing to build interest, IRL heads down the wrong road
(by Peter Pistone cbssports.com 8-6-09)
Remember all that excitement after the Champ Car-IRL merger last year?
Me neither.
Despite bringing the open-wheel world under one umbrella when the two sides finally came together, IndyCar racing continues to be pretty much an afterthought on the American motorsports scene.
When the unification deal was announced, there appeared to be some momentum for open wheel to regain the audience and prominence it lost during a civil war that lasted more than a decade.
Car counts shot up, with nearly 30 machines showing up at several races last year. Interest in the Indy 500 was high -- fans finally got a chance to see all the sport's best stars back at the Brickyard competing in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Overall it seemed like the foundation was in place to bring the sport back, at least partially, to the popularity level of the early 1990s, when IndyCars actually outdrew NASCAR in attendance and television ratings.
Unfortunately, I don't see that happening.
To be fair, the economy is hitting the series even harder than what NASCAR has experienced. Fields are smaller in the 2009 IRL as teams struggle to find the funding necessary to compete.
Television ratings aren't quite at test pattern levels, but moving the bulk of telecasts to the Versus Network -- away from the ABC/ESPN partnership the series enjoyed for years -- has dropped the visibility factor immensely.
And with the release of the 2010 schedule, it's apparent providing the best possible backdrops for close competition and tight racing is not a priority for league officials.
How else can you explain the decision to move further away from high-speed oval track racing and toward more street circuit events and road courses?
One of the positive fallouts of the open-wheel split was the IRL's inclusion of high-speed oval tracks like Texas, Las Vegas, Chicagoland, Kansas and Kentucky to its schedule.
Every time the series competes at one of these lightning-fast tracks, the action is almost impossible to follow.
Photo finishes became the norm, and last week's incredible finish between Ryan Briscoe and Ed Carpenter at Kentucky was the latest example of just how thrilling this kind of racing can be.
It seems to me creating a series to highlight such competition would be paramount in selling IndyCar racing to all fans, those who have followed the sport for years or those who have just discovered open-wheel racing.
But next year's schedule doesn't reflect that line of thinking. Two oval tracks have been dropped -- Milwaukee and Richmond -- in favor of a road course in Birmingham, Ala., and a new circuit in Brazil.
Milwaukee, the oldest oval track in North America, is in the middle of financial issues that might shut the historic facility's doors for good. And Richmond's management reportedly decided not to bring the IRL back for financial reasons.
But the dropping of ovals has been a pattern in recent years, and rather than giving fans nearly guaranteed excitement by adding Vegas, Michigan, California or Nashville to the schedule, officials believe the answer is more road racing.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway has nearly begged the IRL for a date the last two years, only to be shot down as the series pursues ideas like a possible circuit around Gillette Stadium or downtown street races in Philadelphia or Denver.
While those events do draw people and generate a festival-type atmosphere, the racing leaves much to be desired. In the end, the product on the track is what will keep fans returning -- or watching on TV -- not just a party being held in the middle of an auto race.
It's a mistake many inside the industry say will not only stifle the series' growth but could lead to its downfall as well. With Tony George ousted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board, the funding that has come to the series through IMS will slow down significantly if not stop completely. The series has never had a title sponsor worth much, and it doesn't appear to be one on the horizon.
So while the financial picture isn't rosy, the best thing the IRL could do is provide the best possible racing and competition possible.
Sorry to disappoint, but unless you like single-file parades around temporary road courses better than wheel-to-wheel action -- lap after lap at nearly 200 mph -- the future of the Indy Racing League is not for you.
That's more than disappointing and a decision one hopes will be reversed before the open-wheel war years start to look like the good old days.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
IndyCar to add "Push to Pass" starting in Kentucky
(posted on crapwagon.com in response to IndyCar announcing they will implement a "push to pass" system like ChampCar had starting with the upcoming race in Kentucky)
Indy
Push to Crash on an oval? I may have to watch this disaster. Where are they racing?
cartcanuck
Helio's button will bring out a yellow flag and turn yellow lights on around the track.
Marco's button will bring on the light that indicates that the pits are open so he can park it.
Kanaan's button will turn on a fire extinguisher.
Dario's button will turn on his wife.
PT's button will ring a bell indicating the start of the third round. Rock'em'sock'em!!
Danica's button will go "ahhhooooooooooooga, ahhhoooooooooooga"
Milka's button will just vibrate.
Indy
Push to Crash on an oval? I may have to watch this disaster. Where are they racing?
cartcanuck
Helio's button will bring out a yellow flag and turn yellow lights on around the track.
Marco's button will bring on the light that indicates that the pits are open so he can park it.
Kanaan's button will turn on a fire extinguisher.
Dario's button will turn on his wife.
PT's button will ring a bell indicating the start of the third round. Rock'em'sock'em!!
Danica's button will go "ahhhooooooooooooga, ahhhoooooooooooga"
Milka's button will just vibrate.
Monday, July 6, 2009
DCR: The Little Team That Could
(by John Oreovicz espn.go.com 7-6-09)
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- It was inevitable that Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing's 11-month IndyCar Series winning streak would come to an end.
It was just unlikely that Dale Coyne Racing would be the team to do it.
But that's exactly what happened Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International, as Justin Wilson drove Coyne's Z-Line Designs/Sixth Avenue Electronics car to victory in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen. Wilson simply sped away from Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Ganassi's Scott Dixon over the last seven laps to claim a remarkable underdog victory for one of the sport's true good guys.
"We were David and we beat two Goliaths today," exclaimed Coyne, who won for the first time in 558 starts in CART, Champ Car and IndyCar Series competition.
Coyne made his CART series debut in 1984 as the owner/driver of a 3-year-old March racer with a tired stock block engine.
"I remember Dale turning that old stock block upside down, rebuilding it in the pit lane," recalled Andretti Green Racing co-owner Kim Green. "He was the only one of us making money back in those days."
Dale Coyne Racing became an integral part of the scenery in the CART series. The 54-year-old Plainfield, Ill., native's team rarely ran anywhere but at the back, and often had to resort to hiring obscure pay drivers to keep the doors open.
But Coyne also made a name for himself as a man with business acumen and integrity who gave drivers including Scott Pruett and Paul Tracy their first Indy car rides.
In recent years, DCR provided a second chance for top-line drivers like Oriol Servia, Bruno Junqueira and Wilson, who was cut loose from the more established Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing operation at the end of the 2008 season despite being the last non-Penske or non-Ganassi driver to win an IndyCar Series race: last August's Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix.
Wilson, whom many observers believe is the finest pure road racer in the IndyCar Series, made the most of his opportunity with Coyne this year. He almost won the IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg, only to lose the lead in the pits during the final round of stops. They struggled during the course of six consecutive oval races, never finishing better than 14th.
But back on a natural terrain road course, Wilson and engineer Bill Pappas were in their element. And when they qualified on the front row at Watkins Glen while still saving an additional set of the faster Firestone alternate tires for the race, the prospect of a Coyne victory appeared in the cards.
Wilson and the DCR pit crew delivered. At the end of the race, when Wilson was on the quicker red Firestone tires and his competition were on blacks, the 30-year-old Englishman pulled away at the rate of a second a lap and won by 4.99 seconds.
"I was grinning from ear to ear on the last lap," Wilson related with a smile. "It just felt so good to do that for Dale. We've been trying to build this team up and we're coming. This is the best and most important win in my career, winning for Dale. It's a fantastic feeling."
Briscoe and Dixon were flat-out beaten on the afternoon, yet they were both thrilled for Wilson and Coyne.
"It's a huge day for Justin -- he drove superb," Briscoe said. "Big congrats to Dale Coyne and the whole team -- it was a huge weekend for them.
"It's awesome, it shows that they can certainly get the job done and that Justin is a great driver."
"I think it's fantastic and great for the sport," Dixon said. "It's cool to see some of the small teams winning, and that's probably the smallest team in the series. They put a lot of emphasis in the road courses, and clearly they are very well accomplished at what they do.
"It just shows when you have a good driver like Justin, he can take it to the best."
Coyne said he employs "16, maybe 17" people for Wilson's one-car effort. Penske and Ganassi's two-car teams are manned by upward of 70.
Coyne praised his wife, Gail, and said he never makes a decision without her input.
"We didn't buy a new house -- we bought an engineer," he laughed.
"After Long Beach, we worked on pit stops a lot and proved it today," Coyne said. "We have less people than most teams, and we're usually one of the last ones here every night. But all those guys love the sport and have a passion for it. We're at the sharp end of the grid and we need to be at the sharp end of the pit stops. We have a little work to go, but we're making progress."
Wilson, whose career has seen more than his share of heartbreak, said he was fairly certain that he could win for Coyne this season.
"We had a win in our grasp at St. Petersburg that slipped away and a podium at Long Beach that slipped away," he said. "We've made improvements in our pit stops, and I said to the guys, 'Before the end of the season, your effort will pay off -- we're going to win a race.' And now we've done it. Everyone plays their part, and without any one of those guys it wouldn't have been possible.
"We know what Penske put into their cars and what Ganassi puts into their cars and obviously that makes today even better," Wilson said. "The only thing that would taste sweeter than this win today would be our first win on an oval. And we're going to work toward that. We're trying to build something for the future here. We want to get wins and podiums this year, but our goal is to win the championship."
Apart from the obvious feel-good factor, Coyne believes his team's victory at Watkins Glen sends out a positive message about the IndyCar Series in general.
"That's what's good about this sport: A team with our resources and budget can win a race," he said. "For the series to be strong, we need more teams here, and not subsidized teams. We need that for the series to grow, and if teams like ours can win, it shows other teams thinking of coming in that they can win, too.
"We got a solid reward for our hard work today and a platform to build on for the future," Coyne said. "I think this sport is going to survive, and it can only get stronger. I'm encouraged about the future; we're investing in the future and we're looking forward to being up here a few more times."
Friday, June 19, 2009
Danica and friend
Who is this slightly roomy woman always seen with Danica? What position does she hold that makes her so important that she would be the first one on the scene after Danica won in Japan to give her the first congratulatory hug? Is she PR?, or more of a "handeler"? Afterall, we did see her sprint down pit-lane at the Indy 500 in 2008 to stop Danica from making a fool of herself as she went to scold Briscoe after their pit exit coming-together. Or could she be someone even closer?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
What has happened to AGR?
(by George Phillips oilpressure.wordpress.com 6-9-09)
One of the most puzzling developments for the past year and a half is the rapid decline of one of the premier IndyCar teams – Andretti-Green Racing. By the end of the 2007 season, AGR had won three of the four previous IndyCar championships and captured two of the previous three Indianapolis 500 crowns. During this time, fans witnessed an almost nauseating display of team unity, as teammates would kiss each other in victory circle when one of them won. I always wondered what would have happened if George “Ziggy” Snider had ever approached AJ Foyt with a congratulatory smooch.
Since the 2007 season, Andretti-Green Racing has fallen into a sea of mediocrity accompanied by turmoil, poor results and finger pointing. It’s hard to determine one single event that has triggered this decline. In fact, it could be a cumulative effect of several occurrences that have taken place.
In the summer of 2002, Michael Andretti announced that he, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree were buying Team Green from Kim’s brother Barry. They were moving the team from CART over to the rival Indy Racing League for the 2003 season and would be Honda’s” works” team as Honda debuted in the IRL.
Dario Franchitti moved with the team and retained his familiar #27. Michael recruited rising CART star Tony Kanaan to join the team. This was also to serve as Michael’s move into retirement from driving. After Michael drove at Indy, the team would continue as a three-car effort with newcomer Dan Wheldon taking over for Michael in a #26 Jim Beam car. Wheldon actually ran Motegi and Indianapolis, finishing Indy upside-down on the north end of the track.
Prior to Indy, Franchitti had fractured his back in a motorcycle crash in Scotland. Robby Gordon was chosen to replace Franchitti at Indy, but Bryan Herta was tabbed for the remainder of the year to sub for Dario. Herta won the race at Kansas and was rewarded the #7 XM-Radio car as AGR expanded to four cars in 2004.
With the aid of the powerful Honda engine, AGR had quickly become a juggernaut in the IndyCar Series. By 2004, Wheldon was clearly becoming a force, taking his first win at Motegi on his way to three victories for the season. Franchitti regained his form after his injury and Kanaan had an almost magical run on his way to the IndyCar title.
The following year saw Wheldon win the Indianapolis 500, giving owner Michael Andretti his first trip to victory lane at Indy. Wheldon also won the 2005 championship that season giving AGR two consecutive titles. Along the way, the four drivers seemed to be best friends on and off the track. Practical jokes between the four were common and they all seemed to embrace the team concept. There was an undeniable chemistry between them, although they seemed to take it a bit far with the celebratory kissing.
At the end of the 2005 season, the first crack formed at AGR. Wheldon announced he would leave the team to join Target Chip Ganassi. The Ganassi team had fallen on hard times as they had been saddled with the Toyota engine. The second crack formed about the same time when Chevy and Toyota announced their intentions to leave. For 2006, Honda would be the sole engine provider for the series. This meant that there were no longer factory or works teams for Honda. This was a double-hit for AGR – not only were they not getting the “special” Honda parts for their engines, but Honda would be forced to no longer provide the additional funding they were providing to Andretti-Green.
For 2006, Michael made a curious decision. To replace Dan Wheldon, Michael chose his nineteen year-old son Marco to fill the seat in the #26 car. The move looked to be the right one at first, as Marco came within a few feet of becoming the first teenager to win the Indianapolis 500. Andretti would later win on the road course at Sonoma to become the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history. The season proved to be a step back for the team however, as Andretti-Green didn’t win the IRL title for the first time since their first season.
The team rebounded for 2007, but with challenges. Bryan Herta had been replaced in the cockpit with third-year driver Danica Patrick. Marco had six DNF’s in his first seven starts, quickly acquiring a reputation for boneheaded moves. He finished the season eleventh in points and had definitely regressed for his sophomore campaign. Tony Kanaan had his usual strong season, finishing with five wins and third in points; while Dario Franchitti won Indy and won the title.
While Franchitti was battling for the championship at Sonoma, Marco made what had become a typical Marco move and collided with Franchitti while leaving the pits. In typical Andretti fashion, Michael chose to blame Dario for the transgression. Franchitti’s response was that Michael needed to separate himself from his roles as father and car-owner. Dario left the team for Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team at season’s end.
Surprisingly, AGR tabbed rookie driver Hideki Mutoh to replace Franchitti. The face of Andretti-Green had changed dramatically for the 2008 season. The only remaining driver from that core that had so much chemistry just three years earlier was Kanaan. His teammates were a kid who was the boss’s son, a self-serving star of the league who had questionable driving skills and a rookie that could barely speak English.
In yeoman-like fashion, Kanaan pushed on through the 2008 season that saw him win only one race, yet he still managed to finish third in points. Marco made a ridiculous move at Indy, which put Kanaan into the wall while he was leading. Danica Patrick won a fuel-mileage race at Motegi that created an unbelievable amount of hoopla. She then followed that with her infamous march down pit lane at Indy, to do God knows what, to Ryan Briscoe. Marco drove a good race in Texas to put himself in position to win, but tangled late with Ryan Hunter-Reay. As is part of his DNA, he made sure the cameras knew it was not his fault. Mutoh kept his mouth shut, finished seventh at Indy and tenth in points – an admirable, yet unspectacular rookie season.
Four teammates with different agendas plodded forward through a notably unremarkable season, in 2008. Things finally came to a head in Edmonton. Kanaan was the only car on the pace throughout the race. As he came upon his lapped teammates, Danica and Marco, they inexplicably would not let him by as they waged their own battle. Kanaan pleaded over the radio to get them to let him by. Finally, Marco punted Danica from behind essentially ruining the day for both. At that point, Kanaan finally made it past. After the race, a team meeting ensued where Michael reportedly blew up.
The next weekend found Kanaan reportedly agreeing with Ganassi to replace Dan Wheldon, as Kanaan’s contract was expiring. When Michael got word of this, he knew he had to do whatever it took to keep his lone voice of reason on the team. Kanaan re-signed for five years.
Six races into the 2009 campaign finds Kanaan mired in seventh place. He was leading the points entering Indy, but two DNF’s dropped him to seventh. At Texas, Marco and Danica provided the only excitement late in the race, while racing for fifth and sixth. Danica seemingly held her line and raced him clean, but afterwards Marco complained that she was not being a good teammate and suggested she was the only team member not enjoying the camaraderie at Andretti-Green.
The wheels seem to have come off at AGR. The team that used to exemplify team spirit has now devolved into four individuals obviously going in different directions, while squabbling along the way. Consequently, AGR has practically fallen into obscurity, causing the big three to become the big two.
Is it lack of chemistry? Perhaps the original combination of drivers, were the only ones to have the chemistry to ever pull off a four-car effort. Is there a leadership void with Herta and Franchitti gone? Has the quality of team personnel declined? Kanaan has had bad cars almost all year. Why? Is Marco the problem? Is Danica? Do Marco and Danica compete for the team limelight? Is Kanaan strong enough to serve as baby-sitter while he tries to focus on another championship?
And what of the owners? Different reports last year said that either Kim Green and/or Kevin Savoree wanted out, yet they are still there. One thing is certain – there are more questions than answers. But until Michael Andretti starts being a team owner and stops being a Dad, the problems will continue…and so will the losing.
One of the most puzzling developments for the past year and a half is the rapid decline of one of the premier IndyCar teams – Andretti-Green Racing. By the end of the 2007 season, AGR had won three of the four previous IndyCar championships and captured two of the previous three Indianapolis 500 crowns. During this time, fans witnessed an almost nauseating display of team unity, as teammates would kiss each other in victory circle when one of them won. I always wondered what would have happened if George “Ziggy” Snider had ever approached AJ Foyt with a congratulatory smooch.
Since the 2007 season, Andretti-Green Racing has fallen into a sea of mediocrity accompanied by turmoil, poor results and finger pointing. It’s hard to determine one single event that has triggered this decline. In fact, it could be a cumulative effect of several occurrences that have taken place.
In the summer of 2002, Michael Andretti announced that he, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree were buying Team Green from Kim’s brother Barry. They were moving the team from CART over to the rival Indy Racing League for the 2003 season and would be Honda’s” works” team as Honda debuted in the IRL.
Dario Franchitti moved with the team and retained his familiar #27. Michael recruited rising CART star Tony Kanaan to join the team. This was also to serve as Michael’s move into retirement from driving. After Michael drove at Indy, the team would continue as a three-car effort with newcomer Dan Wheldon taking over for Michael in a #26 Jim Beam car. Wheldon actually ran Motegi and Indianapolis, finishing Indy upside-down on the north end of the track.
Prior to Indy, Franchitti had fractured his back in a motorcycle crash in Scotland. Robby Gordon was chosen to replace Franchitti at Indy, but Bryan Herta was tabbed for the remainder of the year to sub for Dario. Herta won the race at Kansas and was rewarded the #7 XM-Radio car as AGR expanded to four cars in 2004.
With the aid of the powerful Honda engine, AGR had quickly become a juggernaut in the IndyCar Series. By 2004, Wheldon was clearly becoming a force, taking his first win at Motegi on his way to three victories for the season. Franchitti regained his form after his injury and Kanaan had an almost magical run on his way to the IndyCar title.
The following year saw Wheldon win the Indianapolis 500, giving owner Michael Andretti his first trip to victory lane at Indy. Wheldon also won the 2005 championship that season giving AGR two consecutive titles. Along the way, the four drivers seemed to be best friends on and off the track. Practical jokes between the four were common and they all seemed to embrace the team concept. There was an undeniable chemistry between them, although they seemed to take it a bit far with the celebratory kissing.
At the end of the 2005 season, the first crack formed at AGR. Wheldon announced he would leave the team to join Target Chip Ganassi. The Ganassi team had fallen on hard times as they had been saddled with the Toyota engine. The second crack formed about the same time when Chevy and Toyota announced their intentions to leave. For 2006, Honda would be the sole engine provider for the series. This meant that there were no longer factory or works teams for Honda. This was a double-hit for AGR – not only were they not getting the “special” Honda parts for their engines, but Honda would be forced to no longer provide the additional funding they were providing to Andretti-Green.
For 2006, Michael made a curious decision. To replace Dan Wheldon, Michael chose his nineteen year-old son Marco to fill the seat in the #26 car. The move looked to be the right one at first, as Marco came within a few feet of becoming the first teenager to win the Indianapolis 500. Andretti would later win on the road course at Sonoma to become the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history. The season proved to be a step back for the team however, as Andretti-Green didn’t win the IRL title for the first time since their first season.
The team rebounded for 2007, but with challenges. Bryan Herta had been replaced in the cockpit with third-year driver Danica Patrick. Marco had six DNF’s in his first seven starts, quickly acquiring a reputation for boneheaded moves. He finished the season eleventh in points and had definitely regressed for his sophomore campaign. Tony Kanaan had his usual strong season, finishing with five wins and third in points; while Dario Franchitti won Indy and won the title.
While Franchitti was battling for the championship at Sonoma, Marco made what had become a typical Marco move and collided with Franchitti while leaving the pits. In typical Andretti fashion, Michael chose to blame Dario for the transgression. Franchitti’s response was that Michael needed to separate himself from his roles as father and car-owner. Dario left the team for Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team at season’s end.
Surprisingly, AGR tabbed rookie driver Hideki Mutoh to replace Franchitti. The face of Andretti-Green had changed dramatically for the 2008 season. The only remaining driver from that core that had so much chemistry just three years earlier was Kanaan. His teammates were a kid who was the boss’s son, a self-serving star of the league who had questionable driving skills and a rookie that could barely speak English.
In yeoman-like fashion, Kanaan pushed on through the 2008 season that saw him win only one race, yet he still managed to finish third in points. Marco made a ridiculous move at Indy, which put Kanaan into the wall while he was leading. Danica Patrick won a fuel-mileage race at Motegi that created an unbelievable amount of hoopla. She then followed that with her infamous march down pit lane at Indy, to do God knows what, to Ryan Briscoe. Marco drove a good race in Texas to put himself in position to win, but tangled late with Ryan Hunter-Reay. As is part of his DNA, he made sure the cameras knew it was not his fault. Mutoh kept his mouth shut, finished seventh at Indy and tenth in points – an admirable, yet unspectacular rookie season.
Four teammates with different agendas plodded forward through a notably unremarkable season, in 2008. Things finally came to a head in Edmonton. Kanaan was the only car on the pace throughout the race. As he came upon his lapped teammates, Danica and Marco, they inexplicably would not let him by as they waged their own battle. Kanaan pleaded over the radio to get them to let him by. Finally, Marco punted Danica from behind essentially ruining the day for both. At that point, Kanaan finally made it past. After the race, a team meeting ensued where Michael reportedly blew up.
The next weekend found Kanaan reportedly agreeing with Ganassi to replace Dan Wheldon, as Kanaan’s contract was expiring. When Michael got word of this, he knew he had to do whatever it took to keep his lone voice of reason on the team. Kanaan re-signed for five years.
Six races into the 2009 campaign finds Kanaan mired in seventh place. He was leading the points entering Indy, but two DNF’s dropped him to seventh. At Texas, Marco and Danica provided the only excitement late in the race, while racing for fifth and sixth. Danica seemingly held her line and raced him clean, but afterwards Marco complained that she was not being a good teammate and suggested she was the only team member not enjoying the camaraderie at Andretti-Green.
The wheels seem to have come off at AGR. The team that used to exemplify team spirit has now devolved into four individuals obviously going in different directions, while squabbling along the way. Consequently, AGR has practically fallen into obscurity, causing the big three to become the big two.
Is it lack of chemistry? Perhaps the original combination of drivers, were the only ones to have the chemistry to ever pull off a four-car effort. Is there a leadership void with Herta and Franchitti gone? Has the quality of team personnel declined? Kanaan has had bad cars almost all year. Why? Is Marco the problem? Is Danica? Do Marco and Danica compete for the team limelight? Is Kanaan strong enough to serve as baby-sitter while he tries to focus on another championship?
And what of the owners? Different reports last year said that either Kim Green and/or Kevin Savoree wanted out, yet they are still there. One thing is certain – there are more questions than answers. But until Michael Andretti starts being a team owner and stops being a Dad, the problems will continue…and so will the losing.
pics of 2009 Indy 500
Vitor Miera goes hard into Turn 1.
Danica and PT racing hard.
David Letterman aging roughly.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Lack of side-by-side racing mars Texas race
(by John Oreovicz espn.go.com 6-7-09)
Whether you watched it in person at Texas Motor Speedway or on television from anywhere else, the Bombardier Learjet 550 must have left you underwhelmed. You're probably also wondering where went the spectacular side-by-side speedway racing that the IndyCar Series used to be known for, because it was almost nonexistent at a track that is tailor-made for spine-tingling open-wheel action.
After a two-hour race that pretty much resembled a 172-mph parade, the most interesting part of the night was the postrace interviews.
Scott Dixon rightfully complained about the lack of excitement, and put the blame squarely on the fact that the IndyCar Series has degenerated into a spec-car series in which no one is able or allowed to gain enough of an advantage to push their maxed-out 7-year-old Dallara-Honda past the next guy's identical car.
Racing used to be all about trying to make cars faster. Then safety concerns correctly led to an effort to slow down the cars. Now, with advances like carbon fiber tubs, the HANS device and the SAFER barrier, racing is about as safe as it is going to be, and the current trend -- not just in the IndyCar Series -- is to make the cars as equal as possible.
It's not working.
Saturday night at Texas, Ryan Briscoe clearly had the fastest car, and he built an 11-second lead during a 140-lap stretch of green flag racing that included two rounds of pit stops. Then the caution flag flew, for some debris, we were told.
"I didn't see any debris. I don't know if you did," Briscoe deadpanned appraisal.
Artificially brought back to the pack, the Australian was unable to break free. During the final round of pit stops, under yellow on Lap 175, Helio Castroneves took advantage of having the last pit stall to snatch the lead from his Penske Racing teammate in the pits.
Advantage, Helio. Over the final 46 laps, Briscoe was never able to get close enough to think about trying to pass the identical No. 3 car, which won for the second time in three weeks.
"The last 20 laps were some of the most frustrating I've ever driven," Briscoe said on the telecast. "You lead the whole race and get done in pit lane after leading the whole race. It's not that we did a slow stop; the advantage that pit-out has gave the 3-car guys so much of an advantage.
"The cars are just so evenly matched and it's so hard to pass," he added. "I'd try to get a bit of a run and go on the high line, but I just couldn't get it done. It was very frustrating to know I was going to come second after dominating the race."
Two-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, who finished third behind the two Penske cars, was -- by modern standards -- pretty outspoken in his immediate postrace comments.
"The racing needs to get better," Dixon observed on TV. "We used to be able to go around the outside and have side-by-side racing here, but at the moment, you just can't do it.
"I think the cars are too identical, and they need to open up the rules again to get a bit of difference between the cars."
A bit later in the top-three news conference, Dixon elaborated. "You used to be able to run a lot of different things, even down to mirrors," he said. "I think we need to open a few things up and see how it works. Maybe they need to trim the cars out a bit. When we first came here, we were running 223 mph and now we're at 210 in the race.
"The cars by all means aren't easy to drive," he added. "Your grandma couldn't get in and go out there. But it's too even, I think. I know it's a growing process with the series and the drivers. But at the moment it just doesn't put on the show it should, and has done before."
Whether you watched it in person at Texas Motor Speedway or on television from anywhere else, the Bombardier Learjet 550 must have left you underwhelmed. You're probably also wondering where went the spectacular side-by-side speedway racing that the IndyCar Series used to be known for, because it was almost nonexistent at a track that is tailor-made for spine-tingling open-wheel action.
After a two-hour race that pretty much resembled a 172-mph parade, the most interesting part of the night was the postrace interviews.
Scott Dixon rightfully complained about the lack of excitement, and put the blame squarely on the fact that the IndyCar Series has degenerated into a spec-car series in which no one is able or allowed to gain enough of an advantage to push their maxed-out 7-year-old Dallara-Honda past the next guy's identical car.
Racing used to be all about trying to make cars faster. Then safety concerns correctly led to an effort to slow down the cars. Now, with advances like carbon fiber tubs, the HANS device and the SAFER barrier, racing is about as safe as it is going to be, and the current trend -- not just in the IndyCar Series -- is to make the cars as equal as possible.
It's not working.
Saturday night at Texas, Ryan Briscoe clearly had the fastest car, and he built an 11-second lead during a 140-lap stretch of green flag racing that included two rounds of pit stops. Then the caution flag flew, for some debris, we were told.
"I didn't see any debris. I don't know if you did," Briscoe deadpanned appraisal.
Artificially brought back to the pack, the Australian was unable to break free. During the final round of pit stops, under yellow on Lap 175, Helio Castroneves took advantage of having the last pit stall to snatch the lead from his Penske Racing teammate in the pits.
Advantage, Helio. Over the final 46 laps, Briscoe was never able to get close enough to think about trying to pass the identical No. 3 car, which won for the second time in three weeks.
"The last 20 laps were some of the most frustrating I've ever driven," Briscoe said on the telecast. "You lead the whole race and get done in pit lane after leading the whole race. It's not that we did a slow stop; the advantage that pit-out has gave the 3-car guys so much of an advantage.
"The cars are just so evenly matched and it's so hard to pass," he added. "I'd try to get a bit of a run and go on the high line, but I just couldn't get it done. It was very frustrating to know I was going to come second after dominating the race."
Two-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, who finished third behind the two Penske cars, was -- by modern standards -- pretty outspoken in his immediate postrace comments.
"The racing needs to get better," Dixon observed on TV. "We used to be able to go around the outside and have side-by-side racing here, but at the moment, you just can't do it.
"I think the cars are too identical, and they need to open up the rules again to get a bit of difference between the cars."
A bit later in the top-three news conference, Dixon elaborated. "You used to be able to run a lot of different things, even down to mirrors," he said. "I think we need to open a few things up and see how it works. Maybe they need to trim the cars out a bit. When we first came here, we were running 223 mph and now we're at 210 in the race.
"The cars by all means aren't easy to drive," he added. "Your grandma couldn't get in and go out there. But it's too even, I think. I know it's a growing process with the series and the drivers. But at the moment it just doesn't put on the show it should, and has done before."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Indianapolis 500 losing speed as TV draw
(by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY 5-27-09)
You have to wonder: What's left, theoretically, that could resurrect the Indianapolis 500's drawing power?
The merger of what had been two competing Indy-style circuits, ending a split that had supposedly hampered the sport for years, came last year. Danica Patrick was supposed to bring star power if she could also be a contender on the track — and she finished third in Sunday's race.
But ABC's coverage drew just 3.9% of U.S. TV households. That's down 13% from last year, down 40% from coverage four years ago — and the lowest rating since the 500 got live start-to-finish TV coverage in 1986.
And if the recession kept some viewers off the roads this Memorial Day weekend, it didn't mean they wanted to watch cars on TV.
Fox's NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 drew a 3.5 overnight rating — translating to 3.5% of households in 56 urban TV markets — which is off 20% from last year. But the rating not dropping off even more suggests the loyalty of NASCAR fans: After being rained out in Sunday primetime, the race was forced into a noon start Monday — then rained out 223 laps into what was scheduled to be a 400-lap race.
You have to wonder: What's left, theoretically, that could resurrect the Indianapolis 500's drawing power?
The merger of what had been two competing Indy-style circuits, ending a split that had supposedly hampered the sport for years, came last year. Danica Patrick was supposed to bring star power if she could also be a contender on the track — and she finished third in Sunday's race.
But ABC's coverage drew just 3.9% of U.S. TV households. That's down 13% from last year, down 40% from coverage four years ago — and the lowest rating since the 500 got live start-to-finish TV coverage in 1986.
And if the recession kept some viewers off the roads this Memorial Day weekend, it didn't mean they wanted to watch cars on TV.
Fox's NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 drew a 3.5 overnight rating — translating to 3.5% of households in 56 urban TV markets — which is off 20% from last year. But the rating not dropping off even more suggests the loyalty of NASCAR fans: After being rained out in Sunday primetime, the race was forced into a noon start Monday — then rained out 223 laps into what was scheduled to be a 400-lap race.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Helio wins third Indy 500; Danica finishes third
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Pumping his fist as he took the checkered flag and breaking down in tears when he was done, Helio Castroneves capped a perfect month of May with the biggest win of all Sunday at the Indianapolis 500.
Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the historic race three times, and his timing couldn't have been better. Just 5 1/2 weeks ago, he was acquitted of most charges at a federal tax evasion trial, and the remaining count was thrown out on Friday.
Instead of going to prison for as long as six years, Castroneves pulled his red-and-white machine into Victory Lane at the Brickyard. No wonder he was sobbing when team owner Roger Penske leaned in to give him a hug.
"Thanks for giving my life back," the 34-year-old Brazilian told his boss, who earned his record 15th win at Indy.
Castroneves completed a clean sweep of every Indy prize, also claiming the pole position and winning the pit-stop competition. Throw in the federal government's decision to drop the last of the tax charges just minutes before he went out for the final practice, and "this is the best month of May ever," said Castroneves, now only one win away from joining the most elite group of all: four-time Indy winners A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.
Castroneves pulled away over the final laps to beat Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick, who eclipsed her historic fourth-place finish as a rookie in 2005 by crossing the strip of bricks in third.
Patrick, however, was never really a factor.
This day belonged to Castroneves, who pumped his fist all the way down the final straightaway.
"I want to climb the fence," said the driver known as "Spiderman," referring to his signature celebration.
Then he did just that, climbing out of his car after the victory lap and scaling the fence along the main grandstand with his pit crew. Someone tossed him a green-and-yellow Brazilian flag.
The victory was clearly popular with the quarter of a million fans who turned out on a sweltering late spring day and were on their feet, cheering and waving these caps as Castroneves sped around the 2.5-mile oval for the final time.
"You guys kept me strong," Castroneves told the crowd. "You guys are the best. I'm honored to have fans like you.
"Let's celebrate now!"
Crashes took out some of the biggest names in the field, including Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal. The most frightening wreck occurred on lap 173, when Brazilians Vitor Meira and Raphael Matos got together going into the first turn.
Meira's car veered head-on into the padded outside wall. He was removed from the car, put on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital complaining of severe lower-back pain.
The lengthy caution period ensured that everyone had enough fuel to get to the finish. When the race restarted with 17 laps to go, Castroneves got a great jump on Wheldon and Patrick and pulled away to win by nearly 2 seconds, more than two football fields.
"I had a really good car," Patrick said. "Oh well, what are you going to do?"
Added Wheldon, "At the end, I just didn't have enough for Helio."
It was clear from the start that Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing had the strongest cars. Castroneves led 66 laps and teammate Ryan Briscoe ran out front for 11. On the Ganassi side, defending 500 champion Scott Dixon set the pace for a race-best 73 laps, while his teammate Dario Franchitti, who won in 2007 and returned to Indy this year after a disappointing foray into stock cars, led the other 50.
Dixon's powerful car lost its edge near the end of the more than three-hour race and he slipped back to sixth, failing to become the first driver since Castroneves in 2001-02 to win back-to-back 500s. Franchitti had a problem in the pits late in the race and couldn't make up the lost ground, settling for seventh.
Two drivers who don't even have full-time rides in the IndyCar series crossed the line behind Patrick. Townsend Bell was fourth, while Will Power - who filled in while Castroneves was on trial - finished fifth in a third Team Penske car.
It may have been a perfect month for Castroneves, but it wasn't a perfect race. He had problems with his radio all day, and there were gearbox issues when he came into the pits. But he knew what to do on the track.
"Once I got in front, it was never look back," Castroneves said.
Rounding out the top 10 were Ed Carpenter in eighth, Paul Tracy and Hideki Mutoh. Tracy was racing at Indy for the first time since the disputed 2002 event, when a late caution froze the field just as he was going past Castroneves. The outspoken Canadian is still convinced he won that race — his appeal was turned down — but there was no doubt about this one.
It was Castroneves all the way.
The race had barely started when Mario Moraes drifted to the outside and made contact with Andretti, sending both cars into the wall going into the second turn.
The Andretti curse remains in force at Indy. Marco said there was nothing he could do when the 20-year-old Moraes pinched him into the wall.
"The kid doesn't get it, and he never will," said Andretti, only 22 himself. "He's just clueless out there."
Neither driver was hurt, and Andretti even got back on the track for 56 laps to finish 30th in the 33-car field.
Rahal, son of 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal, crashed on the 56th lap in virtually the same spot where he slammed into the wall a year earlier. He started fourth and was running fifth when his car went high coming out of the fourth turn and slammed the barrier. He was not injured.
"I got mid-corner and the car just went straight. It was the same exact thing as last year," the 20-year-old Rahal said. "I felt I was being patient. I thought I wasn't going to have any problem, and all of a sudden it just went."
Kanaan was running third when something snapped in his No. 11 car, sending it straight into the wall at about 190 mph. The helpless machine slid through the third turn and slammed into the SAFER barrier again before finally coming to a stop.
The popular Kanaan wasn't seriously hurt, but he sure was aching after the big hit.
"I went on quite a ride," he said after getting checked at the infield media center. "I knew it was going to be a big one."
It was another painful Indy moment for the hard-luck Brazilian, who had led the race a record seven straight years — but is still seeking his first 500 win.
"Me and this place," Kanaan said with a sigh.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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