(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.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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.
Car Lease Ending For Transition Teams
(by Robin Miller speedtv.com 9-9-09)
The surviving owners from Champ Car who joined the Indy Racing League got free cars and engines in 2008 as part of the unification agreement. They all had to pay Honda for leases this season but there was still no bill for their Dallara chassis.
Until now.
Eric Bachelart, Dale Coyne, Carl Haas, Kevin Kalkhoven, Mike Lanigan and Keith Wiggins received an email from IRL president of competition Brian Barnhart on Tuesday requesting a payment of $100,000 per car.
The teams were given the option of having that money taken out of their next TEAM check (all teams who run the full schedule are given $1.2 million per car by the league) or possibly working out a payment plan.
If IndyCar doesn't have its money by Jan. 14, the cars could be repossessed.
"We had a free car in '08 and we got an extension for this year so I've been expecting this for some time and I have no complaint with it, it's fair," said Bachelart, whose Conquest Racing team has competed in seven races this year and intends to contest the final two at Japan and Homestead.
"My understanding is that we will own the cars so that means we can run the next two years for $50,000 a car and that is more than reasonable."
Wiggins, whose HVM team has gone from one to two cars in the past couple races with Robert Doornbos joining E.J. Viso, had a few questions about his bill.
"I was the only team that didn't get a new car, I got a 2003 and 2004, so should I have to pay the same amount?," he said. "In the original agreement we were told we had the option to buy and I guess the only surprise is that we didn't have a number.
"Any number is scary right now but it seems reasonable."
Longtime owner Derrick Walker said the IRL didn't do anything sinister.
"It wasn't a deal that changed," said Walker, who originally had possession of an IRL car but lost his partner and was not able to compete. "The original agreement wasn't a forever free deal and, in fairness to the league, it gave the teams free cars for two years.
"It may be a bit naughty to ask for it at the end of the year instead of the beginning but, obviously, with the economy and new management, the IRL is saying 'Hey boys, we can't afford to carry this debt any longer.'"
The surviving owners from Champ Car who joined the Indy Racing League got free cars and engines in 2008 as part of the unification agreement. They all had to pay Honda for leases this season but there was still no bill for their Dallara chassis.
Until now.
Eric Bachelart, Dale Coyne, Carl Haas, Kevin Kalkhoven, Mike Lanigan and Keith Wiggins received an email from IRL president of competition Brian Barnhart on Tuesday requesting a payment of $100,000 per car.
The teams were given the option of having that money taken out of their next TEAM check (all teams who run the full schedule are given $1.2 million per car by the league) or possibly working out a payment plan.
If IndyCar doesn't have its money by Jan. 14, the cars could be repossessed.
"We had a free car in '08 and we got an extension for this year so I've been expecting this for some time and I have no complaint with it, it's fair," said Bachelart, whose Conquest Racing team has competed in seven races this year and intends to contest the final two at Japan and Homestead.
"My understanding is that we will own the cars so that means we can run the next two years for $50,000 a car and that is more than reasonable."
Wiggins, whose HVM team has gone from one to two cars in the past couple races with Robert Doornbos joining E.J. Viso, had a few questions about his bill.
"I was the only team that didn't get a new car, I got a 2003 and 2004, so should I have to pay the same amount?," he said. "In the original agreement we were told we had the option to buy and I guess the only surprise is that we didn't have a number.
"Any number is scary right now but it seems reasonable."
Longtime owner Derrick Walker said the IRL didn't do anything sinister.
"It wasn't a deal that changed," said Walker, who originally had possession of an IRL car but lost his partner and was not able to compete. "The original agreement wasn't a forever free deal and, in fairness to the league, it gave the teams free cars for two years.
"It may be a bit naughty to ask for it at the end of the year instead of the beginning but, obviously, with the economy and new management, the IRL is saying 'Hey boys, we can't afford to carry this debt any longer.'"
Saturday, September 5, 2009
IndyCar would be in better shape if it embraced ovals
(by Pete Pistone cbssports.com 9-2-09)
Last week's IndyCar stop at Chicagoland Speedway resulted in Ryan Briscoe somehow edging Scott Dixon by an amazing 0.0077 seconds, the fourth-closest finish in series history.
That came on the heels of the last speedway thriller the series turned in, when Briscoe nosed ahead of Ed Carpenter at Kentucky Speedway's finish line by .0162 seconds on Aug. 1.
But rather than building up IndyCar racing around this fantastic and heart-pounding kind of competition, series officials inexplicably are moving away from oval tracks in favor of adding more street circuits and road courses.
It's maddening, confusing and downright stupid.
But it's only one of several issues the IRL needs to address if American-based open-wheel racing is to ever mount a comeback in popularity:
More ovals, not fewer
The crown jewel of IndyCar racing is the Indianapolis 500, an event that transcends the sport and reaches a mainstream population around the world. The IndyCar Series should be built around that foundation and support its showcase event with a strong base of oval-track dates.
A finish like this one -- Ryan Briscoe edging Scott Dixon at Chicagoland by 0.0077 seconds -- is reason to have more ovals. (Getty Images)
When the IRL-CART split first happened nearly 15 years ago, a positive offshoot was a new series created around the concept of oval-track competition. The IRL started out as an American-based open-wheel series created to run primarily on oval tracks.
The result was a tantalizing new form of IndyCar racing that provided fantastic racing and mesmerizing finishes at places like Texas, Michigan, Las Vegas, Kansas, Nashville and Kentucky.
Slowly but surely, the series strayed away from that idea in favor of adding road races to the calendar. Before long, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Vegas, Michigan and Nashville were left by the wayside.
A sprinkling of road races and street circuits is fine, but IndyCar racing should always be weighed in favor of oval tracks. Emphasizing and broadening, not abandoning the kind of racing on display last Saturday night at Chicagoland would enhance the IRL tremendously.
Obi-wan
Where’s Pete “The Pistol” Pistone been the last fourteen years?
Evidently, no where near American IndyCar racing.
Haven't we heard all this before? If memory serves, I think it was just before the Idiot Grandson dreamed up his misbegotten league. Or perhaps it was just minutes after the league was proved to be one of the most colossally bad ideas in the history of American motor sports.
Pete forgot a few. The league left the Walt Disney World, Dover, Charlotte, Pikes Peak, Atlanta, Richmond, Nazareth, Gateway, and California speedways by the wayside, too. Unless I missed one, that’s fifteen American speedways the ICS has abandoned in all.
Why would the league do that? Pete thinks it is because the league’s leaders are “downright stupid.” While that is probably true, that’s not the reason that the ICS abandoned all but a handful of the speedways that were available to it.
The IRL dropped fifteen speedways because the races held at them didn’t make a profit; not for the track owners and promoters, and not for the IRL. It’s that simple.
Most of the abandoned speedways are theoretically available to the ICS today; if the league is willing to rent them. The problem is, after losing an estimated $600 million on the IRL, the league’s backers are no longer willing to take the chance.
It is this reality that makes a fool of Pistone. Because if micro-close finishes in speedway races mattered, the IRL’s races wouldn’t have gone broke. The same holds true for the league’s “fantastic and heart-pounding kind of competition.” Pistone may like it but the paying customers at the track and the television viewers at home obviously do not.
Here’s where the few remaining IndyCar journalists like Pistone have a big problem: they find it impossible to put themselves into the mindset of their intended audience, or they fail to empathize with them, or they simply are too dumb to read the handwriting on the wall.
It is an article of faith with the Gomers that the league’s salvation lies in exposing its “fantasic and heart-pounding kind of competition” to the masses. This parochial view was summed up years ago in song lyrics which asked: “How can you keep them down on the farm, once they’ve seen Paris (pa’ri)?” In the context of this pipe dream, the ICS is a stand-in for Pa’ri.
Well, practically from the league’s inception it has been carpet bombing a wide area around its speedway races with free tickets and other inducements to the casual motorsports audience in an attempt to get it to sample the IRL's wares. Additionally, its deep-pocket “partners” like Marlboro and the league’s auto manufacturers have been buying up huge blocks of tickets and conducting national direct mail and advertising campaigns in attempts to do the same thing. As a consequence, at some of the IRL’s past speedway races the at-track audience has included large numbers of guests dubbed the “Red-Hat Brigade,” because of their distinctive scarlet giveaway hats (which accompanied their free tickets).
The result of all this sampling of the league’s product is that the majority of people who answered the league’s siren call never came back. They came, they saw, they left … and stayed away.
If any one event should have proved this notion a fallacy, it was the Indianapolis 500; the league’s centerpiece event. At its height after the formation of Tony George’s breakaway league, perhaps as many as 300,000 spectators attended the race and millions of people watched it on television. Yet, every year since the league’s founding attendance at the big race has declined; as has the television audience at home.
During this same period, attendance and TV ratings for NASCAR’s rival speedway racing series has skyrocketed. Thus, in a head-to-head “taste test” of oval racing brands, the paying customers prefer NASCAR’s brand by a landslide.
Still, desperate fans of the league are deluded enough to think that if they can only expose current NASCAR fans to one of their millisecond photo finishes, it will instantly convert the redneck heathens to the true path. It ain’t gonna happen. I dare say the majority of NASCAR fans across a broad demographic have viewed an IndyCar race or two or three … and decided to stick with their choice of the stock car series.
There is also a problem with Pistone’s contention that:
”The fact is, exposing more NASCAR fans to the heart-stopping brand of oval-track racing the IRL has created will in turn bring more of those full-fender fans back to the sport for more.”
The problem is that it is a wish, a hope, but not a “fact.”
Pete Pistone
Embrace NASCAR
There's certain smugness around the IRL, in terms of how it views the stock car world. Rather than recognizing NASCAR's potential benefit to the sport, the IndyCar seems hell-bent on thumbing its nose at the stock car crowd.
The fact is, exposing more NASCAR fans to the heart-stopping brand of oval-track racing the IRL has created will in turn bring more of those full-fender fans back to the sport for more.
The IRL should pair up with NASCAR at a handful of dates and run in conjunction with the Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series. There are currently a few IndyCar-Camping World Truck Series weekends on the calendar, but aligning with one of NASCAR's top two divisions would put the IRL in front of thousands more fans.
There was some hesitance a year or so ago when this idea came up, reportedly because the IRL did not want to play the role of support division. Get over it. The chance to showcase your product on a high-profile weekend far outweighs any perceived notion of playing second fiddle.
Start your engines ... earlier
Pushing back the start time of the Indianapolis 500 a few years ago killed the chance for any driver to try what had become known as "The Double," running both Indy and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte later that day. Robby Gordon, John Andretti and Tony Stewart had all pulled off the amazing feat in the past, with Stewart nearly winning both events.
But when the green flag at Indy went to 1 p.m. in an attempt to attract the West Coast television audience, the possibility of pulling off the twin bill went out the window. It's now logistically impossible to finish at the Brickyard and jet down to Charlotte in time to compete in the stock car nightcap.
That needs to be fixed immediately.
Any opportunity to draw NASCAR participation to the Indianapolis 500 should be pursued. Just having Richard Petty at the track last May as a car owner created incredible buzz and awareness of the race.
Imagine what having the likes of Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr. or even Kyle Busch participating in the Memorial Day classic would have on the sport. Every media outlet in the country -- and maybe the world -- would no doubt follow the exploits of this group of drivers competing in 1,100 miles at two of the most famous tracks in racing.
And should someone pull off the feat of actually winning both races, it would go down as one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history. The IRL and the speedway should pull out all the stops to make it happen as soon as 2010.
There are other things that need attention in the IndyCar world to elevate the sport back to a more prominent position in American motorsports. More American drivers, a better television package rather than being buried on Versus (which also resulted in a ridiculous 10 p.m. ET start at Chicago last week), a series title sponsor and, of course, ensuring Danica Patrick doesn't bolt for NASCAR are imperative for the Indy Racing League to have any chance to prosper in the coming years.
We know the league is capable of generating exciting racing. More people need to find out about it.
Obi-wan
Besides the delusional thinking – specifically the magnetic attraction of the ICS’s brand of racing – there is an assumption on Pistone’s part that the oval-racing fraternity is just one big, happy family. These two ideas are so incompatible that it’s a wonder they don’t spontaneously explode on the screen, like mixing sodium and water.
A moment’s thought should have clued The Pistol into a realization that if the same company doesn’t own both motor sports, they are by definition, rivals. Resources diverted to the IRL are not available to NASCAR, and vice versa. So, what CEO of a competing company is going to expose his/her customers to a rival product if there is truth to the belief that: ” The fact is, exposing more NASCAR fans to the heart-stopping brand of oval-track racing the IRL has created will in turn bring more of those full-fender fans back to the sport for more?” The answer is: none.
This fairly begs the question: Why on earth would NASCAR help the ICS steal its customers?
Perhaps Pistone might answer: Because NASCAR needs more races to increase the profitability of its speedways. There may have been a time when misguided souls thought this was true, but no more. At the height of their sport’s popularity, NASCAR’s oval cartel was working a dodge involving the IRL: they were combining a demand for their motor sport which exceeded its supply with the availability of cheap (or even free) IndyCar races to create their infamous Track Packs. In this scheme, NASCAR Cup fans were forced to buy tickets to a speedway’s ICS race in order to be permitted the privilege of buying tickets to the speedway’s desired Cup races. Through this creation of artificial demand, the oval cartel was able to effectively double the price of Cup tickets by including cheap, filler ICS races.
Now, though, the global recession has cut deeply into the demand for NASCAR’s products and their most immediate response has been to cut prices across the board. At speedways using the Track Pack scheme, the price reductions have been relatively painless because the management has trimmed the “fat” – i.e., the ICS – out of the mix. By dropping the ICS from Track Packs, the oval cartel can simply return Cup ticket prices to the level that they were before they were artificially inflated by the addition of the IndyCars. Assuming the recession lasts for more than a couple of years, look for the oval cartel to either drop the ICS from its speedway schedules or put the league on a “pay as you go” basis (meaning either track rentals or profit-sharing with guarantees).
In the world of the NASCAR oval cartel, the France’s ISC has always had an insurmountable advantage over the other cartel members: they literally own the motor sport (through ownership of its sanctioning body). Consequently, all oval cartel members have to pay a sanction fee to the Frances, while the Frances simply transfer money from one of their pockets to another. However, their ownership of the sport confers much greater power than this; in any dispute between cartel members involving the sport, the Frances are always capable of legislating a win for themselves (see Kentucky Speedway). Thus, no matter how hard they tried, speedway owners like O. Bruton Smith and Roger Penske never had a chance of besting the Frances; as soon as they got close to it, the Frances quickly changed the rules of the game to ensure their advantage.
The reason I raise this point here is to point out the advantage held by the NASCAR oval cartel over the ICS. The cartel owns all but two of the major speedways in the United States. The two speedways not in the cartel are Milwaukee, teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Consequently, if any dispute should arise between the ICS and the NASCAR oval cartel involving speedways – say, the scheduling of races – the oval cartel will always win. The structure of American speedway ownership allows no other possibility.
During the years of anti-war protest against America’s involvement in Viet Nam, there arose a rule of thumb regarding free speech: “In order to have a free press, one needs to first own a [printing] press.” That was just a fact of life. If one had an anti-Establishment point of view and wanted it expressed in a newspaper or magazine, one needed first to own or control a newspaper or magazine.
Basically, the same reality applies to Pistone’s speedway races. If one owns a motor sport and wants it to race at speedways, one needs to first own speedways if one wants to guarantee it a place on their calendar. Not to belabor the obvious, but NASCAR is an oval-centric motor sport and its owners and principals own perhaps two dozen speedways; essentially all the major ones. Pistone’s ICS aspires to be an oval-centric motor sport and its owners possess one speedway (IMS); so the series is guaranteed a place on the schedule at only one speedway. Ergo, the moment that the ICS began to encroach on the popularity and/or profitability of NASCAR, the oval cartel would immediately move against the ICS and it would win; at least where speedways were concerned.
The bottom line is that American speedway racing isn’t one big, happy family. NASCAR may be one and its members may or may not share, but that generosity does not extend to rival motor sports (be they open-wheel or sports cars). If an oval-centric ICS had anywhere near the potential that Pistone believes it does, the oval cartel would likely move to either destroy it or buy it. In fact, rumor has it that the IRL is for sale now; but the oval cartel has no interest in buying it.
The foregoing reality also explains why the current ICS has such an “outlaw” schedule, filled with an odd mix of eclectic races. The ICS has been forced (as CART before it) to tap into the disorganized mix of venues that exist outside the formal network of oval cartel speedways. The league must exploit temporary venues and the few permanent road-racing courses than remained after sports car racing ceased to be a prominent motor sport in the U.S.
Tony George wanted to break away from the established IndyCar in 1992 and form an oval-centric series but he was forced to wait until 1996 to take to the track in part because he faced a de facto speedway blockade on all sides. On the one hand he faced a lockout by the NASCAR oval cartel (ISC, SMI and Dover Downs) and on the other hand a wall of resistance from PMI (i.e. Penske’s CART-allied speedways). He was finally able to move when he bartered with the Frances, giving a NASCAR race at IMS in return for an accommodation from the oval cartel to open some of its speedways. Also, there existed at the time a small group of independent speedways (Milwaukee, Phoenix, NHIS, etc.) and brand-new speedways built expressly for NASCAR but without its support (e.g. LVMS). Even so, there weren’t enough available speedways to support a potential open-wheel rival to NASCAR. So, George came up with a plan to build a string of temporary speedways in prime urban markets across the U.S. and beat NASCAR to the punch. The Walt Disney World Speedway was his pilot project but it quickly showed the flaws in his scheme which would make it unworkable.
At that point, George could have moved in several directions to secure a base of operations for his oval-centric motor sport. He could have bought some of the new speedways that had yet to become part of the oval cartel and/or he could have begun to build speedways in the conventional manner. He made a tentative step by joining in a limited partnership to build Chicagoland (which he recently sold back to ISC); but other than that, he made no moves to secure speedways for the IRL. Gradually, the oval cartel gobbled them up one by one or in a group (as with PMI). Also, the oval cartel moved to weed out the small, independent tracks which might pose a threat to their NASCAR hegemony (e.g. Pikes Peak, Nazareth).
Today, the IRL is more vulnerable than at any other time in its history with respect to its choice of venues. Even if the league wanted to reverse course and morph back into an oval-centric motor sport, it would have to rely on the kindness of ISC, SMI, and Dover to do it. Here the oval cartel would probably allow the league to start off by renting speedways to it; but always under the threat that if it succeeds, it can be cut off at the knees at a later date.
Thomas Wolfe once noted, “You Can’t Go Home, Again;” the same also probably applies to abandoned speedways.
JM2c
Last week's IndyCar stop at Chicagoland Speedway resulted in Ryan Briscoe somehow edging Scott Dixon by an amazing 0.0077 seconds, the fourth-closest finish in series history.
That came on the heels of the last speedway thriller the series turned in, when Briscoe nosed ahead of Ed Carpenter at Kentucky Speedway's finish line by .0162 seconds on Aug. 1.
But rather than building up IndyCar racing around this fantastic and heart-pounding kind of competition, series officials inexplicably are moving away from oval tracks in favor of adding more street circuits and road courses.
It's maddening, confusing and downright stupid.
But it's only one of several issues the IRL needs to address if American-based open-wheel racing is to ever mount a comeback in popularity:
More ovals, not fewer
The crown jewel of IndyCar racing is the Indianapolis 500, an event that transcends the sport and reaches a mainstream population around the world. The IndyCar Series should be built around that foundation and support its showcase event with a strong base of oval-track dates.
A finish like this one -- Ryan Briscoe edging Scott Dixon at Chicagoland by 0.0077 seconds -- is reason to have more ovals. (Getty Images)
When the IRL-CART split first happened nearly 15 years ago, a positive offshoot was a new series created around the concept of oval-track competition. The IRL started out as an American-based open-wheel series created to run primarily on oval tracks.
The result was a tantalizing new form of IndyCar racing that provided fantastic racing and mesmerizing finishes at places like Texas, Michigan, Las Vegas, Kansas, Nashville and Kentucky.
Slowly but surely, the series strayed away from that idea in favor of adding road races to the calendar. Before long, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Vegas, Michigan and Nashville were left by the wayside.
A sprinkling of road races and street circuits is fine, but IndyCar racing should always be weighed in favor of oval tracks. Emphasizing and broadening, not abandoning the kind of racing on display last Saturday night at Chicagoland would enhance the IRL tremendously.
Obi-wan
Where’s Pete “The Pistol” Pistone been the last fourteen years?
Evidently, no where near American IndyCar racing.
Haven't we heard all this before? If memory serves, I think it was just before the Idiot Grandson dreamed up his misbegotten league. Or perhaps it was just minutes after the league was proved to be one of the most colossally bad ideas in the history of American motor sports.
Pete forgot a few. The league left the Walt Disney World, Dover, Charlotte, Pikes Peak, Atlanta, Richmond, Nazareth, Gateway, and California speedways by the wayside, too. Unless I missed one, that’s fifteen American speedways the ICS has abandoned in all.
Why would the league do that? Pete thinks it is because the league’s leaders are “downright stupid.” While that is probably true, that’s not the reason that the ICS abandoned all but a handful of the speedways that were available to it.
The IRL dropped fifteen speedways because the races held at them didn’t make a profit; not for the track owners and promoters, and not for the IRL. It’s that simple.
Most of the abandoned speedways are theoretically available to the ICS today; if the league is willing to rent them. The problem is, after losing an estimated $600 million on the IRL, the league’s backers are no longer willing to take the chance.
It is this reality that makes a fool of Pistone. Because if micro-close finishes in speedway races mattered, the IRL’s races wouldn’t have gone broke. The same holds true for the league’s “fantastic and heart-pounding kind of competition.” Pistone may like it but the paying customers at the track and the television viewers at home obviously do not.
Here’s where the few remaining IndyCar journalists like Pistone have a big problem: they find it impossible to put themselves into the mindset of their intended audience, or they fail to empathize with them, or they simply are too dumb to read the handwriting on the wall.
It is an article of faith with the Gomers that the league’s salvation lies in exposing its “fantasic and heart-pounding kind of competition” to the masses. This parochial view was summed up years ago in song lyrics which asked: “How can you keep them down on the farm, once they’ve seen Paris (pa’ri)?” In the context of this pipe dream, the ICS is a stand-in for Pa’ri.
Well, practically from the league’s inception it has been carpet bombing a wide area around its speedway races with free tickets and other inducements to the casual motorsports audience in an attempt to get it to sample the IRL's wares. Additionally, its deep-pocket “partners” like Marlboro and the league’s auto manufacturers have been buying up huge blocks of tickets and conducting national direct mail and advertising campaigns in attempts to do the same thing. As a consequence, at some of the IRL’s past speedway races the at-track audience has included large numbers of guests dubbed the “Red-Hat Brigade,” because of their distinctive scarlet giveaway hats (which accompanied their free tickets).
The result of all this sampling of the league’s product is that the majority of people who answered the league’s siren call never came back. They came, they saw, they left … and stayed away.
If any one event should have proved this notion a fallacy, it was the Indianapolis 500; the league’s centerpiece event. At its height after the formation of Tony George’s breakaway league, perhaps as many as 300,000 spectators attended the race and millions of people watched it on television. Yet, every year since the league’s founding attendance at the big race has declined; as has the television audience at home.
During this same period, attendance and TV ratings for NASCAR’s rival speedway racing series has skyrocketed. Thus, in a head-to-head “taste test” of oval racing brands, the paying customers prefer NASCAR’s brand by a landslide.
Still, desperate fans of the league are deluded enough to think that if they can only expose current NASCAR fans to one of their millisecond photo finishes, it will instantly convert the redneck heathens to the true path. It ain’t gonna happen. I dare say the majority of NASCAR fans across a broad demographic have viewed an IndyCar race or two or three … and decided to stick with their choice of the stock car series.
There is also a problem with Pistone’s contention that:
”The fact is, exposing more NASCAR fans to the heart-stopping brand of oval-track racing the IRL has created will in turn bring more of those full-fender fans back to the sport for more.”
The problem is that it is a wish, a hope, but not a “fact.”
Pete Pistone
Embrace NASCAR
There's certain smugness around the IRL, in terms of how it views the stock car world. Rather than recognizing NASCAR's potential benefit to the sport, the IndyCar seems hell-bent on thumbing its nose at the stock car crowd.
The fact is, exposing more NASCAR fans to the heart-stopping brand of oval-track racing the IRL has created will in turn bring more of those full-fender fans back to the sport for more.
The IRL should pair up with NASCAR at a handful of dates and run in conjunction with the Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series. There are currently a few IndyCar-Camping World Truck Series weekends on the calendar, but aligning with one of NASCAR's top two divisions would put the IRL in front of thousands more fans.
There was some hesitance a year or so ago when this idea came up, reportedly because the IRL did not want to play the role of support division. Get over it. The chance to showcase your product on a high-profile weekend far outweighs any perceived notion of playing second fiddle.
Start your engines ... earlier
Pushing back the start time of the Indianapolis 500 a few years ago killed the chance for any driver to try what had become known as "The Double," running both Indy and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte later that day. Robby Gordon, John Andretti and Tony Stewart had all pulled off the amazing feat in the past, with Stewart nearly winning both events.
But when the green flag at Indy went to 1 p.m. in an attempt to attract the West Coast television audience, the possibility of pulling off the twin bill went out the window. It's now logistically impossible to finish at the Brickyard and jet down to Charlotte in time to compete in the stock car nightcap.
That needs to be fixed immediately.
Any opportunity to draw NASCAR participation to the Indianapolis 500 should be pursued. Just having Richard Petty at the track last May as a car owner created incredible buzz and awareness of the race.
Imagine what having the likes of Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish Jr. or even Kyle Busch participating in the Memorial Day classic would have on the sport. Every media outlet in the country -- and maybe the world -- would no doubt follow the exploits of this group of drivers competing in 1,100 miles at two of the most famous tracks in racing.
And should someone pull off the feat of actually winning both races, it would go down as one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history. The IRL and the speedway should pull out all the stops to make it happen as soon as 2010.
There are other things that need attention in the IndyCar world to elevate the sport back to a more prominent position in American motorsports. More American drivers, a better television package rather than being buried on Versus (which also resulted in a ridiculous 10 p.m. ET start at Chicago last week), a series title sponsor and, of course, ensuring Danica Patrick doesn't bolt for NASCAR are imperative for the Indy Racing League to have any chance to prosper in the coming years.
We know the league is capable of generating exciting racing. More people need to find out about it.
Obi-wan
Besides the delusional thinking – specifically the magnetic attraction of the ICS’s brand of racing – there is an assumption on Pistone’s part that the oval-racing fraternity is just one big, happy family. These two ideas are so incompatible that it’s a wonder they don’t spontaneously explode on the screen, like mixing sodium and water.
A moment’s thought should have clued The Pistol into a realization that if the same company doesn’t own both motor sports, they are by definition, rivals. Resources diverted to the IRL are not available to NASCAR, and vice versa. So, what CEO of a competing company is going to expose his/her customers to a rival product if there is truth to the belief that: ” The fact is, exposing more NASCAR fans to the heart-stopping brand of oval-track racing the IRL has created will in turn bring more of those full-fender fans back to the sport for more?” The answer is: none.
This fairly begs the question: Why on earth would NASCAR help the ICS steal its customers?
Perhaps Pistone might answer: Because NASCAR needs more races to increase the profitability of its speedways. There may have been a time when misguided souls thought this was true, but no more. At the height of their sport’s popularity, NASCAR’s oval cartel was working a dodge involving the IRL: they were combining a demand for their motor sport which exceeded its supply with the availability of cheap (or even free) IndyCar races to create their infamous Track Packs. In this scheme, NASCAR Cup fans were forced to buy tickets to a speedway’s ICS race in order to be permitted the privilege of buying tickets to the speedway’s desired Cup races. Through this creation of artificial demand, the oval cartel was able to effectively double the price of Cup tickets by including cheap, filler ICS races.
Now, though, the global recession has cut deeply into the demand for NASCAR’s products and their most immediate response has been to cut prices across the board. At speedways using the Track Pack scheme, the price reductions have been relatively painless because the management has trimmed the “fat” – i.e., the ICS – out of the mix. By dropping the ICS from Track Packs, the oval cartel can simply return Cup ticket prices to the level that they were before they were artificially inflated by the addition of the IndyCars. Assuming the recession lasts for more than a couple of years, look for the oval cartel to either drop the ICS from its speedway schedules or put the league on a “pay as you go” basis (meaning either track rentals or profit-sharing with guarantees).
In the world of the NASCAR oval cartel, the France’s ISC has always had an insurmountable advantage over the other cartel members: they literally own the motor sport (through ownership of its sanctioning body). Consequently, all oval cartel members have to pay a sanction fee to the Frances, while the Frances simply transfer money from one of their pockets to another. However, their ownership of the sport confers much greater power than this; in any dispute between cartel members involving the sport, the Frances are always capable of legislating a win for themselves (see Kentucky Speedway). Thus, no matter how hard they tried, speedway owners like O. Bruton Smith and Roger Penske never had a chance of besting the Frances; as soon as they got close to it, the Frances quickly changed the rules of the game to ensure their advantage.
The reason I raise this point here is to point out the advantage held by the NASCAR oval cartel over the ICS. The cartel owns all but two of the major speedways in the United States. The two speedways not in the cartel are Milwaukee, teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Consequently, if any dispute should arise between the ICS and the NASCAR oval cartel involving speedways – say, the scheduling of races – the oval cartel will always win. The structure of American speedway ownership allows no other possibility.
During the years of anti-war protest against America’s involvement in Viet Nam, there arose a rule of thumb regarding free speech: “In order to have a free press, one needs to first own a [printing] press.” That was just a fact of life. If one had an anti-Establishment point of view and wanted it expressed in a newspaper or magazine, one needed first to own or control a newspaper or magazine.
Basically, the same reality applies to Pistone’s speedway races. If one owns a motor sport and wants it to race at speedways, one needs to first own speedways if one wants to guarantee it a place on their calendar. Not to belabor the obvious, but NASCAR is an oval-centric motor sport and its owners and principals own perhaps two dozen speedways; essentially all the major ones. Pistone’s ICS aspires to be an oval-centric motor sport and its owners possess one speedway (IMS); so the series is guaranteed a place on the schedule at only one speedway. Ergo, the moment that the ICS began to encroach on the popularity and/or profitability of NASCAR, the oval cartel would immediately move against the ICS and it would win; at least where speedways were concerned.
The bottom line is that American speedway racing isn’t one big, happy family. NASCAR may be one and its members may or may not share, but that generosity does not extend to rival motor sports (be they open-wheel or sports cars). If an oval-centric ICS had anywhere near the potential that Pistone believes it does, the oval cartel would likely move to either destroy it or buy it. In fact, rumor has it that the IRL is for sale now; but the oval cartel has no interest in buying it.
The foregoing reality also explains why the current ICS has such an “outlaw” schedule, filled with an odd mix of eclectic races. The ICS has been forced (as CART before it) to tap into the disorganized mix of venues that exist outside the formal network of oval cartel speedways. The league must exploit temporary venues and the few permanent road-racing courses than remained after sports car racing ceased to be a prominent motor sport in the U.S.
Tony George wanted to break away from the established IndyCar in 1992 and form an oval-centric series but he was forced to wait until 1996 to take to the track in part because he faced a de facto speedway blockade on all sides. On the one hand he faced a lockout by the NASCAR oval cartel (ISC, SMI and Dover Downs) and on the other hand a wall of resistance from PMI (i.e. Penske’s CART-allied speedways). He was finally able to move when he bartered with the Frances, giving a NASCAR race at IMS in return for an accommodation from the oval cartel to open some of its speedways. Also, there existed at the time a small group of independent speedways (Milwaukee, Phoenix, NHIS, etc.) and brand-new speedways built expressly for NASCAR but without its support (e.g. LVMS). Even so, there weren’t enough available speedways to support a potential open-wheel rival to NASCAR. So, George came up with a plan to build a string of temporary speedways in prime urban markets across the U.S. and beat NASCAR to the punch. The Walt Disney World Speedway was his pilot project but it quickly showed the flaws in his scheme which would make it unworkable.
At that point, George could have moved in several directions to secure a base of operations for his oval-centric motor sport. He could have bought some of the new speedways that had yet to become part of the oval cartel and/or he could have begun to build speedways in the conventional manner. He made a tentative step by joining in a limited partnership to build Chicagoland (which he recently sold back to ISC); but other than that, he made no moves to secure speedways for the IRL. Gradually, the oval cartel gobbled them up one by one or in a group (as with PMI). Also, the oval cartel moved to weed out the small, independent tracks which might pose a threat to their NASCAR hegemony (e.g. Pikes Peak, Nazareth).
Today, the IRL is more vulnerable than at any other time in its history with respect to its choice of venues. Even if the league wanted to reverse course and morph back into an oval-centric motor sport, it would have to rely on the kindness of ISC, SMI, and Dover to do it. Here the oval cartel would probably allow the league to start off by renting speedways to it; but always under the threat that if it succeeds, it can be cut off at the knees at a later date.
Thomas Wolfe once noted, “You Can’t Go Home, Again;” the same also probably applies to abandoned speedways.
JM2c
George looking for sponsor
(by Curt Cavin indystar.com 9-4-09)
Trouble finding a sponsor is reaching the heart of Indy-car racing.
Vision Racing owner Tony George, who founded the Indy Racing League, said Thursday his family's team is not yet funded for 2010 and needs to be before the end of this season "or it will be decision time."
Ed Carpenter, who drives the team's Indy car, said his stepfather began taking a more fiscally sound approach when the series went to its TEAM program, which guarantees the same amount of financial support to each full-time team.
"Basically, we're always drawing (funding) out and keeping the team together, acting on faith too much," Carpenter said. "Now we have to stick to our budget."
Vision fielded two cars at the start of the season but let Ryan Hunter-Reay go to A.J. Foyt Racing after the Indianapolis 500.
Obi-Wan
About the only positive things which have been said about Tony George in the press the past few years were praise for his “passion” for the sport and for his determination (some say stubbornness) to “stay the course.”
Now, when push comes to shove, and the Idiot Grandson is required to spend his own money for the first time, the world discovers that he has neither passion nor perseverance and his motor sport and team are left slowly twisting in the wind.
I’ll bet that this is news to his mother and sisters; who didn’t realize that little Tony was only bullish about spending their money, but not his own. They should have taken the hint when he suddenly decided to cut himself free of the IRL millstone instead of accepting its leadership; some might say that he “owed” it to his motor sport not to abandon it in its time of need. I guess Toe-knee has been taking lessons from the Pimp.
In any event anyone want to bet that Lord Sagamore is about to take a powder on the Indy faithful. With bossman Belskus assuming his throne in the Pagoda and Tony no longer present in the pits and garages as a team owner, I don’t expect him to accept a red cap and a free ticket to sit with his Gomers in the stands. After all, he’s been telling them for years that he finds the ICS events “boring;” but they refused to believe him. If TrackForum is smart, it will start a "Tony Sightings" stickie or a “Whatever Happened to Boss Gomer?” permanent thread.
Moving beyond the immediate I figure that there is no way that Tony is going to let his lieutenants succeed where he failed. If he’s bailing on the league, he will no doubt also remove his support of Angstadt and Barnhart. Without the IG to protect them, those two are toast. Which will leave Toe-knee’s former school chum and toadie, Belskus, in complete command of a disintegrating league; look for him to find a way to put it (and the family) out of its misery.
JM2c
Trouble finding a sponsor is reaching the heart of Indy-car racing.
Vision Racing owner Tony George, who founded the Indy Racing League, said Thursday his family's team is not yet funded for 2010 and needs to be before the end of this season "or it will be decision time."
Ed Carpenter, who drives the team's Indy car, said his stepfather began taking a more fiscally sound approach when the series went to its TEAM program, which guarantees the same amount of financial support to each full-time team.
"Basically, we're always drawing (funding) out and keeping the team together, acting on faith too much," Carpenter said. "Now we have to stick to our budget."
Vision fielded two cars at the start of the season but let Ryan Hunter-Reay go to A.J. Foyt Racing after the Indianapolis 500.
Obi-Wan
About the only positive things which have been said about Tony George in the press the past few years were praise for his “passion” for the sport and for his determination (some say stubbornness) to “stay the course.”
Now, when push comes to shove, and the Idiot Grandson is required to spend his own money for the first time, the world discovers that he has neither passion nor perseverance and his motor sport and team are left slowly twisting in the wind.
I’ll bet that this is news to his mother and sisters; who didn’t realize that little Tony was only bullish about spending their money, but not his own. They should have taken the hint when he suddenly decided to cut himself free of the IRL millstone instead of accepting its leadership; some might say that he “owed” it to his motor sport not to abandon it in its time of need. I guess Toe-knee has been taking lessons from the Pimp.
In any event anyone want to bet that Lord Sagamore is about to take a powder on the Indy faithful. With bossman Belskus assuming his throne in the Pagoda and Tony no longer present in the pits and garages as a team owner, I don’t expect him to accept a red cap and a free ticket to sit with his Gomers in the stands. After all, he’s been telling them for years that he finds the ICS events “boring;” but they refused to believe him. If TrackForum is smart, it will start a "Tony Sightings" stickie or a “Whatever Happened to Boss Gomer?” permanent thread.
Moving beyond the immediate I figure that there is no way that Tony is going to let his lieutenants succeed where he failed. If he’s bailing on the league, he will no doubt also remove his support of Angstadt and Barnhart. Without the IG to protect them, those two are toast. Which will leave Toe-knee’s former school chum and toadie, Belskus, in complete command of a disintegrating league; look for him to find a way to put it (and the family) out of its misery.
JM2c
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Obi-wan wisdom - Read Between the Lines
Team Owners Get Some Answers
(by Bruce Martin versus.com 8-30-09)
JOLIET, Ill. – Team owners had a chance to quiz IndyCar Series officials on Saturday afternoon at a regularly scheduled owners meeting on a variety of topics, including next season’s race at Brazil and the latest on new equipment expected to be implemented in 2012.
“It was a good general update,” said Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division of the IndyCar Series. “We talked about the schedule – some of the tweaks we made to that, some of the things we still have to do to that. We talked about how we ended up at the schedule that we have and what our goals are for future schedules. We talked about sponsorship updates – some of the official categories we are filling in and our progress for a title sponsor. We talked about TV, which was a separate subject and an update on engine/chassis package and when we plan on announcing the rules for 2012.”
Angstadt spoke to the team owners along with IndyCar Series president, competition division, Brian Barnhart and outgoing president of broadcasting Charlie Morgan, who is leaving the series to work for Emmis Communications in Indianapolis.
Here is a capsule summary of the topics:
* Raising the value of the series:
“That is through big investments by key partners,” Angstadt said. “Just like every other sports property raises their value it is a combination of efforts through team sponsors, our sponsors and our direct investment.”
RBTL:
Same-o, same-o. Yes, the value of a sports property is arguably raised through big investments by key partners including team sponsors and league sponsors. However, the past year has seen virtually no investment (big or otherwise) in the league by its “key partners” and new team sponsorship is close to non-existent. The $4 million broadcast rights fee that the league received from Versus might be considered an investment by a key partner in the league but it went straight into the pockets of the Hulman-George family in order to offset the expense of the TEAM program (which is a reallocation of existing prize monies masquerading as team subsidies). Moreover, the $4 million Versus payment only serves to partially compensate for the more-than-$4 million reduction in broadcast rights fees received from ABC/ESPN (for zero net gain). Hence, any increase in the value of the series must come, by Angstadt’s definition, from “our direct investment.” Here, no increases have been announced; in fact, Angstadt’s later comment that the TEAM program is being restricted to cover only 22 to 24 cars probably amounts to a decrease in the family’s direct investment in the league.
* The current television package that includes 12 races on VERSUS and five on ABC:
“Interestingly, it is dead-on the number forecasted by VERSUS before the season ever started so that shows you they tend to know their business,” Angstadt said. “We had a meeting in Chicago on Thursday and they have good plans to grow the ratings. They have grown every property they have ever been affiliated with and they continue to grow as an entity and we have all the confidence they will deliver on that.”
RBTL:
The idea of the league working to give Versus a better entertainment product to sell is out of the realm of possibility. The league’s owners (i.e. the Hulman-Georges] have no plans for increased investment in their motorsports property, so all forward steps are being left to their new media partner. Before this, the league waited for a dozen years for The House of Mouse to grow their business, without success. Message to Versus: You are on your own (and we expect the world from you).
* Late-starting times, such as Saturday night’s 9:10 p.m. local start at Chicagoland Speedway:
“Our television partner at VERSUS wanted the start for this one because of a lead-in program they have that draws very good numbers for them,” Angstadt said. “It’s a very good lead-in for us and the last time they had that drew a 1.2 rating. It is what it is – you have to cooperate and you don’t win 100 percent of your battles. If there is a time-slot issue we have to work together. It is a late start but I hope it doesn’t have a negative impact on the on-site crowd.”
RBTL:
The big lead-in was cage fighting. Bottom line: when cage fighting gets better ratings than your races, you’ve got to take a back seat to the brawlers. Moreover, when the league is totally dependent on its new media partner to somehow increase its popularity, it has no say in the matter. Hoping (aka wishing) that a late start wouldn’t have a negative impact on the on-site “crowd,” when he knew better, highlights that false hopes are all the initiative(s) the league leaders have left to them. As Angstadt said: “It is what it is.”
* Status of the season-opening race in Brazil.
“Tony Cotman (IndyCar Series director of competition) leaves Monday night and I leave Tuesday night,” Angstadt said. “We’ll be back down there this week and have lots of good letters and communication back and forth. All of the business fundamentals are out in the open for a race in Salvador and don’t think there are issues there. We hoped to get it signed while we are there and we will be there most of the week.”
RBTL:
The league has everything riding on a fairy-tale outcome for the Brazilian race negotiations. When it was first reported, the Brazilian promoters were supposedly offering the league ten times its usual sanction fee – itself a fairy tale – plus the equivalent of a year’s TEAM subsidy for every team. Angstadt has so much riding on this that he will later comment that the hoped-for profits from the Brazilian race will enable the league to redeploy itself in failed markets (specifically Phoenix).
How real is this? Assuming midnight comes and the race doesn’t turn into a pumpkin, the Brazilian event(s) as imagined by Angstadt et al would be so profitable that almost any team in the league should immediately consider entering only the South American race and the Indy 500 because they would be the only two IRL events with a pay out. Really. Why risk the wear and tear of a full season in the wrecking league when the Brazilian race would cover a team’s entire expenses at Indy? Additionally, such a plan would greatly increase a team’s chances in the 500 and a shot at its multi-million dollar purse because the team would be participating with brand-new equipment (or as near to it as the league can come). Plus, there are savings beyond wear and tear to be had. For instance, Honda-Ilmor has an “Indy only” engine lease available that is about a third cheaper than their full-season lease.
Would the league allow this to happen? Of course not. Should this pipe dream prove to have some substance, look for the IRL to impound all the money and replace their TEAM payments with the South Americans' cash. The Hulman-Georges are nothing if not greedy and this plum would be too tempting to pass up.
Before that happens, though, the Brazilians have to contract a big case of the stupids. There were originally three cities supposedly vying for this event: Rio de Janeiro, Campinas – a city about an hour from Sao Paulo – and Tony Kanaan’s hometown of Ribeirao Preto, a city about two hours north of Sao Paulo. Now, all but Kanose’s homies have decided to take a wait-and-see attitude; so Tony has to convince his former neighbors – he now lives in Florida – to take a financial bath in support of his employer.
No doubt George and Angstadt were counting on the league’s fuel supplier, APEX-Brasil, to dig deep to come up with the necessary reals to showcase its adopted motor sport. However, the global economic downturn has decimated the alternate fuels industry in the U.S. and severely impacted worldwide consumption; which likely means the APEX-Brasil pockets are no longer as full as before. Not to mention the fact that the Brazilian drivers in the IRL aren’t exactly household names back home. I think all this would add up to some serious back-peddling on the part of the Brazilians; IF the race comes off, look for it to provide less than the pot of gold envisioned by the desperate Gomers.
* Getting financial relief for the team owners from engine and chassis manufacturers:
“We talked a lot about that and we did point out there was relief this year from Dallara, Honda and Xtrac (gearbox supplier) and we said we anticipate for some of that relief to get better next year,” Angstadt said. “We do have that commitment from Honda. Our goal for 2012 is to have a more competitive package. If you compare our costs from a number of years ago to where we think we’ll end up in 2012 it is tremendous progress.”
RBTL:
Well, there you have it. If “progress” in 2012 is going to be measured in terms of comparative costs – which Angstadt implies will be much lower – it precludes the deployment of new equipment. This is underscored by the fact that the hoped-for 2012 savings are coming from Honda, Dallara, and Xtrac; which means that they are the anticipated suppliers three years from now. Are any of these manufacturers going to tool up for brand-new, clean-sheet components and charge less for them? Not in this world.
* A title sponsor:
“I’ve made this comment before that we are 90 percent sure we will have one and that’s where we are at right now but that is a very schizophrenic subject,” Angstadt said. “It appears that things are stabilizing with the economy. We are very close to having one and there is another sponsor right behind that if that doesn’t work out. Hopefully we’ll have one for 2010.”
RBTL:
Here’s Angastadt doing his Lucy and the football improv for the Gomers. He’s 90% sure that he used to be 90% sure but now he’s 90% not so sure.
* CEO Jeff Belskus handing the Indy Racing League in a more businesslike manner:
“I feel very good; Jeff is a very smart guy and knows the business well,” Angstadt said. “He has a lot of institutional knowledge within IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and the IRL. I like everything I see. I think we work very well together. He is very engaged in our company.”
RBTL:
That’s awfully nice (and condescending) of Terry to say that about his boss and a guy who had a hand in founding the IRL (long before Angst came stumbling along). He better hope they work very well together. First, I see Barnhart biting the dust and not long after, Terry A.
* New management at the Milwaukee Mile:
“We’ve had a couple of good conversations and I read that they have been making tremendous progress on their negotiations with NASCAR and we remain neutral to that,” Angstadt said. “We’ll see where that goes. It’s not their obligation to settle up on the debt owed to us by the previous promoter but it is part of what needs to be discussed for us to go back there in the future.”
RBTL:
Angstadt better not be “neutral” in private about Milwaukee’s progress in their negotiations with NASCAR, because the stock car series is the only thing between the venerable racetrack and the wrecking ball and the only hope the IRL has for getting paid and/or scheduling an event in the only remaining independent speedway. Problem is, Milwaukee is talking to NASCAR about their trucks and they are an endangered species.
* Texas Motor Speedway taking over the week after the Indianapolis 500 date:
“We’ve had a very good re-engagement with Eddie Gossage and SMI (Speedway Motorsports, Inc) and Texas Motor Speedway so we feel good about where that is,” Angstadt said. “We feel good about where that is and frankly it’s hard to hang onto a date at Milwaukee after what we have gone through. We’d love to be back there but it doesn’t have to be the week after Indy (at Milwaukee).”
RBTL:
Loving this. So, Angstadt et al have “re-engaged” with Eddie G and the Smiths? When was the divorce? Let me guess: it came when Tony G & Co gave away Texas’ traditional date – the best attended IRL event outside of Indianapolis – to play footsie with the Frances at their Watkins Glen ghost town. Eddie is probably still wondering what the attraction was? In Texas you leave the dance with the girl you brung, not waltz off with some wall flower and later come groveling back. Expect for Eddie G and Bruton to look for some serious payback; maybe when the league is dissolved and Belskus wants their contract to go away.
* Any chance to reconsider New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the future?
“No,” Angstadt said. “Would you like me to expand on that? I really do feel that a good part of the conversation is when there are two Cup dates at a venue without a long racing season we struggle. SMI doesn’t agree with that and we completely respect their opinion on that but we are not going to agree on every business issue between the two companies. That is a tough market to go into with that challenge. “I don’t let the comments they made impact our relationship, though.”
RBTL:
Think about this. If Bruton Smith and the NHIS brass are willing to pay top dollar (or pay at all) to host an IRL race they think will be profitable, what possible gripe could Angstadt et al have? I mean, the Brazilian ethanol producers start throwing reals at the league and they can have a race in the Amazon jungle for all the league cares; but not American speedway owners who are in the biz? It doesn’t make sense. And, as Judge Judy says, if it doesn’t make sense, it isn’t true. Which means the probably reality, especially given past SMI practice, is that NHIS wants a track rental (like Atlanta and LVMS) or a free race. In either event, Terry A doesn’t have the authority to schedule another race that costs the Hulman-George family more money; especially one where the league is going to come off looking bad.
* Car count staying constant despite a poor economy:
“We’re very encouraged and that is not to be confused with not having a long way to go,” Angstadt said. “We are thrilled with the growth in sponsorship in the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes. If we secure the title sponsor like I think we will and when we get Brazil secured that goes a long way to stabilizing the League side. And we are helping teams secure sponsorship and that is always a top priority.”
RBTL:
Excuse me? “Growth in sponsorship in the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes?” When did that happen? Are we perhaps talking about the measly few sponsors the IRL has rustled up in the past five years before we knew we were experiencing the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes but now realize we were in trouble way back then? If so, the same state of unconsciousness applies to the sponsors as well. Who were the new sponsors to the league after the news media was proclaiming the financial times were dire? Or, are we maybe counting our Brazilian and title-sponsor chickens before they hatch?
Anyway, how long have we been hearing about the league helping teams secure sponsorship being a “top priority;” only to have Tony grab them off for IMS with the rationale that it was the league rainmakers doing all the heavy lifting?
* How many cars can the TEAMS program maintain before it becomes a financial issue?
“That’s a 22- to 24-car number,” Angstadt said. “We would need to make decisions beyond that on some kind of criteria on how you get one of those spots because that is a huge commitment from the League. If we have 28 cars not all of them are going to be able to share in this program.”
RBTL:
Okay, there’s the limit put on the H-G family’s “support:” 22 cars. Next year. After that, all bet’s are off. Remember here that the TEAM program was put in place in lieu of guaranteed prize purses for races; basically, the league collected all the purses and then meted them out along socialist lines. One overlooked implication of the TEAM program is that speedway owners and/or promoters weren’t required to put up any prize money. Otherwise, they’d never have allowed the league to siphon it off. There is a firm belief among the oval cartel that a race’s prize purse is integral to it’s success. Therefore, the league’s race purses were a hidden form of subsidy.
* Danica Patrick staying in the IndyCar Series:
“We think it is very important,” Angstadt said. “We have worked hard and closely with IMG to give them confidence in our series and her role in the future of our series. We are looking pretty good and we feel good about it all coming together. I really respect the magnitude of this decision for her and we have respected that from Day One. That is why we are respecting that as best we can with IMG. It is sales, marketing, PR, venue selection, where she feels most competitive at so it is really across the board. IMG challenges us and we respond accordingly. Those are good conversations to have.”
RBTL:
Brother, it sounds like Angstadt is about to offer Danican’t an ownership position in the league, doesn't it? How about the part about giving IMG [i.e. Danican’t] a say in venue selection (“where she feels most competitive”)!!! I wonder if she gets to pre-approve Brazil’s street circuit? [“Sorry, boys, the Princess of Pout doesn’t like the hairpin around the fountain in the plaza, so the race is off.”] In any case, it’s unbelievable (if I hadn’t just read it). What other driver in the history of the National Championship was allowed input into venue selection?
It makes me wonder what Penske and Ganassi think about this. If push came to shove, which defection(s) do you think would more likely sound the league's death knell: Danican't or the ex-CART duo? My money is on the Pimp and F@t@$$i.
Anyway, when thinking about this Gomer article of faith -- quick, cue the Joan d'Arc improv -- pathetic and desperate also come to mind as apt descriptions. Obviously, here is a motor sport held hostage to a woman. Boss Gomer and the little Gomers believe their fate and that of their sport rests in Danican’t “iron” grip. Hey, I’ve got an idea. If Danican’t is the sport’s end all, be all, why not sell it to her (meaning Motorola)? $21 million (Danican’t current sponsorship deal) is way more than the IRL is worth, so there’s a profit and everybody goes home happy. Then Danican’t becomes a Danican and wins every race (under orders from the boss) and the whole exhibition should be a huge success (if one believes the Gomers).
* Other drivers sharing in the attention that Patrick gets:
“We have our three points leaders going to Miami on Tuesday because they have earned it,” Angstadt said. “We have had stability in our name drivers and it is up to PR to shed the light on those that deserve it. Ryan Briscoe is a really fair guy and a phenomenal race car driver. He is really unbelievable.”
RBTL:
After the question about Danican’t and its response, this one was inevitable. Who’s Angstadt think he’s kidding? No one but Danican’t matters to Angstadt. Can you blame him? He thinks he is a marketing guy and without Danican’t he would be like a Madison Avenue hustler trying to sell Frosted Flakes without Tony the Tiger. The IRL and its mascot are now inseparable; and there isn’t room for another.
At least Terry A is being honest when he (perhaps unwittingly) says on the one hand that the league’s top three points leaders (notice no names) have earned their positions and then on the other hand says it is up to Public Relations to get them noticed; i.e. forgetaboutit. That’s a near to impossible task when the IRL’s PR folk spend about 75% of every league broadcast pushing Danican’t in everyone’s face. Maybe he means that the points leaders’ PR guys ought to have lunch with Danican’t’s PR guys (meaning the league) and convince them to shed “light on those that deserve it.” Don't hold your breath waiting for it, though; "don't call us, we'll call you, big guy."
I love how Angstadt describes Ryan Briscoe as “a really fair guy and a phenomenal race car driver” but stops just short of saying it doesn’t matter. Maybe with a sex-change operation, things might have been different.
* Getting Phoenix back on the schedule at some point:
“That has been one of the bigger challenges for us,” Angstadt said. “We might have even used Phoenix as an example that if we can secure other markets that pay us a good value for our series then we can afford to go to another market or two that is good for the business, although not financially. We offered Phoenix a compelling package to go there but it was not embraced by the promoter. We cannot go there for free, although free is an exaggeration.”
RBTL:
How this for double talk? What he’s saying is that if the suckers in Brazil pay way too much for their race (i.e. “good value for our series”), there will be an unwarranted surplus which could then be used to rent the Phoenix track from ISC. Why would the league want to do this? Because he thinks Phoenix would be “good for the business, although not financially(!)” When have you ever heard of something being good for business, but not financially? Between the lines what Terry A is saying is that (in his view) a return to a ‘prime’ market like Phoenix will give him some credibility in selling other suckers on sponsoring the IRL. Despite the fact that the league would undoubtedly pay ISC for the privilege of appearing at PIR, that part could be kept confidential and the mere fact of a return to a failed market can be touted as a “turning point” in league fortunes and as a sign of growth. Thus, the Phoenix event itself wouldn’t be profitable but the false image it created might enable Angstadt to sell the league to others, which would hopefully be profitable in the long run; hence, Phoenix would be “good for business, but not financially [by itself]”
He's right about one thing, though, a free race at PIR is an exaggeration; the Frances would want a non-refundable deposit up front.
(by Bruce Martin versus.com 8-30-09)
JOLIET, Ill. – Team owners had a chance to quiz IndyCar Series officials on Saturday afternoon at a regularly scheduled owners meeting on a variety of topics, including next season’s race at Brazil and the latest on new equipment expected to be implemented in 2012.
“It was a good general update,” said Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division of the IndyCar Series. “We talked about the schedule – some of the tweaks we made to that, some of the things we still have to do to that. We talked about how we ended up at the schedule that we have and what our goals are for future schedules. We talked about sponsorship updates – some of the official categories we are filling in and our progress for a title sponsor. We talked about TV, which was a separate subject and an update on engine/chassis package and when we plan on announcing the rules for 2012.”
Angstadt spoke to the team owners along with IndyCar Series president, competition division, Brian Barnhart and outgoing president of broadcasting Charlie Morgan, who is leaving the series to work for Emmis Communications in Indianapolis.
Here is a capsule summary of the topics:
* Raising the value of the series:
“That is through big investments by key partners,” Angstadt said. “Just like every other sports property raises their value it is a combination of efforts through team sponsors, our sponsors and our direct investment.”
RBTL:
Same-o, same-o. Yes, the value of a sports property is arguably raised through big investments by key partners including team sponsors and league sponsors. However, the past year has seen virtually no investment (big or otherwise) in the league by its “key partners” and new team sponsorship is close to non-existent. The $4 million broadcast rights fee that the league received from Versus might be considered an investment by a key partner in the league but it went straight into the pockets of the Hulman-George family in order to offset the expense of the TEAM program (which is a reallocation of existing prize monies masquerading as team subsidies). Moreover, the $4 million Versus payment only serves to partially compensate for the more-than-$4 million reduction in broadcast rights fees received from ABC/ESPN (for zero net gain). Hence, any increase in the value of the series must come, by Angstadt’s definition, from “our direct investment.” Here, no increases have been announced; in fact, Angstadt’s later comment that the TEAM program is being restricted to cover only 22 to 24 cars probably amounts to a decrease in the family’s direct investment in the league.
* The current television package that includes 12 races on VERSUS and five on ABC:
“Interestingly, it is dead-on the number forecasted by VERSUS before the season ever started so that shows you they tend to know their business,” Angstadt said. “We had a meeting in Chicago on Thursday and they have good plans to grow the ratings. They have grown every property they have ever been affiliated with and they continue to grow as an entity and we have all the confidence they will deliver on that.”
RBTL:
The idea of the league working to give Versus a better entertainment product to sell is out of the realm of possibility. The league’s owners (i.e. the Hulman-Georges] have no plans for increased investment in their motorsports property, so all forward steps are being left to their new media partner. Before this, the league waited for a dozen years for The House of Mouse to grow their business, without success. Message to Versus: You are on your own (and we expect the world from you).
* Late-starting times, such as Saturday night’s 9:10 p.m. local start at Chicagoland Speedway:
“Our television partner at VERSUS wanted the start for this one because of a lead-in program they have that draws very good numbers for them,” Angstadt said. “It’s a very good lead-in for us and the last time they had that drew a 1.2 rating. It is what it is – you have to cooperate and you don’t win 100 percent of your battles. If there is a time-slot issue we have to work together. It is a late start but I hope it doesn’t have a negative impact on the on-site crowd.”
RBTL:
The big lead-in was cage fighting. Bottom line: when cage fighting gets better ratings than your races, you’ve got to take a back seat to the brawlers. Moreover, when the league is totally dependent on its new media partner to somehow increase its popularity, it has no say in the matter. Hoping (aka wishing) that a late start wouldn’t have a negative impact on the on-site “crowd,” when he knew better, highlights that false hopes are all the initiative(s) the league leaders have left to them. As Angstadt said: “It is what it is.”
* Status of the season-opening race in Brazil.
“Tony Cotman (IndyCar Series director of competition) leaves Monday night and I leave Tuesday night,” Angstadt said. “We’ll be back down there this week and have lots of good letters and communication back and forth. All of the business fundamentals are out in the open for a race in Salvador and don’t think there are issues there. We hoped to get it signed while we are there and we will be there most of the week.”
RBTL:
The league has everything riding on a fairy-tale outcome for the Brazilian race negotiations. When it was first reported, the Brazilian promoters were supposedly offering the league ten times its usual sanction fee – itself a fairy tale – plus the equivalent of a year’s TEAM subsidy for every team. Angstadt has so much riding on this that he will later comment that the hoped-for profits from the Brazilian race will enable the league to redeploy itself in failed markets (specifically Phoenix).
How real is this? Assuming midnight comes and the race doesn’t turn into a pumpkin, the Brazilian event(s) as imagined by Angstadt et al would be so profitable that almost any team in the league should immediately consider entering only the South American race and the Indy 500 because they would be the only two IRL events with a pay out. Really. Why risk the wear and tear of a full season in the wrecking league when the Brazilian race would cover a team’s entire expenses at Indy? Additionally, such a plan would greatly increase a team’s chances in the 500 and a shot at its multi-million dollar purse because the team would be participating with brand-new equipment (or as near to it as the league can come). Plus, there are savings beyond wear and tear to be had. For instance, Honda-Ilmor has an “Indy only” engine lease available that is about a third cheaper than their full-season lease.
Would the league allow this to happen? Of course not. Should this pipe dream prove to have some substance, look for the IRL to impound all the money and replace their TEAM payments with the South Americans' cash. The Hulman-Georges are nothing if not greedy and this plum would be too tempting to pass up.
Before that happens, though, the Brazilians have to contract a big case of the stupids. There were originally three cities supposedly vying for this event: Rio de Janeiro, Campinas – a city about an hour from Sao Paulo – and Tony Kanaan’s hometown of Ribeirao Preto, a city about two hours north of Sao Paulo. Now, all but Kanose’s homies have decided to take a wait-and-see attitude; so Tony has to convince his former neighbors – he now lives in Florida – to take a financial bath in support of his employer.
No doubt George and Angstadt were counting on the league’s fuel supplier, APEX-Brasil, to dig deep to come up with the necessary reals to showcase its adopted motor sport. However, the global economic downturn has decimated the alternate fuels industry in the U.S. and severely impacted worldwide consumption; which likely means the APEX-Brasil pockets are no longer as full as before. Not to mention the fact that the Brazilian drivers in the IRL aren’t exactly household names back home. I think all this would add up to some serious back-peddling on the part of the Brazilians; IF the race comes off, look for it to provide less than the pot of gold envisioned by the desperate Gomers.
* Getting financial relief for the team owners from engine and chassis manufacturers:
“We talked a lot about that and we did point out there was relief this year from Dallara, Honda and Xtrac (gearbox supplier) and we said we anticipate for some of that relief to get better next year,” Angstadt said. “We do have that commitment from Honda. Our goal for 2012 is to have a more competitive package. If you compare our costs from a number of years ago to where we think we’ll end up in 2012 it is tremendous progress.”
RBTL:
Well, there you have it. If “progress” in 2012 is going to be measured in terms of comparative costs – which Angstadt implies will be much lower – it precludes the deployment of new equipment. This is underscored by the fact that the hoped-for 2012 savings are coming from Honda, Dallara, and Xtrac; which means that they are the anticipated suppliers three years from now. Are any of these manufacturers going to tool up for brand-new, clean-sheet components and charge less for them? Not in this world.
* A title sponsor:
“I’ve made this comment before that we are 90 percent sure we will have one and that’s where we are at right now but that is a very schizophrenic subject,” Angstadt said. “It appears that things are stabilizing with the economy. We are very close to having one and there is another sponsor right behind that if that doesn’t work out. Hopefully we’ll have one for 2010.”
RBTL:
Here’s Angastadt doing his Lucy and the football improv for the Gomers. He’s 90% sure that he used to be 90% sure but now he’s 90% not so sure.
* CEO Jeff Belskus handing the Indy Racing League in a more businesslike manner:
“I feel very good; Jeff is a very smart guy and knows the business well,” Angstadt said. “He has a lot of institutional knowledge within IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and the IRL. I like everything I see. I think we work very well together. He is very engaged in our company.”
RBTL:
That’s awfully nice (and condescending) of Terry to say that about his boss and a guy who had a hand in founding the IRL (long before Angst came stumbling along). He better hope they work very well together. First, I see Barnhart biting the dust and not long after, Terry A.
* New management at the Milwaukee Mile:
“We’ve had a couple of good conversations and I read that they have been making tremendous progress on their negotiations with NASCAR and we remain neutral to that,” Angstadt said. “We’ll see where that goes. It’s not their obligation to settle up on the debt owed to us by the previous promoter but it is part of what needs to be discussed for us to go back there in the future.”
RBTL:
Angstadt better not be “neutral” in private about Milwaukee’s progress in their negotiations with NASCAR, because the stock car series is the only thing between the venerable racetrack and the wrecking ball and the only hope the IRL has for getting paid and/or scheduling an event in the only remaining independent speedway. Problem is, Milwaukee is talking to NASCAR about their trucks and they are an endangered species.
* Texas Motor Speedway taking over the week after the Indianapolis 500 date:
“We’ve had a very good re-engagement with Eddie Gossage and SMI (Speedway Motorsports, Inc) and Texas Motor Speedway so we feel good about where that is,” Angstadt said. “We feel good about where that is and frankly it’s hard to hang onto a date at Milwaukee after what we have gone through. We’d love to be back there but it doesn’t have to be the week after Indy (at Milwaukee).”
RBTL:
Loving this. So, Angstadt et al have “re-engaged” with Eddie G and the Smiths? When was the divorce? Let me guess: it came when Tony G & Co gave away Texas’ traditional date – the best attended IRL event outside of Indianapolis – to play footsie with the Frances at their Watkins Glen ghost town. Eddie is probably still wondering what the attraction was? In Texas you leave the dance with the girl you brung, not waltz off with some wall flower and later come groveling back. Expect for Eddie G and Bruton to look for some serious payback; maybe when the league is dissolved and Belskus wants their contract to go away.
* Any chance to reconsider New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the future?
“No,” Angstadt said. “Would you like me to expand on that? I really do feel that a good part of the conversation is when there are two Cup dates at a venue without a long racing season we struggle. SMI doesn’t agree with that and we completely respect their opinion on that but we are not going to agree on every business issue between the two companies. That is a tough market to go into with that challenge. “I don’t let the comments they made impact our relationship, though.”
RBTL:
Think about this. If Bruton Smith and the NHIS brass are willing to pay top dollar (or pay at all) to host an IRL race they think will be profitable, what possible gripe could Angstadt et al have? I mean, the Brazilian ethanol producers start throwing reals at the league and they can have a race in the Amazon jungle for all the league cares; but not American speedway owners who are in the biz? It doesn’t make sense. And, as Judge Judy says, if it doesn’t make sense, it isn’t true. Which means the probably reality, especially given past SMI practice, is that NHIS wants a track rental (like Atlanta and LVMS) or a free race. In either event, Terry A doesn’t have the authority to schedule another race that costs the Hulman-George family more money; especially one where the league is going to come off looking bad.
* Car count staying constant despite a poor economy:
“We’re very encouraged and that is not to be confused with not having a long way to go,” Angstadt said. “We are thrilled with the growth in sponsorship in the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes. If we secure the title sponsor like I think we will and when we get Brazil secured that goes a long way to stabilizing the League side. And we are helping teams secure sponsorship and that is always a top priority.”
RBTL:
Excuse me? “Growth in sponsorship in the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes?” When did that happen? Are we perhaps talking about the measly few sponsors the IRL has rustled up in the past five years before we knew we were experiencing the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes but now realize we were in trouble way back then? If so, the same state of unconsciousness applies to the sponsors as well. Who were the new sponsors to the league after the news media was proclaiming the financial times were dire? Or, are we maybe counting our Brazilian and title-sponsor chickens before they hatch?
Anyway, how long have we been hearing about the league helping teams secure sponsorship being a “top priority;” only to have Tony grab them off for IMS with the rationale that it was the league rainmakers doing all the heavy lifting?
* How many cars can the TEAMS program maintain before it becomes a financial issue?
“That’s a 22- to 24-car number,” Angstadt said. “We would need to make decisions beyond that on some kind of criteria on how you get one of those spots because that is a huge commitment from the League. If we have 28 cars not all of them are going to be able to share in this program.”
RBTL:
Okay, there’s the limit put on the H-G family’s “support:” 22 cars. Next year. After that, all bet’s are off. Remember here that the TEAM program was put in place in lieu of guaranteed prize purses for races; basically, the league collected all the purses and then meted them out along socialist lines. One overlooked implication of the TEAM program is that speedway owners and/or promoters weren’t required to put up any prize money. Otherwise, they’d never have allowed the league to siphon it off. There is a firm belief among the oval cartel that a race’s prize purse is integral to it’s success. Therefore, the league’s race purses were a hidden form of subsidy.
* Danica Patrick staying in the IndyCar Series:
“We think it is very important,” Angstadt said. “We have worked hard and closely with IMG to give them confidence in our series and her role in the future of our series. We are looking pretty good and we feel good about it all coming together. I really respect the magnitude of this decision for her and we have respected that from Day One. That is why we are respecting that as best we can with IMG. It is sales, marketing, PR, venue selection, where she feels most competitive at so it is really across the board. IMG challenges us and we respond accordingly. Those are good conversations to have.”
RBTL:
Brother, it sounds like Angstadt is about to offer Danican’t an ownership position in the league, doesn't it? How about the part about giving IMG [i.e. Danican’t] a say in venue selection (“where she feels most competitive”)!!! I wonder if she gets to pre-approve Brazil’s street circuit? [“Sorry, boys, the Princess of Pout doesn’t like the hairpin around the fountain in the plaza, so the race is off.”] In any case, it’s unbelievable (if I hadn’t just read it). What other driver in the history of the National Championship was allowed input into venue selection?
It makes me wonder what Penske and Ganassi think about this. If push came to shove, which defection(s) do you think would more likely sound the league's death knell: Danican't or the ex-CART duo? My money is on the Pimp and F@t@$$i.
Anyway, when thinking about this Gomer article of faith -- quick, cue the Joan d'Arc improv -- pathetic and desperate also come to mind as apt descriptions. Obviously, here is a motor sport held hostage to a woman. Boss Gomer and the little Gomers believe their fate and that of their sport rests in Danican’t “iron” grip. Hey, I’ve got an idea. If Danican’t is the sport’s end all, be all, why not sell it to her (meaning Motorola)? $21 million (Danican’t current sponsorship deal) is way more than the IRL is worth, so there’s a profit and everybody goes home happy. Then Danican’t becomes a Danican and wins every race (under orders from the boss) and the whole exhibition should be a huge success (if one believes the Gomers).
* Other drivers sharing in the attention that Patrick gets:
“We have our three points leaders going to Miami on Tuesday because they have earned it,” Angstadt said. “We have had stability in our name drivers and it is up to PR to shed the light on those that deserve it. Ryan Briscoe is a really fair guy and a phenomenal race car driver. He is really unbelievable.”
RBTL:
After the question about Danican’t and its response, this one was inevitable. Who’s Angstadt think he’s kidding? No one but Danican’t matters to Angstadt. Can you blame him? He thinks he is a marketing guy and without Danican’t he would be like a Madison Avenue hustler trying to sell Frosted Flakes without Tony the Tiger. The IRL and its mascot are now inseparable; and there isn’t room for another.
At least Terry A is being honest when he (perhaps unwittingly) says on the one hand that the league’s top three points leaders (notice no names) have earned their positions and then on the other hand says it is up to Public Relations to get them noticed; i.e. forgetaboutit. That’s a near to impossible task when the IRL’s PR folk spend about 75% of every league broadcast pushing Danican’t in everyone’s face. Maybe he means that the points leaders’ PR guys ought to have lunch with Danican’t’s PR guys (meaning the league) and convince them to shed “light on those that deserve it.” Don't hold your breath waiting for it, though; "don't call us, we'll call you, big guy."
I love how Angstadt describes Ryan Briscoe as “a really fair guy and a phenomenal race car driver” but stops just short of saying it doesn’t matter. Maybe with a sex-change operation, things might have been different.
* Getting Phoenix back on the schedule at some point:
“That has been one of the bigger challenges for us,” Angstadt said. “We might have even used Phoenix as an example that if we can secure other markets that pay us a good value for our series then we can afford to go to another market or two that is good for the business, although not financially. We offered Phoenix a compelling package to go there but it was not embraced by the promoter. We cannot go there for free, although free is an exaggeration.”
RBTL:
How this for double talk? What he’s saying is that if the suckers in Brazil pay way too much for their race (i.e. “good value for our series”), there will be an unwarranted surplus which could then be used to rent the Phoenix track from ISC. Why would the league want to do this? Because he thinks Phoenix would be “good for the business, although not financially(!)” When have you ever heard of something being good for business, but not financially? Between the lines what Terry A is saying is that (in his view) a return to a ‘prime’ market like Phoenix will give him some credibility in selling other suckers on sponsoring the IRL. Despite the fact that the league would undoubtedly pay ISC for the privilege of appearing at PIR, that part could be kept confidential and the mere fact of a return to a failed market can be touted as a “turning point” in league fortunes and as a sign of growth. Thus, the Phoenix event itself wouldn’t be profitable but the false image it created might enable Angstadt to sell the league to others, which would hopefully be profitable in the long run; hence, Phoenix would be “good for business, but not financially [by itself]”
He's right about one thing, though, a free race at PIR is an exaggeration; the Frances would want a non-refundable deposit up front.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Obi-wan wisdom
(crapwagon.com 8-29-09
(regarding who had the worst business model, CART or the IRL)
Hayden Fan
The IRL was really just a political tool by FTG to gain control of CART. I would almost guarantee that if you went to up Tony in 1996-1997 and said, "Here, you control CART." FTG would have killed the IRL. I doubt Tony had planned for the IRL to really work anyway.
Obi-Wan
Yes, probably true, but the more important question is: If FTG had been given control of CART circa 1996-1997, would he have retained its status quo?
It’s only my opinion, but I don’t think so.
Tony George may be an idiot but that doesn’t mean he is without ideas. Spectacularly bad ideas to be sure, but ideas nonetheless.
Before he launched the IRL, George actively tried to reform CART to be more in tune with his NASCAR-like vision for American open-wheel racing. I am convinced that he thought – probably still does – that an oval-centric open-wheel motor sport utilizing outdated (read cheap) technology allied with the magic of the “Indy” name was a sure-fire recipe for success.
It is evident (at least to me) that Tony operated under the belief that NASCAR’s rise to national prominence had been made at the expense of AOW. Specifically, I think he harbored the notion that if IndyCar had beat NASCAR to the punch with regard to its series outline – namely, cheap technologically-backward racecars competing mostly on speedways in stage-managed “spectacles” which featured side-by-side racing with photo finishes and at least one, big multi-car accident every race – that there never would have been a NASCAR as we know it. In other words, George believed that the CART team owners had stolen the sport from the Hulmans and IMS/USAC circa 1979 and NASCAR, in turn, had afterward stolen the thunder from a misguided CART; which strayed increasingly far away from his concept of an oval-centric ideal.
So, I think if he had succeeded in buying CART in November 1991 and merging it with USAC into “Indy Car Inc,” that he would have immediately moved to change the sport into something resembling his later Indy Racing League.
In light of this probability, I think George’s infamous “25/8 Rule” was an attempt to do more than establish the IRL; namely, I think it was designed to give Tony control of the money-making speedway portion of the sport.
A lot of critics, mostly the Gomer brain trust, endlessly chastised CART’s team owners for not seeing the handwriting on the wall in 1995 and giving into Tony’s 25/8 demands. Had they done so, in their view, the owners would have removed the reasons for the existence of George’s IRL and killed the league before it had a chance to establish itself. This assumption is completely illogical, IMO. If CART’s team owners had acceded to Tony’s demands and participated in his WDW race (at a newly constructed speedway owned and operated by George) and/or the one at Phoenix as a condition of competing in the 1996 Indy 500, their participation would have been the functional equivalent of putting all three races on CART’s schedule. This would have immediately put George in control of three events on a combined schedule of nineteen races. In actuality, though, 25/8 would have also forced the Loudon, NH and Las Vegas, NV speedway events on CART’s calendar as well; handing Tony control of five oval races on CART’s 1996 schedule.
However, those are not the only changes that giving in to George would have brought about. CART’s own Homestead race (on March 3rd) would have been in direct conflict with Tony’s WDW event (on January 27th). Two races in South Florida a week apart would have oversaturated the local motorsports market and, given the mandatory 25/8 attendance requirement at WDW, probably would have caused abandonment of the Homestead race.
The same is true of CART’s inaugural Rio de Janiero race, which was held the same day as Tony’s Phoenix race. With the logistical problems and reverse seasons in the Southern Hemisphere, George’s Phoenix race also would have played havoc with CART’s Queensland, Australia race (held on March 31); possibly causing its cancellation as well.
Of course, if the team owners had given in to 25/8 rule, it would have been because of their desire to take part in the Indy 500; so the 1996 U.S. 500 at MIS would have also been moribund.
Then, too, George’s event at Loudon was held on the same day as CART’s Elkhart Lake, WI race, so some adjustment would have been required there.
Finally, Tony’s LVMS event (the second race of his “1997 season,” held on 15 September 1996) would have become CART’s de facto season ender (and thereby a more profitable race).
Consequently, if CART’s team owners had given into George’s 25/8 Rule in 1996 they would have essentially given Tony the power to schedule new CART races whenever and wherever he wanted ever afterward (always under threat of being locked out of the Indy 500).
As noted, in all probability acquiescing to George would have immediately resulted in the cancellation of CART’s Homestead, Rio de Janiero and U.S. 500 events; so instead of growing the sport’s calendar, it would have likely contracted it with an increasingly prominent role for Tony’s oval racing events. This is entirely in keeping with what George and his Gomer followers wanted: foreign events and road/street races being dropped in favor of speedway events in the U.S. and a skewing of CART’s emphasis on diversity in favor of oval races. Moreover, where series speedway specifications were concerned, the Indy 500 would naturally have set the rules, so Tony would have had an effective backdoor approach to moving the IndyCar outline in the direction of a NASCAR-like sport and as he dictated more or more speedway events as a requirement for Indy participation, this emphasis would have eventually taken over the sport.
The real payoff, from Tony’s point of view, is that if his 25/8 Rule worked in cowing the CART team owners, George would have had ownership/control of most of IndyCar’s oval races (which he clearly believed would be the most profitable). Additionally, Tony and Jack Long had a plan already in motion to build a string of “temporary” speedways all across the country; so George would have been more or less guaranteed a place for them on the CART schedule as soon as they were completed (which would have helped finance their construction in the first place).
Had events transpired as Tony anticipated, he wouldn’t have needed the IRL for more than a very few years. Both CART and IRL events – which no doubt would have been eventually merged – would have had the benefit of participation by the “cars and stars” of CART, ensuring their popularity. Instead of standing in line and bidding to hold a CART race, George could have paid himself a sanction fee (for all the IRL events forced on the CART calendar) and he would have had a leg up over any promoter or team owner in placing his events on the series schedule (which would be a huge advantage in negotiating for use of facilities which were not yet his own).
As already noted, the icing on the cake was that the Indy 500 and Tony’s other oval races could have then been used to transform the IndyCar Series specifications by forcing adoption of George’s cheap (e.g. stock-block engines and ‘spec’ price-capped chassis), retro-technology formula for the entire sport.
For those who think that the Idiot Grandson is, well, an idiot and incapable of thinking up such a intricate plot, it should be pointed out that cunning and greed can often masquerade as complex thought; to dream this up all Tony would have had to do is “follow the money” and scheme to get more of it. For instance, it is far easier to observe how a Roger Penske made money off of his IMS and then simply ape him, than it is to actually think like Penske.
In fact, I think it took far more intelligence to think of a way to successfully get around the 25/8 Rule (and all it entailed) than it did to dream it up (and essentially try to tax the sport). All George had to do was plop his Brickyard down on a prosperous caravan route, obstruct it and demand a pay off -- any two-bit crook has the "smarts" to do that; but a CART mover-and-shaker like Penske had to figure out a way to capitalize his threatened holdings (see CART's IPO) and pull the wool over the France's eyes long enough to sell out to them at a premium. The latter course of action took a touch of genius to accomplish.
JM2c
(follow up)
Well, it may be a small point but I think the Indy Racing League was more than a tool for gaining control of CART. Tony George wanted to reorder the sport to more closely fit his and his Hoosier followers’ vision of it. That’s why I said the important question about Tony’s attempts to take over CART was what he would have done with it after he gained control of it; namely, would he leave it pretty much “as is” or would he have set about trying to create something resembling the IRL? As I said, I think the answer is the latter.
One of the most obvious things about the IRL is its name; meaning its inclusion of the ‘Indy’ label. George was obsessed (IMO) with the idea that the sport needed the ‘Indy’ moniker attached to it in order to succeed (to the same extent as NASCAR). When he tried to force the sale of CART (to him) in November 1991, he proposed that both CART and USAC be dissolved and reformed under the ‘Indy Car Inc’ corporate banner (and brand). When the team owners declined to sell him CART, George went ahead in February 1992 to incorporate ‘Indy Car Inc,’ anyway; supposedly as an “advisory” committee to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. CART’s team owners immediately suspected an attempt by George to grab off their ‘IndyCar’ brand, so they made preparations to go to court and win the trademark outright (rather than pay IMS a fee for its use). CART’s owners had invested more than a dozen years of sweat equity by that point in establishing the IndyCar brand – where, importantly, little recognition had existed before – and consequently they had a good chance (IMO) of winning the trademark outright; especially as Tony made no secret of the fact that he wanted to apply their brand name to a new, rival open-wheel motor sport. Someone obviously alerted George to that probability, because he suddenly proposed a compromise on the “IndyCar” brand issue: he asked that IMSC be allowed to register the IndyCar mark unopposed and, in return, he agreed to lease the name to CART for perpetuity (supposedly). CART’s team owners, unfortunately, accepted Tony’s offer.
This compromise came back to haunt the CART organization in 1996 when the scheduling of the U.S. 500 opposite the Indy 500 on the same day gave George’s legal team the opportunity to claim that CART had broken the terms of their IndyCar licensing agreement. Here, the situation was the reverse of the one which occurred in 1992: CART was attempting to establish a new, rival event to the venerable Indy 500 and obliquely apply the IndyCar brand to it. I think the inherent strength of CART’s claim to the trademark was demonstrated by the fact that the parties agreed to a settlement whereby neither group would be allowed to use the trademark for six years.
George, of course, was pleased with the agreement:
"As we embark on the second season of the Indy Racing League, it will be clear to sponsors, fans and the general public that 'Indy' cars are the cars that participate in the Indianapolis 500," George said.
CART had established the ‘IndyCar’ name as a global brand in motor sports. By the time that George was allowed to use the trademark as his own, it had been reduced in recognition and importance such that (as George said) it was “clear to sponsors, fans and the general public that ‘Indy’ cars are the cars that participate in the Indianapolis 500…,” only. In other words, the trademark had ceased to be a widely-recognized, international brand name and now mostly applied to an annual race held in Indiana.
Of course, one doesn’t need hindsight to know that loss of its brand name immediately crippled CART; a blow from which the sport never really recovered or compensated for. The sanctioning body lamely reverted to its ‘CART’ moniker and the series was at sea (in terms of recognition) for a year before it adopted the ‘Championship’ trademark in December 1997. I believe this was made possible only by George’s earlier ouster of the United States Auto Club as the sanctioning body for the Indy Racing League. I think there is little doubt that USAC laid claim to the ‘Championship’ name after the AAA abandoned it in 1955. If USAC had still been sanctioning the ‘big cars’ of the Indy 500 at the end of 1997, I think CART would have had difficulty laying claim to the trademark; but by then USAC was officially out of the sanctioning business for America’s top-tier open-wheel motor sports.
Anyway, back on topic, I think the IRL was important to Tony George for a lot of reasons (and uses). As discussed above, I think it was important to him as a vehicle to establish his ownership of the ‘IndyCar’ trademark. If he had succeeded in acquiring CART at any time, he would undoubtedly have changed its name to an ‘Indy’ something and the IRL facilitated this.
Also, without ownership of CART, the IRL structure allowed George to negotiate for his own races. For example, let’s say that Tony had succeeded in forcing CART’s team owners to participate in one or more of the IRL’s 1996 races. This would have resulted in the “stars and cars” of the well-established IndyCar World Series running in support of Tony’s new races; which would have greatly increased their chances of success. However, the track owners and/or promoters of those races would have paid their sanction fee to Tony George; not CART. Consequently, as long as ownership of CART remained outside of Tony’s grasp, his ownership of the IRL allowed him to mint new races and his ownership of IMS and the Indy 500 allowed their use as a means of forcing CART to support the new races.
The situation is not unlike the one whereby the larger IndyCar teams, like Team Penske, suppressed the amount of sponsorship dollars going to rival teams by undercutting the price of associate sponsorship. If CART’s team owners had elected to stay independent of George but agreed to participate in two or more of his races (as dictated by the 25/8 Rule), the IRL could have undercut the sanction fees going to CART. The Loudon, NH race was a perfect example. Tony George convinced the Bahre family to switch sanctioning bodies for their open-wheel speedway race in 1996. If the CART teams had continued to participate in the race, Tony George would have benefited from their support and the Bahres would have paid Tony a sanction fee; not CART. If so, this would have put Tony in a position to provide NHIS with its traditional open-wheel race (including CART’s stars and cars) at a much lower cost; say half the cost of a CART sanction fee. In actuality, I think this was the tactic that George used in convincing the Bahres to switch sanctioning bodies (from CART to IRL) and the gamble that the family took (meaning the possibility that Tony could deliver them an IndyCar race with CART team support at a much lower cost). Which begs the question: how long could CART have survived with FTG being in a position to siphon off most of its sanction fees?
Hence, barring ownership of CART, George needed the IRL operating as a sanctioning body in order to perpetrate this tactic. Ah, you say, but that just proves the point that George would probably have dropped the IRL as soon as he gained control of CART. Here, though, it is important to differentiate between control and ownership because these dictated most of Tony’s actions. As was seen time and again during the 13-year war in American open-wheel racing, George refused to share ownership of the sport. It was not enough for him to control the sanctioning bodies – he was offered that option several times -- he had to own them lock, stock and lug nut. Hence, he needed the IRL to act as tool to undermine and eventually destroy CART.
George’s real weapon, however, was always his checkbook. First, he tried to buy CART outright. When this failed he put in place an alternate sanctioning body (IRL) with the expectation that he could force the CART teams to participate in its races. As outlined above, if the CART teams had given in to Tony’s demands to support his races, George would have quickly expanded the number of his races and quickly bled CART dry of its vital sanction fees and bankrupted the company. As it turned out, Tony had to lay siege to CART and it cost him and his family something on the order of $600 million to complete the task. By the time that George breached the city walls (so to speak), however, all the prominent team owners had burrowed out of the besieged organization and made good their escape; leaving Tony with an empty shell to conquer.
Back on point, another important function of the IRL was the elimination of USAC and its sanctioning of the Indy 500. Tony is nothing if not a cheapskate and he is loath to pay fees to anyone; much preferring to collect them. So, by presenting the IRL as a racing league or series, he gained USAC’s support and sponsorship of the IRL in ACCUS. After the requisite year trail period had passed with the FIA’s representative body in the U.S., Tony was free to have the IRL replace USAC as his sanctioning body; and he quickly moved to do so.
Finally (at least until I think of more), establishment of the IRL allowed Tony to dictate his changes to the sport – aimed primarily at “improving” the sport’s oval racing component – without having to compromise with anyone. If he had succeeded in buying CART at almost any time before its bankruptcy, he would have been forced to deal with the road-racing segment of the sport. There were road- and street-racing events on CART’s calendar at all times, backed by iron-clad contracts, and Champcars were optimized for road racing, not necessarily speedway racing. Likely the teams would not have had the resources to make a wholesale change of equipment and Tony has demonstrated an unwillingness to spend money when he isn’t forced into it. Consequently, he probably wouldn’t have been willing to buy new equipment for many of the teams and his reluctance to spend would, in turn, have led to a need to compromise. We know this because that is basically the path he chose within the IRL. For nearly a decade Tony stubbornly clung to his outdated, technologically-backward specifications for the IRL, until he was forced to add road course events. This, in turn, necessitated a conversion of the IRL’s speedway-focused equipment into something that could function on a road course. The teams, naturally, didn’t have the money to make the conversion; so George had to pay for the changes. However, he likely wouldn’t have done so anytime up to the moment when he determined that he had no choice.
In sum, the IRL was more than a tool used to defeat CART. It was the very embodiment of Tony George’s philosophy and his vision for the sport. It was the only place where Tony’s dictates were law and nobody countered his fantasies with logic and/or a discouraging word. Without the IRL there would have been no ‘split’ and the AOWR landscape would be very different today.
IMHO
(regarding who had the worst business model, CART or the IRL)
Hayden Fan
The IRL was really just a political tool by FTG to gain control of CART. I would almost guarantee that if you went to up Tony in 1996-1997 and said, "Here, you control CART." FTG would have killed the IRL. I doubt Tony had planned for the IRL to really work anyway.
Obi-Wan
Yes, probably true, but the more important question is: If FTG had been given control of CART circa 1996-1997, would he have retained its status quo?
It’s only my opinion, but I don’t think so.
Tony George may be an idiot but that doesn’t mean he is without ideas. Spectacularly bad ideas to be sure, but ideas nonetheless.
Before he launched the IRL, George actively tried to reform CART to be more in tune with his NASCAR-like vision for American open-wheel racing. I am convinced that he thought – probably still does – that an oval-centric open-wheel motor sport utilizing outdated (read cheap) technology allied with the magic of the “Indy” name was a sure-fire recipe for success.
It is evident (at least to me) that Tony operated under the belief that NASCAR’s rise to national prominence had been made at the expense of AOW. Specifically, I think he harbored the notion that if IndyCar had beat NASCAR to the punch with regard to its series outline – namely, cheap technologically-backward racecars competing mostly on speedways in stage-managed “spectacles” which featured side-by-side racing with photo finishes and at least one, big multi-car accident every race – that there never would have been a NASCAR as we know it. In other words, George believed that the CART team owners had stolen the sport from the Hulmans and IMS/USAC circa 1979 and NASCAR, in turn, had afterward stolen the thunder from a misguided CART; which strayed increasingly far away from his concept of an oval-centric ideal.
So, I think if he had succeeded in buying CART in November 1991 and merging it with USAC into “Indy Car Inc,” that he would have immediately moved to change the sport into something resembling his later Indy Racing League.
In light of this probability, I think George’s infamous “25/8 Rule” was an attempt to do more than establish the IRL; namely, I think it was designed to give Tony control of the money-making speedway portion of the sport.
A lot of critics, mostly the Gomer brain trust, endlessly chastised CART’s team owners for not seeing the handwriting on the wall in 1995 and giving into Tony’s 25/8 demands. Had they done so, in their view, the owners would have removed the reasons for the existence of George’s IRL and killed the league before it had a chance to establish itself. This assumption is completely illogical, IMO. If CART’s team owners had acceded to Tony’s demands and participated in his WDW race (at a newly constructed speedway owned and operated by George) and/or the one at Phoenix as a condition of competing in the 1996 Indy 500, their participation would have been the functional equivalent of putting all three races on CART’s schedule. This would have immediately put George in control of three events on a combined schedule of nineteen races. In actuality, though, 25/8 would have also forced the Loudon, NH and Las Vegas, NV speedway events on CART’s calendar as well; handing Tony control of five oval races on CART’s 1996 schedule.
However, those are not the only changes that giving in to George would have brought about. CART’s own Homestead race (on March 3rd) would have been in direct conflict with Tony’s WDW event (on January 27th). Two races in South Florida a week apart would have oversaturated the local motorsports market and, given the mandatory 25/8 attendance requirement at WDW, probably would have caused abandonment of the Homestead race.
The same is true of CART’s inaugural Rio de Janiero race, which was held the same day as Tony’s Phoenix race. With the logistical problems and reverse seasons in the Southern Hemisphere, George’s Phoenix race also would have played havoc with CART’s Queensland, Australia race (held on March 31); possibly causing its cancellation as well.
Of course, if the team owners had given in to 25/8 rule, it would have been because of their desire to take part in the Indy 500; so the 1996 U.S. 500 at MIS would have also been moribund.
Then, too, George’s event at Loudon was held on the same day as CART’s Elkhart Lake, WI race, so some adjustment would have been required there.
Finally, Tony’s LVMS event (the second race of his “1997 season,” held on 15 September 1996) would have become CART’s de facto season ender (and thereby a more profitable race).
Consequently, if CART’s team owners had given into George’s 25/8 Rule in 1996 they would have essentially given Tony the power to schedule new CART races whenever and wherever he wanted ever afterward (always under threat of being locked out of the Indy 500).
As noted, in all probability acquiescing to George would have immediately resulted in the cancellation of CART’s Homestead, Rio de Janiero and U.S. 500 events; so instead of growing the sport’s calendar, it would have likely contracted it with an increasingly prominent role for Tony’s oval racing events. This is entirely in keeping with what George and his Gomer followers wanted: foreign events and road/street races being dropped in favor of speedway events in the U.S. and a skewing of CART’s emphasis on diversity in favor of oval races. Moreover, where series speedway specifications were concerned, the Indy 500 would naturally have set the rules, so Tony would have had an effective backdoor approach to moving the IndyCar outline in the direction of a NASCAR-like sport and as he dictated more or more speedway events as a requirement for Indy participation, this emphasis would have eventually taken over the sport.
The real payoff, from Tony’s point of view, is that if his 25/8 Rule worked in cowing the CART team owners, George would have had ownership/control of most of IndyCar’s oval races (which he clearly believed would be the most profitable). Additionally, Tony and Jack Long had a plan already in motion to build a string of “temporary” speedways all across the country; so George would have been more or less guaranteed a place for them on the CART schedule as soon as they were completed (which would have helped finance their construction in the first place).
Had events transpired as Tony anticipated, he wouldn’t have needed the IRL for more than a very few years. Both CART and IRL events – which no doubt would have been eventually merged – would have had the benefit of participation by the “cars and stars” of CART, ensuring their popularity. Instead of standing in line and bidding to hold a CART race, George could have paid himself a sanction fee (for all the IRL events forced on the CART calendar) and he would have had a leg up over any promoter or team owner in placing his events on the series schedule (which would be a huge advantage in negotiating for use of facilities which were not yet his own).
As already noted, the icing on the cake was that the Indy 500 and Tony’s other oval races could have then been used to transform the IndyCar Series specifications by forcing adoption of George’s cheap (e.g. stock-block engines and ‘spec’ price-capped chassis), retro-technology formula for the entire sport.
For those who think that the Idiot Grandson is, well, an idiot and incapable of thinking up such a intricate plot, it should be pointed out that cunning and greed can often masquerade as complex thought; to dream this up all Tony would have had to do is “follow the money” and scheme to get more of it. For instance, it is far easier to observe how a Roger Penske made money off of his IMS and then simply ape him, than it is to actually think like Penske.
In fact, I think it took far more intelligence to think of a way to successfully get around the 25/8 Rule (and all it entailed) than it did to dream it up (and essentially try to tax the sport). All George had to do was plop his Brickyard down on a prosperous caravan route, obstruct it and demand a pay off -- any two-bit crook has the "smarts" to do that; but a CART mover-and-shaker like Penske had to figure out a way to capitalize his threatened holdings (see CART's IPO) and pull the wool over the France's eyes long enough to sell out to them at a premium. The latter course of action took a touch of genius to accomplish.
JM2c
(follow up)
Well, it may be a small point but I think the Indy Racing League was more than a tool for gaining control of CART. Tony George wanted to reorder the sport to more closely fit his and his Hoosier followers’ vision of it. That’s why I said the important question about Tony’s attempts to take over CART was what he would have done with it after he gained control of it; namely, would he leave it pretty much “as is” or would he have set about trying to create something resembling the IRL? As I said, I think the answer is the latter.
One of the most obvious things about the IRL is its name; meaning its inclusion of the ‘Indy’ label. George was obsessed (IMO) with the idea that the sport needed the ‘Indy’ moniker attached to it in order to succeed (to the same extent as NASCAR). When he tried to force the sale of CART (to him) in November 1991, he proposed that both CART and USAC be dissolved and reformed under the ‘Indy Car Inc’ corporate banner (and brand). When the team owners declined to sell him CART, George went ahead in February 1992 to incorporate ‘Indy Car Inc,’ anyway; supposedly as an “advisory” committee to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. CART’s team owners immediately suspected an attempt by George to grab off their ‘IndyCar’ brand, so they made preparations to go to court and win the trademark outright (rather than pay IMS a fee for its use). CART’s owners had invested more than a dozen years of sweat equity by that point in establishing the IndyCar brand – where, importantly, little recognition had existed before – and consequently they had a good chance (IMO) of winning the trademark outright; especially as Tony made no secret of the fact that he wanted to apply their brand name to a new, rival open-wheel motor sport. Someone obviously alerted George to that probability, because he suddenly proposed a compromise on the “IndyCar” brand issue: he asked that IMSC be allowed to register the IndyCar mark unopposed and, in return, he agreed to lease the name to CART for perpetuity (supposedly). CART’s team owners, unfortunately, accepted Tony’s offer.
This compromise came back to haunt the CART organization in 1996 when the scheduling of the U.S. 500 opposite the Indy 500 on the same day gave George’s legal team the opportunity to claim that CART had broken the terms of their IndyCar licensing agreement. Here, the situation was the reverse of the one which occurred in 1992: CART was attempting to establish a new, rival event to the venerable Indy 500 and obliquely apply the IndyCar brand to it. I think the inherent strength of CART’s claim to the trademark was demonstrated by the fact that the parties agreed to a settlement whereby neither group would be allowed to use the trademark for six years.
George, of course, was pleased with the agreement:
"As we embark on the second season of the Indy Racing League, it will be clear to sponsors, fans and the general public that 'Indy' cars are the cars that participate in the Indianapolis 500," George said.
CART had established the ‘IndyCar’ name as a global brand in motor sports. By the time that George was allowed to use the trademark as his own, it had been reduced in recognition and importance such that (as George said) it was “clear to sponsors, fans and the general public that ‘Indy’ cars are the cars that participate in the Indianapolis 500…,” only. In other words, the trademark had ceased to be a widely-recognized, international brand name and now mostly applied to an annual race held in Indiana.
Of course, one doesn’t need hindsight to know that loss of its brand name immediately crippled CART; a blow from which the sport never really recovered or compensated for. The sanctioning body lamely reverted to its ‘CART’ moniker and the series was at sea (in terms of recognition) for a year before it adopted the ‘Championship’ trademark in December 1997. I believe this was made possible only by George’s earlier ouster of the United States Auto Club as the sanctioning body for the Indy Racing League. I think there is little doubt that USAC laid claim to the ‘Championship’ name after the AAA abandoned it in 1955. If USAC had still been sanctioning the ‘big cars’ of the Indy 500 at the end of 1997, I think CART would have had difficulty laying claim to the trademark; but by then USAC was officially out of the sanctioning business for America’s top-tier open-wheel motor sports.
Anyway, back on topic, I think the IRL was important to Tony George for a lot of reasons (and uses). As discussed above, I think it was important to him as a vehicle to establish his ownership of the ‘IndyCar’ trademark. If he had succeeded in acquiring CART at any time, he would undoubtedly have changed its name to an ‘Indy’ something and the IRL facilitated this.
Also, without ownership of CART, the IRL structure allowed George to negotiate for his own races. For example, let’s say that Tony had succeeded in forcing CART’s team owners to participate in one or more of the IRL’s 1996 races. This would have resulted in the “stars and cars” of the well-established IndyCar World Series running in support of Tony’s new races; which would have greatly increased their chances of success. However, the track owners and/or promoters of those races would have paid their sanction fee to Tony George; not CART. Consequently, as long as ownership of CART remained outside of Tony’s grasp, his ownership of the IRL allowed him to mint new races and his ownership of IMS and the Indy 500 allowed their use as a means of forcing CART to support the new races.
The situation is not unlike the one whereby the larger IndyCar teams, like Team Penske, suppressed the amount of sponsorship dollars going to rival teams by undercutting the price of associate sponsorship. If CART’s team owners had elected to stay independent of George but agreed to participate in two or more of his races (as dictated by the 25/8 Rule), the IRL could have undercut the sanction fees going to CART. The Loudon, NH race was a perfect example. Tony George convinced the Bahre family to switch sanctioning bodies for their open-wheel speedway race in 1996. If the CART teams had continued to participate in the race, Tony George would have benefited from their support and the Bahres would have paid Tony a sanction fee; not CART. If so, this would have put Tony in a position to provide NHIS with its traditional open-wheel race (including CART’s stars and cars) at a much lower cost; say half the cost of a CART sanction fee. In actuality, I think this was the tactic that George used in convincing the Bahres to switch sanctioning bodies (from CART to IRL) and the gamble that the family took (meaning the possibility that Tony could deliver them an IndyCar race with CART team support at a much lower cost). Which begs the question: how long could CART have survived with FTG being in a position to siphon off most of its sanction fees?
Hence, barring ownership of CART, George needed the IRL operating as a sanctioning body in order to perpetrate this tactic. Ah, you say, but that just proves the point that George would probably have dropped the IRL as soon as he gained control of CART. Here, though, it is important to differentiate between control and ownership because these dictated most of Tony’s actions. As was seen time and again during the 13-year war in American open-wheel racing, George refused to share ownership of the sport. It was not enough for him to control the sanctioning bodies – he was offered that option several times -- he had to own them lock, stock and lug nut. Hence, he needed the IRL to act as tool to undermine and eventually destroy CART.
George’s real weapon, however, was always his checkbook. First, he tried to buy CART outright. When this failed he put in place an alternate sanctioning body (IRL) with the expectation that he could force the CART teams to participate in its races. As outlined above, if the CART teams had given in to Tony’s demands to support his races, George would have quickly expanded the number of his races and quickly bled CART dry of its vital sanction fees and bankrupted the company. As it turned out, Tony had to lay siege to CART and it cost him and his family something on the order of $600 million to complete the task. By the time that George breached the city walls (so to speak), however, all the prominent team owners had burrowed out of the besieged organization and made good their escape; leaving Tony with an empty shell to conquer.
Back on point, another important function of the IRL was the elimination of USAC and its sanctioning of the Indy 500. Tony is nothing if not a cheapskate and he is loath to pay fees to anyone; much preferring to collect them. So, by presenting the IRL as a racing league or series, he gained USAC’s support and sponsorship of the IRL in ACCUS. After the requisite year trail period had passed with the FIA’s representative body in the U.S., Tony was free to have the IRL replace USAC as his sanctioning body; and he quickly moved to do so.
Finally (at least until I think of more), establishment of the IRL allowed Tony to dictate his changes to the sport – aimed primarily at “improving” the sport’s oval racing component – without having to compromise with anyone. If he had succeeded in buying CART at almost any time before its bankruptcy, he would have been forced to deal with the road-racing segment of the sport. There were road- and street-racing events on CART’s calendar at all times, backed by iron-clad contracts, and Champcars were optimized for road racing, not necessarily speedway racing. Likely the teams would not have had the resources to make a wholesale change of equipment and Tony has demonstrated an unwillingness to spend money when he isn’t forced into it. Consequently, he probably wouldn’t have been willing to buy new equipment for many of the teams and his reluctance to spend would, in turn, have led to a need to compromise. We know this because that is basically the path he chose within the IRL. For nearly a decade Tony stubbornly clung to his outdated, technologically-backward specifications for the IRL, until he was forced to add road course events. This, in turn, necessitated a conversion of the IRL’s speedway-focused equipment into something that could function on a road course. The teams, naturally, didn’t have the money to make the conversion; so George had to pay for the changes. However, he likely wouldn’t have done so anytime up to the moment when he determined that he had no choice.
In sum, the IRL was more than a tool used to defeat CART. It was the very embodiment of Tony George’s philosophy and his vision for the sport. It was the only place where Tony’s dictates were law and nobody countered his fantasies with logic and/or a discouraging word. Without the IRL there would have been no ‘split’ and the AOWR landscape would be very different today.
IMHO
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