Comments on My Name Is IRL: Indy Star Begs For Series Merger

Couple of things.1) Regarding IRL, has anyone ment...

2008-01-14T03:05:22.731-07:00

Couple of things.

1) Regarding IRL, has anyone mentioned how bad ABC/ESPN's coverage sucks? Please, please, PLEASE, someone make Scott Goodyear just go away. Get some real racing coverage and it will do wonders for the excitement factor.

I used to like NASCAR, but FOX's lowest-common-denominator approach, while appealing to the Wal-Mart crowd is grating.

It's gotten so bad that I get my racing fix by watching MotoGP via Bit Torrent downloads of ITV in Europe. Now THAT's some good coverage.

2) CCWS is nothing but poor-man's F1. Looking at the cancelled races from last season and the lack of confirmed entries for this season, it truly has become the world's most expensive club racing series, previously occupied by sports cars. (Which is a shame. I really do like good road racing on natural terrain circuits.)

Speed Channel did a poll that showed 85% of folks ...

2006-09-18T16:22:57.716-07:00

Speed Channel did a poll that showed 85% of folks want to see a merger. That's such an insanely large margin you can't ignore it.

There will never be a distinct identity. It's American open wheel racing, the cars practically look the same, and neither series can explain why Marco & Danica appear one weekend and Tracy and Bourdais appear the next weekend.

A merger is a good PR move if the folks behind it actually made a push towards not only new fans, but all the old fans who got sick of fighting billionaires and checked out.

For instance, do something like free admission on Friday and 2-for-1's on Saturday's at all the three day events. Seems to me that would be a much better use of money than subsidizing teams.

As far as what to do regarding driver interest, a rule that all two-car teams (in both big & feeder series) must field one American driver would help. I'd go even further and require two Americans on three and four car teams.

Yes, it's xenophobic, but American fans want to see American drivers. Plus, requiring American drivers will boost their negotiating position, raising what they're paid, which can only help when you've got the lure of NASCAR.

Here here, someone FINALLY refuses to drink the ma...

2006-09-16T09:30:03.326-07:00

Here here, someone FINALLY refuses to drink the magic CCWS elixir, err, Kool-Aid...and ask the people in Jonestown what happens to those who drink THAT. Hint - it isn't some giant gayly-fluorescent pitcher breaking through the wall and going "oh yeahhhhhhhh"

But I digress. Other than the soon-to-be projected advantage of operating costs (which is somewhat diminished over the first few years by the initial buy-in) - what exactly does CCWS offer to the IRL?

Their "marquee" events are largely public-subsidized affairs and we all know even the best-attended and longest-running of street races are subject to the whims of local politicians (see Detroit- Belle Isle) Their TV coverage and penetration are negligible without a major network package (and be assured that ESPN is in 3X as many American homes as Speed) and the drivers of the series are largely faceless European F-1 ladder rejects (with the exception of the Frog Fighter and maybe-Nascar-Red Bull-bound 'Dinger)

Remember Boulder Sam, Buddy Rice, Jeff Simmons, Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon were all left high and dry by the CART "ladder" system.

So with the exception of the projected lower operating costs forward, what exactly does CCWS bring to the table? Will a merger set off anything more than a collective shrug of the collective shrug of the shoulders of the American public? And no matter how it is dissected, there will be some excellent racing locales left dormant by a merged schedule.

Finally, I am left wondering why the merger needs to happen now - as in 10 years later? Will a combined series ever even shadow the NASCAR behemoth? Not likely...

Additionally, everyone can say what the want, but honestly I believe that this year after substantial decline in interest that I can see an upswing in both series as they have fine-tuned distinct identities.

Maybe I'm just in denial, but I have a hard time b...

2006-09-15T20:10:05.616-07:00

Maybe I'm just in denial, but I have a hard time believing that we've reached maximum possible viewership for IndyCar. The NASCAR explosion shows that there are a ton of people out there who enjoy watching oval racing, and thus I just can't believe that the IndyCar product couldn't be far more successful. I've been to one NASCAR race and went with a truly open mind, but the experience was nothing compared to being at an IndyCar race. I realize that all fans don't have to like the same type of racing, but I have a hard time understanding why people who are already disposed to enjoy oval racing would be drawn to NASCAR by the hundreds of thousands, but only minimally drawn to IndyCar. I have to think that the NASCAR marketing machine is a huge factor in their success. Unfortunately, the IRL just doesn't seem to have that same expertise.

Great points, doode.Road courses vary a lot in fan...

2006-09-15T17:47:40.440-07:00

Great points, doode.
Road courses vary a lot in fan-friendliness. Tracks like Road America and to a lesser extent, Laguna Seca, don't have a lot of the track visible from any one point; they are strictly driver's courses. Others, like Portland, Cleveland and Sonoma were laid out so that nearly all of the course is visible from one point.
I agree: single-lane road courses are boring, but so are single-lane ovals.
As to engines: why is everyone so set on a standard engine? Cosworth may not be as capable of making a competitive engine as Honda, but that is just another form of competition. Everybody driving the same car is boring too, ya know.
Back in the old days of Indy, there were the Offenhausers, the stock-block V8s and other oddities, like the turbines.
And you are right about needing to promte the drivers. That has been completely ignored by George, Inc.
Of course, you need raw material to work with, and some drivers have it, like Danica et al, and some don't, like poor Sarah who, bless her heart, is about as plain-jane as you can get.
Need more PR and something to cheer about. Just merging is not going to make that happen.

Good points, and thanks for taking the time to tho...

2006-09-15T13:40:40.430-07:00

Good points, and thanks for taking the time to thoughtfully articulate them. I agree the marketing has always been less than desired, that the costs of supporting a team have become prohibitive, and that current TV Ratings may reflect this may indeed be the most viewership available to open-wheel racing in this Golden Age of NASCAR.

Where I will not agree is believeing that merging with a series featuring boring parade-style races with almost no American drivers that has to pay to have their races televised will change any of that mentioned above. Adding the baggage of Champ Car would seem to devalue what product remains rather than building upon what is worthwhile in the IRL.

If Champ Car had a huge TV contract, a bunch of major sponsors, exciting race tracks or even a few marketable drivers then it makes sense to merge. As it is, all they have Paul "Nacho Libre" Tracy fighting with faceless, helmeted drivers.

I've been waiting on the IndyCar Series to start m...

2006-09-15T12:53:28.760-07:00

I've been waiting on the IndyCar Series to start marketing since 1996. It occurs to me that, after ten years, the real issue is that the product isn't something the American public wants to see. It pains me to say that, but it seems more likely the case than to say "it's just bad marketing".

pressdog is right - the costs are completely out of whack. The best saying I saw was that open wheel racing wanted steak on a hamburger budget. ChampCar's new car makes better economic sense, but on the flip side, they dropped ovals and I suspect their prices are somewhat subsidized. Combined, that cuts damage costs to some degree (unless Alex Tagliani is driving your car).

Now, maybe if the IndyCar Series can keep Sam and Danica and Marco for their entire careers, that's a start. It's the next generation of drivers, who will beat Sam/Danica/Marco, who your hopes are on. The IndyCar Series can't afford to let drivers head anywhere.

As far as ovals/road courses, the problem is that the drivers that millions of people see on their local ovals... never end up at the Indy 500. The sole short-track driver in the IndyCar Series right now is Ed Carpenter.

I think the two will eventually have to merge or b...

2006-09-15T11:21:17.023-07:00

I think the two will eventually have to merge or become much smaller in stature than they are now. Sorry, but there it is. The Star is right that nither series can survive as they are now with just us hard-cores watching. If the two series stay apart, they have to become much more affordable for teams. The ROI for sponsors is just not there. Our mutual love for the IRL and open-wheel does not suspend the laws of economics. The DP01 car is a fabulous step toward affordability. You cannot deny Champ Car and Panoz props for developing a car that is as fast, as safe and 40% cheaper to run. The IRL doesn't seem to be doing any meaningful cost-cutting moves. I would at least like to see a common engine and chassis spec for both series so that the teams have the option of competing in each other's events, especially the 500. I also agree that street/road races will never, ever, ever fly as a mainstream racing series in the U.S. We're an oval people. Millions of people attend tracks around the country every Saturday night, many off them covered with dirt, and none of them are street courses. As things stand today, merging seems goofy. But things change. I think they have to change for open-wheel to survive and compete with NASCAR.

Very, very persuasive arguments. As a fairly new ...

2006-09-15T10:38:43.506-07:00

Very, very persuasive arguments. As a fairly new IndyCar fan (since 2004), I don't have strong opinions on the merger perhaps because I wasn't a fan and so I wasn't paying attention before the split. I think you are dead-on with your description of the typical IndyCar fan. What true IndyCar fan isn't a bit (or very) disappointed when the race of the week is a road course? I live in California and so I was sure to attend the only California event this season, Infineon, but my love of ovals prompted me to fly to Nashville in the ridiculously hot month of July just so that I could see one race on an oval this year. The louder and faster the better - and heck yeah, I want to see a lot of passing, and need to see the whole track! I agree with you that Tony George's time would be much better spent figuring out how to effectively market the IRL product and drivers. Every time I watch a race I am just dumbfounded that the awesomeness of IndyCar racing seems to be such a well-kept secret.

Dude--seriously. This is one of the best posts eve...

2006-09-15T10:38:41.930-07:00

Dude--seriously. This is one of the best posts ever. Excellent points.

You should also send it as a letter to Tony...and cut it down and submit as a Letter to the Editor of the Star...