Indycar Management One Step Behind

[ezhop7]

I've been a fan of open wheel racing especially Indycar and WOO since 1977, but it always seems that Indycar ....well open wheel racing organizations are always one step behind the Stock Car on several fronts:

The Edmondton race was really boring in fact the Helio rant was the only real highlight, No exposure for the Indy Lights....even Legends Cars get more exposure.....who are the new stars entering the sport....NASCAR is showcasing their future stars to a different market.

Changes I would like to see in Indycar:
1. If a caution (yellow flag) occurs during the last 20 laps then all cars on the lead lap will lineup accordingly on the restart P1,P2, P3, P4 and so forth ....lappers will be positioned behind lead lap cars. Makes the show more entertaining.

2. Change the blocking rule on airport tracks.....the circuit is 5 times as wide as Mid-ohio.

3. Their needs to be more open engineering in what team can tinker with when the new engine car combo comes online. Yes the rich wil always have the advantage(money buys speed etc.). Why only one transmission supplier.....just set the price of the tranny but not specify XTRAC as the sole supplier.

4. Why doesn't Indycar have a grassroot entry level program like the Legends...for $14k these guys go racing..... were at Charlotte a few weeks ago racing for $1M purse for one race. That's the entire season purse for Indy Lights.

5. The Indy Lights are a joke.....name 5 Indy Lights drivers without having to review the Indycar website for drivers names. The car owners don't hire these guys if they don't bring cash and in the past 5 years have any won on the Indycar circuit. Well I gets the series relieves on IZOD to promote.

6. NASCAR has a TV series starting 1 September on BET network to showcase it drivers in their Diversity Program.....wonder what Indycar is doing...might bring in more fans......

Well I'll continue to watch Indycar and hopefully Randy Bernard and Tony Cotman get this ship righted! But until then the so called Hillbillies are on Network TV and Indycar is relagated to Premium cable and Satellite TV.

[Chamoo]

5. The Indy Lights are a joke.....name 5 Indy Lights drivers without having to review the Indycar website for drivers names. The car owners don't hire these guys if they don't bring cash and in the past 5 years have any won on the Indycar circuit. Well I gets the series relieves on IZOD to promote.

1. James Hinchcliffe
2. Pippa Mann
3. Charlie Kimball
4. Philip Major
5. J.P. Vernay
6. Sebastien Saavedra

[Easy Drifter]

The Series does need to realize that an oval is not the same as an airport track and neither are the same as a street course and a road course is yet another different animal.
So adapt your rules and use of full course yellows to where you are running.
By the way I could name a dozen Outlaws quickly plus several All Stars and Pa. Posse drivers.

[vintage]

I could name 10 Indy Lights drivers, 5 Pro Mazda drivers, at least three F2000 drivers, 20 F1 drivers, a few GP2 drivers, a couple of GP3 drivers, a couple of F2 drivers, numerous drag racers, probably a bunch of sprint car drivers, sports car racers, rally drivers, DTM drivers, blah blah blah - so what?

[nigelred5]

I could name 10 Indy Lights drivers, 5 Pro Mazda drivers, at least three F2000 drivers, 20 F1 drivers, a few GP2 drivers, a couple of GP3 drivers, a couple of F2 drivers, numerous drag racers, probably a bunch of sprint car drivers, sports car racers, rally drivers, DTM drivers, blah blah blah - so what?


But could the AVERAGE Indycar fan do the same? Doubtful because the media coverage is horrible at best for lower series.



NASCAR is 100% about promoting the drivers and their personalities becasue they sure don't want to promote some of the racing going on over there these days.

[DBell]

But could the AVERAGE Indycar fan do the same? Doubtful because the media coverage is horrible at best for lower series.


That's a good point. My interest in IndyCar has dwindled to the point where I consider myself a casual fan. I don't watch all the races anymore and if I were to try to answer ezhop7's question #5, after Kimball and Hinchcliffe, I draw a complete blank.

[Hoop-98]

This makes a lot of sense. in reading blogs, message boards, op-eds, I have discovered that no one except fans know anything about anything.

rh

[garyshell]

This makes a lot of sense. in reading blogs, message boards, op-eds, I have discovered that no one except fans know anything about anything.

rh


Well of course. Just ask them. Duh. ;)

Gary

[bblocker68]

I know more GP2 driver names than Indy Lights......... :(

[SUBARUTEAM]

I've been a fan of open wheel racing especially Indycar and WOO since 1977, but it always seems that Indycar ....well open wheel racing organizations are always one step behind the Stock Car on several fronts:

The Edmondton race was really boring in fact the Helio rant was the only real highlight, No exposure for the Indy Lights....even Legends Cars get more exposure.....who are the new stars entering the sport....NASCAR is showcasing their future stars to a different market.

Changes I would like to see in Indycar:
1. If a caution (yellow flag) occurs during the last 20 laps then all cars on the lead lap will lineup accordingly on the restart P1,P2, P3, P4 and so forth ....lappers will be positioned behind lead lap cars. Makes the show more entertaining.

2. Change the blocking rule on airport tracks.....the circuit is 5 times as wide as Mid-ohio.

3. Their needs to be more open engineering in what team can tinker with when the new engine car combo comes online. Yes the rich wil always have the advantage(money buys speed etc.). Why only one transmission supplier.....just set the price of the tranny but not specify XTRAC as the sole supplier.

4. Why doesn't Indycar have a grassroot entry level program like the Legends...for $14k these guys go racing..... were at Charlotte a few weeks ago racing for $1M purse for one race. That's the entire season purse for Indy Lights.

5. The Indy Lights are a joke.....name 5 Indy Lights drivers without having to review the Indycar website for drivers names. The car owners don't hire these guys if they don't bring cash and in the past 5 years have any won on the Indycar circuit. Well I gets the series relieves on IZOD to promote.

6. NASCAR has a TV series starting 1 September on BET network to showcase it drivers in their Diversity Program.....wonder what Indycar is doing...might bring in more fans......

Well I'll continue to watch Indycar and hopefully Randy Bernard and Tony Cotman get this ship righted! But until then the so called Hillbillies are on Network TV and Indycar is relagated to Premium cable and Satellite TV.

Randy's been here for 5 minutes man. give him a chance. TG took years to get the sport to where it is and it will take Randy and co a couple of years to get it back to where it deserves to be.

[SoCalPVguy]

one step behind might be acceptable. ICS management is a mile behind.

[SUBARUTEAM]

one step behind might be acceptable. ICS management is a mile behind.

you think you can do a better job?

[anthonyvop]

you think you can do a better job?


Talk about a loaded question.

[Mark in Oshawa]

All these experts on here can do a better job....just ask them.

When of course they fail, then they will realize complex problems created over 15 years of stupidity don't get fixed with knee jerk answers.

Of course, that never stopped our crowd...

[SUBARUTEAM]

All these experts on here can do a better job....just ask them.

When of course they fail, then they will realize complex problems created over 15 years of stupidity don't get fixed with knee jerk answers.

Of course, that never stopped our crowd...

i agree man.

[SoCalPVguy]

you think you can do a better job?

Yes. But difficult as it was so far down the tubes to start with, the first thing I would do is get off of the Invisibilus network, er... versus. The second would be to drop Barney the officious deputy. Then cancel the Dallara contract, open it up to all comers on a performance spec basis both chassis and engine. Open up equivalency formulas for turbos, non turbo, diesel, 4 and 6 cyl. engines, open it up to all chassis incl. 'delta wing', implement plans to eventually become an alternative powered series with electric, hybrid, hydrogen fuels to reclaim the high tech mantel....

Whats your plan? Better ride buyers?

[garyshell]

Yes. But difficult as it was so far down the tubes to start with, the first thing I would do is get off of the Invisibilus network, er... versus. The second would be to drop Barney the officious deputy. Then cancel the Dallara contract, open it up to all comers on a performance spec basis both chassis and engine. Open up equivalency formulas for turbos, non turbo, diesel, 4 and 6 cyl. engines, open it up to all chassis incl. 'delta wing', implement plans to eventually become an alternative powered series with electric, hybrid, hydrogen fuels to reclaim the high tech mantel....

Whats your plan? Better ride buyers?

Nice try, but you forgot one MAJOR part of this. How do you propose to fund all of this? Got money tree growing in your back yard? Remember the sister have closed up the purse.

The manufacturers you want to open this up to have all said they want no part unless they have an exclusive contract because they can't afford the development cost to be written off over a small number of cars (i.e. total car count / number of manufacturers). You'll find the same issue with engine providers.

Getting off Versus means BUYING time on some other channel.

Oh and canceling two contracts means buying out both of them. More $$$.

Great ideas if you have a huge checkbook. Otherwise just a lot of empty talk.

Gary

[chuck34]

Nice try, but you forgot one MAJOR part of this. How do you propose to fund all of this? Got money tree growing in your back yard? Remember the sister have closed up the purse.

The manufacturers you want to open this up to have all said they want no part unless they have an exclusive contract because they can't afford the development cost to be written off over a small number of cars (i.e. total car count / number of manufacturers). You'll find the same issue with engine providers.

Getting off Versus means BUYING time on some other channel.

Oh and canceling two contracts means buying out both of them. More $$$.

Great ideas if you have a huge checkbook. Otherwise just a lot of empty talk.

Gary

I was gonna post a response to him, but you pretty well covered it. Good job! A complex situation to say the least.

[Mark in Oshawa]

It is amazing how the internet experts have all the answers....

Gary, nice rebuttal man...you are of course using logic...

[Hoop-98]

Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.
George Burns

Imagine how he would have felt about the internet.!
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