Month of May and a loss of Momentum.

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Originally Posted by PTCrash3

Sorry, but without the best oval driver in either series in the mix it just doesn't hold any interest for me. It's just another IRL race.

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I wonder how many other BEST drivers are without a ride? Seem to me if he was a shoe in, someone would put his shoe in.

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Originally Posted by PTCrash3

Sorry, but without the best oval driver in either series in the mix it just doesn't hold any interest for me. It's just another IRL race.

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If it is just another IRL race to you, why do you care so much to post here? And as far as the best driver goes, I think PT's career is listed up for sale at the CC auction in June.

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Originally Posted by PTCrash3

I'm sorry but I just don't see the momentum you're talking about.

Same thing as the last ten years; empty grandstands.

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Oh I forgot, CC had so many full grandstands that they were forced to close down because they just couldn't deal with them. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Starter

Once again let me remind EVERYBODY posting in this thread that it is about the racing and not each other.

Suggesting that Indy should be two weeks long is a legitimate position to take and so is saying keep the month as is. Debate the merits of your take on it and keep the personalities and/or snide remarks out, please.

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OK, sorry for the outburst.

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Originally Posted by tamburello

I'm all for more coverage this side of the atlantic, but realistically the new era of unified open-wheel racing in the United States has more pressing issues closer to home than catering for a minority (of which I count myself a member) of European racing fans.

The new series only started in March. This year it's surely best to concentrate the publicity resources and opportunities on the home market, where the bread & butter of the AOWR is.

Next year, maybe we could expect more coverage. Until then, I'm happy to accept that since I'm not in the IndyCar series backyard/catchment area, I'm not likely to be high on their current priorities.

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WHAT? Are you SANE? (Well said.)

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Originally Posted by PTCrash3

I'm sorry but I just don't see the momentum you're talking about.

Same thing as the last ten years; empty grandstands.

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Well, let's compare this year's numbers to the last ten, then. Can you wait another ten days?

We are talking about the long-term format for this race, not just this year.

With only 3 months since the merger, the momentum is only just beginning for rebuilding the race and the series. It would be foolhardy to make long-term decisions based on such little data. Really, the results of next year's race will show if reunification is achieving its expected growth.

The model that worked before was 3 weekends. Changing that based on virtually no data is not just premature, but defeatist - meaning it could very well compromise growth.

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Originally Posted by Sandfly

The expense and waste of time sitting around is not justifiable. They are in the racing business - not the sitting around business. Two weeks max. Lose the wasted time in the middle. That is all it deserves. Teams have been saying that since the 80's.

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All the extra sponsors, teams, drivers, etc. say that the expense and time are worth it. Those are business decisions made by the business people you are referring to.

This isnt an anti IRL thread, its about the loss of monmentum. The rain hasn't helped much, it rains nearly every year though. A race three weeks before would help quell some of these momentum worries, and form a business point of view, you need your product up front and in your customers faces as much as possible.

Example how many adds show the 500 right now. I haven't seen one, but I live in the UK. Is it being heavily promoted in the US, CAnada, Brazil. With the huge contingent of Brazillian drivers it should be. With Australia and New Zealand drivers on the frony row you would expect coverage to be good there to. In fact any country with a driver should be promoting the race.

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Originally Posted by MAX_THRUST

With Australia and New Zealand drivers on the frony row you would expect coverage to be good there to.

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If only....






(you'd have to ask a kiwi about coverage across the ditch, mine's an Aussie perspective)

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Originally Posted by MAX_THRUST

Example how many adds show the 500 right now. I haven't seen one, but I live in the UK.

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With the exception of Mansell's time in AOWR, the 500 has never had any pre-race coverage in the UK on terrestrial, free-to-air TV.

Here in the Atlanta area, there has been no discernible difference in the coverage from last year to this year. No real surprise as this is Cab country. I'll take Gary's word that it's up in Cincy and it makes sense the first places to feel an effect of the merge would be places regionally around Indy.

It'll take years for it to get back to pre split attention, if it ever does.