2014 IndyCar Season Discussion

[Fisha695]

I really wish that the series would release attendance numbers but the word on the street is that outside of the Indy 500 every Street-Circuit outdraws any oval that the series runs on.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Belskus: IndyCar is not for sale
October 01, 2012
In a statement, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has refuted a story published today by the Sports Business Journal claiming that former IMS and IndyCar chief Tony George and a group of team owners are developing a proposal to purchase IndyCar.

The statement, attributed to Jeff Belskus, president and CEO of Hulman & Company and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – which serve as the parent companies of IndyCar – reads as follows:

“The IZOD IndyCar Series is not for sale, and representatives from Hulman & Company and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation have not received or considered any offers to purchase the series. Further, executive management from both Hulman & Company and IMSC maintain continuous and open dialogue with INDYCAR team owners about numerous issues related to the IZOD IndyCar Series, and no INDYCAR team owner formally or informally approached either organization about purchasing the IZOD IndyCar Series.

“Both Hulman & Company and IMSC remain committed to working with the IZOD IndyCar Series and its partners as they prepare for the 2013 season and beyond. The racing in 2012 showcased great competition on track and added to the foundation for growing the series. The just-announced 2013 schedule includes several new twists that could make the racing even more exciting. The combination of the return of nearly all the 2012 venues, including all the ovals, the addition of new tracks and the revival of the Triple Crown award make this one of the most exciting schedules in recent memory."
RACER.com

 

[AfterForever00]

I like seeing the broadcasting somewhat consistent. You know, first NBC then ABC then ABC...makes much more sense than last year's mess. Albeit I hate ABC's coverage: no qualifying really?? -_____-

 

[celticfang]

Indycar should stay owned as is. It may get drided as CART 2.0, but if the teams/TG get it it is pretty much finished and back to square one again

 

[MattSRD28]

Indycar should stay owned as is. It may get drided as CART 2.0, but if the teams/TG get it it is pretty much finished and back to square one again

Who wants to make the argument that what the current ownership is doing is good for Indycar racing, and improving/widening the fan base?

 

[dalejrgamer]

Compared to Tony George, at least Bernard's not stuck in 1996.

 

[MillsLayne]

I really wish that the series would release attendance numbers but the word on the street is that outside of the Indy 500 every Street-Circuit outdraws any oval that the series runs on.

But you have to remember tv ratings are generally more important for ad revenue, which brings in more money. So yeah, the attendance might be alright, but who's watching on tv?

 

[Fisha695]

Ok so using a combo of advertised 2013 distances, distances from the 2012 season & the distance of the 2007 Houston race I've come to the following mileage for 2013.

Ovals = 2,186
Street = 1,550
Road = 602
Street + Road = 2,152

So the majority of the season (by 34mi) is still being ran on Ovals when done by mileage.

 

[MattSRD28]

Ok so using a combo of advertised 2013 distances, distances from the 2012 season & the distance of the 2007 Houston race I've come to the following mileage for 2013.

Ovals = 2,186
Street = 1,550
Road = 602
Street + Road = 2,152

So the majority of the season (by 34mi) is still being ran on Ovals when done by mileage.

Comparing mileage between ovals and road/street courses is about as productive as comparing the top speed of a Lamborghini to that of an overweight big rig truck.

Oval tracks provide for a much higher average speed than road/street courses. If an oval race was the same distance as a street course race, it would be over in 30 minutes. Each type of race is setup so the race takes a certain amount of time to complete, which ideally is roughly equal, though road/street courses are still a bit shorter because of oval races' delays for cautions and more pit stops. Nevertheless the schedulers still try to keep them relatively even, which of course leads to oval races having a lot longer distance than a road/street course race.

Same logic is behind why New Hampshire Cup races are only 300 miles, Nascar short track races are 250 miles or less, road course races are of an even shorter distance, while big oval track races are 400-600 miles. Someone somewhere decided races should be about 3 hours long - same as most other professional sporting events. Distance = rate of speed * amount of time. If amount of time remains constant but rate of speed increases, for the equation to remain in balance either distance must increase or time must decrease. Time's not allowed to decrease, so distance increases.

The real comparison between ovals and road/street courses has to be frequency of type of event on the schedule. 2013 will see an increase in favor of road/street course 3 to 1 over ovals, and could be as high as 7 to 1 if all four road/street course doubleheaders are officially added.

That's why I nearly had a spittake when I read Bernard's quote about wanting to increase oval racing on the schedule. It was a hilarious direct contradiction. If all the doubleheaders are added next year, Bernard could add one oval race per year and it would still take until 2020 just to get back to the same ratio the 2012 schedule had.

 

[dalejrgamer]

City of Detroit is heading one step closer to beautifying itself (which would take 3000 years to do) by repaving Belle Isle's roads so that the debacle that screwed James Hinchcliffe over will not happen again.

Oh, and they're bringing back the old CART layout.

Bernard's trying to get in touch with whoever owns the Mugello Circuit so IndyCar can stop there this year:
INDYCAR: Series Talking With Mugello Circuit About 2013 Date

 

[celticfang]

Ferrari own Mugello. In 1987 Ferrari built and tested an Indycar to saber rattle the FIA at the time into giving them what they want. Ferrari engines in Indy or a Ferrari Indy team? Yes please!

Detroit trying to redeem itself? Wake me when hell freezes over, that won't ever, ever happen. Detroit's a hellhole. It'll always be one.

 

[Fisha695]

I'd actually like to see them go to Qatar, not for the layout of the track but for the sole purpose of giving Indycar their own nightime roadcourse event.

 

[ShadowKnight508]

Update on Belle Isle getting a major facelift and configuration change for 2013 Indycar Season (credit to ESPN):

DETROIT -- It's October in Detroit, so the unofficial state flower -- the construction barrel -- is still in full bloom.

It was definitely true on Belle Isle, where workers were pouring and smoothing asphalt on Tuesday -- a beautiful sight for a group of IndyCar drivers.

"This is great," said new series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay. "I'm really excited to see the way this place is getting fixed."

In June, the IndyCar series returned to Belle Isle, only to have the Detroit Grand Prix shortened when the track began to fall apart. Even after a two-hour red flag to fill holes and replace long strips of synthetic rubber, the drivers were only able to complete 60 of the scheduled 90 laps.

For many races, that would have been the end of their affiliation with the series, but when it is Roger Penske's baby, things are different. Not only will the tour come back to Belle Isle in June, it will do so for a doubleheader -- a 70-lap race on Saturday and 70 more laps on Sunday.

"This is a huge event for the city of Detroit," said Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker. "Not only are we going to have a better track, thanks to millions of dollars in repairs and upgrades, we're going to have a bigger track with the expansion from 2.1 miles to 2.35 miles. And to celebrate that, we're going to be the host of the first IndyCar doubleheader -- what we're calling the `Dual in Detroit."

The track is going to return to a configuration used in 2000-01, adding a half-mile straightaway through the tree-lined center of the island.

 

[celticfang]

Pretty much he old CART layout. Which was a decent track

 

[Pabig]

They used Picnic Way this year, right?

 

[dalejrgamer]

Like every time the IRL visits Detroit, yeah.

 

[MattSRD28]

Detroit trying to redeem itself? Wake me when hell freezes over, that won't ever, ever happen. Detroit's a hellhole. It'll always be one.

Even though it is a bit like Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the hill only to watch it fall down again, and having to push it back up the hill over & over...imagine what would happen if no efforts to redeem itself were being made.

 

[celticfang]

It'd be just as bad then

 

[dalejrgamer]

Sources: Tony George-Led Group Submits Offer To Hulman & Co. For IndyCar Series - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global

"Tony George will do a better job than Randy Bernard in fixing the IndyCar Series," said no one ever.

 

[Orian Thompson]

Tony George ruined American Open Wheel Racing.

Said everyone ever.