The other day I started a long, very long, blog about how INDYCAR was dead. I haven't finished it yet because I have so many thoughts involved and have been busy. I wrote it in the middle of the week, following Detroit. Detroit was fairly interesting, but after Saturday's Texas race I'm pretty sure it's donezo.
The general consensus was this: Boring. Texas was a snooze fest. I'm re-watching it now, only to realize nothing is happening still. I don't know how one of the best oval races on the calendar turned into the biggest turd.
Sure there's a lot of passing, tire degradation, lapped-traffic, and different strategies. But there isn't a lot of "action". You know, the traditional 5 cars in a pack vying for the win at Texas. The old Sam Hornish battles of the early 2000's put Texas on the map. The big wrecks, the packs, the insane speed...it all made Texas the place to go. It made the IRL popular and put them slightly ahead of ChampCar on the charts. The 1.5 mile ovals, the pack racing, the fear of the "big one", and the edge of the seat action made the IRL win the war and brought all of the big names back from ChampCar. Penske, Ganassi, Andretti-Green, Rahal...if they stayed in ChampCar/CART there's probably no INDYCAR today. However, the sponsors and money talked. The most exciting open wheel racing we had seen in years, the tight competition, the mix of fast ovals and road races brought people to the series. The years 2002-2006 were probably the best years we had seen in INDYCAR.
Today many will argue the best competition is in there series. The series touts the fact that almost every race has a gap of about 1-2 seconds in qualifying. Extremely close, but extremely boring. I don't know what people expect, but close speeds have never translated to great racing.
The reason 2002-2005 was interesting in packs was the ability of the cars to run close together and be stable. This current car, the DW12, produces amazing drafting abilities but prevents close racing. This inevitably is safer for drivers, however safe has never translated into exciting.
Let's take the WWE for instance. We all know it's scripted, but yet it continues to bring fans in over and over. It's entertainment and entertainment puts butts in the seats. The NBA gets it, the NFL gets it, but INDYCAR is missing the boat.
Sports are Entertainment, Entertainment = Money.
Texas proved there was no entertainment. People looked bored, the racing was boring, and the day after even people who bragged and talked up last year's Boredom 550k were dogging on this one. Yesterday Robin Miller wrote about fixing the boring race, yet last year he was bragging about Firestone and INDYCAR finally putting the drivers back in charge of the car.
Let's face it, the package is broken. Don't blame INDYCAR for the dumb aero specs, you get what you get when you try to make things about equality. Equality is killing racing. Spec racing absolutely makes everything boring. There's no ingenuity, technology, or money pushing things to the limit. When the series limits the size of the wing, the wing angle, the fuel cell, the weight of the car, the horsepower, and everything you can imagine you get boring racing.
F1 has a growing fan base because of the technology and money behind the sport. North American companies pour millions into advertising in F1. Not because it's boring, which the races can be when Sebastian Vettel wins by 20000000000 minutes (that's an exaggeration but it feels like it sometimes). They pour money into the series because it keeps pushing the limits, it keeps going faster, it keeps building a package that the world watches. Millions of people watch F1 each weekend, thousands pour into the tracks, and celebrities and millionaires pack the paddock.
When INDYCAR was popular, think early-90's, we saw F1 stars and celebs packing Indy. Today we still see that, but it's not at the same level. It's B-Film Stars, not superstars. I remember one of the first Indy 500's I attended, Carmelo Anthony was a co-owner of two cars. Those cars, one being driven by P.J. Chesson, crashed into each other on Lap 1. Carmelo never returned as a car owner (and I haven't heard of him at a race since), but this past weekend he was enjoying his time at the Canadian Grand Prix. INDYCAR isn't courting money anymore, and it's not keeping fans happy. Truth is, I think INDYCAR is trying to kill it'self.
Texas proved all of that. Helio led by nearly 18 seconds at one point, something that should never happen on a 1.5 mile oval. The speeds ranged 190-215 each lap, creating really weird racing. I'd rather see 215-225 in speed differential, that would have at least created passing and a challenge.
Can INDYCAR fix itself? Probably not at this rate. Add to the boring racing an ongoing political reason to abandon the series. The Speedway, whose family owns both the Speedway and the series, recently was granted a 100 million dollar "loan" from the State of Indiana. That money comes from the Free and Reduced Lunch program in the State of Indiana and will affect thousands of young children around the state.
So let's ask ourselves the questions: Is INDYCAR really worth my money? Is the Speedway worth a face-lift while thousands of kids lose out? Are we supporting a series that supports us, or is the series out of touch?
If you ask me, I'm tired of supporting something that doesn't give a crap about me. They fired the one CEO who had the fans in mind. Randy Bernard might not have been perfect by any means, but the man loved the fans. He came and sat in my section at Indy every year he was CEO. He sat just feet from me and talked to everyone. He took pictures, talked racing, and most importantly just sat there and enjoyed the race. He made a point to join us as a fan. It was special, and something the series truly needed. But with his firing, the constant boredom, drivers seemingly more frustrated with the micromanagement of the series, and the overall lack of forward movement...I've got no reason to continue supporting them. It's broken, we're broken as fans, and I'm over it.
Look INDYCAR, it's not you..wait it is you. You're boring. Equality is not good for entertainment. Everyone loves the underdog to root for. Some people love to root against the underdog too. It's like gay marriage. If it was legal everywhere there'd be no movements or support. As long as it's illegal, you'll see people in throngs supporting it. INDYCAR needs that. Let's make it entertaining. Loosen up the rule book, let people bend the rules, let's cheat, and lets put out a package that people can't look away from. It's your choice, but I'm breaking up with you if you don't.
The general consensus was this: Boring. Texas was a snooze fest. I'm re-watching it now, only to realize nothing is happening still. I don't know how one of the best oval races on the calendar turned into the biggest turd.
Sure there's a lot of passing, tire degradation, lapped-traffic, and different strategies. But there isn't a lot of "action". You know, the traditional 5 cars in a pack vying for the win at Texas. The old Sam Hornish battles of the early 2000's put Texas on the map. The big wrecks, the packs, the insane speed...it all made Texas the place to go. It made the IRL popular and put them slightly ahead of ChampCar on the charts. The 1.5 mile ovals, the pack racing, the fear of the "big one", and the edge of the seat action made the IRL win the war and brought all of the big names back from ChampCar. Penske, Ganassi, Andretti-Green, Rahal...if they stayed in ChampCar/CART there's probably no INDYCAR today. However, the sponsors and money talked. The most exciting open wheel racing we had seen in years, the tight competition, the mix of fast ovals and road races brought people to the series. The years 2002-2006 were probably the best years we had seen in INDYCAR.
Today many will argue the best competition is in there series. The series touts the fact that almost every race has a gap of about 1-2 seconds in qualifying. Extremely close, but extremely boring. I don't know what people expect, but close speeds have never translated to great racing.
The reason 2002-2005 was interesting in packs was the ability of the cars to run close together and be stable. This current car, the DW12, produces amazing drafting abilities but prevents close racing. This inevitably is safer for drivers, however safe has never translated into exciting.
Let's take the WWE for instance. We all know it's scripted, but yet it continues to bring fans in over and over. It's entertainment and entertainment puts butts in the seats. The NBA gets it, the NFL gets it, but INDYCAR is missing the boat.
Sports are Entertainment, Entertainment = Money.
Texas proved there was no entertainment. People looked bored, the racing was boring, and the day after even people who bragged and talked up last year's Boredom 550k were dogging on this one. Yesterday Robin Miller wrote about fixing the boring race, yet last year he was bragging about Firestone and INDYCAR finally putting the drivers back in charge of the car.
Let's face it, the package is broken. Don't blame INDYCAR for the dumb aero specs, you get what you get when you try to make things about equality. Equality is killing racing. Spec racing absolutely makes everything boring. There's no ingenuity, technology, or money pushing things to the limit. When the series limits the size of the wing, the wing angle, the fuel cell, the weight of the car, the horsepower, and everything you can imagine you get boring racing.
F1 has a growing fan base because of the technology and money behind the sport. North American companies pour millions into advertising in F1. Not because it's boring, which the races can be when Sebastian Vettel wins by 20000000000 minutes (that's an exaggeration but it feels like it sometimes). They pour money into the series because it keeps pushing the limits, it keeps going faster, it keeps building a package that the world watches. Millions of people watch F1 each weekend, thousands pour into the tracks, and celebrities and millionaires pack the paddock.
When INDYCAR was popular, think early-90's, we saw F1 stars and celebs packing Indy. Today we still see that, but it's not at the same level. It's B-Film Stars, not superstars. I remember one of the first Indy 500's I attended, Carmelo Anthony was a co-owner of two cars. Those cars, one being driven by P.J. Chesson, crashed into each other on Lap 1. Carmelo never returned as a car owner (and I haven't heard of him at a race since), but this past weekend he was enjoying his time at the Canadian Grand Prix. INDYCAR isn't courting money anymore, and it's not keeping fans happy. Truth is, I think INDYCAR is trying to kill it'self.
Texas proved all of that. Helio led by nearly 18 seconds at one point, something that should never happen on a 1.5 mile oval. The speeds ranged 190-215 each lap, creating really weird racing. I'd rather see 215-225 in speed differential, that would have at least created passing and a challenge.
Can INDYCAR fix itself? Probably not at this rate. Add to the boring racing an ongoing political reason to abandon the series. The Speedway, whose family owns both the Speedway and the series, recently was granted a 100 million dollar "loan" from the State of Indiana. That money comes from the Free and Reduced Lunch program in the State of Indiana and will affect thousands of young children around the state.
So let's ask ourselves the questions: Is INDYCAR really worth my money? Is the Speedway worth a face-lift while thousands of kids lose out? Are we supporting a series that supports us, or is the series out of touch?
If you ask me, I'm tired of supporting something that doesn't give a crap about me. They fired the one CEO who had the fans in mind. Randy Bernard might not have been perfect by any means, but the man loved the fans. He came and sat in my section at Indy every year he was CEO. He sat just feet from me and talked to everyone. He took pictures, talked racing, and most importantly just sat there and enjoyed the race. He made a point to join us as a fan. It was special, and something the series truly needed. But with his firing, the constant boredom, drivers seemingly more frustrated with the micromanagement of the series, and the overall lack of forward movement...I've got no reason to continue supporting them. It's broken, we're broken as fans, and I'm over it.
Look INDYCAR, it's not you..wait it is you. You're boring. Equality is not good for entertainment. Everyone loves the underdog to root for. Some people love to root against the underdog too. It's like gay marriage. If it was legal everywhere there'd be no movements or support. As long as it's illegal, you'll see people in throngs supporting it. INDYCAR needs that. Let's make it entertaining. Loosen up the rule book, let people bend the rules, let's cheat, and lets put out a package that people can't look away from. It's your choice, but I'm breaking up with you if you don't.
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