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Nov062012

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 08:07AM

November 7, 2012

The deal on IndyCar and Indy car racing in the U.S.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 11/6, 8:30 a.m.) Detroit. I've read all of the excellent commentaries by Robin Miller and Gordon Kirby (a link to his interview with Chip Ganassi and Bobby Rahal can be found at the end of this column). I enjoyed reading Nate Ryan's interesting and provocative piece about the idea of NASCAR buying IndyCar in order to save it in USA Today. I've seen a myriad of comments about the subject from the countless fans who have weighed in on the subject. And after all of that what do we have exactly?

To say that IndyCar and Indy car racing in the U.S. is at a crossroads is a glaring understatement. When you have just 200,000 television viewers tuning in for the finale of the 2012 season, that's not a ratings number, that's a flat-out embarrassment. The exit of Randy Bernard wasn't helpful in the least, and the way it was conducted was beyond amateurish, as Miller correctly pointed out. But there's a bigger issue going on here. And that is that Indy car racing - except for the Indianapolis 500 - doesn't even register on the media screens in this country. In fact it is an afterthought.

Chip Ganassi eloquently explains the owner's position perfectly: It's a business, and the ebb and flow of business rises and falls with the overall state of the economy. He doesn't cotton to all of the hand-wringing going on over the firing of Randy Bernard or "the sky is falling" cacophony emanating from IndyCar's fan base. And he has a point. I have no idea what it's like to have a huge number of employees dependent on every decision I make on behalf of my racing team. Or the endless sponsor searches (on second thought I do know a lot about that aspect of the business), and how you're constantly thinking, worrying and planning ahead about next year or the year after that. Ganassi, Penske, Andretti, Rahal and others are the ones keeping the series afloat, and they're to be commended for it.

But it isn't enough.

Competing in the IndyCar series is like racing in a vacuum. In your own little world things are pretty damn good. Properly funded teams, top-notch drivers, a decent schedule. The Indianapolis 500. It's all good. Except it isn't. There aren't enough people who care anymore. The hard-core fans remaining are agitated about what they perceive to be a mismanaged series. And the ousting of Randy Bernard brought everything to a head in a torrent of criticism and a lyrical opera of "I'm done with IndyCar." And for the owners to ignore the depth of that feeling or the message would be a serious mistake. IndyCar fans are tired of the NASCAR-ization of American racing. And the coming together of the ALMS and Grand-Am was just one more reminder that IndyCar is a third-rate property when it comes to racing in this country.

And if it continues along this path I don't just fear for the series, I fear for the sport itself.

What can be done? Bobby Rahal says that the marketing and promotion of the series is absolutely key. And he's right about that. In fact that's why Randy Bernard was hired, but instead he spent all of his time attempting to "fix" IndyCar's infrastructure, which is a recurring disaster. Yes, If Randy had had a Derrick Walker or Steve Horne riding herd on the racing aspect of the series he - and IndyCar - would have been much better off. But that's neither here nor there at this point.

The reality is that in order for IndyCar to start gaining viewing share in the sport and entertainment media world that exists today there will have to be a marketing, advertising and promotional campaign the likes of which has never been seen before in the sport.

Let me give you a hard example of what I'm talking about. In order to launch a new car in the automobile business (something I'm intimately familiar with) you'll need at least $75 million. If you're launching a completely new nameplate you'll need $50 million more. These numbers take into account everything: pre-launch activity, social media engagement, strategic marketing initiatives, the actual advertising, promotional support, PR, the entire gamut of orchestrated communication and engagement available.

So when I see Chip and Bobby commenting on the need to ramp up PR and promotion, I'm not really sure they understand just how tough a task is facing IndyCar at this moment in time. You can't go from NowhereVille to Media Darlings in an instant. It's not like assembling the right car, the right technical team, the right drivers and the right sponsors to go racing, which they know all about. This is about orchestrating and manipulating. And it's not about orchestrating and manipulating the average fan, it's about convincing the media giants in corporate America that IndyCar has more than a pulse and is worthy of consideration.

Right now the stewards of IndyCar - whoever they might be - have a mountain to climb. As far as I'm concerned they're starting out with just one thing: The Indianapolis 500. The team owners and drivers may scoff at that notion, but believe me from outside the bubble that's all IndyCar has. And they need to approach everything they do based on that reality. They might not like that assessment, but they have to step back from their deep financial commitments and fundamental love of the sport to realize that according to the media giants that matter - whether they are at the TV networks or the print media or the burgeoning social mediasphere of influence - IndyCar has fallen off of the radar screens completely.

Do I think that the powers that be at IndyCar will mount a properly funded marketing campaign in 2013? No. because they're all reading this and saying, "Yeah, right. Who's going to pay for that?"

But they better figure something out. And fast.

Because the longer they operate in their little vacuum, the longer they stay happily content in their little bubble, the closer they get to becoming inconsequential and irrelevant in the Big Picture of the sports and entertainment landscape in the U.S.

Do we really want to be talking about the Indianapolis 500 "Invitational" in five years? An event where IndyCar owners drag out their cars for one race and then go busy themselves with other racing-related activities the rest of the year? No.

But mark my words. IndyCar cannot continue down the path it's on, or that lurid pipe dream might just become reality.

(To read Gordon Kirby's interview of Chip Ganassi and Bobby Rahal, go here.)

(Phillip G. Abbot - INDYCAR/LAT Photo USA 2012)

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives and Wieck Media)
Indianapolis, Indiana, May 31, 1965. Parnelli Jones (No. 98 J.C. Agajanian Hurst Lotus-Ford) on his way to second place in the 1965 Indianapolis 500. Jim Clark (No. 82 Team Lotus Powered by Ford) would dominate the race for the win, and Mario Andretti (No. 12 Al Dean/Dean Van Lines Hawk-Ford) would finish third. Watch the video here.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.