Counting your blessings... even after a fire

Thankfully nobody was injured in the fire that ravaged the Penske hauler this morning. For those who did not hear, go to www.indycar.com or www.penskeracing.com for the details. What is amazing is that they were able to get the tractor unhooked and to safety.
Hats off to the drivers and good luck to the boys this weekend. Let's get another 1-2 finish!

FINALLY! Expanded coverage and new hope for IndyCar media

It is now official: Versus network will cover at least 13 races for the IndyCar Series in 2009, with expanded coverage and qualification coverage.

THE FANS HAVE WON!!! No more of the 'wham bam, thank you viewer' coverage!

A 12-step program for IndyCar addicts

OKAY: THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN... but since I am in a recovery program, I can relate with the real 12-step program, and yes, I am addicted to IndyCar.
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A 12-step recovery program for IndyCar addicts

1. We admit we are powerless over our addiction to wheel-to-wheel action

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves put this obsession in us for high-speed action

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of as many races as possible

4. Learned a complete team inventory for our self knowledge of the sport

5. Admitted to ourselves and to another fan the nature of obsession

6. Were entirely ready to have our fellow fan cheer in our ears

7.Humbly asked our family to forgive us for missing holidays and reunions to watch races

8. Made a list of all persons we wanted to meet that are affiliated with the league

9.Made direct amends to our wife or husband for forgetting your anniversary but remembering the date of the Indy 500

10.Continued to take personal every time our driver got wrecked out of the race by Marco Andretti

11.Sought through meditation and beer drinking to improve our conscious knowledge of the series, down to what a 'wicker bill' is

12.Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of the IndyCar Series, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

Oh Yeah... it was the track...

Inconceivable... Inconceivable.
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has recently come under fire for the Nascar Event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Without too much detail, Goodyear failed to provide a tire that stood up to the new Nascar and the track demands. So, what does Goodyear do? Blame the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!

It all started in the spring when Goodyear conducted their tire test at IMS. During the test, they determined the tire could only handle about 8 to 15 laps before shredding and destroying equipment. So, in an effort to prevent this problem from coming up in July at the race, they did.... NOTHING. THAT'S RIGHT! NOTHING!

Besides the race being a total waste of time, fans were mad, teams were mad, drivers mad, everyone mad. Why would Goodyear bring a tire they knew was a problem when they know the track was not going to be repaved or changed for them? Other than believing the conditions would change with the progression of the event, the only other reason is complacency. Fortunately there were no injuries from accidents, but there was also no competition or excitement.

This event should be a lesson. The fans got screwed. The drivers got screwed. Goodyear didn't seem to care. When the 'rubber met the road' they fell short. Instead of owning the problem and working for a solution, they passed the buck to a track that hosts the most famous races in history on the fastest track and most historical venue. Al Unser Sr and the IMS and contracting staff reconstructed a fantastic racing surface, and if Goodyear cannot get it figured out, then they need to be taken down a peg and sent back to the drawing board.

Long live the Indianapolis Motor Speedway... and long fix the Goodyear problem.

A new schedule for IndyCar... is this a paradigm shift?

I will admit, I don't like 'right-turn' racing. Street and road courses are not my thing. I don't like slow racing on any level, and on a road course the average speed teeters around 110mph. I am in the minority here, so I will not really go any further on that. I will just say that I really prefer ovals over road courses and street courses.

The IndyCar Series announced the 2009 schedule today. Not a lot of shocking revelations because we knew what was coming. I will say however that I would have preferred to see some events on the schedule change and some different ones chosen. Like Iowa. I don't hate Iowa Speedway, but I don't like going to Iowa then to Richmond immediately afterward. They are too similar. I also think that we need to look at other tracks that are bigger like Daytona's road course or California. There are only 2 courses on the west coast (and Edmonton) and although I live in the Ohio Valley, we are screwing those people out of races by not going west.

Several circuits are very similar. Texas, Chicago, Kentucky and Homestead are similar racing. Not all the same distance, but similar in speed, competition, difficulty, etc. At least the road/street courses really force diversity. Obviously we cannot get another Indy track to the schedule as we cannot run at Daytona or Pocono, but what about Charlotte? There are other track options that should be considered.

So now the schedule is out. Which races will I go to? Indy, Kentucky, and maybe Mid-Ohio. Outside of that, don't know. With the poor media coverage, I may travel and watch more races to make up for not getting good programming on TV.

How the media covers auto racing

Frustrating… Nothing more than frustrating.
Here we are in the age of television. I personally have over 240 channels at my immediate disposal with my satellite package, and can subscribe to hundreds more. I know that I have loved having my new HD package to go with my TV my wife bought me, and there is nothing better than watching my racing in HD. I would rather watch a bad race in HD than a good movie in standard digital any day. HOWEVER, I am finding myself making time to watch the movie instead of the race. Why? Poor coverage.
This last weekend the IndyCar Series was in Edmonton, Alberta. This is not one of my favorite races because the cars make right turns and drive the course in a ‘clockwise’ fashion. I really don’t like road courses or street courses, but they are here to stay so I have to deal with them. So, I turned on the TV at 5pm when the advertised coverage was set to begin, only to find they were in the cars and getting ready to go. No interviews. No talk about last week. No talk about Paul Tracy making his return. Nothing. Just a ‘start your engines and lets get this thing over with now so we can get to the Nascar race at 7:30. Even after the race, they barely make time to interview the winner and then rush off to another program. Why? Because there is no other channels on the dial to cover the other events coming up. HOGWASH!
I am not a fan of Nascar, but they get it. They have program after program that runs on both sides of the race, conducting interviews, re-hashing last week and getting the fan in the mood for what is about to take place. They have Raceday on Speed, Countdown to Green, etc and so on that makes it very clear that there is a piece of the event that needs to be covered: the human interest piece. After the race there are more shows, and they typically interview the top 5 and then some. Even during the race they cover the ones who wreck and the crew chiefs and get you involved with the personal side of it. And then, they cover all the practice and qualifications too.
I purchased XM radio for the sole reason to listen to races and auto racing programming while I am on the road 4 hours a day and nearly every weekend during the summer. I thought , ‘Surely they will have more than the race on the IndyCar channel’. But they don’t. In fact, the channel doesn’t even play the race. It is broadcast on another channel. They only have 1 program during the week for the series, the Andretti Green Racing Hour. That’s it. No more, and probably would do less if they didn’t have strategic partnership in place. I am considering canceling my membership because I can play CD’s and be more entertained.
I sat and thought about the reasoning behind this whole lack of coverage and only came to one conclusion. The reason I believe things are poorly covered is that they don’t think it would be advantageous to cover the event any more than they do. Well, that is pure crap. The IndyCar series may have less viewer-ship, but they have a more loyal viewing audience. They also show growth in all applicable markets and sectors that they broadcast and advertise. What the entire reason comes down to is league salesmanship. Tony George and the ICS have not done enough to sell the series. Hiring Gene Simmons and his cronies to create ‘I am Indy’ is a joke. How can you be ‘Indy’ when you have taken even that one premier race and shrunk the pre-race to 31 minutes? Why can’t you take some of that money you use for stupid little things and buy another half-hour on each side for the fan?
What am I saying? Simply put, get off your wallet and ego series team members and think about the fans. The rising cost of travel is not the entire reason for people not going to the race. Most people don’t go because it is becoming a ‘race only, no other exciting things to do’ event. The only race with enough fun for the whole family is Indianapolis, and that is even falling away.
Please, IndyCar Series officials and marketing staff, take care of your fan and give them more and better coverage that draws people in and makes them a part of the festivity.