Indy 500 Media Event & Interview with Takuma Sato

Yesterday, the IZOD IndyCar series drivers spread out across the US to promote the Indianapolis 500 in various key markets. Lucky for me, Takuma Sato was in Houston promoting the 500 as well as the Grand Prix of Houston that will be October 4-6 at Reliant Park. Takuma drives for AJ Foyt Racing which is located just outside of Houston, so the GPoH will be the team’s hometown race.

Credit Ross Bynum & Queers4Gears.com

The media and fan event took place at Reliant Park in front of Reliant Arena…the site of the start/finish line of the race. Strangely enough, the old start/finish line from the Champ Car days and faded “Champ Car” paint are clearly visible on the concrete. In the distance, the concrete barriers that will make up the walls of the track line the perimeter of the parking lot. Some barriers still had the names of former Champ Car drivers that participated in the final event in 2007 like Neel Jani, Alex Figge, and Ryan Dalziel.

MSR Houston, the road and karting tracks located south of Houston near Angleton, had setup a karting track and had karts on hand. Fans were able to race, and local media, including yours truly, were pitted against Takuma in one final kart race. Who won?

I did of course! I almost lapped everyone in 5 laps. Ok, so it wasn’t necessarily a fair fight. Takuma started in the back. I started up front. But hey, I have the bragging rights, right?

It was a great event, and I also had the chance to chat with Takuma for a few minutes. Here’s the interview:

RB: So, after last year, what’s your strategy going into the 500? Is it still “attack”?

TS: Yes, of course, any circumstance…if there’s any chance you should challenge it. Having had the experience last year, I know what you need to get to the last lap and the environment to get the team leading the race. This has been much more…comfortable…day by day in practice. Obviously, we were a little bit disappointed in the qualifying speed, but the race is a completely different scenario. There’s nothing to worry about.

RB: How has it been having Conor Daly as a teammate? Have you worked together or have you spent more time helping him?

TS: Either way really…we had to help him up after the spin and get him quality data. Having a teammate is very helpful. You don’t have to go through all the test program…we can split the program. He is coming up to speed very quickly and I can trust his data. It’s been nice to work with him.

Credit Ross Bynum & Queers4Gears.com

RB: How important is the momentum that you have heading into Indy?

TS: It helps. It is important to help the team’s motivation and keep it high. But, everything has to be reset…it’s a clean sheet of paper. Obviously the Indy 500 is a very different situation from the last 4 events. So, the team is working together…it’s a very tight group…it’s based on trust and ability…there’s no reason to believe we can’t do the same on the ovals too. To me, it is very important to carry the excitement and momentum into the 500.

RB: When the boost was upped for qualifying, the Chevy’s had an advantage. Do you believe when the boost is lowered it will be evened out? It’s been difficult to discern from practice times up to this point.

TS: We will see. It seems like the trend is similar to last year. With the higher boost, it seems they (Chevy) had little tip on that. This year the increase in speed from both manufactures has been huge. We both really developed and are competing at the highest level. As you said, Chevy was strong during qualifying but in the race hopefully we are strong.

RB: After the Brazil incident, do you feel like, in the 500, the series may be keeping a closer eye on you?

TS: [Laughs] Why would they?

RB: You never know…there were a lot of people that were very vocal about the situation…

TS: It was only really a couple of drivers…did you see the race?

RB: Yes…great race…

TS: That’s it. That’s the racing for me. Ok, you shouldn’t block, but you should be able to defend. What’s difficult to see is the Brazil backstraight is meandering…it’s difficult to see. It was hard…obviously everyone was trying to win the race…it was hard racing. I gave room for the braking. I had no contact during the course of the race. I don’t think I did anything wrong. A couple of years ago, in IndyCar you weren’t really allowed to do any defending either so to that point…it looked extreme. But, to me this is proper racing. Everybody really enjoyed it. I know there were a couple of drivers that weren’t happy about it, but that’s just racing. Having said that, ovals are a lot different and it’s about respect. You don’t want to have too close racing because there are some risky parts. We drive ovals in a different style. For sure, as you saw last year, it’s going to be very exciting for the 500.

Ross (@therossbynum)

IndyCar: Aerokits…Ugly Duckling to Swan?

When the IndyCar ICONIC committee reviewed proposals from Dallara, Swift, Lola, and DeltaWing for the new IndyCar chassis, they were presented with a very intriguing idea from Dallara. They proposed a chassis with specific aero components that could be independently designed and applied to the chassis skeleton. Therefore, 1 chassis would be needed, but multiple “aero-kits”, as they’ve been referred to, could be utilized. In theory, engine manufacturers like Honda and Chevy could design unique kits for their cars. Corporations like Boeing, or even Wal-Mart if they wanted to could design, engineer, and sale aero-kits to teams. A large swath of IndyCar fans would get something they wanted desperately…differentiated looking cars. Now, in its second year, the DW12 still races with only the factory Dallara aero-kit available. What happened?

Credit IndyCar.com

Unfortunately, IndyCar team owners complained that the new chassis/engine combo was more expensive to maintain and race and they couldn’t afford the additional cost of aero-kits. Fair enough, but there was no set-in-stone agreement that if an aero-kit were offered other than the Dallara kit that you had to buy it. Can’t afford it? Don’t buy it. Many IndyCar fans, including myself, were quite peeved to hear the aero-kits would be delayed indefinitely.

The need for different looking cars has never been that important to me. The main issue is the Dallara aero-kit is so offensive to look at. I always maintained hope that a new kit by another company would at least look better. That’s all I really hoped for…nothing radical, but something not offensive. I get it though. Money is hard to come by these days and the racing is great. No arguments there. But, could this chassis end up helping IndyCar teams save money in the future?

IndyCar teams are struggling for sponsorship money and finding it hard to make ends meet. Meanwhile, in a quickly evolving world, old designs of anything wear quickly and often need freshening more often than in previous decades. Now, automobile manufacturers churn out redesigns of their products faster than ever due to the intense competition in the marketplace. And, let’s face it, we seem to have much shorter attention spans and love affairs with things than we used to. In a few years, IndyCar fans will be clamoring for the “next car”. Can IndyCar teams afford to buy new equipment every 5 years or so? No, they can’t. This is where the ugly-duckling Dallara comes in.

Credit IndyCar.com

The ability to engineer aero pieces for certain parts of the chassis to create a unique look can be used to, cheaply, update the chassis and keep it fresh. Maybe that wasn’t the original intention, but it could work. Would you rather spend $30,000 on an aero kit or $300,000 on a new chassis? It’s like giving your house a fresh coat of paint, doing some landscaping, and replacing some worn out trim instead of knocking the whole thing down and starting over. Just introduce a couple of new aero kits every year or so and, viola, you have a fresh IndyCar. Plus, it still allows the competition and differentiation aspect that was originally intended. On top of that, keeping a chassis for a longer period of time allows new or smaller teams to enter the series later in the life-cycle of the chassis through purchase of equipment from teams that may have come and gone or just needed to jettison some redundant items. It opens up more opportunity to have more than 33 entries for the Indy 500 (hello Bump Day!) and for event one-offs for up and coming drivers. Maybe a new aero-kit is released, a big team purchases it, and they have old kits they need to sell. This is a perfect opportunity for a small or new team to pick up some equipment at a discount price.

Credit IndyCar.com

No matter what happens, IndyCar just needs to piss or get off the pot about the kits. It was mentioned today that IndyCar is pondering committing to the kits, but only at the 3 superspeedway events next year. This is due to the fact that Honda doesn’t have a high-downforce kit ready. I say tough tits Honda. Your teams can use the Dallara kits if you don’t have one for the road courses. All I hope is that the new kits are more attractive. The DW12 needs a makeover already. She has an amazing personality, but she sure ain’t pretty. Come on IndyCar, allow some smart folks to turn this ugly duckling into a swan. Oh, and the kits may be the money saving savior you’ve been looking for.

Ross (@therossbynum)

Gaynalysis: IndyCar Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

I did not get to watch the race live this week or keep up with everything as I normally do. I was visiting the better-half’s parents place in the middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma. Cell phone reception was non-existent for a 30+ mile radius. However, I did get to watch a recorded version of the race yesterday.

Open-wheel racing at Long Beach is just great. Period. It is the epitome of what embodies the allure of street racing. Gorgeous facility? Check. Festival atmosphere? Check. Great people watching? Check. Action-packed racing? Check. Street racing simply doesn’t get any better. The 2013 race certainly didn’t disappoint in any of these regards.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

Takuma Sato won. Yes, that’s not a typo. Sato won. He won driving for AJ Foyt Racing. Also, that’s not a typo. I predicted before the start of the season that the Japan meets SuperTex matchup could be a disaster or an odd match made in heaven. It looks like the odd couple has hit it off quite well. Everyone has been very critical of Sato, myself included, because he has a past history of crashing…a lot. He’s been very fast at times, but he just couldn’t close the deal. I’m glad to see he finally won. And it was a legit win. No fuel saving or weird strategy. Sato and the Foyt crew won because they were fast. Sato is a super nice guy, and the whole Foyt crew deserved a win. (Quick stats: Sato is 2^nd in points, and his average starting position is 6^th, which is 4^th highest of all full-time competitors behind Power, Hunter-Reay, and Castroneves)

Speaking of deserving a win, can I just say the ABC Supply folks are great. I had the pleasure of meeting some company execs at a recent Grand Prix of Houston Pit Party. Not only were the Wisconsin natives nice as can be (I love me some Wisconsin…I lived in Sheboygan during a stint as an intern for Kohler), they raved about their employees, AJ Foyt Racing, and IndyCar. Some companies treat their employees like disposable napkins. That’s not the case with ABC Supply. The guys essentially said (I’m paraphrasing here), “We don’t sponsor the car because we are trying to sell more products. We don’t really sell to the general public like a Home Depot or Lowe’s. We sponsor the car for our employees, to reward them and to treat them.” At most races a nice chunk of filled seats can be credited to the good folks at ABC Supply. IndyCar needs more sponsors like them (partially because they aren’t really concerned with how many people are watching on tv…which is not many). It’s easy to root for good people.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

After 2 dismal races that left him dead-last in the points, Dario Franchitti started from the pole. It’s quite shocking to think that Dario hasn’t won a race since the Indy 500 last year. He wrecked himself at St. Petersburg and had a mechanical gremlin take him out at Barber. The odd thing is that he hasn’t been at the top of the speed charts though. At the end of the race, Franchitti ended up 4^th. After 2 dismal weekends, that had to feel like a win.

I have to applaud IndyCar for adjusting race lengths slightly this year to discourage fuel-saving from the start of the race. I think we’ve seen much more aggressive driving from the start since teams haven’t been screaming, “SAVE FUEL!” from the drop of the green. Beaux Barfield and his associated posse deserve a pat on the back. And, I must toot my own horn; I thought altering race lengths to discourage fuel saving from the start would increase viewer pleasure a long time ago. I was right. *Toot Toot*

Over the course of the weekend, there were more nose-jobs performed at the track than in a Beverly Hills plastic surgery office. Dallara certainly had a fat check to take to the bank on Monday. Racing on a tight street course normally sees its fair share of shredded carbon fiber, but this weekend there seemed to be an abnormally high number of brain farts resulting in flapping wings and dented egos.

Speaking of dented egos, Sebastian Saavedra had a rough weekend. Not only was he slow, he made a ridiculously amateur move during practice after a slide into the runoff area of T1. After spinning his car around, he got back on track but was too hot on the go-pedal and stuffed the nose of his TrueCar machine into the wall on a straight. Ouch. Then, near the start of the race, he made an overly aggressive move on Simona de Silvestro, carried too much speed through the corner, and crunched another nose into the tire barriers. Saavedra had been impressive in qualifying at the first 2 events, but after 3 races, he is last of the full-time racers in points.

After a heroic and impressive weekend at Barber, Charlie Kimball had a reality check of a race. First, while battling with Alex Tagliani, he carried too much speed into the corner, his car didn’t turn, he banged into Tags, and put them both nose first into the tire barriers. Later in the race, while a lap down but between the leader and 2^nd place on a restart, Charlie raced too hard into turn 1 in an attempt to get his lap back but found himself stuffed in the tires again. He then had to shamefully drag a banner around the track on his way to the pits for nose-job #2. This is a testament in how fast you can go from a hero to a zero.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

I was very impressed with Mike Conway. His 25^th place finish is not indicative of his performance over the course of the weekend. Mike has been very strong at Long Beach in the past, and it is the site of his first and only IndyCar series victory (2011). After stepping out of his AJ Foyt ride at the finale in Fontana last year when he decided he didn’t want to race ovals anymore, I thought we’d never see or hear from the guy again. I was wrong, and he was fast. This was only a 1-race deal with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, but I hope we see more of Conway on the road and street courses.

Next up, IndyCar makes its usual trek to the streets of Sao Paolo. This race is typically more suited to boats, but this weekend’s forecast looks surprisingly dry. I’m not sure who had the bright idea of scheduling a race during rainy season, but I’m not the one making the decisions. I’m just happy there’s a sponsor willing to pay for a race and thousands of fans willing to buy a ticket and cheer on the Brazilians. Oh, and what’s after Brazil? INDY! I know I’ve complained about people being like “Is it May yet?” since before St. Pete, but Indy really is amazing. I can’t wait.

Ross (@therossbynum)

IndyCar: Television Ratings #1 Issue Facing the Sport

Reader Warning: Please remove any rose-colored glasses before reading.

IndyCar television ratings suck. Let’s be honest. Yes, most fans are fully aware of this, but I want you to really let that sink in. IndyCar ratings have struggled for years now, but they have certainly taken a plunge since the series switched to Versus, now NBC Sports Network, 5 years ago. Let’s take a look at some cold, hard facts.

The 2013 season opening race at St. Petersburg saw 388,000 sets tuned in. The least populated state in the United States, Wyoming, has just over 576,000 inhabitants. So, fewer people than the least populated state in the US watched the race in St. Petersburg. Or, it’s as if every person in Wichita, KS tuned in, but nobody else in the US did. IndyCar is further off the radar screen when it’s on NBCSN than a North Korean rocket trying to hit a target. Abysmal.

Through my research and digging through news and press releases on-line over the years, I’ve found that in 2009, when IndyCar switched over to Versus, average viewership was 315,000. This represented a 59.5% drop from 2008 when ESPN/ESPN2 coverage averaged 778,000 viewers (still shitty). In 2010 the number increased 16% to 366,000. 2011 saw a 10% increase over 2010 to 402,000 average viewers. In 2012, the numbers tumbled to 292,000 average viewers, lower than the first year on Versus, a 37% drop from 2011. Last year even viewership on ABC was down 17% from 2011. Through 2 races this year viewership is up 13% to 328,000. Amazing…viewership is barely over what it was in 2009, the first year Versus/NBCSN broadcast IndyCar. Some people are calling that progress. I don’t think so. That’s terrible!

IndyCar Average Viewership 2009-2012

In the world of my everyday job, people through the organization are given goals, tasks, assignments, and targets they must meet. If in 5 years you had not improved your results, you’d be fired. Actually, you would’ve been fired a long time ago and wouldn’t have made it 5 years. It’s even looks more dismal when you’re trying to grow something from nothing. Any improvement would look huge. A 50% improvement would seem gigantic, but your numbers would still suck. A 10% increase just wouldn’t cut it. If you tripled ratings the ratings on NBCSN they would be, what I would consider, barely acceptable.

I’ve heard it all. “We know improvements need to be made.” “We are working hard to grow the sport.” “The folks at NBCSN do a good job.” “There is a plan.” “NBCSN is a great partner.” However, this “great partner” is killing the sport by the way of a slow, painful death like starving an animal, not by cutting food off entirely, but by giving it a little bit less food each day. The food IndyCar isn’t getting is sponsorship money.

Let me pose this question to you. If you were running a company with millions of dollars to spend on marketing, would you want to dump that money into an IndyCar team when the reach of would only be to a group of people the size of Wichita, KS? I sure wouldn’t. The ROI (Return on Investment) has to be terrible. You’d be better off making a commercial and buying an advertising slot on a hit television show. I would even go as far as saying you’d have more people seeing an advertisement for your business if you bought a billboard on the side of Interstate 10 in downtown Houston for a month. Yes, I know IndyCar sponsorship is (or it should be) more than slapping a sticker on the sidepod of a Dallara chassis, but by sheer number of customers seeing your product, IndyCar couldn’t be the way to go.

Townsend Bell, who apparently has been shopping a deal to run the Indianapolis 500 this year, stated this past weekend at Barber that it’s been very difficult to try and find a team to partner with to run the race. Why? He stated it’s because the teams don’t have the sponsorship base that they used to. This means primary sponsorship isn’t the only piece missing. The smaller associate sponsorships have evaporated as well weakening the operating base for teams. I can count quite a few sponsors that have disappeared recently including Dad’s Root Beer, Z-Line Designs, Dollar General, William Rast, Telemundo, and Geico just to name a few. Before this season started, it was stated that the amount of money needed to run full-time in 2011 won’t cut it in 2013. The costs have gone up. Unfortunately, the television ratings haven’t increased along with it to justify increased investment.

Yes, the economy is to blame for part of the sponsorship evaporation, but that’s not the only factor. For example, Dollar General left IndyCar and jumped head-first into NASCAR sponsorship. It’s more lucrative. The same goes for Geico. They are the full-time sponsor for Casey Mears in Sprint Cup. If IndyCar television ratings were at a point to where they provided a greater ROI, sponsors wouldn’t pull out. They’d say, “We get great returns on this. Even though the economy is struggling, pulling this sponsorship would have a greater negative effect on our business than continuing the sponsorship.”

IndyCar simply can’t continue down this path and expect to be healthy, grow, and thrive. If it were left up to me my initial response would be to pull a Donald Trump and give the network the boot. It’s not like that could be done in reality as IndyCar has a 10 year (!) contract with NBCSN. But can IndyCar survive another 5 years on NBCSN? I’m not sure. Furthermore, I haven’t even gotten into the whole bit about how a lot of people don’t have the channel. Some folks have to pay extra because it’s on a higher-level package, or it’s so high up in the channel guide nobody ventures up there. How often to you go to channel 600+? Heck, I have to pay extra for a cruddy sports package that includes the Tennis and Golf channels to get NBCSN and it’s not even in HD. It’s such poor quality you can barely make out the sponsorship logos on the cars. Meanwhile, NASCAR is on channel 5 in eye-searing HD.

There’s no arguing that IndyCar racing is amazing, but it’s a bit like the old saying about the tree falling in the forest. If no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? It doesn’t matter how great the racing is if nobody is watching. The ratings speak for themselves and have for quite some time. Am I being negative? Nope. Am I being a realist? Yes.

Ross (@therossbynum)

NASCAR: I Lost the Plot

Buckle up boys and girls, this could be a bumpy ride.

First, let me start by saying that I grew up a NASCAR fan. While IndyCar always interested me, it wasn’t my first love. On any given Sunday you would most likely find me on the floor of my parents living room watching a NASCAR race. I was a huge Bobby Labonte fan. His lime green (which is my favorite color) Interstate Batteries Pontiac Grand Prix was the coolest car ever in my eyes. Growing up all I ever wanted to drive was a 2-door Grand Prix GTP in red. However, after Bobby Labonte won his championship in 2000, I started to lose the plot in NASCAR. 13+ years later, I rarely watch NASCAR. What happened?

I asked myself this question after watching the end of last Sunday’s NASCAR race at Autoclub Speedway. Keep in mind, this was just after I watched the IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg. As I pondered the question in my head, it all suddenly started to make sense.

I just don’t get NASCAR anymore. Period. The cookie-cutter tracks are boring. The races are too long. I have stuff to do and can’t spend 3 ½ hours in front of the television every weekend. The season is too long. You never have a chance to miss it because it never really goes away. Most of the drivers, save Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski, have little to no personality. Jimmie Johnson is so inoffensive it offends me. Fans clamor over Dale Earnhardt Jr. who, until this season, had no reason, other than his last name, to be more popular than someone named Bob Smith. The on track retaliation is dangerous no matter how safe the cars may seem. Although IndyCar racecars are fundamentally different, IndyCar fans know the extreme danger of wrecks and don’t delight in seeing them, especially at an oval track. One would think NASCAR fans would feel the same after the death of Dale Earnhardt, the recent crash at Daytona, and the injury of Denny Hamlin at Fontana. Plus, the feuding between drivers is typically childish. I love to see drivers show personality, but fighting on pitlane? When did grown men turn into middle-school girls? The next thing I know they’ll be weave laying all over pitlane after the next scuffle.

The strange part is the crashing and fights is what is making NASCAR popular and the ratings go up. Nobody really seems to car that the racing is often times subpar. They are just waiting on the next car to smack the wall and fight to breakout. To me, this is no different from the WWE’s manufactured drama through violence. I love racing for the racing, so this doesn’t resonate with me.

To me though, there is a cultural difference between IndyCar and NASCAR. This is not meant to sound snooty. I grew up in the middle of redneck central…South Mississippi. My uncles raced at local dirt tracks, and when I think of the people that attended the races and raced, the things that got them fired up were typically crashes and fights. I’ve seen more guys that had fewer teeth than tires on their car try to beat each other up than I can count over something inane that happened on the track. Fans loved it. The fans at that local track are NASCAR fans. That’s not to say all NASCAR fans are rednecks, but I know for certain those folks aren’t watching IndyCar. The local NASCAR sanctioned short-track in Houston readily advertises the crashes. Actually, I’m not even sure they race. The whole commercial is a reel of spinning cars and tire smoke with some guy, who probably also does Monster Truck Rally commercials, saying random adjectives in an exaggerated voice like “THRILLS, CRASHES, SPEEEEEEED”. Oh, and Cokes and Hot Dogs are a dollar. He says that a lot. I just don’t get it anymore.

NASCAR will get tons of publicity from the fights, injuries, and crashes. Some say that all press is good press. I think Lindsay Lohan, for example, would tend to disagree. However, we somehow all know what Lindsay’s is up to. The bigger the train wreck she becomes, the bigger her name gets, but at the end of the day she’s worse off than she was despite all the publicity. I view NASCAR in the same light these days. All I hear about is everything but the racing. That’s not good, and I don’t think it’s sustainable long-term.

Don’t get me wrong, IndyCar has so many issues Vogue magazine is jealous. But, despite all the administrative drama and the childish team owners, the product on the track is great. It’s similar but different than NASCAR. IndyCar’s drama masks an awesome product while NASCAR’s drama masks a subpar product. The only difference is NASCAR’s drama gets people to watch.

Truth be told, I probably will never be a big NASCAR fan again. What the series would need to do to appease me they would never do in my lifetime, so I will be nothing more than a casual observer. But, if NASCAR continues down the path they’re on, I hope they do one thing…let Tony Stewart beat the shit out of someone.

Ross (@therossbynum)

IndyCar Gaynalysis: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

After a ridiculously long off season filled with more back office drama than a soap opera, the 2013 IndyCar season kicked off this past weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Lots of questions surrounded the start of the season: Would Penske and Ganassi still dominate? Could Ryan Hunter-Reay continue his hot streak from the end of last year? Is Andretti Autosport now the team to beat? Had Sebastian Saavedra’s hair gotten taller? Would Jay Penske pee on anyone? Was it true the Lotus engine would be the one to beat? Oh wait…Lotus left, thankfully. Which reminds me, if you need a boat anchor, give them a call. So, how’d the weekend play out?

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

Before I even start with who won the race, major congrats go to the Cinderella of the race, Simona de Silvestro. She traded in that pumpkin of a Lotus she was saddled with last year for a quick, Chevy-powered carriage at KV Racing Technology. Simona was fast all weekend, qualified a career high 3rd, ran in the top 6 the entire day, and finished 6th after her Firestone red alternate tires were toast. The girl was flawless. She’s the real deal, and she doesn’t need to have her tits hanging out to be noticed. She can let her driving do the talking. If she performs that way the rest of the season, a win will not be out of the question.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

At the drop of the green flag Will Power, who was on the pole…of course, took off like a lion after a wounded antelope. Within a few laps he was out to an 8+ second lead. It appeared the race would be the Will Power Show (would that be like Fear Factor?). However, after the first round of pit stops, the struggling Dario Franchitti smacked the wall leaving the pits on cold tires. I’m not sure if it was shocking that he made a mistake or that he didn’t try to blame something or someone else for his screw up. ”Beaux Barfield needs to penalize the wall because it was blocking me!”

At the restart, Power lost the lead to teammate Castroneves. Through the middle of the race, Castroneves dominated. It’s a simple as that. That’s not to say that the race was boring. There was passing happening everywhere. Great moves into turn 1, a few sphincter clinching moments with Takuma Sato, and just great action overall. Through this part of the race, mechanical gremlins started popping up claiming the likes of Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Tristan Vautier, and Oriol Servia. Mechanical issues are still strange in some ways for some IndyCar fans, including myself. The previous Honda/Dallara combination that was the staple of the IRL through 2011 was bulletproof when it came to reliability.

On the final restart of the race, James Hinchcliffe, the driver of Danica’s former GoDaddy ride with Andretti Autosport and the ride Dan Wheldon was signed to drive before Vegas, took the lead from Castroneves. Cue the screaming fans. Everybody loves Hinch. He’s ridiculously handsome, funny, great with the fans, and a hot shoe too. He’s the perfect fresh face for IndyCar. As the laps wound down it became clear Castroneves probably didn’t have a shot at passing Hinch for the lead. Instead, the action was from 3rd-6th. Marco Andretti hunted down Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro, who was running in 3rd, and passed them with a couple of laps remaining. Simona was holding on for dear life. Coming to the checkered, Simona, Scott Dixon, and EJ Viso were 3 wide at the finish with Dixon just edging Simona and Viso for 5th.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

But, better than that, James Hinchcliffe won his first ever IndyCar Series race.! Yes, the GoDaddy car formerly piloted by Danica Patrick finally saw victory lane in IndyCar competition. For those that don’t know, Danica’s only win came when she drove for Andretti in 2008 and was sponsored by Motorola. Hopefully GoDaddy enjoyed their victory lane celebrations in IndyCar because they probably won’t be having any in any other series for quite some time if you catch my drift.

Oh, and I can’t forget JR Hildebrand. Hildebrand, mainly know for crashing in turn 4 on the last lap of the 2011 Indy 500 while leading, gave us all a lesson in distracted driving. While under caution, JR, who was chatting with his team over the radio, looking at his steering wheel information, and making some adjustments, went flying over the rear of Will Power’s car when the field slowed in front of him and he didn’t stop. Umm…really? I mean, everyone makes mistakes, but that’s something an overweight lady in an old Ford Aerostar mini-van talking on a clam-shell phone while eating Whataburger would do. ”Girl, I know…I told him to pack his shit and that I knew he’d been messin’ with Veronica’s old, ugly self….oh I tell you what, this Whatachicken is delic…..BAM!” You’re driving an IndyCar heaven’s sake, PAY ATTENTION! The crash essentially ended Will Power’s day and he ended up finishing 16th. Surprisingly, Power wasn’t mad at Hildebrand at all. No fights here.

So, was the 6 month wait worth it? Let me think…YES. Amazing racing, great story lines, 2 emerging stars in Hinchcliffe and de Silvestro, the threat of rain, differing strategies, and essentially no fuel conservation. It was flat out RACING. IndyCar has this weekend off due to the Easter holiday and returns to action at Barber Motorsports Park on April 7th. You can catch the race live on the NBC Sports Network. Oh, and a little-known guy named AJ Allmendinger will be making his return to IndyCar competition that weekend. You’ve probably never heard of him, right? Now…I just hope GoDaddy puts Hinchcliffe in a speedo for their next commercial. Yum!

Ross (@therossbynum)

IndyCar: Pure Racing, Lack of Awareness

Yesterday, news broke from the Associated Press and Jenna Fryer that Boston Consulting Group had concluded their assessment of Hulman & Co. (The parent company and owners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar series). In the 115 page report, many suggestions were made as to how to improve the series and stimulate growth. The most telling comment, however, was this statement: ”IndyCar is the best pure motorsports league in the US…but the series suffers from lack of awareness.” Umm…duh. ”Focus on excitement of real racing; daredevil drivers defined by winning, racing at thrilling speeds,” the report said, as a way to distinguish IndyCar from NASCAR’s “amusing entertainment: off-track drama and partying.” So, to put it simply, IndyCar’s marketing sucks.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

When is the last time IndyCar developed and implemented a formal, multi-platform marketing strategy? I know I’ve certainly never seen one. I’m not talking about an advertisement for 1 race. I’m not talking about IndyCar being mentioned casually in a montage of sports footage on NBCSN or ABC/ESPN. I’m talking about a plan with a tag line, a formatted overall look and feel…a targeted campaign with a message to deliver. IndyCar is a brand and the consumers are fans. You must market it like you would any other brand to a consumer, you need a clear strategy.

That being said, it should be easy to come up with an effective marketing campaign for IndyCar. The on-track product is amazing. As the report said, it’s the best racing in the US. Period. To compare the series to NASCAR, the cars are faster and more technologically advanced. The series has more diverse tracks to challenge the drivers. The series has an extremely diverse group of drivers from all kinds of background. IndyCar is the home of the Indy 500, the worlds largest 1-day sporting event steeped in over 100 years of history. Marketing all those positives should be the easiest job any marketing person could have.

Credit Marshall Pruett and SpeedTV.com

It is understood that IndyCar has been bleeding money for years, so the belts are tight around 16th and Georgetown. However, the series stands at a crossroads. Hulman & Co. must commit to the series. If that means pumping a few million dollars into a big marketing push, then they must do it to raise awareness of the series. If the powers that be do not commit to such, IndyCar will continuously be relegated to second-rate status struggling for sponsors, fans, money, and ratings. It’s that simple.

With that said, here’s my marketing idea inspired by the awesome @openwheelmom (Amy) on Twitter. In an effort to inform her friends of the awesomeness of IndyCar, she has been posting a daily fact about IndyCar. It’s simple but effective. Do the same with some awesome, short, sweet commercials with the tag line “This is IndyCar” and go after NASCAR. For example: ”An IndyCar travels around Indianapolis Motor Speedway at average speeds over 225MPH…NASCAR? 182MPH. Fast? We got it…THIS is IndyCar”. At the end have an IndyCar zoom by at full song. Yep folks, there’s over a 40MPH difference at IMS. Or, talk about the diversity: ”IndyCar has 25 full-time drivers representing 12 different nationalities. Diversity? We got it…THIS is IndyCar”. And, highlight the diversity in the tracks: ”IndyCar challenges its drivers to the max on 6 ovals, 6 street courses, and 3 road courses…NASCAR? All ovals and 2 road courses. Skills? We got em’…THIS is IndyCar”. Those may not all work, but you get the idea. IndyCar needs this kind of focused campaign communicated to a broad audience. Don’t advertise on NBCSN…nobody watches that channel and people that are already IndyCar fans know the races are there. The series needs to advertise in places the demographic they want to capture is.

The point is, IndyCar lacks awareness. The series is awesome. Marketing the series should be simple. A marketing campaign strategy should be developed and implemented. It’s that simple.

Ross (@therossbynum)

IndyCar: 5 to Watch in 2013

For 2013, the IndyCar driver lineup has been nipped, tucked, and modified more than Joan Rivers face. There are very few teams that look like that did in 2012. So, here are 5 drivers to keep your eye on in 2013:

Credit LAT Photo USA

Ryan Hunter-Reay:

While the only major changes being his switching from the number 28 to number 1, the reigning champ will face the pressures of trying to defend his title in 2013. For a team that wasn’t always the fastest on track, it will be interesting to see if they can handle the additional pressures on and around the track. Hunter-Reay also became a father over the offseason…will it be inspiration or distraction? Team chemistry at Andretti Autosport will be different as EJ Viso has joined the fold. Will all the drivers “click” like they did last year?

Credit LAT Photo USA

EJ Viso:

Despite being known more for his ability to crash than his ability to race, EJ Viso cleaned up his act last year with far fewer on-track incidents. Although the results were far below expectations, Viso was very quick at many tracks during practice and qualifying sessions. The increased car control and the flashes of speed shows there is potential there. This year, Viso has a prime opportunity to shine as he joins Andretti Autosport. With the help of the hardworking HVM Racing crew and the prowess of the 2012 championship team, Viso is in the perfect spot to contend for wins. However, another lackluster season could severely damage his IndyCar career for good. It’s go-or-go-home time for Viso.

Credit Motorsport.com

James Jakes:

One of the lesser known drivers in the sport, James Jakes leaves his home of 2 years with Dale Coyne Racing to join the expanded efforts of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Backed by family money (Acorn Stairlifts), Jakes set out to find a new home after 2 lackluster seasons with Coyne. With Graham Rahal as a teammate and Bobby Rahal as a mentor, the Britian could find himself competitive week in and week out. I don’t expect Jakes to contend for wins, but he could find success to build on for 2014.

Credit LAT Photo USA

Simona de Silvestro:

After 3 hard luck years with the small, Keith Wiggins run HVM Racing operation, the fan favorite finally finds herself in a competitive ride with KV Racing Technology. No longer relegated to the back of the pack with a Lotus engine, de Silvestro now has a fighting chance. Her driving skills have impressed series veterans, so there is no doubt the Swiss Missile can be competitive. And, after 3 years of not having a teammate, de Silvestro finds herself paired with series veteran Tony Kanaan. All of the ingredients are in place for success. However, it will be interesting to see if KV Racing can step up to the challenge after recent years of only mid-pack success despite a strong line-up of drivers.

Credit LAT Photo USA

Tristian Vautier:

As of now the only rookie for 2013, the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights champion gets a shot at the big leagues with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (formerly Schmidt/Hamilton Motorsports and Sam Schmidt Motorsports…which was FAZZT previously…I think they’ve had more name changes than Elizabeth Taylor). The rookie impressed the paddock during an initial test with the team in Sebring which helped seal the deal. Vautier will benefit from having Simon Pagenaud, who was very quick and close to winning races in 2012, as a teammate. However, being fast in a test in one thing, being fast and competitive on race weekend is another…just ask Josef Newgarden and Rubens Barrichello. No doubt, Vautier has a lot to learn and will make plenty of rookie mistakes along the way, but the tools and talent are in place for impressive results.

Ross Bynum (@therossbynum)

IndyCar: Marketing All Wrong

Let’s be honest, the Indianapolis 500 is a big deal. In the racing world, winning the 500 is the biggest deal there is. LeMans and Daytona may come close, but neither has the mystique nor historic significance that Indy has. Winning the Indy 500 to virtually all IndyCar drivers is a much bigger deal than the season ending Astor Cup trophy. That’s a fact.

Credit Andretti Autosport PR

Another fact is IndyCar has problems at virtually every race other than the 500 when it comes to attendance and tv viewership. Some fair better than others, but none are in the ballpark with the 500. If the 500 disappeared, IndyCar most likely would as well. It’s sad that for most races during the season, there are more people that attended the Indy 500 than watched the others tv. Consider that roughly 300,000 people are in attendance at the 500, but races on NBCSN struggle to get 200,000 viewers. Something major is wrong with that. IndyCar and IMS are mostly to blame and this is highlighted by their new marketing campaign #Indy500orBust.

What’s wrong with the campaign you ask? If you follow the IndyCar Twitter account, you will see lots of pictures retweeted and posted in regards to the Indy500orBust campaign. This has recently included IndyCar drivers that were at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with signs that said Indy500orBust among other things. Logic would tell you to promote the series and the upcoming start to the season at St. Petersburg while at the kickoff event for the US racing season. But what does IndyCar do? They ignore the start of the season and promote the 500 that is in May thousands of miles away. Is there anything wrong with a marketing campaign for the biggest race of the season? No. Is there something wrong with touting the 5th event of the season that’s in May when the season starts in March? I think so.

Credit Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing PR

If IndyCar put even a quarter of the emphasis and importance they place on the 500 on the other events the series may not be struggling so much. It’s no secret that many people that watch the Indy 500 are oblivious to the fact IndyCar runs an entire season. Some people think it’s a one-and-done deal. Brie Rentz stated in her interview with Q4G, who works as PR for PantherDRR, that she didn’t know a whole season existed when she became a fan years ago until she researched IndyCar herself. That, my friends, is unacceptable. It’s shameful the series would even allow it then or now. If 300,000 people show up for the Indy 500, that is 300,000 people you should be able to count on tuning in for every race. Marketing is not doing its job if those fans are forgetting about the race that’s the next weekend.

IndyCar should be promoting #StPeteorBust…#IsItMarchYet…#BarberorBust…anything other than just the one big event. Promote them all! Leverage each event to help create interest for the next. As the old saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Right now there’s a whole bunch of weak links in the IndyCar event chain. The series should be using the 500 to assist in the promotion of other events, not overshadowing all other events by the 500.

All that said, it’s clear IndyCar needs to get its marketing in line and focused. I’m sure they are working on a shoestring budget, but there is no doubt in my mind that the people at 16^th and Georgetown can do a better job at promoting the series. If they don’t, however, every event is less of one because of it.

Ross (@therossbynum)

Join the #Fit4the500 Fitness Challenge!

Loyal Queers4Gears readers, Crash Gladys (co-host of the Speedfreaks show), Monica Hilton (PR for IndyCar’s Alex Tagliani and Team Barracuda), and yours truly have created a health and fitness challenge to help everyone reach their fitness goals by the Indianapolis 500 weekend. For you NASCAR folks, this is for you too! The official start date is February 24th, the day of the Daytona 500, and the “end” date of the Indy 500 is the day of the Coca-Cola 600.

The 3 teams, Team Crasher (Crash Gladys), Team Apex (Monica), and Team Turbo (that’s me) will have you sign up for a team. Of course you will want to join my team! You will complete a fitness assessment, set some personal goals, and use the teams to help you stay on track and reach your goals.

We are doing the challenge through Beachbody, which are the folks that developed P90X and Insanity among other great workouts. It costs nothing to sign up on the Beachbody website where the coaching will take place. Some participants will use programs like P90X or the Beachbody Ultimate Reset to help reach their fitness goals. What you choose to do or not to do is completely up to you and your body. Bad back? No problem. Need to go soft on the knees? There are workouts for you. The point is to get fit, have fun, and use other race fans to help you stay motivated. Head over to www.teambeachbody.com to sign up. Be sure that you have me (therossbynum) as your coach. That’s where all the coaching will happen.

Details on #Fit4the500

Details around how to sign up, where to go to join the Facebook group, the teams, and Beachbody can be found on the flyer in this post to show you where to go and what to do. If you have any questions just let me know. Contact me on Twitter (handle is below if you don’t have it already) and lets get this started!

Now, what are you waiting for? Let’s get #Fit4the500! Get in shape with the rest of your racing family and Queers4Gears readers!

Ross (@therossbynum)