Reform Needed on the Ovals
By Bruce Martin
June 29, 2009
Richmond, Va. – As the IndyCar Series gets a month-long break from running around in circles on the ovals, the time for change has come to do something about the current rules for oval track racing that has taken passing out of the equation.
IndyCar will spend the month of July competing on street and road course circuits beginning with Sunday’s Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen at the historic Watkins Glen International road course. After that, it’s time to hit the streets of Toronto for the July 12 Honda Indy Toronto before a week off.
The long road continues with a trip to Canada for the Rexall Edmonton Indy on July 26 which will be televised by VERSUS.
The next oval race on the schedule is the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night, also televised by VERSUS.
But after last Saturday night’s SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway, the time for change is now for the IndyCar Series. It has to fix the problem that has made this season “the pits” because far too many passes for the victory have been made in the pits and not on the race track.
That was never more evident than Saturday night, when race winner Scott Dixon led one time for the final 161 laps and by entering the pits first and leaving the pits first was never challenged from his Target/Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti.
Both drivers called it a “sorry” race and advocated that IndyCar Series president of competition Brian Barnhart needs to bring racing back into the IndyCar equation.
NASCAR may have the “Car of Tomorrow” but IndyCar has its “Car of Yesteryear.” The current Dallara chassis has been on the track since 2003 and during much of its life-span it has produced some great racing.
But by taking away wing angles, tire ramps and other tweaks teams have made to the car in the past, the current IndyCar rules prohibit competition instead of encouraging it.
Dixon believes a solution to the problem is to loosen up the rules.
“The easiest way to do it is we’ve had it in the past and we have the same car and just about every team has the pieces to do it,” Dixon said. “They need to take a few steps back, open up the rules a little bit more, give people different variances, different suspensions, different aero pieces and different options in how much downforce to run. Tonight, I would have run another 10- or 20-degrees more wing or another element to stay flat out there and be able to pass on the outside. There are lots of things and tools that the teams have to be able to pull this off. It’s about the series getting behind it and making it possible. But it’s not as easy at that. It will take learning and getting teams to test. We had good racing before, we just need to back it up on the rules.”
Firestone also holds some responsibility in the lack of passing by providing a harder tire compound this season than in the past. With a harder compound, it provides better tire wear but makes it harder to drive.
In past seasons, Firestone has brought a different tire compound to each race track but this year, economic conditions have meant standardized tires on superspeedways and short ovals.
“Tire durability was a key tonight, as many drivers ran long stints on their Firehawk tires without issue,” said Joe Barbieri, manager, Firestone Racing. “Tony Kanaan and his Andretti Green crew paid us the extreme compliment of having the confidence to run nearly half the race on the same set of Firehawks and the tires were still there for him at the end of the stint. By the same token, we’re aware that there was not as much passing and side-by-side racing tonight as we’ve seen in some past Richmond races. As always, Firestone Racing will work in concert with the IndyCar Series and the track to make any changes possible to improve the racing here in the future.”
The future is now for IndyCar in order to revitalize the racing on the ovals because no one wants to see it turn into a “follow-the-leader” procession.
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY CORPORATION BOARD MEETING COULD DETERMINE TONY GEORGE’S ROLE
Tony George’s future role hangs in the balance as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation will hold another board meeting on Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The family-controlled board includes George’s mother, Mari Hulman George as the Chairman of the Board. Her three daughters, Nancy, Josie and Kathi Conforti, Tony George and Indianapolis attorney Jack Snyder are the other members of the board.
This meeting may help clarify what Tony George’s future role will be with the family holdings. A board meeting held on May 26 after the 93rd Indianapolis 500 led to speculation and reports that George had lost his role as CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway while maintaining his position as the CEO of the Indy Racing League because the three sisters were upset with how much money had been spent involving IMS funds to help fund the IRL.
That forced Mari Hulman George to issue a statement saying her son was still in charge of both IMS and the IRL but the family wanted him to “devise a plan for management of Hulman & Company, the Indy Racing League, Clabber Girl and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that would allow him to focus on the business which requires the greatest attention. This plan is to be presented to the board at a meeting later this year.
“There was a general discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing all of our companies and where most of our energies need to be spent. All of our properties are doing well, given the challenges of the current economy. The Indy Racing League represents our greatest growth opportunity and therefore deserves the most attention at this point.”
While George maintained the title of CEO it appears that some of his power has been stripped. Another board meeting two weeks ago had Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Joie Chitwood, III; IndyCar Series president, commercial division Terry Angstadt and IndyCar Series president, competition division Brian Barnhart appeared in front of the board to update them on the financial status of each entity they are in charge of.
George now has unified support of the IndyCar Series team owners, who signed a letter of support and sent that to Mari Hulman George at the end of May asking her to keep George in power of both the Speedway and the IRL.
But if George is forced to give up control of the Speedway to focus solely on the IRL, it could mean the end of Vision Racing. When George started Vision in 2005 after purchasing the assets of Kelley Racing, he gave up day-to-day control of the Indy Racing League, naming Ken Ungar as president. When Ungar left at the end of that season, Barnhart was named president but in 2007, those duties were split with Barnhart in charge of competition and Angstadt in charge of business development.
Under that scenario, the ownership of Vision Racing could be transferred to George’s wife, Laura.
Another situation that could happen is Mari Hulman George retires as the Chairman of the Board, with George taking over that position. Another situation that could happen is Mari Hulman George retires as the Chairman of the Board, with George taking over that position. Joie Chitwood, III would continue to be in charge of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as president with Angstadt and Barnhart continuing to oversee the IRL and Charlie Morgan the president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions.
The worst-case scenario is that George is no longer able to use Speedway money to financially support the IndyCar Series, making it success or fail on its own financial merits. And in today’s economic conditions, it could stunt the growth of the sport just at a time when it was recovering from a 13-year split with CART/Champ Car that came to an end with last year’s unification.
“They’ve got a good product,” said two-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon. “They have to keep it going. They have to get everybody focusing on the same thing. They have to get all those family members to push forward what they’ve got.”
INDYCAR WILL OPEN 2010 SEASON IN BRAZIL
For years, the IndyCar Series has featured some of the top race drivers from Brazil. Beginning in 2010, IndyCar will be able to showcase that talent in their homeland.
As reported in last week, IndyCar will stage a race in Brazil in 2010. That race will be the season-opener in March, Terry Angstadt, IndyCar Series president, commercial division, indicated last week.
“The venue hasn’t been determined yet and I was with Alessandro Teixeira on Friday, the president of APEX Brazil (the ethanol fuel supplier to IndyCar) and he wanted to send the message they are very interested in us racing there, they want to support it as well and wants us to keep an open mind regarding venues,” Angstadt said. I’m 90 percent there. “It’s that close, but we don’t confirm them until they’re signed. They have a sanctioning agreement in their hands, so they’ve got the documents.”
The venues under consideration are in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Campinas, Rio de Janeiro and the capital city of Brasilia.
APEX would like to have two races in Brazil on back-to-back weekends next March but Angstadt believes it is “OK to have one great event next year” but the enthusiasm level from APEX is to have two in 2010.
“I have a pretty high confidence level we’ll have one race in Brazil, but not so sure about two,” Angstadt said. “I’m not so sure we need two.”
Sources within the IndyCar Series and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway indicated the financial offer made by the Brazilians is too good to pass up and comes at time when the Indy Racing League could use some much-needed revenue to boost its budget.
But it may also send the wrong message to fans in the “heartland” of the United States who believe the sport of IndyCar has become too “foreign” for their tastes.
“Wherever I race, I’ll be excited to go to each event,” driver Danica Patrick said. “But, I think that it’s also important to think about your core audience and that’s here in America. To leave and go to another country and be in another time zone and miss the national news exposure, I think, is a risk, but I don’t really know the situation and there might be a lot of reward.”
Angstadt believes the upside to racing in Brazil outweighs the feelings of those who want to see IndyCar build its product in the United States.
“If you look at the availability of our races in the heartland we have a lot of choices for people,” Angstadt said. “We’d love for all those races to be sold out. Wouldn’t that be great? I really don’t think that is a fair objection from the heartland. If you look at a healthy economy, the number of drivers, the fact we run Brazilian ethanol in our cars and the TV ratings in Brazil, there are lots of good reasons to go to Brazil and it affords an economic model that is good for everyone.”
IndyCar is also being heavily courted by China to hold a race in its county at a proposed speedway that would feature both an oval race course and a road course that would seat 500,000 spectators. That would surpass the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the largest sports arena in the world and could dwarf the Indianapolis 500 and its 350,000 fans that has been billed as the “world’s largest single-day sporting event.”
“It will be interesting to see if those early conversations or models hold up – I wouldn’t begin to build a race track that seats that many people but it’s not our money,” Angstadt said. “If they want the most spectacular race track in the world they (China) could probably build it. Their idea is an oval with a road course. We love the balance of a 50/50 blend on our schedule.”
The city under consideration is Qingdao, which hosted the Beijing Olympics sailing competition.
An announcement could come later this year. The 2010 IndyCar Series schedule is not expected to be announced until the end of July at the earliest.
HONDA MAY BE OPEN TO A SINGLE-ENGINE SUPPLIER FORMULA
The next meeting between the IndyCar Series and engine supplier Honda Performance Development is set for July 10 in Toronto before the July 12 Honda Indy Toronto, according to Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division of the IndyCar Series.
Sources within the IndyCar Series believe HPD has moved away from its stance of wanting a rival automaker to compete against and may see value remaining as a single-engine supplier to the series.
Last June, the IndyCar Series had an Engine Manufacturers Roundtable that was attended by automakers from throughout the world. German manufacturer Volkswagen showed the most interest in joining IndyCar and has even submitted plans for approval from its board of directors.
But while VW and Audi hold firm on their desire for an inline 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, HPD won’t yield from its desire to compete with a V-6 turbocharged engine.
According to Les Mactaggart, the senior technical director of the IndyCar Series, a decision needs to be made soon so the next phase of design and rules for such items as the new chassis can be made.
“We’re getting close,” Mactaggart said. “We need to know soon who is in and who is out and what kind of engine we will be using. I don’t think anyone believes an equivalency formula between an inline 4-cylinder and a V-6 would be ideal.”
With the current world economy, HPD may believe a single-engine supplier in IndyCar makes better financial sense than going to battle against another carmaker.
“I would like to think they see with unification some metrics and measurements going up and they have made a decision since that time to depart Formula One and they have been clear with us that we are their pinnacle form of motorsports,” Angstadt said. “As their top racing series I think there is more positive dialogue along those lines.”
When Robert Clarke was the head of HPD, he advocated competition among engine manufacturers. The program is now run by Erik Berkman, who may be taking a new look at remaining as the sole engine manufacturer – a role Honda has held since Toyota and General Motors left the series in 2005.
“I do know that we are all focused on driving the costs of participation down,” Angstadt said. “This is a very expensive engine; it was built for competition. As a sole supplier, you don’t need this kind of engine and the cost that is used to rebuild and maintain. I don’t think anyone is thinking of an equivalency formula at this stage. The final call on engine size has not been made yet but I think it would be next to impossible for us to run both an inline 4-cylinder and aV-6.”
Angstadt is not concerned that VW has yet to inform if they are in or out of IndyCar consideration because of the current state of the economy.
The new engine/car combination for the IndyCar Series was originally supposed to be in competition for the 2011 season but has been moved back to 2012 at the earliest.
MILWAUKEE MILE OWES INDYCAR MONEY, LATE ON SANCTIONING FEE PAYMENTS
Financial uncertainty, and past due sanctioning fees to both NASCAR and the IndyCar Series, has left the future of the Milwaukee Mile in doubt which could lead to that track being dropped from the IndyCar Series schedule in 2010.
But IndyCar Series president, commercial division, Terry Angstadt is attempting to get the money owed to the series through a repayment plan.
“We are very hopeful and that is all we can be right now,” Angstadt said. “In fact, I got a very positive email from Claude Napier (promoter). He has had some medical issues and I am hopeful he will get the place secured as he needs to and allow us to race there. That is our hope. There was a change at the promoter level. It’s owned by the state of Wisconsin. They had a group in there that has some operating issues and Claude got this track at the end of February. I think under the circumstances did an amazing job. They put on a great show for us and the crowd was very good. Now, his new deal is much more attractive than the previous promoter and if he does this right there won’t be this onerous fee that nobody will make money off of.”
According to sources, when Napier’s Wisconsin Motorsport took over the track he also assumed some of the previous debt incurred by the previous promoter, Milwaukee Mile Holdings LLC.
Angstadt would like to continue to bring the IndyCar Series to Milwaukee but admitted that the issues have to be resolved before that can happen. However, if the track is not able to clear its financial dilemma, then the weekend after the Indianapolis 500 could become an off weekend, something that Texas Motor Speedway president and general manager Eddie Gossage has advocated since Milwaukee was returned to its traditional “first race after Indy” on the schedule in 2007.
“When we have that information, we’ll make a determination on that,” Angstadt said. “We’re also in conversation with Eddie Gossage because this is the last year of our contract with Texas but we are involved in active conversations and will get that all worked out.”
As for Milwaukee, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the promoter owes NASCAR money from the Camping World Truck Series Copart 200 and the Nationwide Series NorthernTool.com 250 held on June 20. Napier would not disclose attendance for the truck race other than the turnout was low but acknowledged the Nationwide crowd was in “excess of 35,000 fans.”
Napier also told the Milwaukee newspaper that the track would lose money this year. The Legislative Audit Bureau, which recently completed an audit of Wisconsin State Fair Park, said in its report that the Mile would lose money this year, putting added fiscal pressure on the fair.
"The sanctions fees are part of an overall deal," Napier said Friday. "We have been working closely with NASCAR in resolving these issues. I don't want to get into specifics about what we owe and what we don't owe. We are working very closely with NASCAR and in particular we are working on the future."
NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston issued a statement that said, "Despite having a terrific day of NASCAR racing last Saturday there remain outstanding issues which concern NASCAR. As a matter of policy I won't get into the specifics of our business dealings. However, I can say we are working closely with the track management to resolve outstanding issues."
According to the Charlotte Observer, the NASCAR competitors were paid.
Napier blamed the losses on advance ticket sales for the races made last year by previous race promoter. He also said NASCAR's decision to cut testing at racetracks would cost Wisconsin Motorsports much-needed revenue.
"Wisconsin Motorsports didn't get the benefit of any of that, although we agreed to honor the tickets," Napier said of the advance ticket sales last year. "It definitely made things fall a little short."
Evan Zeppos, a spokesman for Milwaukee Mile Holdings, the former race promoter, said it was Napier, a former executive with Milwaukee Mile Holdings, who would have been in the position of collecting that ticket revenue in 2008.
"He sold the tickets and he spent the money when he was with us," Zeppos said.
NOT BAD FOR A 20-YEAR-OLD
McDonald's, primary sponsor of Graham Rahal's No. 02 car for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, produced 250,000 souvenir soda cups bearing the second-year IndyCar Series driver's image for 95 Central New York restaurants from Utica to Binghamton.
"It's cool what they've done," said Rahal, who will be competing in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen on July 4-5. "They told me they sold out of them a couple weeks earlier than they thought they would so I was pretty happy about that. I have a few of them at home and I'm hanging onto them tight. It would be cool to see one pop up somewhere."
Bruce Martin, two-time winner of the Russ Catlin Award for best auto racing story, has covered IndyCar racing for more than 25 years. Visit his Trackside Archive.
