Team Owners Get Some Answers
By Bruce Martin
August 30, 2009
JOLIET, Ill. – Team owners had a chance to quiz IndyCar Series officials on Saturday afternoon at a regularly scheduled owners meeting on a variety of topics, including next season’s race at Brazil and the latest on new equipment expected to be implemented in 2012.
“It was a good general update,” said Terry Angstadt, president, commercial division of the IndyCar Series. “We talked about the schedule – some of the tweaks we made to that, some of the things we still have to do to that. We talked about how we ended up at the schedule that we have and what our goals are for future schedules. We talked about sponsorship updates – some of the official categories we are filling in and our progress for a title sponsor. We talked about TV, which was a separate subject and an update on engine/chassis package and when we plan on announcing the rules for 2012.”
Angstadt spoke to the team owners along with IndyCar Series president, competition division, Brian Barnhart and outgoing president of broadcasting Charlie Morgan, who is leaving the series to work for Emmis Communications in Indianapolis.
Here is a capsule summary of the topics:
* Raising the value of the series:
“That is through big investments by key partners,” Angstadt said. “Just like every other sports property raises their value it is a combination of efforts through team sponsors, our sponsors and our direct investment.”
* The current television package that includes 12 races on VERSUS and five on ABC:
“Interestingly, it is dead-on the number forecasted by VERSUS before the season ever started so that shows you they tend to know their business,” Angstadt said. “We had a meeting in Chicago on Thursday and they have good plans to grow the ratings. They have grown every property they have ever been affiliated with and they continue to grow as an entity and we have all the confidence they will deliver on that.”
* Late-starting times, such as Saturday night’s 9:10 p.m. local start at Chicagoland Speedway:
“Our television partner at VERSUS wanted the start for this one because of a lead-in program they have that draws very good numbers for them,” Angstadt said. “It’s a very good lead-in for us and the last time they had that drew a 1.2 rating. It is what it is – you have to cooperate and you don’t win 100 percent of your battles. If there is a time-slot issue we have to work together. It is a late start but I hope it doesn’t have a negative impact on the on-site crowd.”
* Status of the season-opening race in Brazil.
“Tony Cotman (IndyCar Series director of competition) leaves Monday night and I leave Tuesday night,” Angstadt said. “We’ll be back down there this week and have lots of good letters and communication back and forth. All of the business fundamentals are out in the open for a race in Salvador and don’t think there are issues there. We hoped to get it signed while we are there and we will be there most of the week.”
* Getting financial relief for the team owners from engine and chassis manufacturers:
“We talked a lot about that and we did point out there was relief this year from Dallara, Honda and Xtrac (gearbox supplier) and we said we anticipate for some of that relief to get better next year,” Angstadt said. “We do have that commitment from Honda. Our goal for 2012 is to have a more competitive package. If you compare our costs from a number of years ago to where we think we’ll end up in 2012 it is tremendous progress.”
* A title sponsor:
“I’ve made this comment before that we are 90 percent sure we will have one and that’s where we are at right now but that is a very schizophrenic subject,” Angstadt said. “It appears that things are stabilizing with the economy. We are very close to having one and there is another sponsor right behind that if that doesn’t work out. Hopefully we’ll have one for 2010.”
* CEO Jeff Belskus handing the Indy Racing League in a more businesslike manner:
“I feel very good; Jeff is a very smart guy and knows the business well,” Angstadt said. “He has a lot of institutional knowledge within IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and the IRL. I like everything I see. I think we work very well together. He is very engaged in our company.”
* New management at the Milwaukee Mile:
“We’ve had a couple of good conversations and I read that they have been making tremendous progress on their negotiations with NASCAR and we remain neutral to that,” Angstadt said. “We’ll see where that goes. It’s not their obligation to settle up on the debt owed to us by the previous promoter but it is part of what needs to be discussed for us to go back there in the future.”
* Texas Motor Speedway taking over the week after the Indianapolis 500 date:
“We’ve had a very good re-engagement with Eddie Gossage and SMI (Speedway Motorsports, Inc) and Texas Motor Speedway so we feel good about where that is,” Angstadt said. “We feel good about where that is and frankly it’s hard to hang onto a date at Milwaukee after what we have gone through. We’d love to be back there but it doesn’t have to be the week after Indy (at Milwaukee).”
* Any chance to reconsider New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the future?
“No,” Angstadt said. “Would you like me to expand on that? I really do feel that a good part of the conversation is when there are two Cup dates at a venue without a long racing season we struggle. SMI doesn’t agree with that and we completely respect their opinion on that but we are not going to agree on every business issue between the two companies. That is a tough market to go into with that challenge. “I don’t let the comments they made impact our relationship, though.”
* Car count staying constant despite a poor economy:
“We’re very encouraged and that is not to be confused with not having a long way to go,” Angstadt said. “We are thrilled with the growth in sponsorship in the most challenging economic times in our lifetimes. If we secure the title sponsor like I think we will and when we get Brazil secured that goes a long way to stabilizing the League side. And we are helping teams secure sponsorship and that is always a top priority.”
* How many cars can the TEAMS program maintain before it becomes a financial issue?
“That’s a 22- to 24-car number,” Angstadt said. “We would need to make decisions beyond that on some kind of criteria on how you get one of those spots because that is a huge commitment from the League. If we have 28 cars not all of them are going to be able to share in this program.”
* Danica Patrick staying in the IndyCar Series:
“We think it is very important,” Angstadt said. “We have worked hard and closely with IMG to give them confidence in our series and her role in the future of our series. We are looking pretty good and we feel good about it all coming together. I really respect the magnitude of this decision for her and we have respected that from Day One. That is why we are respecting that as best we can with IMG. It is sales, marketing, PR, venue selection, where she feels most competitive at so it is really across the board. IMG challenges us and we respond accordingly. Those are good conversations to have.”
* Other drivers sharing in the attention that Patrick gets:
“We have our three points leaders going to Miami on Tuesday because they have earned it,” Angstadt said. “We have had stability in our name drivers and it is up to PR to shed the light on those that deserve it. Ryan Briscoe is a really fair guy and a phenomenal race car driver. He is really unbelievable.”
* Getting Phoenix back on the schedule at some point:
“That has been one of the bigger challenges for us,” Angstadt said. “We might have even used Phoenix as an example that if we can secure other markets that pay us a good value for our series then we can afford to go to another market or two that is good for the business, although not financially. We offered Phoenix a compelling package to go there but it was not embraced by the promoter. We cannot go there for free, although free is an exaggeration.”
NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME
Maybe Chicagoland Speedway should reconsider its decision to install lights this season because the net impact has been the smallest crowds at what was once a very successful facility.
The crowd at Saturday night’s race was the smallest IndyCar crowd at Chicagoland Speedway as the late starting time, colder than normal temperatures in the mid-50s with windy conditions and a lack of promotion in the Chicagoland area all added up to a crew estimated at 20,000 spectators.
The same crowd attended Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and somehow that crowd was estimated at 40,000, which leads one to wonder who is actually doing the estimating.
Although the suburban newspapers fully staffed this race, there was virtually no mention of the event on the Chicago television station newscasts making it an “invisible” event.
Also, spectators that wanted to attend either the Friday night NASCAR truck race or Saturday night’s IndyCar Series race were told they had to still buy the season-ticket package which included two NASCAR races that already took place in July.
While some may question the legality of selling a ticket to an event that already took place, remember that this is Illinois – draw your own conclusion to the end of this statement.
Thankfully, Chicagoland Speedway is going to do away with the “season ticket” plan that forces NASCAR fans to buy tickets to the IndyCar race and IndyCar fans to buy tickets to the NASCAR race. At least that way a true NASCAR fan won’t simply stay at home and not use his IndyCar ticket and the die-hard IndyCar fans from Indianapolis can make the 3-hour drive to Joliet to watch the high-speed classic.
When NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup competed here in July in the first two night races at the track, the crowd was also the smallest to ever see those two series race at this track leading one to wonder why parent company International Speedway Corporation (ISC) ever considered putting lights at the track in the first place.
When NASCAR held day races at Chicagoland, crowds were always at 80,000 capacity with the IndyCar Series race ranging from 60,000 the first few years to 30,000 last year.
For those fans that came out to see one of the best IndyCar races of the season, they were rewarded. In fact, they should have been rewarded by track officials on the way out for staying up late and fighting off the chill winds that made this feel like a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field in October, not an IndyCar Series race in the normally hot month of August.
Chicagoland Speedway is a fantastic facility, although it is so far removed from downtown Chicago it’s really not on the city’s landscape. It has a proper traffic plan; every seat in the house has a great view and is staffed with friendly and helpful people. And the actual race track is one of the best in the sport, providing for some memorable NASCAR and IndyCar contests.
But the Chicago area celebrates the warm, sunny days of summer which is why both NASCAR and IndyCar flourished in the daytime. A Sunday afternoon race would have been perfect, especially considering that Sprint Cup was off last weekend.
Instead, another race was held under the lights in virtual obscurity proving that even with lights, this is one venue that isn’t ready for “Prime Time.”
RAHAL’S WILD RIDE
Graham Rahal was in the middle of the action for most of the race and tried to position himself to take the lead with three laps to go by trying the high-line. But that plan didn’t work as the outcome was decided between Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon while Rahal finished fifth.
“Honestly, when I went up high, I thought we were going to get it (win) finally because the car had so much momentum,” Rahal said. “The car felt good all night, and it's no doubt we will win one soon. I was just trying to get us an opportunity, and we got it. I pulled out of the draft, went up high and (the momentum) just died. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough speed. When you go up that high, the distance your taking there is massive, and unfortunately, we just didn't have enough speed.”
Rahal is normally a cool customer but the 20-year-old admitted he was a bit jittery before this contest.
“Before this race was the most nervous I've ever been,” he said. “I was watching people darn near hitting each other on the back straight last night in the warm-up, so I knew it would be a crazy race. It was action-packed from start to finish. The idea was to get up front and just try to stay there. If we could stay there, we were going to be with guys that know what they're doing. The guys worked hard tonight. I told them we needed good stops, and the second to last stop was what really put us in this position. It was great what we did tonight. The McDonald's car was top-notch. It just shows that we can beat these guys. It's going to take some effort but for us to be where we are now we've got to be pretty happy."
IF I WERE A CARPENTER
After nearly winning his first race the last time IndyCar competed on an oval at Kentucky Speedway on August 1, Ed Carpenter once again found the front half of the field with a sixth-place finish.
“The balance had just kind of gotten more understeer late in the race,” he said. “It kind of seemed like we were better in the first half of the race and then others got better in the second half of the race than what we did. I don't know. We still had a good car at the end, but we just kept getting land-locked with guys running two and three-wide and then I would be sitting there with nowhere to go. I would rather be able to race like that, but it gets frustrating at times just because you have a good car and you get held back. The last lap was interesting because we started in ninth and got back up to sixth so it was still a good day. Obviously, we wanted to be on the podium again, so that's frustrating, but points-wise it was probably good with (Hideki) Mutoh dropping out and (Dan) Wheldon having trouble."
SERVIA, SET, MATCH
Oriol Servia was also involved in some close racing on the track as he went on to finish seventh.
“It was the perfect race where you want to move to the front, but you want to take your time because it's crazy out there,” Servia said. “Just before the last stop, I was fourth - just where you want to be - and I made a mistake coming in the pits. I tried to brake a little too late and went too far on the marks, and we wasted a little too much time trying to get to the car with the fuel. It was my fault. They were still able to do it, but we lost 10 positions.
“The car was good and we were able to make it back to seventh, so I'm very happy that at least we ended with a decent result. I thought we had a car to fight for the win at the end. I would have liked to be at the front. It makes me feel really good for Motegi. I know that we have a really good car for the ovals, and that I haven't lost my touch. I had a lot of fun tonight and I cannot wait until Motegi."
CENTENNIAL MOMENT – CHICAGO STYLE
Chicagoland Speedway is the home of many thrilling finishes and has the distinction of the two-closest finishes and three of the four closest in IndyCar Series history.
On September 8, 2002, Sam Hornish, Jr. defeated Al Unser, Jr. by just 0.0024-seconds in the closest finish in IndyCar history. Last year’s victory by Helio Castroneves was 0.0033-seconds and stands as the second closest margin of victory.
Ryan Briscoe’s 0.0077-second margin of victory over Scott Dixon on Saturday night was the fourth-closest finish in IndyCar Series history. Buddy Rice’s 0.0051-second margin of victory over Vitor Meira at Kansas Speedway on July 4, 2004 is the third-closest margin.
When it comes to close finishes, Chicagoland Speedway is the best venue in the IndyCar Series.
