Thoughts on the interview with TG and KK....

I hope that a lot of you caught the interview on SPEED this evening. The interview with Tony George, and former (isn't it great to say former) Champ Car World Series owner, Kevin Kalkhoven, provided some insight on where they believe the series should go and what the next few years will look like.

It's pretty clear that that direction that the IRL was going before this merger is the direction they will continue on. Specifically, the oval, street and road courses will make up the series. I believe this is the best possible race structure. The street/road courses will appeal to former Champ Car fans, some US-based F1 fans, and generally a younger fan base. The ovals will appeal to the older generation that remember the series for what it was before the split.

There was some discussion of the 2010 season when the new chassis will be introduced to the series and how that will affect that quality of racing. It seems like the series is really excited about that year - probably wishing it was coming in 2009, not 2010. I think in the coming years we're going to see some interesting additions to the cars...the different sets of tires, I think the nose on the cars will change, there was even discussion of using the turbo feature that the Champ Car series had. I'm not so sure about the turbo but I love the other two additions and I think they could bring a lot to the IRL.

As for this year, KK made reference to a few teams from Champ Car that have committed to racing in the series this year (which we knew) and a few others that were seriously considering it. My guess is that the few that have already committed will be the only teams that actually compete. The other teams may run the 500 and maybe some of the road courses, but not the entire season. Testing for Homestead starts tomorrow and they're going to need to play catch-up.

Will be interesting to see who shows up this week at Homestead. Can't wait!

Finally...

Well it finally came. The answer we have been waiting to hear for the last few days (or for more than 10 years for some). The series have merged and there is now one open-wheel series in the US.

So as excited as everyone has been for this news, I think there have been some who haven't really stopped to think about what this could mean for the series...A few thoughts of mine below...

- More sponsor dollars. Splitting a target market into two series and then splitting sponsor dollars between the two series just doesn't make sense. Advertisers going after the type of consumer who follows open-wheel racing now have a single series to put money into. I think this can only be a good thing for both sides.

- More talent in the series. The best of the best in US open wheel racing. This will make for more exciting racing, including more cars competing for spots in each race. Qualifying will become more important which will cause teams to improve in order to compete amongst themselves and improve the level of racing in the series.

- Names. Like it or not, Champ Car did have some big name drivers in the series. Fan favorite (ha!) Paul Tracy and son of legend Bobby Rahal, Graham, the influx of big name drivers to go along with the stars of the IndyCar series will provide fans the opportunity to build some team/driver loyalty in the same way that NASCAR has done. The merchandising opportunities with that kind of driver loyalty are huge.

- More races. This one is pretty simple for the fans - we love it! But, this also adds a few more races to get sponsors -- that's a good thing.

- Bottom line...the merger means more money for the series. More money = the absolute best and most popular drivers = the best and most popular racing.

What do you think will be the biggest results/changes coming away from this announcement?

Not yet...

Well, sounds like the press conference may be on hold. Originally rumored to be scheduled for 11:45, that time may be pushed back...We'll do our best to keep everyone posted as I find out information and I urge you all to do the same!

One of the most interesting developments is the IRL Japan race (4/19) and the current Champ Car Long Beach Race (4/20) and the possibility that if the series merged they could run both races. The Champ Car racers would race Long Beach and the IndyCar drivers would race Japan and both races would count in the points (at least that's the way I've read it). I think that's not an ideal scenario but if it helps bring the merger to a quicker end, I'm all for it.

Again, we'll keep you posted today as best we can!

Ready...Set...Wait....

When my friend called me Tuesday morning and told me the rumor he had heard about the merger and how it was actually going to happen, I was thrilled to death. Still am. Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling like it's been a year since we first heard the story break. Wait, maybe I'm just thinking of the past 12 years that the series have been split....who knows...

Well, in any event, I'm excited for tomorrow. Just in case you haven't gotten a chance to check out Curt Cavin's blog on IndyStar (who by the way, has some great IndyCar coverage and is featured on the indycargarage.com front page) I figured I'd give you a quick update on what is rumored to be the latest...And again, I have to give Curt Cavin's GREAT coverage of this story all of the credit for this update...I just want to make sure our community has the update as well...

Tony George and KK are having dinner at a restaurant downtown -- (this is my guess -- I'm going to go with St. Elmo's or Harry & Izzy's) and Cavin says he is unsure of whether they will actually reach an agreement tonight. The press conference is tentatively scheduled for 11:45 am EST tomorrow. Word on the street is that it will be a live stream on indycar.com -- I wish I could provide it to our members, but alas, I don't yet have that kind of access....

We'll keep you posted on the latest news tomorrow as best we can!

Dixon, Ganassi and 2008

Last season's near miss for Scott Dixon and the Ganassi team has surely been on the minds of Dixon and everyone involved with the team. I look for both drivers from Target Chip Ganassi (Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon) to have a very successful year in 2008.

It seems that nearly every team (I think it might literally be every team) has had some significant changes coming into 2008. AGR has had their series winning driver, Dario Franchitti, leave the series for NASCAR and recently added a new director of operations from another series (Champ Car). Penske had similar issues with the departure of Sam Hornish and while new driver Ryan Briscoe is promising, it's still an adjustment for the entire team. Some of the smaller teams are struggling to make ends meet - and are probably pissed that the Champ Car teams are getting free chassis, etc. from Tony.

Through all of the changes and transition that have occurred leading up to this season, the Ganassi team has quietly gone about their way preparing for the season. Which is scary for the other teams considering they were no slouch in 2007.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming season and who do you think will be the standout team this year? I think TK will be a popular choice as well as Helio. Helio would sure be a fan favorite having picked up quite a few fans from his appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

Thoughts?

AGR's New Hire...

AGR announced yesterday their hiring of Paul "Ziggy" Harcus as team manager. It seems like a great move...do you anticipate that AGR will welcome a Champ Car driver to their ranks? Harcus does have a great resume in open wheel racing, is it just a strategic move to grab one of the best in the business? What do you think Harcus will bring from his experience in the Champ Car series? Possibly to beef up the road course skills of the entire AGR team?

What are your thoughts?

The IndyCar Series...

Welcome to IndyCar Garage's official blog and the first post!

Obviously, if you're even remotely interested in the IndyCar series, you were given a great surprise today with the "serious" merger talks. I know, I know, you're all thinking "heard that one before" but it appears that this time the deal could be for real. And I couldn't be happier.

I love IndyCar racing. I think it's the most exciting racing around - better than NASCAR, F1 and any other style of racing around. However, until the league starts doing some basic things right, it will remain in second place to NASCAR in the US. I've got an example that really bothered me with the announcement of the IndyCar Downforce Fan Club....

IndyCar.com just released their new fan club. A fee-based fan club. A $30 fee-based fan club with $15 per year after that. Now, assuming we can all afford the membership fee, I still ask the question...why? Now, some would be quick to point out that there are several advantages to becoming a member and that the membership fee is quickly recouped in merchandise/tickets/etc. traded for points earned by simply being a member and watching the races. And they would be right. But -- for one of the most popular trends in sports right now - fantasy sports - to only be available to paying fans is completely and totally backwards. Fantasy sports turn occasional fans into die-hard fans because fantasy sports engage the audience. You begin to not only care about what your driver is doing, but how every driver in the series is doing. Not only are you tracking your favorite, your tracking who you have racing on your team that week and who your competitor has. It engages fans in a way that just watching the race on TV can't match. And right now, the IndyCar series has a large audience of less than engaged fans. There are plenty of people who get excited about IndyCar when it comes to their city, or around the Indy 500 time and then lose interest. Why not engage those people in a fantasy league? If I'm one of those people and I log on hoping to get started in a fantasy league but see that in order to access that feature, it will cost me money, I may decide that it's not worth it for a race that only comes around once a year. Or, what if I'm a previous ChampCar fan who is interested in switching over and following the IRL series --- a $30 fee right off the bat could be enough to turn me off to the series completely. The IRL is building "one race" fans and not "series" fans. NASCAR, to its credit, has done the opposite.

Future posts will not be so negative, I promise. I have 10x more positive things to say about the series than negative - this was just something that caught my attention today.