NASCAR invades IMS... but with fewer fans..

NASCAR invades IMS…..but with fewer fans…

The 18th annual Brickyard 400 rolls out this Sunday for 160 laps of Sprint Cup racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR’s first race at IMS took place in 1994 and won was by Indiana boy Jeff Gordon. From 1994 until 2007 the race played to a packed house of over 250,000 fans. The Brickyard 400 also helped finance the Indy Racing League, which split from CART in 1996. Some would say that the Brickyard 400 hurt IndyCar racing because fans could see the stars of NASCAR racing (Stewart, Gordon, and Earnhardt) at the famous 2.5 mile oval, while the stars of IndyCar racing didn’t come back to the 2.5 mile oval until the early 2000’s.

Then came 2008….

The tire debacle of 2008 happened when the NASCAR COT (Car of Tomorrow) literally tore the right rear tires off nearly ever car in the race. Drivers could barley last six laps without tires fading. Cautions were thrown every 10-12 laps and Jimmie Johnson won his second Brickyard 400 under a cloud of controversy.

If you also think back to 2008, it was the first season under unification after a nasty 12 year split in the open-wheel community. The IRL absorbed Champ Car after the 2007 season and IndyCar racing started to put back the pieces of what was left of their sport.

2008 also was the first year of the economy downturn and NASCAR was hit hard. Combined with the economy and the dislike of the COT in Sprint Cup racing, NASCAR started facing issues it hadn’t dealt with in nearly 25 years. Layoffs on all three national series, attendance issues and rating dips, all were non-factors in NASCAR’s massive popularity boom during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.

IndyCar racing, during the split years, went the direct opposite way of NASCAR. The IRL / Champ Car split lasted long enough to cripple open wheel, and in 2008 it barley resembled what it looked like in the early 1990’s.

Now, here we are, July of 2011 and NASCAR and IMS sit at major crossroads. No longer is the Brickyard 400 the highest attended race on the Sprint Cup schedule, which has been the Daytona 500 the last two years. Attendance and T.V. Ratings for the Brickyard 400 the past three years has been as followed:
2008 – 270,000 (5.1)
2009 – 180,000 (4.8)
2010 – 140,000 (4.2)
2011 – expected 100,000 (TBA)

No longer is the Brickyard 400 the anchor event at IMS, that is now reserved for the Indy 500, the way it was prior to the NASCAR invasion in 1994. While INDYCAR is still fighting for respectable T.V. Ratings and attendance everywhere, the Indy 500 appears to be headed back to where it was in the pre-split years. Attendance and T.V. Ratings for the Indy 500 the past years has been as followed:
2008 – 220,000 (4.5)
2009 – 230,000 (4.0)
2010 – 230,000 (3.6)
2011 – 300,000 (4.0)

Of course all attendance figures are estimated and IMS doesn’t release attendance figures for any of its events, so none of those numbers are official.

IMS already had major changes planned for 2012 and its “Super Weekend” for NASCAR. The Brickyard 400 will become the Crown Royal 400, and this will be announced this Thursday at 11:30 A.M. 2012 will also feature the first ever Nationwide (former Busch) Series race at IMS. The Nationwide Race will take place on Saturday and will cap a full-day of action at IMS. Sprint Cup qualifying and practice, Nationwide practice, qualifying and finally race will all take place the day before the Cup race in 2012. Also added to the 2012 slate will be the first ever Grand-Am race on the IMS road course. The expected three hour race will take place on the Friday before the Cup and Nationwide races. IMS crews are expected to work through the night to transition the road course into an oval ready track. But the real question what does this all mean?

Some of the attendance issues at the Brickyard 400 are related to over congestion of NASCAR racing in the mid-west. 18 years ago the only race within 200 miles of IMS was Michigan. Today, Chicago, Kentucky, and Michigan twice all feature Sprint Cup races. Take into account that Nationwide and Trucks race at mid-west tracks as well and you have a market that is full of tracks and races for fans to pick from. Another factor is that IMS is one of the few tracks that you can’t see every turn, combine that with NASCAR racing at IMS features little passing and often strung out follow the leader type racing.

According to reps from IMS, the relationship with NASCAR has never been better, and that was shown when their Sprint Cup points leader, Carl Edwards, and President Mike Helton were present for the 2012 Super Weekend announcement. NASCAR needs IMS now more than ever, that’s a big switch from the early 1990’s when IMS needed NASCAR for the IRL.

The underlying theme this weekend that not many NASCAR media will touch on is that the Indy 500 attendance from 2011 will literally blow the Sprint Cup attendance of the Brickyard 400 out of the water. It’s fair to say that NASCAR premiere race, the Daytona 500, blows the Indy 500 out of the water in terms of T.V. Ratings. It’s also fair to say that IndyCar racing has a long way to go before they even enter the same ballpark at NASCAR in terms of popularity, attendance, and T.V. ratings, but at least now INDYCAR is starting to defend their home turf.

Will Power cuts into Dario's Championship lead

Will Power cuts into Dario’s championship lead

Will Power won his 4th race of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar season at Edmonton. Power’s win cuts Dario Franchitti lead down to 38 points with seven races left, four of which are road/street courses, Power’s specialty. Helio Castroneves finished second, his best result of the season. Castroneves now sits 9th in the points championship. Franchitti rounded out the podium with a third place finish. Scott Dixon finished a distance 23rd place after being taken out by KV Racing’s E.J. Viso. Dixon trails his teammate, Franchitti, by over 106 points and unless major breakdowns occur, it is a two driver race for the championship.


Among the other highlights of the Edmonton Race:

Paul Tracy barley completed half a lap after nearly t-boning Graham Rahal. Rahal had a flat tire after Alex Tagliani crashed into the back of his Service Central machine.

Danica Patrick finished 9th , her second best finish on a road/street course this season

Ryan Hunter-Reay appeared to have a car to win, but unsuccessfully passed Takuma Sato and received a drive-through pentaly.

Attendance seemed strong, but according to Curt Cavin, the grandstands only held around 15,000.

Sebastien Bourdais finished 6th for Dale Coyne Racing, the team’s best finish of the season.

Edmonton Race Preview & Predictions

Edmonton Race Preview and Predictions

INDYCAR makes their second trip to Canada this weekend for airport/street race in Edmonton. The IZOD IndyCar Series has lots of drama heading into this weekend’s race and IndyCar Garage breaks down the storylines to watch and predicts who could be in victory lane on Sunday afternoon.

1.Dario vs Power part II

Dario Franchitti captured his fourth victory of the 2011 season at Toronto and increased his championship lead over Will Power to 55 points, but not without plenty of drama. Franchitti spun Power out in Toronto on lap 57, and Power eventually recorded another DNF a short time later when Alex Tagliani made contact with Power’s Verizon car. Power was visually and emotionally upset after the race and his displeasure with Franchitti has hardly faded away. Power has been a master in qualifying this year on road/street courses, capturing every pole on the non-ovals. Can Power capture his 6th pole of the season? Can Power cut into Dario’s championship lead? Keep an eye on the #12 Verizon IndyCar and the #10 Target IndyCar.

2. Edmonton Race layout changes

Edmonton has been modified to a 2.24 mile 13 turn circuit, which will feature three major passing zones and two long straights. (See virtual lap below). The new layout should benefit all drivers as none of the current IZOD IndyCar drivers have driven on this layout, nor do their teams have setup packages for it. Look for lots of passing and contact with double file restarts.



3. Helio’s one year anniversary

A year ago at Edmonton (under the old layout), Helio Castroneves made a late race block on Will Power that allowed Scott Dixon to pass Power. Helio was penalized by race control for blocking and refused to serve his drive-through penalty. Dixon won the race by not even leading a lap. What happened after Helio got out of his car was seen across the nation for several days. Helio went on a rampage that included grabbing INDYCAR’s Charles Burns, who is the head of INDYCAR security. Helio eventually calmed down after Tim Cindric stepped in. Helio was fined 50k by INDYCAR. Helio’s 2011 has been the worst season in his INDYCAR career, no wins, four top 10’s and just one top five. Helio is arguably the second most popular driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series and masterful driver at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but those factors are hardly overshadowing his struggles in 2011. Helio would love nothing more than to capture his first win of 2011 at the site of his most embarrassing moment of 2010.



4. Rumors around INDYCAR

Several rumors are circulating around the INDYCAR paddock, good and bad. First, Danica Patrick appears to be headed to full-time NASCAR in 2012. Robin Miller of SpeedTV reported last week in his weekly mailbag that Patrick will be full-time Nationwide, part-time Sprint Cup, and one-off Indy 500 participate next season. Miller’s mailbag response was followed up the last few days with ESPN.com NASCAR reporter David Newtown responding to a question in his chat about Danica. The question and answer is below:
Q - Have you heard anything more about Danica's decision? If she comes to NASCAR will she be with JR Motorsports?
A - Still working through details, but she'll be in NASCAR next year, JR Motorsports fulltime in Cup and seven Cup races likely . . . perhaps Stewart-Haas.
Other news and rumblings around the INDYCAR paddock circle around the Las Vegas season ending race. The five million challenge for any non-INDYCAR driver to participate against INDYCAR’s regulars is starting to come into focus. Travis Pastrana, who is a former X-Game star and current part-time Nationwide driver, has publicly said he wants to try IndyCar racing, and INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard has stated he is optimistic that Pastrana could be at the season finale. Sports Car driver Joey Hand, one time INDYCAR winner Airton Dare, NASCAR Cup driver Kasey Kahne, and former INDYCAR Alex Zandari are also among the many names that have been rumored as possibly participates.

5. Predications for Sunday’s race on VERSUS at 2 p.m. EST.

Firestone Fast Six: Will Power, Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves

Indy Lights Winner: Josef Newgarden

IZOD IndyCar Series top three finishers:
1. Oriol Servia
2. Will Power
3. Helio Castroneves

Dallara Building update with Stefano de Ponti

Tyler Carmichael of www.IndyCarGarage.com talked with Stefano de Ponti about the new Dallara building that will build the next generation of INDYCAR's. Watch below:

A virtual lap of Toronto

Toronto Preview & Predications

(Can Will Power repeat as race winner?)

Toronto Preview and Predications

INDYCAR travels north to Canada for the first of two races in July, both being held in the homeland of Alex Tagliani, James Hinchcliffe, and Paul Tracy. Toronto is the 9th round of the championship and signals the halfway point of schedule. IndyCar Garage breaks down the story lines to watch heading into the weekend.

1. Back to the right turns
The Honda Indy Toronto kicks off a stretch of three straight road/street courses and six of the next seven races will be non-ovals. Team Penske driver Will Power couldn’t be happier as his strength and background is non-oval racing. Power currently sits second in the point’s championship and trails leader Dario Franchitti by 20 points. This next stretch of races will have some drivers screaming that they hate road/street courses and others like Power smiling from ear to ear.

2. Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais return
Two long-time rivals will be back on a track that they both have taken the checkered flag at. Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais will return to the IZOD IndyCar Series with Tracy driving for Dragon Racing, and Bourdais back with Dale Coyne Racing. Both drivers are not behind the wheel of power-house teams, but both bring a fierce desire to win and be successful. Bourdais and Tracy are tied for 7th all-time in the INDYCAR record book with 31 wins a piece. Tracy won at Toronto in 1993 and 2003, and if he could win this weekend it would be his third win at a track in as many decades. Bourdais who captured four straight Champ-Car championships, won in 2004 the year of his first championship. Keep an eye on both drivers at they continue their storied INDYCAR careers.

3. A Sunday afternoon time slot that is prime for a good T.V. Rating
Everyone who follows INDYCAR knows that T.V. ratings are struggling, especially on VERSUS. Yes, in due to credit, attendances is up this year and so are A.B.C. ratings, but VERSUS ratings have been low since they started broadcasting INDYCAR races in 2009. Where am I going with this? INDYCAR’s race on Sunday at 2 p.m. will be up broadcast against? Let’s start with NASCAR, Nationwide running on Friday and Sprint Cup Saturday night. How about F1? Their race in Silverstone will be over at 2 EST on Sunday. The best outcome INDYCAR could hope for on Sunday is that somehow VERSUS can pull over a 1.0 T.V. rating for the Toronto race. How did the 2010 race far? It was on ABC and it pulled a .9, which is about what Milwaukee pulled this year as its replacement.

4. Dario eyes history
Dario Franchitti could make history this weekend if he takes the checkered flag after 85 laps. Dario, who currently holds a 20 point in the championship over Will Power, is tied for 9th on the all-time career win list with former Penske driver Rick Mears. Dario, with 29 wins could move into sole possession of 9th with his 30th INDYCAR win this weekend. Dario, who turned 38 in May, accent up the record books should be worth tracking as Al Unser Jr (34), Bobby Unser (35) and AL Unser (39) could be passed if Dario races into his 40’s.
Dario also could be only the second driver in the history of the Toronto race to win in three different decades, as only Michael Andretti, who the race seven times, was the first to accomplish the feat. Dario previously won at Toronto in 1999 and 2009.

5. Canadian flavor
Canadian race fans, traditionally are very passionate and dedicated about racing. Toronto is the first of two races in Canada, with Edmonton two weeks later. Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani, and James Hinchcliffe are all natives of Canada and should have rock-star type following this weekend. As James Hinchcliffe says “ I’ve been going to this race since I was 18 months old, I love this track, and I love that it’s on the schedule.”

6. Randy Bernard Quotes
Randy Bernard spoke to the Canadian media last week and was quoted on several topics most notably that Chicago and California would be on the schedule next year. We know now that California will be back on the schedule in the fall of 2012, Chicago is expected to follow, possibly the weekend after the Indy 500. Bernard also mentioned that a second Brazil race and a race in China are in the works as well. China has been rumored for awhile, and while some fans are unclear or unhappy on the series going global. China reportedly is offering huge sums of money that would help INDYCAR’s bottom line. Rumors also have China wanting to build a track that is a replica to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the track being able to hold 400,000 to 500,000 people.

7. Predications for the weekend

Indy Lights winner – Josef Newgarden

IZOD IndyCar Firestone Fast Six – Will Power , Dario Franchitti, Justin Wilson , Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon

IZOD IndyCar Series top three finishers
1st – Justin Wilson
2nd – Scott Dixon
3rd – Will Power

Former Toronto Indy winners

The IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights travel make their first of two trips into Canada in July this weekend for the Honda Toronto Indy. IndyCar Garage will have coverage throughout the weekend. Today we look at former winners of Toronto racing, dating all the way back to Bobby Unser in 1967.








Year - Winning Driver – Sanctioning body –
*denotes still active and will race this weekend

1967 – Bobby Unser - USAC
1968 – Dan Gurney - USAC
1977 – A.J. Foyt - USAC
1978 – Danny Ongais - USAC
1986 – Bobby Rahal - CART
1987 – Emerson Fittipaldi – CART
1988 – Al Unser Jr – CART
1989 – Michael Andretti – CART
1990 – Al Unser Jr – CART
1991 – Michael Andretti – CART
1992 – Michael Andretti – CART
1993 – Paul Tracy – CART *
1994 – Michael Andretti – CART
1995 – Michael Andretti – CART
1996 – Adrian Fernandez – CART
1997 – Mark Blundell – CART
1998 – Alex Zanardi – CART
1999 – Dario Franchitti *
2000 – Michael Andretti – CART
2001 – Michael Andretti – CART
2002 – Cristiano da Matta – CART
2003 – Paul Tracy – CART *
2004 – Sebastien Bourdais – Champ Car *
2005 – Justin Wilson – Champ Car *
2006 – A.J. Allmendinger – Champ Car
2007 – Will Power – Champ Car *
2009 – Dario Franchitti – INDYCAR *
2010 – Will Power – INDYCAR *

Notes:

Michael Andretti holds the record for most wins with seven.
Five former winners will participate in this weekend’s race.