don't worry guys, Indycar is going to save itself with another awful racing movie! I guess Driven and Turbo weren't enough..... 5150 Studios Inc.and Out On The Road LLC - Current Film Projects
Ever get the feeling that no matter how much information is provided....they keep doing this on purpose???
Here again, Indy Car is talking about what MAY happen in 3-4 (or 5-6) years down the road instead of getting on the stick in 2015. How long are we going to be hearing stuff like, "Maybe I'm a naive optimist but hopefully in three or four years IndyCar will be growing and finding its place in a new, open-minded audience," he says. "I think it's down to the manufacturers--Chevy and Honda--to make it so important to the public and fans."? Every year, we hear this stuff, "Just wait and see what we do in half a decade" (SIC). Will these aero kits make any difference at all? Since we're seeing very little about it, we may seriously doubt it. This sort of statement smacks of exactly what GrandAm were saying about their series as it broke from IMSA/ALMS with their theories about "man on the street" fans; how'd that work out? It seems as though Indy Car is leaning on their manufacturers Chevy and Honda to provide the spark to propel the series forward. Shouldn't it be down to the sanctioning body to provide the platform for the manufacturers (along with attending sponsors and media) to gravitate to? There aren't any easy answers. No magic bullet. But, unless Indy Car engages Madison Avenue and the media in a serious way, they're merely rearranging the deck chairs as the ship slowly sinks. BHW
Why put any effort into a movie? I've thought they might get somewhere if they follow the route hockey did with their "Road to the Winter Classic" or the NFL did with "Hardknocks" and do a four/five part special leading up to the Indy 500. Even a video game if done well might get some traction but Driven 2?? No thanks. I'll go to Milwaukee again this year since it's like 5 miles from my house but at this point it just feels like an obligation, not something to look forward to. Once Kanaan, Dixon, Helio, etc hang it up, not sure I'll watch anymore. Only hang in now because these guys were coming up when I first started watching racing and so I have followed them. I just don't get IndyCar anymore. Why any sponsors get into it is besides me and as for Conor Daly, seems like a nice enough guy but yeah, where are the results?
Yikes! Is that official or an artist's rendering? When they were talking about aerokits, I envisioned them streamlining the cars a good bit, not making them an atrocity! BHW
Way too much bodywork on that car. I'm talking about aesthetics only ... for all I know, it may be brilliantly configured, but it made an ugly car into a FUGLY car.
So, they're going to pile all these winglets, tabs and doohickies on the cars particularly on the low downforce tracks, like street circuits, as if we've not already seen a disproportionately large amount of collisions resulting in debris fields covering the tracks and prolonged cautions to clean up the messes. Now, they want to add even more of these things which do nothing more than make the cars look like a sixth grader's idea of what a racing car should look like. Why not add gun turrets and sidewinder missile launchers? That'd be way cool. From a driver and engineer stand point, what will balancing a car with all these wings entail now? And, isn't there a point where the drivers put their balls on and say "enough is enough"? Dunno guys, it's getting tiring to keep constantly criticizing our sport as we're seeing racing of virtually all forms (with the exception of WEC, PWC and Blancpain) self-implode. BHW
+1! On the other hand, this abomination should be easy for people to replicate with Lego. My God that Chevy kit is terrible! OTOH there's quite a bit of ad space to sell now.
OK, call me a "mossback", but I agree that the Eagle & Chaparall make today's Indy cars look like Fisher-Price toys. Can we bring them back along w/ Dan Gurney & Jim Hall? Sadly, no. So what's the answer? I continue to support the sport, but it's getting very difficult to do so. Frankly, if it weren't for the great personalities of the drivers and their (relative) accessibility, I would give up.; that's the ray of light for me. I've visited w/ RHR, Hinchcliffe, & Simon Pagenaud at least two years running at the 24 Hours of Daytona, & they are great guys and eloquent spokesmen for Indy racing. But if the drivers ever become faceless drones, I'm done.
Unfortunately, we can't turn the clock back to the seriously heady days of CART. However, Indy Car should certainly be able to learn the lessons from those days, what worked and what didn't. Tony George's NASCAResque IRL approach left the American open wheeled racing scene in a mess. But, they're far enough from that debacle to have moved forward (in order) to make the series relevant once again and it's frustrating to see them continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. These aerokits smack of desperation. It's almost as though they keep hearing "Make the cars look cool" from fans and this is what they came up with. Rather than streamlining the cars, they look more like something right out of Spaceman Spiff's fantasies. BHW
I've said it before. There are far too many choices for entertainment today than there was back in the heyday of motorsports for it to ever reach the heights it once enjoyed. The delivery method has also changed so a person can view anything they want at any time they want on a large selection of devices. New generations will see little reason to watch a race at the track or live on TV and the few that do will watch because of Grandpa's insistence but even then they will have one eye on their phone playing Minecraft. The Indy split was their downfall and they will never recover due to the reasons above. NASCAR is at the top but they are also starting to feel the pinch. However, they continue to teak there series in order to find what works. Like it or not the latest Chase format got them better TV rating for the last few races last year. The Daytona Q was stupid and I guarantee they make some changes BUT, it got them press in every news outlet. You guys talk about there is zero mention of Indy and they should at least be winter testing or something but they don't. NASCAR has their first race of the year which is the Daytona 500 and they could just lead with that but they don't. They created a whole convoluted qualifying process leading up to it known as Speed Weeks. Think about that. Indy- not even a mention of testing leading up to their first race. NASCAR- two weeks of coverage in all outlets leading to their first race. That's the difference between the marketing of the two series and one of the reasons for the huge gap in popularity. The Series that may one day take the top spot is the new E series. If the day comes when we are regulated to electric cars and driverless cars and whatever else, the E series will have already established themselves and evolved enough that no other series will be able to start up and catch them for the top spot. Unless somewhere down the road the E series decides to split into two different ones and history repeats itself.
Respectfully disagree. One of the things that made Indy Car great was the continual use of older equipment. Barring older chassis, engines and other equipment only stepped up the disinterest. Who is to say that a late model Panoz can't take a run at the pole at Indy? Cars need to be made safe but if you want to control the costs, try letting the owners decide how much they want to spend and not the sanctioning body. A engine lease at 100k per race? How about a good cosworth or other powerplants of the owners choosing for about 1/10th that on a seasonal budget. Same for chassis, gearbox or any other equipment that meets "safety standards" and not someones financial considerations. One might consider the history of Indy and the antics of those without NASA budgets during the 70's-90's.Remember "frankenstien". Made for entertaining racing and certain fan appeal. In order to keep people in the game, one must consider the ability to control ones own fate. And that is all about a budget one can live within.
This article talks about the revival of Indy Lights, I picked up on some of the nuances here - notably, Tony George's ineptitude and the reason why a focus on ovals is BAD. Agree they need to be in the mix, but a focus on them will cause drivers to leave (lack of experience, perceptions of danger, REALITY of danger): Indy Lights looks to surpass former glory On top of all that - outside of the elongated nose - the Indy Lights Dallara IL-15 looks MILES BETTER THAN THEIR BIGGER BROTHERS!!! Indy Lights IL-15 unveiled at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (pictures) | Junior Open Wheel Talent The back half of the car is beautiful, no reason we can't have something similar on the "big" cars. It took a 3rd party to get this rolling (Andersen Promotions). They have brought in sponsors and have some good people behind the scenes (AER for engines, run by the Dysons) - I am rooting for their success - maybe it will wake up the Hulman-George family and force them to divest themselves of IndyCar. Until that happens, it will languish until total irrelevancy. Andersen Promotions Announces AER as Indy Lights Engine Supplier
Now the ever burning question......How much?? If the cost exceeds the value, and the cost to run a team vs. potentail revenue...... it won't go very far
"(AER for engines, run by the Dysons)" Hmm? Wonder if this has anything to do in regard with Rob Dyson recently joining the Speedways board of directors.
Honda's aero kit debuts. Honda unveils IndyCar aero kit for 2015 season - IndyCar news - AUTOSPORT.com BHW