Izod Indy series

Sonny's doesn't pay a dime. Coyne owns some of those franchises and advertises for his Sonny's restaraunts. So don't eat at a Sonny's unless it's one of Dale's.


FTR, both Ft. Myers, FL Sonny's are Coyne's

Makes sense - thought it odd that Sonny's would pony up.

Now the other sponsorship question is how in the heck did Sam Schimdt land HP as a sponsor
 
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Sato qualified very poorly. I hope this is just a mid summer hiccup and not a sign of things to come.
 
I've been to the Texas race a couple times - crazy fast speeds and close racing in the first year I went.
 
Good recovery for Sato. He needs wins though if he wants to make a real fight for the championship.
 
Yep. Has been for the last 3-4 years.

Well I am glad I have been watching. I watched a good majority last year and haven't missed a race this year.


They just have it right. The drivers are fun and the mix of tracks is so cool. I also think they have the rules spot on. The tire situation is spot on. The red tires fall off in a predictable fashion and they work, unlike the dumb Pirellis, also the push to pass is a bit gimmicky but not overdone like F1 DRS.

Only change I would like to see them take on would be the NASCAR caution rules in terms of getting wave arounds and not having lapped cars mixed in at the restart.
 
Well I am glad I have been watching. I watched a good majority last year and haven't missed a race this year.


They just have it right. The drivers are fun and the mix of tracks is so cool. I also think they have the rules spot on. The tire situation is spot on. The red tires fall off in a predictable fashion and they work, unlike the dumb Pirellis, also the push to pass is a bit gimmicky but not overdone like F1 DRS.

Only change I would like to see them take on would be the NASCAR caution rules in terms of getting wave arounds and not having lapped cars mixed in at the restart.

So why do you think no one watches? (Serious question)
 
So why do you think no one watches? (Serious question)

A couple of observations though:

1. I have been an avid fan of F1 for the past 13-14 years now. So I am by no means an oval only person, or anti open-wheel. The fact that I never bothered to watch IndyCar until last year is quite surprising. I think that may be more a of a failing on my part than IndyCar though.

2. Promotion. I hate that IndyCar is being covered primarily by NBCsports. I think NBC does a great job covering the events, but I don't think NBC promotes the sports well. The fact that they chose to show the NHL FINALS, on NBC sports while they aired reruns on NBC speaks volumes of how they don't quite get it. I understand that the reruns may pull better numbers, but you can't hold yourself out as a legit sports network if you aren't going to give the finals of a relatively popular sport decent billing.

3. No one is talking about Indy Car. That may be a cyclical problem, but I think Indy Car folks need to talk to friends and what not and talk up the sport. You would be amazed how people will give something a try if their friends talk it up. I know I would have never watched hockey if Thrasher865 never invited me over to watch a game.

4. I wonder about their fanbase outside of the Indiana region. People in Indianapolis are very knowledgeable about the sport and very passionate about the sport and know their stuff, but the crowd at Barber was quite the opposite. At least in the area I was sitting in, it seemed as though most people were there for an afternoon outside than to actually watch a motor race. That probably means that those folks probably don't tune in on a regular basis. That's not a good sign if the folks who actually turn up for races don't actually watch the stuff.


None of these are actual solutions, but just things I have noticed about the IndyCar series.
 
So why do you think no one watches? (Serious question)

Because the cars aren't something you can drive on the street, and the drivers aren't like people's cousins. IndyCars don't relate to the average American.


OT, I know RHR is the only American winning races lately, I wish he'd rep California instead of America.
 
Because the cars aren't something you can drive on the street, and the drivers aren't like people's cousins. IndyCars don't relate to the average American.


OT, I know RHR is the only American winning races lately, I wish he'd rep California instead of America.

But at one point and time the sport had a lot more followers than it does now wouldn't you say? I know the split didn't really help things. It's almost like they have never really recovered from the split.
 
4. I wonder about their fanbase outside of the Indiana region. People in Indianapolis are very knowledgeable about the sport and very passionate about the sport and know their stuff, but the crowd at Barber was quite the opposite. At least in the area I was sitting in, it seemed as though most people were there for an afternoon outside than to actually watch a motor race. That probably means that those folks probably don't tune in on a regular basis. That's not a good sign if the folks who actually turn up for races don't actually watch the stuff.

The people that sit in front and behind of us at the 500 are both from the Chicago area so I could see where Indy might be more of a mid-western pull than say the southern region where they have to contest with Nascar.

I think the fact that most of the races are on NBC sports hurts too. Not everyone has NBC sports. You also don't see a lot of tv ads for the races or the series. I guess what I am trying to say is the series needs more exposure. I think more people would gain interest in the sport if they were exposed to it. It's kind of on the back burner. I forget sometimes that there is a race on because it's not on main network or there were not many ads for it. I have to go on and set my DVR to record it so I can watch.
 
But at one point and time the sport had a lot more followers than it does now wouldn't you say? I know the split didn't really help things. It's almost like they have never really recovered from the split.

It's just a theory of mine, but a paradigm shift occurred in the late 90's, and early 2000's. America was a nation that could appreciate things like the space shuttle, supersonic fighter(and passenger) jets, and 230 mph race cars. Even if they couldn't understand these machines, they watched in awe of them. That's not the case anymore. You could make a case that interest waned in the face of fewer and fewer Americans, but Americans only care if their representatives are winning/successful. And from 1996-2006 there were successful Americans and there is one right now that is winning at a good rate on any course you throw at him.
 
It's just a theory of mine, but a paradigm shift occurred in the late 90's, and early 2000's. America was a nation that could appreciate things like the space shuttle, supersonic fighter(and passenger) jets, and 230 mph race cars. Even if they couldn't understand these machines, they watched in awe of them. That's not the case anymore. You could make a case that interest waned in the face of fewer and fewer Americans, but Americans only care if their representatives are winning/successful. And from 1996-2006 there were successful Americans and there is one right now that is winning at a good rate on any course you throw at him.


I think the whole Indy/champ car split was really bad for the sport.
 

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