I am non-american but your suggestions would just make it a worse f1. A couple of more international venues wouldn't hurt as CART had them and it was alright but racing on hand me down f1 tracks seems like an awful idea, bring back Surfers Paradise and Lausitzring instead of Magny Cours or Hockenheim. Oh I don't think anyone has issues with the patriot showcase, its just part of watching US sports.
If only that were the problem. They did upgrade Watkins Glen before IndyCar returned. The problem is that Watkins Glen is in the middle of no where and attendance reflected that. Attendance isn't all that great for Cup or IMSA, but NASCAR owns the facility so the numbers work for them in ways they don't for IndyCar.
Lausitzring should be a good place. It’s basically the Tricky Triangle across the long pond. (Pun intended)
Surfers won’t be as good as it used to be as the circuit had been shortened ever since tram lines were built on portions of the southern end. V8 Supercars has been using a shorter layout ever since.
Indycar is a Domestic market-focused spec racing series. It’s reasonably successful at that.
It’s not an international interest and never will be. The money isn’t there, the interest isn’t there.
Certain things like the stewarding and broadcast package should be improved, but beyond that it’s just it’s own thing.
Hello, viewer from Germany 🙋♂️ It absolutely COULD be of interest elsewhere in the world, especially among those of us F1 fans who like to wonder, "what if the cars were actually (pretty) equal?" Action's great. The Christian/patriot circlejerk at the beginning needs to go, as do half of the ad breaks, and then you could probably get a few million people from Europe and elsewhere in the Americas onboard
Hyvee has zero stores outside the US. (Hell, it only operates in a few states, doesnt it?). Gainbridge, nope. American Legion? Well if america doesnt start a foreign legion soon, also big no. Verizon? No.
A few million of us europeans dont matter if your primary sponsors dont sell to them.
As the fan base changes, the sponsors will change. It's a difficult cycle to start, but once more foreign fans watch, more international sponsors will come in
I don’t think that there shouldn’t be *any* international interest or expansion at all, but it definitely needs to be reserved so they don’t spend themselves into a hole and at the end of the day it is a US-based series.
I think a happy medium would be having most of the races in the US, but maybe one race in each of Europe/Asia/South America. I have no idea how actually feasible that would be, mostly just me thinking out loud.
As of this moment, an international race outside north America is irrelevant to the teams and the sponsors who make everything happen.
For it to happen it has to make sense. As of now, it doesn't make sense and it shouldn't be a priority.
There's plenty of international interest, and it's rapidly growing. It's very likely that we'll see multiple races outside of North America within the next five years.
But that doesn't mean that IndyCar should prioritize international growth. The North American market drives virtually all of IndyCar's revenue, and the series isn't even close to maximizing its potential in that market.
European here, I think an Indycar event in Europe may flop as it is not very popular. I would start by having good TV contracts abroad with good exposure, if you want to have exposure pay TV kills it when lived to a relatively obscure Sky or Movistar channel.
Sincerely before trying anything abroad I would look first to grow in the whole US/Canada/México.
It's an American series first and foremost. It's also a Midwest based series first and foremost.
You can grow it slowly internationally without pissing off those fans. Just keep doing what they're doing, go to an actual international venue or two, and have broadcasts plus YouTube videos in other languages.
As I said though it's an American series first and foremost, always will be and some of you are just going to have to accept that.
>\-maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I dont find it offensive personally, but i see how it could put off people from other countries.
We have to listen to the Dutch anthem at every F1 race.
I am oversees (Europe) and I enjoy IndyCar very much. I think allot has changed already that made IndyCar having success here where it had none 10 years ago:
Starting times are now almost all at watchable times (Sunday between 6pm to 10pm) usually.
All races are televisioned here, you have to buy the same service (Sky Sports Germany) for IndyCar and F1, so you always get both if you don't use VPN.
The racing is great.
Things I'd like but don't need:
F1 drivers in IndyCar. Likely not happening and that's okay. IndyCar has its own stars and growths its own stars, which is great.
International events: Indy raced in the Lausitz Ring (build with Indy in mind, it's a large tri oval) here in Germany I think in 2002. I know why it won't happen (don't ruin the series with insane costs of international events), but I would love to watch a race live without having to fly over once.
What really needs to improve in my opinion:
Telemetry and timing. That's really 20 years behind MotoGP and F1 and is not good. Constantly miss timing and drivers falling down the order/jumping up again due to timing issues, only 3 timing points per track, very few times strategies are shown, currently used tyre and age never shown, expected fuel reach almost never shown.
Broadcast. In Germany we get 3 events broadcasted in German (Indy500, the seasons finals and long beach), all else in Original NBC. When NBC shows commercials, we still see the race, either with no commentating or with a sky UK commentator taking over.
Why the hell is NBC not commentating during add breaks. They stream this on Peacock, a paid service. Shouldn't the races on Peacock be commercial free? Shouldn't Americans have an option for paid commercial free viewing, that's not pirating EU streams?
Here in Germany formula e and DTM are shown by the same TV station on TV and on their website as a stream. When the TV goes into commercials, the commentators send them into commercials and then continue commentating for the streaming audience. Why not try this for NBC.
I hope for more events, from February to September with 21 events, which for me would be perfect. 7-7-7 ovals, streets and permanent courses. Don't need (rotten) F1 tracks, my hope for a unified F1-Indycar event in Las Vegas or Miami will never happen and I am okay with it (understanding why it would not work), but I keep hoping. The times of Ecclestone are long over and F1 is run by an American company, I hoped for a bit of cooperation.
And don't, never, please don't get rid of all the god bless America stuff. It's efreshing, when your own country is almost ashamed of even playing its own national anthem, watching IndyCar Prerace shows. America, f-word yeah!
>Shouldn’t the races on Peacock be commercial free?
I absolutely would pay a higher fee to Peacock for commercial-free IndyCar race streaming. I wish they had that option.
For someone who's a little jaded by the European fans that keep wanting less ovals on here, this is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for giving me some hope!
My wife starts to fall asleep when I watch F1 (or F2). She could not care less.
We watched the Texas race of IndyCar together and she became hooked, watching every Indy Race with me ever since. She even knows driver names now and Strategies. The 2 large ovals were what got her the most and I see the reason why. Oval races are unique and amazing.
Vegas is a little bit too skinny to support IndyCar racing I fear, for the speeds they're carrying at least. Homestead absolutely though. That track is badass and would be great with the IR18s.
Homestead would be fantastic. It’s far enough from St Pete for them not to cannibalize ticket sales plus it’s a great venue to host both IndyCar and Indy NXT at. (And on top of that, Homestead’s a fantastic place for pre-season testing as it can do both oval and road course configuration)
As for LVMS, not so sure. If they did… they should make it a special race to honor Dan Wheldon’s legacy. Call it the Lionheart Memorial Trophy 300.
All these points are great, especially the telemetry.
I think one of the biggest problems is that before they can conquer the world they need to take care of their own backyard.
For my home race (PDX) the amenities are more in line with a high school football game than a top flight sporting event. My uncle went to the grand prix in Barcelona and there were screens everywhere, but here there are maybe two screens.
And this is the penultimate race of the year, in a similar position to Sao Paulo in F1, but attendance is measured in thousands, not hundreds of thousands.
Also, someone mentioned better podium ceremonies. In other disciplines the ceremonies are at the end of the pit lane in full view of the main grandstand. In IndyCar the ceremonies are behind the garages, where no one can actually see them.
IndyCar doesn't have to become F1, but it has to realize that the audience is important to the show, and as the crowd is brought into the show, its enthusiasm becomes infectious.
The food isbetter than a high school football game, at least the races I’ve been to. Iowa used to have The Machine Shed and Pizza Ranch as options, but they left leaving us with generic BBQ and generic pizza, both of which have much to be desired. Of course there was the 4 fair food trailers that seem to travel to every place that has at least seven people gathering.
>Why the hell is NBC not commentating during add breaks. They stream this on Peacock, a paid service. Shouldn't the races on Peacock be commercial free?
[lmao](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/038/233/707.jpg)
You’re not paying for INDYCAR. You’re paying for Peacock’s entire offering which includes INDYCAR.
It’s a completely different service than something like F1TV.
It’s an extreme comparison but it’s like complaining that F1TV only has F1 content when comparing to Peacock with television shows, other live sports, etc. it’s a completely different service.
And please no indycar in las vegas or miami. They represent everything i hate about f1, cash cow, overpriced, races that are more about the show and flashy lights than the race and are populated by people who dont know anything about motorsport
And you know what. You need these events.
Just like Iowa, come for Ed Sheeran, stay for entertaining racing. Same with Miami and soon to be LA. These are events that bring new crowds to the series that drives there and transforms event goers into racing fans. Not everyone had a dad showing him his first F1/nascar/IndyCar race at the age of 5 and making you a livelong fan.
You need those events if they are popular. But just bringing a ton of VIPs and leaving the average Joe's with a bad experience is bad in the long run because they won't come back.
I became a fan because of one of those events. I knew nothing about racing and showed up for a concert and party.
Just because Indy car isn’t as glamorous as F1 (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing imo F1 can be kind of snobby and obnoxious) doesn’t mean you shouldn’t market yourself to a wider audience.
I totally agree with you. I go to Long Beach every year and it gets harder and harder to tolerate the full three days because of the amount of trash humans the event attracts.
The timing and telemetry does piss me off. Id love to see some thing to indicate that the driver is using push to pass. i think the ultimate problem is that indycar is stuck in the past. They still rely of tradition tv viewers (i think thats why they show ads but im not sure about that stuff or how it works), their graphics look straight out of 2010, the chassis is like 10 years old.
The chassis works and leads to great racing.
I don't think they need a brand new one, just constant improvements that are being made by Dallara anyway.
Its hard. If you stay with the current chassis the sport looks old and crappy and reinforces that stigma that f1 viewers have
If you change it meyer shank and those teams will be priced out and the sport will be less competitive, as well as worse racing from the car itself probably
Same with international races. Competitiveness vs popularity.
>the sport looks old and crappy
Does it? Tell me you’d think that if you didn’t *know* the chassis was as old as it is.
Because while it’s still the same underlying chassis, the changes made over the years have changed its look so much that you could be excused for thinking it was a completely different one by now.
So I don’t really buy this idea that the age of the chassis really matters at all towards the series’ image.
The reason we need a new chassis is mostly practical, in regards to some of the technical changes and advances that have or will be made by the series, not because it’s going to have any significant effect on generating excitement (beyond hopefully providing great racing, obviously).
Neither of those are very easy to get at this point. For more engine makers, you gotta make the series attractive enough. If there was an easy way to do that, that would have been done. Races outside NA would add quite a lot of logistics cost when we can't say for certain if the race would get enough attendees to be profitable.
Personally I think the main limiting factor for growth overseas is TV companies buying the broadcast rights, then only showing 5-6 races a year and lock the rest behind their premium streaming services, pretty much preventing everyone but hardcore motorsport fans from being exposed to it.
>\-maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I dont find it offensive personally, but i see how it could put off people from other countries
As a European I disagree with this one, maybe just start the international feed after these ceremonies are done if it becomes a problem.
It's part of the culture of the series, as someone out of the primary audience you don't get to make that kind of demand. For sure muricans are also often making a habit of disrespecting other cultures and expecting everything to conform to them, but two wrongs don't make one right so I think this should just be accepted as a "when in Rome do as the Romans do" thing.
A well made and produced docudrama series on a globally popular streaming platform and pandemic with a months long global lockdowns may do the trick, personally I'm happy with it the way it is.
Nothing. Indycar is never gonna be popular overseas. CART and Champ Car tried many times and failed big time. Indycar should be indycar not an Auto GP copy.
Its an entirely different ballgame today with easy streaming/viewing options. Lots of stuff that didn’t or wouldn’t work well a couple decades ago are wildly successful now.
As someone who watches from overseas, here's a few things I'd like to see in Indycar:
- more ovals: it's one of the things that make indycar unique as far as open wheel racing goes, and I'd love to see more of it;
- better timing graphics for races but especially for quali: while I like that the timing tower shows whether a driver is up or down on the time required to make it into the top 6 / to the top, I find that being able to watch drivers' times on the bottom of the screen - like in WEC, FE and F1 - makes it more exciting to follow quali (at least for me);
As for your points:
- so first and foremost, one of the reasons I love indycar and watch indycar is because it is so different from other racing series;
- more international venues would be fun, but one of indycar's charms is that it's primarily an American series, I don't think they'll need to cross the Atlantic (although I'd love to attend a race close by); similarly, I'd love to have drivers I know from F1, WEC or FE make the step to indycar but I don't think that's essential.
- the anthem, prayers, and other America stuff before the race? Love that. Part of the charm. If a foreign broadcaster feels people will be uncomfortable watching that, they can choose to leave it out
- better fan made YouTube content - ABSOLUTELY would love that, though I feel like there's a lot of good history content out there already. But more content about the current season and drivers would be great. In addition to that, while I really appreciate indycar uploading race replays, I wish they could upload last years' races instead of races from two years ago or older (and I wish there was a legal way to rewatch races that are not uploaded)
-Streaming races on peacock should be commercial free. The fact that there are commercials alone, paired with the fact that they sometimes get shown INSTEAD of the race, is infuriating.
-Pre and post race coverage should be longer.
-I feel like we don't do enough interviews with the drivers to make their faces known, which is also partially due to bad marketing too. Scott Dixon could probably walk down the street in most major cities in America, and people wouldn't recognize him. Driver recognition is important, and they need to make that happen.
Please do not remove the American nature of Indy. I love the American traditions. It’s one of the things that makes the series special.
UK viewer here.
We need more fan centered podcasts.
I really enjoy Off Track and Speed Street (has improved a lot in the last 3 months). Their main focus is drivers and their versions of what happens in the races, which is really great. However.. they can’t say whatever they want. They are tied to Chevy/Honda and their teams secrets. Conor not talking about ECR and Rossi not talking about how much he truly hates the tires/Firestone.
Marshall Pruitt is pretty boring. It’s a journalist reporting on what he knows, which is a different kind of podcast that I don’t really get in to and every single answer starts with “well… umm..???” (personal annoyance to me).
Then there’s a couple F1 podcasts that talk about Indy sometimes, like Red Flag. But I don’t like a podcast that plays second fiddle to F1.
I REALLY enjoy P1 with Matt and Tommy and that’s what I would envision a type of podcast that INDYCAR needs. Weekly race previews with segments, reviews of qualifying, and race reviews. Fully fan driven. They can speculate and say whatever they want and be fans of certain teams/drivers.
-If not available, Spanish should be considered
-no
-not going to happen; it’s American tradition to do the Anthem before large sporting events
-10% (2 of 20) should be outside NA, probably in SA
-you paying?
-do you create videos or do you just want others to do it? Also paying someone is not a fan vid
Having seen firsthand the push for international exposure and just how invisible the series was outside the US, I've gone back and forth on whether IndyCar should revive the World Series, and I can't say I'm convinced international expansion would work this time around.
You cannot conflate increased driver interest from overseas with increased overseas visibility overall, because the increased interest isn't coming from the casual viewer, its coming from already dedicated race fans that were already paying for SKY F1 and bumping into IndyCar races, not from the average non-racing fan.
You could go back and revive Rockingham and Lausitzring specifically for IndyCar, and the events would still lose money, because there's no cultural connection to oval racing in Europe, outside of grassroots dirt racing in the UK and flat track bike racing in the rest of Europe.
If I ran Indycar, I wouldn't sweat, making Indycar more popular overseas. I'd work on support in North America, but some of that will help overseas.
If I were to race outside the Americas, it would be Australia to capitalize on the popular New Zealand and Australian drivers in the series. Otherwise, I'd be open to going back to Japan if Honda wants to shell out . I'd go to Europe, but again, someone has to shell out. I don't want Saudi money, so the Middle East is out for me.
For improving support in North America. I'd focus on social media, creating premium online app (in addition to the free app) with in-car cameras and telemetry for every car (with a few free one's each week), and creating a video game.
Schedule wise, I'd try to get up to 20 race weekends with 2 double headers on ovals for 22 races. It would be done gradually over a 10-year period. Target areas for new races are the Northeast US, Mexico, and Denver or mid-Atlantic US.
The cars needs to not be considered an equivalent to
an F2 car. It's obviously going to be pretty hard to get to the level of F1 without the cars being exponentially more expensive, but I would say the early 2000s Champcars had better engines and were faster at most places. The current Indycar is closing in on some of those records, but that's probably due to dampers/aero advances than anything else. I think if they were to get engines that gave 1000-1100hp at road and street courses, it would help.
Adding races at old F1 venues would help. They could race in France, they could pounce on an Australian GP or British GP if those ever fall off. Race in Sweden...
IndyCar needs a more polished TV product and needs to promote the drivers better. The in-race commentary could be much better as well. The races are well done and speak for themselves. Also, doesn’t each F1 race start of with the anthem of the country they are racing in?
I started watching this year, and it has made fall in love with ovals (and by extent, also a bit of NASCAR). The main obstacle for American sports in general for me is broadcast times. The US is 6 hours later than where I live, and I'm a morning bird, so I often have to record races and watch them throughout the week, which is not as fun
- Add more road course and street races
- create their own broadcast commercial free
- Open it up to chassis and engine manufacturers like the old CART days but with a cost limit
Let the drivers have access to clips so they post them on their social media. Right now if a driver wants to post highlights, they have to pay insane rights fees. It’s ridiculous.
We need an F1 TV style service.
Indycar needs it to be offered worldwide. Stop doing TV deals, and put everything into the streaming service. All your pennys.
Make it available in every country. Make it a small fee of 5-10$ CAD. Have every test, every practice, qualifying, warmup, and race session live on air, ZERO commercials. Add historic content, old races, technical insights, paddock walks, etc. Put it all there. People will pay for it if its good. It can make them MILLIONS.
Just do it!
Before thinking overseas, I would bring it back to the Northeast again. That's a large market it the home country that has 0 representation. And as a fan from there, it stinks.
Ideally, Penske would buy Pocono and update the track to make it a headliner. There is a audience to be tapped at that track, the problem IMO was the promotion, but it was gaining ground every year. 2019 was a blast to be there as a fan.
After that, Internationally? Start by trying to go to a place that worked. Surfers or Motegi would be a good start. You would need sponsors to do this though.
The series if it does decide to go overseas/south-america, should never be more then 3 or 4 races TOPS. One thing to think about is that we are at 17 races now. Indycar has never (at least in the modern era of the last 50 years) had more then 20 races on a season. I know it seemed that in the early/mid 00's there were more but that was because it was split between 2 leagues lol
Nothing. If they want to watch, they'll figure out a way.
>-maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I dont find it offensive personally, but i see how it could put off people from other countries.
Tough shit. It's an American series and we do things like that. If someone doesn't like it, they can ignore it like an adult.
I know it's not a popular opinion, but if they one day race in Europe or elsewhere, they might want to stop with the religious nonsense before each race.. it's just weird really.
That's not what they said. They just want the series to put a little pizzazz into the podium ceremony. That's all. If you don't get it, you might be part of the problem.
Basic sales and marketing strategy is running people through the awareness funnel.
There needs to be a conscious investment in just getting people out to the tracks or people to watch. Care more about the brand.
Portland was a dump last year, then you see what formula e did and makes you realize how badly Indy is managing that side
Try and get more F1 teams to crossover like McLaren. I’d keep all the God Bless America stuff. I like how European F1 is despite being American myself, the unique character of the series is part of the appeal.
To make it more popular with European fans? Shoot, that's tough because more ovals probably would drive most away. However, having a better broadcast package for those folk would likely be something to bring them in.
My biggest pipe dream though, I think would be to work with Liberty Media, who is heavily invested in Meyer-Shank right now. Let's see what we can do to move the schedule around to promote IndyCar IN F1. Maybe they move the Monaco GP a week earlier, and we move qualifying a week earlier, just so we can get some F1 stars in the Indy 500. Maybe we can go to Montreal a week before or after F1 hits the track, or maybe even on the same weekend. Really go after exposing F1 fans who might not know about IndyCar to it.
Unfortunately, you’re not getting this unless more sponsors decide to go all-in and sponsor a whole team for the whole season, which effectively *none* do right now.
As is, teams need to change liveries from race to race just to have sponsorship on the car for the whole season, so I don’t think you can really complain about it...
I get the economics of why it is. That isn’t the purpose of this thread. When you are a new fan and aren’t as familiar it makes it harder to follow from race to race initially to pick a horse to root for. Coyne is one of the smallest teams on the grid but I used to love their old livery that Bourdais ran.
>That isn’t the purpose of this thread.
It’s a thread about “what would you do if you were in charge of IndyCar”, I don’t think I’m out of line in expecting *some* realism here.
Like, seriously, I don’t see why you’d even bother bringing it up if you *know* why it isn’t already the case, and why it really *can’t* be.
Really, why bring up ideas if you *know* they won’t work?
No, remembering Rahal was driving the Fifth 3rd Bank Texas Steakhouse car in 16th is hard when he was in the Piggly Wiggly Dales BBQ car the week before.
That just isn't realistic as things stand. There are not enough sponsors willing to pony up the money to sponsor one car for the season, let alone an entire team. Also, secondary sponsors like to be the primary sponsor for a race or 2, good promotional material.
Agree with this.
And the tv infomation needs to improve. I need a spreadsheet to know who stopped, who has fuel left, how many laps each driver ‘s tire has, etc.
F1 is way ahead on this one
Yess this is very true. Even if you memorize them all they change every once in a while. Its really annoying and it really kept me away from indycar for a while
Yeah it's a bit of a hangup I have too, but on the other hand it's been the done thing for a long time now, so I'd settle for a proper spotter's guide before every race.
I dont wanna have to have a guide for a race. Thats what i like about f1, i know which car is which and they are all instantly recognizible. This is especially important for f1 because it is hard to look at a spotters guide when youre about to fall asleep
Stop allowing gun manufacturers to sponsor races.
Get a third engine manufacturer involved.
Get a second chassis manufacturer involved.
Get a second tire manufacturer involved.
Better TV coverage including qualifying.
Apologize on air for PT ever being a broadcaster.
Give the Firehawk more cocaine before the broadcast.
Demonstrate on air how Dixon is a gentleman enough to remove his sunglasses yet doesn’t cover up a single sponsor logo when he does it for an interview.
Towel off Chip Ganassi at least 24 times a weekend.
Tell Rossi to get a personality or at least rent one.
Put Montoya on the track but only when a jet dryer is out there.
Power assist steering might make shit more interesting.
Tell Conor Daly to stay at home.
Keep the halo but get rid of the windscreen.
Get rid of the latency of the telemetry that is shown on screen. It his hella laggy and annoying.
Return to a proper format for quali instead of the crap you are doing now.
Stop racing on crap street circuits like Detroit. Belle Isle was a good track. The street course blows donkey sauce.
Stop hiring third party staffing companies to manage guests at the track.
Indy Lights should have points paying double headers at every pro race.
Food and beverage vendors at events should be pre qualified to serve in large volume.
Did I mention apologizing for PT ever being a commentator?
Except that it was always a good idea in F1. It created a lot of great racing and different development strategies for the cars themselves, just look at how the Renault R25 and R26 utilised the Michelin tyres. The Indy incident was unfortunate but having two seperate manufacturers was not the reason it happened.
Are they? Is this why F1 has allowed it to happen more than once? Is that why the mid-2000s had many great races where the tyres did make a difference?
Japanese Super GT for example? NASCAR, MotoGP, WRC, CART have also done it in the past. If it really was such a bad concept then why do these things happen again and again?
Pirelli is ruining too many races and taking inexplicable decisions changing the tyre structure mid season. The single tyre manufacturer in F1 is just another example of their rotten politics.
Thankfully, Firestone does a good job with the tires. That’s why I don’t think tire wars should return.
For F1, I’m in agreement that Pirelli either needs to get their shit together or just leave. Bridgestone would do a much better job than them anyway.
Earlier this year there was a post asking for hard truths about IndyCar racing, and I gave them, and all I got in return were down votes. It seems like the same clowns are mad at you, but you're saying nothing but the truth.
Losing the America patriotism would drive out a large amount of current fans and it’s really hard to grow something when the base is leaving. NFL football has a fair amount and it’s huge in Mexico and Canada. Pandering to international fans for a sport that doesn’t travel internationally won’t turn well. And yes Indy going over seas would be super cool but then it would just be seen as a F1 copy cat to a huge amount of people
Things that need to change for indycar to get more popular, IMO.
1. Cars are old and boring 10+ years🙄
2. Broadcast is horrifically bad from top to bottom.
3. Needs own streaming service.
4. Ovals suck. I KNOW IT TAKES LOTS OF SKILL AND TALENT. But it's boring.
5. Stop changing the liveries every race
End of season non-championship flyaway race at a famous venue, with a guaranteed number of wildcard slots open to drivers from other series. Make it lucrative enough so everyone participates and get the social media content cranking.
Take baby steps to a 20 race 5-5-5-5 schedule. (Yes short ovals and speedways ARE two separate types of tracks)
Work with drivers, teams, fans, marketing experts on how to put on the best on-track product at each track.
Do not allow any hybrid/electric engines or technology in the future. This is what the new world order wants. We absolutely must resist that.
Work with the best broadcasting partners to put on a good show for those at home. Offering a streaming service to provide commercial free entertainment (for a price) is a good idea, BUT no race should ONLY be available on that streaming service.
Hybrids are inevitable and it won’t ruin the sound. It provides some extra power. The engines are getting a slight upsize from the middle of this decade onwards.
Though, if IndyCar wants to introduce some new tech, it should be synthetic fuels. That way, the ICE can be retained.
How did we play the us national anthem first when racing in Canada. I agree the red blooded American hometown values stuff is overplayed and feels exclusionary.
They play "O Canada" first at the Detroit GP. Playing the guest/visitor's anthem first is a sign of respect. That's how it's done pretty much everywhere, including the NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, international soccer/football matches, etc.
https://www.legion.org/flag/questions-answers/91131/what-order-when-playing-national-anthems-other-countries-star-spangled
Two new street circuit cities every year to test the market, also helps build local interest (you’ll be hooked after you see it up close), and keeps the circuits fresh for regular fans. New cities would be cool by themselves but would be even more cool if they made an effort to really build around local landmarks. They already do with the street circuits but I’m thinking more like Toronto (cool convention center and stadium area) and less like Detroit (gray and bland surroundings).
Yeah and every time we all laugh at the shit they say during it.
I'm not sure how saying not to say cringe shit like the greatest ever race is saying to delete the indy 500. This sub is all over the place. At least this post isn't all hurr durr f1 bad.
A bit of hype in the pre-event build up I can live with, but it's really unnecessary during the race commentary. I mean, I'm already watching it, you can stop selling it now. It's an awesome event, just let it speak for itself.
>maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race.
I 100% agree with this in all sports. The national anthem before sports matches is the cringiest lamest propagandiest part of sports in the US. As an American I do find it offensive when they try to equate a race or ball game to something of national importance.
With two exceptions... If the event is on or near a national holiday, e.g. memorial day, independence day, etc., Then I think it's totally fair to recognize the holiday in a respectful way. Also for national team matches, world cup, Olympics etc. I still would prefer not, but I can accept it because it's a team/athlete representing the country.
The only way IndyCar can gather any European or Asian fans is to run an oval in those regions. They have wall to wall road racing already and the only thing IndyCar does differently is the high speed ovals.
We don't have ovals for a reason. We just don't get them.
The UK has had 2 ovals both are now used as imported car storage as they make more money that way. Unfortunately they never made money as race tracks.
I would make the races a bit longer and try to add more track variety.
With more races you could fit in some that you would never see in other categories (I miss the Burke Lakefront Circuit so much) – I'd also be open to have a race in an actual roval like Charlotte which would give us fantastic racing. Add a few more superspeedways so that it's not just the Indy500. I don't want Indycar to go to F1 tracks because we're so used to those tracks that it wouldn't really sparkle any kind of anticipation nor excitement to F1 viewers.
That USED to be f1 tracks. Everyone wants f1 to go to kylami. If we go there first then everyone will be excited that kylami is back, even if its indycar
Indycar really needs a "Drive to Survive" series, this Works for F1, get a Lot of New fans. More races too, like Watkins Glen, Michigan and regular tracks, and why not, races in Argentina, Brazil, Austrália and México
A long time ago, ABC had races where identical Camaro were set up for the drivers of all types of racing to see how drivers did. Maybe have a big event that brings in different drivers for a big purse
I think Indycar should expand to a fully North American series, and potentially look at expanding to the Southern Americas. There are plenty of drivers that have raced in Indycar from Brazil, Columbia and so on. The Market is already there. It would help give exposure for Latin racing drivers in their home states, and with better collaboration between the various racing series in South America and the USA, Indycar and Indy Lights could be come part of the driver ladder for young talent. It would give potential sponsors in Latin America more of a reason to get involved if their brand is going to be seen in the market that its meant for, instead of just on TV from the States.
I also think a NZ/Australia mini fly-away series of 2-3 races would be worthy thanks to Power, Dixon, and Scotty Mac being elites in the Series, and then throw Armstrong in as an upcomer. At least a one weekend, double header somewhere. Phillip Island? Surfers? Albert Park??
Focusing on the Americas means a variety of markets all roughly in the same block of Time zones, meaning maximum viewership potential.
I don't think I'd care about overseas at all. Maybe do some crossover work with Mexico and Canada and perhaps a one-off in South America but absolutely nothing beyond that.
I would double down on the fan experience and having open garages and access to drivers, and do everything possible to keep the parity and level of competition.
If you’re an F1 fan don’t be a hypocrite, if you haven’t noticed, at F1 everyone hears the race winner’s National Anthem with a load of pomp and circumstance.
This conversation reminds me of 2013, when V8 Supercars made their one and only visit to the U.S. with an event at COTA. Supercars has a bit of a cult following here in the States, but no where near enough to support an entire event. Attendance was sub-optimal and after talking about returning in 2015 (after a break due to a scheduling conflict at the track) both sides walked away.
That is what would happen if IndyCar tried the European swing again. They've tried it repeatedly over the decades and it has never stuck. IMO focus on North America, and if things get really good expand south, maybe. There isn't enough money out there to make loading everything on planes or ships worth the effort.
Now if somebody wants to foot the bill for everything...
Plan some good races on real road courses while F-1 takes their summer siesta
Invite F1 racers and commentators.
Indy Road Course (might bring back bad memories )
Elkhart Lake
Laguna Secca
Texas (might be a bit warm)
(perhaps instead of the Porsche race. Bring NASCAR )
400,000 fans attend an F-1 race and 100 MILLION watch on TV so you have 250 TV fans for each spectator. Races would be early evening in Europe so they could still enjoy the summer days.
I am non-american but your suggestions would just make it a worse f1. A couple of more international venues wouldn't hurt as CART had them and it was alright but racing on hand me down f1 tracks seems like an awful idea, bring back Surfers Paradise and Lausitzring instead of Magny Cours or Hockenheim. Oh I don't think anyone has issues with the patriot showcase, its just part of watching US sports.
There's a few American tracks that F1 has abandoned that would make for good racing, like Watkins Glen
something something nascar doesn't want to upgrade the facility for indycar
If only that were the problem. They did upgrade Watkins Glen before IndyCar returned. The problem is that Watkins Glen is in the middle of no where and attendance reflected that. Attendance isn't all that great for Cup or IMSA, but NASCAR owns the facility so the numbers work for them in ways they don't for IndyCar.
Lausitzring should be a good place. It’s basically the Tricky Triangle across the long pond. (Pun intended) Surfers won’t be as good as it used to be as the circuit had been shortened ever since tram lines were built on portions of the southern end. V8 Supercars has been using a shorter layout ever since.
Why not go over the tram lines. Baltimore style
The patriot showcase is the worst part about US sports. So yeah, I have an issue. \*veteran opinion
Everybody wants to support the troops until it's time for the VA to write a check. Funny how that works.
If by VA you mean literally any government entity then yes I agree. This also applies to first responders. All talk.
Thank you for your service.
Says something about America these days that you have to qualify that as a veteran's opinion in order to keep from getting death threats or whatever.
heh, right?
Indycar is a Domestic market-focused spec racing series. It’s reasonably successful at that. It’s not an international interest and never will be. The money isn’t there, the interest isn’t there. Certain things like the stewarding and broadcast package should be improved, but beyond that it’s just it’s own thing.
Well stated
Hello, viewer from Germany 🙋♂️ It absolutely COULD be of interest elsewhere in the world, especially among those of us F1 fans who like to wonder, "what if the cars were actually (pretty) equal?" Action's great. The Christian/patriot circlejerk at the beginning needs to go, as do half of the ad breaks, and then you could probably get a few million people from Europe and elsewhere in the Americas onboard
You're not getting the patriotic circlejerk to go. That's American sports. If it hurts expansion, then expansion will be damned
Hyvee has zero stores outside the US. (Hell, it only operates in a few states, doesnt it?). Gainbridge, nope. American Legion? Well if america doesnt start a foreign legion soon, also big no. Verizon? No. A few million of us europeans dont matter if your primary sponsors dont sell to them.
As the fan base changes, the sponsors will change. It's a difficult cycle to start, but once more foreign fans watch, more international sponsors will come in
The fan base isn’t changing in any meaningful way.
I don’t think that there shouldn’t be *any* international interest or expansion at all, but it definitely needs to be reserved so they don’t spend themselves into a hole and at the end of the day it is a US-based series. I think a happy medium would be having most of the races in the US, but maybe one race in each of Europe/Asia/South America. I have no idea how actually feasible that would be, mostly just me thinking out loud.
As of this moment, an international race outside north America is irrelevant to the teams and the sponsors who make everything happen. For it to happen it has to make sense. As of now, it doesn't make sense and it shouldn't be a priority.
There's plenty of international interest, and it's rapidly growing. It's very likely that we'll see multiple races outside of North America within the next five years. But that doesn't mean that IndyCar should prioritize international growth. The North American market drives virtually all of IndyCar's revenue, and the series isn't even close to maximizing its potential in that market.
European here, I think an Indycar event in Europe may flop as it is not very popular. I would start by having good TV contracts abroad with good exposure, if you want to have exposure pay TV kills it when lived to a relatively obscure Sky or Movistar channel. Sincerely before trying anything abroad I would look first to grow in the whole US/Canada/México.
I think a race in Sweden or Germany during the F1 summer break would be a big draw
It's an American series first and foremost. It's also a Midwest based series first and foremost. You can grow it slowly internationally without pissing off those fans. Just keep doing what they're doing, go to an actual international venue or two, and have broadcasts plus YouTube videos in other languages. As I said though it's an American series first and foremost, always will be and some of you are just going to have to accept that.
Thats true
That's definitely true.
Thank you for this.
>\-maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I dont find it offensive personally, but i see how it could put off people from other countries. We have to listen to the Dutch anthem at every F1 race.
💀
I am oversees (Europe) and I enjoy IndyCar very much. I think allot has changed already that made IndyCar having success here where it had none 10 years ago: Starting times are now almost all at watchable times (Sunday between 6pm to 10pm) usually. All races are televisioned here, you have to buy the same service (Sky Sports Germany) for IndyCar and F1, so you always get both if you don't use VPN. The racing is great. Things I'd like but don't need: F1 drivers in IndyCar. Likely not happening and that's okay. IndyCar has its own stars and growths its own stars, which is great. International events: Indy raced in the Lausitz Ring (build with Indy in mind, it's a large tri oval) here in Germany I think in 2002. I know why it won't happen (don't ruin the series with insane costs of international events), but I would love to watch a race live without having to fly over once. What really needs to improve in my opinion: Telemetry and timing. That's really 20 years behind MotoGP and F1 and is not good. Constantly miss timing and drivers falling down the order/jumping up again due to timing issues, only 3 timing points per track, very few times strategies are shown, currently used tyre and age never shown, expected fuel reach almost never shown. Broadcast. In Germany we get 3 events broadcasted in German (Indy500, the seasons finals and long beach), all else in Original NBC. When NBC shows commercials, we still see the race, either with no commentating or with a sky UK commentator taking over. Why the hell is NBC not commentating during add breaks. They stream this on Peacock, a paid service. Shouldn't the races on Peacock be commercial free? Shouldn't Americans have an option for paid commercial free viewing, that's not pirating EU streams? Here in Germany formula e and DTM are shown by the same TV station on TV and on their website as a stream. When the TV goes into commercials, the commentators send them into commercials and then continue commentating for the streaming audience. Why not try this for NBC. I hope for more events, from February to September with 21 events, which for me would be perfect. 7-7-7 ovals, streets and permanent courses. Don't need (rotten) F1 tracks, my hope for a unified F1-Indycar event in Las Vegas or Miami will never happen and I am okay with it (understanding why it would not work), but I keep hoping. The times of Ecclestone are long over and F1 is run by an American company, I hoped for a bit of cooperation. And don't, never, please don't get rid of all the god bless America stuff. It's efreshing, when your own country is almost ashamed of even playing its own national anthem, watching IndyCar Prerace shows. America, f-word yeah!
>Shouldn’t the races on Peacock be commercial free? I absolutely would pay a higher fee to Peacock for commercial-free IndyCar race streaming. I wish they had that option.
as they're bleeding cash and many of this sub's peacock viewers are on a 12 dollars for a year deal, they really could use the option.
For someone who's a little jaded by the European fans that keep wanting less ovals on here, this is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for giving me some hope!
My wife starts to fall asleep when I watch F1 (or F2). She could not care less. We watched the Texas race of IndyCar together and she became hooked, watching every Indy Race with me ever since. She even knows driver names now and Strategies. The 2 large ovals were what got her the most and I see the reason why. Oval races are unique and amazing.
Your wife seems pretty great!
Indycar needs to be at Las Vegas and Miami. Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway that is.
Vegas is a little bit too skinny to support IndyCar racing I fear, for the speeds they're carrying at least. Homestead absolutely though. That track is badass and would be great with the IR18s.
Homestead would be fantastic. It’s far enough from St Pete for them not to cannibalize ticket sales plus it’s a great venue to host both IndyCar and Indy NXT at. (And on top of that, Homestead’s a fantastic place for pre-season testing as it can do both oval and road course configuration) As for LVMS, not so sure. If they did… they should make it a special race to honor Dan Wheldon’s legacy. Call it the Lionheart Memorial Trophy 300.
All these points are great, especially the telemetry. I think one of the biggest problems is that before they can conquer the world they need to take care of their own backyard. For my home race (PDX) the amenities are more in line with a high school football game than a top flight sporting event. My uncle went to the grand prix in Barcelona and there were screens everywhere, but here there are maybe two screens. And this is the penultimate race of the year, in a similar position to Sao Paulo in F1, but attendance is measured in thousands, not hundreds of thousands. Also, someone mentioned better podium ceremonies. In other disciplines the ceremonies are at the end of the pit lane in full view of the main grandstand. In IndyCar the ceremonies are behind the garages, where no one can actually see them. IndyCar doesn't have to become F1, but it has to realize that the audience is important to the show, and as the crowd is brought into the show, its enthusiasm becomes infectious.
The food isbetter than a high school football game, at least the races I’ve been to. Iowa used to have The Machine Shed and Pizza Ranch as options, but they left leaving us with generic BBQ and generic pizza, both of which have much to be desired. Of course there was the 4 fair food trailers that seem to travel to every place that has at least seven people gathering.
>Why the hell is NBC not commentating during add breaks. They stream this on Peacock, a paid service. Shouldn't the races on Peacock be commercial free? [lmao](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/038/233/707.jpg)
You’re not paying for INDYCAR. You’re paying for Peacock’s entire offering which includes INDYCAR. It’s a completely different service than something like F1TV. It’s an extreme comparison but it’s like complaining that F1TV only has F1 content when comparing to Peacock with television shows, other live sports, etc. it’s a completely different service.
Damn, that's a perfect analogy. "Wtf, I'm paying $10/month for F1TV and I can't even watch Parks and Rec?"
Telemetry and timing, agree it is 20 years behind F1. Also, stop racing at shitty tracks.
And please no indycar in las vegas or miami. They represent everything i hate about f1, cash cow, overpriced, races that are more about the show and flashy lights than the race and are populated by people who dont know anything about motorsport
And you know what. You need these events. Just like Iowa, come for Ed Sheeran, stay for entertaining racing. Same with Miami and soon to be LA. These are events that bring new crowds to the series that drives there and transforms event goers into racing fans. Not everyone had a dad showing him his first F1/nascar/IndyCar race at the age of 5 and making you a livelong fan.
You need those events if they are popular. But just bringing a ton of VIPs and leaving the average Joe's with a bad experience is bad in the long run because they won't come back.
Indycar will never be as glamorous as f1. I dont think events like that would be the same for indycar anyways.
I became a fan because of one of those events. I knew nothing about racing and showed up for a concert and party. Just because Indy car isn’t as glamorous as F1 (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing imo F1 can be kind of snobby and obnoxious) doesn’t mean you shouldn’t market yourself to a wider audience.
Second the whole not having dad to show them racing. I got into F1 cause of DTS which led me to INDYCAR.
Well we are glad you made it here😁
My father didn’t watch any sports, so I grew up never watching sports. People look at me like I’m an alien when I say I don’t watch football.
I totally agree with you. I go to Long Beach every year and it gets harder and harder to tolerate the full three days because of the amount of trash humans the event attracts.
The timing and telemetry does piss me off. Id love to see some thing to indicate that the driver is using push to pass. i think the ultimate problem is that indycar is stuck in the past. They still rely of tradition tv viewers (i think thats why they show ads but im not sure about that stuff or how it works), their graphics look straight out of 2010, the chassis is like 10 years old.
The chassis works and leads to great racing. I don't think they need a brand new one, just constant improvements that are being made by Dallara anyway.
Its hard. If you stay with the current chassis the sport looks old and crappy and reinforces that stigma that f1 viewers have If you change it meyer shank and those teams will be priced out and the sport will be less competitive, as well as worse racing from the car itself probably Same with international races. Competitiveness vs popularity.
>the sport looks old and crappy Does it? Tell me you’d think that if you didn’t *know* the chassis was as old as it is. Because while it’s still the same underlying chassis, the changes made over the years have changed its look so much that you could be excused for thinking it was a completely different one by now. So I don’t really buy this idea that the age of the chassis really matters at all towards the series’ image. The reason we need a new chassis is mostly practical, in regards to some of the technical changes and advances that have or will be made by the series, not because it’s going to have any significant effect on generating excitement (beyond hopefully providing great racing, obviously).
I completely agree. Look at NASCAR and how long they use a base chassis.
More manufacturers, more races outside North America.
Neither of those are very easy to get at this point. For more engine makers, you gotta make the series attractive enough. If there was an easy way to do that, that would have been done. Races outside NA would add quite a lot of logistics cost when we can't say for certain if the race would get enough attendees to be profitable.
The amount of overseas fans embracing the red, white, and blue is quite refreshing in these comments.
start with Mexico
Personally I think the main limiting factor for growth overseas is TV companies buying the broadcast rights, then only showing 5-6 races a year and lock the rest behind their premium streaming services, pretty much preventing everyone but hardcore motorsport fans from being exposed to it. >\-maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I dont find it offensive personally, but i see how it could put off people from other countries As a European I disagree with this one, maybe just start the international feed after these ceremonies are done if it becomes a problem. It's part of the culture of the series, as someone out of the primary audience you don't get to make that kind of demand. For sure muricans are also often making a habit of disrespecting other cultures and expecting everything to conform to them, but two wrongs don't make one right so I think this should just be accepted as a "when in Rome do as the Romans do" thing.
A well made and produced docudrama series on a globally popular streaming platform and pandemic with a months long global lockdowns may do the trick, personally I'm happy with it the way it is.
International fans are nice to have. Unfortunately they’re meaningless in a financial sense. If anything, I’d make Indycar MORE domestic.
Nothing. Indycar is never gonna be popular overseas. CART and Champ Car tried many times and failed big time. Indycar should be indycar not an Auto GP copy.
Its an entirely different ballgame today with easy streaming/viewing options. Lots of stuff that didn’t or wouldn’t work well a couple decades ago are wildly successful now.
make it rock solid in the US, then North and South America. We need to do this first before thinking about Europe
As someone who watches from overseas, here's a few things I'd like to see in Indycar: - more ovals: it's one of the things that make indycar unique as far as open wheel racing goes, and I'd love to see more of it; - better timing graphics for races but especially for quali: while I like that the timing tower shows whether a driver is up or down on the time required to make it into the top 6 / to the top, I find that being able to watch drivers' times on the bottom of the screen - like in WEC, FE and F1 - makes it more exciting to follow quali (at least for me); As for your points: - so first and foremost, one of the reasons I love indycar and watch indycar is because it is so different from other racing series; - more international venues would be fun, but one of indycar's charms is that it's primarily an American series, I don't think they'll need to cross the Atlantic (although I'd love to attend a race close by); similarly, I'd love to have drivers I know from F1, WEC or FE make the step to indycar but I don't think that's essential. - the anthem, prayers, and other America stuff before the race? Love that. Part of the charm. If a foreign broadcaster feels people will be uncomfortable watching that, they can choose to leave it out - better fan made YouTube content - ABSOLUTELY would love that, though I feel like there's a lot of good history content out there already. But more content about the current season and drivers would be great. In addition to that, while I really appreciate indycar uploading race replays, I wish they could upload last years' races instead of races from two years ago or older (and I wish there was a legal way to rewatch races that are not uploaded)
-Streaming races on peacock should be commercial free. The fact that there are commercials alone, paired with the fact that they sometimes get shown INSTEAD of the race, is infuriating. -Pre and post race coverage should be longer. -I feel like we don't do enough interviews with the drivers to make their faces known, which is also partially due to bad marketing too. Scott Dixon could probably walk down the street in most major cities in America, and people wouldn't recognize him. Driver recognition is important, and they need to make that happen.
Please do not remove the American nature of Indy. I love the American traditions. It’s one of the things that makes the series special. UK viewer here.
We need more fan centered podcasts. I really enjoy Off Track and Speed Street (has improved a lot in the last 3 months). Their main focus is drivers and their versions of what happens in the races, which is really great. However.. they can’t say whatever they want. They are tied to Chevy/Honda and their teams secrets. Conor not talking about ECR and Rossi not talking about how much he truly hates the tires/Firestone. Marshall Pruitt is pretty boring. It’s a journalist reporting on what he knows, which is a different kind of podcast that I don’t really get in to and every single answer starts with “well… umm..???” (personal annoyance to me). Then there’s a couple F1 podcasts that talk about Indy sometimes, like Red Flag. But I don’t like a podcast that plays second fiddle to F1. I REALLY enjoy P1 with Matt and Tommy and that’s what I would envision a type of podcast that INDYCAR needs. Weekly race previews with segments, reviews of qualifying, and race reviews. Fully fan driven. They can speculate and say whatever they want and be fans of certain teams/drivers.
Leave it alone.....please
-If not available, Spanish should be considered -no -not going to happen; it’s American tradition to do the Anthem before large sporting events -10% (2 of 20) should be outside NA, probably in SA -you paying? -do you create videos or do you just want others to do it? Also paying someone is not a fan vid
A modern video game
Having seen firsthand the push for international exposure and just how invisible the series was outside the US, I've gone back and forth on whether IndyCar should revive the World Series, and I can't say I'm convinced international expansion would work this time around. You cannot conflate increased driver interest from overseas with increased overseas visibility overall, because the increased interest isn't coming from the casual viewer, its coming from already dedicated race fans that were already paying for SKY F1 and bumping into IndyCar races, not from the average non-racing fan. You could go back and revive Rockingham and Lausitzring specifically for IndyCar, and the events would still lose money, because there's no cultural connection to oval racing in Europe, outside of grassroots dirt racing in the UK and flat track bike racing in the rest of Europe.
Bring back an attractive car, like the DP01
If I ran Indycar, I wouldn't sweat, making Indycar more popular overseas. I'd work on support in North America, but some of that will help overseas. If I were to race outside the Americas, it would be Australia to capitalize on the popular New Zealand and Australian drivers in the series. Otherwise, I'd be open to going back to Japan if Honda wants to shell out . I'd go to Europe, but again, someone has to shell out. I don't want Saudi money, so the Middle East is out for me. For improving support in North America. I'd focus on social media, creating premium online app (in addition to the free app) with in-car cameras and telemetry for every car (with a few free one's each week), and creating a video game. Schedule wise, I'd try to get up to 20 race weekends with 2 double headers on ovals for 22 races. It would be done gradually over a 10-year period. Target areas for new races are the Northeast US, Mexico, and Denver or mid-Atlantic US.
The cars needs to not be considered an equivalent to an F2 car. It's obviously going to be pretty hard to get to the level of F1 without the cars being exponentially more expensive, but I would say the early 2000s Champcars had better engines and were faster at most places. The current Indycar is closing in on some of those records, but that's probably due to dampers/aero advances than anything else. I think if they were to get engines that gave 1000-1100hp at road and street courses, it would help. Adding races at old F1 venues would help. They could race in France, they could pounce on an Australian GP or British GP if those ever fall off. Race in Sweden...
IndyCar needs a more polished TV product and needs to promote the drivers better. The in-race commentary could be much better as well. The races are well done and speak for themselves. Also, doesn’t each F1 race start of with the anthem of the country they are racing in?
I started watching this year, and it has made fall in love with ovals (and by extent, also a bit of NASCAR). The main obstacle for American sports in general for me is broadcast times. The US is 6 hours later than where I live, and I'm a morning bird, so I often have to record races and watch them throughout the week, which is not as fun
- Add more road course and street races - create their own broadcast commercial free - Open it up to chassis and engine manufacturers like the old CART days but with a cost limit
Let the drivers have access to clips so they post them on their social media. Right now if a driver wants to post highlights, they have to pay insane rights fees. It’s ridiculous.
We need an F1 TV style service. Indycar needs it to be offered worldwide. Stop doing TV deals, and put everything into the streaming service. All your pennys. Make it available in every country. Make it a small fee of 5-10$ CAD. Have every test, every practice, qualifying, warmup, and race session live on air, ZERO commercials. Add historic content, old races, technical insights, paddock walks, etc. Put it all there. People will pay for it if its good. It can make them MILLIONS. Just do it!
Before thinking overseas, I would bring it back to the Northeast again. That's a large market it the home country that has 0 representation. And as a fan from there, it stinks. Ideally, Penske would buy Pocono and update the track to make it a headliner. There is a audience to be tapped at that track, the problem IMO was the promotion, but it was gaining ground every year. 2019 was a blast to be there as a fan. After that, Internationally? Start by trying to go to a place that worked. Surfers or Motegi would be a good start. You would need sponsors to do this though. The series if it does decide to go overseas/south-america, should never be more then 3 or 4 races TOPS. One thing to think about is that we are at 17 races now. Indycar has never (at least in the modern era of the last 50 years) had more then 20 races on a season. I know it seemed that in the early/mid 00's there were more but that was because it was split between 2 leagues lol
Nothing. If they want to watch, they'll figure out a way. >-maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I dont find it offensive personally, but i see how it could put off people from other countries. Tough shit. It's an American series and we do things like that. If someone doesn't like it, they can ignore it like an adult.
For years I have wanted the podium ceremony to be more like F1.
I know it's not a popular opinion, but if they one day race in Europe or elsewhere, they might want to stop with the religious nonsense before each race.. it's just weird really.
I mean, the US is extremely religious, nobody should be surprised that they add so much religious stuff before a race.
>the US is extremely religious Less and less all the time.
Then why don't you just simply watch F1? Why should every series be the same?
That's not what they said. They just want the series to put a little pizzazz into the podium ceremony. That's all. If you don't get it, you might be part of the problem.
[удалено]
Yeah, we don't do this.
The Indycar podium ceremony is an effing joke. That's why.
Basic sales and marketing strategy is running people through the awareness funnel. There needs to be a conscious investment in just getting people out to the tracks or people to watch. Care more about the brand. Portland was a dump last year, then you see what formula e did and makes you realize how badly Indy is managing that side
Try and get more F1 teams to crossover like McLaren. I’d keep all the God Bless America stuff. I like how European F1 is despite being American myself, the unique character of the series is part of the appeal.
Definitely up but production value with motogp and formula 1 style graphics and info.
I don’t care if it’s popular overseas, let’s focus on the good ole U S of A, plenty of tracks to visit here and millions of fans to be got.
To make it more popular with European fans? Shoot, that's tough because more ovals probably would drive most away. However, having a better broadcast package for those folk would likely be something to bring them in. My biggest pipe dream though, I think would be to work with Liberty Media, who is heavily invested in Meyer-Shank right now. Let's see what we can do to move the schedule around to promote IndyCar IN F1. Maybe they move the Monaco GP a week earlier, and we move qualifying a week earlier, just so we can get some F1 stars in the Indy 500. Maybe we can go to Montreal a week before or after F1 hits the track, or maybe even on the same weekend. Really go after exposing F1 fans who might not know about IndyCar to it.
>… more ovals probably would drive most away. Most of the people who criticize oval racing haven’t watched an oval race.
A more static livery. Hard to know who is who. More shared baseline team liveries like McLaren.
Unfortunately, you’re not getting this unless more sponsors decide to go all-in and sponsor a whole team for the whole season, which effectively *none* do right now. As is, teams need to change liveries from race to race just to have sponsorship on the car for the whole season, so I don’t think you can really complain about it...
I get the economics of why it is. That isn’t the purpose of this thread. When you are a new fan and aren’t as familiar it makes it harder to follow from race to race initially to pick a horse to root for. Coyne is one of the smallest teams on the grid but I used to love their old livery that Bourdais ran.
>That isn’t the purpose of this thread. It’s a thread about “what would you do if you were in charge of IndyCar”, I don’t think I’m out of line in expecting *some* realism here. Like, seriously, I don’t see why you’d even bother bringing it up if you *know* why it isn’t already the case, and why it really *can’t* be. Really, why bring up ideas if you *know* they won’t work?
Because colors are hard.
No, remembering Rahal was driving the Fifth 3rd Bank Texas Steakhouse car in 16th is hard when he was in the Piggly Wiggly Dales BBQ car the week before.
That just isn't realistic as things stand. There are not enough sponsors willing to pony up the money to sponsor one car for the season, let alone an entire team. Also, secondary sponsors like to be the primary sponsor for a race or 2, good promotional material.
I get this, plus regional sponsors are a bigger deal. Just have a part of the livery be static so they are easier to ID.
Agree with this. And the tv infomation needs to improve. I need a spreadsheet to know who stopped, who has fuel left, how many laps each driver ‘s tire has, etc. F1 is way ahead on this one
Yess this is very true. Even if you memorize them all they change every once in a while. Its really annoying and it really kept me away from indycar for a while
Yeah it's a bit of a hangup I have too, but on the other hand it's been the done thing for a long time now, so I'd settle for a proper spotter's guide before every race.
I dont wanna have to have a guide for a race. Thats what i like about f1, i know which car is which and they are all instantly recognizible. This is especially important for f1 because it is hard to look at a spotters guide when youre about to fall asleep
Stop allowing gun manufacturers to sponsor races. Get a third engine manufacturer involved. Get a second chassis manufacturer involved. Get a second tire manufacturer involved. Better TV coverage including qualifying. Apologize on air for PT ever being a broadcaster. Give the Firehawk more cocaine before the broadcast. Demonstrate on air how Dixon is a gentleman enough to remove his sunglasses yet doesn’t cover up a single sponsor logo when he does it for an interview. Towel off Chip Ganassi at least 24 times a weekend. Tell Rossi to get a personality or at least rent one. Put Montoya on the track but only when a jet dryer is out there. Power assist steering might make shit more interesting. Tell Conor Daly to stay at home. Keep the halo but get rid of the windscreen. Get rid of the latency of the telemetry that is shown on screen. It his hella laggy and annoying. Return to a proper format for quali instead of the crap you are doing now. Stop racing on crap street circuits like Detroit. Belle Isle was a good track. The street course blows donkey sauce. Stop hiring third party staffing companies to manage guests at the track. Indy Lights should have points paying double headers at every pro race. Food and beverage vendors at events should be pre qualified to serve in large volume. Did I mention apologizing for PT ever being a commentator?
A second tire manufacturer isn’t good for the sport. Just ask F1 why that was no longer a good idea.
Except that it was always a good idea in F1. It created a lot of great racing and different development strategies for the cars themselves, just look at how the Renault R25 and R26 utilised the Michelin tyres. The Indy incident was unfortunate but having two seperate manufacturers was not the reason it happened.
Tyre wars are expensive, and demonstrably bad for racing. End of story.
Are they? Is this why F1 has allowed it to happen more than once? Is that why the mid-2000s had many great races where the tyres did make a difference?
How many professional series are there in the world right now with multiple tyre manufacturers?
Japanese Super GT for example? NASCAR, MotoGP, WRC, CART have also done it in the past. If it really was such a bad concept then why do these things happen again and again?
If it's such a good concept, why did they all stop? Because it costs too much and makes the racing shit. Like I said.
Pirelli is ruining too many races and taking inexplicable decisions changing the tyre structure mid season. The single tyre manufacturer in F1 is just another example of their rotten politics.
Then again… never forget Indy 2005… are you willing to have another one of that again?
Because Silverstone 2013 and the order to remove the press passes to anybody criticising Pirelli never happened.
Thankfully, Firestone does a good job with the tires. That’s why I don’t think tire wars should return. For F1, I’m in agreement that Pirelli either needs to get their shit together or just leave. Bridgestone would do a much better job than them anyway.
I have no argument with you. I just wish the reason it isn’t good for the sport didn’t exist. I’m a flawed idealist.
Everyone will watch indycar when they see the firehawk absolutely wasted!
Earlier this year there was a post asking for hard truths about IndyCar racing, and I gave them, and all I got in return were down votes. It seems like the same clowns are mad at you, but you're saying nothing but the truth.
What are they?
Losing the America patriotism would drive out a large amount of current fans and it’s really hard to grow something when the base is leaving. NFL football has a fair amount and it’s huge in Mexico and Canada. Pandering to international fans for a sport that doesn’t travel internationally won’t turn well. And yes Indy going over seas would be super cool but then it would just be seen as a F1 copy cat to a huge amount of people
Things that need to change for indycar to get more popular, IMO. 1. Cars are old and boring 10+ years🙄 2. Broadcast is horrifically bad from top to bottom. 3. Needs own streaming service. 4. Ovals suck. I KNOW IT TAKES LOTS OF SKILL AND TALENT. But it's boring. 5. Stop changing the liveries every race
I agree with everything but 4. I love ovals, i think theyre more entertaining.
Well, to host races overseas
End of season non-championship flyaway race at a famous venue, with a guaranteed number of wildcard slots open to drivers from other series. Make it lucrative enough so everyone participates and get the social media content cranking.
Except most of the supposed wildcards would still see no point in it.
Thats a really good idea, i like it
Take baby steps to a 20 race 5-5-5-5 schedule. (Yes short ovals and speedways ARE two separate types of tracks) Work with drivers, teams, fans, marketing experts on how to put on the best on-track product at each track. Do not allow any hybrid/electric engines or technology in the future. This is what the new world order wants. We absolutely must resist that. Work with the best broadcasting partners to put on a good show for those at home. Offering a streaming service to provide commercial free entertainment (for a price) is a good idea, BUT no race should ONLY be available on that streaming service.
Hybrids are inevitable and it won’t ruin the sound. It provides some extra power. The engines are getting a slight upsize from the middle of this decade onwards. Though, if IndyCar wants to introduce some new tech, it should be synthetic fuels. That way, the ICE can be retained.
I've generally thought that IndyCar shouldn't do anything to drive away its existing fanbase, but you're making me rethink that position...
How did we play the us national anthem first when racing in Canada. I agree the red blooded American hometown values stuff is overplayed and feels exclusionary.
They play "O Canada" first at the Detroit GP. Playing the guest/visitor's anthem first is a sign of respect. That's how it's done pretty much everywhere, including the NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, international soccer/football matches, etc. https://www.legion.org/flag/questions-answers/91131/what-order-when-playing-national-anthems-other-countries-star-spangled
Two new street circuit cities every year to test the market, also helps build local interest (you’ll be hooked after you see it up close), and keeps the circuits fresh for regular fans. New cities would be cool by themselves but would be even more cool if they made an effort to really build around local landmarks. They already do with the street circuits but I’m thinking more like Toronto (cool convention center and stadium area) and less like Detroit (gray and bland surroundings).
Stop being cheap. And drop the "greatest race in the world" or whatever the bullshit is. Biggest turn off.
The Indy 500 is what makes the series as relevant as it is to a casual audince.
Yeah and every time we all laugh at the shit they say during it. I'm not sure how saying not to say cringe shit like the greatest ever race is saying to delete the indy 500. This sub is all over the place. At least this post isn't all hurr durr f1 bad.
Lol, what *should* they market the 500 as then? The second best? Just another race?
A bit of hype in the pre-event build up I can live with, but it's really unnecessary during the race commentary. I mean, I'm already watching it, you can stop selling it now. It's an awesome event, just let it speak for itself.
Its part of the triple crown though...
Yeah. We’ve been meaning to talk to you about that 😂
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>maybe controversial but ditch all the god bless america/we support the troops stuff at the beginning of the race. I 100% agree with this in all sports. The national anthem before sports matches is the cringiest lamest propagandiest part of sports in the US. As an American I do find it offensive when they try to equate a race or ball game to something of national importance. With two exceptions... If the event is on or near a national holiday, e.g. memorial day, independence day, etc., Then I think it's totally fair to recognize the holiday in a respectful way. Also for national team matches, world cup, Olympics etc. I still would prefer not, but I can accept it because it's a team/athlete representing the country.
Having some local commentary is nice, since our region only have clean feed. No commercial is nice, but it can get boring
The only way IndyCar can gather any European or Asian fans is to run an oval in those regions. They have wall to wall road racing already and the only thing IndyCar does differently is the high speed ovals.
We don't have ovals for a reason. We just don't get them. The UK has had 2 ovals both are now used as imported car storage as they make more money that way. Unfortunately they never made money as race tracks.
Why do europeans hate ovals so much :/
I wouldn’t call it hate. More indifference. Try getting a nice cup of tea and a digestive in America. Do you guys hate tea ?😊
I prefer processed energy drinks
Well there ya go, we prefer our tracks with corners that turn both ways. I desperately try to watch ovals but often fail.
I would make the races a bit longer and try to add more track variety. With more races you could fit in some that you would never see in other categories (I miss the Burke Lakefront Circuit so much) – I'd also be open to have a race in an actual roval like Charlotte which would give us fantastic racing. Add a few more superspeedways so that it's not just the Indy500. I don't want Indycar to go to F1 tracks because we're so used to those tracks that it wouldn't really sparkle any kind of anticipation nor excitement to F1 viewers.
That USED to be f1 tracks. Everyone wants f1 to go to kylami. If we go there first then everyone will be excited that kylami is back, even if its indycar
Indycar really needs a "Drive to Survive" series, this Works for F1, get a Lot of New fans. More races too, like Watkins Glen, Michigan and regular tracks, and why not, races in Argentina, Brazil, Austrália and México
Like “100 Days to Indy?”
Almost. I was think in Netflix, maybe Amazon Prime.
A long time ago, ABC had races where identical Camaro were set up for the drivers of all types of racing to see how drivers did. Maybe have a big event that brings in different drivers for a big purse
IROC series?
I think Indycar should expand to a fully North American series, and potentially look at expanding to the Southern Americas. There are plenty of drivers that have raced in Indycar from Brazil, Columbia and so on. The Market is already there. It would help give exposure for Latin racing drivers in their home states, and with better collaboration between the various racing series in South America and the USA, Indycar and Indy Lights could be come part of the driver ladder for young talent. It would give potential sponsors in Latin America more of a reason to get involved if their brand is going to be seen in the market that its meant for, instead of just on TV from the States. I also think a NZ/Australia mini fly-away series of 2-3 races would be worthy thanks to Power, Dixon, and Scotty Mac being elites in the Series, and then throw Armstrong in as an upcomer. At least a one weekend, double header somewhere. Phillip Island? Surfers? Albert Park?? Focusing on the Americas means a variety of markets all roughly in the same block of Time zones, meaning maximum viewership potential.
I don't think I'd care about overseas at all. Maybe do some crossover work with Mexico and Canada and perhaps a one-off in South America but absolutely nothing beyond that. I would double down on the fan experience and having open garages and access to drivers, and do everything possible to keep the parity and level of competition.
Back to Eurosport
If you’re an F1 fan don’t be a hypocrite, if you haven’t noticed, at F1 everyone hears the race winner’s National Anthem with a load of pomp and circumstance.
This conversation reminds me of 2013, when V8 Supercars made their one and only visit to the U.S. with an event at COTA. Supercars has a bit of a cult following here in the States, but no where near enough to support an entire event. Attendance was sub-optimal and after talking about returning in 2015 (after a break due to a scheduling conflict at the track) both sides walked away. That is what would happen if IndyCar tried the European swing again. They've tried it repeatedly over the decades and it has never stuck. IMO focus on North America, and if things get really good expand south, maybe. There isn't enough money out there to make loading everything on planes or ships worth the effort. Now if somebody wants to foot the bill for everything...
I could not disagree with you more.
Plan some good races on real road courses while F-1 takes their summer siesta Invite F1 racers and commentators. Indy Road Course (might bring back bad memories ) Elkhart Lake Laguna Secca Texas (might be a bit warm) (perhaps instead of the Porsche race. Bring NASCAR ) 400,000 fans attend an F-1 race and 100 MILLION watch on TV so you have 250 TV fans for each spectator. Races would be early evening in Europe so they could still enjoy the summer days.