A Forced March Through the Racing Desert

I tried really hard not to post this, but I couldn't stop myself this morning ... who's idea was it to schedule Edmonton, Mid-Ohio and Sonoma back-to-back-to-back?

Clearly it was the methamphetamine distributors' trade association, because race fans everywhere will be driven to illegal stimulant suppliers to endure these three consecutive parades. I can see the headline: "IndyCar Fans Load up on Psuedoephedrine; Thousands Claim Weekend of Intense Nasal Congestion."*

Seriously? Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, Snorenoma/InfiniYawn? In a row? It's like someone at IndyCar HQ said "We have got TOO GODDAMN MANY VIEWERS. Let's drive away the weak and irreligious."

I know, I know. I anticipate a festival of flame in the comments. "You're just an oval snob, you BASTARD!" is a common theme. Of course that's not true, and my record is clear that I enjoy some twisties. Check my race notes and see the props I give some twisties that feature overtaking. Brazil, for example, was an entertaining race (many inhales taking the inside line into turn 1, I believe) and I said so. Toronto last year was one of the best races all season, and I've said so many times.

And I don't automatically love ovals. Check my annual lament of Twin Ring Snortegi and my petulant outburst against the Homestead-Miami finale last year. And I went OFF on the 2009 IndyCar race in Richmond. "Putrid" was the word I used. I even called the sacred Indy 500 a Road Oval the last several years.

I try really hard to call them like I seem them, oval or twisty, based on what I, personally, enjoy in a race and without regard to the History, Tradition, Location or Gorgeousness of the Facility. You may disagree, which is your right.

Note: I am NOT saying these tracks suck. No. Never. I am saying the races on these tracks are boring. Big difference. A race is combination of track layout AND IndyCars/drivers, and the combination simply is not working here.

I also realize these races might be MAGIC in person. The facilities may be gorgeous. The festive atmosphere may be electric. People me meet the loves of their lives right there at the track, and the cares of the world melt away. These tracks may be loin-tingling fun to drive. I rejoice and feel wonderful for everyone in attendance who feels that way. Unfortunately the vast vast vast majority of IndyCar customers won't be there the in person. We'll have to watch it on TV. And many many race fans will just flip the channel. I believe that's a fact, and denying it won't make it less of a fact.

So I challenge Randy Bernard to fire up the DVR and sit a posse of his friends down in front of the TV for these races, get out a stop watch and time how long it takes before everyone is sleeping and/or checking their BlackBerries/iPhones or discussing world politics. What's the over under there?

I actually hope Brian Barnhart, Iron Hand of Justice, DOES make another controversial call (I'm sure he and Mrs. IHJ don't share that hope, though) -- make something up if you have to -- a penalty for an illegal car color or something -- just to put some interest into these events. Up until Helio threw the alleged block party, Edmonton was a major snore.

And if we allow "defending" then lord help us. If IndyCar goes to tracks where "defending" doesn't choke off all chance for a pass, I could get behind that rule. Unfortunately I'm not sure IndyCar does race at those kinds of track, and for sure not the Edmonton/Mid-Ohio/Sonoma forced march.

I actually tried to restrain myself from posting this because I know (or at least strongly suspect) that the people who operate each of these tracks are fine people with families to feed, etc. etc. And the people who attend in person seem to enjoy it. (Here I anticipate people going off on Iowa, to "pay me back" for dissing their track, which is fine. "OH YEAH? Well, Iowa SUCKS. So there!" I get that a lot.) It's not personal a'tall, but for all but the hardest core twisty lover or gorgeous facility appreciator watching races on TV from these tracks has traditionally been about endurance.

Mid-Ohio is beloved by Honda and Sonoma is beloved by sponsors who love to hit wine country. So I guess if those benefits outweigh the cost of viewership in IndyCar's view, the races should stay. It's a business decision, after all. Seems to me we could mitigate the impact by spacing them out on the schedule. Since I try to speak for the majority of fans, I guess the message is "Grit your teeth and suffer through it for IndyCar!!"

But no customer (viewer) has a gun to his or her head to buy IndyCar's product (watch the race), which the league should always recall, but often forgets.

Suggestion number two for Randy (aren't I a helper today?): You rightly say you want the best drivers in the world in IndyCar. Fair enough. How about the best TRACKS for INdyCars in the world, or at least in North America, be they oval or twisty? 

*Pseudoephedrine is a common raw ingredient for making methamphetamine. Don't ask me how I know.

Comments

[Trick Dickle]

Mid Ohio isn't suitable for race cars anymore. Lots of good AOW fans in Ohio, but the track sucks.

It is gorgeous (which Mike King will tell us several times) and a former CART venue, so it has to stay. Everything about CART was swell and we need to get back to that. I am sure once we do, all those 15 to 20 million folks Randy keeps talking about will flock back to the sport.

CART RULEZ!

Snore-noma is also VERY picture-esque. I can't remember one single thing about any of the races there (was that where Andretti helped Mediocore Marco win a race?), but Indy Car types like drinking wine, so it has to stay. Plus Townsend Bell is from that part of the country. So all of his fans will come out to see him race.

Edmonton is racing on a abandoned airport runway (which CART invented) and Canadians just love them some Indy Car Racing (as long as Tracy or Tags or a countryman is in the race). Plus this is a actual race where Indy Cars might actually push past 150 MPH for a while on the track, so we can still puff out our chests about being about "fast cars and fast speeds". Its all about speed and danger in the Indy Raci, err, Indy Car Series....at least for 45% of the season.

Hang in there Dog. The weather is great this time of the year. Do what most of America has already done...do something else on Sunday afternoon's for the next few weeks. Maybe go fishing or go boating and put the IMS radio broadcast on. They could make a funeral sound exciting. Jaynes will be even more pumped up then usual, now that he is a HS head football coach.

Indy Racing League (sorry, Randy) action returns in a few weeks at Chicago. Hope I remember all of those intricite oval racing rules. I am sure The Root and Beekhuis will help me understand oval racing again. You can still overtake (or pass, for us oval racing doofus's) other cars can't you? Or can you only do that if you have squirts of "push-to-pass" left? I am already confused.

[CurlingRacer]

While I disagree with your assessment since I love Mid-Ohio, why they scheduled 3 lower action Road Courses together is clearly NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

[Dylan]

Agree 100% This is a miserable racing weekend, NASCAR at the Glen, a horrific snoozefest, and Mid Ohio Indycar, and then the ALMS, which might be interesting at Mid O, isn't even televised... it's not like there are other interesting road courses, like... Road Atlanta? Sebring? Road America? Cleveland? Miller Motorsports Park? Virgina International Raceway? Portland??? Mosport? If Indycar's going to try and sell road racing, they need a little better than The Trinity of Boredom that is Mido,Barber, and Infenion. Especially with Watkins Glen possibly falling off, we could have ZERO good road courses next year.... If you look at ALMS, they actually run interesting road courses, but Indycar? Nope, we're content to parade around 3 motorcycle tracks, one of which isn't even good for motorcycles.... That's how to sell road racing! I mean, Unification happened, yet the best tracks from Champcar didn't even get added!

And this is just another reason why getting more engine makers is important! Honda drags us to the WORST tracks! Motegi, Mid Ohio, and I believe they even sponsor Edmonton... at least Ford would probably push Michigan International Speedway!!!

[Roy Hobbson]

You're just an oval snob, you BASTARD!

[goes into whiny, mocking pressdog voice]

"Oooooh, look at me! I only prefer quote-unquote 'action' and 'excitement' in my races. I'm so avant-garde. I'm too refined to appreciate all the skill that comes with 4,000 laps of nothingness. Blah blah blah I'm going to drink my mochachino latte whilst reading Vonnegut in my Volvo!"

Jerk.

[H. B. Donnelly]

Man, that read almost like Hobbson learned something about auto racing, then hacked pressdog.com!

I do appreciate the scenery at mid-o, but you might as well just watch T&S after the first turn mayhem clears up. Certainly, Sonoma has its share of scenery, but Laguna Seca is about 900,000 times better scenery-wise and offers exactly as much passing.

We need someone to build a new version of the AVUS-Rennen or an American Norisring; a couple of big ol' straightaways with hairpins at each end (bonus points for AVUS-style crazy-ass banking)

[Team Canada]

Once again, this proves how the TV coverage is making people fall asleep on their couches. Edmonton had a ton of passing and battles that weren't even shown, let alone mentioned on the TV broadcast. I watched the race on TV a couple of days after seeing it in person and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like it was a completely different race. No wonder you and a few thousand others feel like you do.

[pressdog]

What if these tracks were Milka Duno, and only were included because they brought sponsor money ...

[The Speedgeek]

You guys know that the "bad tracks" are all holdovers from the BR (Before Randy) era, right? I'd say that if 1) TV numbers go into the toilet, as everybody's predicting and/or 2) we wind up with three consecutive parades, then we're going to get a major re-think of the schedule (and, yeah, yeah, we were promised that two years ago, but things have changed in a big way since then). The 2010 schedule was determined by the old management, who were happy with status quo at basically every turn. Now, we've got a guy who's willing to take a look at every last aspect of the series in order to get more eyeballs, so if we get either or both of those above scenarios, then these tracks are going to be gone as soon as their contracts run out.

Really, if you're mortally opposed to any track on the schedule, you should root for a sparsely attended parade. If we get a well attended parade or a sparsely attended fireworks-fest, those are liable to stick around, but an event that shows itself to be lose-lose, that'll be shown the door.

[Catie R]

I could agree with this... although I will join the throng of those who clamor for Road America to return rather than fall asleep.

Nice note at the bottom. I don't have to ask why you know it... every Iowan does by the time he/she gets to middle school.

[Allen Wedge]

As a person who relies of psuedoephedrine to breathe every time a plant decides to exist, I am offended and demand an apology.

If an apology and retraction, is not submitted within the hour... I'll just wait longer.

[Savage Henry]

The real crime is that during the time these 3 races are on TV there is NOTHING ELSE ON! NASCAR has even stepped away from its normal crap to run a road race (which is actually entertaining due to unintentional comedy), F1 is on their summer break, baseball is in the dog days, no football yet, and golf is doing tournaments that none of the big names play in. EPSN is showing poker every night in prime time for Chrissakes.

This could be a great opportunity to put on good (great?) races while sports fans are begging for something to watch. Instead we get top-level open wheel racing cars parading around on motorcycle tracks. (sigh)

I know that this is a time that everyone is on vacation so the ratings potential is rather low, but still you need to capitalize on the opportunities that are there. However, if you're just going to punt and put all your crappy races together please throw in the 2 AM broadcast of the Motegi abomination while you're at it.

[redd]

I think the Nascar roadies are the most entertaining races they run.

I wish the IIRS would mix up the oval/twisty schedule a bit more.

And as a recently converted twisty fan of sorts, it seems like the race courses themselves are the problem. I'm sure they could design a course that would be both "beautiful" and "racy" but they don't seem to want to do it. In a 50/50 series I think it's important to go to all tracks that make the best racing.

And H.B. I gotta disagree about Sonoma being "scenic." Certainly the Sonoma/Napa area is beautiful, but the track itself is surrounded by bare, ugly brown hills since Nascar wanted the sight lines improved.

[Dave]

Guess I'm in the minority. The only weekends I watch Nascab is when they are at the road courses. Trying to get those machines around a road course is entertaining. And give me a street race over a high banked (read: built for Nascab) track where aero grip is all that counts and no lifting, no throttle control, Penske/Ganassi finish nay day of the week. Now if they start racing at Loudon (which they're doing next year), Milwaukee, and Phoenix then I'll say give me more ovals. But I could care less about the Texas's, Chicago's, Homestead's. It's like watching a restrictor plate, 215mph dodgeball contest that nascab fans adore.

[S0CSeven]

'Dog, you've got follow-the-leader-itis from watching too much TV.

The beauty in a road course is parking your butt at a 'good' corner & watching the skill of passing & repassing all through the field (yes, it happens a lot).

The real problem is TV directors who persist in following only the leader lap, after lap, after lap, after lap. Put a race fan in that chair & you'll have a whole different spectacle.

[pressdog]

Catie: Yes, every Iowan knows that psuedoephedrine in bulk is used to make meth, given our dubious stature as one of the meth manufacturing centers of the universe. Wedgy: I apologize unless you buy a CASE of it a week, in which case you're a tweaker. Team Canada and SOCSeven: possibly it's the TV's fault (I'll take it on your word that is) but unfortunately TV is all I got.

[B-man]

LOL, there goes the P-Dog again. Must be grumpy because he didn't get a bowl of "Beggin Strips" to go with his beer of the week. Yeah, yeah, we all know the IndyCar series should be 18 consecutive weeks at Iowa Speedway, broken only by the Indy 500 as a throw away weekend for history's sake. Yadda, yadda. It's going to be a beautiful weekend at Mid-Ohio. Sure, it may turn out to be a snorefest, but that's only because IndyCar has so many wussy drivers who are afraid to vehemently insist upon making a pass (not to be confused with wheel-to-sidepod-shoving, of course...)

[Leigh O'Gorman]

Maybe Versus just need the guys from FOM to show them how to direct a road/street course show properly?

[AZZO45]

To all the Mid Ohio HATERS... have ANY of you actually attended races there L-I-V-E & in person???

[Jim Bob]

The "Jay Howard Hits The Road" march has begun for SFR.

When you are behind Milka Donuts on a road course, you need to go find another line of work.

SFR needs a real driver, to pair with Sarah. And he ain't it. And SFR knows it.

Hey Sarah, John Edwards or JR Hildebrand would do you good.

[Don]

I'll join @Dave in the minority on this site. I know it's primarily about ovals, and I do like a GOOD oval - Milwaukee, Phoenix, Loudon, Indianapolis all present unique challenges to teams and drivers. If I wanted to watch cars run around high bank, cookie cutter NASCAR tracks like dogs tied to a chain, I'd watch NASCAR. I don't. To all the road course haters, GO to a road course, pick that "good" spot and enjoy.

[pressdog]

I honestly have no idea where people get the idea that this site is "primarily about ovals." I watch every race, oval and twisties. I do notes on every race (except Edmonton due to a vacation), pay attention to all the twisties. I'm perplexed by this "oval bias" accusation, especially since I bag on plenty of ovals, as I mentioned in my post. It's been my experience, honestly, that people who prefer ovals are more open to a good road/street race than vice versa. Of course there are people in both camps who think the other sucks unconditionally. I am not one of them, I swear. I just like to be entertained. If a race doesn't entertain me, oval or road/street, I'm honest about that. Unfortunately, like the vast majority of race fans, I can't afford to attend every race in person, so "go see it in person" may be great advice, but it doesn't really add to the discussion of why a race is crappy on TV.

[Too Smart for Trackforum]

I like how many of our "new" fans, all bag on Indy Car oval races at Texas, Kentucky and Chicago as not being "real racing" and "not exciting".

I guess you had to actually follow the Indy Racing League before 2008, to understand what oval racing at those places was all about. Before then, the racing at those places usually kicked ass. Better then anything ever seen in Indy Car Racing. Yep, that's right. BETTER.

And those same "new" fans all talk about wanting "proper" ovals like Phoenix, Loudon, Milwaukee, any other former oval from CART. Why? We all know why. Anything associated with the Indy Racing League needs to be burned at the stake, right?

All P-Dog and most sane people want from a sport (be it football, basketball, Indy Cars or NASCAR) is to be EN-TER-TAINED. The sad TRUTH is, that many Indy Car races TODAY are NOT entertaining watches on TV. Are they better in person? Probably. Do they suck on TV? Yes.

Places like Barber and Toronto and Mid Ohio and Sonoma are all probably fun to enjoy in person and a good party weekend for most involved. But for pure intersting television (which makes most sports go around), they just don't do it.

For this sport to EVER gain traction again in this country, a TON of things need to change. One of those, is a better, more compelling, exciting TV product.

And continuing to slog around at 100 MPH on tracks that tend to produce boring-ass racing and doing that more and more on your schedule, is NOT going to help matters.

Remember, you can't sell soccer in a football country.

[cleanupcrew]

I alwyas liked Mid-Oiho. A fun and gorugus fucility.

I remembre some epic races their back in teh 80's. I can remermber watching alongisde Paul Newman once. Helluva nice guy.

I am just glda they have staunch conservative Lynn Swann their this weak as teh Grand Marshull. That could help us in the mid-terms take back our country.

[Mike R]

Wow. To all of it.

The series decided to string the Road Courses and the Ovals the way they did this year to give the crews a break, because switching from an Oval configuration to an RC or vice-versa is a pain. Change the differential, change suspension, change aero stuff, the cars are more frequently wadded-up on ovals so going back and forth makes it that much harder.

I love both forms of the sport. It's what distinguished the Big Cars of American OW from every other series. Yeah, I know you all know that, but that's what really propelled the old CART series to the top of the list in the late 80's and early 90's. More popular than F1, more popular than NASCAR - the races were better, more competitive, and the drivers were more challenged than any other form of the sport as far as the diversity of talents to master. That's what they're trying to recapture. Every other series was fighting for second place.

We all know that they're trying to keep costs in line by having the spec series they do today. But, if the races at these tracks are boring (road course or oval), that's where the bulk of the blame should be placed.