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Bernard Moves to Get His People in Place

The news lately out of IndyCar is that CEO Randy Bernard is swinging the ax. Some people got shown the door a few weeks ago, and last night the rabble rousing Roy Hobbson set off a Twitter froth by breaking the news via tweet that long-time Commercial Division President Terry Angstadt had resigned.

Instantly Twitter went on a Brian Barnhart Resignation Watch. Not much later Robin Miller reported that Barnhart, Competition Division President, had been pushed out of his duties as chief referee in race control (the Iron Hand of Justice), and will assume new, unspecified duties within IndyCar. Read it here.

Both Angstad and Bernard were hired by Bernard's predecessor, Tony George, who was ousted by the board of directors in favor of Bernard at the start of the 2010 season.

This all reminds me of a head coach who has a spotty won/loss record sacking his assistants for one last shot at making it work. There's some logic to that -- a new boss (head coach) is going to want to pick his or her team. When the new boss inherits a bunch of senior people, inevitably the ax falls on those the boss does not want to work with.

ESPN Ratings for Cup Finale Come up Yahtzee!

From ESPN PR:

Finale Earns ESPN’s Largest NASCAR Sprint Cup Viewership Ever

The final race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup featured a down-to-the-wire battle for the championship and earned the largest viewership ever for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race telecast on ESPN.

With a peak audience of 10.5 million when the checkered flag fell on champion Tony Stewart at 8:08 p.m. ET, ESPN’s telecast of the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 20, averaged 6,799,000 viewers and earned a 4.6 household coverage rating (4.0 U.S. rating), according to the Nielsen Company. The viewership average broke ESPN’s previous record of 6,668,000 viewers for the 2008 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. Final figures do not include a rain delay from 4:45-6 p.m.

Sarah Fisher Named Team Principal of the Year

From Sarah Fisher Racing PR:

After being on a shortlist of four contenders in the category of 'Team Principal of the Year', drawn up from nominations submitted to the Professional MotorSport World Expo website and by the PMW editorial team, it was announced late Wednesday night at a Gala dinner in Cologne, Germany that Sarah Fisher Racing (SFR) team owner and former IZOD IndyCar ® Series driver, Sarah Fisher, has been awarded 'Team Principal of the Year' at the 2011 Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards. Fisher was one of four nominees on the shortlist for the award. Others included Amato Ferrari - AF Corse, Olivier Quesnel - Citroën Racing & Peugeot Sport, and Frank Wrathall - DynoJet Racing.

ESPN Continues NASCAR Cup Ratings Surge

From ESPN PR ...

ESPN’s live telecast of the Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 13, earned a 3.3 household coverage rating, averaging 4,766,000 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The rating was up 13 percent from last year’s race, which also aired on ESPN and earned a 2.9 rating.

ESPN2’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix on Saturday, Nov. 12, earned a 1.3 household coverage rating, averaging 1,757,000 viewers. The rating was up from a 1.2 for last year’s race, which also aired on ESPN2.

Stop Harshing Me, Man

I mean, seriously. IndyCar fans are like all the Delta's in the video above, sitting around, looking despondent. Yippity yap yap. Buzz buzz buzz pop. All saying the same things in different ways "Oh, the mean mainstream media is making fun of us. Oh, they don't know what they are saying. They are so cruel and are hurting our feelings."

Here's a question: Who gives a shit?

I mean, really. What a Festival of Feeling Sorry for Yourself I'm seeing lately. As my best friend in high school used to say, "Come on, squirt a few (cry)."

ESPN Ratings Steady for Cup and Nationwide at Texas

From ESPN PR --

ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 6, earned a 3.4 household coverage rating, averaging 4,726,000 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company. The rating was the same as for last year’s race, which also aired on ESPN.

ESPN2’s live telecast of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas on Saturday, Nov. 5, earned a 1.1 household coverage rating, averaging 1,430,000 viewers. The rating was also the same as for the 2010 race, which also aired on ESPN2.

Danica Patrick says She’ll be Comforted by Wheldon Tribute on her Car

Danica Patrick said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway that she would be comforted by having a Dan Wheldon tribute helmet on her head, and Wheldon's giant "LIONHEART" tribute paint scheme on her car hood.

Patrick said her sponsor GoDaddy partnered with her to "pay tribute to Dan, a great champion that he was and great guy that he was, and then I decided it would nice to pay tribute with my helmet (photos below) and then donate it to DanWheldonMemorial.com to be auctioned off. My hope is we can do everything possible to come together and to honor Dan and support Susie and the kids. I'm honored and it's a privilege. Thank you to everyone who made it come together. It's a special car this weekend."

Ed Carpenter Makes Full-Season Deal with Fuzzy's Vodka

From Fuzzy's PR ..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Ed Carpenter Racing to run full season for 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – November 2nd, 2011 Ed Carpenter, longtime IndyCar driver with 113 career starts, announced today, the formation of Ed Carpenter Racing and plans to a run a full season in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series.

Eddie Gossage Channels Don King for Upcoming Cup Race

(Don King voice): "Only in America!"

(click image for enlarged version)

Texas Motor Speedway promoter Eddie Gossage gets it. He gets paid when there are butts in the seats. And rivalry/controversy/drama puts butts in the seats. So it's not shocking that Eddie had the banner above on the TMS Web site SECONDS after Tony Stewart climbed out of his car at Martinsville and started popping off.

Danica Patrick to Donate Winnings and Helmet from TMS Race to Wheldon Trust

This was posted on Danica Patrick's Facebook site ..

Comments on wearing a special Dan Wheldon Tribute Helmet this weekend: "I am humbled and proud to be wearing a special paint-out of my helmet in honor of Dan this weekend at Texas. This helmet will be auctioned off after the race with all proceeds, along with my prize money from this race, going to the Dan Wheldon Foundation. Dan was a good friend, and I will miss his great personality and positive attitude. I hope everyone will join me in supporting Susie and their two young boys at DanWheldonMemorial.com."