IndyCar Changes Should Help The Show

I found two press releases from IndyCar issued yesterday highly encouraging. Both releases are below. The first changed the distances of some races to decrease (notice, "decrease" is not the same as "eliminate") the Festival of Fuel Saving that occurs at some road and street races.

By changing the race distances, IndyCar makes it less beneficial to stretch fuel over the entire race. For example, maybe a driver who is supper skilled at saving fuel can run a 55 lap race with just two pit stops, if he or she saves fuel from the very start of the race. But if you increase that distance to 60 laps, well then even the expert fuel saving driver has to make three stops no matter how well he or she saves fuel. They will very likely choose to save fuel on one of the stints, but probably not all stints. Which stint they save on becomes the strategy, as opposed to the race being just who can save fuel from the lap one and everyone trying to go slow enough to win the race.

Theoretically that reduces the element of saving fuel, yet keeps it as a factor, and amps up the interest for fans. There will be more drivers running as hard as they can throughout the race, and the question of where the driver chooses to save fuel -- which could widely vary from driver to driver -- becomes a strategy point.

The second move announced Monday was a modification of the heat races at Iowa Speedway through a series of "transfer spots" included the first two heats. In classic heat races, which are a staple of dirt tracks around the country, the top few cars often "transfer" to another race. In other words, if you do well in your heat race, you are rewarded by being added to the back of the field of another race, often with higher payout, etc. It's kind of racing's version of brackets in stick-and-ball sports tournaments.

Last year at Iowa the field was broken into three heat races, and essentially the cars were just racing to solidify their starting positions. So cars whose practice lap times indicated they were the slowest eight raced in the first heat. Best you could do would be, say, P16 if you won the heat. The middle eight cars then ran a heat and so on. Last year very few cars advanced spots in their heat races at Iowa. I think Katherine Legge gained two spots in her heat and that was the big mover (don't quote me, though).

Most drivers said they weren't going to get insane in a heat race and risk damaging their car to move from P17 to P15. The reward of gaining one spot on an oval was not worth a high degree of risk to the car. Hard to argue with that. But now, with transfers, theoretically at least you could jump multiple spots up the grid in the heat races. Perhaps the benefit will be more worth the risk now. Nobody should expect LUNACY racing in heat races, but there may be at least a little more aggression from the drivers.

Both of these reasonably simple changes will add interest for fans at minimal costs to teams. Informing teams of the the changes now it gives them time to make plans on how they will approach the changes. The most exciting part of both of these changes for me is that they are in response to fan input. IndyCar responding to fan input with actual changes makes me so excited I have to breath into a bag.

Again, it's about hitting singles, not constantly going for the home run. Making a series of small, fan-focused changes like this are IndyCar's best strategy. Because, as in baseball, a lot of little singles is what wins the game. News releases below:

 

THREE HEAT RACES WITH TRANSFER POSITIONS, POINTS HIGHLIGHT

IOWA CORN INDY 250 QUALIFYING

INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, Jan. 21, 2013) - Three 50-lap heat races, including transfers to Race 3 for the top-two finishers in the first two qualifying races, will determine the starting grid for the seventh Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday, June 23, at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

The format for heat race qualifications on Saturday, June 22, also will reward 12 starters with points - from nine points for the pole winner and descending by one point each position to one point for 11th and 12th. Other IZOD IndyCar Series events, outside of the Indianapolis 500 with its own points framework, pay one point to the pole winner.

Three heat races of 30 laps each replaced single-car qualifications for the Iowa event in 2012. Race 3 consisted of drivers ranked one through eight by combined practice times and race results determined the first four rows. Dario Franchitti earned the pole position and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who went on to win the IZOD IndyCar Series championship, won the race from the seventh starting position.

"We wanted to change things up a little with our oval qualifying format so we introduced heat races in 2012," said Beaux Barfield, Race Director, IZOD IndyCar Series. "We did it in a way that was relatively conservative in terms of the onus that was put on teams by having to run in one heat race.

"Based on positive fan response and feedback, we decided to take it one step further to improve the show and put some value in it for the competitors with points."

Positions in the three heat races will be determined by single-car, single-lap qualifications on the .875-mile, variably-banked oval. A blind draw will determine the qualifying order.

"Heat races at shorter tracks such as Iowa Speedway recall the heritage of oval track racing," Barfield added.

Qualifying Heat Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Qualifying Heat Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Qualifying Heat Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.

"INDYCAR's new heat race format for our Iowa Corn Indy 250 assures that the three 50-lap qualifying races will create some of the most exciting, edge-of-your-seat racing of the weekend," said Doug Fritz CEO, Iowa Speedway.  "Race fans won't want to miss any of the three heat races on Saturday, since the finishing order of each one will be critical in setting the starting grid for the 'big show' on Sunday."

Individual and ticket packages are available at www.iowaspeedway.com or by calling (866) 787-8946.

- 30 -

TELEVISION SCHEDULE, RACE-DISTANCE CHANGES TO INCREASE EXCITEMENT FOR INDYCAR FANS IN 2013 SEASON

INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, Jan. 21, 2013) - INDYCAR and its television partners today announced IZOD IndyCar Series television windows for consistent blocks of network coverage and new race distances at selected events.

Live coverage of all 19 IZOD IndyCar Series events - including ABC's first prime-time race and three doubleheaders (one on ABC and two on NBC Sports Network) - highlight the 2013 ABC and NBC Sports Network programming schedule. Race distances were changed at four events to discourage fuel-mileage racing.

"The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series television schedule was created with the goal of keeping things simple for our fans," said Robby Greene, President and COO, IMS Productions, the broadcast arm of INDYCAR. "Our fans asked for more consistency and we thank our television partners and our promoters for working with us to help achieve that goal."

Television Schedule

NBC Sports Network will televise the first four races of the season, starting with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at Noon (ET) on Sunday, March 24. ABC begins its stretch of broadcasting six of the next seven races with the Indianapolis 500 at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday, May 26. ABC will televise the 500 Mile Race for the 49th consecutive year, extending one of the longest relationships between a sporting event and television network.

Television time continuity, including starts near the top or bottom of the hour and same on-air times for the first two doubleheader weekends, was built into programming schedules based in part from fan requests.

"The biggest point for our fans is they will be able to make INDYCAR racing appointment television," said Greene. "INDYCAR and our broadcast partners are offering the chance to build our audience continuity with more consistency in start times and network."

Qualifications shows for 12 events, including Pole Day and Bump Day for the 97th Indianapolis 500, plus Carb Day activities and race re-airs enhance coverage of the series on NBC Sports Network. The cable partner will continue to air the popular "INDYCAR 36," which follows a driver behind the scenes during an IZOD IndyCar Series race weekend. The full schedule for ancillary programming will be announced at a later date.

All 12 Firestone Indy Lights races will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, including live coverage of the Firestone Freedom 100 at noon (ET) Friday, May 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Eight races will lead into the cable partner's IZOD IndyCar Series broadcast, including the season opener at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday, March 24 on the streets of St. Petersburg.

International broadcast partners will be announced soon.

Race Distances

Four events -- St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Milwaukee and Mid-Ohio - will feature new race distances this season to discourage fuel-mileage racing. The new distances better match traditional fuel windows at each circuit.

The races with new distances:

St. Petersburg: Increase of 10 laps to 110 (198 miles total)

Long Beach:    Decrease of five laps to 80 (157.4 miles)

Milwaukee:     Increase of 25 laps to 250 (250 miles)

Mid-Ohio:       Increase of five laps to 90 (203 miles)

"Changing the distances at these races will hopefully eliminate the strategy of saving fuel from the drop of the green flag," said Beaux Barfield, IZOD IndyCar Series race director. "That will enable our teams and drivers to race hard for the full distance and improve the event's entertainment value for the fans."

2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES RACE TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Date	Venue	Circuit	Distance	Broadcast Time*	Network
March 24	Streets of St. Petersburg	1.8-mile street	110 laps	Noon	NBCSN
April 7	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road	90 laps	1:30 p.m.	NBCSN
April 21	Streets of Long Beach	1.96-mile street	80 laps	4 p.m.	NBCSN
May 5	Streets of Sao Paulo	2.53-mile street	75 laps	11 a.m.	NBCSN
May 26	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.5-mile oval	200 laps	11 a.m.	ABC
June 1	Streets of Belle Isle (Race 1)	2.34-mile street	70 laps	3:30 p.m.	ABC
June 2	Streets of Belle Isle (Race 2)	2.34-mile street	70 laps	3:30 p.m.	ABC
June 8	Texas Motor Speedway	1.5-mile oval	228 laps	8:30 p.m.	ABC
June 15	Milwaukee Mile	1-mile oval	250 laps	4 p.m.	NBCSN
June 23	Iowa Speedway	.875-mile oval	250 laps	2:30 p.m.	ABC
July 7	Pocono Raceway	2.5-mile oval	160 laps	Noon	ABC
July 13	Streets of Toronto (Race 1)	1.75-mile street	85 laps	3 p.m.	NBCSN
July 14	Streets of Toronto (Race 2)	1.75-mile street	85 laps	3 p.m.	NBCSN
Aug. 4	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.25-mile road	90 laps	3 p.m.	NBCSN
Aug. 25	Raceway at Sonoma	2.38-mile road	85 laps	4 p.m.	NBCSN
Sept. 1	Streets of Baltimore	2.04-mile street	75 laps	2 p.m.	NBCSN
Oct. 5	Reliant Park (Race 1)	1.7-mile street	90 laps	3 p.m.	NBCSN
Oct. 6	Reliant Park (Race 2)	1.7-mile street	90 laps	1 p.m.	NBCSN
Oct. 19	Auto Club Speedway	2-mile oval	200 laps	8 p.m.	NBCSN

*All Times Eastern                                                                            Subject to Change

 2013 FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS RACE TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Broadcast Date	Event	Circuit	Distance	Broadcast Time*	Network
March 24	Streets of St. Petersburg	1.8-mile street	45 laps	11 a.m.	NBCSN
April 7	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road	40 laps	12:30 p.m.	NBCSN
April 21	Streets of Long Beach	1.96-mile street	45 laps	3 p.m.	NBCSN
May 24	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.5-mile oval	40 laps	11 a.m. **	NBCSN
June 15	Milwaukee Mile	1-mile oval	100 laps	3 p.m.	NBCSN
June 28	Iowa Speedway	.875-mile oval	115 laps	11 p.m.	NBCSN
July 12	Pocono Raceway	2.5-mile oval	50 laps	7 p.m.	NBCSN
July 14	Streets of Toronto	1.75-mile street	50 laps	11 p.m.	NBCSN
Aug. 4	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.25-mile road	TBA	2 p.m.	NBCSN
Sept. 1	Streets of Baltimore	2.04-mile street	35 laps	1 p.m.	NBCSN
Oct. 6	Reliant Park	1.7-mile street	TBA	Noon	NBCSN
Oct. 19	Auto Club Speedway	2-mile oval	50 laps	7 p.m.	NBCSN

*All Times Eastern                                                                 Subject to Change

**Live event

Comments

[KT]

Kudos to Indycar! Now, let's just get a race scheduled for February in Phoenix or Florida!

[GeorgeK]

Why not adjust all of the race distances in order to ELIMINATE fuel conservation as strategy entirely? Balls out racing, all of the laps, what a concept!

[Ted Wolfram]

I have proposed several times to the "powers to be" that pit stops for fuel should be done under "green" conditions, if you come in under "yellow" you can change tires or repair anything, and if you are running out of fuel you may put in some, but then the minute the track goes "green" you must come in. That makes every team have think, plan and execute. Now think of all possiblities for when to fuel that might come into play!!

I also proposed that pit stalls be assigned either at random, or in reverse order. The first pit stall gives a huge advantage...now to the team that needs it least!

[pressdog]

Great idea, GeorgeK, but if you have even one fuel stop you'll have some element of fuel saving. Now they could go to a big fuel tank like F-1. Then you still have tire management to prevent 100% balls-out. If that's what you want: sprint car racing.

[Dustin]

The downside (arguably) is that a dominant car will win by 16 seconds and the race will not be in doubt. But, if that car is the BEST car, then, so be it. I like the changes.

[Dustin]

I agree with KT. With F1 coming to NBC, IndyCar needs to establish itself at the American Open Wheel Racing Series to the masses. An early March race in the south would be preferred.

[GeorgeK]

Wasn't trying to ignore tire management Pdog, just attempting to take fuel strategy out of the equation.

With one fuel stop and plenty of gas in the tank only tire wear would be the strategic concern.

Teams may still attempt to manage their race weights by loading the minimum fuel needed to finish the race, but it would be at their risk.

Victory should go to the fastest car, not the most economical.