Michigan Sunday Etc.

The Drive host, JMV, has become somewhat of an Indy Car fan over the past few months. Not sure if it is because of Robin Miller’s rambling calls, the fact he is in Indianapolis or any other reason. I heard him mention the empty seats at Michigan on Sunday. This year I’ve kind of got back into Cup racing, probably because of my wife, but there are still so many things wrong with it that it just makes me shake my head sometimes. Anyway, I think the rah-rah IRL cheerleaders get way ahead of themselves. Unification was not going to fix Indy Car racing overnight and it certainly has not. That doesn’t mean it’s on its way, but it needs marketing and promotion and not just Dani C word 24/7. Anyway, I broke off an email to JMV yesterday with some of my thoughts on Sunday’s event and some other things. Thought I’d throw it on here...

Hey JMV,

I heard you mention that you saw the empty stands at the NASCAR race at Michigan on Sunday. As much as want to see the IRL in general and the Indianapolis 500 in particular, to have the relevance it once had, I think too many of the IRL sis-boom-bah cheerleaders want to make too much of the empty seats at MIS. Keep in mind that the last few years Indy Cars ran at Michigan the attendance was about equal to the empty seats at Sunday’s Cup event. On top of that, the majority of the Michigan’s crowd will always come from the Midwest and with half the area cleaning up after the storms it stands to reason some won’t make it this time around.

I’ve been pretty critical of the IRL since its inception, but this year I am just waiting to see how the unification plays out and if it sends the IRL up or if it is going to stay status quo and truly just a niche sport. This year’s 500 had as big of a “buzz” as it had since Penske, Ganassi and Rahal came over a few years back, if not since 1995. Unfortunately no one over at 16th and Georgetown has a clue about marketing, being it races or divers. They rely on a gimmick and let the other drivers go it alone. On top of that some genius saw to it that Sam Hornish Jr. was allowed to go taxi cab racing. He had a huge following especially in the Midwest which is where a shitload of the races are run. Of course that same genius was the de facto leader of Indy Car racing in the early 90’s and somehow decided a guy from Pittsboro whose family came here to go open wheel racing, not be given a real shot at driving Indy Cars.

That’s it JMV. It sounds like you have joined the IRL side and I think it takes making fans one at a time, but the demise (yeah right) of NASCAR isn’t going to make the IRL any more relevant.

Mark

Hey JMV, I heard you mention that you saw the empty stands at the NASCAR race at Michigan on Sunday. As much as want to see the IRL in general and the Indianapolis 500 in particular, to have the relevance it once had, I think too many of the IRL sis-boom-bah cheerleaders want to make too much of the empty seats at MIS. Keep in mind that the last few years Indy Cars ran at Michigan the attendance was about equal to the empty seats at Sunday’s Cup event. On top of that, the majority of the Michigan’s crowd will always come from the Midwest and with half the area cleaning up after the storms it stands to reason some won’t make it this time around. I’ve been pretty critical of the IRL since its inception, but this year I am just waiting to see how the unification plays out and if it sends the IRL up or if it is going to stay status quo and truly just a niche sport. This year’s 500 had as big of a “buzz” as it had since Penske, Ganassi and Rahal came over a few years back, if not since 1995. Unfortunately no one over at 16th and Georgetown has a clue about marketing, being it races or divers. They rely on a gimmick and let the other drivers go it alone. On top of that some genius saw to it that Sam Hornish Jr. was allowed to go taxi cab racing. He had a huge following especially in the Midwest which is where a shitload of the races are run. Of course that same genius was the de facto leader of Indy Car racing in the early 90’s and somehow decided a guy from Pittsboro whose family came here to go open wheel racing, not be given a real shot at driving Indy Cars. That’s it JMV. It sounds like you have joined the IRL side and I think it takes making fans one at a time, but the demise (yeah right) of NASCAR isn’t going to make the IRL any more relevant. Mark