Hmmm. So what's still on the table: Laguna Seca, Phoenix, Pocono, Austin. Maybe Portland, Chicagoland, Richmond, Ft. Lauderdale, and a Vegas street course?Originally Posted by WillMazeo
Curt Cavin @curtcavin Things from Randy Bernard: No Road America or Michigan in 2013. No China. Downtown Chicago not happening. #indycar
Maybe Randy mended the wounds with SMI and we're going back to some of their tracks? I doubt it, but we can at least hope.
More from More Front Wing:
IndyCar interested in Chicagoland Speedway return, hopes to talk to Pocono soon. Reason for no RA/MIS is they want Milwaukee/Detroit to both grow first.
That's Randy being kind to both sides, the real reason is Road America and MIS are offering too little a sanction fee. Roger Curtis admitted this in an email to I think TF member Z28. If we figure that Sonoma/Laguna will represent northern Cal, we start at 15 events again. Where do the new 4 come from? Houston we know. I should imagine he's hoping for Phoenix and I guess Pocono as ovals. I wonder if he's hoping 2 of the 3 ovals (Phx,Poc,Chi) can make a deal? I guess Ft. Lauderdale as well.
Wanker!
Bernard says he expects to have the schedule finalized by Sep. 1st, so expect to have it in October (You know somebody has to say it)
Thank god we're growing Belle Isle.
Randy also said there's interest in a 3rd Canada race, which I assume is this ever going Quebec City race.
I think Andre Azzi was the one behind that and I haven't heard anything about that in a couple years.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle4178432/
This says Vancouver, Quebec City, and Calgary
Should also ask what year? It could be 2013? 19 races next year NO WAY. That would mean 4 race not on schedule and keeping 15 races Indycar has now. Randy has never kept all the races. Does any track owner like Randy?Bernard says he expects to have the schedule finalized by Sep. 1st, so expect to have it in October (You know somebody has to say it
Either that or the only other option would be Montreal
#Hinch4SNL
No one wants to race there because one time CART was in Mexico City, many crew members got beat up and robbed so they do not think it is safe to be there
Love the Elkhart Lake ALMS doubleheader, liked Watkins Glen, but no Pocono
Written in pencil.Bernard says he expects to have the schedule finalized by Sep. 1st, so expect to have it in October (You know somebody has to say it
October of what year?
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, when I die I want to go where they go" Mark Twain
RB has been trashed on this board - tells me we will have a schedule by when he says and it will be this years 15 plus Houston plus Ft Lauderdale plus some combination of Chicago, Pocono, third Canadian race. That protects races in Milwaukee, Detroit, Baltimore and allows them to grow. Everyone happy? IBiI
There were 2 or 3 groups vying for Quebec, including Savorie I think. I think there was federal/provincial money at stake. Calgary would only replace Edmonton, which is signed for 2013, and Vancouver is never going to happen.
No way, F1/NASCAR are entrenched.
thats my favorite road/street course race of the year
yeah i know, montreal is very very unlikely
Question - Is Fontana sewn up for next year? If not then with MIS off the table, will Fontana be on?
Question - What about the 3rd year of the 3 year deal with LVMS? Is IICS just gonna pay on that and not use the track?
Question - Is Edmonton signed for 2013 is it an "Option" year?
Question - Who really beleives Vancouver or Ottowa will happen? (Although since the Canadian economy is doing OK, well...)
IMHO 2013 has a great chance at a 14 race schedule.
...Always follow the money
http://www.edmonton.ca/city_governme...-edmonton.aspx
Edmonton is signed through 2013 according to this.
It doesn't explicitly say the race is contractual through 2013, but the words indicate they probably are going to run it.
If this is so, then 15 is looking better.
I wholeheartedly disagree with this line of thinking. I think that when you put two events in close geographic proximity of each other, each helps the other; not hurts. It's like saying that if baseball played half as many games their per-game attendance would double. Or if football played twice as many games that the stadiums would be half full. Think about that - it's totally illogical. Did NASCAR's attendance go up or down when they expanded their schedule? Added events in a market raises awareness - something IndyCar could desperately use. Awareness is the first step is the first step in the purchase funnel, if I can borrow some marketing lingo. If RB wants Milwaukee and Belle Isle to grown then he should add RA and Michigan because that would certainly help the cause. People would start to think that IndyCar is getting to be a big deal again and maybe they should get their butts out to a race.
I agree with you tief, but again I think money is the reason. Randy is not going to tell reporters that two tracks can't afford our sanction ing fee.
We can keep going through this, what comes out from Randy is that INDYCAR has had discussions with MIS, and from the replacement go round news either someone called Roger Curtis but then his calls weren't returned, or they were in talks but nothing happened or there were no actual talks, what's up with that?
What RC said was that INDYCAR was asking for too much. Now why is INDYCAR given the right to have the floor that they need to not go below in asking for a fee so they come out ahead but MIS is not allowed to have a ceiling that they determine is too high so they can hope to make a profit? Is that not a double standard? The one sided answer from an INDYCAR fanatic is going to be that MIS just needs to promote more. Well doesn't promotion cost money? So the one sided INDYCAR view is they need to pay INDYCAR whatever it takes, then spend whatever it takes on promotion and that's how they ignore what they think they can bring in in revenue to make a profit.
I also don't see how there should be any optimism about adding Phoenix, Chicagoland or Pocono. The fee INDYCAR needs to charge to not fall below their floor would be the same for any of those three and MIS wouldn't it? They aren't discounting some or charging a premium to others are they? So why would Pocono after a nearly 20 year layoff, and PIR and CS that had crowds at their final IICS races smaller than the last race at MIS think the same fee would be good for them and they could make a profit?
This talk of protecting Milwaukee and Detroit is funny unless what Randy really means is protecting the interests of two team owners rather than add two events at tracks with no connection to any team owners. Stating a reason that does not include the issue of the tracks thinking the sanctioning fees are too high, even though both have expressed interest in having OW events back is ultra self serving.
Detroit came back the first time because of the strong corporate support Penske kept together from the Super Bowl. It came back this time due to him putting together enough corporate and community support, CHEVROLET. It didn't come back either time because there was some groundswell of desire for the Belle Isle circuit to race on or any expectations of 100,000 people showing up on race day. Does Randy really believe that attendance for Detroit is really going to grow that much or is he just trying to come up with a story he thinks enough INDYCAR fans will swallow?
Milwaukee may be able to double the 2012 attendance and sellout, I believe it can if Andretti would drive south on I-94 and tell people about it. But my experience attending both RA and The Mile is they have some overlap in the Indycar fans but mostly different crowds and RA via the fans of the track used to draw many more people than Milwaukee.
Randy is the one backing himself into the September 1 corner and it's another one he won't get out of looking good. If he thinks he can force the issue with tracks to sign on by then or they miss their chance he's staring them down with an empty gun. Every track needs to know when their NASCAR dates will be first. While they are likely to remain the same there can be changes. No place is going to sign for an Indycar race and end up with it too close to one of their NASCAR dates. If tracks don't have a good line on a title sponsor they are taking a huge risk with an Indycar race. If they feel they need support races beyond the ladder series those schedules have to be able to match their date. And expecting to have tracks make those decisions in August to satisfy INDYCAR is the surest way to get them to say, PASS.
"You can't arrest those guys, they're folk heroes"
"They're criminals"
"Well most folk heroes started out as criminals"
Unfortunately not sewn up, but if successful will be returning.
I believe the IICS either paid out its contract or is pending the test they have later this year there.
Not even a question; Edmonton will be back next year.
The remotest of remote chances.
I think 18 is the likeliest scenario.
I am a fan of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Formula 1, and AMA Supercross in that respective order.
Just as a random question: did the proposed Calgary road race die a quiet death? I guess proposed isn't the right word, but I know Octane (the group behind Edmonton and F1's Canada round) were interested in starting a race there, and the economy in that part of the region is still very solid (if bubble-inflated)
From a couch in North Dakota
Z28 give up already with the promoting in Chicago for Milwaukee. What medium are they going to promote on? The high buy rates (#3 market in the country) are not worth the return. As for other ovals, my guess is those tracks would need sponsorship. New hampshire was a failure with the turnout plus the lack of sponsorship. Maybe Randy is truthful and he literally would rather go with a small fee at Phoenix, Pocono, Chicago, markets they do not go to, rather than double up in markets they do go to, with another small fee.
I 100% agree with this. As a Wisconsin native, I know part of the reason open-wheel racing was so big up there was because we got it twice. It helped with familiarity. My NASCAR-loving aunt went with me to Milwaukee this year and had a blast but she told me it took her until about 10 laps to go to even figure out who everyone was. She was extremely excited about the possibility of being able to go to a race at Road America now that she new the series a little bit. I can't believe IndyCar would step on their own throats like that in these midwestern markets.
It s not a matter of not being able to afford it, its a matter of actual cost vs the return. I don't care how much indycar thinks its worth, or how much it needs to survive, but when you have other series asking 6 times less and bringing in the same amount of people, if not more with 4 day events then whats the point of even trying to rationalize the cost.
Really OT, but on Twitter Randy just called out NBC SportsTalk for not covering IndyCar.
@nbcsportstalk can you cover one of your biggest sports on your network you may get a better rating if @INDYCAR fans tuned in. #INDYCAR
Carry on.
Good for Randy. That's pretty awesome
Randy = badass
that's hilarious, INDYCAR is practically invisible on the NBC Sports website
the whole Versus deal is the gift that keeps on giving from TG. Who the hell signs a 10-year steel trap contract? Just dumb.
You're much better off buying network time. The exposure alone would more than pay for itself in the long-run.
The Original Fan of Kimi "The Iceman" Raikkonen 2007 World Driving Champion: 20 Wins---72 Podiums---16 Pole Positions---38 Fastest Laps ---1 Gorilla Suit 2013 Australian Grand Prix CHAMPION
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