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Thread: Why I see how Randy Bernard will Run not Walk away this winter

  1. #1
    Reset your fuel,Go Go Go Z28's Avatar
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    Why I see how Randy Bernard will Run not Walk away this winter

    For a different discussion since why he would get fired by his non employers is well covered.

    I think he's found that too much of his success is contingent on what others do and there's much he simply can't do.

    As he has stated he works for the board, they like it when he can spend as close to zero dollars on the series as possible and after stopping the losses start making money. Jeff Belskus smiles and Randy gets a pat on the back. Unfortunately that means Randy doesn't have money to spend on promotions, or to offer incentives to teams or bigger purses because unlike in the Tony George days the purse strings are closed.

    He is handcuffed by the remaining 6 years of a ten year TV contract with NBC Sports Network and had further restrained by the just extended exclusive TV contract with ESPN/ABC. Even if he could come up with a better plan, even if he could think of a way to get more races on a broadcast network, he's stuck.

    He has discovered that where he used to sign on with arena owners who sold tickets to the rodeos, he now has to deal with the two largest owners of motorsports facilities in the world who do not need his races to be successful or he has to deal with independent promoters, good and bad, who have to make deals with cities to use their streets and some of them are team owners. He has found races in other countries to be profitable for the series and wants to add more but now has the experience of getting shafted on what he thought was a done deal.

    He has found that dealing with cowboys and their agents and the bulls and their owners was much easier than going toe to toe with Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi leading the team owners. He also has to deal with global companies like General Motors, Honda, Dallara, Firestone and a slew of other suppliers. He also has the drivers and their agents as well as their sponsors, the sponsors of all the tracks and promoters. As well as IZOD and other sponsors of INDYCAR coming and going.


    He has found that venues that the fans, competitors and media believe are good for the sport don't want to be a part of the sport without a better deal. He can't charge them less to make them happy because that means less revenue for the series which makes his employers unhappy. He listened when many said the series needed new cars but car builders said they needed to be the lone supplier to meet the enforced price limits. So the new car costs less to buy but in order for the manufacturer to make a profit at the low new car price he had to agree to much higher replacement part prices. Which ended up making the team owners unhappy.

    He has found a very small and sympathetic media covering his sport. While not universal he gets (HONESTLY) very little criticism from the regular media coverage and is able to get his message out as he desires. If he gets criticized on sports talk radio, it's only in one city in the USA unfortunately if the sport gets talked about on sports talk radio on a weekly basis it's only in one city in the USA.


    So tell me with all that, is it so out of the question that he regrets getting into a situation where his ability to make things happen is in so many ways beyond his control and he ends up not wanting to continue?
    "You can't arrest those guys, they're folk heroes"
    "They're criminals"
    "Well most folk heroes started out as criminals"

  2. #2
    Randy Bernard as victim?

  3. #3
    Z28 I agree. He has made some mistakes by talking too much. Perhaps some or all of that was based on information he was getting from the fella who was just terminated/left?

    No doubt however he is on a tough spot - with no $$$ to spend and the teams all but ready to grab the pitch forks and torches.

    If I were him I would depart before I became the fall guy because his heads closest to the block from where I am looking and there is no reason to go down for the romper room business practices of IMS.
    The reality is the numbers are dropping yet you call the deal 'ahead of its time'. The only end result that can be drerived from that is the series will be broke 'ahead of its time'.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Raceworder2.0 View Post
    Randy Bernard as victim?
    I really didn't read it like that


    with that being said he either feels he's making progress or not. I think he's doing a great job with what he's got to work with but this can get old real quick.
    I'd rather have 10% of the world interested in the ICS than 50% of US that NASCAR currently has

  5. #5
    I think I just read that Raceworder wants TG back so no reason to even go there with him.

  6. #6
    Registered User ErixMotorsports's Avatar
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    I agree Z, he's in a no win situation.

  7. #7
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    I think he has doing a great job and will continue to do so.

  8. #8
    The original Servia fan numetalbizkit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ajax View Post
    I think I just read that Raceworder wants TG back so no reason to even go there with him.
    I mean if you want to kill the sport, go right ahead...
    I am a fan of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Formula 1, and AMA Supercross in that respective order.

  9. #9
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    Certainly he can go, but who will replace him? Without a$$et$ to make any global change, this series is grinding itself into oblivion. With TV ratings bouncing off the bottom, what is there to sell that somebody might want.

    All the seed corn has been eaten, track owners fed up, fans moving to other "events" and no real gottcha pull, how can improvement be expected?
    "Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved
    body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting
    "...holy $^!+...what a ride!"
    >

  10. #10
    I think another H/G family member will replace Bernard.

    As far as I am concerned he'd be silly to stay on board after this season. If he does then that may prove to be a glimmer of hope for the future.

  11. #11
    Isn't Randy contracted with the series for 5 years?
    If he's not around next year, he was fired and given a 2 years check per contract.
    Of course I could be totally wrong, as no one here has seen Randy's contract.
    Kinda like no one knows if the series is profitable either.

  12. #12
    He's just in a no win situation. Not sure anyone could do any better, unless the whole thing was sole to ISC or SMI.

  13. #13
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    I think his mission is to break even at all the other races and to do really well at the 500.

    The so-called "board" is simply the Hulman-George family (including Tony) and Bernard serves at their pleasure. Previous sentence desribes their pleasure I think. At least the series isn't paying to be on TV.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by lkchris View Post
    I think his mission is to break even at all the other races and to do really well at the 500.

    The so-called "board" is simply the Hulman-George family (including Tony) and Bernard serves at their pleasure. Previous sentence desribes their pleasure I think. At least the series isn't paying to be on TV.
    Paying to be on network TV isn't necessarily a bad thing.

    The teams need revenue too. When a 20 car field requires $160,000,000 in sponsorship to run a season, the network exposure becomes far more valuable then the $250k per race that Versus/OLN/NBCSN pays the league.

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