Rate the Season

[icrackedtheaces]

I give the season a B. Racing has been really good I would give it an A-. Lotus, Belle Isle, P2P and China drag it down to a B.

[doug251]

I'll refrain from using all caps and exclamation marks to back up my argument. While I don't like races like Belle Isle, and I prefer ovals to street courses, having more races in general is paramount to getting the series back in the public eye. Maybe, it won't have the desired effect of getting better ratings, but it should at least be tried and Randy seemingly agrees; he now needs to follow up on what he has been saying.

We have seen where the current 15 race schedule (which, yes, was supposed to be 16 races) gets us--no one caring or knowing when races are on. I will bet you whatever amount you want that Sonoma (coming 3 weeks after the last race) will not garner above a 0.4 rating, which is pathetic. The market is telling IndyCar the sanction fee is too high--we could have had Road America this year and for years to come if IndyCar were willing to bend more on this. I understand that the Sisters don't want to throw good money after bad like Brother Tony did for years, but the series is going to go the way of the Do-Do Bird if they don't get more races. Izod has all but stopped activating, which I understand also makes it tougher to get more races. But, why would sponsors want to put more money toward a 15 or 16 race series that averages ratings slightly higher than a test pattern? Again, I am not saying that more races will instantaneously get more viewership, and I realize that the current tv contract is a drag on the series, but having only 15 races--whether they be all street, all oval, or a combo of the two--and expecting more interest by casual fans (which are most important on the margins) is highly naive.

Indycar racing was the most successful during the early to mid 90's, they had 16 race schedules, its not the amount of races. The racing has only been more competitive because there is not enough HP to "separate the men from the boys." The Series has failed miserably in marketing itself. Its not realistic to think that they can be on ABC every week, so they are at a disadvantage they must work to overcome and I can excuse that, but they have a terrible website, merchandising has only started to pick up in the middle of this season, and they have managed to embarrass themselves on at least a monthly basis-which is probably the only way the series got mentioned in several media outlets...so I guess its exposure. Only one car is crippling this series..and a new engine cover or different trim pieces isn't going to make for "different" cars. They shot themselves in the foot signing solely with Dallera. I think they did about as well as they could do on the schedule this year...except China-they embarrassed themselves on that one. Lotus-complete failure-I expected it though. The Drivers I give a B+ as well as Chevy and Honda- Overall, I give the season a C due to many of the failings as expected growing pains. You wont see higher ratings until they move away from spec cars and market the races and drivers....you got to spend money to make money.

[TCar]

I gave it a c...

The bad...
Announcing a 16 race schedule with only 15 signed contracts. Schedule out waaay late. The 'plan b" fail. The dallara spares fiasco. Merchandise thats worse than what you could buy from a local weekly racing team. Belle Isle. The new 'car'. Attendance down. TV viewership down. Series sponsor gone at seasons end ( ya I know, wait youll hear about it soon enough.) P***ed off car owners.

The good...
Mikey saves 2 races. 2 decent engines. A good 500 as well as a couple other races.

bernards done the best he can and the results are less than grand. To reach the next level, new blood is required, not someone playing at running the sport.

[Andretti91]

from the start up through Indy was an A, from there it;s sort of dropped off to a C. Its still been Andretti, penske and ganasi, plus with Randy caving to the owners on the body kit issues along with other disapointing news its sort of dampered the second half

[Sweaty Teddy]

I gave it an "A" because the on-track product, with the exception of Belle Isle, has been terrific. And two straight caution-free races? I'm impressed.