Based on the last 4 years, where do you see IndyCar in 5 years?

[Parnelli64]

things were looking up in 2008, with one series and IZOD joining as title sponsor, something INDYCar had been needing for years.

but as many here claim and seem happy about for some reason, we have morphed into CART II and were headed down the same road. If we don't regain some real leadership and direction, they might as well pack in after the 100th INDY 500 in 2016....

[irloyal]

I feel like they are a couple deals away from blowing up (in a good way).

...snip

Indycars product is exciting and flawless. It's so easy to get my friends into now as opposed to previous years. Now, to fix the marketing. And, It's all about the drivers, the drivers, and the drivers.

It is also just a few bad deals from blowing up in a bad way. The sport is on a cusp right now and I hope the good deals come fast and furious so the sport is still here in five years,

[BrentJackson]

It would be nice if things were different, but they likely won't be. I won't go into CE level stuff on this forum, but America's middle class (and these people are the ones who spend the $$$ to go to races, the people sponsors want to sell to) have had a rough time as of late and I don't see things exactly roaring better for the economy. That fact is holding everyone in professional sports back to some extent. Indycar Racing will still be around, but how big it is is anyone's guess.

Z28's point about marketing in unique ways is a good one. I think that Indycar could and should have been a little more ambitious with the new cars (not that I'm complaining about the DW12, and I was never a DeltaWing supporter before anyone asks), but that's another story than this. Bernard had to stop the bleeding, and it appears that he has, and now he's got to get more people behind the series, and that means the sort of things Z28 has put up are a good idea indeed - Ken Block and his nuts Gymkhana videos are a good idea what to aim for, but you aren't doing those sort of things with an Indycar. (Though is somebody was to try it would look pretty awesome....) One idea I had that could work with the DW12 is the fitting of lots of cameras to it. I'm thinking at least one over the driver, one in the nose running on the ground, sides of the cars, facing backwards, so on and so forth, thus allowing the TV crews to get the shots right. The reason I still think fiberglass bodywork is a good idea is to allow the teams to modify the cars themselves, which is why I liked the interchangeable bodywork idea from the DW12.

And also, get the best of the drivers for personality out more. The video of Hinch and JR and Charlie from Indycar was bloody hilarious, they need more stuff like that, too.

[AGRiculture]

If the racing stays as good as it's been and the owners and speedway get along, I think the sport will grow quite nicely.

I'd like to think so, Doc, but who's going to notice? Nationally, ESPN hardly covers the races on Sportscenter now that SHE is no longer in the series. USA Today gives it about three sentences on Fridays and Mondays of race weekends(today's was typical)...excluding the 500 of course. And everyone here knows about the pathetic ratings, only the faithful are watching. In local coverage, most papers and TV stations cover their local race, if there is one, and the 500(and when a driver is killed), from what I've seen.

The biggest obstacle for the IICS is that the general public considers it a niche minor league, thanks to the struggles of ex-IICS drivers in NASCAR(and F1 for the more knowledgeable). Most of the series' problems can be traced back to this.