F1 In The U.S.

aero1 · 24 Jun 2004, 04:18 (Ref:1014137)

I'm from Charlotte, N.C. in the States. Charlotte is NASCAR country with about 80% of the teams located within a 50 mile radius. I am a fan of NASCAR and becoming a fan of F1 with every race I watch. I see alot of posts on here as well as other F1 forums talking about the future of F1 in the U.S...As a new fan of F1 I hope it will stay in the U.S. long enough for people to get turned on to it. People say we dont appreciate the type of racing F1 provides. I have no idea who comes up with these theories. First of all, F1 has not been a top priority in the U.S. as far as television coverage goes until Speed Channel started covering all the races (thats what got me interested) including qualifying. Sometimes word of mouth is more effective than any promo or commercial. You would be surprised how many of my "die hard" NASCAR friends have started tuning in just from me telling them how impressive the F1 cars are. Secondly...It is frustrating sometimes to come on here and read posts that put down F1 or NASCAR. You CANNOT compare the two. F1 has technology that N.A.S.A would envy. NASCAR doesnt allow alot of High Tech equipment just to keep the cost of competing in the sport as low as possible. Personally, I'm a fan of speed. It doesnt matter to me what kind of car it is. Go to a race and stand by the fence while any type of cars go by at 200 m.p.h. and tell me it's not a rush. F1 cornering speeds and acceleration are absolutely amazing. As I was saying earlier, sometimes word of mouth is the best type of promotion and with NASCAR stars like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr and a few others commenting about and attending F1 races, NASCAR fans will tune in (out of curiosity) to see why their favorite drivers enjoy & respect F1. Just give it some time. I'll keep doing my part promoting F1 and hopefully this word of mouth thing will catch on...lol

eatapc · 24 Jun 2004, 05:14 (Ref:1014145)

Welcome aboard. Good to know that F1 might be catching on with NASCAR fans. When Speedvision became Speed Channel, many of us thought that the emphasis on NASCAR would ruin coverage of F1 and sports cars. It's interesting that this "sell out" may be a positive thing for F1 in the U.S.

klb · 24 Jun 2004, 06:00 (Ref:1014161)

Quote:

Originally posted by eatapc
It's interesting that this "sell out" may be a positive thing for F1 in the U.S.

.......and sportscars.

aero1 · 24 Jun 2004, 06:01 (Ref:1014163)

Thanks. I understand what youre saying about "selling out" but if F1 is looking to create a fanbase in the U.S. I believe that Speed Channel's coverage may be a step in the right direction. Like I said, catching it on Speed was the hook for me. I understand that Speed is mostly NASCAR coverage so you gotta figure there are millions of NASCAR fans tuned in and eventually they will be exposed to some F1 news or races if they leave the TV on the channel for any period of time. Thats all it takes to get your fanbase growing. Unfortunately, I havent been able to attend the USGP but hopefully next year will be my first "live" experience. I would be content with just going to qualifying. Trust me, 2 years ago I had no interest in F1 but thanks to Speed Channels coverage they made a fan out of me and I know there are more NASCAR fans like myself that can appreciate what the F1 machines are capable of.

climb · 24 Jun 2004, 15:23 (Ref:1014703)

Welcome on board, aero1, and thanx for your interesting slants about F1 and US fan base.
once a good tv coverage has been set up, i think that a major step forward would come from having a very strong US driver and/or team.
If, say, Jeff Gordon was hired by Ferrari, or Williams etc, it would attract many more fans IMo.

dcp2685 · 24 Jun 2004, 16:49 (Ref:1014807)

Quote:

Originally posted by aero1
Thanks. I understand what youre saying about "selling out" but if F1 is looking to create a fanbase in the U.S. I believe that Speed Channel's coverage may be a step in the right direction. Like I said, catching it on Speed was the hook for me. I understand that Speed is mostly NASCAR coverage so you gotta figure there are millions of NASCAR fans tuned in and eventually they will be exposed to some F1 news or races if they leave the TV on the channel for any period of time. Thats all it takes to get your fanbase growing. Unfortunately, I havent been able to attend the USGP but hopefully next year will be my first "live" experience. I would be content with just going to qualifying. Trust me, 2 years ago I had no interest in F1 but thanks to Speed Channels coverage they made a fan out of me and I know there are more NASCAR fans like myself that can appreciate what the F1 machines are capable of.

That's interesting. Speed Channel is good...no doubt. I actually went through hell before signing up for Direct TV just so i could get my F1 races. No other cable company here carries it.

The thing about the channel is that it is SO NASCAR bias. Even the news channels or shows like Wind Tunnel have virtually no coverage of any other racing series. You know it's bad when you tune into the channel and you hear the name Schumacher....and you think ok cool some F1 coverage....only to be let down when they show a highlight of Tony speeding down the drag strip.

When you say Schumacher here 75% of the people think of Tony Schumacher from the NHRA.

Only in america does a drag racer get more publicity than a 6 (soon to be seven) time living legend that argueably makes more money than Tiger Woods.

dcp2685 · 24 Jun 2004, 17:00 (Ref:1014823)

Quote:

Originally posted by climb
Welcome on board, aero1, and thanx for your interesting slants about F1 and US fan base.
once a good tv coverage has been set up, i think that a major step forward would come from having a very strong US driver and/or team.
If, say, Jeff Gordon was hired by Ferrari, or Williams etc, it would attract many more fans IMo.

I have long thought that Chevrolet or Caddilac should be in F1. As hard as they try (and sometimes don't succeed) to up the world image of American automobiles, they stay away from the one thing that would seriously boost that image.

Seriously I generally hate American Cars and they generally are a little more substandard (for what you get from the entire package) than what you see coming from Europe or Asia, The Corvette, and viper are solid exceptions that rival anything in the world, but who would tout Chevy if they obliterated Ferrari in F1?

FORD couldn't handle being one upped by their main domestic competitor and would HAVE to commit. A Chevy/Ford rivalry w/in F1 would rule.

Plus a Jordan-Chevrolet has a nice ring to it...

Purist · 24 Jun 2004, 17:43 (Ref:1014904)

Another difficulty for F1 in the US is that it hasn't really had a solid home since Watkins Glen. The event was held there 20 times (1961-1980). Indy may have history with the 500, but has little clout in F1 specifically. The USGP has been run 5 times at Indy (2000-2004). By comparison, even Long Bech and Detroit have more F1 history. LB held the race from 1976-1983 (8 times), and Detroit from 1982-88 (7 times). Also, it sounds like it may be moved once Indy's current contract expires (2007).

More importantly though, is exposure. Having the full season on Speed is fine, but it would definitely help if the USGP at least had network coverage. I for one, don't have any cable whatsoever, and will not have the option of having it for some time to come, so I have to have any F1 races I want to see taped by someone else.

eatapc · 24 Jun 2004, 17:44 (Ref:1014905)

Ford participates through Jaguar. Chrysler is owned by Mercedes. Chevy ought to get in the game. Now that Cadillac is making progress in competing with the German cars, that would be the logical choice for an F1 marque, but GM management style has always been more about penny pinching that automotive enthusiasm.

BootsOntheSide · 24 Jun 2004, 18:11 (Ref:1014937)

In fairness to Speed Channel, Eurosport and Sky Sports' news is almost entirely dominated by football, and they cover that in mroe detail than anything else.

As for race venues, France and Spain mvoed around a lot in teh 70s and 80s although both are now well-settled. This didn't damage popularity in thsoe countries. The problem in the US in the 80s is that the circuits chosen were boring and compeltely unsuited to F1. In a coutnry where peoplerpefer fast instant action they especially lacked appeal. Indy (road or oval) and The Glen have that in spades

Fogelhund · 24 Jun 2004, 18:21 (Ref:1014951)

Note - the Indy 500 was a points paying event for F1 from 1950-1960... 11 events.

shiny side up! · 24 Jun 2004, 18:23 (Ref:1014954)

Actually, in 2002 and 2003 the USGP was aired domestically on ABC, so F! has recently had an opportunity to go free-to-air. In '02 and '03 both Monaco and Monza were also shown on ABC.

The Indy track has produced good races, and motorsports fans don't mind travelling there. As much as I like the Glen, I don't know if there would be a huge attendance (not that Bernie gives a hoot, his money comes from TV...), so the venue might not actually turn a profit. On top of that, a modern F1 car at the Glen would be seriously scary, I don't think the FIA would run F1 there...

Purist · 24 Jun 2004, 19:27 (Ref:1015045)

I know that the FIA would hardly consider any of the permanent natural terrain road courses in the US, and I know why they wouldn't, but I'm still perfectly inclined to say "Get over it."

I've never been much of a fan of rovals I'll admit, but even as far as rovals are concerned, I can't say the course at Indy is a very inspired circuit. Pocono, Daytona, Michigan, Texas World Speedway, the external course at Phoenix, and Ontario Speedway have all had rovals that are/were much better road courses than the one at Indy.

I don't know that the Glen would be that bad. There are some slow corners, and none of the straightaways are that long. The backstraight, without the innerloop, is 2,600 feet in length. Even coupled with the Esses, it can't be as long a flat out run as they have at Indy, not to mention if you can take Eau Rouge flat, well, that would be 27 seconds straight on the throttle at Spa (La Source-Les Combes). I'd love to see F1 at Road America, but I'd get even more laughs out of that proposal. Just to point out, it sounds like there are plans to move the USGP to California once Ind's contract runs out. Boundless Motorplex has been mentioned at a possibility (new motorsports complex with a 3.2 mile road course, to be built in the US with FIA backing).

mrnabisco · 25 Jun 2004, 06:32 (Ref:1015582)

Network TV coverage of an American driver in F-1 is probably the only thing that would make F-1 more popular in the USA. "Up Close and Personal" segments and the US driver in prime time commercials (like the NASCAR Viagra or UPS ads).

Americans really do not care about "foreign" drivers let alone "foreign" marks like Ferrari, McLaren or Williams.

They want to watch one of their own behind the wheel of an American made car.
Along the same lines, how many NASCAR fans are there in Italy or England?

NASCAR is so popular because good ole local boys are out there driving around in "normal" looking American cars on tracks that emulate the big American highways. I think this has led to a huge increase in tailgateing on American highways from people watching NASCAR and trying to immitate them on the road.

While F-1 IS the top of the racing pyrimid, most Americans just do not care because no fellow American is involved, period.

And then there is the idea floating around of having a F-1 race in the streets of New York....
Being a New Yorker I can safely say that will never happen.

65bc · 25 Jun 2004, 06:59 (Ref:1015586)

in canada we get the british feed along with speed on cable and this year i have been really impressed with the coverage on speed especially last at indy when the comentators were actually at the track, i hope the realize at speed what a deference it makes when the comenttaors are at the race and keep it up

Spritle · 25 Jun 2004, 11:10 (Ref:1015772)

Another problem with F1 in the US and broadcasts of same is the time difference, GMT -5. Getting up regularly on a Sunday morning at 7:30 am to watch a race isn't for everyone except a die hard fan. I for one love having the rest of my day available after a race due to an early local time start on TV. LEAVE IT ALONE BERNIE!

Most of us want to watch an event live so a delayed broadcast as a steady diet would get old fast. And keeping away from any news outlets or the internet for any updates on a race already over is definitely impossible for me and I'm sure for others as well. Compare that to NASCAR, CART, IRL races that are on live in the afternoon to capture the maximum TV audience.

It's going to be a tough sell no matter what but love him or hate him, Schumacher helps because many people in the US can't help knowing who he is and want to see this guy, who as my father in law says, "keeps winning all the races". He and Juan are about the only drivers they have heard of.

GP Racer · 26 Jun 2004, 01:33 (Ref:1016483)

Excellent first thread aero1!

Speed Channel is definetely a huge factor in sparking interest from new fans like yourself, and bringing back old fans like me. Before them, we had to deal with race highlights a week late, on Wide World Of Sports. You could never become a die-hard fan that way. Speed has done an excellent job, and I do believe they will help grow this sport here in the US.

When you think about it, its amazing F1 had any following here at all, considering how shoddy the coverage was before. I think F1 will be hearing alot from American fans in the near future...

aero1 · 27 Jun 2004, 02:11 (Ref:1017111)

Thanks again. Were really no different here in the U.S. as people think. It's no different than other countries not being interested in NASCAR. They and We like what we grow up watching. I think it's all about being exposed to it long enough. But no sport is for everyone. There are a few sports in the U.S. that I dont really care for.