IRL CEO: "We need to blow up the IRL"

[mountainstar]

Well I can get behind that.

http://www.indystar.com/article/2010...ed-from-series

[nickyf1]

This man is the man! I wonder what DF will have to say about this though

[awrb]

That's great news. Hopefully we can put the past behind us and concentrate on getting the series back to where it should be.

[gttouring]

that is a good and overlooked idea

[jondownunder]

Hear, hear. I'm liking this guy more and more.

[mountainstar]

Well I suspect he is grasping the damage caused by the past 15 years and the fact it is probably easier to get back your core audience from back then first off, before running out and trying to grab the sketchy unpredictable "casual sports fan" instead.

It remains to be seen what he is willing to do or wants to do or how far the hulmangeorge posse will go, but I think to move forward, the family has to acknowledge the disaster they made and to make amends so we can move on and put all this in the history books. At least at the moment, here and in other interviews, Mr. Bernard has recognized what has happened which is in contrast to the "nobodies home" stunned look tony george always carried around, in denial about everything and using fragmented sentences and um's and ah's to speak.

The "indy racing league" always sounded to me like your local bowling league or some other stick and ball nonsense rather than an international motorsport. It always felt like a stupid, backwards name to me. Indycar works.

Going back and watching CART races from the 1990's makes me appreciate what an incredible time that was, maybe something never to be repeated. It's galling to see the pap presented now in it's place.

[cptkablamo]

Couldn't agree with you more mountainstar.

Scrapping the IRL name will be a great move...hopefully they can do it and make a symbolic break with the past and could be the catalyst to move on to bigger and better things.

[JagtechOhio]

All of that presumes there are millions of disenfranchised fans who stopped watching because their feelings were hurt. Nonsense.

Dozens will stand and cheer.

[cptkablamo]

It certainly isn't a cure-all but may help leave the past in the past and provide momentum for the sport to grow in the future. If it is only 'dozens' that cheer, if it is the right people in the right places, that will be incredibly important

[JagtechOhio]

Momentum for the sport was signing a title sponsor who was putting millions on the table and millions more towards co-promotion.

How's that been workin' out?

How many CART fans were watching when that deal caved in? There were very few, some probably accepted IndyCar after unification, some didn't. This changes nothing, just like the trophy deal.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Momentum for the sport was signing a title sponsor who was putting millions on the table and millions more towards co-promotion.

How's that been workin' out?

How many CART fans were watching when that deal caved in? There were very few, some probably accepted IndyCar after unification, some didn't. This changes nothing, just like the trophy deal.

Apathy and dissatisfaction among other things slowly drove people away.

You could be 100% right, it might end up amounting to a hill of beans and no one will care.

But in my own life experience, the people that I have seen able to move cleanly into the future are the ones that can make peace and amends with the past. Any type of reconciliation might not count for much, but I think trying to leave it all unsaid and ignored, it will just continue to percolate for years to come.

The hulmangeorge clan started this mess, now it's time for them to finish it.

[cptkablamo]

Title sponsorship is about money and promotion. Re branding the sanctioning body is not about that...As you say, it might come to nought, but it might also have some very positive effects along the way.

[codename_47]

If they really wanted the old fans back, they know what they have to do.

I hope to read "IRL CEO: "We need to blow up the current chasis rules and bring something in that's much more a drivers car"

And its not the laughable Delta Wing either.

There's nothing like a name change to try to wipe the slate clean, but if that's all that's really changed its just wasting time really.

Change the name if you're going to do something different. Don't change it if you're going to keep on doing the same old shiz with a new acronym...

[JagtechOhio]

The series was rebranded the day the title sponsor was named.

Bernard has made two announcements that have no relevance to anyone outside the existing fan base. Neither has any effect, both have raised old arguments that didn't need refreshing. Read comments from pages other than this forum and you'll see what the broader reaction looks like.

This guy was brought in for his track record as a sucessful marketer. That was a day one job, one which wasn't hampered by his naivety about the product. He doesn't know anything about the product, or the expertise to recommend ways to improve it.

[cptkablamo]

I said sanctioning body...not series.

The guy has been here for just a few months, lets give him some time. He seems to be doing a good enough job so far.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Jag, why the negativity towards Bernard? He has taken a lot of good steps thus far having inherited a truly messed up situation. As has been said already he realizes the damage of the split and is targeting disenfranchised fans, a smart move IMO. His true legacy (good or bad) will be the success of the transformation from the current product to the next generation. This is clearly an individual who is looking at the state of Indycar through fresh eyes without all the baggage and bias of existing fans, owners, sponsors, etc. and is attempting to revive the series based on a business model he has successfully implemented once before. I will give him time before I pass judgement but so far I like what I see and he is miles ahead of TG. Having said all this, if moving forward there is only one engine and one chassis, he is dead meat, as is the series.

[climb]

it's just a matter of words; if he likes to do it, well no problem forn anybody , I think. But once said that, all the problems of the series are stil there

[mz2k]

So he wants to "blow up" the IRL by getting rid of the name? What good does that do when the series continues to think that IndyCar racing began in 1996?

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by mz2k

So he wants to "blow up" the IRL by getting rid of the name? What good does that do when the series continues to think that IndyCar racing began in 1996?

Exactly that's it. The IZOD IndyCar Series must recognize the past and the former rival series from during the split years as part of their joint history. That would mean different statistics have to be used by commentators so that no longer Scott Dixon and Sam Hornish would have won the most IndyCar races but those legendary drivers who really did.

On the other hand, it was nice to see the IRL teams and the Champ Car teams battle it out on the track. That's not really possible anymore today as there cannot be drawn a clear line of separation between them because most former Champ Car teams now have drivers that grew up in IRL or IndyLights or after the reunification - and vice versa for IRL teams with Champ Car drivers. And most of the teams and drivers are transitional teams anyway.

IRL teams: Panther, Dreyer & Reinbold, Fisher, CURB/3G

transitional or new teams: Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, Foyt, Luszo Dragon

Champ Car teams: Newman/Haas, Dale Coyne, KV Racing, HVM, Conquest

Out of the IRL teams, Panther and Fisher are the only ones that solely have IRL drivers: Wheldon and Sarah Fisher herself. (To be honest, I don't know about if Jay Howard raced in Champ Car before).

Out of the Champ Car teams, HVM has got Simona who comes from Formula Atlantic, the old Champ Car feeder series. KV only has Paul Tracy as a Champ Car driver. The other drivers of these teams are either new, transitional or IRL drivers.

So the majority of the IndyCar Racing community has bridged the divide already, which is a very good thing.

So as of 2010 a Champ Car vs IRL match would be a mixed double of Simona and Paul Tracy vs Wheldon and Sarah Fisher.
They might have fun doing that for charity on a tennis court.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I never liked what the IRL stood for and I always felt that having the word league in the name was more akin to the Football League in England or the NFL and was a term that had nothing to do with racing, so I'm glad it's gone.
That said there's a lot to do if they are going to get open wheel racing back on track, whatever its title.

I think most people would love to see it return to what it was like during the CART era and if the powers that be aren't aware of that they ought to be, otherwise it would seem they are quite out of touch and this series will just slowly dwindle.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

This changes nothing, just like the trophy deal.

This barely changes the substance, I agree, but it can change our glasses a lot.

My proposals are "Indy Racing Group" (IRG) and "IndyCar Racing Group" (ICRG). I chose "group" for the new word because, as I've said elsewhere, it gives sense of "largeness" and friendship. It's used in many large companies too. I must admit that the former acronym is too similar to IRL, and the latter one sucks because it has four letters.

This is just the sanction body's name. There's no need to wait for new cars or names at any step of the ladder. This new name and the Road to Indy will give Indy car racing in the United States a fresher brand of this unified era.

[Dutton]

The thing is that it is the IRL. You can change names and all that if you want, but it doesn't stop it being the same thing. I am not against such things, for it can at worst do no harm (and probably will have a positive influence of some degree). I just am not sure it will make too much of a difference in the big picture.

Having said that, if this symbolic thing goes ahead in-hand with the substansive changes that are generally agreed are needed (from the "consumer" point of view), well, then we could be cooking with gas!

[JagtechOhio]

Look around and you'll find that all this did was ignite another p*ssing contest between the few people that are still paying attention.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Look around and you'll find that all this did was ignite another p*ssing contest between the few people that are still paying attention.

I would hope not and that instead it might spark the IRL, (until it changes its name) in to action and give race fans what the sport needs.

[mz2k]

Originally Posted by Yannick

And most of the teams and drivers are transitional teams anyway.

IRL teams: Panther, Dreyer & Reinbold, Fisher, CURB/3G

transitional or new teams: Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, Foyt, Luszo Dragon

Champ Car teams: Newman/Haas, Dale Coyne, KV Racing, HVM, Conquest

Penske was a founding member of CART, they are not a transitional team.

Ganassi was formed from the old Patrick Racing team (who was also a founding member of CART) and they too are not a transitional team.

Andretti came from CART where they were known as Team Kool Green.

Foyt was one of (if not the) first CART team to switch to the IRL when it was formed. They are an original IRL team, but competed (unsuccessfully) in CART.

Conquest was an Indy Lights team in CART before moving up to the IRL in 2002, then switched to CART/CCWS from 2003 on.

There aren't many original IRL teams left, having been driven out by the influx of CART teams. And I'm not sure what a "transitional" team is. But the vast majority of teams come from CART, some having roots back to USAC.

That suggests that there is open wheel racing history before 1996.