Will The IRL Now Gain Some Momentum?

[sgw2]

CCWS is going out of country. Only four or five races will be left in the US next year (bye bye Portland and Milwaukee ... LVMS oval rental far behind?) and maybe only three by 2007. In effect we are rapidly approaching one OW series only in the US already. Kevin Kalkhoven is shelling out more and more money just to keep a modest toehold in the US. Kalkhoven's biggest investment is the gang of four paychecks, as it gives CCWS advocates in the US press. Is that worth negotiating over?

That is why the merger talk is silly. CCWS will only last as long as Kevin Kalkhoven opens his checkbook. When he tires of it, or decides it isn't getting him what he wants, then CCWS will go away, and the shell companies he set up will fold leaving the bills unpaid. This may happen much sooner than people realize.

A unification will not fill grids anymore than when the top CART teams came over to IRL. There is only so much money and the smaller teams fall off. Unification will kill the Walker, HVM, Coyne, Bachelart, and RuSports teams outright, while shrinking the Rocketsports and maybe PVK or Forsythe teams down to one car. And it would come at the cost of losing focus on the US market, and on losing focus on the IRL product.

IRL will grow its fields if it grows its US profile attracting sponsors. The chance to grow is marketing what the IRL has connecting with the fans. Lets see how well the do with the hand they have been dealt.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by sgw2

CCWS is going out of country. Only four or five races will be left in the US next year (bye bye Portland and Milwaukee ... LVMS oval rental far behind?) and maybe only three by 2007. In effect we are rapidly approaching one OW series only in the US already.

This was from an interview with journalist Mark Fogarty in Australia's number 2 motorsport publication Auto Action. KK says " Well, we'll always have half our races in the united states. Thats a commitment we've made because thats the bedrock of what we got"

So as you can see, GP Racer and sgw2 may think Champ Car is going to ditch America, but that isn't what KK is thinking.

Also on a side note, ovals are still in his vision, to what extent schedules will tell but he said " we have two ovals (2004) and we'll have ovals in the future".

Originally Posted by sgw2

That is why the merger talk is silly. CCWS will only last as long as Kevin Kalkhoven opens his checkbook. When he tires of it, or decides it isn't getting him what he wants, then CCWS will go away, and the shell companies he set up will fold leaving the bills unpaid. This may happen much sooner than people realize.

Why dont you believe in the commitment that KK and Forsythe have shown. There actions over the last two years, I think has shown a commitment to this championship, competitors and fans more than your giving them credit for. Personally I dont see them tiring of it.

Also didn't the IRL only survive through its days because of TG's checkbook. You do what you have to.

Originally Posted by sgw2

A unification will not fill grids anymore than when the top CART teams came over to IRL. There is only so much money and the smaller teams fall off. Unification will kill the Walker, HVM, Coyne, Bachelart, and RuSports teams outright, while shrinking the Rocketsports and maybe PVK or Forsythe teams down to one car. And it would come at the cost of losing focus on the US market, and on losing focus on the IRL product.

Walker is currently a fully funded operation by a company operating in America, so I dont see unification killing them. Eric Bachalart came from the IRL to champ car and while maybe slimming to 1 car, with an appropriate driver I wouldn't see him leaving. Rusport is run by the wealthy Carl Russo and with two capable drivers, while the cars are lacking sponsorship at the moment, I dont see this occuring for two long. Finally both Rocketsports and PKV are running cars with sponsorship on both vehicles. I dont see unification changing this.

What will occur to the IRL's smaller teams or the teams heavily relying on Engine companies financial support, if an engine company was to leave ?

Originally Posted by sgw2

IRL will grow its fields if it grows its US profile attracting sponsors.

That is quite a bold statement of things that "WILL" happen. Especially considering what has occured during the past 10 years.

[JohnSSC]

sgw2 makes some good points.

D.R.T., at least in comparison to the molehill I have amassed, there is not a single owner in either Series that I do not consider "wealthy." Simply because the owner is wealthy does not mean that the Team is guaranteed a certain level of funding. Indeed, the goal is to have someone else fund the team so that you may use your own wealth for other things.

As far as the IRL attracting sponsors, their cars appear to relatively festive with sponsor names and color schemes while many OWRS cars still look like they are in pre-season trim (as in bare tubs). The lack of sponsor regalia on the cars really struck me when I watched the Moterrey race.

Back to sgw2's points:

OWRS is becoming a profit center. Races are being moved offshore as apparently, the offshore entities are willing to pay to have the show come to their town. KK has stressed his desire to have a concentration in the Pacific Rim - which would, by the way include California thus allowing him to have one street race (Long Beach) and one oval (Fontana) here in the US and still appeal to sponsors from that area. (Yes fans, the Pacific rim includes both Oriental and Occidental countries). That leaves The Canadian races and perhaps one or two more races in the US to round out a schedule that will (imho) lean heavily on swing that will include Surfer's and then move through the Korean peninsula and into China.

Further, I am getting the sense that their business model is also going to rely on the sponsorship the driver brings with him - rather than the teams seeking out sponsors for themselves and hiring drivers the drivers will provide the sponsors to the teams. Think of a Series with 10 DCR-type teams.

What I am starting to see unfold (and as you know I am a proponent of a unified Series) is that OWRS will be a Pacific-Rim/Internationally-focused Series that happens to have a few races here in North America - a sort of GP2-Lite. IRL will become the primary sanctioning body for open-wheel in the US.

[macdaddy]

GP2-Lite ?

Or F1.1 ?

Both series are doing whatever it is they can to survive at this point. Both can be criticized, both can be acclaimed. Many times it has been mentioned that the US marketshare cannot support both. And obviously a merger simply ain't happening. The IRL has Indy, meanwhile CC has great international appeal, and in a way it all makes sense to me. Two distinct business-models with two distinct focusses. (sp?)

[sgw2]

Mac, JohnSSC,

You both get it. The business focuses are indeed completely different. Two ships passing in the night.

If you understand what Kalkhoven is doing, and assuming he is not acting randomly, it starts to make sense everything that goes on. The strategy seems to be the circus going where governments will pay the most to have them perform, and where the performers pay to be in the show.

The Champcar teams are all just shells, merely shops contracted to put out CCWS supplied equipment. All are satellite operations controlled by Kalkhoven or Fosrythe. Herdez (now HVM) and Walker (now Team Australia, a Kalkhoven controlled shell) were brought in house control, much like RuSPORT, MCR and DCR. They are interchangeable and replaceable, as CCWS owns the equipment. A Jenson or any other team can be created in a flash.

Only Newman-Haas Racing remains independent, owning their own equipment, signing their own drivers, signing their own sponsors, and even racing in Indy. They are kept in CCWS by Paul Newman's bitterness and Carl Haas' business of selling Lola bits. But with Newman retiring from the team, there is very little trust in Carl Haas staying in Champcar. No way will Forsythe, Kalkhoven or Gentillozi trust Haas with Ryan Hunter-Reay.

There is definitely an anti-IRL component in the CCWS actions. It seems to cloud decisions made by CCWS. But maybe it is strategy. The merger talk and weekly anti-IRL spew from the gang of four may serve a dual purpose of obscuring the direction CCWS is going so as not to anger fans in the US, and perhaps to keep fanatic supporters like Paul Newman and Jimmy Vasser in tow.

Whatever. I think it is pretty clear that Champcar supporters are mostly ignorant of the corporate direction Kalkhoven is engineering and where that will take CCWS. At least the IRL supporters have a much clearer view of the objectives and strategy of their series. All of which is well off topic.

Back on topic, I am looking forward to Texas on TV and Infineon in person when I get back from China. I know a NASCAR diehard that loved Indy and turned off the World 600 crashfest. He will be watching Texas, but may or may not bother watching the Nextel race. To me that is what I call momentum. So put on a good show!

[indycool]

Agree, sgw2, John SSC.

There's another important reason for CCWS to go international as fast as it can get governments to pay the bills (like Surfers, CCWS' biggest payday). That reason is that it's not doing well in getting viable races put together in North America. In the U.S., ONLY Long Beach is financially viable. In Edmonton, San Jose and Portland, CCWS has gone back ex-post-facto on its deal to the cities for more funding. I agree that Portland, Milwaukee and probably Vegas are gone after '05 and maybe still even Monterrey. Road America, Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio are already gone. Street races have HUGE startup costs and HUGE annual expenses from construction and teardown. They're not the cash cows some make them out to be. To get to a 14-race schedule, CCWS must self- or co-promote Portland, Denver, Cleveland, San Jose and now Long Beach.

The government-supported business model is not new. When an NFL team wants a new stadium in the U.S., it simply threatens to move if it's not built by the cities involved with taxpayer dollars. Does CCWS have that kind of clout in the U.S.? I don't believe so, but they're asking for less money, too (except for Surfers, outside the U.S., where the Queensland government puts about $11 million into the race each year). Time will tell.

[Hazza]

My history is a little rusty, but wasn't this MA concept the basis of Formula 5000? You have international races in england and where else and a series in the US at the same time? Allthought as I understand it you had 3 different series with the same rules in Australia, UK and the US...

It'd work on paper. Working out the TV rights would be a pain though...

[JohnSSC]

No offense, macdaddy, but OWRS is definitely GP2- Lite. As you know, GP2 used to be F3000. At least in the current scheme of things GP2 still is considered the heavier hitter as there is a perception that the best drivers there go on to F1.

indy and sgw2, I was really rah-rah about reunifying. Then I started looking at what is going on and also thinking about some past posts of mine - one particularly where I likened OWRS to the Rollerderby coming to whatever town pays them to be there. As it becomes more clear that the "teams" are entities controlled by KK and GF it finally dawned on me that OWRS would be racing's equivalent of vertical integration: the Series owners would own everything - the cars the teams the rights to the venues - even the contracts with the drivers. Requiring the drivers to bring sponsorship nulls out the expense of keeping up the cars, you sell your engine leases to yourself, $$ from the venues covers traveling expenses and overhead (race day staff) and et voila, instant profit center. As I have said before you have now a sophisticated Joie Chitwood Thrill Show appearing in your neighborhood!

In effect, the Amigos would actually prefer to see N-H leave the series altogether since they are the only team they do not control.

The really annoying thing here is that it took me this long to figure it out.

[indycool]

You have some good points, John SSC. I don't think The Amigos trust Haas one way or the other and vice versa. Haas has run Indy the last two years because he wanted to run Indy. That probably galls the Amigos. But they hafta put up with Haas because Haas dictates where the Lola parts truck shows up. Haas will continue to hold that card and he'll play it any way and any time he feels like playing it. A key example: KK/PG and Haas couldn't agree on a deal for RHR to run Milwaukee for Haas. Who knows all the business shenanigans that went into play on THAT discussion?

[Tim Northcutt]

If Milwaukee's crowd is any indication of where Champ Car should go, they need to get out of the country ASAP....they even decided on some sort of Armed Forces Salute with free tix to Milwaukee today, and the place looked only slightly better than the IRL's race at Phoenix in march...

The place was empty....very empty....

I've seen more fans at USAC Midget races.....

There is no spin that can be put on that.....Milwaukee didn't care about Champ Car today and the weather looked beautiful on TV....

Maybe they should go with just street courses and overseas to collect the promoter checks...because they lost their skins today on an oval...

[GP Racer]

I can only imagine that if TG had -

1 - manipulated and controlled teams like KK and company have done,

2 - switched drivers around like pawns on a chessboard,

3 - let his series become nothing more than a spec series,

4 - put push-to-pass, and other dumbed down things to artificially stimulate his racing,

5 - run half a field without sponsorship,

6 - run half a field of pay drivers,

6 - owned everything, cars, teams, drivers, the whole shooting match,

7 - made so many phoney promises (like PG, the former amigo did) that never came to be,

8 - given up on so many venues.

what do you think the other side would be saying? Reunify? Haaa! I don't think so!

I see absolutely nothing coming from the other side these days, that makes me think that reunification with them will be the saving grace of open wheel racing.

[trow]

Originally Posted by indycool

You have some good points, John SSC. I don't think The Amigos trust Haas one way or the other and vice versa. Haas has run Indy the last two years because he wanted to run Indy. That probably galls the Amigos. But they hafta put up with Haas because Haas dictates where the Lola parts truck shows up. Haas will continue to hold that card and he'll play it any way and any time he feels like playing it. A key example: KK/PG and Haas couldn't agree on a deal for RHR to run Milwaukee for Haas. Who knows all the business shenanigans that went into play on THAT discussion?

Good points!

It reminds me of the way decisions were made in CART. Several people with differing ideas. Someone wins out and others are angered.

Rewind ..........

[jj2728]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

If Milwaukee's crowd is any indication of where Champ Car should go, they need to get out of the country ASAP....they even decided on some sort of Armed Forces Salute with free tix to Milwaukee today, and the place looked only slightly better than the IRL's race at Phoenix in march...

The place was empty....very empty....

I've seen more fans at USAC Midget races.....

There is no spin that can be put on that.....Milwaukee didn't care about Champ Car today and the weather looked beautiful on TV....

Maybe they should go with just street courses and overseas to collect the promoter checks...because they lost their skins today on an oval...

good points tim. i turned the race on for the start then switched off 30 or so laps in. turned it back on with 9 minutes or so since it was a timed race by that time and could only describe it as a booring race with a lacklustre field.
my thoughts are and have been for some time now that the north american fan base can sustain only one top flight open wheel series other than formula one obviously. and right now the IRL has the momentum and ability to attract the 'casual fan' to both the television and the race track. and i think that sometimes it's forgotten that it IS the 'casual fan' that they need to attract. if there were ever a time for the IRL to be holding the upper hand, well it is now. i just hope they can move with it.

[JohnSSC]

GP - I hadn't looked at it that way! TG is reviled for "the Vision Thing" and painted as some sort of anti-open wheel person. Yet the worst they can do is to note that the "Vision" has drifted (and I would argue that it has been necessary for it to do so) and TG bought the Vision Team - which I do not believe is such a good idea.

Compare that to the Center for Obssesive-Compulsive Control of an Open Wheel Series. The Amigos pretty much have direct control of all components of their Series either through ownership or subsidization thereof. The only thing they don't control is is the fans and there is probably a plan to outsource that to Pacific Rim countries...oh wait, they already are doing that!

Some of the die-hard OWRS fans are right, but for the wrong reasons: reunification is not going to happen. It doesn't need to. OWRS is moving away from the North American market. I don't care what KK says - remember the Amigos talking about preserving the Great Traditions of CART when they bought the Series? Then we listened to the pronouncements of how we 'have to let go of some things in order to survive?' I really think that all that these three wanted was to play racing cars under very carefully controlled circumstances. PG has shown this with how he ran T/A (and where is that, now?) and the rest were just issuing press releases to cover their tracks (no pun intended).

If TG had done any of these things as noted by GP the howls of outrage would have reached unmatched levels!

[Mosport67]

I will disagree with those who say reunification doesn't need to happen. It does. There is a still a perception problem in the public after the split. Two series creates confusion and that hurts open-wheel racing.

Yes the IRL has gained some momentum after a good Indy 500 and the Danica show but it was only a few months ago when a Milwaukee like crowd showed up in Phoenix for the IRL race.

You are quite right to say that ChampCar is at the whim of KK as he writes the cheques. When he gets tired of that it is over.

In my view there are still too many people looking through rose-coloured glasses in both camps. It would be better for all if there was some form of reunification. I am not holding my breath for it to happen though.

Think back to the days before NASCAR took priority everywhere. That was probably the best part of Indy this year. We didn't hear all about the Coke Caution Flag 600. We heard about Indy (albeit with a bit too much focus of Danica). Danica trumped NASCAR for the weekend at least.

The emergence of Danica combined with a fan base not split by series and a public and sponsors not still hearing about the split would do wonders for open-wheel racing.

You could run a great series of 19-21 races with 3 in Canada, 1-2 in Mexico, 1 in Japan and 1 in Australia and the rest in the US. It wouldn't be like the travelling stuntman (good analogy btw) going where the dollars are.

[Mosport67]

Just thinking about the races a little more. Only 2 of the races would be outside of regular viewing hours (Japan and Australia).

USAC has a history of racing in Canada going back to the 1960's anyway.

[indycool]

At this particular point in time, what does OWRS/CCWS have to offer in a merger? Why is that series worth any more than the $3 million OWRS paid for it? Long Beach? IRL has gone 10 years without it, although it's attractive, but not for the $15 million the Amigos spent on it. TG just spent $10-plus million on the Indy purse. Teams? OWRS doesn't own them, and only 2-3 could afford to play in a combined series. Other venues? IRL doesn't want to go to the Pacific Rim and OWRS' U.S. races are losers. OWRS does want to go offshore.

If people are talking an "equal" merger, they better look at who's bringing what to the party.

[trow]

Originally Posted by Mosport67

I will disagree with those who say reunification doesn't need to happen. It does. There is a still a perception problem in the public after the split. Two series creates confusion and that hurts open-wheel racing.

I have two comments to make on this.

One, if there was a perception problem before Indy, it is gone now; but if you meant the perception held by the dwindling numbers of the FTG crowd, then is it really necessary for anyone to consider their thoughts seriously, after the 6.5 rating at Indy? It wasn't diehard CCWS, or IndyCar fans who made that 6.5 rating happen - it was casual viewership coupled with the Indianapolis 500, and a growing phenom named Danica, not too mention a beautiful raceday - the best in years!

Two, all it will take is for the fans to see the highly recognizable red, white, and blue patch on the upper right hand of the driver's suits that says, "IndyCar Series" and ESPN/ABC broadcasting the events!

[Mosport67]

I don't think Indy solved the perception problem although I will agree that it reduced it.

It isn't just about TV ratings and fans for Indy, it is about building on that for the rest of the races. Bums in the seats and TV viewers are what is needed.

This isn't IRL vs OWRS it is open-wheel vs. NASCAR. One series is better than two.

[jock25]

Originally Posted by indycool

If people are talking an "equal" merger, they better look at who's bringing what to the party.

Despite your valid concerns about CCWS may bring to a merger with the IRL, there is still a great deal that CC can offer to complement and enhance the IRL. Pitching it as "indycars is worth a lot more and has more assets and is better than CC" or vice-versa is the mentality that has maintained the disruption of open-wheel racing for a decade.

CC can offer the IRL a strong presence in Canada and Mexico, which would combine to give a unified series greater North American coverage than NASCAR. Secondly, there are still some very historic ties, most notably Long Beach, that CC could bring to the table. Not to mention the potential involvement of Cosworth as engine supply partner, a fleet of Lola chassi and many good US and International sponsors/commercial partners. Furthermore the "taking racing to the people" format of street racing makes CC more accessible than IRL (for now) and greatly more accessible than NASCAR. Combine this with the best IRL ovals and Indy itself, plus complete penetration across North America and NASCAR will be facing a far greater threat since NASCAR is constrained by the tied-ownership/interest in ovals-only.

I can see the old sentiment of "crush the other side" emerging once again following Indy and once again that is totally counter-productive.

[JohnSSC]

Here is the way I see it (subject to change as new info develops and retaining the option of changing my mind at some point!):

Reunification does not need to happen. Why?

1) The Amigos own or control everything but N-H racing. Newman intends to retire, Haas wants to win Indy - the Haas side moves to the IRL. As an aside: if Newman stays in OWRS, then he becomes "Newman Racing." So Haas goes to IRL with the last two "independent" seats - Bourdais/Junquiera may or may not go with him. Either way the Amigos simply replace N-H with another "team" entity that they control and plug in 2 more pay drivers.

2) OWRS pushes forward with the Pacific Rim thing. That leaves "North American Open Wheel Racing" to the IRL by default. It is clear by this time that OWRS has no real intention of competing for this market with either Canadian or American drivers. PT is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, Tags should be able to find a ride in IRL, Vasser is retiring shortly leaving Almendinger and Hunter-Ray to decide if they want to stay or go.

3) A merger would bring very little to the equation from the OWRS side. OWRS is a spec engine and (literally) a spec chassis series. Little in the way of useful transferability here. If Barnhart & Co show a little chutzpah, they could come up with a reasonably priced multiple engine/chassis series. Since the only stand-alone team is N-H, there really would not be a "gain" in the number of teams. This leads to ...

4) Really, really showing some chutzpah in writing rules that make potential owners and engineers smile and say: "Yeah, we could do that and not go broke!"

5) TG with the cooperation of the Hulman Family needs to fatten the purse of the 500 big-time - $5 million to win, $1 million bonus if the winning team (not just driver - team) is a regular in the IndyCar series. Wouldn't that make Bump Day fun? Remember when Colin Chapman brought Lotus over? Think the purse had more than a little to do with it? Well, wave $5 million to win under people's noses and you will get A) a lot of media and B) a lot of teams (remember John Menard's Indy-only program?) thinking $5 million plus the attendant sponsor $$ = 'What are we doing next May?'

So maybe TG has been smart like a fox to an extent recently. He has chosen not to fight to gain a unified series nor give up things to gain a unified series as it seems the IndyCar Series may rise to the top step on the podium by default.

[jock25]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

5) TG with the cooperation of the Hulman Family needs to fatten the purse of the 500 big-time - $5 million to win, $1 million bonus if the winning team (not just driver - team) is a regular in the IndyCar series. Wouldn't that make Bump Day fun? Remember when Colin Chapman brought Lotus over? Think the purse had more than a little to do with it? Well, wave $5 million to win under people's noses and you will get A) a lot of media and B) a lot of teams (remember John Menard's Indy-only program?) thinking $5 million plus the attendant sponsor $$ = 'What are we doing next May?'

Don't agree with that. The 500 should be important but not the sole focus. Doing something that would direct the entire focus on to one event in the IRL calendar, at the expense of the rest of the series, is totally counterproductive.
We need teams to be interested in competiting for the whole season, media coverage from April to September, season long TV contracts and individual race promoters that use each event as a springboard to the next. Constantly building up Indy would gradually make the other races inconsequential - it is bad enough that most teams within the IRL at present consider Indy #1 priority and the championship #2.

A case in point is NASCAR - totally dominant but totally aware that their centrepiece event is right at the start of the season, always will be and detracts from the championship and season-long spectator interest. Hence the creation of the "Chase for the Cup" format. This kind of heavily skewed focus on one event would have a very negative impact on the rest of the series.

This is all rather ironic considering we are talking about whether the "momentum" of Indy can be continued

[JohnSSC]

Gotta start somewhere, my friend, but Indy is the real deal for IRL and if you can use it ot bring folks on board, then why not? Notice when CART was formed how hard they fought to continue racing at Indy even though the race was still sanctioned by USAC. Eventually, CART was able to incorporate it into thier schedule.

I agree though that the Championship is and should important as well. I will have to give that some thought - after all - it is someone else's $$ I am spending here!

[Tim Northcutt]

Indy is STILL a HUGE payout...the 33rd place car got $189,000...

That is 50% more than First Place for any other race during the season in the IRL, and it is far largetthan other Series pay to thier winners, with the exception of NASCAR and maybe F-1....


$5 million would be an enticement for certain, but it is not necessary.....

[GP Racer]

Well, I've actually tried to sit down and watch the 3 OWRS races, and I can honestly say, that I see nothing the IRL needs from them.

I have never seen such amateur racing productions in my life from a pro series. I have seen better productions from SCCA events and other amateur series. College Softball, and the Pro Bowlers Tour elicits more excitement and entertainment value. The networks are using OWRS just like they do info-mercials, as time fillers. They certainly cannot be looking to gain market share or audience with such low budget productions, and being tossed between 3 networks is of no help.

The field of drivers is also uninspiring at best. I was a big Justin Wilson fan when he was in F1, but here, he just seems lost and anonomous. The teams are also non-descript, with anonomous sounding names that nobody has ever heard of. No drama, no human interest, nothing to make me say "I have to follow this driver or series". KK had a perfect shot to inject some life in his series when Bruno went down by picking an American driver, but no, they pick Oriol Servia. Just another example of KK not knowing, or caring what an American audience would like to see. Lackluster racing on dated chassis, and dated motors with artificial stimulants like PTP, and unsponsored cars do nothing to inspire confidence either.

When I watch this series, I cannot help but feel that the only reason this series is hanging on, is to try and merge with the IRL. From the looks of OWRS, time seems to be on TG's side, just wait until they pull the plug. This sham called OWRS cannot go on much longer...