Early in 2014, after finishing perhaps the longest article I'd ever written about growing up in Sebring ("Sebring International Raceway: Evolution of a Tradition") which went into some detail about on and off track activities at Sebring circa 1968 to present, I was contacted by the PR department of Andretti Sports Marketing. This, I thought, was to be about their Formula E event in Miami but this guy, Adam (think that was his name), to inquire if I could write a similar type piece about the history of the Milwaukee Mile for their official program. All this, despite the fact I've never so much as been to Milwaukee. The piece that he wanted would be an encompassing history of the Milwaukee Mile (which has been pointed out is the oldest circuit in the country, 100 +/- years) so, no small project. I listened to the request and told Adam that I'd get back to him as it would be an interesting project no doubt but something that would take tons of research, time, expense, etc. as I'd literally be operating from Square One, unlike the Sebring piece which was basically done out of my head with the cooperation of participants such as drivers and former promoters who agreed to provide quotes. When we spoke next, my reply was I would do the piece if I got total cooperation in Milwaukee, access to archives and, of course and some mention of a fee for all the trouble. His reply was that he thought that I'd be able to create recollections of the 100 year history of the Milwaukee Mile out of my head just as like my Sebring piece (which he'd evidently not completely read) and, of course, they wouldn't be able to pay for the piece but they'd be happy to provide free tickets to the race. Hmmmm, what a tough decision. I suggested that they'd really need to contact a Milwaukee Mile historian to do such a piece, someone with intimate, first hand knowledge of the facility, assuming that they had such a person there on staff but evidently not. The point is, if promotional entities like Andretti Sports Marketing wants to take over these significant events, they need to stock their PR departments with knowledgeable racing people such as historians as the very foundation of racing is steeped in history. They don't realize this as we see time and again, the PR staffs within tracks and sanctioning bodies are filled with fresh faced college kids with brand new marketing degrees in their pockets and absolutely no knowledge about racing, its history or much else for that matter. As long as these kids are good looking, have straight white teeth and their costumes fit, nothing else really seems to matter. And, they wonder why racing is floundering. BHW
Thats interesting & bothersome Barton. I've been working with someone else from ASM. The 'polished' kids they have that I've communicated with really are clueless.
Maybe if the shows presented were of a higher quality, then the track promoter would then invest as needed. You can not blame a track for not investing when they know that it will not bring one more person thru the gates. Again look at the product and the cost to present it vs the return. ICS simply does produce a profit for a track.
Do I understand correctly that the Milwaukee Indy Car race was a one day only event the way Formula E does? BHW
I thought the whole Friday-Saturday-Sunday format was to get some local media coverage going on Friday and Saturday (newspapers and TV, such as they are) so that area residents get excited about it enough to go out and see the race in person. With a virtual one day format, now it would seem that it's becoming a waste of time for the teams to even show up. How many paying spectators is Milwaukee claiming were in attendance? Remembering the height of the CART days when those grandstands would be packed to lately when they've been virtually empty. Do the Indy Car sponsors like Verizon think 500K TV viewers is a good enough audience for them to keep putting money into the series? Reminds of the days of GrandAm's new "Man on the Street" fans and how they all stayed away from their marquis event by the droves. BHW
Yea.....1983 after Tom Sneva won the 500......the place was standing room only. As for Verizon.....my bet when the contract runs out.....so do they.
i remember back in the 90s when Speedgear and all the other vendors would open on Thursday...it was a huge deal...almost had the atmosphere of a grand prix weekend...completely packed every year
There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know. An apt proverb for the leadership of this boondoggle.
The wealth of certain people clouds their eyes to the realities of what is about to happen. May the get taken down a notch when it does.
Makes you wonder if the people advising them are just yes men or hell bent on total destruction. As much as I dislike the family for basically ruining American open wheel racing, I almost feel bad for the Hulman-George's. They need to decouple their emotions from their decision making. I was reading an article on Hemmings about the 1969 AAR "Santa Ana" chassis entered by Smokey Yunick, driven by Joe Leonard. Before my time, but the restored car is a work of art, beautiful in its simplicity and brutality (estimated at 800hp). At that moment I realized how critical it is to return to a "run what ya brung" model. Some controls are necessary, but the relative innovations and creativity of guys like Gurney, Yunick, Chapman, Penske etc are what make the series exciting. Honestly, at this incredibly low point in the series history, a risk like this might be just what they need.
Thank you !!! At least one person gets it. I have tried to follow in those footsteps and emulate these people. Corporate America has effectively destroyed the sport. Greatness does not come from out dollaring everyone. It comes from taking a different view and making due with what you have. I met Smokey back in the 80's and had an all afternoon chat with him. We discussed thoughts and ideas. I left feeling that I was on the right road in racing. Today....all I see is the train wreck that greed, stupidity and arrogance has left. With it the sport will die. A shame to think of all those who want to walk in those footsteps but can not simply because of the arrogance of those in charge.
It all comes back to the SAME THING. Motorsports is pretty-much destroyed as we know it for many reasons. We grew up watching larger-than-life drivers compete, in SEVERAL series, and these guys raced for 25-30 years. We will never see what we grew up with: Andretti, Foyt, all the Unsers, Sneva, Rutherford, Johncock, Mears-types. Boxing is almost the same way, it too has been destroyed, but mainly because of all the different sanctioning organizations. The rise of the NFL and NBA helped kill it, too. And it doesn't help when promoters want more-more-more, and we see less-less-less 'good' product. It all seems to be about the entertainment and less about ths sport. Another thing to think about is when did motorsports start to slide in the USA? Funny - about the time 'all' motorsports were starting to get picked up by TV, specifically ESPN when they picked up nascar, gee, now we can race for a pittance and get national exposure for our sponsors. THEN racing started getting REAL expensive. Yes, motorsports is doomed in the USA as we knew it, but so are a lot of things, and it also doesn't help that for the last 15 years we have switched to the digital age of instant satisfaction.
So, are we even still commenting on Indy Car here? Admittedly, having missed the last 2/3rds of the season (including Indy), which doesn't seem to matter much, Indy Car just seems to have a talent for as this Autosport writer suggests "peeing in their own swimming pool" by announcing these new restrictive rules which are being interpreted as a gag order on drivers. So, naturally, instead of looking in the mirror, Indy Car now blames their drivers for the mess they're in and look to further alienate the drivers from the media (such as it is) just at a time when they're CLAIMING increases in TV ratings (which I don't believe). To wit: Competitors must be respectful, professional, fair and courteous to others. At all times, Competitors must not, attempt to, or engage in conduct or statements that in the judgment of INDYCAR: a) Threatens or denigrates any Official, fellow Competitor or the INDYCAR brand; b) Calls into question the integrity or legitimacy of the Rules or their application, construction or interpretation; c) Denigrates the IndyCar Series racing schedule or Event(s); d) Threatens or denigrates any INDYCAR business relationship, including those with sponsors or broadcasters; e) Otherwise threatens the integrity, reputation or public confidence of the sport, INDYCAR, or IndyCar Series. Full article: New driver conduct rule not a 'gag order' - IndyCar boss Mark Miles - IndyCar news - AUTOSPORT.com Dunno guys, does anyone besides Robin Miller even care any more? BHW
New driver conduct policy is idiotic. Under that policy, they can't even comment on the other drivers on the grid after a race. That is way more strict than the NFL conduct policy, as just one example - the most successful American sport commercially. They are going to kill rivalries. Not only does Indycar management not appear to understand racing drivers, they don't appear to understand athletes in general or the fans. Pathetic. "In the judgement of Indycar" - translation: unilateral determination without any representation or appeal process. Humans love being treated this way as we all know. It's funny because F1 went through something similar this year with people complaining about various aspects of the sport. Guess what? A lot of it is changing for 2016/2017. What they didn't do is implement rules to try to gag people as if that changes reality. True racing fans are astute and they know what's going on. It's a reflection of how out of touch Indycar management is that they don't get this.
The only way Indy Car would be worth watching now is if there was a wholesale house cleaning, including sale of the series, and key positions being filled by real racing people (not tennis, rodeo or golf aficionados) or kids fresh out of college with shiny new marketing degrees. They're so far off the beam now that its become a joke. They constantly seem to be on the back foot, constantly on the defensive. And, in the rare occasions they do seem to do something proactive, it's in the form of this new directive. On the upside, just read earlier that there is a movement afoot to sell the series. This is the first I've seen of it and it wasn't much for details. Does anyone know more about this supposed sale? If they'd just get the Indiana bumpkins out of the way, they may have a glimmer of a chance. BHW
Analogous to the government - unintended consequences. They mean well, but they are so far removed from the fan experience (their constituents) that the decision making is orthogonal to what's necessary. A gag order on drivers, in a series that NEEDS drivers to be characters, is a death knell. As Barton says, a full house cleaning is in order. Unfortunately, that won't happen until there is total and utter collapse. I don't think IndyCar is operating at a profit, but surely the Indy 500 / IMS is, so the Hulman-George family probably couldn't care less.
Foyt having to play fair? Bobby Unser not saying whats on his mind.......and what about Mario???? Good god......they are turng this into pee wee baseball. Soon everyone will be getting participation trophies. Next.......every driver will be required to pee sitting down. When will this madness end???
oh my. what the hell is going on at IndyCar marketing. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL80EOU-OE0[/ame]
