By Peter M. De Lorenzo
Detroit. Now that the tire smoke has cleared from St. Petersburg - it was terrific to see James Hinchliffe get his first win - once again the paddock buzz revolves around a new "savior" for IndyCar lurking in the transporters, one Zak Brown. The peripatetic entrepreneur and head of Indianapolis-based Just Marketing Inc., who seems to make all of the world's racing business his business, is now on the short list for a new IndyCar CEO. A list of one, in fact, according to the reports and the ever laser-accurate paddock gossip. But Zak Brown is a busy guy, so busy that even F1 is courting him to be what's next after The Era of Bernie. So...
Can Zak Brown be The Answer for IndyCar? He could be. He does have the racing "credentials" that the anti-Randy Bernard camp said Randy Bernard lacked. He gets racing and he knows everyone of any importance in the sport globally and he understands how marketing plays an inexorable role in racing's fundamental existence, which, when it comes right down to it is absolutely essential. And for a lot of people intimately involved in the sport of IndyCar racing, a feeling of "righting the ship" would be an immediate result if Brown came on board.
But then again there are so many issues facing IndyCar can one person fix them all? That is highly debatable.
To begin with, the lack of innovation and diversity of technology has crippled Indy car racing. Anyone who doesn't think the notion of "spec" racing has done permanent damage to the sport is kidding themselves. Some car owners understandably might vehemently disagree with that general statement, because they can remind anyone who writes about these issues and doesn't have any cash in the game that without reined-in technology the sport would be prohibitively expensive. Point taken, but each year that IndyCar goes forward with more of the same technologies they've recycled over the last fifteen years, the opportunity to make the sport more relevant and interesting to hard-core and casual fans alike becomes more remote. As I wrote in a past column ("Diversity of Thought and the Concept of Free'), IndyCar and the participating manufacturers need a total rethink of what they're doing in this sport... and why.
Together they must reinvent the sport around the foundation of proving advanced automotive technologies that will ultimately benefit the industry and car buyers of the future. As I said in that previous column, "Racing in this country is showing signs of deep decline and worse, the overall interest in the sport seems to be slowly but surely fading with each passing year. The sport of Indy car racing cannot possibly survive this slow march to oblivion, as it barely registers on the media radar screens now (except for the Indy 500, of course)."
Make no mistake, the car owners can't do it themselves. Multiple - not just one or two - manufacturers would have to embrace and fully support the idea in order for it to come to fruition. That means that the raison d'etre for IndyCar must transform from being a forum for restrictive sameness to a competitive arena that rewards innovative thought and blue-sky creativity. Yes, a very tall order, especially in this "if it's not F1, put a production-appearing body on it" era of racing we find ourselves in.
As I watched and listened to a replay of the IndyCar broadcast from St. Petersburg, the prevailing tone from the announcers went something like this: "How could this not be popular? It's so good!" And it was a good race. But in this nanosecond-attention-span world we exist in today, that's not good enough, unfortunately. Especially when you have all of the media attention in this country focusing on the last lap NASCAR contretemps at California Speedway on Sunday.
Whoever is the next person to run IndyCar - and Zak Brown seems to have the job if he wants it - that person has to begin with the premise that IndyCar has become a niche within the sliver of a niche that defines motorsports coverage as presented by the stick-and-ball media in this country. In the current media environment that deifies NASCAR, while ignoring everything else except for a few mentions of F1, IndyCar doesn't even register on the radar screen, except for the Indy 500.
What will change that? What will be the hook for IndyCar that captures the imagination of the hard-core and casual fans, corporate America and the general media in this country?
I can safely assure you of one thing, and that is that just doing what has been done for the better part of three decades isn't going to cut it.
Zak Brown or no, IndyCar must generate excitement and technical intrigue. The kind of intrigue that would come from a headline like this: "Indy 500 winner averages 160 mph and gets 22 mpg!"
Just staging a cracking good race isn't enough.
IndyCar will need more to survive than that.
Much, much more.
Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD
(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives and Wieck Media)
Watkins Glen, New York, July 20, 1973. The No. 2 Gulf Research Racing Co. Mirage M6 Ford Cosworth driven by Mike Hailwood/John Watson prepares for a practice session the day before the Watkins Glen 6 Hour race. The duo would finish fifth overall in the race. The No. 33 Equipe Matra MS670B driven by Gerard Larousse/Henri Pescarolo would take the win, followed by the No. 10 Ferrari SEFAC SPA 312B driven by Jackie Ickx/Brian Redman and the No. 11 Ferrari SEFAC SPA 312B driven by Arturo Merzario/Carlos Pace.
Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD