THOUGHTS ON THE INDYCAR OPENER AT ST. PETERSBURG.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. It was good to see the new IndyCar season get started over the weekend at St. Petersburg, though it's not one of my favorite venues. Yes, that's a politically incorrect statement to make, what with so much riding on IndyCar's perennial tenuous standing - except for the Indianapolis 500 - but there you have it. For the IndyCar series and its participants, including the teams, drivers, sponsors and the media who cover it on a weekly basis, criticizing anything about the series is just not acceptable, and I get that. But some perspective is sorely needed and I will gladly provide it.

First of all, staging a race of this magnitude is a monumental task, and when you find a willing participant - in this case the city of St. Petersburg - it's not insignificant, especially when you consider how difficult it is to develop a race weekend with staying power that occupies an annual spot on a city's event calendar; and in that regard, the city of St. Petersburg and IndyCar have a great thing going. But I'm not so much into the event, as I am the quality of the circuit and the racing, and when I factor that into the equation, the St. Petersburg circuit will always come up short, especially for a season opener. (By the way, Sebastien Bourdais went from last to first in a magnificent run for the entire Dale Coyne Racing team. See more coverage in "The Line" -WG)

But as it has been pointed out to me many, many times, the St. Petersburg race qualifies as a "happening" and in that regard it is an unqualified success, at least for the people directly involved. But stepping outside of the IndyCar "bubble" for a moment, let me say that it's a very fine line between being pleased with a "happening" and inferring that this automatically suggests that the event itself is conducive to great racing. My message to everyone involved in the IndyCar circus is that it would probably be a good idea to move beyond being pleased that there's a viable race weekend being staged at St. Petersburg, or wherever, and really analyze the quality of the event itself, as a race.

St. Petersburg clearly qualifies as a "happening" as does the Long Beach Grand Prix (neither one of them are my favorites, by the way). I get the whole philosophy of "bringing the racing to the people," but these events staged on temporary street circuits are happenings more than races, plain and simple. Yes, convenient for fans, etc., but certainly not conducive to actual race viewing, which is why I will always classify them as "CSS" events (for Can't. See. Shit), because the racing plays second fiddle to everything else. Again, the people within the IndyCar "bubble" will say, "So? Who cares? If we can stage a successful event, why does it matter if it doesn't qualify as a successful event for 'purists?'" They have their point, but ultimately the overall credibility of the series takes a hit when "happenings" are staged to fill out the calendar.

The perfect example? The twin IndyCar races on Belle Isle in Detroit. Now, you have to be from around here to understand how terribly politically incorrect it is for me to deign to criticize this event, but I have no problem with doing so. Let me just say that the constant drum-beating about how this city is on the rise has grown to be annoying (again, you have to be from around here to understand this perspective). Yes, all of the glossy improvements to a specific section of the city are, at least on the surface, impressive, but the reality is that it's all top-down eyewash, and the fundamental issues bedeviling the city - the chaotic educational system that's in a perpetual state of disarray and the relentless social problems just to name two - are not being addressed, at least not to the level that they should be. 

Again, the people in the IndyCar "bubble" have a completely different view of things because they parachute in, have expedited access to the island, and everything seems wonderful and beautiful to them. And then they fly out and it's on to the next race. (The grumbling, however, about the fact that there are two races staged back-to-back in Detroit cannot be quelled, even in the go-along-to-get-along IndyCar paddock which, taking everything into consideration, indicates a significant level of disdain.) But for the real citizenry who actually have to pay money to attend the Detroit Indycar event and deal with the perennial ingress/egress problems that come with the Belle Isle location, it never gets better, no matter how hard the organizers try. And once the spectators do get on the island, the actual opportunities to see the cars, other than in fleeting glimpses, are severely limited.

Will St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Detroit exit the IndyCar calendar anytime soon? No, of course not (although I wouldn't be surprised if Detroit gets cut back to one race), because there are too many interconnected factors, too many sponsors on the hook, and too many team owners with a vested financial interest in the events in question to make any significant changes. But please spare me in trying to project that the racing is paramount at these events, because it just isn't. It's not the point, as it has been made clear to me by many inside the IndyCar "bubble," and I need to get over it and move on.

I won't by the way, in case you were wondering.

As for the TV coverage from St. Petersburg, I cannot stress enough how dismal ABC's coverage of IndyCar is. The broadcasting team is third rate (Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear are tired and dismally predictable), and I always get the distinct feeling that ABC is going through the motions and just phoning it in. I know the agreement between IndyCar and ABC is coming to an end (not before they get a chance to ruin the Indy 500 one more time, unfortunately), but it can't come soon enough because if the powers that be at IndyCar think this is putting its best foot forward on national television, they're sadly mistaken.

At any rate, Sebastien Bourdais salvaged the St. Petersburg race with his scintillating performance (see "The Line") and now, it's on to Long Beach.

And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.

Editor's Note: Many of you have seen Peter's references over the years to the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF), which he launched in 2007. For those of you who weren't following AE at the time, you can read two of HERF's press releases here and here. And for even more details (including a link to Peter's announcement speech), check out the HERF entry on Wikipedia here. -WG

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

(Photo by Dave Friedman, courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Sebring, Florida, April 1, 1967. The "Le Mans" start of the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring. Bruce McLaren races to the pole-winning (by two seconds) No. 1 Ford Mk. IV that he shared with Mario Andretti. Jim Hall/Mike Spence (No. 6 Chaparral Cars Chaparral 2F) qualified second (you can see the high wing); A.J. Foyt/Lloyd Ruby (No. 2 Ford Mk II B) started third; and Bob Johnson/Bruce Jennings (No. 5 Chaparral Cars Chaparral 2D) started from the fourth position. McLaren/Andretti won going away; Foyt/Ruby finished second; and Scooter Patrick/Gerhard Mitter (No. 36 Porsche 910) finished third. See a gallery of Dave Friedman's images from the 1967 12-Hours of Sebring race here.