The Indianapolis Star reported that Ryan Hunter-Reay (Mr. Indy IZOD), Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Mario Moraes and Dan Wheldon are spending a few days on a beach in Panama to shoot the first 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series TV spot.
IZOD, as the haters are aware, became the TITLE SPONSOR of IndyCar, have plans for multi-year and multi-million dollar activation and is actively building the brand (ads all over New York are proof). IZOD also remains the OFFICIAL APPAREL SPONSOR of the Indy Racing League.
Here is what we in the viewing audience must insist upon: Produce and air more than one spot in 2010. ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ with the fugly half a paint job show car and the creepy metrosexual models (all of whom may well be eunuchs) began driving us crazy after the first 300 or so airings. It is not that we are unhappy with frequency; you just need to keep the continuity fresh. My increasingly agitated spouse threw a hammer at the flat screen during Homestead. She has always been a passive, casual viewer and that one spot drove her just bats*#@ crazy. The message here is to retain (or even increase) the frequency, but have three or four pieces in the creative rotation.
Do that and I may attempt to purchase and subsequently fit my fat arse into some of those snappy duds. I can take fashion chances.
Defender and crew remain happy about the title sponsorship and the level of commitment IZOD has. If I never, ever see that one spot from last season ever again, I will be happy.
It never hurts to reiterate good news, especially in Indy Car. Venom Energy Drink, which is part of the Dr. Pepper/Snapple family, has renewed with the Andretti group for multiple years of primary sponsorship of Marco. It appears they want to be an active partner. Way cool.
Also potentially great is the official announcement of Comcast’s purchase of a controlling interest in NBC Universal. I am betting they want a sports channel to rival ESPN in a few years.
On TrackForum, Tomas Scheckter contributed the other day, and what he wrote was refreshing. He admits his thrills come in stretching the speed envelope. What he wants is a chance to break track records again. There are two schools of thought; one is 225 or so is fast enough. Al Jr. said a few years ago that once you start averaging over 230, the short chutes disappear. The other is that safety technology has been refined and improved dramatically since the days of track records, so why shouldn’t things be opened up to facilitate speed?
Given the current leadership it is probably a pipe dream. Some claim speed will return ‘lost luster’ to the 500. I think increased popularity would be more the result of effective marketing of relatable personalities. Either way, both directions are worthy of consideration.
The International Motorsports Industry Show got off to a fine start in Indianapolis within a large chunk of the convention center in the Circle City, and word is more than 10,000 people in the business will attend. One of the promoters is Tony Stewart, and he is quite excited about the show as well.
Look for it to continue through 2015 in Indy.
Down in St. Pete they are already promoting the Indy Car event in the spring, and tickets are on sale this week. Now that Andretti Autosports is being controlled mainly by Michael, the other partners in the racing team are concentrating on event promotion in places like St. Pete. Michael also hired Tom Anderson, a highly respected former Ganassi and Fernandez guy who should help return the team to the type of prominence they once enjoyed. They also want to hire Ryan Hunter-Reay, who would finally get the ride he deserves.
IndyCar announced the 2010 broadcast schedule yesterday. Frankly, it is not all that different than 2009. Most of the races are on Versus with their excellent coverage, and IndyCar again mercy humped five, including the Indianapolis 500, to ABC. Why IMS continues to allow ESPN on ABC brand killing is beyond me. My fervent hope is that Comcast is successful in 
its acquisition of NBC Universal. Then perhaps an event as great in stature as the Indianapolis 500 can receive the treatment it so richly deserves with the type of professional coverage Versus has offered only on a major network. NBC has a long history of restoring prestige and ratings to sporting events neglected after ABC began its downhill slide.
Before the blithering cart idiots go off on their typical nonsense rants about Tony George, 25/8 and other such revisionist history lunacy, my advice is to fight that war in a forum that caters to those of you not blessed with enough sense to live your lives in the current century if that is what spins your wheels. My focus (and that of any other real racing fan) is moving the sport forward. My belief is there is not a chance in hell of that happening as long as ESPN on ABC is allowed to continue its bastard stepchild treatment of the IndyCar franchise. ABC does no longer deserves their association with IndyCar.
I am certain growth of the brand is secure in the capable hands of Versus, but given the ESPN on ABC handicap for the most important event we should all be glad the growth curve is really long. ABC has a street, oval, Indy, road course and the streets of Toronto. Meh. I am saddened the month of May will not be adequately showcased except by Versus.
It is my hope that Versus continues to expand their reach and that they reach agreement with DirecTV to again carry the network.
Yesterday morning on national television from Times Square, Danica Patrick and Michael Andretti unveiled a three-year primary sponsorship deal with GoDaddy.com. The car is brightly colored and will not be easy to lose on the track. Did I mention the deal runs through 2012? Danica is now working on a spot that will air in the Super Bowl. The haters will obviously now have new material with which to foolishly portend doom and gloom for IndyCar.
There was also no mention of NASCAR except in the surprised reactions of pundits and bloggers. Has anyone else besides me noticed that sponsorship announcements for full time IndyCar efforts seem to be happening on a regular basis here in the off-season? That is very good news given the shaky economy.
Many like minded racing fans have often lamented the relative pointlessness and futility of street circuit ‘racing’ in Indy Car. In most cases such events are excuses for parties, scantily clad event attendees and fleecing of the taxpayers of local municipalities (nothing wrong with the first two items). It has been my long standing opinion that proper tracks should be built and raced on. That is what Rusty Wallace and his group did in Newton, Iowa. Ever since the Richmond bunch decided to throw a hissy fit and not schedule the 
IndyCar event in 2010 it is refreshing to note that the newer, racier Iowa track just renewed IndyCar.
Speaking of non-ISC owned tracks, one rumor being bantered about by some out here on the Internet is that Tony George is planning to buy the IndyCar Series from IMS, perhaps in partnership with Bruton Smith. The plan would be to run IndyCars on all SMI tracks and return the series to a more oval-focused brand. That would be great news. Can it be pulled off? It will be interesting to watch.
Sponsorship Update 12/03: From Andretti Autosport: ’Venom Energy drink announced today it has signed a multi-year sponsorship with Andretti Autosport to continue as primary sponsor of the #26 car driven by Marco Andretti. Venom Energy will activate the partnership with in-store merchandising, consumer sweepstakes and retail appearances. Venom Energy is an energy drink in the Dr Pepper Snapple Group portfolio and delivers hardcore energy in unique and delicious flavors not typically associated with energy drinks. Available in fruit punch, mango, regular and low calorie. For additional information, visit www.venomenergy.com.’
More GOOD news!
Humpy Wheeler is a colorful fellow. I spent my Thanksgiving holiday below the Mason Dixon Line in the heart of NASCAR country. Every day in the newspapers of the area there are stories of NASCAR, also known as ‘racing.’ There was a Ron Green column that appears to have originated in the Charlotte Observer but ran in a variety of papers in that part of the country.
Fresh off Jimmie Johnson’s record breaking performance the top story was not the 48 team, the 88 team, or any other legacy NASCAR team. It is Danica. Just the mere possibility of her sliding into a ‘stock’ car is enough to get the fellows down south to begin drooling. Many are condescending (‘she will fail as Dario and lots of others before her’), as if NASCAR is the most technically precise form of motorsports on earth.
Humpy, as usual, found a way to put it all into perspective. He compares driving ‘twitchy’ Indy Cars to flying fighter jets and landing them on aircraft carriers. He calls ‘stock’ cars bulldozers and basically says what she has to worry about the most is learning to stop them, because they can hurt you. It is probably not going to be possible for Danica to try the lower rungs quietly, but that is what she must do. I hope the money is good. Her current IndyCar team is no longer Andretti Green Racing. It has morphed into ‘Andretti Autosport.’ That may mean that since Michael is the big boss exclusively, deals with drivers may get done more efficiently. Silly Season seems destined to have a channel just for Danica.
It also appears IndyCar will begin the 2010 season in Brazil. Sao Paulo. On a godforsaken temporary circuit. The ex-cart refugee inmates now running the post-Anton IndyCar Series seem poised to fleece otherwise great constituents in the country of Brazil. Be still my beating heart.
This off season remains pretty busy. Oh, and speaking of bending over for other countries, fan favorite E.J. Viso may take his PDVSA sponsorship funding to Ganassi. That is the rumor anyway. That would be a most interesting pairing, and fun to watch.
Here is one thing for which I am very thankful this Thanksgiving season. Oval racing. Something IndyCar needs to race on more often. As the post-Anton leadership and teams rush headlong into attempting to turn back time to 1995 with all the goofy temporary circuits and a decidedly heavy twisty circuit schedule, be thankful for ovals while they last. The braintrust seems more willing than ever to concede all such venues to NASCAR, who consistently manage to make them work.
Guess what lost $3.9 million in 2009, more than twice the $1.5-million loss which was PLANNED!? Edmonton. The only temporary circuit that has worked over time is Long Beach. Why continue to alienate potentially great race cities by so thoroughly raping their taxpayers?
Mayor Stephen Mandel said he was ‘disappointed’ by the loss. I believe I would be a little more than disappointed. Edmonton was a city that did not even have to shut down part of the city to accommodate the circus….and they STILL managed to lose almost 4 million dollars. Can someone rationally explain how street/temporary circuit abominations make money for anyone but IndyCar? Spare me the ‘economic impact for the city’ crap; that is a myth. Cities cannot reasonably be expected to pay for this kind of circus. Want big time racing? Build a full time track. Preferably an oval/road course combo. Make it unique…not some Bruton Smith cookie cutter.
These adventures need to be win-win for all parties involved, including fans who would like to see most of the track, passing and close action. Street racing provides an excuse for drunken, rowdy behavior. They cannot be sustained over time (notable exception being LBGP).
My wish for 2010? That people running the show take, then keep their noggins out of their nether regions and cultivate real long term events on real permanent tracks.
Happy Thanksgiving!
As the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series continue getting down to business in the off season, dramatic change announcements continue unabated. They created a CIO position and installed Rhonda Winter, a gal with lots of blue chip experience. That bodes well for the future. The long time VP of Public Relations, John Griffin, turned in his resignation the other day and there is no word on a replacement.
These actions closely follow the purging of the IMS/IRL workforce. It is the hope of fans everywhere who believe the IndyCar Series can return to wide scale prominence that these changes will pay dividends long term.
Momentum also continues on the team side. That Fazzt Racing idea from Alex Tagliani and the old Rubicon folks has largely been poo-pooed as some sort of racing fantasy wet dream, but it appears that group is more together and ready to go than even Gil DeFerran’s proposed team. Evidently they are the buyer of Marty Roth’s old equipment and are now in possession.
Sarah Fisher and her team move out of their old shop and into a much bigger one after less than a year to accommodate their increased presence and the addition of Jay Howard for a handful of races.
Add to that the announcement of Will Power full time and 2010 should be another great season!
The NASCAR season mercifully wound down for a couple of months yesterday, and the reliable former off-road racer who made good in ‘stock’ cars did it again. For the fourth time in a row. I wonder whether we will hear the same type of incessant cackling about the same winner over and over and over and over again as we endure when folks chide Penske and Ganassi in IndyCar? The most entertainment yesterday was on-track fighting between two former IRL drivers…Tony Stewart and Juan Montoya.
In any event, congratulations to our funny talking southern racing brethren for another season. Evidently Daytona tickets are not selling quickly as evidenced by the bombardment of ads throughout the race. Speaking of activation, I have a question for the IndyCar folks in that area who are still there with jobs intact. Is Hotwheels a promotional partner or not? It says they are on the web page. As we dive headlong into the post-Thanksgiving free-for-all known as ‘black Friday’ and beyond (where people are usually anything but cordial) are there ANY Indy-themed Hotwheels out there anywhere? As I was doing my grocery shopping yesterday, I noticed an entire aisle section that featured Hotwheels as gifts in the temporary toy aisle. There was NOT ONE Indy themed model. There was everything else imaginable (including what looked like a ‘stock’ car) but no IndyCar.
Giving the benefit of doubt, I subsequently visited a toy store and three department stores in two states. Same story. Lots and lots of themes, but no IndyCar. Here is my suggestion for the remaining IndyCar employees responsible for this sort of thing: It is the holiday gift giving season. Would it not be prudent to actually have IndyCar Hotwheels up for sale now? I saw a Hotwheels show car at one event this past year. Where are the IndyCar diecasts?
Things that put a smile on my face are sponsored Indy Cars. That happened today to a guy who really deserves it. Will Power will pilot the Penske #12 with Verizon sponsorship, and this time it is full time. That is outstanding and ensures another quality effort for 2010. The Verizon folks have a nice web page devoted to this and their other motorsports efforts with Penske.
A driver who had a pretty pronounced sophomore slump was E.J. Viso. Word has it he will be returning with a new team next season, and that is also great news.
Sponsor activation…two words all racing fans should like these days!
The Indianapolis Star reported that Ryan Hunter-Reay (Mr. Indy IZOD), Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan, Mario Moraes and Dan Wheldon are spending a few days on a beach in Panama to shoot the first 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series TV spot.
Here is what we in the viewing audience must insist upon: Produce and air more than one spot in 2010. ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ with the fugly half a paint job show car and the creepy metrosexual models (all of whom may well be eunuchs) began driving us crazy after the first 300 or so airings. It is not that we are unhappy with frequency; you just need to keep the continuity fresh. My increasingly agitated spouse threw a hammer at the flat screen during Homestead. She has always been a passive, casual viewer and that one spot drove her just bats*#@ crazy. The message here is to retain (or even increase) the frequency, but have three or four pieces in the creative rotation.
