The IZOD IndyCar Series. It Rolls Off The Tongue and Hopefully Into The Mainstream.

The IZOD IndyCar Series has a really nice ring. After going without a title sponsor for most of the decade, the series has one prepared to spend money and actually use substantial parts of the rich century old history of the brand. The line of clothing tied to the sponsorship and Centennial Era appeals to virtually every demographic group. IZOD appears to be a partner who is serious.

This great news has occurred in the off season while other series continue having problems. A1GP appears finished and NASCAR is struggling with smaller crowds and dwindling ratings. Formula 1 has seen a manufacturer exodus away from that series. While IndyCar is not without problems, the opportunities afforded with a quality title sponsor are greater. The series needs new cars and new stars, and an infusion of cash and marketing muscle that has already begun makes the future much brighter.

So congratulations to the series and welcome aboard IZOD. Just one small suggestion: Change the creative on that ONE television spot. It continues to live on your web site and has grown stale. It is now a tune out factor. Get creative and mix things up.

IndyCar fans and those who claim not to be but who really are have been clamoring for a meaningful title sponsor for years, and that wish is reality.

Fantastic.

White/Yellow/Red/Checker Flag for Milwaukee…And No Indy Cars

The thread to which the oldest continuously operated race track in the country has been clinging became even thinner this week. An investor group interested in promoting races at the Milwaukee Mile could not reconcile the owed debt and announced they are out. The whacko politics of that particular track has been a point of ridicule for years, but that joint has been around for 106 years.

Those who are focused on just hating Tony George as the cause for any problem in racing today miss the big picture as usual. There are not a lot of truly legendary tracks left, and way too many have been bulldozed. It appears that unless someone can pull a Tony Hulman in 1946 out of a hat, it is also in line for a disappearance.

Each day this week has featured a tidbit of good IRL news, and one of the best is a distinct possibility that Ryan Hunter-Reay, an American and the face of IZOD’s one and only commercial that eventually drove everyone nuts by the end of the season, will hook up with a good team for once. AGR needs to recapture the formula that say them in victory lane a lot before this past season, and many say a deal between Mikey and Ryan is imminent.

Danica will still be there for the forseeable future and so will Tony Kanaan and Marco. The addition of Hunter-Reay would definitely enhance the squad.

On tap for Thursday: Indy Car announcements. Supposedly bigguns. Hold on to your stockings.

The Better The Indy Car News, The More Desperate The Bleating

The single worst thing about this great sport of ours is putting up with interfering sub-humans who have the gall to laughingly refer to themselves as racing fans but spend most of their waking hours attempting to disrupt the sport for actual fans. This phenomenon is never more evident than days in which good news is disseminated about Indy Car.

The announcement of IZOD as a title sponsor is fantastic news that means a lot of money for Indy Car and its teams and partners, but when listening to cackling idiots you might think the end is near. Pick any topic and it will be spun as a death knell for Indy Car.

Bridgestone, Toyota and Honda out of Formula 1? Certain death for the IRL. Comcast purchasing NBC? Death for the IRL. Potential new race teams? No way. Drivers changing teams with sponsorship? No chance. A sellout for the new Indy Grand Prix in Alabama? ‘Southern gomers ain’t got no taste.’ It is all laughable and proves just one thing: We are dealing with bitter, childish hypocrites whose worst offense is lying to themselves. If these folks are unable to be honest with themselves what does that say about their lack of character?

Sites that are most anti-IRL are the very places where the richness and depth of Indy Car news is more comprehensive than most other outlets, print, written, virtual or otherwise. That is the very reason why all of us can be assured Indy Car will be around long after most of us are gone. If these children were not hypocrites and really did hate Indy Car does anyone really believe they would spend as must time obsessing over every microscopic detail every day?

I hope they keep up the good work in terms of obsessing over it, but hope that one day they will grow up. I figure most of them were 12 or less in 1996, so that would put the majority of them in their mid-20s. Given their relative immaturity and lack of understanding about the entire history of the sport, we may not see much improvement in their temperaments for another five or six years.

Off Season News for Indy Car Keeps Getting Better

It is looking more and more as if IZOD will be the Indy car title sponsor to the tune of about 10 extra large per year for five years. Naturally the sky-is-falling brigade is finding fault.

The only fault I can find would be if they did not change their creative effort. They MUST dump that nails-on-a-chalkboard spot that ran ad nauseum the entire racing season. In their efforts to activate, they must get creative. I hope they make the logo’d clothing more mainstream so that haggard old buzzards like myself can buy something without looking completely ridiculous.

It appears those who claimed the Indy Car Series would not have a title sponsor may be wrong again.

Another racing wrinkle is the probability that Comcast may take controlling interest of NBC Universal in a week or so. That would open up a multitude of possibilities for Indy Car and the way and method in which it is broadcast.

The country is about to lose another racing oval. The Memphis Motorsports Park closes for good November 7. Part of me wishes the economy was better, Indy Car was more enthusiastic about ovals, and someone would pull a Tony Hulman in 1946 kind of rehab on the place. That location and the city of Memphis represents a desirable geographic hole that is now unfilled. The Dover folks are not really known for maintaining state of the art facilities, and the closing of any oval is a shame.

NASCAR Big Ones and So Long F-1

What a strange weekend of racing. The Indy Car season, of course, is over. The only news from the IRL is about some ‘big’ press conference on November 5. Hopefully they have something to announce. Our fear is that the cart playbook has been mimicked to the point of promising socks-blowing-off announcements but actually announcing something completely meaningless. Let us hope not.

NASCAR at Talladega was a huge bore until the end. NASCAR ensured their spec template cars ran in restrictor plate drone with no touching. Then in the last ten laps of the event, Ryan Newman went for an ass over teakettle joyride until the car landed on its roof in the infield grass. Slow moving, big bellied part-timers bumbled and stumbled trying to gee-whilliker their way into a non-neck snapping extraction, and ended up cutting the roof off. Ryan, an increasingly girthed Hoosier like his boss Tony Stewart, was critical of the lack of actual racing, apologized to the fans (like Dario did at Richmond…oddly I doubt Talladega management uses that as a lame excuse to cancel the next race though) and took NASCAR to task for endangering the livelihoods of their current participants. All that occurred before lots and lots of empty aluminum again, and all before a one lap shootout that looked eerily reminiscent of the start of the one and only US 500 at Michigan.

Bent Over For Bernie

The final Formula One race of the year at Abu Dhabi was a perfect example of a country collectively bending over with their thobes pulled way up over their cracks; gleefully paying whatever vig Bernie and crew demand. Formula One continues to be legally accepted but ethically corrupt organized crime. That sort of mafia-like operation is the big reason why Formula One was taken from all fans in North America. The magnificent facility in Abu Dhabi results when those constructing it have more money than they can spend. Talk about a marriage made in heaven. Still, the end of the Formula One season means NASCAR’s 70-day break is not far behind.

Task for this week: Buy some sock tethers to go along with a glimmer of hope that something major might be announced.

Indy Car: Equal Opportunity for Asia?

Somebody found a news flash about a potential Indy Car race in China. Some publication called ‘China Car News.’ It appears they have grandiose notions, kind of like Texans.

‘Indycar, the American motorsport that nobody other than Americans really watch, is pondering an entry into China in 2011 to garner Chinese fans.’ Oddly, I am told Americans do not watch either.

‘Indycar’s cars are much like F1’s with large wings, and prominent airboxes, except Indycars mostly go around in circles rather than giant tracks with tight corners and long flat straights.’ Not anymore. Sadly. There are more non-ovals than ovals, and the number dwindles every year.

.The info regarding a 2011 street race was posted to Wikipedia:

The league is exploring a race in Qingdao, China. A 2011 event would be a street race, and move to a proposed 500,000-seat oval for 2012.’ Oh 500,000 seats, huh? LOL. On the other hand, given all the money we send their way they could probably do it.

‘The 2011 race is also mentioned on Qingdao’s own Wiki page:

IndyCar Series commercial division president Terry Angstadt has mentioned Qingdao as a possible venue for a second race in Asia after Twin Ring Motegi, Japan.[10] There are plans for a 400,000+ seat purpose-built course to be opened in 2011 or later. Angstadt has suggested that the series may race in a street circuit while the facilities are under construction.’ Talking Terry again. Wonder whether it is Terry doing the talking or someone putting words in his mouth? Either is possible. Better hope they get that oval built before they figure out how badly they will get screwed on a street circuit deal.

‘The USAtoday quotes Indycar’s commercial director, Mr. Terry Angstadt, as saying: Angstadt said the series hopes to have a Chinese driver in that race and has already identified three potential prospects that could soon compete in the developmental Indy Lights series. Under consideration is Qingdao, which hosted the Beijing Olympics sailing.’ Yeah, that would be as compelling as the Olympics alright.

‘Formula One currently have a track in Shanghai, and has gained quite a following in China, with CCTV5 televising the race either live or pre-recorded (when they choose to show the national badminton championships instead), an Indy street race would certainly be more exciting for the average viewer should it choose to enter China.’ Let us not count chickens before they hatch.

We have enough unrealized potential in the United States. Why not exploit that effectively first?

The Indy Car Series: Lots of People are Loving It

Whenever inspiration is needed to determine blogging topics, a great place to find ideas are sites that claim to ‘hate’ the Indy Car Series but have some of the most comprehensive coverage of it. Better, even, than some paid sites.

On one of them, the hot topic list lately includes:

-Dan Wheldon returning to Panther. Haters conclusion: Wheldon is stupid. Panther is stupid. Boy does he have white teeth.

-Television ratings (hilarious reading, because no one who offers commentary has the first clue about what the numbers mean or how they are used) Haters conclusion: The Indy Car Series is doomed.

-Chiding about title sponsorship (although angst in this case is warranted; those in charge use the cart playbook about making grandiose proclamations before contracts are signed and it has gotten to the point of ‘little boy crying wolf’ ridiculous. Haters conclusion: The Indy Car Series is doomed.

-McDonalds may be leaving NHL as a ‘sponsor.’ Haters conclusion: Boy that unified IRL really attracts the sponsorship.

-The Indy Car calendar (marketing tool) for next year. Haters conclusion: Ed Carpenter is included?

-Speculation about IMS being for sale (along with more unproven claims that the family lost a lot money in the Madoff ponzi scheme). Haters conclusion: Turn it into a 24-hour multilingual mega Wal-Mart to serve the Eagledale populace.

-Speculation about whether there will actually be a street race in Rio or anywhere in Brazil. Haters conclusion: Hey, we want to go to Australia too.

With that much interest in Indy Car, how could it possibly be on the verge of extinction? There are just too many fans, even though some of them are not the most literate people on the planet.

Evidently the Indy Car Sky Is NOT Falling

The doomsday brigade continuously tells us how bad they believe things are, but as they do that one bit of good news after another seems to surface that renders such dire pontificating useless.

Curt Cavin reports the Izod sponsorship deal is imminent. I hope to high heaven if this actually comes to pass that they change the creative process with their advertising once in a while. That commercial got on my nerves early last season.

Team Penske is growing to three full time cars in the Indy Car Series next season; there will be no Grand Am or ALMS effort for Penske.

We have all heard the news about F2000 becoming part of the IRL family and that rund on the development ladder will be a welcome addition.

Dan Wheldon will have another season to make that chemistry work and that is also good news.

How would I describe the Indy Car Series here at the end of October? Alive and well. As usual.

Juan Pablo Montoya and a Griese Taco

This entire country has gone insane. Whacko. The thinness of the skin of holier-than-thous is astounding. The political correctness movement has crippled the entire population. There was a rather forgettable movie a few years back (even the name escapes me) with Sly Stallone and Sandra Bullock and some others that was set in the future, and speech was monitored constantly by ‘big brother.’ You get out of line, you get fined. That part of that fictional movie is actually coming true.

Innocuous remarks are scrutinized by do-gooders who fail miserably at minding their own business and find fault with words others use. Such people do not deserve to be called Americans. Here is the latest way overboard overreaction to an off-the-cuff statement:

Bob Griese, the quarterback on the Dolphins unbeaten team, is now a highly regarded ESPN broadcaster. During a football game this weekend the Disney shills were cross-promoting the NASCAR race and the chase, and Griese responded to a graph showing the top five chase drivers and a question from his partner about where ‘Juan Pablo Montoya was.’ Griese let fly that Montoya was ‘out having a taco.’

In response, ESPN has suspended Griese for a week, and Griese apologized. Twice. I would have carefully considered retirement, and told those demanding an apology to kiss my rear end. Was Montoya offended? Nope. He says he has never heard of Griese. So what is the big deal?

Montoya is not even Mexican. He is Columbian. I might begin to understand if Griese made a cocaine joke or said something like ‘say hello to my little friend’ or some such thing, but most everyone likes tacos. They have become as ubiquitous as hamburgers or hot dogs. I am not offended the least little bit about Griese’s remark. I do not understand how anyone can be. This country needs to un-knot and pull up its panties once and for all. This mindless political correctness is completely out of control.

Racing and Judgment

Today’s topic: Bad judgment. The poster boy for such irrational choices is/was a member of the Indy Car Series half-assed broadcast partner ESPN. Evidently that place is crawling with horndog creeps, male and female. Steve Phillips made an ill advised choice to bump uglies with Al from Happy Days.

Looks like ESPN made a bad choice fawning all over NASCAR for over ten years while neglecting their loyal Indy Car partner; the ratings are down and yesterday there was a quite a lot of shiny aluminum at one of NASCAR’s smallest stadiums in Martinsville for their quaint bumper car circus. NASCAR minimizes their mistakes by spreading the rights around, but the Disney bunch may end up killing ‘stock’ car momentum. In the words of their Southern announcing staff, both sides ‘prolly fand it fuss-tratin.’ If I ran NASCAR I would limit tracks to one Cup race a year and add deserving tracks (like Kentucky) that do not have Cup races.

Bad choices continue to be made by the handful of IRL haters. The single funniest source of laughter is reading their psychotic pontifications about television ratings, and many of the more stupid have deluded themselves into believing they know what they are talking about.

These same thought deprived loudmouths have offered their opinions on what constitutes bad choices, including a decision by Marlboro’s parent company to do away with free ticket giveaways at race tracks and ISC’s decision to stop making NASCAR ticket holders buy Indy Car tickets and vice-versa. Both decisions, in reality, could help Indy Car provided the series improves marketing efforts.