The Month of May

#351
#351
Nerd-Vol said:
Oh, I understand that whoever was posting was likely trolling. But my I have concern as a fan that this series is such a niche sport. I want to see the sport grow and thrive, because I think they have some of the best racing out there.


In terms of safety, Indy needs to make a lot of improvement.
Click to expand...

The first thing they need to do is get out from under the asinine TV contract the have.
 
#354
#354
doozer said:
The first thing they need to do is get out from under the asinine TV contract the have.
Click to expand...

I don't know what the terms of the contract are but there is no way they are benefiting from it. Half the time I miss the race or miss a good portion of the race because I forget it's on tv because there isn't any advertisement for it.
 
#356
#356
Orangesmokey said:
What do you mean? How would you change it?
Click to expand...

Alright. Let's look at street courses. Last year we had a terrible crash at Baltimore. It injured several people and ended the career of 1 driver. One of the biggest issues with where the crash happened and location of the grandstand. The grandstand what located very close on the outside of a fast corner. It was begging for debris to go flying into the stands.

Now let's consider the corner design at these street circuits. For an f1 street circuit, most high speed corners have extra tire barriers or an escape road for a car to abort the corner or soften the blow of an accident. For Indy they have the walls located very closely with limited crash absorbency.

F1 is very particular about where they will race for many reasons. Money is a huge, huge factor, but they also have to ensure that it is an FIA grade-1 circuit. Grade-1 circuits have to meet rigorous safety standards in terms of design and safety for drivers, track workers, and spectators.

If Indy was more selective on what they require from their circuits, they could put on a safer show.

Ovals are also a different matter. There is only so much safety they can provide at an oval, but I will discuss that another time.

Here is a great comparison:

Monaco:

[youtube]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HjlUrckR8EI[/youtube]


Baltimore:

[youtube]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Ny6F9PMOg[/youtube]
 
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#357
#357
Nerd-Vol said:
Alright. Let's look at street courses. Last year we had a terrible crash at Baltimore. It injured several people and ended the career of 1 driver. One of the biggest issues with where the crash happened and location of the grandstand. The grandstand what located very close on the outside of a fast corner. It was begging for debris to go flying into the stands.

Now let's consider the corner design at these street circuits. For an f1 street circuit, most high speed corners have extra tire barriers or an escape road for a car to abort the corner or soften the blow of an accident. For Indy they have the walls located very closely with limited crash absorbency.

F1 is very particular about where they will race for many reasons. Money is a huge, huge factor, but they also have to ensure that it is an FIA grade-A circuit. Grade-a circuits have to meet rigorous safety standards in terms of design and safety for drivers, track workers, and spectators.

If Indy was more selective on what they require from their circuits, they could put on a safer show.

Ovals are also a different matter. There is only so much safety they can provide at an oval, but I will discuss that another time.

Here is a great comparison:

Monaco:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HjlUrckR8EI


Baltimore:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Ny6F9PMOg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response Nerd. It makes sense what you are saying and now I understand what you meant. :hi:
 
#359
#359
doozer said:
Street circuits are the quintessential double edge sword.
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I agree. But they can be made safer than what Indy is doing. Compare Singapore to Baltimore. The thing is though, Singapore likely cost 5-10 more times than Baltimore did.
 
#360
#360
Nerd-Vol said:
Oh, I understand that whoever was posting was likely trolling. But my I have concern as a fan that this series is such a niche sport. I want to see the sport grow and thrive, because I think they have some of the best racing out there.


In terms of safety, Indy needs to make a lot of improvement.
Click to expand...

I don't care that it's a niche sport. It will either adapt to what it is or it will keep trudging along until it dies and someone buys it and puts all the pieces together. Doesn't bother me a bit as long as it doesn't go away completely and with the 500 I doubt it will.
doozer said:
I knew that nonsense was coming. Might as well put fenders on all the wheels as well.
Click to expand...

Why are closed cockpits so taboo? What about them makes them so hated? The closed wheels thing I get because you get a different type of racing when you close the fenders. The cockpit not only would save lives but it would make the cars more aero efficient by a good margin which either means faster cars or smaller powerplants.
 
#361
#361
ptclaus98 said:
I don't care that it's a niche sport. It will either adapt to what it is or it will keep trudging along until it dies and someone buys it and puts all the pieces together. Doesn't bother me a bit as long as it doesn't go away completely and with the 500 I doubt it will.


Why are closed cockpits so taboo? What about them makes them so hated? The closed wheels thing I get because you get a different type of racing when you close the fenders. The cockpit not only would save lives but it would make the cars more aero efficient by a good margin which either means faster cars or smaller powerplants.
Click to expand...


I agree. I for one like the idea of closed cockpits. No one has given me a better reason than "It's tradition", which is a pretty ****ty reason, considering they could have saved many lives.
 
#362
#362
Nerd-Vol said:
Track design is a big big problem.
Click to expand...

While this is absolutely correct, it's just a symptom of the problem that started this conversation. There is virtually no TV money for IndyCar, so they have to ream the promoters just to get a suitable purse, which hamstrings the promoter with regards to how they spend their money. The series also puts a lot of pressure on the promoters to market, but considering that marketing racing isn't what it once was, any gains from that are minimal, but the pressure is there all the same. So you get a hefty sanction and and marketing taking the brunt of your budget as a promoter, and you get 30K maybe 50K if you're lucky(unless you're LB) at 70-150 bucks. That doesn't leave much for safety measures. It's barely enough to pay the track workers as we've seen in Baltimore the last couple of years.
 
#363
#363
Nerd-Vol said:
Alright. Let's look at street courses. Last year we had a terrible crash at Baltimore. It injured several people and ended the career of 1 driver. One of the biggest issues with where the crash happened and location of the grandstand. The grandstand what located very close on the outside of a fast corner. It was begging for debris to go flying into the stands.

Now let's consider the corner design at these street circuits. For an f1 street circuit, most high speed corners have extra tire barriers or an escape road for a car to abort the corner or soften the blow of an accident. For Indy they have the walls located very closely with limited crash absorbency.

F1 is very particular about where they will race for many reasons. Money is a huge, huge factor, but they also have to ensure that it is an FIA grade-1 circuit. Grade-1 circuits have to meet rigorous safety standards in terms of design and safety for drivers, track workers, and spectators.

If Indy was more selective on what they require from their circuits, they could put on a safer show.

Ovals are also a different matter. There is only so much safety they can provide at an oval, but I will discuss that another time.

Here is a great comparison:

Monaco:

[youtube]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HjlUrckR8EI[/youtube]


Baltimore:

[youtube]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Ny6F9PMOg[/youtube]
Click to expand...
I get physically ill imagining what Conor Daly's Monaco wreck in 2012 would have been like if it had been in St Pete or Baltimore.
 
#364
#364
doozer said:
The first thing they need to do is get out from under the asinine TV contract the have.
Click to expand...

And right into another asinine TV contract? The last one was made before Danica even tested a stock car, how much value do you think IndyCar has outside of the 500 without her? Their mistake was not giving everything to NBC and buying time for Long Beach, the Triple Crown and a few other races on NBC. NBC does a much better job than ABC with IndyCar. There's not even a comparison, really. In a few years time, ABC won't even have the ratings advantage.
 
#365
#365
Nerd-Vol said:
I agree. I for one like the idea of closed cockpits. No one has given me a better reason than "It's tradition", which is a pretty ****ty reason, considering they could have saved many lives.
Click to expand...

I'm all about safety and saving lives, don't get me wrong, but when you eliminate one risk you add others, like a driver being unable to escape the cock pit quickly should a cover malfunction (for example). There's always going to be two sides to the argument. Ultimately, I doubt it happens until the drivers start calling for it, because let's be honest, it's their lives on the line.

ptclaus98 said:
And right into another asinine TV contract? The last one was made before Danica even tested a stock car, how much value do you think IndyCar has outside of the 500 without her? Their mistake was not giving everything to NBC and buying time for Long Beach, the Triple Crown and a few other races on NBC. NBC does a much better job than ABC with IndyCar. There's not even a comparison, really. In a few years time, ABC won't even have the ratings advantage.
Click to expand...

Where did I say I had a problem with NBC and/or their coverage?

The problem is, as was brought up above, the casual fan has no clue where and when to find the race. It's all over the place. NASCAR is the opposite. You know when, you know what channel, and you know what time. They need a single channel to promote the races and the drivers. If that's NBC, that's fine with me.
 
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#366
#366
doozer said:
I'm all about safety and saving lives, don't get me wrong, but when you eliminate one risk you add others, like a driver being unable to escape the cock pit quickly should a cover malfunction (for example). There's always going to be two sides to the argument. Ultimately, I doubt it happens until the drivers start calling for it, because let's be honest, it's their lives on the line.



Where did I say I had a problem with NBC and/or their coverage?

The problem is, as was brought up above, the casual fan has no clue where and when to find the race. It's all over the place. NASCAR is the opposite. You know when, you know what channel, and you know what time. They need a single channel to promote the races and the drivers. If that's NBC, that's fine with me.
Click to expand...


We are talking about racing series with no real drivers union. They don't really have a ton of leverage to demand change.



I agree with you on the TV deal. F1 actually has a pretty good deal, and F1 promotes the races pretty well.


Here is one thing that F1 does really well. Take a look at the following websites, which are my 5 favorite sources for F1 news:

Planet F1 | Formula One | News, Standings, Results, Features, Video
F1 2014 | Live Formula 1 Grand Prix news | ESPN F1
F1 News, Drivers, Results - Formula 1 Live Online | Sky Sports

Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website


Notice what all 4 have prominently displayed?


The countdown clock.

Now let's check out Indy's site:


The Official Site of IndyCar News, Drivers, Schedule & Shop | IndyCar.com


Takes a little longer to find. I know that it is a little thing and I also realize that I am 20x more cognizant of the everyday goings on in F1 than Indy, but still I always check the timer and see how close it is.

Once again though F1 is my favorite sport in the whole world, so I am very unlikely to miss a race.
 
#367
#367
Nerd-Vol said:
We are talking about racing series with no real drivers union. They don't really have a ton of leverage to demand change.



I agree with you on the TV deal. F1 actually has a pretty good deal, and F1 promotes the races pretty well.


Here is one thing that F1 does really well. Take a look at the following websites, which are my 5 favorite sources for F1 news:

Planet F1 | Formula One | News, Standings, Results, Features, Video
F1 2014 | Live Formula 1 Grand Prix news | ESPN F1
F1 News, Drivers, Results - Formula 1 Live Online | Sky Sports

Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website


Notice what all 4 have prominently displayed?


The countdown clock.

Now let's check out Indy's site:


The Official Site of IndyCar News, Drivers, Schedule & Shop | IndyCar.com


Takes a little longer to find. I know that it is a little thing and I also realize that I am 20x more cognizant of the everyday goings on in F1 than Indy, but still I always check the timer and see how close it is.

Once again though F1 is my favorite sport in the whole world, so I am very unlikely to miss a race.
Click to expand...

But if you were just a causal fan or it wasn't your favorite it would probably still be easier to find out the when, what and the where of the race. I honestly hardly ever see a commerical for an Indy race unless it's for the 500. I don't care who covers the races just as long as they do a better job promoting the sport. Even if it means they have to pick one driver and use them for the face of the sport.
 
#368
#368
Here is my dream Indy series:

Races every other weekend for an 8 month span.

An exclusive deal with just one TV company (espn/abc is in need of more racing after losing NASCAR)

More races in the south. Road Atlanta please, VIR, Kentucky.

I want the occasional silly oval idea, Bristol please!

One more engine manufacturer.

A cleaner website. Honestly this goes for a lot sports. Only F1 does a good job with their website.

Keep pulling drivers from other series. Get me paul di resta. Snatch a driver who runs nationwide.
 
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#369
#369
Nerd-Vol said:
Here is my dream Indy series:

Races every other weekend for an 8 month span.

An exclusive deal with just one TV company (espn/abc is in need of more racing after losing NASCAR)

More races in the south. Road Atlanta please, VIR, Kentucky.

I want the occasional silly oval idea, Bristol please!

One more engine manufacturer.

A cleaner website. Honestly this goes for a lot sports. Only F1 does a good job with their website.

Keep pulling drivers from other series. Get me paul di resta. Snatch a driver who runs nationwide.
Click to expand...

I feel like if they could pull a bigger name driver to the series for the full schedule it would be huge for them. I think JPM has helped some and the fact that Kurt Busch is going to run the double is adding some interest but it's really only adding interest to one race.
 
#370
#370
Rain in the area again today. Looks like they almost have the track dry. Hopefully we will get some good practice in today.

It was nice to see 226 on the speed chart yesterday.
 
#372
#372
Busch into the wall hard today. Going to need more than some barebond and a baseball bat to fix that one.
 
#373
#373
doozer said:
Busch into the wall hard today. Going to need more than some barebond and a baseball bat to fix that one.
Click to expand...

I saw the replay. It was a pretty hard hit. It was to be expected though. At some point he was going to wreck it was just a matter of how long before it happened.
 
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#375
#375
One of my favorite weekends of the year coming up. Monaco, Indy, Charlotte. Doesn't get any better for a race fan.
 
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