I think he's being cautious because the series is still on shaky ground. David is delusional about Indycar's ceiling in the States. I believe it's near it's peak. No one is touting Indycar's attendance and viewership figures. I don't know how it stacks up against Formula E, but Formula E is growing. A Liberty Media takeover might increase its international appeal by tying it to F1, but the rest of the world isn't enamored with oval racing. Regarding an international race, I've suggested a rotating international round with Canada. Also, I prefer downtown Nashville for a Labor Day finale.
I may be biased as someone who lives in the Denver metro area, but I think a return to the Denver street circuit would be fantastic for the series. Denver is a city that loves events; if you make it a proper festival, people here WILL show up. Free idea for anyone who has any power to make this happen: Make the whole event a combination grand prix / music festival, sorta like Iowa. No country music, though, that's not the vibe here. Instead, make it an electronic music-heavy festival, because Denver is somewhat of a hub for that. Regarding the track: The previous course they used from 2002-2006 ticks all the boxes you mentioned for it to be worth it as a street course; it raced well when it was on the calendar and even gave us one of the most memorable moments in the Champ Car era when Paul Tracy and Sebastian Bourdais collided on the final lap in 2006. The "mile-wide corner" was one of the best passing opportunities that's existed on any street course ever. The track is also in a part of the city that's easily accessible by light rail, and my aforementioned music festival idea would have a built-in indoor venue with the Ball Arena (FKA Pepsi Center) residing within the infield of the track. Now, if they aren't able to use that same circuit, then the idea of a return to Denver becomes quite a bit less exciting. They could maybe put together a street course around Empower Field (where the Broncos play) and have many of the same benefits as the old Ball Arena course, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be. Other than that, I don't see anywhere else in the city that could reasonably host a street course race. There is no shot that the old 1990-1991 circuit could be used in current-day Denver; it's not the sleepy cow town it was back then and the disruptions to traffic would be way too substantial for the city to allow it.
@@aggressivegoesaround5412 Agreed. Country music is still popular in the Denver area (coming from a local). Garth Brooks was only supposed to do a couple shows on his last visit, ended up doing nine because it sold out so well.
We need a “State of the Union” for Indycar like IMSA does. Could’ve done it this weekend at IMS while people are talking about the sport and also there to see the 6 hour getting even more eyes on the sport
Milwaukee was great as a DH and wish it was again this year. It made it easier for me to go, knowing I was driving 7 hours to see 2 races instead of just 1.
But Indycar had to take a race so they can have a club race at Thermal!!!!! All kidding aside, I was there as well, and it was a great event. Doubleheaders are okay if done right, and Milwaukee was done to perfection.
I would love for them to come to the northeast, whether it's the Glen or doing what Formula E did with a temporary course I need that as a Jersey boy lol
I traveled to Australia in 1998 and took in the Surfers Paradise weekend. It was a hoot on par with Long Beach. The Aussies were great, stands packed, great racing, etc. In an era where most fans, whether it be football or motorsport, catch it on TV or their computer. I would fill the schedule with a full slate of world-class events regardless of location so long as the financial aspect makes since. I wish IC could find a Hyvee-like sponsor and have three late season races in three weeks at Surfers, Adelaide, and perhaps Sydney (where the NFL isn't playing). Personally, I like the two race concept as fans who consider traveling several hours for a race weekend may see this as more bang for the buck.
I live in Denver and there's no another race within 800 miles of us. That's why we need a race here. I didn't care when I lived in LA and attended Long Beach every year (beginning in 1978) but Indycar feels like a regional series to the northern Mid-West as NASCAR is to the South. Time to cover more real estate and markets in the US.
One thing that IndyCar needs more than anything is a longer schedule. The season should be at least 20 races long. They also need tracks like Homestead Miami, Texas, Watkins Glen, Phoenix, and New Hampshire to return. The season should be 50% oval and 50% road and street courses.
This. To me indy is the ultimate driver's championship. The best drivers should perform on BOTH ovals and street courses. In my dreams, the schedule would go back and forth between Ovals and Road/Street courses. It would show huge variety. Would love to see Pocono come back on schedule, and you should vary between Road Courses, Street courses and super speedways and small ovals.
There is little to support that idea. The TV numbers for the finale were abysmal… going against football is a losing battle. Phx and Homestead are laughable, nobody would show up.
The leadership and or decision makers within Indycar needs new voices for sure. All I know is, the series would be a lot better off listening to suggestions from people like Zak Brown and Michael Andretti.
@@robertwomack1411 great. We all have an opinion. May I ask who you think should be advising Indycar? I cannot imagine you think Penske Entertainment is doing a good job. Well, unless you work for Penske 😂
@@thebigguy5590 actually it turned out to be a very very good year for IndyCar what the series and The 500 Mile Race really , really needs now is new , interesting equipment . Andretti has been a road block to that for a long time ProMotion really doesn’t help that much if your product is disappointing Time for IndyCar to get new cars New cars that wow people .
I was able to attend the first Music City GP in 2021,and it was a lot of fun. It was the first IndyCar race I had attended since the last race ran at Nashville Superspeedway (2008). But attending this race this past weekend has gotten me more fired up for IndyCar racing that I've never felt before. Seriously considering checking out Barber Motorsports Park this next year,and while watching this video, paused it and told my wife I wanted to take a road trip to Road America. Tracks within decent range of us is Nashville (of course,45 minutes away),Barber, Gateway,Mid-Ohio,and of course Indianapolis,now i really want to go see them all! Side note the Indianapolis 500 is my favorite race of all the 3 racing series i watch (NASCAR, IndyCar,and F1). Thanks David for all your work and content!
Barber is great. The fact that there are no proper grandstands actually is a low-key brilliant idea (as long as you prepare to comfortably carry around a chair, I'd recommend a chair bag with a shoulder strap). I did Barber this season with my dad and son and they have shuttles and trams all around the facility to get you where you want/need to go. The way the track is laid out, if you sit on the backstretch in the woods, you can see 80% of the track (again, brilliant). Highly recommend parking on-site, though. We did the off-site parking and took the shuttle, and post-race that turns into a very long wait. St. Pete has the same setup (did that in March 2023), but other than that, I'd recommend both of those.
Ok, Im new to Indy (started watching in 2023). Two things: 1) They NEED to have more of the history available to the audience!!! I want to watch old races (I guess there’s some youtube channels that have that available). 2) 100 days to Indy is actually pretty good! Can we have that following the entire season?! Can you imagine how crazy that show wouldve for the second half of the season?
IndyCar needs a Ben Kennedy type for the scheduling department. Not a fan of a Thermal Dud points race. At least all races are on big FOX next year with no Peacock exclusives. We don't need to move on from past tracks. We need to bring them back. We need a new car!
@@naparacingfan9275 if Indycar dose get moved to fs1 I wouldn’t be supriesd mascar is a bigger sport with a bigger fan base. A fox pays nascar a lot more than the Indycar deal. I do see most of Indycar race happening on big fox but if they are scheduled at the same time or if Indycar runs passed its window it’ll be moved for sure
I interpret the competitor paragraph to be more akin to ‘don’t try to fight F1 head on, but embrace and extend’, which I think is sensible. The fact that F1 made such a comeback here in the US is a great and all, but if indycar wants to get into a spending war for marketing to the American audience- well, to me that’s straight up delulu. However, effectively riding on F1s coattails to create more market visibility is actually (imo) a very viable (and kinda cheap) strategy. Zack (again, imo) is right that racing fans are primed to be interested in all forms of racing and in that case, wooing an already captive audience is much easier (and again, cheaper.) His wording might be a bit ambiguous, but I think his reasoning is sound.
Creating storyline opportunities that aren’t focused around the 500 is a key for me as well. (*The 500 already has that mechanism and it’s phenomenal, continue it) Maybe take a cue from nascar, and make Milwaukee a “throwback weekend”, that all the teams, announcers, etc.. can take part in, and have an easy way to generate new online reach, that late in the season. *This in addition to my other comment that adds Homestead the week after Tampa, and you have a mini “Florida Cup” to start the year ….
The #1 priority for Penske Ent should be to invest in raising the series profile. The series needs to build its own awareness. Everywhere - Us, Canada, Mexico. The series has always left it up to promoters and sponsors. Penske need to put in the work themselves and ultimately that will help the series and the teams attract sponsors, demand higher promoter fees and attract other OEMs.
Thank you for doing this video and thank you Zak Brown for writing this letter. I have been an IndyCar fan since 1972. Due to the timing of F1 I often start my Sunday morning watching their race and the Indy Car race in the afternoon.
Yeah I understand the Denver race, but there is no Indycar race remotely near the central/northern East Coast. Mid Ohio is closest, probably. RIR needs a return, DMV is only a couple hours away and NC is only a few hours away. Lots of people in the tidewater area, too. I doubt they'll get Miami or a DC/Baltimore track will ever be made.
This is just my opinion but here’s my take on IndyCar’s schedule: Surfers Paradise Mexico City Texas (TMS or COTA) St Petersburg Long Beach Barber Indy 500 Milwaukee (x2) Detroit Belle Isle Mid Ohio Iowa (x2) Michigan Road America Toronto Pocono Watkins Glen Gateway Portland Laguna Seca Nashville (Oval) 22 races, season ends in mid-late October. I get that you don’t want to compete with NFL or other sports but I’ve always felt like the schedule’s too short (6 month off-season?!). Also I agree, IndyCar doesn’t need to expand to Europe, Asia, etc right away, which is why it’s only Toronto, Mexico City, and Surfers on the schedule in terms of international races.
@@cbrunnem6102 I don't think you understand how Grand Prixs work. The host pay's for the right to have a GP. International GP's make money they don't cost money. If the teams are losing money from a GP then either the league messed up setting hosting fees or the league isn't sharing revenue correctly.
@@louiscypher4186 exactly, the promoter pays the series itself with fees, not the other way around. If it was the other way around Formula 1 would’ve gone bust a long time ago.
I think everyone'd love to see it return; problem is that, as far as anyone knows, Pocono doesn't want IndyCar back and Michigan hasbn't had IndyCar since 2007 and, as far as anyone knows, isn't interested in having them return. You can't make tracks want your product if they don't want it.
PPIR would be great, if the track was allowed to host professional racing events. Unfortunately, when ISC bought it in 2008, the contract included a clause that they could never host any major professional racing series. I bet there'd be a way to rewrite this legally, but even then, they track would need substantial investment to be able to host races again. The catch fencing is gone along some of the perimeter of the track, including the front straight, for example. I'd love for it to be revitalized and host professional racing again, but I'm not hopeful.
PPIR was the best mile track in America and I would love to see it hosting races again. ISC did not want that and they were planning a track closer to Denver and bought PPIR just to close it down. There was also the issue that caused the original owners to consider selling which was the cost of installing Safer Barrier which it never had. Anyway ISC never did the Denver track and took down 3/4 of PPIR's grandstand and fences. Very little can be used without building over. This makes me sad but returning PPIR to serious racing would cost at least 3/4 of what a new track would.
I love Indy car but man I hate the lack of on track action during a race weekend. 3 practices just like f1 would be so awesome before qualifying for the fans
As a long time, Indy car fan, and sports car racer, I agree with pretty much everything you have said regarding Zac's letter. This past weekend was the first time I have ever attended an oval race. I thought the energy at the track on Sunday was excellent. The race was fun to watch but I felt a lot of confusion regarding what was happening on the track. Sure, I can watch the car numbers on the timing pole and determine their position but for me there needs to me more information available. I tried to get on the Indy car app on my phone, however, I had no cell coverage. I could not even make a FB post about being at the event because of the lack of internet access. I can only assume that the cell system was overwhelmed. One of the reasons that I prefer watching the races on TV is I can follow the specifics of the race much more closely, and as a racer, I find that much more enjoyable. Sitting and watching the cars go around and around without detailed information such as lap times, fuel strategies, PTP information, and how many laps down the other cars are, leaves me a bit bored. I would imagine that the casual fan might also find this additional information helpful and it could possibly add to their overall experience.
@@charlieboyd4431 NASCAR still races there and the WEC just came back, but with the low turnout for the 1 IndyCar race, a title sponsor would probably be needed for IndyCar to go back.
Honestly, minus the whole 'F1 is not our enemy' bit, I think Zak Brown should be running IndyCar, he's got a mostly good grasp at what the fans and teams want, and he's can't possibly be a worse manager than Mark Miles or the Frances
As an aussie, flattered about the praise for Surfers Paradise, unfortunately that track doesnt exist anymore, it got essentially halved when light rail got built on sections of the track. Would still love to see Indy back down under one day
Completely agree we need to get a bit away from the fully spec series we currently see... Indy car was built off the Indy 500 and the Indy 500 was built off the premise of who is fast AND reliable enough to win this race... NOT sending 32 of the exact same car with slightly different shocks around the track...
That was one of the briefs for the DW12, but Dallara was the only maker that was interested in competition. Swift, Panoz, Deltawing, and one or two others wanted exclusive rights. I really don't see that changing with the possibility that Chevy could be the only engine maker in 2026.
It seems like zak brown is the only team owner trying to actively push Indycar and modernize his team. Its what should be happening with every other team
Indycar needed a new chassis 5 years ago. F2 and F3 use Dallara and get a new car every 4-5 years so why can't Penske get their finger out and get a new car in the next 2 years? As someone in the UK we get all races ad free on Sky Sports F1 but even there the advertising outside the Indy 500 isn't great. The Nashville race was mentioned on the Baku F1 broadcast but this rarely happens.
What you said at the 36 min mark is what I've been saying forever... Multiple chassis to choose from, to add parady and competitiveness to Indy car....
@@ronbelanger4113yes, elitists. You go to any pro-NASCAR or pro-Indy post on social media and there's at least one comment with the "boring, they only turn left" saying with a lot of upvotes. Don't even want to give Indy a chance because they think it's NASCAR. Furthermore, lots of popularity contest circle jerks and comparisons of F1 drivers to other series' drivers. Any moment a non-F1 driver excels somewhere, there's a million excuses to why that F1 driver didn't do better. It's lame as hell
THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE LUMPING OF ALL THE OVALS! People keep doing that and calling it balanced. There are four types or tracks guys! Also yes, f1 needs to be seen as a competitor, especially in May!
Something I hope FOX (and by extension IMS productions) focuses on is camera angles. Not so much of an issue at street circuits and ovals but some of the camera angles dont convey speed well. An example of this is the camera facing the cars as they travel down the front straightaway at the IMS Road Course race. NASCAR’s chase cam on the straightaway into the bus stop at the Glen this weekend was awesome, maybe you cant make it go 190mph but if they can somehow implement it onto some tracks it would help convey the speed to the casual viewer. Also, when the command to start engines is given I want the microphones pointed directly at the exhausts, I dont know why but it sounds like the cars are idling when they give the command now on TV whereas you can hear them revving if you go in person. Minor things to help the presentation appear more visceral
I completely agree that the podiums need to be better. Most of them look cut-rate and mostly an afterthought. I do agree with Zak that the Detroit podium was pretty cool. The view from that podium this year was pretty legit. Not sure how it translated on TV, but it was cool in person.
Totally disagree about the F1 point. Maybe it’s me being British. F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. In any form. It’s where the fastest drivers, the biggest sponsors, the best engineers in the world converge. IndyCar cannot compete. It’s a national championship. It’s a stage lower in every aspect, especially if F1 is firing on all cylinders like it is in 2024. Most new fans will find IndyCar THROUGH F1. That’s how I found it. If IndyCar accepts that F1 is the motorsport giant. It acts as an F1 extra. For those who want more than just formula 1. It’s really cool like that. It’s another championship to get involved in. If you compete in a way that’s “F1 vs IndyCar” you’ll lose. F1 has the measure on indycar in all aspects. Embrace its popularity to boost your own.
The tragic accidents aside (2015 was a total freak event sadly) agree that if some safety improvements can be made, Pocono was a great race and should be back on the radar
Ending next year on Labor Day weekend is the best current solution to the end of the year problem. Theres one college football game on the Sunday (which does draw big ratings) but it’s a shame only 500k people watched that pretty solid finale this past weekend. *of all nascar races to go up against too, Watkins Glenn is always a banger. I don’t blame people for watching it.
When I was kid growing up watching INDYCAR, I thought the Cleveland Burke Lake airport track was one of the most fun and exciting races of the year. Maybe we bring that one back?
It's 50:50 on if that airport will be closed. Other than that, Mike Lannigan at RLL has said in the past he'd make it happen if he got a title sponsor.
You mentioned real looking street circuits. It seems that Indycar has moved away from that and towards circuits that look like a child designed them -- like Nashville and the new Detroit circuit -- on purpose to cause crashes. As for Mexico, we hear that a Mexico City trip is too far and expensive. It is too bad they cannot return to Monterey, which is closer to Texas, but it looks on google maps like part of that circuit has been destroyed since CCWS last ran there. I agree getting more going in North America before looking beyond the continent is a good idea. I knew some people who went to their first Indycar races this year at Milwaukee (their home track) and fell in love with it. Bring back the Glen, TMS, Pocono, Michigan, Kentucky, and New Hampshire. Leave alternate tires for roads and streets. I disagree with Surfer's being a "real" race circuit. I remember lots of crashing, and at least two places where there were chicanes that only allowed one car through at a time. To me, that is a no-no for good racing -- no different than a track that is too narrow like parts of Nashville.
I made it your channel as a Mclaren F1 fan. I have always been kinda interested in the sport but never gave it any thought until I was introduced to Pato through a Mclaren cross promo video. That sparked a interest to start following indy car and I have been subscribed ever since. So you got at least 1 sub directly from Mclaren being in indy.
So many good comments. Yes, the schedule needs to be filled in better early in the year. Yes, there should be more races before Indianapolis. I'd love to see IndyCar back at Watkins Glen, but there's a hitch...the France family's ongoing antipathy to IndyCar. I wish I were confident the Brickyard and Iowa double headers were going to fix that, but I remember when ISC would only make dates available when Watkins Glen was cold and rainy and Kansas was likely to be 100 degrees air temp. Also great comments about street courses. They're great IF they're wide enough to race on, IF they have something beyond 90 degree turns into blind alleys, and IF they have decent pit lanes that don't funnel so badly they block the entire track if there's an incident at the exit...like we saw at Nashville a few years ago. I disagree with Zach about the double header race weekends. I think they're special events and they add spice to the season. I know Iowa didn't race well this year, but it will age in and become the track we love once again. And YES, WE NEED A NEW CAR!!!
The comments about race weekends and track time. Every race that has a Sunday race should do like Long Beach, have 2 practices on Friday and a Saturday morning practice before qualifying. The stuff of a 2 day race schedule is crazy. Indycar needs track time for exposure and teams need it for learning their cars. Zac is not far off on some of his comments
I selfishly wouldn't mind something like a 3-4 race fall series in Japan/Australia. I live on the West Coast, and those races would start late pm on Saturday, avoiding the NFL on Fox, Sunday.
Well, back in the ‘60s, they had something like that - the Tasman series, and usually 2/3 of the F1 field would turn up for it. Creating a new Tasman series with indycar hardware would actually be a novel idea.
Even if Pato retires tomorrow, Mexico City should be a target for Indycar. It's the biggest city in North America, for the haulers the driving distance from Indianapolis is the same as the trip to Laguna Seca, and there's an fia grade 1 track accessible by bus, train and foot sitting next to an international airport with direct flights to almost everywhere. Even a poor promotional effort could bring the largest crowd outside of the 500, and it would certainly create new fans. We will see how the nascar race goes, but I suspect it will be a great success.
Great video David, as always. I would argue AGAINST Pocono and for The Glen for a few reasons: 1) Pocono is really a dump. The grounds, infrastructure, etc. are NOT well cared for. It's like the Nascar weekend is their sole focus (and no doubt it funds the entirety of the remainder of their year). I do love that the racing there is typically pretty good, but I struggle to see what support series can help fill the weekend. IndyNXT doesn't seem to want anything to do with super speedways (somewhat understandably, and no, Nashville isn't a super speedway, despite the name!) Years back SVRA was a 'support' series during the weekend, but they had us racing on the infield mickey-mouse course while the Indycars were on the big oval! I can't see how folks would make the journey to the boonies of NE Pennsylvania just to see 4-5 hours total of Indycar on-track activity over the entire weekend. 2) The Glen has an aura about it, there is so much history and there's just a special feeling on arrival, like driving through the gate at Road America, or beneath the south short chute at Indy. The full track Indycars race is a genuine challenge and a favorite amongst the drivers. It's a fast, technical track that rewards some bravery and can bite very hard when you go over the line. Granted, history shows attendance here for Indycars has been mediocre at best, but there is a huge population mass with 3-4 hours drive (we're just west of Philadelphia and it's a 4hr drive for us) and with proper marketing and some patience (give it 4-5 years to gain some momentum, hell when we race up there with SVRA at the vintage GP there are usually 30K spectators and campers to watch us amateur hacks). Indy NXT would be great on that track, and additional support series like the Porsche Cup, TransAm/iGT, or even the Radical Cup could easily put 8-10 hours of on-track action on each day. Just my Internet 2¢ opinion! 🙂
I spoke to someone influential in motorsports recently and he said that Indycar will not be successful until they are able to race on ovals around the country. His perspective was that the best show Indycar puts on was at Texas and on ovals in general, and that road courses don’t provide the best show because the cars can’t be seen by the fans for most of the lap. How can indycar modify their car formula to allow more oval racing? Pocono is a great track, but the cars are simply too dangerous to be driven there. Same thing with Michigan.
Then how is IMSA and F1 able to run strictly road courses and be as popular or more than IndyCar? It sounds like this guy with motorsport influence is strictly a Dirt/NASCAR guy.
@@danielhenderson8316 valid assumption. The marketing approach and depth of history is what allows F1 and IMSA their wealth of fans. Those series also have a greater wealth of historic “classic” races. Indycar’s greatest venue is the Indy 500 and nothing else on the schedule even attempts to be that grand. That’s why I posit the question what can be done to run on more ovals? We need more events like the 500.
@@killacam197. The Godsend for the recent rise in ovals have been with Independent parties like Bommarito Auto Group, HyVee, or Big Machine renting an oval and promoting events themselves because IndyCar and NASCAR are stuck in the 90's mindset of "You should be thankful we're racing in your town so we don't need to promote it." The FOX deal is going to be the big make or break deal to generate interest in the series. Every team in Indy NXT are excited that they might get sponsors since no one watched them on Peacock. But we've already lived through what an Oval only IndyCar series and what happened when Tony George's 10 year deal with IMS ended in 2009ish when IndyCar was almost universally thrown out of every IMS oval at the same time.
I would love to see IndyCar open up to have multiple chassis manufacturers. Ie: March, Lola, Penske etc. It would bring back more competition. Yes it's a money issue, but it could make for better racing.
It takes more than one company to play. When IndyCar put out tenders for the DW12, only Dallara was interested in competition while Swift, Panoz, Deltawing, and a couple other makers wanted exclusivity. I don't see that changing if Honda is still threatening to leave the series.
I really want to see IndyCar in Mexico, I think it is long overdue, but instead of just going to the Hermanos Rodriguez, I wish some money was put into bringing the oval in Puebla up to spec, would be great to have an oval race outside the USA.
In the sense of an international series. In the winter when you have the NFL going in the US, run a money and points paying series in markets such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, markets not hit by other international series. Events like Kylami, Motegi, Gold Coast, Tuapo, Interlagos, Bathurst. Have large prize pots for these events to encourage teams to come.
Top priority should be a new chassis and engine with at least two suppliers for each. IndyCar also needs to focus on shoring up the domestic side of things before planning anything international. Another 500 mile race on a 2+ mile oval would be nice.
The last time they took tenders for the DW12, Dallara was the only maker interested in competition. Everyone else from Swift, Panoz, Deltawing, and one or two others wanted exclusive wanted to be exclusive. I don't see that changing, and I'm also not convinced Honda is going to stick around after 2025.
As someone who attended the Portland GP & only saw the cars qualify & race, I am totally in favor of adding more practice sessions. It is embarrassing in my view that Formula E was able to do two days of practice at the same Portland track (which I also attended) over a doubleheader weekend over 2 days & Indycar could only do one over the course of a 3 day weekend. I definitely agree with the view that the more time the cars are on track, the more it builds interest in the race. Another thing that Indycar needs to address going forward when it comes to the spectator experience is to make autograph sessions & paddock access complimentary with every ticket purchase. This in my view would greatly increase interest in Indycar especially among younger fans because they would have access to the cars & drivers & see them up close.
IC needs to increase their footprint. Reduce the reliance on the Midwest. 2 in the northeast. + mid Atlantic. + Denver. 1 more southwest + Mexico + Brazil.
F1 sucks, everything else Zak said is golden. Mark Miles seems to be a few decades behind the times. I appreciate his history w/ IndyCar but I would be happy to see someone embracing the kinds of ideologies that Zak has suggested. Feeling hopeful...
with regard to the "podium" I don't think Zack was talking about the post race celebration with 3 drivers BUT the physical stage and presentation of the winner and/or top three. There are places like Long Beach and Iowa where the "podium" or "winners circle" area are brutally amateurish. Sometimes its a long bed trailer with a skirt on it. It is sometimes located in a back area where only a few fans can be a part of the celebration. I completely agree with a Winners Only mentality. This country doesn't celebrate 2nd or 3rd.
I read all of Zak’s stuff and it’s hard to disagree with him, I would so love to see Indycar down here in London at Brands Hatch Indy, Pack the place out like I know they can with Sky Sports Indycar and Tom and Neil promoting the hell out of it like they do every weekend but deep down I also know how much indycar Is struggling outside of the 500. We are lucky in the UK in the fact it’s on 1 channel and we have a team who care about it and want it showcased, we even get the Indy 500 on the big sports channel. When I was in Los Angeles this summer I saw the hell that US fans go through, okay there was breaking news but I was flicking between CNBC, NBC, USA to watch the Iowa race. We just need STABILITY!
I went to the Champ Car race at Brands in 2003, it was cool to watch but IndyCar doesn’t need to traipse all the way over to Europe. If by ‘Tom’ you mean Tom Gaymore - keep him well away from IndyCar, TV, commentating and just anything in general. I cannottttttt staaaaaaaaaaaaand thewayhe exteeeeeeeeeends thencompresses eeeeeeeeeeeverysentence
@@jack4688To be fair Gaymor isn't really there as a commentator, he just fills in with chat during the enumerable and breaks. Yes ideally Sky should have their own commentator and summariser but they clearly don't think it warrants it.
I would personally like to see them add international races and also make them points paying races. Some of the places I would add include: 1. Lausitzring Oval (Germany) 2. Twin Ring Motegi 3. Surfers Paradise 4. Donington or Brands Hatch 5. Magny-Cours 6. Kyalami (kinda unrealistic)
Besides need title sponsors, Motegi is impossible since the 2011 Earthquake damaged the oval beyond repair, and if we're going to Japan to race at a Honda owned track, my vote is for Suzuka.
@@smokeybandit9760 If Toyota would join and wanted to host a race, then Mt. Fuji would be a great spot. The main straight is longer than the straights at Indy.
@@smokeybandit9760 There was talk of Toyota joining before COVID that got smashed because of regime change, and there's still a 50/50 chance Honda doesn't stick around after 2025. However, Honda's NASCAR idea hit a speed bump when they told NASCAR they refuse to build a Pushrod V8 engine to compete. That will need more manufacturers to push NASCAR into DOHC before Honda joins up.
This was a great video, thanks for not making it "members only" Lots to think about, and seems like most agree with Zak. That said, throwing around ideas is the easy part, and making it work is something else My only 2 cents are that the series needs to be pushing hard for growth. F1 has shown that customer base for racing is there. Baseball has shown fans react positively to shorter durations. These are trends indycar needs to grab onto. A lot of money is out there, just waiting to be pulled in
The podium comments are 100% correct from fat brown, f1 is a competitor and so is every form of racing, and the 465 loop is correct. From Greenwood I don’t see hardly any Indycar stuff at all unlike before it became Indycar it was everywhere all over the state and tv
If going international, there are three tracks to go to: Buenos Aires, Monterrey (Parque Fundidora or the permanent track), and Augascalientes/Chiapas (Mexican short tracks)
The way he talks about tracks like Watkins Glen it makes me wonder if there’s not some issue that they have with NASCAR. Maybe NASCAR is asking for more money to hold a race than what Indycar wants to pay. Could be that Roger doesn’t want to pay that much for the sanctioning fee.
"Maybe even a TV camera and microphone in Race Control would help to create a more transparent decision-making process." If there's one way to show that the decision makers are making it up as they go along, it's that. "Mikey, this is so not right!"
Zac is spot on....the podiums are crap and the overall track condition and presentation are sub par for a top tier racing series. And enough of the rich guys track exhibition racing ..... Also agree that indy shouls go to all of North and South America....dont try to compete internationally w/ F1....be the premier open wheel series in the Americas.
Zach is right about Indycar and F1. A rising tide lifts all boats. They can be competitors as well as partners. Also, F1 is disruptable on so sooooo many fronts from tv production to rules enforcement, multiple consecutive seasons where there's only one dominant team, etc. First grow the pie, then try taking a bigger slice.
There should not be Podiums for Ovals. Road courses have historically had podiums and should continue, but this recent addition of Oval podiums needs to go.
What I'd like is for there to be more ovals and a bigger car count. And while I like the racing with the current car there needs to be a new car. Makes the series look kinda silly running a 12 year old car. I think you hit the nail right on the head, David.
The ability to repair the catch fence without resorting to using a fence gate would be a start. The taller SAFER Barrier at Turn 2 would also be a good idea as that seems to be the "Turn of Death" for IndyCar drivers.
A lot of these points Zak Brown made in this open letter he made on the Dale Jr download...... so I would not say this was a closed letter that he put on blast as he made the points on Dale's Jr podcast
@@I_Evo The Dale Jr interview with him was released on morning of 9/11 so not sure when the interview was recorded, had to be on 9/10 or before ........ so well before Nashville
Really not that happy with Mark Miles these days, Zak gets a lot right here
MM needs to retire like yesterday
Mark miles is just a mouthpiece. Every single decision comes from Penske Ent being Roger, Bud, Greg.
Ya totally agree. Mark Myles is a plug! Useless
@@paulferreira9357yes that is the definition of a CEO and owner relationship
I think he's being cautious because the series is still on shaky ground. David is delusional about Indycar's ceiling in the States. I believe it's near it's peak. No one is touting Indycar's attendance and viewership figures. I don't know how it stacks up against Formula E, but Formula E is growing. A Liberty Media takeover might increase its international appeal by tying it to F1, but the rest of the world isn't enamored with oval racing. Regarding an international race, I've suggested a rotating international round with Canada. Also, I prefer downtown Nashville for a Labor Day finale.
I may be biased as someone who lives in the Denver metro area, but I think a return to the Denver street circuit would be fantastic for the series. Denver is a city that loves events; if you make it a proper festival, people here WILL show up. Free idea for anyone who has any power to make this happen: Make the whole event a combination grand prix / music festival, sorta like Iowa. No country music, though, that's not the vibe here. Instead, make it an electronic music-heavy festival, because Denver is somewhat of a hub for that. Regarding the track: The previous course they used from 2002-2006 ticks all the boxes you mentioned for it to be worth it as a street course; it raced well when it was on the calendar and even gave us one of the most memorable moments in the Champ Car era when Paul Tracy and Sebastian Bourdais collided on the final lap in 2006. The "mile-wide corner" was one of the best passing opportunities that's existed on any street course ever. The track is also in a part of the city that's easily accessible by light rail, and my aforementioned music festival idea would have a built-in indoor venue with the Ball Arena (FKA Pepsi Center) residing within the infield of the track. Now, if they aren't able to use that same circuit, then the idea of a return to Denver becomes quite a bit less exciting. They could maybe put together a street course around Empower Field (where the Broncos play) and have many of the same benefits as the old Ball Arena course, but I'm not sure how feasible that would be. Other than that, I don't see anywhere else in the city that could reasonably host a street course race. There is no shot that the old 1990-1991 circuit could be used in current-day Denver; it's not the sleepy cow town it was back then and the disruptions to traffic would be way too substantial for the city to allow it.
People will only show up in downtown Denver if there’s free weed involved.
@@jamesstetz9884 Dead meme
" Colorado doesn't like country music- (State song is Rocky Mountain High (written in the Country style).
@@jamesbraun9842Yeah I’m pretty sure Wallen Combs and Bryan pack the house when they come to town😂
@@aggressivegoesaround5412 Agreed. Country music is still popular in the Denver area (coming from a local). Garth Brooks was only supposed to do a couple shows on his last visit, ended up doing nine because it sold out so well.
We need a “State of the Union” for Indycar like IMSA does. Could’ve done it this weekend at IMS while people are talking about the sport and also there to see the 6 hour getting even more eyes on the sport
Nascar does too
@@jaxonjaxoff3291 Nascar does it during the championship weekend, at least they did something like that last year
IMSA, NASCAR has better leadership. Doonan runs circles around any of Penske Entertainment’s top men.
I was 6 years old at the 2011 Loudon race, would kill for that to be back on the schedule as a double header, especially with how good Milwaukee was
Milwaukee was great as a DH and wish it was again this year. It made it easier for me to go, knowing I was driving 7 hours to see 2 races instead of just 1.
But Indycar had to take a race so they can have a club race at Thermal!!!!! All kidding aside, I was there as well, and it was a great event. Doubleheaders are okay if done right, and Milwaukee was done to perfection.
My sentiments exactly.
i wouldve like every oval gets one to get more variety. i would like to get Chicagoland added back.
@@thebigguy5590 The Thermal ad...I mean race must bring in a lot of money.
I would like to see Indycar back on the Michigan International Speedway.
I would love for them to come to the northeast, whether it's the Glen or doing what Formula E did with a temporary course I need that as a Jersey boy lol
Yes, bring back Indycar to Michigan Speedway for a 500-mile race 🏁 😊
Too bad that literally nobody who could make that possible shares your level of interest.
@@mmonkeyman1403
Seems like those attitudes may be changing
especially instead of the dumb downtown Detroit track. Brink back Belle Isle and Michigan 500 and Pocono and Watkins Glen.
I traveled to Australia in 1998 and took in the Surfers Paradise weekend. It was a hoot on par with Long Beach. The Aussies were great, stands packed, great racing, etc. In an era where most fans, whether it be football or motorsport, catch it on TV or their computer. I would fill the schedule with a full slate of world-class events regardless of location so long as the financial aspect makes since. I wish IC could find a Hyvee-like sponsor and have three late season races in three weeks at Surfers, Adelaide, and perhaps Sydney (where the NFL isn't playing). Personally, I like the two race concept as fans who consider traveling several hours for a race weekend may see this as more bang for the buck.
If they’re racing in Australia there’s no reason for them not to try Bathurst. The current cars are small enough for it
I was there brother it was a hell weekend
I live in Denver and there's no another race within 800 miles of us. That's why we need a race here. I didn't care when I lived in LA and attended Long Beach every year (beginning in 1978) but Indycar feels like a regional series to the northern Mid-West as NASCAR is to the South. Time to cover more real estate and markets in the US.
+1 to that! The four corners area is a major market that IndyCar is missing out on, just like the northeast.
You got it. I live in Vancouver and it's easy to forget that IndyCar even exists for years at a time because we haven't had that yearly reminder.
One thing that IndyCar needs more than anything is a longer schedule. The season should be at least 20 races long. They also need tracks like Homestead Miami, Texas, Watkins Glen, Phoenix, and New Hampshire to return. The season should be 50% oval and 50% road and street courses.
This. To me indy is the ultimate driver's championship. The best drivers should perform on BOTH ovals and street courses.
In my dreams, the schedule would go back and forth between Ovals and Road/Street courses. It would show huge variety.
Would love to see Pocono come back on schedule, and you should vary between Road Courses, Street courses and super speedways and small ovals.
There is little to support that idea. The TV numbers for the finale were abysmal… going against football is a losing battle. Phx and Homestead are laughable, nobody would show up.
Sorry, Nascar owned.
@@Lowlife-jc8us just because NASCAR owns Phoenix doesn’t mean IndyCar can’t race there.
@@northwestrailfanofficial we Nascar fans won't attend Phoenix. Tho it's a trash track anyways.
The leadership and or decision makers within Indycar needs new voices for sure. All I know is, the series would be a lot better off listening to suggestions from people like Zak Brown and Michael Andretti.
Disagree
@@robertwomack1411 great. We all have an opinion. May I ask who you think should be advising Indycar? I cannot imagine you think Penske Entertainment is doing a good job. Well, unless you work for Penske 😂
@@robertwomack1411 I think we found Mark Miles burner account!!!!
@@robertwomack1411 Mark Miles, is that you??
@@thebigguy5590 actually it turned out to be a very very good year for IndyCar what the series and The 500 Mile Race really , really needs now is new , interesting equipment . Andretti has been a road block to that for a long time
ProMotion really doesn’t help that much if your product is disappointing
Time for IndyCar to get new cars
New cars that wow people .
I was able to attend the first Music City GP in 2021,and it was a lot of fun. It was the first IndyCar race I had attended since the last race ran at Nashville Superspeedway (2008). But attending this race this past weekend has gotten me more fired up for IndyCar racing that I've never felt before. Seriously considering checking out Barber Motorsports Park this next year,and while watching this video, paused it and told my wife I wanted to take a road trip to Road America. Tracks within decent range of us is Nashville (of course,45 minutes away),Barber, Gateway,Mid-Ohio,and of course Indianapolis,now i really want to go see them all! Side note the Indianapolis 500 is my favorite race of all the 3 racing series i watch (NASCAR, IndyCar,and F1). Thanks David for all your work and content!
Barber is great. The fact that there are no proper grandstands actually is a low-key brilliant idea (as long as you prepare to comfortably carry around a chair, I'd recommend a chair bag with a shoulder strap). I did Barber this season with my dad and son and they have shuttles and trams all around the facility to get you where you want/need to go. The way the track is laid out, if you sit on the backstretch in the woods, you can see 80% of the track (again, brilliant). Highly recommend parking on-site, though. We did the off-site parking and took the shuttle, and post-race that turns into a very long wait. St. Pete has the same setup (did that in March 2023), but other than that, I'd recommend both of those.
@@joshpruitt293 appreciate that!
Edit: I want a picture with that giant spider, statue lol
Ok, Im new to Indy (started watching in 2023). Two things:
1) They NEED to have more of the history available to the audience!!! I want to watch old races (I guess there’s some youtube channels that have that available).
2) 100 days to Indy is actually pretty good! Can we have that following the entire season?! Can you imagine how crazy that show wouldve for the second half of the season?
Totally agree on following the 2nd half of the season with the show! Makes no sense on stopping after the 500.
The IndyCar channel does have old races posted, and they post pretty often during the off-season (they have plenty of time to do it!)
IndyCar needs a Ben Kennedy type for the scheduling department. Not a fan of a Thermal Dud points race. At least all races are on big FOX next year with no Peacock exclusives. We don't need to move on from past tracks. We need to bring them back. We need a new car!
Just don’t schedule raves at the same time as nascar. Cuz you’ll be dumped to fs1 for a few races each year
@@TrevorPhipps-vw6kr Totally agree. 2025 that won't happen. Hopefully not after that.
@@naparacingfan9275 if Indycar dose get moved to fs1 I wouldn’t be supriesd mascar is a bigger sport with a bigger fan base. A fox pays nascar a lot more than the Indycar deal. I do see most of Indycar race happening on big fox but if they are scheduled at the same time or if Indycar runs passed its window it’ll be moved for sure
i wish Kennedy listens to there fans because both IndyCar and nascar needs Chicagoland back.
David baseball marketing has been absolutely horrendous for years. (Person who worked for MLB)
I interpret the competitor paragraph to be more akin to ‘don’t try to fight F1 head on, but embrace and extend’, which I think is sensible. The fact that F1 made such a comeback here in the US is a great and all, but if indycar wants to get into a spending war for marketing to the American audience- well, to me that’s straight up delulu.
However, effectively riding on F1s coattails to create more market visibility is actually (imo) a very viable (and kinda cheap) strategy. Zack (again, imo) is right that racing fans are primed to be interested in all forms of racing and in that case, wooing an already captive audience is much easier (and again, cheaper.)
His wording might be a bit ambiguous, but I think his reasoning is sound.
This would work, but the FIA and F1 would have to embrace this as well. Right now, they aren't doing that and have no interest in doing that.
Creating storyline opportunities that aren’t focused around the 500 is a key for me as well. (*The 500 already has that mechanism and it’s phenomenal, continue it)
Maybe take a cue from nascar, and make Milwaukee a “throwback weekend”, that all the teams, announcers, etc.. can take part in, and have an easy way to generate new online reach, that late in the season.
*This in addition to my other comment that adds Homestead the week after Tampa, and you have a mini “Florida Cup” to start the year ….
We want more races and a longer schedule, thanks.
The #1 priority for Penske Ent should be to invest in raising the series profile. The series needs to build its own awareness. Everywhere - Us, Canada, Mexico. The series has always left it up to promoters and sponsors. Penske need to put in the work themselves and ultimately that will help the series and the teams attract sponsors, demand higher promoter fees and attract other OEMs.
Thank you for doing this video and thank you Zak Brown for writing this letter. I have been an IndyCar fan since 1972. Due to the timing of F1 I often start my Sunday morning watching their race and the Indy Car race in the afternoon.
Richmond Raceway the weekend after Indy and an August race at Michigan would be dope
Wrong mke the weekend after indy
should add Chicagoland to the schedule
Yeah I understand the Denver race, but there is no Indycar race remotely near the central/northern East Coast. Mid Ohio is closest, probably. RIR needs a return, DMV is only a couple hours away and NC is only a few hours away. Lots of people in the tidewater area, too. I doubt they'll get Miami or a DC/Baltimore track will ever be made.
This is just my opinion but here’s my take on IndyCar’s schedule:
Surfers Paradise
Mexico City
Texas (TMS or COTA)
St Petersburg
Long Beach
Barber
Indy 500
Milwaukee (x2)
Detroit Belle Isle
Mid Ohio
Iowa (x2)
Michigan
Road America
Toronto
Pocono
Watkins Glen
Gateway
Portland
Laguna Seca
Nashville (Oval)
22 races, season ends in mid-late October. I get that you don’t want to compete with NFL or other sports but I’ve always felt like the schedule’s too short (6 month off-season?!). Also I agree, IndyCar doesn’t need to expand to Europe, Asia, etc right away, which is why it’s only Toronto, Mexico City, and Surfers on the schedule in terms of international races.
No Pocono we don't need to kill the drivers
Australia is a huge cost for what benefit? it would have to be subsidized in some way.
would like Chicagoland get a date back
@@cbrunnem6102 I don't think you understand how Grand Prixs work.
The host pay's for the right to have a GP. International GP's make money they don't cost money.
If the teams are losing money from a GP then either the league messed up setting hosting fees or the league isn't sharing revenue correctly.
@@louiscypher4186 exactly, the promoter pays the series itself with fees, not the other way around. If it was the other way around Formula 1 would’ve gone bust a long time ago.
I agree. We will not beat F1's podium celebration. We will fail if we try. Just focus on the winner the way we do at the end of May.
We need an equal representation of road courses and small ovals , super speedways.
we need Chicagoland it was a great oval that is considered a superspeedway
yes, 7/7/7
They need to go back to the Triple Crown. Trying to win all 3 500 mile races in 1 season, was awesome.
I think everyone'd love to see it return; problem is that, as far as anyone knows, Pocono doesn't want IndyCar back and Michigan hasbn't had IndyCar since 2007 and, as far as anyone knows, isn't interested in having them return. You can't make tracks want your product if they don't want it.
Very true.
Denver definitely has places where street courses can go, but I would rather see indy back at PPIR.
PPIR would be great, if the track was allowed to host professional racing events. Unfortunately, when ISC bought it in 2008, the contract included a clause that they could never host any major professional racing series. I bet there'd be a way to rewrite this legally, but even then, they track would need substantial investment to be able to host races again. The catch fencing is gone along some of the perimeter of the track, including the front straight, for example. I'd love for it to be revitalized and host professional racing again, but I'm not hopeful.
I would love to see it but I was there a couple of years ago and the racing surface could not have a high speed open wheel race on it.
PPIR was the best mile track in America and I would love to see it hosting races again. ISC did not want that and they were planning a track closer to Denver and bought PPIR just to close it down. There was also the issue that caused the original owners to consider selling which was the cost of installing Safer Barrier which it never had. Anyway ISC never did the Denver track and took down 3/4 of PPIR's grandstand and fences. Very little can be used without building over. This makes me sad but returning PPIR to serious racing would cost at least 3/4 of what a new track would.
I love Indy car but man I hate the lack of on track action during a race weekend. 3 practices just like f1 would be so awesome before qualifying for the fans
Fax I want to watch more INDYCAR and by that I mean I want to see the cars on the track and not be bombarded with ads
As a long time, Indy car fan, and sports car racer, I agree with pretty much everything you have said regarding Zac's letter. This past weekend was the first time I have ever attended an oval race. I thought the energy at the track on Sunday was excellent. The race was fun to watch but I felt a lot of confusion regarding what was happening on the track. Sure, I can watch the car numbers on the timing pole and determine their position but for me there needs to me more information available. I tried to get on the Indy car app on my phone, however, I had no cell coverage. I could not even make a FB post about being at the event because of the lack of internet access. I can only assume that the cell system was overwhelmed.
One of the reasons that I prefer watching the races on TV is I can follow the specifics of the race much more closely, and as a racer, I find that much more enjoyable. Sitting and watching the cars go around and around without detailed information such as lap times, fuel strategies, PTP information, and how many laps down the other cars are, leaves me a bit bored. I would imagine that the casual fan might also find this additional information helpful and it could possibly add to their overall experience.
It would be nice if Indycar went back to tracks like Michigan, COTA, Texas and The Glen. I would really like to see Indycar have a new car finally.
2027 is when we’ll get a new car
@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT if that ever happens
Ya I don't understand how COTA isn't on the schedule. It's a premier track and has great racing.
@@sparacing i think cota is only built for f1. indycar and nascar tried it before and they were not good races to watch.
@@charlieboyd4431 NASCAR still races there and the WEC just came back, but with the low turnout for the 1 IndyCar race, a title sponsor would probably be needed for IndyCar to go back.
I'm surprised Zak didn't request requiring teams to fire drivers every three races.
😂
Honestly, minus the whole 'F1 is not our enemy' bit, I think Zak Brown should be running IndyCar, he's got a mostly good grasp at what the fans and teams want, and he's can't possibly be a worse manager than Mark Miles or the Frances
As an aussie, flattered about the praise for Surfers Paradise, unfortunately that track doesnt exist anymore, it got essentially halved when light rail got built on sections of the track. Would still love to see Indy back down under one day
I like the idea of having one race, it just something premier series do... Having a Milwaukee 500 instead of 2 -250's is just a better look
500 miles at Milwaukee would be insane!
Completely agree we need to get a bit away from the fully spec series we currently see... Indy car was built off the Indy 500 and the Indy 500 was built off the premise of who is fast AND reliable enough to win this race... NOT sending 32 of the exact same car with slightly different shocks around the track...
This makes for great racing for the fans. There is a lot more changes that can be made by team than a lot of people realize.
100% facts also need more entries at Indianapolis and a return to a true search for speed during the month of May
That was one of the briefs for the DW12, but Dallara was the only maker that was interested in competition. Swift, Panoz, Deltawing, and one or two others wanted exclusive rights. I really don't see that changing with the possibility that Chevy could be the only engine maker in 2026.
Keep hearing the nashville drivers intros were cool, TOO BAD THEY WERENT TELEVISED ON PEACOCK
It seems like zak brown is the only team owner trying to actively push Indycar and modernize his team. Its what should be happening with every other team
I would love to see IndyCar come to New Hampshire. I would totally go. I love IndyCars on ovals.
should bring back chicagoland
@@charlieboyd4431 yes!!! MORE OVALS both of these two! I also think Charlotte NC would be cool
There should be three 500 mile races!
Indycar needed a new chassis 5 years ago. F2 and F3 use Dallara and get a new car every 4-5 years so why can't Penske get their finger out and get a new car in the next 2 years?
As someone in the UK we get all races ad free on Sky Sports F1 but even there the advertising outside the Indy 500 isn't great. The Nashville race was mentioned on the Baku F1 broadcast but this rarely happens.
Zak Brown is full of brilliant ideations!! This is basically a very good and realistic vision of Indycar's future....
The centeral business district of Denver is an oval, just sayin
What you said at the 36 min mark is what I've been saying forever... Multiple chassis to choose from, to add parady and competitiveness to Indy car....
Outside of the F1 elitists I feel there's more overlap between IndyCar and F1 fans than NASCAR fans, a lot of NASCAR fans only follow NASCAR.
I watch NASCAR, F1, WEC, Indy and MotoGP. I guess I’m the rare non elitist F1 fan. I just wanna see Motorsport! 😊
F1 elitists? Is liking racing from standing start, no hitting for position, no unneeded yellows, zero "overtime" something bad?
@@ronbelanger4113 I think perhaps what the OP meant was "gatekeepers". There are many F1 fans that seek to qualify new fans for the sport.
@@ronbelanger4113yes, elitists. You go to any pro-NASCAR or pro-Indy post on social media and there's at least one comment with the "boring, they only turn left" saying with a lot of upvotes. Don't even want to give Indy a chance because they think it's NASCAR. Furthermore, lots of popularity contest circle jerks and comparisons of F1 drivers to other series' drivers. Any moment a non-F1 driver excels somewhere, there's a million excuses to why that F1 driver didn't do better. It's lame as hell
THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE LUMPING OF ALL THE OVALS! People keep doing that and calling it balanced. There are four types or tracks guys! Also yes, f1 needs to be seen as a competitor, especially in May!
Something I hope FOX (and by extension IMS productions) focuses on is camera angles. Not so much of an issue at street circuits and ovals but some of the camera angles dont convey speed well. An example of this is the camera facing the cars as they travel down the front straightaway at the IMS Road Course race. NASCAR’s chase cam on the straightaway into the bus stop at the Glen this weekend was awesome, maybe you cant make it go 190mph but if they can somehow implement it onto some tracks it would help convey the speed to the casual viewer. Also, when the command to start engines is given I want the microphones pointed directly at the exhausts, I dont know why but it sounds like the cars are idling when they give the command now on TV whereas you can hear them revving if you go in person. Minor things to help the presentation appear more visceral
I completely agree that the podiums need to be better. Most of them look cut-rate and mostly an afterthought. I do agree with Zak that the Detroit podium was pretty cool. The view from that podium this year was pretty legit. Not sure how it translated on TV, but it was cool in person.
Totally disagree about the F1 point. Maybe it’s me being British. F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. In any form. It’s where the fastest drivers, the biggest sponsors, the best engineers in the world converge. IndyCar cannot compete. It’s a national championship. It’s a stage lower in every aspect, especially if F1 is firing on all cylinders like it is in 2024. Most new fans will find IndyCar THROUGH F1. That’s how I found it. If IndyCar accepts that F1 is the motorsport giant. It acts as an F1 extra. For those who want more than just formula 1. It’s really cool like that. It’s another championship to get involved in. If you compete in a way that’s “F1 vs IndyCar” you’ll lose. F1 has the measure on indycar in all aspects. Embrace its popularity to boost your own.
"And that was because most of Europe, had been bombed!"
I shouldn't laugh, but I did.
The tragic accidents aside (2015 was a total freak event sadly) agree that if some safety improvements can be made, Pocono was a great race and should be back on the radar
Ending next year on Labor Day weekend is the best current solution to the end of the year problem. Theres one college football game on the Sunday (which does draw big ratings) but it’s a shame only 500k people watched that pretty solid finale this past weekend.
*of all nascar races to go up against too, Watkins Glenn is always a banger. I don’t blame people for watching it.
When I was kid growing up watching INDYCAR, I thought the Cleveland Burke Lake airport track was one of the most fun and exciting races of the year. Maybe we bring that one back?
It's 50:50 on if that airport will be closed. Other than that, Mike Lannigan at RLL has said in the past he'd make it happen if he got a title sponsor.
Why don't they build a new racetrack?
Scott Borchetta and Zac Brown would make the series brilliant. No question.
You mentioned real looking street circuits. It seems that Indycar has moved away from that and towards circuits that look like a child designed them -- like Nashville and the new Detroit circuit -- on purpose to cause crashes. As for Mexico, we hear that a Mexico City trip is too far and expensive. It is too bad they cannot return to Monterey, which is closer to Texas, but it looks on google maps like part of that circuit has been destroyed since CCWS last ran there.
I agree getting more going in North America before looking beyond the continent is a good idea. I knew some people who went to their first Indycar races this year at Milwaukee (their home track) and fell in love with it. Bring back the Glen, TMS, Pocono, Michigan, Kentucky, and New Hampshire. Leave alternate tires for roads and streets.
I disagree with Surfer's being a "real" race circuit. I remember lots of crashing, and at least two places where there were chicanes that only allowed one car through at a time. To me, that is a no-no for good racing -- no different than a track that is too narrow like parts of Nashville.
I made it your channel as a Mclaren F1 fan. I have always been kinda interested in the sport but never gave it any thought until I was introduced to Pato through a Mclaren cross promo video. That sparked a interest to start following indy car and I have been subscribed ever since. So you got at least 1 sub directly from Mclaren being in indy.
I dunno about a stick and ball guy but they sure as hell need someone who isn't preaching to the choir.
At least needs to be a car guy, and somebody who can promote the series.
So many good comments. Yes, the schedule needs to be filled in better early in the year. Yes, there should be more races before Indianapolis. I'd love to see IndyCar back at Watkins Glen, but there's a hitch...the France family's ongoing antipathy to IndyCar. I wish I were confident the Brickyard and Iowa double headers were going to fix that, but I remember when ISC would only make dates available when Watkins Glen was cold and rainy and Kansas was likely to be 100 degrees air temp.
Also great comments about street courses. They're great IF they're wide enough to race on, IF they have something beyond 90 degree turns into blind alleys, and IF they have decent pit lanes that don't funnel so badly they block the entire track if there's an incident at the exit...like we saw at Nashville a few years ago.
I disagree with Zach about the double header race weekends. I think they're special events and they add spice to the season. I know Iowa didn't race well this year, but it will age in and become the track we love once again.
And YES, WE NEED A NEW CAR!!!
The comments about race weekends and track time. Every race that has a Sunday race should do like Long Beach, have 2 practices on Friday and a Saturday morning practice before qualifying. The stuff of a 2 day race schedule is crazy. Indycar needs track time for exposure and teams need it for learning their cars. Zac is not far off on some of his comments
We need a Texas race added back to the schedule. The weather is beautiful Feb-May.
I selfishly wouldn't mind something like a 3-4 race fall series in Japan/Australia. I live on the West Coast, and those races would start late pm on Saturday, avoiding the NFL on Fox, Sunday.
Well, back in the ‘60s, they had something like that - the Tasman series, and usually 2/3 of the F1 field would turn up for it. Creating a new Tasman series with indycar hardware would actually be a novel idea.
I would love to see IndyCar return to tracks like Chicagoland, Kentucky, Homestead, Pikes Peak, or New Hampshire.
Even if Pato retires tomorrow, Mexico City should be a target for Indycar. It's the biggest city in North America, for the haulers the driving distance from Indianapolis is the same as the trip to Laguna Seca, and there's an fia grade 1 track accessible by bus, train and foot sitting next to an international airport with direct flights to almost everywhere. Even a poor promotional effort could bring the largest crowd outside of the 500, and it would certainly create new fans. We will see how the nascar race goes, but I suspect it will be a great success.
Great video David, as always. I would argue AGAINST Pocono and for The Glen for a few reasons:
1) Pocono is really a dump. The grounds, infrastructure, etc. are NOT well cared for. It's like the Nascar weekend is their sole focus (and no doubt it funds the entirety of the remainder of their year). I do love that the racing there is typically pretty good, but I struggle to see what support series can help fill the weekend. IndyNXT doesn't seem to want anything to do with super speedways (somewhat understandably, and no, Nashville isn't a super speedway, despite the name!) Years back SVRA was a 'support' series during the weekend, but they had us racing on the infield mickey-mouse course while the Indycars were on the big oval! I can't see how folks would make the journey to the boonies of NE Pennsylvania just to see 4-5 hours total of Indycar on-track activity over the entire weekend.
2) The Glen has an aura about it, there is so much history and there's just a special feeling on arrival, like driving through the gate at Road America, or beneath the south short chute at Indy. The full track Indycars race is a genuine challenge and a favorite amongst the drivers. It's a fast, technical track that rewards some bravery and can bite very hard when you go over the line. Granted, history shows attendance here for Indycars has been mediocre at best, but there is a huge population mass with 3-4 hours drive (we're just west of Philadelphia and it's a 4hr drive for us) and with proper marketing and some patience (give it 4-5 years to gain some momentum, hell when we race up there with SVRA at the vintage GP there are usually 30K spectators and campers to watch us amateur hacks). Indy NXT would be great on that track, and additional support series like the Porsche Cup, TransAm/iGT, or even the Radical Cup could easily put 8-10 hours of on-track action on each day.
Just my Internet 2¢ opinion! 🙂
I spoke to someone influential in motorsports recently and he said that Indycar will not be successful until they are able to race on ovals around the country. His perspective was that the best show Indycar puts on was at Texas and on ovals in general, and that road courses don’t provide the best show because the cars can’t be seen by the fans for most of the lap. How can indycar modify their car formula to allow more oval racing? Pocono is a great track, but the cars are simply too dangerous to be driven there. Same thing with Michigan.
The last several races prove why IndyCar oval racing is awesome!
Then how is IMSA and F1 able to run strictly road courses and be as popular or more than IndyCar? It sounds like this guy with motorsport influence is strictly a Dirt/NASCAR guy.
@@danielhenderson8316 valid assumption. The marketing approach and depth of history is what allows F1 and IMSA their wealth of fans. Those series also have a greater wealth of historic “classic” races. Indycar’s greatest venue is the Indy 500 and nothing else on the schedule even attempts to be that grand. That’s why I posit the question what can be done to run on more ovals? We need more events like the 500.
@@killacam197. The Godsend for the recent rise in ovals have been with Independent parties like Bommarito Auto Group, HyVee, or Big Machine renting an oval and promoting events themselves because IndyCar and NASCAR are stuck in the 90's mindset of "You should be thankful we're racing in your town so we don't need to promote it."
The FOX deal is going to be the big make or break deal to generate interest in the series. Every team in Indy NXT are excited that they might get sponsors since no one watched them on Peacock.
But we've already lived through what an Oval only IndyCar series and what happened when Tony George's 10 year deal with IMS ended in 2009ish when IndyCar was almost universally thrown out of every IMS oval at the same time.
Indycar can race on more ovals but the leadership doesn’t have guts!
I would love to see IndyCar open up to have multiple chassis manufacturers. Ie: March, Lola, Penske etc. It would bring back more competition. Yes it's a money issue, but it could make for better racing.
It takes more than one company to play. When IndyCar put out tenders for the DW12, only Dallara was interested in competition while Swift, Panoz, Deltawing, and a couple other makers wanted exclusivity. I don't see that changing if Honda is still threatening to leave the series.
I really want to see IndyCar in Mexico, I think it is long overdue, but instead of just going to the Hermanos Rodriguez, I wish some money was put into bringing the oval in Puebla up to spec, would be great to have an oval race outside the USA.
In the sense of an international series. In the winter when you have the NFL going in the US, run a money and points paying series in markets such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, markets not hit by other international series. Events like Kylami, Motegi, Gold Coast, Tuapo, Interlagos, Bathurst. Have large prize pots for these events to encourage teams to come.
Bathurst would suck for Indycar, but eastern creek would be perfect especially with the new airport.
Burke Lakefront! Best Ever. Pocono Sucks! As someone who has raced both multiple times...that's the facts.
Top priority should be a new chassis and engine with at least two suppliers for each. IndyCar also needs to focus on shoring up the domestic side of things before planning anything international. Another 500 mile race on a 2+ mile oval would be nice.
The last time they took tenders for the DW12, Dallara was the only maker interested in competition. Everyone else from Swift, Panoz, Deltawing, and one or two others wanted exclusive wanted to be exclusive. I don't see that changing, and I'm also not convinced Honda is going to stick around after 2025.
As someone who attended the Portland GP & only saw the cars qualify & race, I am totally in favor of adding more practice sessions. It is embarrassing in my view that Formula E was able to do two days of practice at the same Portland track (which I also attended) over a doubleheader weekend over 2 days & Indycar could only do one over the course of a 3 day weekend. I definitely agree with the view that the more time the cars are on track, the more it builds interest in the race. Another thing that Indycar needs to address going forward when it comes to the spectator experience is to make autograph sessions & paddock access complimentary with every ticket purchase. This in my view would greatly increase interest in Indycar especially among younger fans because they would have access to the cars & drivers & see them up close.
IC needs to increase their footprint. Reduce the reliance on the Midwest. 2 in the northeast. + mid Atlantic. + Denver. 1 more southwest + Mexico + Brazil.
400K people watched the finale. Let that sink in
Ouch, and it was such a good race, and on NETWORK TV!
@@PaperBanjo64 485k to be exact. But still not good for a finale featuring a 3-way battle for the championship
@@maiasdad no it's not, IndyCar marketing needs to up their game!
@@maiasdadNASCAR was on the same time as Indycar it should’ve been an Indycar Saturday night race on a oval like auto club used to be a decade ago!
F1 sucks, everything else Zak said is golden. Mark Miles seems to be a few decades behind the times. I appreciate his history w/ IndyCar but I would be happy to see someone embracing the kinds of ideologies that Zak has suggested. Feeling hopeful...
with regard to the "podium" I don't think Zack was talking about the post race celebration with 3 drivers BUT the physical stage and presentation of the winner and/or top three. There are places like Long Beach and Iowa where the "podium" or "winners circle" area are brutally amateurish. Sometimes its a long bed trailer with a skirt on it. It is sometimes located in a back area where only a few fans can be a part of the celebration. I completely agree with a Winners Only mentality. This country doesn't celebrate 2nd or 3rd.
I read all of Zak’s stuff and it’s hard to disagree with him, I would so love to see Indycar down here in London at Brands Hatch Indy, Pack the place out like I know they can with Sky Sports Indycar and Tom and Neil promoting the hell out of it like they do every weekend but deep down I also know how much indycar Is struggling outside of the 500. We are lucky in the UK in the fact it’s on 1 channel and we have a team who care about it and want it showcased, we even get the Indy 500 on the big sports channel. When I was in Los Angeles this summer I saw the hell that US fans go through, okay there was breaking news but I was flicking between CNBC, NBC, USA to watch the Iowa race. We just need STABILITY!
I went to the Champ Car race at Brands in 2003, it was cool to watch but IndyCar doesn’t need to traipse all the way over to Europe.
If by ‘Tom’ you mean Tom Gaymore - keep him well away from IndyCar, TV, commentating and just anything in general. I cannottttttt staaaaaaaaaaaaand thewayhe exteeeeeeeeeends thencompresses eeeeeeeeeeeverysentence
@@jack4688To be fair Gaymor isn't really there as a commentator, he just fills in with chat during the enumerable and breaks. Yes ideally Sky should have their own commentator and summariser but they clearly don't think it warrants it.
I would personally like to see them add international races and also make them points paying races. Some of the places I would add include:
1. Lausitzring Oval (Germany)
2. Twin Ring Motegi
3. Surfers Paradise
4. Donington or Brands Hatch
5. Magny-Cours
6. Kyalami (kinda unrealistic)
Besides need title sponsors, Motegi is impossible since the 2011 Earthquake damaged the oval beyond repair, and if we're going to Japan to race at a Honda owned track, my vote is for Suzuka.
@@danielhenderson8316 If they didn't want to go an F1 track, they could probably go to Autopolis or Okayama, but Suzuka would be a great choice
@@smokeybandit9760 If Toyota would join and wanted to host a race, then Mt. Fuji would be a great spot. The main straight is longer than the straights at Indy.
@@danielhenderson8316 Yeah I would like Fuji too but it's owned by Toyota and Honda probably wouldn't like that
@@smokeybandit9760 There was talk of Toyota joining before COVID that got smashed because of regime change, and there's still a 50/50 chance Honda doesn't stick around after 2025. However, Honda's NASCAR idea hit a speed bump when they told NASCAR they refuse to build a Pushrod V8 engine to compete. That will need more manufacturers to push NASCAR into DOHC before Honda joins up.
I agree with billgoodwin we need more super speedways like Michigan , pocono, and Indy because that is what drew to the sport . The speed’s and such.
I mean for me that is what attracted me to sport . I like road courses we need an equal representation of each.
Nothing like an IndyCar running 240+ MPH on an oval! High speeds, high stakes, balls to the wall racing!
This was a great video, thanks for not making it "members only"
Lots to think about, and seems like most agree with Zak. That said, throwing around ideas is the easy part, and making it work is something else
My only 2 cents are that the series needs to be pushing hard for growth. F1 has shown that customer base for racing is there. Baseball has shown fans react positively to shorter durations. These are trends indycar needs to grab onto. A lot of money is out there, just waiting to be pulled in
The podium comments are 100% correct from fat brown, f1 is a competitor and so is every form of racing, and the 465 loop is correct. From Greenwood I don’t see hardly any Indycar stuff at all unlike before it became Indycar it was everywhere all over the state and tv
If going international, there are three tracks to go to: Buenos Aires, Monterrey (Parque Fundidora or the permanent track), and Augascalientes/Chiapas (Mexican short tracks)
The way he talks about tracks like Watkins Glen it makes me wonder if there’s not some issue that they have with NASCAR. Maybe NASCAR is asking for more money to hold a race than what Indycar wants to pay. Could be that Roger doesn’t want to pay that much for the sanctioning fee.
For a theme song, maybe they should talk to Sammy Hagar about using "I Can't Drive 55". That would be perfect!
As a fan, I actually like double header weekends, but I do understand where teams don't like it.
Dang, if only there were a smallish oval located near Nazareth PA that could serve the northwestern market and wasn’t in complete disrepair…
it was a borefest though
"Maybe even a TV camera and microphone in Race Control would help to create a more transparent decision-making process."
If there's one way to show that the decision makers are making it up as they go along, it's that. "Mikey, this is so not right!"
WEC and Aussie Supercars has radio from Race Control during the races to announce what's going on.
Only improvement I see is thermal is now for points.
Only bad I see is gateway in mid June. St. Louis is brutal hot.
That's going to be a warm race...Holy cow...
Zac is spot on....the podiums are crap and the overall track condition and presentation are sub par for a top tier racing series. And enough of the rich guys track exhibition racing .....
Also agree that indy shouls go to all of North and South America....dont try to compete internationally w/ F1....be the premier open wheel series in the Americas.
@IndyCar really should hire you IMO,
Start the season at Daytona! Just do the Road Course. IndyCar and Nascar should not fight each other but support each other.
Our fanbase and yours don't look eye to eye. I don't like this series.
Zach is right about Indycar and F1. A rising tide lifts all boats. They can be competitors as well as partners. Also, F1 is disruptable on so sooooo many fronts from tv production to rules enforcement, multiple consecutive seasons where there's only one dominant team, etc. First grow the pie, then try taking a bigger slice.
Disruptable?
mosport would be great. the place would be packed !
There should not be Podiums for Ovals. Road courses have historically had podiums and should continue, but this recent addition of Oval podiums needs to go.
My number one gripe with Indy races is all the f’ing cuts in action to blast my senses with advertisements. It’s unwatchable.
There’s a oval in colorado called pikes peak international raceway Indycar should go there!
F1 is not a competitor to Indycar . F1 is a global sport . Indycar is a domestic sport .
Yup, they try so hard to make the minor national series seem like F1.
My letter to Zak Brown: Your team should have been F’Ro, Pato and Ericsson
What I'd like is for there to be more ovals and a bigger car count. And while I like the racing with the current car there needs to be a new car. Makes the series look kinda silly running a 12 year old car. I think you hit the nail right on the head, David.
A race in Denver would be very interesting, to me, because of the altitude/thin air.
Pocono? What would be required to make that track safe for Indycar?
The ability to repair the catch fence without resorting to using a fence gate would be a start. The taller SAFER Barrier at Turn 2 would also be a good idea as that seems to be the "Turn of Death" for IndyCar drivers.
Fire Mark Miles. Get someone in there whos forward thinking and has a passion for advancing the sport.
A lot of these points Zak Brown made in this open letter he made on the Dale Jr download...... so I would not say this was a closed letter that he put on blast as he made the points on Dale's Jr podcast
It was an open letter posted on the McLaren website before Nashville.
@@I_Evo The Dale Jr interview with him was released on morning of 9/11 so not sure when the interview was recorded, had to be on 9/10 or before ........ so well before Nashville
Mosport would be awesome. Old Canadian F1 track