Great Racing. Not Popular

The IndyCar series has put on some GREAT racing this year, yet the racing community hardly has noticed. What can IndyCar do to get back on the map. They are facing financial strain, and poor TV numbers (outside of the 500). The racing here has been great for the last couple of years.
 
They are trying to get some foreign races, but nobody is really interested.

Domestically, they are not terribly popular either. NASCAR trounces it in ratings and attendance outside of memorial day. In-fact, recently (I don't know about presently) the series, even with the Indy 500 was not profitable.
 
It's all behind paywalls in Europe. Nobody's going to watch if it's on pay tv. In my opinion, they should provide some sort of free stream for Europeans and see how it goes, then eventually add pay features. (i.e. Indycar app, bonus content) Right now, I'm the only person I know that watches Indycar and it's a massive hassle to even find a stream or VODs.
 
Watched most of the races this season, also found a decent stream for it.

Doesn't seem that popular atm, stands looked pretty empty at yesterday's race. Afaik they tried to expand the calendar, but things didn't really work out (e.g. they had to cancel the race at Brazil this season). Racing is great imo, although yesterday was a bit too extreme.
 
Yesterday's race was one of the most exciting I've ever seen , be it road course or oval. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. The first 250 miles were run without any cautions. Even the last half of the race was outstanding. The cars were 4 and 5 wide on occasion with lots of wheel - to - wheel racing and even some contact that didn't cause an accident.
The fan in me really enjoyed it , but it was unquestionably extreme! There were drivers that thought it was insane and some that thought it was fun.
 
Just watched the race at Fontana. That was an insane race, but while it was fun to watch, it also seemed way too dangerous. Could've easily ended in disaster like it did 4 years ago...
 
It was different than LVMS 2011, but it was dangerous.

Bring less down force if they return next year. That should spread them out a little bit.
 
Just watched the race at Fontana. That was an insane race, but while it was fun to watch, it also seemed way too dangerous. Could've easily ended in disaster like it did 4 years ago...
I just finished watching the very same race and I have to agree; while it is spectacular it's also way too dangerous. I'm relieved there were only a couple of major incidents and nobody got hurt in that last one..

Even the drivers are complaining that it's just too hectic and dangerous.
 
Somewhere between the MAVTV 500 and the Firestone 550 would be perfect. Both races were pretty good, but the Texas race would have left many casual viewers bored.

That's the problem with trying to get a racing series popular in the US.
 
Exactly, and I think Power's post race comment was spot-on.
Some of the younger drivers said they enjoyed it. I particularly like A.J. Foyt's comment , "Sure it's dangerous , but they're racing."
I'm not sure comparisons to Las Vegas in 2011 are accurate. Vegas is a track with fewer grooves and had about 33% more cars on the track.
Superspeedways are always going to be more dangerous. What happened at Fontana is the type of racing that might help put more people in the stands. There are other drivers waiting in the wings if some of these guys don't want to race.
 
Some of the younger drivers said they enjoyed it. I particularly like A.J. Foyt's comment , "Sure it's dangerous , but they're racing."
I'm not sure comparisons to Las Vegas in 2011 are accurate. Vegas is a track with fewer grooves and had about 33% more cars on the track.
Superspeedways are always going to be more dangerous. What happened at Fontana is the type of racing that might help put more people in the stands. There are other drivers waiting in the wings if some of these guys don't want to race.

Not much needs to be said. This series is hurting financially, and they are struggling to get dates on the calendar. Especially at ovals. This could help, but is it worth it?
nqmuzi-autoclubempties.jpg
 
Not much needs to be said. This series is hurting financially, and they are struggling to get dates on the calendar. Especially at ovals. This could help, but is it worth it?
nqmuzi-autoclubempties.jpg
Supposedly the management at Fontana said they will have the series back if they can get their old September date. June in the desert is not the ideal time to schedule the race. The other thing they need to do is extend the end of the season beyond August.
 
was an epic race, probably a little too close for comfort. they could sort of get away with it given how ridiculously wide fontana is, if the texas race had been this style of pack racing that would've been really troublesome.

the indy management needs to stop dicking this track around and give it a proper date.
 
was an epic race, probably a little too close for comfort. they could sort of get away with it given how ridiculously wide fontana is, if the texas race had been this style of pack racing that would've been really troublesome.
Well, I think that if drivers learn to race this kind of racing will be awesome. Some drivers were too aggressive (Rahal in some parts for example).
 
I don't want too many drivers to be less aggressive. Maybe Sato, but Rahal was alright.
Texas is not the place for this kind of racing, and neither is Pocono. Fontana is the place they can do this safely IMO.

Remove some down force, and it will be perfect. Not too much, but just a little.
 
I am lucky enough to be able to watch IndyCar and I love it more than F1.. I love cameras and the engines and sound and the speed, I am European so I usually watch road tracks.. Best thing about IndyCar is that they tend to leave a lot of pov cameras ON so we can watch the race itself from driver's perspective and that is what we enthusiasts want actually.. Rahal is my favorite driver for sure, I just loved the Alabama race when he caught up so fast and overtook Scott Dixon
 

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