IndyCar’s scheduling and marketing problems

IndyCar under CART at Fontana before (packed grandstands)

IndyCar at Fontana Now. Tony George's 'vision' realized (empty grandstands)

FONTANA, Calif. — Ryan Hunter-Reay's family lives a moderate Southern California commute from Auto Club Speedway, well within the marketing reach of a world media capital. But if not for being related to the former IndyCar series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, they wouldn't have known the 11th race of the IndyCar season was even taking place, he said.

And that, he said, is a problem the series should address as it devises its 2016 schedule.

"I'd like to get rid of the ovals where there's nobody in the stands," Hunter-Reay told USA TODAY Sports as a smattering of fans wandered the grounds of the track on Friday. "I think there's no reason to go racing at a place where nobody shows up. And I think the first problem with that, that whole scenario, the whole equation, is that it's not marketed. I have my family living right here on the coast and they haven't even heard about the race. There's problem one, right?

"Well, problem two is we don't have anybody in the stands and that needs to be changed. Let's go racing where people are, and where people will show up at certain ovals."

Although entertainment options abound in the Los Angeles area, so do potential ticket-buyers. And although billboards in the area were dominated by summer blockbusters likeTerminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL, many were available to remind a car-centric metro area of around 13 million residents that a race was being held on Saturday in the Inland Empire.

There might not be another IndyCar race to overlook next season even though International Speedway Corp. and IndyCar are interested in a return under agreeable conditions.

The miniscule crowd that attended the race on Saturday was certainly impacted by a change in date from its more traditional early- or late-season slot and a mid-day start time in the heat of the day, but it was also another symptom in a general oval malaise, said IndyCar chief executive Mark Miles.

"There seems to be some sort of inverse correlation between ovals and crowds, and I don't know how to explain that, but we have to deal with the reality of it," Miles told USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously, here, date is an issue. But when you try to do a calendar you only have so much flexibility and so many choices and whether we can find a spot to keep this one in a place where they think they can be successful or not, we'll have to work out in the next few weeks. It's a broader issue. And our friends at NASCAR went at it basically by downsizing, and we're at a bunch of their tracks."

Non-ovals, which comprise 10 of 16 events, continue to be considered also. IndyCar is discussing parameters including market saturation and finances with Road America for a possible return to the road course in rural Wisconsin. Miles said he was assured last week by NOLA Motorsports Park president and promoter Kristen Engeron that her facility will "absolutely" host its second race despite an on-going breach of contract lawsuit filed by Andretti Sports Marketing.

Citing oval racing as integral to a series that exists because of the Indianapolis 500, Miles said IndyCar has taken steps to help it flourish such as being "flexible" with sanctioning fees and offering an modest "co-op fund" to help promoters market.

That said, Miles insisted that the series has "plenty of presence in California. We're in Long Beach. That's closer to LA than this is."

"We're not looking to not have (the Fontana race)," he continued. "But it has to work as an event and if it doesn't, it's not helping the owners of the track and it's not helping the series. So we're working on it. If not, we'll find other alternatives."

Those could include two warm-weather sites in former IndyCar markets: Phoenix and Homestead, Fla. Miles said the series is already discussing conditions for a possible return to the 1-mile Phoenix oval, but the ISC track has scheduling hurdles, also, with Sprint Cup races in March and November.

"We're talking with them. But we're not going to put Phoenix in June," Miles said. "So it's a question of what they need to have, adequate separation to (market) both. Their Cup race dates are not changing."

Homestead-Miami Speedway, another ISC facility, has hosted IndyCar's season-opener and finale recently and is another coveted warm-weather venue that could allow the series to commence in February as part of a 16-to-18-race schedule. The Miami market seemed ambivalent to the series' presence by the time it left after 2010, however.

"You're going to look at any reasonable opportunity that is warm. Then you look at market," Miles said. "I'm sure Homestead has not escaped our gaze, whether we're working on it, it's too soon to know." USA Today