Can’t say we didn’t tell you Versus was noose around IndyCar’s neck

The most obvious thing would be for VERSUS to shift at least its race broadcasts to sister network NBC. The Fast Nationals overnight rating for the Indy 500 was higher than NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 this year, but that hasn't always been the case.

Drivers have privately complained about the situation for years. Team Penske president Tim Cindric told the Indianapolis Business Journal last week that changing the television package should be a priority for IndyCar.

“The TV contract is something that needs to change,’’ Cindric said. “We need to try to get on a network with a larger viewing audience. That’s the bottom line. For our sponsors, we have to do anything we can to drive ratings.’’

GoDaddy.com Founder Bob Parsons agrees and candidly told FOXSports.com writer Lee Spencer that it is a deciding factor in where Danica Patrick ends up in 2012, IndyCar or NASCAR. He even suggested this week that Patrick would increase NASCAR ratings.

“The institution of IndyCar, there are some problems here no doubt,’’ Parsons said. “One of them is the VERSUS thing. I will never understand that decision.

“We measure our advertising religiously and our advertising results dropped in half when IndyCar moved to VERSUS. I was teasing somebody, ‘Why don’t they move it to short-wave radio? Broadcast it in Morse code. That’s one of the problems.’’ Fox Sports

[Editor's Note: So they could lose their biggest star because Versus is a noose around IndyCar's neck. We have been saying this since the day they signed that deal. And get this, they didn't hang themselves for 1 or 2 years, they hung themselves for 10, count them 10, years. We like GoDaddy's Bob Parsons quotes, why not just broadcast the race in Morse Code, the result would be the same.]