What shape is IndyCar really in?
How solid are the Strong teams noted in blue?
With the state of the economy, auto manufacturers in serious peril and possible failure, NASCAR shutting down race shops, laying off employees, teams closing up shop, and iconic NASCAR team owners forced into mergers, I cannot believe Indy Car is on real solid ground for the “Full Season."
There is always a big drop in car count following Indy, and many of these teams are good thru Indy only?
It also appears that motorsports in general is losing ground in TV ratings and attendance.
The IRL fell into the same trap Champ Car did by signing a bad TV deal. It killed Champ Car’s exposure, so what will the IRL do after Indy and for the full season? Bad move….
I also cannot believe with the current state of auto manufacturing that Audi, VW, or anybody else would spend a lot of money with a marginal motorsports program like the IRL……
Any insight will be interesting. Bill K.
Dear Bill, The cost of entry into IndyCar is a fraction of that to enter NASCAR, however, the TV ratings are a fraction of NASCAR's so in that regard it might be a wash. For sure any momentum IndyCar got from the merger with Champ Car has been wiped out by the global recession.
The Versus TV deal will have a negative effect on IndyCar in the USA, however, the key was sticking with ESPN International for overseas TV distribution. Because of that the cumulative number of people watching IndyCar races globally will dwarf their USA TV ratings and save the day so-to-speak for those sponsors who sell product globally and want that exposure. The IRL got it right in that regard, but Versus? Sigh……
It is hard to say what car count will look like for 2009, but I doubt it will surpass 2008 numbers, which is what one might gather by looking at the current Silly Season page. Mark C.