Rumor: Penske to sell IndyCar and IMS to Liberty Media (Update)

This is too funny really.  It would seem what we wrote as an April Fool’s joke has spread throughout the IndyCar paddock as a viable rumor.

Penske says he’s not selling, but that’s too bad really because a company like Liberty Media can do so much more for the NTT IndyCar series than even what Roger Penske can do.

While Liberty tried to buy IndyCar before Penske bought it, they have not made any attempt to buy it from Penske just yet.

However, as F1 grows in popularity, and its ability to satisfy the demand for race events around the world, Liberty may make another run at IndyCar at some point, make it Formula 1b, roll it into their fabulous global TV contracts (that would make IndyCar team owners filthy rich with sponsor money), so it can satisfy the global demand for F1.

Today, IndyCar is a small domestic series with one big race a year – the Indy 500.

Liberty would turn IndyCar into Formula 1b and every race in various countries around the world (including the USA) would be as big as the Indy 500.

Rumor has it that Roger Penske, seeing how big F1 has become under Liberty Media, and given Roger is getting up there in age (85) and needs a succession plan for his motorsports business, has agreed in principle to sell the NTT IndyCar Series, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Liberty.

According to the rumor, Liberty Media will look to standardize regulations, race procedures and engines between the two series.

Mercedes, Alpine, Ferrari, and soon to be announced Porsche and Audi will participate in both series along with Honda and Chevy.

Why you may ask?

Because the races in both series will be shown on the same global TV networks as F1. In other words, the IndyCar broadcast deal will piggyback on the F1 contracts.  As such, the exposure for these manufacturers is 50x what it is for IndyCar today, making the added expense worth it for these companies.

And because the engines will be identical in both series, current IndyCar manufacturers Chevy and Honda have agreed to redesign their Turbo V6 engines to the same F1 Turbo V6 specs, and of course be hybrid, which F1 engines have been since 2009.

The IndyCar Series will be renamed Formula 1b and Formula 1 will be referred to as Formula 1a.

Given his current application to enter F1, Andretti Autosport will be approved to have a team in both Formula 1a and Formula 1b with Honda engines.

Oval races will be eliminated from the series because they are so poorly attended and a black eye on the sport’s image. In return because F1 cannot satisfy the current demand worldwide for its races, Formula 1b will step in to fill the gap at places like Hockenheim, Nurburgring, Istanbul, Kyalami, etc.

IndyCar teams will also have a chance to qualify for the USA F1 races in Las Vegas, Miami and at COTA in Austin, as well as the races in Montreal and Mexico City.

The Indy 500 will still be called the Indy 500, and run on Memorial Day.  However, it will run on the IMS road course in the opposite direction.  33 cars will start (standing start and rolling start on alternate years) , all the current F1 teams will participate, and there will be bumping.

Ferrari is hoping to put their 2 cars on the front row of the grid. The tifosi will go berserk, and sponsors will be slamming down the doors of IndyCar teams wanting to put their company names on the sidepods of their cars.

There is even a talk of a year-end playoff for overall champion between the Formula 1a and Formula 1b series’.

Stay tuned!

Mark C. signing off for now on this first day of April, 2022.