2014 IndyCar schedule

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

But good enough to be excited about on the whole.

I would have thought that would have been enough to be interested or excited in the 2014 schedule which still has good venues, new drivers & a proven package to deliver good racing.

The problem with 2014, as it stands, is everything is crammed in to a rather short time frame, with a very long off season.

If IndyCar wants to get back to what it once was, it only has to look at the late 80s early 90s as far as venues are concerned. It worked, but Tony George thought better and ruined it.

[Paradise City]

The problem from which all other problems stem from is the dismals ratings. If they can somehow crack that aspect then other aspects of the series can be jump started and the series will have a future. If they don't crack that, then sooner or later there'll be another sponsorship exodus. This winter and spring is going to be very important.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Apparently, the revised Indy road course has better overtaking.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/110265

[JacobP]

I don't understand the urge to hold the Indy road race so close to the 500. Is this because of the USCR race the same week? This indeed will affect the prestige as well as the attendance of the 500 IMHO. Personally, I probably wouldn't want to attend two races on the same venue being spaced away from each other by just 4-5 weeks. I doubly wouldn't want to attend both if I had to travel from out of town. Imagine explaining this to your spouse ("same race, are you nuts?").

The correct way to do the Indy road GP is to divorce it as much as possible from the 500. One way to do it would be to move the road race as late in the calendar as possible, maybe September or November. Or maybe kick off the entire season with that race. However, holding it in May will dilute the great event that is the 500. Can you imagine the idea of a Monaco GP "Lite" or Silverstone "lite" held the same month with the main GP? Most people would call this absurd. Have we run out of all the good venues and now need to recycle some of them? Last time I checked: not. How about pairing up with USCR at the Road America, Sonoma, or Watkins Glen?

[Salamus]

Originally Posted by JacobP

I don't understand the urge to hold the Indy road race so close to the 500.

It is part of May in Indy.

Originally Posted by JacobP

This indeed will affect the prestige as well as the attendance of the 500 IMHO.

Not really.

Originally Posted by JacobP

However, holding it in May will dilute the great event that is the 500. Can you imagine the idea of a Monaco GP "Lite" or Silverstone "lite" held the same month with the main GP?

They are using the road course, not the oval. Think of it like the Duels at Daytona, just another gimmick. But personally, I like this idea.

[NaBUru38]

I don't like the idea of having two IndyCar races at Indianapolis. It dillutes the prestige of the 500.

But I must admit that it makes sense, both from the economic and marketing points of view.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Salamus

They are using the road course, not the oval. Think of it like the Duels at Daytona, just another gimmick. But personally, I like this idea.

It is gimmicky but I think to pull a gimmick like this off, it would have been better to have the race as either the season opener or as the season finale, otherwise I feel it will impact on the 500 in terms of TV ratings and crowd attendance.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

it would have been better to have the race as either the season opener or as the season finale, otherwise I feel it will impact on the 500 in terms of TV ratings and crowd attendance.

Not as bad as holding a race in March, in Indiana.

I know you are from the UK, but, usually we still have an extensive snowpack in March, and usually isn't gone until April.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by MoMedic9019

Not as bad as holding a race in March, in Indiana.

I know you are from the UK, but, usually we still have an extensive snowpack in March, and usually isn't gone until April.

I'm originally from California, so I'm spoilt for good weather in the spring.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I'm originally from California, so I'm spoilt for good weather in the spring.

I'm not saying we shouldn't, it could potentially be hilarious fun. I wonder how well soft wets, or inters deal with sleet.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by MoMedic9019

I'm not saying we shouldn't, it could potentially be hilarious fun. I wonder how well soft wets, or inters deal with sleet.

Maybe IndyCar should switch tyre manufacturer to Michelin. They've developed an all weather tyre for Formula E and one of the teams competing is Andretti Autosport....just saying.

[Paradise City]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

It is gimmicky but I think to pull a gimmick like this off, it would have been better to have the race as either the season opener or as the season finale, otherwise I feel it will impact on the 500 in terms of TV ratings and crowd attendance.

It would fill the gulf in the month of May that would've previously been filled with practice but the appeal of practice has been flagging for years now so they may as well run a race on a roadcourse that would be sharply distinct to the oval and be productive with the time and space that would be otherwise wasted. Don't know if it'll pay off exactly but there's probably not a lot to lose either. It's not as if they are running two races on the oval itself.

The roadcourse is sharply distinct to the legendary oval. There's no real danger it'll detract from the 500 no more than the Brickyard 400 does.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

It would fill the gulf in the month of May that would've previously been filled with practice but the appeal of practice has been flagging for years now so they may as well run a race on a roadcourse that would be sharply distinct to the oval and be productive with the time and space that would be otherwise wasted. Don't know if it'll pay off exactly but there's probably not a lot to lose either. It's not as if they are running two races on the oval itself.

The roadcourse is sharply distinct to the legendary oval. There's no real danger it'll detract from the 500 no more than the Brickyard 400 does.

Not wanting to sound glib but we'll just have to wait until May 2014.

[Beetle]

The 2014 schedule will be released on the NBC Fontana Preview Show, according to RACER.com...

http://www.racer.com/2014-indycar-sc...rticle/316210/

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Beetle

The 2014 schedule will be released on the NBC Fontana Preview Show, according to RACER.com...

http://www.racer.com/2014-indycar-sc...rticle/316210/

I'm not going to hold my breath.

[D.R.T.]

You dont think they will air the show or that the schedule wont be announced?

[Peat]

Season starts at the end of March (St Pete) and ends on Labor Day.

Same number of races.

What a grind.

[mythoughtsareracing]

http://www.racer.com/2014-indycar-ca...rticle/316700/

March 30 – St. Petersburg
April 13 – Long Beach
April 26 – Barber Park (Saturday)
May 10 – IMS road course (Saturday)
May 17-18 – Indy 500 qualifying.
May 25 – Indianapolis 500
May 31-June 1 – Detroit double-header
June 7 – Texas (Saturday night)
June 28-29 – Houston double-header
July 6 – Pocono
July 12 – Iowa (Saturday night)
July 19-20 – Toronto double-header
August 3 – Mid-Ohio
August 17 – Milwaukee
August 24 – Sonoma
August 30 – Fontana (Saturday night)

6 Ovals (Indy, Texas, Pocono, Iowa, Milwaukee, Fontana)

8 Street circuits (St. Pete, Long Beach, Detroit X 2, Houston X 2, Toronto X 2)

4 Road courses (Barber, Indy, Mid-Ohio, Sonoma)



This schedule sucks for a number of reasons.


The compactness will make people forget about IndyCar. Unless Mark Miles announces his International Series soon, teams are going to have some very difficult human resource decisions to make.
Never mind that race fans will completely forget about IndyCar between August and March.


The compact schedule is going to be hell on the teams, although the schedule has been modified to make the travel requirements a little more workable. It's still a grind for them.



Too many street circuits. Cut the double-headers on street circuits and do them on proper road courses.... If any road courses would be willing to host a IndyCar two-fer.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by mythoughtsareracing

This schedule sucks for a number of reasons.

The compactness will make people forget about IndyCar. Unless Mark Miles announces his International Series soon, teams are going to have some very difficult human resource decisions to make.

While I dont totally agree with the shortness of the season, the compactness and consistency of races should enhance peoples connections to Indycar. If they can get consistent TV times - fans and sponsors can count on seeing the series every second week which is a benefit.

Obviously the off season / international series is needed if you finish at the end of August.

Originally Posted by mythoughtsareracing

Too many street circuits. Cut the double-headers on street circuits and do them on proper road courses.... If any road courses would be willing to host a IndyCar two-fer.

Double headers at road courses would be a great addition however the street circuit promoters want double headers as 2013 showed - it helped attendances.

[bjohnsonsmith]

That's a huge off-season.

It begs the question how will small survive; Panther just lost NG as sponsor?

[D.R.T.]

Thats where the proposed international season would come into play.

The alternative I guess would be to put staff on 8month contracts

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Thats where the proposed international season would come into play.

The alternative I guess would be to put staff on 8month contracts

And what are they supposed to do for the rest of the year? I can see a lot of these people trying to get jobs in NASCAR, for example, which will hit the smaller IndyCar teams.

There's been nothing about this interbational season since it was 'mentioned'.

[NaBUru38]

So, no surprises about the tracks, just reshuffling of dates for Houston and Milwaukee.

No clashes with Daytona, Sebring or Le Mans, great! No excessive gaps, great!

Barber on Saturday? That's odd. Houston in June will be a mess, Fontana is August probably too.

Two intense stretches in may and July, that will be tough for everyone (including me).

August 10 is open. How about adding Road America for a Wisconsin Augustfest?

[NaBUru38]

6 Ovals (Indy, Texas, Pocono, Iowa, Milwaukee, Fontana)

8 Street circuits (St. Pete, Long Beach, Detroit X 2, Houston X 2, Toronto X 2)

4 Road courses (Barber, Indy, Mid-Ohio, Sonoma)

Actually, it's 8 street races on 5 street courses. 6 ovals versus 9 road/street courses. That sounds ok to me.

The compactness will make people forget about IndyCar. Unless Mark Miles announces his International Series soon, teams are going to have some very difficult human resource decisions to make.

Never mind that race fans will completely forget about IndyCar between August and March.

I totally agree. But NFL and NBA work fine with compact schedules.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

And what are they supposed to do for the rest of the year? I can see a lot of these people trying to get jobs in NASCAR, for example, which will hit the smaller IndyCar teams.

There's been nothing about this interbational season since it was 'mentioned'.

For sure they will try and get jobs in NASCAR - I think plenty would be trying regardless maybe due to pay etc

Employment contracts arent uncommon in the sports industry.

Losing quality people would hurt any team - not just the small teams however I dont think there will be a skill shortage (people) in the Indycar to fill the void should anyone leave.

Derrick Walker would very much be aware of the above as well.