2012 IICS Schedule Released ...no surprises.

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Permalink Reply by Squall on January 5, 2012 at 2:17pm

Last I checked, 1995 had one-third ovals and two-thirds roads/streets, Greymouser.  It wasn't as balanced as you seem to think.

As for me, I hate the new schedule, and don't think that the abolition of 1.5 high-banked ovals needs to happen.  They just need to get rid of the clone chassis, and the rev-limiters, so they can separate, and lower the downforce at such tracks.

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Permalink Reply by PJ Kirschbaum on January 5, 2012 at 6:51pm

Gil..spot on man....thats what Indycar should be, tough cars , tougher tracks and tough drivers.

Only problem is Cowboy is scared **itless of ANY oval right now, the schedule shows it, What comes from his mouth, is simply covering his fanny.

Hes a supposed wonderboy promoter yet the result of his promotions of the sport have been nothing but FAIL.

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Permalink Reply by Iowa Guy on January 9, 2012 at 3:03pm

My friends (I sound like McCain...), we are witnessing a sea change in the IICS and how the schedules are composed, and it ain't going the way of us in the longtime, loyal fanbase. That has hit me between the eyes yet again with another telling comment from a series staffer that has been relayed to me:

Once again this "fan survey" that was done at some point last year (no one ever contacted me for my opinions) supposedly showed that of the 250,000 people who attend the Indy 500, only about 50,000 of them are "hardcore" Indy Car fans. This is the type of data that is being used by RB and company to shape the future of the series. Will there BE a future? I guess we're going to find out.

The big shift here is that the IICS folks (as PJ alluded to in his post), based on survey data, are now going to start dismissing the hardcore oldschool fans and catering to the newer, younger "event" crowd -- the people who look upon an IICS event on a street or road course as an "entertainment happening," no different than they would a marathon or an art festival. They want to be entertained. They want something on the track at all times. Heaven forbid there should be any downtime. I WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED, DAMN IT! ENTERTAIN ME -- NOW!! I WANT TO SEE PRETTY RACE CARS ZOOMING BY. I DON'T KNOW WHO'S DRIVING MOST OF THEM, AND I DON'T CARE, AS LONG AS I CAN CHEER FOR THAT SEXY WILL POWER EVERY TIME HE COMES BY. Can the series survive with a majority of ticket buyers falling into this category?

The person who relays this stuff says RB still wants to have variety in IICS events and does not want to dismiss ovals, but they just don't make good business sense at this time, because no one cares. The attendance at Milwaukee and New Hampshire, together, I am told, did not come close to the turnout at Iowa Speedway, the one short oval exception to the rule.

I believe the next couple of years are going to be a watershed for whether the IICS as we know it will survive. Business leaders rely or surveys and data. That's nothing new. But will it work here? If the IICS becomes nothing more than a numbers game, the dice may roll craps.

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Permalink Reply by Iowa Guy on January 10, 2012 at 5:07pm

RR, I totally agree with your line about some smart financial people rising from the ashes. I'm convinced that it's something like this that is going to have to happen to save the series. I'm not sure exactly who it would be, but most likely someone (or a group of people) who is, or has been, involved in the series -- and faced with its impending death rally around it to bring it back from the cliff.

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Permalink Reply by Daddy of Equalizer on January 6, 2012 at 1:24am

An illustration of Indy Car management announcements and fan expectations over the last few years, as seen below -

 

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Permalink Reply by Linda Willareth on January 6, 2012 at 11:41am

ovals haven't, and won't make money for any promoter or track unless they are promoted like a political candidate for president.  (And that isn't going to happen)  We may love them but I liked chrome on my cars too, and that era is long gone.  The ovals of recent years have been the most boring of days--Saturdays are really boring and dull, and late starts on Sunday mean you sit around for hours and get home a day later.  Very expensive and not much fun.  And I'll bet anyone, 25,000 people won't attend the Milwaukee event.  And yet the complaining will continue--WE NEED MORE OVALS.

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Permalink Reply by PJ Kirschbaum on January 6, 2012 at 6:44pm

PROMOTED properly, with a promoter that knows his stuff ( unlike last year) then the mile can be a successful race weekend.

What needs to stop are these late afternoon starts with support races that go off at 8/9 am ....thats just silly.

And while we are on this subject, COMMITMENT to a venue is needed..build your crowd, keep the same date and dont club people over the heads on ticket prices right out of the gate ( was tried last year and FAIL!) actually promote the race ( what an idea huh?) and it WILL build a crowd.

But what do I know.

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