Godspeed

Just a few days ago, on a recent music-related trip to Nashville, Tennessee, I was also able to devote some impromptu time for what I will loquaciously describe as a 'Friday PM Indycar Fan and Blogging Commiseration Summit'. 

In the maelstrom of the final hours before the 2013 Indy 500, I had several regretfully much-too-brief interactions during the pre-race tweet-up and picture this past May.  When I officially knew we were coming to 'Nashvegas' for a few days, I knew I needed to look up our good Indycar friend, George. George Phillips (of Oilpressure Blog fame and @oilpressureblog on Twitter) and his lovely wife Susan (aka @chiapet58) and I gathered together only to share some time getting to know each other. I doubt they'd mind if I revealed that the evening was full of good conversation and laughs on a great many subjects, Indycar included. 

Of all the things I've experienced over the last several years in the world of Indycar as experienced over the internet, my most positive experiences come from the direct social interaction with people whom I've only previously known via a digital environment. This includes fans, drivers, and racing industry people alike. This Friday PM was no exception.

After our 'tweetup-of-3' and after much discussion on the messages we put out in the universe via our blogs and twitter, I was left with the overriding feeling that, of all the problems Indycar has to overcome just to survive, the fans are not one of them. 

I also felt, as the same themes keep appearing in my writing and truly I have nothing new to say, and, as I've been threatening for several posts now, this is a good time to set the blog aside for a while. 

In summation, as I have written many a tome on the subject of Indycar, my primary goal (and the reason for the naming of Grounded Effects) was to produce thought-provoking and engaging commentaries for the fans of Indycar. I still feel many of the thoughts here have value in the near- and long-term for Indycar fans so please feel free to visit the "Museum" of the Grounded Effects blog... don't cost nothin'.

For your ease of future reference, below is a compendium with green listings among the most read, and the orange listings among the most read and personal favorites of mine, the links for which are found under the 'Museum' heading on the upper-right column of this blog. 

If you wish, please also follow down to the bottom for my final thoughts. 

2009

Sep.   

I’m going to blog about Indycar.

How I got started following Indycar, part 1.

Oct.

How I got started following Indycar, part 2.

Favorite Indycars, part 1 – ’79 Chaparral.

          Nov.

Indycar thoughts for the future.

Favorite Indycars, part 2 – ‘65 Lotus.

          Dec.

An Indy 500 trip for $365 (aka The Dollar a day plan).

Fave Indycars, part 3 – ’70 PJ Colt.

Please don’t change/mess up the start of the Indy 500.

2010

          Jan.

Tony G is out - Open letter to Hulman IMS ownership.

          Feb.

The Hallowed Grounds in winter.

Carb Day concert band suggestions.

100 days to Indy - Indy trip planning.

          Mar.

Fortune favors the bold – new car/engine ideas.

Season opener - Sao Paulo race review.

Faux Carb Day concert band announcement.

          Apr.

Disparity in racing is OK.

Simple Indycar math.

Celebrating some good news and more Indycar math.

          May

May = Indy for me.

500 Qualy predictions.

Last minute Indy trip stuff/prediction recap.

          July

D-day ICONIC preview.

          Sep.

Reviving the fading mystique of Indy ramble.

          Oct.

End of Season thoughts, part 1 – Dario is a legend, small crowds and TV.

End of Season thoughts, part 2 – Indycar is a niche sport, but devoted fanbase.

          Nov.

Post-season withdrawals, Pagoda shuttered, Chevy’s back, TK out of ride.

Thanksgiving and more Indycar math.

2011

          Jan.

Blog review.

Blog visual refresher.

Whither Sam Hornish.

Essence of NASCAR vs Indycar racing/competition.

          Feb.

American auto companies thoughts.

          Mar.

Indycar misses formula for future.

Whom should Randy Bernard trust?

Favorite Indycars, part 4 – ’85 March Cosworth ‘spin and win’.

          Apr.

Indycar parody lyrics – Jay Penske – Lawyers, Guns, and Money.

          May

Greatest 33 thoughts.

500 Qualy predictions.

Qualy predictions recap, race preview and prediction.

          Jun.

Race and predictions review.

Explaining Indycar to non-fans.

          Aug.

Predictions for the future of Indycar – Pain.

Fave Engines of Indy, part 1 – ’60s Ford V8 (sounds).

          Sep.

Why NASCAR drives won’t race the Indycar World Challenge.

Funky Cars of Indy, part 1 – Yunick’s ’64 Hurst Floor-shifter Spcl.

          Oct.

Indycar’s missing character – the car.

Post-Las Vegas/questioning my Indycar.

Dealing w post-Vegas grief.

          Nov.

Indycar Slang.

          Dec.

Looking to 2012 – Carb Day band ideas.

2012

          Jan.

Goofy graphical thoughts.

Missing Dick Simon.

          Feb.

Fans demand better Indycar coverage online.

Laughing at the new F1 cars – Platypus fever.

Zip-Line fever/Ideas for the 500.

Fave engines of Indy, part 2 – The Offy (sounds).

          Mar.

Pre-season cautionary thoughts.

Indycar Parody lyrics - Pippa Mann – Pippa Nation.

Equinox – new season.

St. Pete expectations/self-mantra: post-Wheldon.

          Apr.

Writing contrition.

The Greatest 33 and Indycar nerdery cont'd.

          May

Indycon Level 4 and my origins redux.

Jay Penske redux and diatribe on Indycar’s direction.

My rambling Indy 500 trip memories, 2004, part 1 - a new beginning.

My rambling Indy 500 trip memories, 2004, part 2 – cont’d.

My rambling Indy 500 trip memories, 2004, part 3 – final.

Indy 500 qualy predictions.

          Jun.

Milwaukee Indyfest trip and an energy revelation.

          Jul.

Drama as an asset to Indycar, not a distraction.

Humorous end-of-race alternatives to Green-White-Checkers.

          Sep.

Indycar needs some Gangnam Style.

Now THAT’S a season (review).

          Oct.

Days of Reflection (Wheldon and life).

Escapism in the off-season.

          Dec.

Left adrift as an Indycar fan – no more apologism.

2013

          Feb.

Post-Superbowl, waiting for Indycar.

Indycar and my iPod shuffle (a noir narrative).

          Mar.

Crystal Ballin’ – 2013, beyond... die spec racing.

          Apr.

Nostalgia as a false pain-relief remedy.

          May

One last plea for Indycar change.

          Jul.

Pocono – an on-site review for IndycarUK.

          Aug.

Should there be an end of the Hulman reign over Indycar?

          Sep.   

Final Rites - Grounded Effects Blog Recap.

Epilogue

I have been a fan of varying degrees of Indycar for nearly four decades and have come to the following conclusions with regard to the sport:
1. The Indy 500 is still truly a worldwide showcase event.

2. Building a viable series around the Indy 500 has proven to be folly. Aside from the 500, it has been and essentially still is a niche (300,000 followers/20,000 in person) sport and will remain so until a philosophical shift of what Indycar is supposed to be occurs, if ever.

3. For the sport of Indycar (or any autosport) to thrive and grow in the next 20 years, it MUST allow for an open, flexible, and agile set of rules and platform in which real innovation, creativeness, forward-thinking, and ingenuity are welcomed as the norm. Something akin to a 'formula libre' Indycar can thrive. 

4. I believe no other option exists for Indycar but to change radically. If not, it will continue the slow degradation and devaluation death march we've seen for nearly 20 years. Change is well overdue. 

5. I give Indycar in its current state through the 2016 season. It must either have a plan for radical change in place or it will be done. The current 'timeline' recently set by Walker and Miles is not a plan which will cause Indycar to survive beyond 2016.

6. We fans are never the problem, RATHER, we're the solution, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Until Indycar figures out what fans truly want and supplies what we demand, there is no long-term viability of the sport.

It is truly as simple as basic economics:

- The fans are consumers. We have the power of our money to support the things we demand. 

- Discretionary spending will continue to be reduced as the economy continues to polarize and eliminate the middle-class.

- The ONLY reason any professional sport (product) exists, ultimately, is to fill a demand by the fans (consumer). 

- Supply of product in and of itself does not create demand.

- Consumers will respond positively when you supply something they demand.

- The supplier who truly listens, who cares, and aims to provide the best possible product to meet or exceed the consumer expectations will be the one who ultimately survives.

- For auto-racing to be a viable sport, supply MUST ONLY follow demand.

- For Indycar to merely have the potential to survive, it must provide a product in much greater demand (at least 3 times the current demand in both TV and on-location markets), all other things being equal.

- You fans are the consumers. You have the power to demand, but it's up to suppliers to fill that demand. 

- I believe without question that demand will be filled. 

By whom is the Billion-Dollar answer.

"Whosoever desires constant success,

must change his conduct with the times."

-Niccolo Machiavelli

Best wishes and Godspeed to you all!

It Is Finished

and after receiving the tweet, DZ said, "it is finished", 

bowed his head and gave up his spirit

Based on a brief interaction with long-time Indycar tweeter, and even longer-time Indycar fan @stevewittich, I was harshly snapped from my mid/late-season Indycar and ambivalent blogging funk to post my thoughts today.

Here's that interaction...

@stevewittich again it's the conflict of (semi-) interest between IMS the facility and Indycar the sport. #ITDOESNTWORK
— DZ (@groundedeffects) August 14, 2013

Here's what I thought immediately following.. 

The time has come for Hulman/IMS to divest 

itself totally from the business of running Indycar. 

I understand fully the Hulman Companies position and myopic desire to 'hold' the property of Indycar, especially through May 2016 (the 100th Race) but I honestly believe a strong and significant argument can be made that the previous 19 years of history shows a constant decline of, and inability in, tending to the business of the top level of American Open Wheel Racing.  

All the while, IMS as a facility and property has done just fine thank you very much, and to me, the stark contrast between the entities of IMS and Indycar over the last 19 years indicates that the management of those two entities under the current roof is not tenable in any form.  I'm thrilled as a native Hoosier and longtime fan of the hallowed grounds that IMS as a landmark racing facility has improved so steadily and mightily, but the product that is Indycar is not in the hands of the people who can make it grow.  The time is now for Hulman and Company to release Indycar into the hands of people with a vested interest, ability, and desire to make it grow, without the distraction of associated and conflicting interests.

This got me thinking about the fair bit I've been reading about Dan Andersen and his acquisition of the entire Mazda Road To Indy ladder series. Dear Dan, if you are listening, it's me, DZ...

I'm sure his plate is overflowing with all the challenging goodness that F2000, Star Mazda, and now Indy Lights currently hold, but if there's anyway you could see fit to be involved in obtaining Indycar from its current overseers, I think we'd really have something of major value, structure, form, and energy to begin a terrific new jumping-off point for the next chapter of Indycar. 

I'd like to write a 'thank-you' note something like this around my 50th birthday, approximately 4 years from today...

Dear Mr. Andersen,

It is with great happiness that I celebrate my 50th year of existence this week and also my 40th year as a fan of Indycar.  I think it goes without saying just what an immense job you have done with our great sport of American Open Wheel Racing and I speak for many who hold you in the highest regard.  

All the options created by the diversity and technology you've harnessed in the new chassis and motor rules have made Indycar not just interesting to the manufacturers, but vital to gaining the rabid interest of fans and sponsors, the likes of which we haven't seen since the '80s.

Now, to have completely obtained and reshaped the Indycar ladder and positioned it for tremendous growth as you have, I am ever-hopeful the sport we all love will continue to grow and prosper as it has under your guidance for future generations. 

Many thanks Dan! You've given this 50-year-old fan the best Indycar present he could ask for.


And now, my blog must rest again. 

To sleep, perchance to dream...

Pocono - An 'On The Grounds' Review...

(this is a copy of the track review post I did for my friends over at Indycar UK, please check them out)

Prologue:
Pocono is set in the pastoral rolling hills of the eastern Pennsylvania, approximately 2 hours drive and triangulated nearly equidistant from the mega-metropolitan centers of New York City and Philadelphia.  For me however, this was a journey of 24 years and 9 hours..

The Tricky Triangle Triangulated

Growing up and living in the mid-west of the US has been quite convenient when one is an Indycar fan. Of course Indianapolis Motor Speedway, despite being 135 miles away, would be considered my home Indycar track, but several prominent and historic Indycar ovals are only a partial day's drive away. Michigan, Milwaukee, Chicagoland, Kentucky, from 2 to 4.5 hours by car ride, and I've seen Indycars race at each of those. My list of places I've never seen Indycars race, however, is longer than of those I have. Of course the great and defunct tracks (such as Langhorne, Trenton, Ontario, and Nazareth) I will never see, but my list was gladly reduced by one this past weekend.

Speaking of Rodger Ward - his 1966 Lola was on display in the paddock.

It is difficult for me not add the word 'historic' before using the name Pocono Raceway because of its stature in Indycar's timeline. With design input from Indycar great Rodger Ward, a most unique triangular oval was built and first was host to Indycars in 1971. After many great and legendary races over the years, some intense bickering between ownership of the track and the then-current CART sanction regarding safety and track condition finally lead to Indycars not returning to historic Pocono in 1989. Now, 23 years beyond, in the fall of 2012, and after $Millions in renovations underway, Indycar CEO Randy Bernard and Pocono family ownership lead by Brandon Igdalsky struck a deal to put this fan-favorite track back on the schedule for 2013 and beyond, while also reviving the Triple Crown for Indycar.  Having never seen our beloved Indycars racing there in the prior 24 years at this great track, I knew the 9 hours drive to the track was still a "can't miss" opportunity. 

The Track: 

Its deviously different 3 corners have confounded drivers and engineers since inception which is why it is a favorite of mine. Long before the 1.5 mile, high-banked and dreary cookie-cutter ovals featured prominently on the US racing landscape, track owners seemed to want to use their imaginations to create a unique racing experience for teams, drivers, and fans alike. Pocono is a great example of this. The region around the track property is hilly and wooded and somewhat remote from cities which lends a bit of serenity to an otherwise tempestuous locale. Its chosen setting also makes track access by car less than ideal, mass-transit non-existent, and most hotel inventories over 20 miles away but any fan worth their salt will gladly realize the extra hour either arriving earlier or waiting to enter the property is well-worth it when the green flag flies.  Having never seen any previous iterations, I found the permanent fan amenitites modest, welcoming, and well-thought out.  The extra personnel from cheery ticket-takers to the bathroom attendants that keep the facilities tidy and well-stocked help to ensure the fan feels well-regarded by the track. The premium Paddock Club seating is the central (seen on TV as the black and white checkered color) of the Main (and only) Grandstand in which each ticketed seat is a plastic, molded chair seat and back which makes a multiple hour event more tolerable than the remaining aluminum bleachers. 

The Patron-Race Experience: 

Making such a long trek, I wanted to be sure to give myself some time to experience the garages and fan village, so I purchased the $20 Saturday General Admission (required for track access) to catch practice, qualifying, vintage cars lap, and the Indy Lights race. I also opted to add the $20 Paddock Pass for the infield garage access Saturday only.  The Paddock Pass was well worth it for me to be able to chat with crew or drivers between practice sessions, grab a picture or an autograph, or just to see the garage happenings up-close.

Hundreds of fans took advantage of the Saturday Paddock Pass and the great access it provides.

You never know whom you might meet in the Paddock...

Sunday's raceday ticket placed us one section before the Start/Finish line approximately halfway up which is fairly close to my ideal location. I have found that my Indycar viewing is enhanced by being as close as possible to the track as opposed to the common thought for NASCAR fans to sit as high as possible.  I enjoy the increased sensation of Indycar speeds being lower and closer to the racing action. There are also the uppermost levels of enclosed or shaded sections in the long main grandstand which provide premium service and amenities for a premium price. All told my Saturday GA ticket ($20), Paddock Pass ($20), and Terrace Platinum level seat ($75) set me back a very reasonable $115 total for nearly unlimited access and a great vantage point for the race. Parking at the track is free, and the camping area fees also look to be fairly priced. 

The view from Section NB, Row 24 - approximately halfway up the grandstand

Fans can bring a modestly-sized cooler into the track stocked with food and beverages in non-glass bottles or cans provided it meets with the track's size restrictions. Generous since the food and drink for sale is priced at a premium typical of a sporting event. 

Exiting following the race was a fairly typical 2-hour wait so we spent some of that time taking in the post-race awards and festivities, walking about the grandstand reviewing other vantage points, buying souvenirs (anything referencing this year's race was sold-out prior to the end of the race), an passing time with a futbol in the grassy lot. Once exiting traffic seemed to be freed up, we made our way to the interstate and back to our hotel in Stroudsburg for the evening. 

For international fans traveling to the US for this race, I imagine several advantages in seeing the Pocono race: 1. the proximity to NYC or Philly for better prices on airplane service;   2. the relative bargain prices for lodging; 3. the historic nature of the oval. 4. The simple dedication to fans' enjoyment by the ownership. For those reasons and also including getting to see 'the fastest, most versatile drivers on the planet', Pocono is a good destination for International Indycar fans if Indy has already been crossed off their lists.

Summary:

I can say without doubt that, of all the tracks that share both Indycar and NASCAR dates, I've never felt as welcomed as I was at Pocono Raceway. The amenities are good and I will easily consider this race again next year, most likely with more race fans in tow.