Stop kidding yourself, IndyCar

In IndyCar it's always one step forward, eight steps back. A series still recovering from one of the worst twenty years ever witnessed in the American sports market continues to disappoint at every turn.

Lets face it. Taking consulting advice from a firm unfamiliar with your product is never a good idea. Actually sticking to the advice after it has proved feeble is even worse.

Ending the season before Labor Day does more harm than good. Yet IndyCar, primarily Mark Miles, insists the strategy is good. His reasoning? Ratings are up!

While ratings are indeed up the only attribute has to be from increased promotion and awareness. Verizon stepped up and promoted IndyCar more than IndyCar could promote itself. NBCSN made everyone watching Formula 1 or NASCAR America know when and where to watch the next IndyCar Series race. Even ABC showed a significant increase in quality.

The increase had less to do with the schedule and more to do with promotion and awareness. Those two aspects had been severely lacking the past few years. Avoiding the NFL had nothing to do with anything.

Even now most fans and tracks remain frustrated. Auto Club Speedway moves its date for the fourth year in a row. Pocono Raceway, still upset over attendance drops, moves to a late August date.

It seems in an effort to boost ratings, Mark Miles has upset everyone but the pocketbook. Which for IndyCar, is probably a good thing. Yet fans crave ovals. Losing Pocono and Auto Club would see legions of upset fans. And what's the only response? We needed to end before Labor Day otherwise the big bad NFL would destroy us?

It seems that television is only helping IndyCar at this point. Which is good to a point. If more fans watch the race on television instead of attending the race, tracks can't make a profit. If tracks can't make a profit, they won't be on the schedule. If tracks aren't on the schedule, IndyCar ceases to exist.

TV ratings are nice, butts in seats are better.

Half Truths

Last week things looked promising for the United States Grand Prix. There was a strong possibility Alexander Rossi would finally make his Formula 1 debut. There was a significant buzz amongst Formula 1 enthusiasts.

This buzz however, has died. The Caterham and Marussia F1 teams have gone into administration. The two teams are bleeding more money than they can earn. As a result, neither team will race in Sunday's United States Grand Prix.

Eighteen cars will start on Sunday. Down from twenty two last year and twenty four in 2012. That's not how you keep fans interested.

Of course, at least it's not the 2005 United States Grand Prix.

That's the race where Formula 1 lost all of it's appeal in the States. Six cars start the Grand Prix while every other team parks their cars due to safety concerns. Safety concerns that could have been resolved.

The only positive showing so far is NBC. Over the last week almost every NBC television program is screaming the United States Grand Prix. To show how much NBC wants the USGP to be a big deal, Lewis Hamilton was on the Today Show. The likelihood of any viewer even knowing who Matt Lauer was talking to is slim to none. Yet, it sure generates publicity.

Good publicity too. Something the race - and the sport - needs.

Saturday Practice and qualifying are going head to head with college football. If fans unfamiliar with Formula 1 and its history in the United States tune in, the mindset could change. It only works if NBC is successful.

Formula 1 and America

The annual Formula 1 United States Grand Prix is finally upon us. With only three races remaining in the 2014 Formula 1 season, excitement is rampant throughout the message boards. Will it be Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg who wins the World Drivers Championship? Will Red Bull make a charge to end the season on a high note? Where will Fernando Alonso end up next year? All these questions making big news across the globe. Except for the U.S.

Ever since the 2005 tire controversy which saw only six cars start the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, American fans and American media have paid little to no attention to Formula 1. Filled primarily with disgust towards the handling of the situation, American fans and journalists seem to disregard Formula 1 for 355 days of the year.

This year however, it is different. With Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas seeing rave reviews from drivers and tourists many wonder if Formula 1 will regain popularity amongst American fans. The ever looming possibility of Alexander Rossi taking the grid as the first American Formula 1 driver in eight years seems to have increased fan interest.

As heartbreaking as it is to see Marussia F1 driver Jules Bianchi remain in a coma after his accident on October 5th, Rossi making his debut could help ease those wounds.

For Formula 1 to survive in America it needs a driver fans can cheer on. Sadly, if Rossi is to take to the grid next weekend, his chances of pulling off an upset win are slim to none. Marussia isn't exactly the ideal team to make a career for, yet giving fans in Austin someone to cheer on might help.

The question of how much media attention Rossi and the USGP will gain still remains. With media coverage already surrounding Gene Haas' Haas F1 Team 2016 debut, perhaps extra attention could be given to the recent Americanization of Formula 1.

NBC is set to air the Grand Prix going head to head on network television with the NFL. Last year's race saw big ratings. It could be doubled if interest is present.

A Sad State of Affairs

Sports news programs exist for a reason. Professional sports journalists exist for a reason. ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports all have cable channels. When those channels are not showing live sports, odds are they're talking about sports. On Monday the world saw proof of why you should leave sports to the sports people.

ABC's Good Morning America opened their broadcast Monday morning like any other. The headlines from around the world ready to be discussed. Only there was something new. A NASCAR story. Not just any NASCAR story. A story about a NASCAR fight.

Fights in NASCAR are about as common as a fight in hockey. A fight put NASCAR on the map in 1979. On the final lap of the Daytona 500 that year, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison crashed on the final lap. Richard Petty went on to win the race while Yarborough and Allison threw punches on the back stretch. It's a tale every NASCAR fan has heard. The first live telecast of a NASCAR race happens to show the raw emotions of the drivers up close. However that was 1979.

Saturday night's Bank of America 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race saw four of NASCAR's top drivers scuffle. Brad Keselowski made some questionable moves on Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Following the race, Kenseth and Hamlin showed their displeasure towards Keselowski by aggressively bear hugging him.

However it was the fourth driver, Tony Stewart, that is receiving most of the heat. In one of the most sickening displays of slanderous journalism, reporter Gio Benitez focused his NASCAR story on Tony Stewart. When Brad Keselowski came speeding down pit road, Keselowski made contact with Stewart's car. Stewart, feeling the move was reckless and unnecessary, backed up and crunched Brad's front bumper. This act is nothing compared to what Brad had done. Keselowski intentionally trying to wreck Hamlin, running into an unbuckling Matt Kenseth, and squealing his tires through the garage area was apparently nothing to Benitez.

Benitez twisted his story, almost blatantly ignoring facts. Stating "Tony Stewart is under NASCAR's microscope in the wake of the death of Kevin Ward Jr." could not be any further from the truth. In fact, NASCAR is in no way involved. The accident was not associated with NASCAR in anyway.

To further discredit the story, Benitez brought in USA Today columnist Christine Brennan. Brennan claims Stewart's actions were 'nonsense' and 'unconscionable'. However, doing a little research on Brennan will tell anyone she is as credible a source for NASCAR as an American is for cricket. Her main stories focus on basketball, football, and the Olympics.

Benitez concluded his story with one last jab, saying Tony Stewart had not responded to his request to comment.  The camera then shifted to anchor Robin Roberts who showed disgust. Roberts claimed she 'couldn't believe it'. If Roberts could not believe this happened, she probably hasn't watched much NASCAR to know how common this kind of thing is.

It is truly saddening to see such irresponsible and sensational journalism be approved. Stewart wants to move on. Whenever tragedy happens in racing, you cannot dwell on it. You must move on and learn. It seems the general interest media wants Stewart to either express only sadness or retire from racing all together. Neither of which he should feel inclined to do.

Chasing Ratings

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. A championship determining concept that has generated almost as much controversy as the BCS in college football. Since its inception in late 2003 fans have been mixed. Some believe the champion should be the most consistent driver. Others believe the champion should be the driver with the most wins. No matter what the fans believe, the Chase is still a turn off for die-hards.

Over the winter, NASCAR announced it would be tweaking the Chase format for the third time in ten years. The rules simple, win and you're in. Sixteen drivers, either with a win or the most points, are now eligible for the championship. Only now, you have eliminations. Four drivers are eliminated every three weeks for ten weeks. All this done to fulfill Brian France's agenda: appeal to the casual fan.

Yes, the casual fan. An entity hated by die-hards and envied by CEO's. If your sport appeals to the casual sports fan, you're certain to make money. This has been Brian France's goal for NASCAR since he took over as CEO in 2003. France dreamed of making NASCAR bigger, family friendly, and a direct competitor to the NFL. In the eleven years since Brian France's tenure began it has become blatantly clear he has only achieved two out of those three goals. NASCAR is certainly bigger. If you pick up a copy of USA Today or read ESPN's bottom line, you're certain to see more NASCAR coverage than ten years ago. NASCAR has distanced itself from the bootleggers, hillbillies, and rednecks that so plagued its appeal in the 80's and 90's and become a much more family oriented sport.

The NFL however, has always been there. No matter how much Brian tries, NFL fans do not care about NASCAR. France's attempts have seemed great on paper but failed to grow the casual fan base. NFL fans like playoffs? Make playoffs in racing. NFL fans like people hitting each other? Give the infamous "Boys Have at It" speech. NFL fans like halftime shows? It's only a matter of time until NASCAR has halftime.

Even after all the promos on ESPN, ratings have not changed. The first round of the Chase is over. Four drivers are eliminated. This is what NFL fans wanted to see, right?

According to Jayski.com, television ratings for Chicagoland were up 1,000,000 viewers from 2013. However 2013's race was rain delayed. Ratings for New Hampshire stayed the same and last weekend's race at Dover saw a decline in ratings. That only means one thing. NFL fans are still watching the NFL!

No amount of rule changes is going to sway a casual ball sport fan to auto racing. ESPN is doing a stellar job in coverage and promotion, but the needles are not changing. Maybe next year when Fox and NBC take over coverage, fans will be more interested. However if The Worldwide Leader in Sports can't help NASCAR, it's doubtful anything else can.