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18 May 2012
2 Comments

Paint It Black

“I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes” [1]

Judging by the outcry over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s decision to paint an advertisement in the Turn One infield grass, you would think the marketers at IMS had just sold naming rights to the Pagoda.  Oh, wait.  They did that a few years ago with Bomdardier, didn’t they?  People are acting like they put a sponsor on the Borg-Warner Trophy.  Wait a minute.  Sorry.  Well, you would think they partnered with Coca-Cola to be the sole supplier of soft drinks at the track.  What?  Really?  Well then, you would think they entered into a deal with Cholula Hot Sauce …Tag Heuer…Shell V-Power…Apex Brasil…Peak Performance…Miller Lite…IZOD.  Oh, they DID enter into marketing agreements with all of these companies?  What do you know, IMS is acting like it is a business trying to make money.

The traditionalists want nothing to change.  They want the new ad painted in Turn One painted black, like the Rolling Stones lyrics suggest.  They can’t fathom ads on the walls.  Really?  You have a problem with money?  Maybe a short history lesson is in order.  If you want tradition, look no further than Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl Fisher.  To drum up business for his car dealership, he attached a car to a balloon and had it fly across Indianapolis.  THAT’S a promotion, and promotion is why he built the track.  He wanted to sell cars and headlights.  He understood that you had to advertise to make money.  And I guarantee if painting the infield was worth a dollar to him, then the infield would have been painted.

After Tony Hulman bought the track, the cash cow that was IMS was only milked once a year.  For years the Hulman family did not own a racing series, did not build a road course, did not pay F1 a sanctioning fee, did not host NASCAR, did not host MotoGP, and did not own a Pete Dye golf course.  They became rich selling Clabber Girl Baking Powder and hosting the 500 in the month of May.  But when the Hulman-George family did do all of those things, they spent a substantial amount of money, possibly enough money to cause a restructuring of the board of directors.   Suddenly, making money, or at least not bleeding money, became VERY important.

Things changed at Indy when making money became the primary objective.  The marketing types suddenly were looking for ways to increase revenue.  If you wanted to produce the ring for the winner, you had to do more than just make the ring: you had to pay for the privilege.  That’s the way they do it in the real world.  The Pagoda, the video boards, the upgrades to seating, the yellow shirts, and the maintenance to the facility are costs that continue to increase.  A business has to make money; people have to get paid.  If a few ads keep my ticket prices down and the sponsorship up, then I’ll be happy.

And the last time I looked at the cars, they had sponsors on the side.  What’s the difference?  I hear no one bemoaning the sanctity and tradition of the car. You don’t expect the cars to all be painted black, do you?

“I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens ev’ry day”

Some fans consider the Speedway to be a somber matron dressed in subdued colors.  How many somber matrons do you know who get any attention?  Matrons today are ditching their drab and dreary attire.  You stay young and vital by acting that way.  So let the old girl put on some leopard print pants and high heels.  I say strut your stuff, Indy.  You’re only as young as you feel.  If your make-up includes a few ads, so be it.  We are all walking billboards for designer clothing companies, anyway; I proudly sport my IZOD logos.

The tradition of Indy is alive in its history, pageantry, and tradition.  And the tradition includes having a viable family business that stays in the family.  I don’t begrudge the Speedway creating a little more cash flow.  Consider the possibility of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway being sold to some faceless multinational corporation because of financial issues.  Now that’s a picture that is truly painted black.

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1.  Like the Rolling Stones?  Here’s the song “Paint It Black” along with the lyrics.  I love the intro. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Egt1Hq4wpE

Posted in Opinions and tagged , , , ,
17 May 2012
1 Comment

Honda: Checkered Past to Checkered Flag

(Editor’s Note: Steve Wittich, today’s guest blogger, is one canny Canuck.  New Track Record was lucky enough to get him to write about some real history instead of the semi-lucid ramblings usually found here.  We hope he will follow this up with another post next Thursday.  You can find a daily dose of racing opinions from Steve on Twitter @stevewittich.)

I’d like to thank Mark for this opportunity to guest blog on NewTrackRecord.  I had a grand plan to explain the IndyCar engine wars of the past and dovetail that into explaining why engines are leased instead of purchased.  I decided that might be a little deep for my first blog attempt, so I have instead decided to focus on a study in perseverance for one of IndyCar’s current engine manufacturers.

Honda’s mid-80’s foray into IndyCar racing was a disaster.  Their “badging” of the Judd AV lasted only one year.  Fast forward to the mid-90’s, 1994 to be exact, and this commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osNyXkMWnSE

This time instead of partnering with a third-party engine manufacturer, Honda took matters into their own hands and formed Honda Performance Development.  They chose to partner with Rahal-Hogan Racing with drivers Bobby Rahal and Mike Groff.  As far as the overall season went, it wasn’t a total disaster.  Bobby Rahal finished 10th in points and Mike Groff finished 20th in points. The results were extremely inconsistent with mechanical failures being quite common. .

But remember that the tag-line in the above commercial was “See ya at Indy”.  From the beginning Honda has made it quite clear that winning Indy was their goal.  Unfortunately for Honda the month of May didn’t quite go as planned.  Rahal and Groff were unable to get their Honda powered Lola’s up to speed and ended up leasing two Ilmor powered Penske PC22s from Roger Penske.  Both easily qualified for the field.  Groff’s day ended early when he and Dominic Dobson made contact, and Rahal was able to ride his rented mule to a third place finish.

One might think that after those two missteps, Honda would reconsider their involvement in IndyCar racing.  They doubled down and pressed on, and in 1995 they joined forces with Tasman Motorsports.  Tasman fielded one full-time car for Indy Lights standout Andre Ribiero as well as a part-time car for Canadian Scott Goodyear.

The year started off slowly for Tasman and Ribiero with three DNF’s in the first three races, but their luck started to turn around at Nazareth.  Giving us a hint of Honda’s new found power was a sixth place start and 11th place finish.  It was now on to Indy where Goodyear would drive a second Tasman car.  Goodyear’s surprising outside front row starting position was overshadowed by the failure of Team Penske to qualify for the race.

The Honda’s race day horsepower was evident as soon as the green flag dropped when Goodyear swept to the lead and led the race for 42 laps.  Unfortunately while leading during a late restart, Goodyear passed the pace car, and his refusal to acknowledge the black flag meant he finished in 17th place.  Honda came “that” close to achieving their goal in only their second try.  I’m not sure anybody knew at that point that it would be almost two decades before they got another shot.

The rest of the year for Tasman and Ribiero was a mixed bag of results as they generally qualified in the top 10 but due to mechanical issues and incidents failed to finish many races.  They did have one VERY bright spot as Ribiero put his Reynard Honda on the pole at New Hampshire and proceeded to run away with the race.

The following season (1996) saw Honda greatly expand their effort to include seven full-time cars including Chip Gannasi Racing.  Honda won all but three races that season and won their first series championship with Ganassi’s Jimmy Vasser.

This started an impressive string of six straight CART championships including two by Alex Zanardi, two by Gil de Ferran and one by Juan Pablo Montoya.

In 2002 Honda announced that they had unfinished business at the Indy 500 and would begin supplying engines to IRL teams in 2003.  They had some success in 2003 with wins by Tony Kanaan and Bryan Herta, but they would have to wait until 2004 to finally taste victory at Indianapolis.

Buddy Rice came out on top at the 2004 Indianapolis 500 giving Honda victory exactly two decades after they went home with their tail between their legs.  It was a dominating performance by Honda that saw them take home the first seven spots in the race.  That win began an era of Honda domination, and they have won the last seven Indianapolis 500’s and drove their competition from the series

Honda came to dominate IndyCar, but I’d like to remind people not to forget their inauspicious start and applaud them for the perseverance and dedication that it took to overcome that.

Whether Honda can make it eight Indianapolis 500 victories in a row is a big question mark.  Engine competition has brought some new story lines to IndyCar and watching Chevrolet try to wrestle control of the Indianapolis 500 away from Honda is definitely the headliner.

Posted in History and tagged , , , ,
14 May 2012
3 Comments

Ten Worthless Opinions – Indy Social Media Garage Edition

Through some legerdemain, hocus-pocus, super moon cosmic connection, or dumb luck,  I have been selected to be a blogger in the IMS Social Media Garage.  I’m pretty sure it was a combination of more qualified writers being unable to participate and a deadline where the vivacious Cassie Conklin, one of the primary SMG mechanics, simply said, “We have one more spot to fill.  Who’s next on the list?”  However it happened, I’m just happy to park New Track Record in the garage for the month of May.  I do have a few WO’s (worthless opinions) regarding the Social Media Garage and the first weekend of practice.

1.  Bloggers are normally happy in the shadows.  I mean, take a look at our pictures on the SMG web page.  Yikes.  Would you call us edgy, classy, or cool looking?  How about old, fat, or geeky then?  By and large, bloggers live on hope. We hope someone will read our opinions or laugh at our jokes.  We hope that people will follow us on Twitter or comment on our stuff.  And we hope for the blogger bonanza: money, swag, or credentials.  In the case of the Social Media Garage…Yahtzee!  We have been HOOKED UP.  We are still doing it for free, and I haven’t seen any shirts or hats yet, but we scored credentials for the month of May.  Normally, bloggers are told they can come in the back door and not to touch anything.  The SMG people said come on in, and you can even sit on the furniture.  It’s like the Jimmy Buffett song “Gypsies in the Palace.” [1]  We are just taking advantage of the situation while we can.  And I have to tell you, my family and friends now think I am an insufferable ass.  Or as Steve Wittich (@stevewittich) said, “You mean more of an insufferable ass.”  Well, yes.

2.  I have always contended that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is really just a large Mom and Pop business.  It’s family run, and the people you come in contact with in the ticket office, credentials office, the gift shop, and the museum are invariably friendly and helpful.  Maybe it’s the business culture or Hoosier hospitality, but IMS people are just nice.  After getting word that I was one of the chosen/lucky bloggers, I was instructed to head to the corner of 16th and Georgetown to pick up my credentials.  I was hoping for Bronze Badge access, but was given a parking pass, a pass for race day pit/garage/grid access, and a Silver Badge.  Since I previously purchased a Bronze Badge, there was some paperwork/computer issues to work through.  Jennifer, one of the supervisors, was professional, pleasant, and helpful.  I might add that the credentials office runs a tight ship.  I would guess that not too many things fall through the cracks in there.  To add to the festivities, Eric Hall (@Erock_in_Indy), one of the other SMG bloggers, was in the office with the same problem as I.  We both felt like interlopers, waiting for someone to say, “Just a minute, you two.  There’s been some mistake.”  But we walked out clutching our badges and passes like kids gripping bags of candy on Halloween evening.

3.  The sidewalk and lawn in front of the IMS office on 16th and Georgetown is a great place to see the various team personnel pick up their credentials.  And the best part is they have to stand in line in the credentials office just like everybody else.  I love the great equalizers in our society.

4.  As Eric and I left the IMS offices, a woman who was picking up credentials at the window between us stopped to ask what was going on in there.  She was friendly (Hoosier hospitality once again) and interested in our story.  She introduced herself as Joan Parsons Voyles and very quietly, but with great pride, said that her father was a former 500 winner.  Her father was Johnnie Parsons, the 1950 champion. [2]  Stories are everywhere at Indy.

5.  If you see Eric at the SMG this year, be sure to ask him who else we met in front of the IMS offices.  And ask him where he got his picture that you see on the SMG webpage.  It only looks like a mug shot.

6.  Need another place to go to see the IndyCar personnel?  Get to Charlie Brown’s Pancake and Steak House on Main St. in Speedway early on any given practice morning.  Good food and good people watching.

7.  Opening Day at the track is just cool.  The auto show behind the Pagoda this year was superb.  Just assume the cars were beyond description.  Even better was watching the blazer wearing judges making their choices.  They talked, walked, dressed, and smelled like money.  My favorite was the judge wearing a “Gulfstream” logo cap.  Does he think we can’t tell he’s already rich?  And I can mock him all I want because I absolutely know he does not read my blog.  Small victory, I guess.

8.  Planning to buy your beer at the track?  The Foster’s Oil Can [3] holds 25.4 oz. of beer.  At $7.00 a beer that’s only $3.50 for 12 oz.  I dare you to find a better deal at any major sporting event.  At New Track Record, we believe in value.

9.  If you are a regular at the track and do not have a Bronze Badge, you are making a mistake.  Walking through the garage is flat-out fun.  The drivers are approachable, and you are up close to the action.  (Thanks to Bryan Clauson, a Noblesville boy like myself, for taking time to talk to my son and I on Saturday.  He’s genuine, and that is some of my highest praise.)  Plus, having a badge is great just because you can feel special.  And who doesn’t like that?  It’s human nature.  And for $100, you can feel special, too.  Also, I found out that badge envy exists.  Twice, people saw my badge, looked me up and down, and said, “Silver?”  I smiled.  If I only had a hat that said “Gulfstream” on it.

10.  Oh.  And there were some cars on the track, and they went kind of fast.

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1.  Here is a live version of “Gypsies in the Palace.”  I hope I don’t get a cease and desist order.  I hear JB is harsh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBpG-GEZLCE&feature=related

2.  Here’s a link to Johnnie Parson’s Wikipedia page with an interesting story about the trophy.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Parsons

3.  And of course, a link to Foster’s beer.  Enjoy.  http://www.fostersbeer.com/ 

Posted in 10 Worthless Opinions and tagged , , , , ,
11 May 2012
4 Comments

What I miss about the Indy 500

Growing older is a mixed bag.  The down side is the inevitable nature of this whole mortality thing.  On the other hand, you accumulate so many wonderful memories.  The down side of that, of course, is the memory loss that comes with aging.  So many memories, so few brain cells.  So why am I sounding such a maudlin note?  The answer is simple: I haven’t lost all my memories of the Indy 500, and it’s an exercise in nostalgia to remember how it used to be.  Here’s my list.

  • I miss the media coverage.  The 500 used to dominate the news cycle in Indianapolis.  From the beginning of May until the awards banquet, both Indy papers, the Star and the News, were filled with all sorts of racing, social, and human interest stories about the 500.  People around the world would subscribe to one or both of the papers.  Indy always began when the papers reported that Larry Bisceglia had arrived to be first in line at IMS.  You expected to read multiple articles every day.  Now you hope you see something.
  • I miss the night before the 500.  Going to 16th Street the night before the race was an EVENT.  You planned for it.  If you were a denizen of the infield, you had to be somewhere near the track the night before so you could get in line on 16th Street to get in the gates.  Good parking places were at a premium both outside the track the night before the race and inside the track the day of the race.  You plotted, planned, faked, and finally pulled into line.  More than once a car pulled out of a parking spot to get in line and was waved on down the street by the police.  It was a contest.  And the party was HUGE.  It was a place to grow up a little each year.  Of course I was relatively unsupervised from the time I was ten, so I learned a lot at an early age.  But that knowledge is worthless now.  The number of people trying to park inside the track has grown smaller because most of the infield parking has disappeared.  I think it’s one of those law of diminishing returns kind of thing.
  • I miss the community that was the infield.  It had an organic vitality that no longer exists.  Check the photos at IndyStar.com to see what the Snake Pit was like in the 70’s. It was the high water mark.  The new third turn dynamic pales in comparison.  That’s not to say the past was all sweetness and light.  It wasn’t.  It was drunk, dirty, and dangerous.  The new corporate Snake Pit is like a ride at Disney World: a lot of fun but still an imitation of the real thing.
  • I miss the characters.  Name one current owner like Andy Granatelli.  You can’t.  Name a driver like A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, Jim Hurtubise, or Jimmy Clark.  They were bigger than life and far from the politically correct drivers of today.  And that’s not an indictment of today’s drivers.  It’s a comment on the power of money and sponsorship.  Today’s drivers are a product of the business of racing.  I think there’s hope with James Hinchcliffe and Josef Newgarden, though.  I hope the corporate suits let them be themselves.
  • I miss “Thirty Days in May.”  The track used to open on May 1st and teams practiced every day until the second week of qualifications was over.  I understand that economics dictated the shortening of the month.  Just because it was the right decision doesn’t mean I have to like it.  It was news to be the first car and driver on the track each year.  There was action every day.  Engines weren’t leased, and there were no mileage limits.  You could run all day, every day if you wanted.  As Eric Hall at anotherindycarblog.com noted,  Happy Hour just isn’t the same, either.  If you arrived at  the track at 5:00 PM, you were assured of seeing SPEED.  Sadly, those days are over.  The two weekends of qualifying were meaningful because the 500 actually was “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”  The drivers acted like making the race was the most important moment in their lives because it was.  Quite simply, the whole month of May was the most important and publicized racing time of the year.
  • I miss the crowds.  If the race is the largest one day sporting event in the world, the first day of qualifications might have been the second largest.  Records were broken and reputations were made.  It was its own race.  The crowds on race day are gone now, too.  A ducat to the race used to be gold.  Every seat was sold.  Now the unsold seats show up on TV.  With the lack of parking inside the track, the general admission crowd is also down, and the crowds that used to sit in all four turns and the backstretch are squeezed into the backstretch and the third turn.  And very quietly, IMS is planning on downsizing the NE Vista and at least one other stand.  If these stands were full, or had a hope of being full, IMS would not be tearing part of them down.  The crowd is smaller, and the larger crowd is never coming back.
  • I miss the icons of Indy.  And I know I’m going to miss more of them.  This track just celebrated its centennial, and if those years have taught us anything, it’s that everyone and everything has an arc.  The track, the race, and the drivers all change, yet remain constant in so many ways.  This year we will see a video of Jim Nabors singing “Back Home Again in Indiana.”  One day a new voice will sing that song.  Donald Davidson will continue to amaze us with his encyclopedic knowledge of all things Indy.  Someday there will be a new historian.  Dan Wheldon will not share his pure joy of racing with us again, yet new drivers will always come to 16th and Georgetown to be part of this fabulous tradition.  The voice of Tom Carnegie, whose signature PA call is the title of this blog, will never be heard again.  These arcs are passing or passed.  I do, and will, miss them all.

My father Horace Wilkinson was born May 30, 1913.  Race day.  He loved the 500.  My granddaughter Isabella Wilkinson was born May 29, 2011.  Race day.  I hope my father’s, my son’s, and my love of this event gets passed on to her.  I hope that someday she passes her love of this great tradition on to her children and grandchildren.  Maybe she will tell stories of what she misses most about the race.  Maybe one of those stories will be about me. [1]

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1.  I thought long and hard about what song to connect to this moment.  What song says “remember me” in a moving fashion?  I want to thank Tony Johns at PopOffValve.com for mentioning the band Neutral Milk Hotel in a “Paddock Pulse” comment about my blog .  I checked out the band and found the song “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” sung by Jeff Mangum.  He wrote this song about Anne Frank after visiting Amsterdam.  Listen to the lyrics and think not only of Dan Wheldon, but of all those we miss in our lives.  Never forget that we race on Memorial Day and what that means. The lyrics expand below the video.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZuwRORuEyw

Posted in Opinions and tagged , , , ,

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