We are approaching two months since the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season finale which saw Will Power lift the Astor Cup and Tony Kanaan lead 64 of 250 laps on his way to his first victory with Chip Ganassi Racing and his first victory since his Indianapolis 500 triumph the previous May.
Since that time, while Formula One, MotoGP, sports cars, NASCAR and many forms of motorsports in-between has filled the time nicely, the IndyCar front has been calm. Other than the Brazil race being confirmed, Simon Pagenaud to Penske and James Hinchcliffe to Schmidt, the news has been a trickle. Don't get me wrong, there have been a lot of great little stories that I am excited about. Aero kit testing is underway and I don't care that it is under a veil of secrecy, it just makes more fun when photos get out. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Kurt Busch will be representing the United States at the 2014 Race of Champions from Barbados (because no place screams home of world-class motorsports more than Barbados). That gives us something to look forward to come December. Indy Lights chassis sales appear to be going well with the likes of Schmidt, Belardi, 8Star, Juncos, McCormack (who I will admit I have never heard of before) and Conquest Racing, who will be attempting to make a comeback, all appear to be preparing to field a new IL-15 chassis.
There is news out there and a lot of good news out there but we all want big news. It's like fishing. We want to catch the 7-pound bass, not the 2-pounders. However, there just aren't as many 7-pounders as there are two. This points out another problem with the IndyCar offseason: There just isn't enough news to cover a six-month adequately.
There are many reasons why this is the case. Realize we are still at least four months away from the next IndyCar race. Think about that. We are only through one-third of the offseason. Most drivers aren't signing deal four months before the start of the season because there is no reason to. Testing is limited and there is nothing to do until about two months before the season begins. The schedule still hasn't been released but once that is released, probably before Thanksgiving, maybe before Halloween if we are lucky, the next big news won't come rolling around until around the 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of January and we will still be a little over a month away from the start of the season, barring Dubai being added to the schedule as February race. If Dubai is added to the IndyCar schedule in the middle of February, then the news cycle will get moving a little sooner. We can only hope and pray that race comes to fruition.
Don't get me wrong, there will be news over the winter. I am sure we will hear more about the Indy Lights chassis and a few more secret aero kit tests and I am sure there will be a handful of drivers from European junior formula series testing for Coyne but those stories aren't what people are clamoring for.
Had the championship ended last weekend at Fontana, things would be different. We would be reviewing the 2014 season, talking about the champion and speculations about driver changes would just be starting. The wait for the 2015 schedule wouldn't be as bad because racing would have just ended and looking forward for a little break from all the action.
IndyCar is obsessed with the NFL so much to the point that they end their season so early to avoid conflicting with there games and the argument for ending the IndyCar season so early and having half the year off is that the NFL's offseason is seven months long and they stay in the news all the time. Here is the difference between the two parties: One has billions of dollars invested from multiple television partners who can stay in the news from meaningless things such as combines, drafts and off-the-field issues such as player arrests. The other gets pocket change in comparison in terms of television revenue, no one knows who the talent is and can't just generate attention from something stupid said on social media.
Midweek Motorsports had a great discussion this week (go to the 1:48:00 mark) with sports car driver Matt Griffin on the struggle of scheduling sports car series such as FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and the Blancpain Sprint and Endurance Series. With so many teams and drivers interested in competing most if not all of these series, when scheduling conflicts occur, these series end up competing against one another when they could all co-exist and everyone would be a winner. They aren't talking about these series worrying about what is going on in European soccer leagues or other sports. Heck, they talked about how there is no crossover between sports car and Formula One. They are focused clearly on improving the series from a motorsports viewpoint. How different is that from an IndyCar discussion where we are talking about sports that have no connection to IndyCar whatsoever.
IndyCar needs to realize what they are. They are a motorsports series. They are not a football league. They do not have the pulse of the nation on edge every Sunday with 20-30 million people ready to watch. Stop acting like that avoiding the NFL is going to lead to an IndyCar boom. It won't. Consistently running from the beginning of spring through the middle of autumn with talented drivers producing compelling racing with a variety of engine and aero kit manufactures just might thought.
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