Things are not getting better but a few good things happened. Sage Karam was the winner of IndyCar's first iRacing event. IndyCar released a revised schedule, though Belle Isle appears to be on the fence. The Indianapolis 500 will be August 23. IMSA released a revised schedule. Laguna Seca is moving up a week, Mid-Ohio will be at the end of September and Road Atlanta moves back a week. MotoGP has delayed the Jerez round. Super GT is postponing races. Dario Franchitti has still got it. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Three Weeks of Video Games
We have been locked down for three weeks now. Outside of a couple of rallies in Mexico there has been no motorsports taking place. Super GT and Super Formula each got tests in but we have not seen races and the next time we see race cars at a track is still unclear but it does not feel like it will be that soon.
Filling the time has been plenty of video game races, from iRacing to Formula One's official video game and everything in-between, things have been organized quickly and has brought together drivers with nothing to do with people who are top of the virtual world.
This is a new but not entirely unfamiliar world to me. Life has evolved and Gran Turismo, the Formula One, NASCAR and one-time a long-time ago IndyCar games are not a regular outlet for free-time. This hobby never got to the level of iRacing. That was going to cost too much for a hobby.
It is one thing to play the games but it is another to watch it and if the time wasn't there for playing the games before it definitely wasn't there to watch it.
These are video games but they are races. It is not going to be that much of a shock to the system. The reaction to it will come down to the level of the competitors and what type of race is put on.
For the last three weeks I have watched a staggering amount of video game races and there are similarities across the board no matter the platform, the cars that are used and who is competing.
Between the competitions organized by The Race, Formula One, NASCAR, IMSA and IndyCar, a common thread is whoever starts at the front usually finishes there. That isn't a problem and that is typically how many races work out but it was not a case where someone could start 15th and drive up to the lead. It feels like the fields are pretty much tiered. Tier one starts in the top five and finishes in the top five. Those are the guys that have spent the most time on that platform. Fifth might be able to get to first, especially off the start. The pole-sitter could drop a few spots but the pole-sitter is still going to finish in the top five at worst.
The drivers that start between tenth and 15th, finish between those positions and so on.
That is fine but these events lack some type of shuffling, whether that is not having an alternate tire compound and pit strategy factor in or not having cautions or just having some guys who have a bad run in qualifying but has a better race car and can work to the front. It falls into the same problem some actually racing series struggle with, Formula One especially. If there is a consistent trend of the race results just mirroring the qualifying results than it is going to turn people off.
Part of it comes down to these races being sprint races. IMSA had a 90-minute race, which is a good length, and NASCAR had a 100-lap race at Homestead and 125-lap race at Texas, which are good lengths but not full races. The Formula One and The Race events have been more quarter-distance races and The Race has a few 10-lap heat races to set the main event. It is less time for things to happen and races need time to develop in some cases.
Race length aside, the level of competition has been a downer in some situations. Some guys are on iRacing regularly during the week to begin with. Other drivers never touch it. There is going to be disparity but in some cases it is a night and day difference. It some cases it was clear some big name drivers (Jimmie Johnson) should not be out there or at least not be locked into the main race.
NASCAR competitions the last few weeks have struggled with pace. Texas was better but the first two that were held had caution after caution for the first half of the race. It was one lap of green and then an accident and five caution laps. Then it was two laps of green, another accident and five caution laps. Then it was one lap of green, another accident and five caution laps. For those not doing the math at home that is four laps of green versus 15 laps of yellow. The Homestead race had nine cautions and 42 caution laps over a 100-lap race.
The one thing on NASCAR's side was each race was better in the final quarter of the race and had good finishes. The problem is it took over an hour to get there and it will be hard to keep people interested in watching when the first 75 minutes is nonsense. It is a lot like a basketball game where a lot of fouls are being called, no one is taking any shots from the field and it is a parade of free-throw after free-throw attempt.
This past weekend NASCAR had over 60 entries but the notable Cup drivers were locked into the field with the remainder competing in an LCQ for the final four spots. That is better than just having a qualifying session, but similar to when the top 35 cars in owners' points were locked in, you could get the case where faster drivers do not qualify while a handful of slower cars get to race.
Instead of locking Cup guys in, NASCAR could run three heat races, have those be ten laps in length, have a ten-lap LCQ follow and end with a 50-lap main event with the top twenty drivers. One, it would prevent the drivers not taking it seriously from getting in accidents and knowing it is fine because they have resets to burn. Two, it would allow everyone compete on television but hopefully prevent Jimmie Johnson from taking out the leaders. Three, there would be more urgency through out the broadcast and more on the line. Four, it would hopefully not take as long and feel like a better use of the time. The last two races broadcasted on FS1 went over its allotment of time. There is nothing it is delaying but it has been a finish and a hurried interview with the winner. I guess that is all you need but it would be nice not to be rushed out the door every once in a while.
If there is one thing I have learned from all this is the best thing to do is to do what is not done.
Dinner with Racers nailed how these events should be organized. They should be something we cannot see in the real world. The 12-hour Sebring race that it organized was a seven-class affair that featured IndyCars, the HPD LMP2 car, TCR Audis, Ford stock cars, spec-Miatas, Stadium Super Trucks and a sprint car. Who wouldn't want to watch that? You have no idea what could happen. Dinner with Racers returns on Thursday April 2 with Thursday Night Blunder.
We should suspend realism for a moment. We have seen NASCAR at Homestead and Texas plenty of times before. We don't need to see IndyCar at Phoenix or Watkins Glen. This is a chance to do something different and fun and not have to worry about sanctioning fees or safety. Give people a reason to tune in.
IndyCar is never going to race at Kokomo, Bathurst, Bristol, Monza or Talladega. NASCAR is never going to race at Knoxville, South Boston, Brands Hatch, Interlagos or Lime Rock Park. IMSA is never going to run the Pocono oval, Martinsville, Phillip Island or Darlington. Those are where the races should be held. It should be an off-the-wall event. It should be something that is mildly absurd but challenging. Every driver should be out of his or her comfort zone.
IndyCar is having some fun with it. It had a bracket decide this past weekend's race. Next week will be at Barber but after that it will be a "driver's choice" race and then a "random draw" before Austin when that race was supposed to be scheduled. The final race of the six-race series will be a non-IndyCar "dream" track. That is something!
I have taken away from this period of video game races that this could exist in some form regularly. I am not sure what the extent of it could be. I think the boom we are looking at now is mostly because of environmental factors. We are homebound and nothing else is going on in the sports world. This isn't some shift in the tide. Also, let's be clear that the numbers even during a shutdown when no sports are going on are not astronomical. This is not going to be weekly water cooler fodder when we get back to the water coolers.
It has a reach and a semi-regular series could add more exposure for a series. I am not sure it could be a weekly thing but perhaps it could be a monthly thing. Perhaps there is an appetite for a monthly IndyCar iRacing series where drivers from IndyCar, Indy Lights and the other Road to Indy series compete with a few invites and run a bunch of different places. The same is true for NASCAR.
These iRacing series will be held back because they need current drivers to compete. There are some people who are better at iRacing than the finest IndyCar and NASCAR drivers but 30 John and Jane Does are not going to draw flies. IndyCar needs Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta to show up. NASCAR needs Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch to show up. This basically has to be an extension of the real thing. Perhaps there could be two leagues, one for the iRacing regulars and the top three or five get included in this invitational league with the actual drivers.
This period of stagnation has forced us to adapt and that could turn out to be a good thing. This is a time to try things that have otherwise been put off or dismissed because there are no other options and races cannot be held. This is a chance to be innovative, explore new ways to reach people and give people something to enjoy. Motorsports will return and hopefully it will be soon but that does not mean what is practiced today should be completely abandoned when things return to normal. If it works it should be adopted into the routine when regular life resumes.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Sage Karam but did you know...
Timmy Hill won NASCAR's video game race from Texas.
Dario Franchitti won the Legends Trophy All-Star race at the Silverstone National circuit.
NOT Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar will not actually be at Barber.
The European Le Mans Series will not begin its 2020 season in Barcelona.
MotoGP is not returning to the United States and Austin.
Formula One will not be making its debut in Vietnam.
There will not be a Super Formula season opener at Suzuka.
NASCAR will not be at Bristol.
Formula E will not be in Rome.
Supercars is not happening to Symmons Plains.
Supercross is not visiting Denver.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar will have a video game race at Barber.
NASCAR will have a video game race.
Dinner with Racers has its first edition of Thursday Night Blunder.
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