One thing that was released just prior to the 2022 season opener at St. Petersburg but has been since swept under the rug is the survey results released from the partnered study between IndyCar, Motorsport Network and Nielsen Sports.
A total of 53,579 responses were filed from 147 countries in what is the largest global IndyCar fan survey ever put comprised.
Overall, there were eight key categories to the survey, giving a glimpse of the IndyCar fanbase and the perception of the series. Since we do not have another race in the near future, and since we have had a little time to go over the data, it is a good time to look over the report and digest what the fan base has said.
We will look over each category, what was said, what stood out and anything else important relating to the survey.
Audience
A vast majority of the respondents were based in North America, 61% to be exact with 23% respondents from Europe. South and Central America and the Asia-Pacific region had near identical respondents, accounting for 8% and 7% respectively. The rest of the world made the final percentage point. These five regions were used for informational breakdowns.
The average age of respondents was 42 years and three months old, which isn't that surprising. IndyCar has an older fan base. Taking the average literally to the time the surveys were completed from January 10 to January 31, 2022, that means the average IndyCar fan was born sometime around 1980.
That would account for the 50-year-olds, who grew up with the likes of A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al and Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears as their childhood stars while being the same age as Michael Andretti and Al Unser, Jr. and growing into their early adult years with all those drivers plus Bobby Rahal, Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi in the series. As for the respondents who were born around 1980, they were in their teenage years at the height of CART. The international appeal was at its highest with Mansell and Fittipaldi participating.
While the average age was just over 42 years old, majority of the respondents were over 55 years old, close to 30%. Most respondents were born in 1967 or earlier. That is not a great sign for a series, but if there is any silver lining, the second largest respondent age group was between the ages of 16-24 years old at just over 20%. Though far off the eldest group, it is a good sign the next largest age group is the youngest one. The series still needs to increase its viewership, but it might have a healthy young base to build on for hopefully the next 30 years.
With most respondents over the age of 55, it is no surprise a great number of respondents said they have been an IndyCar fan for ten years or more. In North America alone, that night was over 70%. In four of five regions did majority of the respondents say they have been watching for ten years or more, but the one region that did not might surprise you.
It was Europe.
Over 40% of European respondents said they have been following IndyCar for one to five years. The ten years or greater crowd was second somewhere north of 30%.
What accounts for this? Fernando Alonso. With no strong data to back it up, but five years ago Fernando Alonso attempted the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. Alonso was likely the first driver to expose IndyCar to the European audience. It was only one race, but it clearly did more. It also has helped that in the last five years Marcus Ericsson also came to IndyCar, Takuma Sato won that Indianapolis 500 Alonso first participated in and Sato is a driver the European fanbase knows, and over 10% of European respondents started watching in the last season, the year Romain Grosjean joined the series.
The rest of the world also had over 30% of respondents say they have started watching IndyCar in the last five years while the Asia-Pacific region was the only other one to have over 20% of respondents say they started watching in the last five years.
The rest of the world did have the highest percentage of viewers in the last year, somewhere over 15% while South and Central America and Europe were both over 10%. Asia-Pacific was fourth while North American rank last.
Brand Health
The key point IndyCar made known in this section was majority of fans believe IndyCar is healthier than it was three years ago. Numbers suggest that is the case. Car count is up. More sponsors are in the series. More races are on network television. The depth of the field has gotten deeper, and the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Scott McLaughlin and Romain Grosjean are now full-time competitors. It is tough to be negative when presented with those facts.
Three brand attributes were said by over 50% of respondents: competitive, exciting and entertaining.
Competitive was said by over 80% of respondents.
Growing, dangerous and fun all were in over 20% of respondents.
As for future success, close competition and exciting racing were both listed as key features in over 70% of responses. Lots of different winners was around 65% and overtaking and on-track action was just shy of 60%, but the only other key feature on over 50% of responses.
While 72.5% of respondents said they felt IndyCar was healthier than it was three years ago, 70% believe IndyCar does have to do more to attract new fans.
That is a fair assessment of the series as television rating series remain low, though growing (we will cover those in a moment), and from how Texas Motor Speedway looked there are plenty of seats available at races, too many to be proud about.
Media Landscape
In the 21st century, television is still king for IndyCar, cable television to be specific.
Cable/pay television accounted for 43.6% of media frequently accessed over a race weekend with 70% using free-to-air or cable/pay television each race weekend.
However, pay television has led to a negative viewership trends.
Forty percent of respondents said pay television has forced them to watch less IndyCar with nearly 50% of Central and South American respondents saying pay television has forced them to watch less and 68% of Canadian respondents to say they have watched less IndyCar because of pay television.
The good news is in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world, pay television has caused no change in viewership, but in only one region has pay television caused at least 20% of respondents to watch more IndyCar and that was Europe. Overall, pay television has only caused a little over 10% of respondents to watch more IndyCar.
The problem is pay television pays the bills. When it comes to international television partners, if one is going to put more money on the table than another then IndyCar is going to maximize profits over viewership. Pay television outlets traditional will shell out more money for these series to boost their portfolios, but they are usually a channel that a vast majority do not get and cost more money than the average person wants to spend on a television package.
It puts IndyCar in a corner. How does it balance drawing its largest possible audience worldwide while also earning its greatest amount of revenue? The series needs the money. It needs it for race purses, pay the teams and make IndyCar a more financially viable series. But it also needs viewers. It is one thing to make money but if the series is hidden to the viewers, how will anyone come to love and identify with the series and its drivers?
There is no easy solution.
Teams and Drivers
"IndyCar is non-tribal."
Meaning, respondents did not root for one specific driver, they pulled for multiple competitors. Fans have favorite, but there is no clear favorite. The top five most popular driver combined for 42% of all responses. The top ten covered 62% of responses. Nearly 10% did not have a favorite driver and about a quarter of respondents had a favorite that did not crack the top ten.
Romain Grosjean topped the chart with nearly 12%, the only driver to receive over 10% of votes. Patricio O'Ward was second overall and only slightly ahead of "no favorite" while Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five. Josef Newgarden, Takuma Sato and Colton Herta all hung around 5%.
The four main regions each had a different favorite driver. Grosjean was the top driver in the European region, O'Ward topped Central and South America, Castroneves topped North America and Sato topped the Asia Pacific. Grosjean was also the top drive about 16-24-year-olds.
Among teams, Team Penske was the favorite at 19.4% with Andretti Autosport and Arrow McLaren SP each tied on 17%. "No favorite" was next at 16%. Chip Ganassi Racing was the only other team to exceed 10% with every other team below 5%.
Race Experience
Nearly half of all respondents attended a race in the last five years, 48.3% to be specific. Respondents were more likely to have been to an IndyCar race than a Formula One race.
That makes sense. IndyCar races are far more affordable than a Formula One race, but it should also be noted majority of respondents were in North America. Every IndyCar race over the last five years were in North America, Canada, the United States and Mexico are the local races for the North American continent. Greater opportunity means greater IndyCar attendance, and 70% of North American respondents have been to an IndyCar race in the last five years compared to less than 20% having been to a Formula One race.
Opportunity goes a long way. Three quarters of respondents who have not been to a race said lack of a local race was the main reason. When nearly 40% of respondents were from outside North America, it is no surprise so many say lack of a local race is the main reason they haven't been to a race.
Though geography may not be favorable, many are hopeful. Over 60% of Central and South American respondents and Asia Pacific respondents who have not attended a race since 2016 said they will attend in the future. The rest of the world was slightly around 50%.
Europeans were most pessimistic. While just under 50% of European respondents who have not attended a race since 2016 said they will in the future, just over 40% of European respondents who have not attended a race since 2016 said they will not attend in the future. In comparison, that number was just over 20% in Central and South America, just over a quarter in the Asia Pacific and just over 30% in the rest of the world.
The survey also asked for its ideal schedule, which it should be noted wasn't an open free-for-all. The survey did have a limited selection of tracks to choose from, but of the 16 tracks selected in this survey, 13 are on the current schedule. Interestingly, there are 15 tracks on the 2022 schedule. The two that did not make the cut were Nashville and Portland. The three non-active tracks added were Austin, Watkins Glen and Pocono.
Even more interesting is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Laguna Seca ranked the highest among the 16-24 crowd while Texas and Road America were the least favorite among that age group.
Among respondents, the Indianapolis 500 was the most attended race. The IMS road course was second. Mid-Ohio, Road America and St. Petersburg rounded out the top five. Long Beach, Gateway, Texas, Belle Isle and Pocono rounded out the top ten.
When it comes to key features, good vantage points, track amenities (grandstands, parking, restrooms, concessions) and extra amenities (WiFi and big screens) were the top three, all being important to over 60% of respondents. Ironically, the three least important features were music concerts and entertainment at the track, camping facilities at the track and great nightlife/off track attractions. Of course, Iowa is banking on concerts to attract spectators and Nashville has banked on being more than a race while Mid-Ohio and Road America are known for their camping crowds.
One thing that stood out from this section was female respondents were 10% more likely to attend a race than male respondents. I think that is fascinating and female respondents accounted for 12.2% of the survey. It could be that female respondents are more likely to be hardcore IndyCar supporters than male respondents.
Sporting Spectacle
When it comes to the race format, a great majority are pleased with IndyCar's current format and do not want many changes.
What respondents did support were multiple tire and chassis suppliers (49%), double points in the Indianapolis 500 (47.2%), and minimal steward involvement over the course of a race (42.8%).
Considering how polarizing double points has been, it is surprising nearly half of respondents were in favor of it. I think people want the Indianapolis 500 to stand out. It is the most important race of the season and having it worth more is seen as good for the series.
Other popular ideas with respondents are maintaining cost controls for the long-term health of IndyCar (38.2%), prioritizing close racing over technological innovation (35.2%), avoiding ending races under caution (32.6%) and hybrid engines are an important and constructive step for the future (29.5%).
It is interesting that so many people would like multiple tire and chassis suppliers and want costs controlled. Those are almost competing ideas. In theory, multiple chassis suppliers would drive costs down, but that will not necessarily be how it works, especially if one chassis is far superior than another. Meanwhile, while close racing should be prioritized over technological innovations, with such a good chunk of respondents seeing the importance in hybrid technology, that is almost a wash of contrasting wants.
Respondents were only significant against one idea, changing the race format to "improve excitement." Forty-nine percent of respondents disapproved and that was strongest among 16-34 years old. However, when you consider almost a third of people would like to avoid races finishing under caution, it is again a set of contrasting wants. Unless a third of people are against the idea of ending races under caution but understand it is a necessary evil of motorsports the same way rain can end a baseball game after six innings or how one team may not get possession during overtime in a football game.
One other fascinating thing that was on the survey that I never heard anyone mention as a problem was modifying oval qualifying outside the Indianapolis 500. I think one option on the survey was to have oval qualifying be a four-lap average at every track, just like the Indianapolis 500. I remember not long ago IndyCar did four-lap averages at every oval and I thought it was over the top. That thought hasn't changed now.
Changing oval qualifying isn't going to bring more people to the racetrack nor increase viewership. The two-lap average works and I like what IndyCar has done for doubleheader oval weekends with one qualifying session, a two-lap run for each driver with the first lap deciding starting position in the first race and the second lap deciding the starting position in the second race. It is an efficient qualifying session. We have seen variety with some guys nailing lap one and starting up front but losing a few spots for the second race or vice versa. It has also been fun to have two pole-sitters on the hot seat. One might breathe a sigh of relief after lap one and then another on the hot seat. It is a lively session and every lap matters.
Esports
This is an important category for IndyCar, as it hopes to release its first dedicated video game in nearly two decades.
Eighty percent of respondents aged 16-34 spent at least 90 minutes playing video games each week, and they are playing racing video games.
The Formula One video game is the most popular at 53.2% with Gran Turismo and Forza tied at 31.9%. Console-based gaming was most popular at 83% while neither PC nor mobile gaming exceeding 50%.
Partnerships
What companies did respondents associate with IndyCar? It is unsurprising that is the companies that have sponsored the series or been around the longest
The top five companies associated with IndyCar are DHL, Firestone, Honda, NTT and Verizon.
NTT and Verizon are the last two title sponsors. Firestone and Honda have long been suppliers of tires and engines respectively. DHL has been a car sponsor for over a decade, just like Verizon. All five of these companies were in the top five for the North American, European and Asia Pacific regions.
DHL led European responses while Verizon and Firestone were the top two in North America and NTT and Honda led the Asia Pacific region.
What Did We Learn and What Does It Mean Going Forward?
I would say IndyCar is on the same page as its fan base.
How fans describe the series is similar to what IndyCar has pushed: A competitive series where any team can win with plenty of talent drivers spread among the ten teams on the grid. What IndyCar is trying to put on track is what respondents want to see. It goes back to the introduction of the universal aero kit, something that has made close racing more possible at road and street courses, and we have seen staggering passing numbers at places such as St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio and even Laguna Seca, partially because of the lack of disturbed air with this bodywork.
I think we have known for the last few years that IndyCar has a lot of popular drivers and this survey reflects that. One driver does not have a vast majority of the fan base in his or her corner, which is a good thing, but the results also suggests that IndyCar does not have a standout star, and I think that is true. While Grosjean is known, there isn't one driver that truly represents IndyCar and who when people see him or her they know he or she drives in IndyCar, races in the Indianapolis 500, has been a champion and is a person worth knowing.
Also, with the four big regions of the world each having a different most popular driver, it means IndyCar has to have a more diverse promotional campaign, which sounds great on paper, but it requires more creativity, more resources and more work period. At the present moment, IndyCar does not have the bandwidth for a four-prong global marketing campaign. It must be one-size fits all, which could limit the series exposure and people reached.
It will be interesting to see how media distribution changes in the next three to five years. In the United States, we are already going to see a massive change in how races are viewed as 14 of 17 races this year are on network NBC. Only two races are on cable television and the Toronto race is scheduled to be the one streaming only race on Peacock.
Viewership trends are going to change because presentation is changing. At least in the United States, cable/pay television is going to drop significantly, which should also bring down the overall number as well. All the races are also available on Peacock, the first year all the races are available on an over-the-top streaming platform. In the United States, it will not necessarily be one big swing toward network viewership, though that number should go up significantly, but streaming should also see a bump upward.
As for partnerships, it is interesting to see if any new companies become identifiable with IndyCar. If you look at the current top five, other than NTT, those four companies have been with IndyCar for more than a decade. Even NTT has been around for a while, dating back to the 2014 season when it started sponsoring the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing entry with Ryan Briscoe. The other companies in the top ten were Chevrolet, NAPA Auto Parts, Penske, Arrow and Pennzoil. Three of those five have deep history in IndyCar. NAPA and Arrow are two of the newer sponsors, both entering the series since the start of the 2015 season.
No company stays in IndyCar forever. It appeared DHL was on its way out after the 2021 season, but with Romain Grosjean now as its driver, DHL might have a face it can promote internationally. It might stay in IndyCar for a few more years. But all companies max out on IndyCar. Who will be there when the opportunity presents itself?
There is an overall optimism in IndyCar. It has been at this high level I would say since the 2017 Indianapolis 500 when Fernando Alonso showed up out of nowhere. In the near five years since that race, IndyCar has made some good strides forward, but there has been this underlying sense of it needs to be much better for the long-term health of the series.
While the number are moving in the right direction for IndyCar, it is still marginal gains and not significantly yearly growth that is turning heads. IndyCar is growing, but so is Formula One, especially in the United States and in the last three years Formula One has become the cultural flashpoint. It has overtaken IndyCar in the United States in a way the series could not have imagined it happening and Formula One has done it without an American driver and without a successful American team. IndyCar held serve and was completely overmatched with a flashier product that was willing to expose its background business that was once inaccessible to the average viewer. It took a chance and was rewarded brilliantly.
IndyCar has to take its chance. It has been down in the gutter for the entire 21st century. The time to take chances has been now for that entire time. But it might have missed its moment. It has to find a way to present itself that is enthralling to non-viewers and turn them into regular race viewers. The biggest thing out of IndyCar's hands is whether or not anyone will care no matter what the series does. That has been IndyCar's greatest problem ever since 1996. Will anything IndyCar actually does even matter?
