Josef Newgarden won a million dollars. A driver was thrown out at Le Mans. We await the official results from France. The LMDh cars cannot get here soon enough, and cars were revealed this weekend. Andrea Dovizioso was a spectator this weekend. The NASCAR Truck Series return to Sonoma for the first time since 1998. There was another first time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. Ferrari keeps finding ways to lose races. The Formula One record book is looking a little different. Lewis Hamilton has a sore back. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
Feeling Flat
One of the biggest things I noticed while attending the Belle Isle race weekend last week was the lack of passion from the fanbase for a driver.
Fans were there, people wearing Patricio O'Ward shirts or Scott Dixon hats or Jimmie Johnson NASCAR gear. Romain Grosjean, Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta each had spectators sporting their apparel. Graham Rahal even had a few people supporting him.
But these weren't zealous fans. No one was mobbed or attracted a hoard of screaming fans. Marcus Ericsson got additional attention a week after winning the Indianapolis 500, but there wasn't a rush of people overwhelming the paddock area. It was just a few more eager but rather silent attendees.
The drivers are respected and most are accommodating, available to sign autographs and take pictures. It is an open experience for spectators. They are walking elbow-to-elbow with the drivers as they return from the pit lane from a practice. It is quite easy to interact with the drivers. Each has a following, but there is no strong favorite.
O'Ward drew cheers. Johnson drew cheers. Rossi, Dixon, Conor Daly all received minor ovations, but IndyCar does not have those two drivers or three drivers that have captured the grandstands and everyone knows from looking around who has the healthiest followings. As of now, it is about a 15-way split for the top spot.
I know at Indianapolis we hear the hearty cheers for Tony Kanaan, Ed Carpenter, Daly and the like, but that is one race, one location. IndyCar is more than that, and from taking the temperature from Belle Isle, you really aren't sure who is the guy.
That might not be a bad thing, but IndyCar doesn't have a star. It isn't a case of it has a half-dozen stars or ten stars and who know who everyone knows. IndyCar doesn't have one guy that the average person knows where he races. The drivers, by being equally loved, are also equally anonymous.
In turn, Formula One's meteoric rise in the United States has created at least a half-dozen popular faces that appeal to the fan base. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have fans. Daniel Ricciardo is definitely one of the more beloved drivers in this country. Sergio Pérez has the benefit of geography. Everyone sees the emergence of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris and are hopping on those bandwagons now. Pierre Gasly is a sentimental underdog.
None of these drivers are going to rival Tom Brady, LeBron James or Simone Biles in terms of popularity, but you see more Ricciardo and Norris in American commercials than any IndyCar driver. The Formula One contingent is at least getting their names and faces out there and sparked some recognition. IndyCar isn't close to getting that right now, despite having notable sponsors in the series. It doesn't appear the series is capable of generating a star.
IndyCar is playing with an outdated playbook, hoping great racing is what will attract viewers. The viewers aren't looking for a racing series. They fell in love with Formula One through Drive to Survive because of the people, the backroom exposure, and a little bit of racing on track. They don't care about the level of racing. There were 12 overtakes in the Monaco Grand Prix. Twelve! Belle Isle had 280 passes. What happens on track doesn't entirely matter. It helps, but people have bought in for what happens behind the scenes.
Drive to Survive made the drivers relatable to the viewer, their talent behind the wheel be damned.
In the wake of Drive to Survive, IndyCar doesn't know what it wants to do. It doesn't want to have its own version of Drive to Survive, but it really doesn't have any other ideas about how to increase its exposure to an otherwise unaware audience. Worst of all, it feels like the series is bound to blow another opportunity.
Its two brightest young stars, Colton Herta and Patricio O'Ward, both have Formula One aspirations. Whether they make it or not is unknown, but the best drivers IndyCar could tie itself to for the next decade or more could be gone from the series before both are 25 years old. Two of the greatest drivers in IndyCar history, Scott Dixon and Will Power, are old, both over 40 and with fewer races ahead of them than behind.
By the way, IndyCar missed the boat on Will Power. They had a driver whose name is Will Power. Come on! That should have sold itself. Even worse, not only has Power been winning races, is champion, won an Indianapolis 500 and has been a regular contender for nearly 15 years, he has had one of the most consistent sponsors in Verizon. Seeing as how Formula One has risen in this country despite having no American drivers and the one American team hasn't contributed to the popularity at all, Power's nationality really wasn't a hurdle for him becoming a known name, only an excuse for one-dimensional thinkers put in charge of the series' profile.
The youth could be elsewhere in a blink of an eye. The greatest are bound to retire soon. What is left?
Can IndyCar turn Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi or Álex Palou into someone? Newgarden has already won two championships and plenty of races. The only thing left in front of him is an Indianapolis 500 victory. There is a story to tell.
Rossi is trying to reinvent his career, about to change teams for the first time in 2023 while on a long winless streak, many questioning if he really has it and if his greatest triumph was only a fluke. There is a story to tell.
Palou wasn't rich enough for Formula One. He didn't attract the backers. Taking a different road, he went to Japan, found success there, turned his relationship with Honda into a move to IndyCar, turned a good, but flawed rookie season into a move to Chip Ganassi Racing and won a championship in his sophomore season. Not to mention he has been a thrillingly consistent driver who appears will be one to beat for years to come, Ganassi's next generational talent after having one of the greatest IndyCar drivers for the lsat 20 years. There is a story to tell.
Newgarden, Rossi and Palou aren't associated with any Formula One moves. While Herta and O'Ward are penciled into future McLaren F1 seats, those other three appear to be set in IndyCar for the rest of their careers, which should be for at least the next 10-15 years. That is the backbone IndyCar needs to build around. It can also tell the redemption stories about Ericsson and Grosjean finding new careers and re-igniting their passion in a new series, showing the grass is greener and there is life after Formula One.
What about the likes of Callum Ilott, who came close to Formula One, never got a fair sniff and is now trying to balance that failure of not fully seeing out his childhood dream but also create a career in a new place around unfamiliar faces in unfamiliar places?
The Road to Indy system has brought many drivers to IndyCar, but those careers are still on life support. Numerous Indy Lights champions have come and gone within three seasons. How are Tristan Vautier, Sage Karam, Gabby Chaves, Spencer Pigot, Ed Jones, Kyle Kaiser and Oliver Askew doing in IndyCar? These rookie seasons and sophomore seasons are pivotal for the likes of Kyle Kirkwood and David Malukas. They could be somebodies. They are more likely to end up being nobodies. Too often are those stories ignored. People love rooting for an underdog, someone scraping for their lives. IndyCar has those story, and while it isn't great to show those difficult situations, it is real and an audience will appreciate it.
There is plenty floating around the IndyCar paddock to work with. It could tell those stories without being constrained to a television window for a race. It must tell those stories outside of the normal race time. It is one thing to be content as a racing series, but when you are sliding down the pecking order in your own country to a series that only shows up twice a year, it is time to do something different.
IndyCar cannot remain closed to the world any longer. It must promote the drivers as more than drivers and give people a reason to actually care beyond he or she won here or won there or likes blue Gatorade or plays the drums. It must give the people a legitimate reason to be passionate about the drivers on track and turn a race into something more than a Sunday soiree. These must be sporting events where the results on track cause an emotional reaction from those watching.
IndyCar is losing, and it is soon going to find itself facing an insurmountable deficit if it doesn't do something soon.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Josef Newgarden, but did you know...
The #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Brandon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won the 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The #38 Jota Oreca-Gibson of António Félix da Costa, Roberto González and Will Stevens won in LMP2. The #91 Porsche of Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki won in GTE-Pro. The #33 TF Sport Aston Martin of Ben Keating, Marco Sørensen and Henrique Chaves won in GTE-Am.
Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his fifth victory of the season and 25th of his career, tying him with Jim Clark and Niki Lauda for ninth all-time.
Frederik Vesti and Dennis Hauger split the Formula Two races from Baku.
Christian Rasmussen won the Indy Lights race from Road America, his first career Indy Lights victory. Louis Foster and Braden Eves split the Indy Pro 2000 races. Jace Denmark and Michael d'Orlando split the U.S. F2000 races.
Daniel Suárez won the NASCAR Cup race from Sonoma, his first career Cup victory. Kyle Busch won the Truck race, his 62nd Truck victory and 224th NASCAR national touring series victory.
Álvaro Bautista won the main races while Toprak Razgatlioglu won the Superpole race during the World Superbike weekend from Misano. Dominique Aegerter swept the World Supersport races and has won seven consecutive races.
Mikel Azcona and Santiago Urrutia split the World Touring Car Cup races from the Hungaroring.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One returns to Canada for the first time since 2019.
MotoGP will be at the Sachsenring.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters makes its first visit to Imola.
Supercars has a round at Hidden Valley Raceway.
Super Formula will be at Sportsland SUGO.
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup will be at Zandvoort.
GT World Challenge America will be at Virginia International Raceway.
SRX opens its season at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
The top two NASCAR national series are off, but the Truck Series will race at Knoxville Raceway.
