This is it: The final day of 2019. There hasn't been much going on in the final weeks of December. In recent news, McLaren appears to be joining Super GT, Sébastien Loeb has joined Hyundai, Christina Nielsen will drive for Meyer Shank Racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona and Christopher Haase will drive for Starworks at Daytona. Before moving on, there are two articles I read that I thought were really well done. The first was Marshall Pruett's year of surprises piece and the other is Will Buxton's piece looking back at Fernando Alonso's career in Formula One. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
2019 New Year's Resolutions
It is the end of the year and it is time to set our expectations for the New Year.
We have a lot of time until the IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula One seasons to start to name a few series but instead of waiting until the middle of February or the middle of March to set the mindset, let's do it now. Let's take a moment to take into consideration what will happen in 2019 and weigh what we should expect. I think it is important to be realistic and not set the bar too high where it is more likely to end up disappointment than pleased.
The same goes for the series. I think series need to set the expectations accordingly. The last thing a series should do is set the numbers too high whether that be in terms of attendance, viewership or social media attention. There are far greater consequences if a series does not live up to its expectations than if our expectations are not met.
We are going to look what series and fans should work on in 2019.
IndyCar: Don't Get Complacent
A lot of things have gone IndyCar's way in the last 18 months.
We saw the universal aero kit introduced without many, if any, problems. The racing was great with some areas for improvement but it was a gain for the series.
Besides the aero kit, the series started testing an aeroscreen and while it has not been tested since May and while there has been no set schedule for implementation the series has made a step in this safety device. It may not be moving as fast as some would like but progress has been made.
There have been new teams. For half a decade it seemed like IndyCar was shedding teams left and right and the party was dying down. It was a concern and thankfully it appeared to have been righted. Carlin expanded to two full-time entries. Harding Racing became a full-time team. Michael Shank expanded his operation to IndyCar, six years after initially planning to in 2012. Juncos Racing ran most of the 2018 season. DragonSpeed will run part-time in 2019. Scuderia Corsa has been testing the waters. Then there is McLaren, which will take on its own Indianapolis 500 effort in 2019 after running in partnership with Andretti Autosport in 2017.
Gateway and Portland returned to the schedule with much fanfare. Laguna Seca will be back in 2019. The series will make its first trip to Circuit of the Americas. Surfers Paradise is having conversation of bringing IndyCar back.
I guess what I am saying is I don't want IndyCar to forget where it came from. I don't want the series to forget the struggles during the early days of the DW12-era. I don't want the series to think it is all gravy from here and teams are going to be coming in every year from all different areas. I don't want the series to think returning to places of yore will result in 50,000 people turning up on race day.
I want the series to be on top of any future hurdles whether it comes with the next generation of car, which could be set to come in 2021, or making sure teams are properly compensated and the Leader Circle program is able to accommodate new entries as well.
The series still needs a title sponsor, which we think will be here before February, there are still races that struggle with attendance, most notably the ovals. There is no guarantee Pocono will last beyond 2019. Who knows if local pressure forces Belle Isle and Toronto off the schedule. Long Beach does not have a title sponsor! Long Beach of all races!
It is easy to put your feet up but this is no cakewalk for IndyCar. The last things the series can afford is to get caught out when faced with adversity. Not saying that will happen to the series but it is a good reminder that just because things are good today does not mean it will be that way tomorrow.
IndyCar Fans: Be Patient with the New Television Deal
Congratulations IndyCar fans, you got what you wanted. NBC is the home for IndyCar. Every race from the Indianapolis 500 to St. Petersburg, Laguna Seca to Long Beach and Toronto to Texas will be on an NBC property. There will be races on network NBC. The Indianapolis 500 has a new home and one that has been celebrated for years. That doesn't mean problem solved and move on.
Don't expect the numbers to skyrocket with this change. Don't expect any gains. We are in an odd time and motorsports is shifting. Less people are watching across the board. A network switch will not change a bigger trend that is beyond the series.
Year one may see things remain stagnant and that does not mean NBC is not doing good enough but it could just be how things are in this crazy world. You cannot change the ratings are your own. It is greater than you and me. All you can do is enjoy the race in front of you and not worry about the numbers. That shouldn't dictate how you feel about this series that you love.
NASCAR: Admit a Mistake Without Spin
NASCAR changes a lot a lot of the time.
Something always has to be tweaked, tinkered, fixed, massaged, relaxed, tightened, flipped, flopped, finagled, erased, adjusted, doctored, developed, enhanced, re-engineered, reimagined, reconsidered or retooled.
And yet the racing is always the best it has ever been!
I want NASCAR to just say it is wrong. If this new aero package doesn't work I want the series to say, "Hey, we thought we could get 85 lead changes in every race from Texas to Loudon to Homestead to Las Vegas and it didn't work out." And then leave it at that. Not try and sell it as being some wondrous thing.
Even with the Playoff/Chase format, I want the series to admit its flaws. Just say, "Hey, this might not necessarily feel right and it does have holes when it comes to deciding who the best driver in a series is."
Just be honest. Don't keep saying the racing is the greatest it has ever been when you are completely changing aero regulations, race format, championship format and more. It is clear the series has a few insecurities if it is revamping everything every two or three years. We can all see it. We have all had siblings, cousins or family members who were the same way and had a different hairstyle, color or new tattoo every year at Thanksgiving. NASCAR is that family member: Constantly changing and never happy.
Just say you are wrong once in a while and have no shame in returning to who you are.
NASCAR Fans: Keep 2020 Calendar Expectations in Check
There is a lot hope over the 2020 calendar. The five-year contract will be up and everyone seems to think NASCAR has a big shake up in store.
However, people have to keep a few things in mind.
One: International Speedway Corporation and Speedway Motorsports Inc. control 20 of the 23 tracks and 31 of the 36 races. Neither is going to budge and give up races. ISC has 18 races and SMI has 13 races. If there is going to be any changes, those numbers are staying the same.
Two: The schedule isn't going to be shaken up that much. Homestead is going to be the finale. What other track can host a race in late-November? Martinsville isn't getting a night race. Las Vegas isn't moving to July. Pocono isn't moving to October. The schedule will look pretty to similar to how it has looked for the last 25 years.
Three: Weeknight races are not likely to happen. No one has explained how weeknight races solve any of the issue. It is different. It is hopeful more people watch but instead of racing 36 of 40 weeks, the probably is moved from being a weekly thing to having it be an occasional short week where the teams have to go to one track, be there Friday through Sunday, pack everything up and get to the shop and then to another track for a Wednesday or Thursday event and then get maybe an additional three days off and then return to the weekly grind?
How does that benefit anyone and how many times could you afford to do that?
Where could you do that? What places want to do it?
Richmond and Martinsville could be run in consecutive weeks but would either track want that? You can't run at Loudon on a Wednesday after Watkins Glen. You wouldn't run at Fontana the Thursday after Sonoma.
Four: (Insert One of the Following Tracks Below Here) will not be on the schedule:
Gateway, Nashville, Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, Austin, Barber, South Boston, Myrtle Beach, Road Atlanta, Bowman Gray Stadium, Eldora, Knoxville, Lime Rock Park, Texas World, Pikes Peak, Memphis, Nazareth, Indianapolis Raceway Park, any street circuit, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Formula One: Keep Common Sense in Mind
Liberty Media is still in its infancy as superior ruler of Formula One and while the new bosses have done some good things for the series, it has keep in mind the limits of the series.
There can only be so many races and there are only so many places that can host a race. The series has committed to Vietnam for 2020 but other places such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Argentina to name a few.
There are also places the series should not turns its back on in favor of "destination events." As much as the series chase people it should not run from the lifeblood of the series. This is Silverstone, Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, Canada, Germany, Brazil and Japan to name a few. These are venues where people turn up and are passionate crowds. Silverstone is jam-packed on Friday and it would be overflowing if there was practice on Thursday as well. Canada is sold out all three days. Suzuka is a wonderful atmosphere. Monza goes back to the beginning of Formula One and is the ultimate venue in terms of speed and raw emotion when it comes to the tifosi.
The series cannot sacrifice what it is in hopes of becoming greater. Formula One has to realize what it has, how great it is and it is not worth trading away for some corporate crowd at a race around a resort in a tropical climate.
Formula One Fans: Be Nicer to Lewis Hamilton
I might catch flack for this one but it seems like Lewis Hamilton gets way more crap than he deserves and one person comes to mind when I think about this: Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher had his flaws and I think people grew tired of him but then he suffered a skiing accident and we have only come to appreciate him after such a disastrous event occurred. For years, Schumacher was dragged over the coals for his demeanor. Some of it may have been justified but it was used to fully discredit the German. I feel like no driver's accomplishments have been casted as impure as much as Schumacher's. Whether it was because of his aggressive nature or the technical wonder team around him at Ferrari or his clear delineation as the number one drivers and preferential treatment, it always seemed to wash over his accomplishments.
However, now that Schumacher is no longer in the public life and we are unsure of his capabilities it seems the stances have softened. People aren't as critical. People are starting to realize he has seven championships and 91 grand prix victories and how great of an accomplishment that was to achieve.
It seems like Hamilton gets similar criticism. While Schumacher's criticism was directed at on-track and race-related blips, Hamilton is chastised for everything. He wins a race; people are upset about his pose on the podium. He qualifies third; he isn't angry enough about not being on pole position. He hangs out with a pop star in New York; he is distracted. He wears a coat two sizes too big; he is too exuberant. He eats a chocolate doughnut for breakfast; he is too excessive.
The man can't catch a break. I can't help but think what will happen when Hamilton retires. I think more people will be happy to see him gone but after ten years they will start to come around and realize it was silly to pick apart the man as much as we did while he was a driver.
Instead of coming full circle a decade down the line, let's just enjoy him for who is he now and recognize where is among the all-time greats. These days will not repeat and we better enjoy now and not regret we did not make the most of them later.
IMSA: Be Aggressive
With the DPi and LMP2 cars split into separate classes, it is time for IMSA to get aggressive. As much as I would have rather seen IMSA just boosted LMP2 cars and have them not necessarily match the exact WEC regulations because after all, why would the IMSA LMP2 cars have to run exactly like the WEC LMP2 cars? The GTLM class isn't a mirror image of GTE-Pro, why would LMP2 be the same?
But that is behind us and we now have a dedicated pro-am prototype class, albeit much smaller than I think anyone would wish.
Open up the DPi cars. There is no reason to keep the shackles on these cars. If you are splitting up the prototypes class then one mind as well be far superior than the other especially when one is designated as a pro-am class. This isn't like the days of LMP1 and LMP2 in American Le Mans Series when Audi was in one and Porsche was in the other. All the manufactures are in one class and the other is for chassis manufactures with a spec engine.
IMSA could have something great on its hands if it handles it right. While the WEC is down to one manufacture in LMP1 and has revealed the hypercar regulations but has yet to receive any official commitments, IMSA has multiple manufactures and it seems like the door is still open for some more.
Le Mans is great but if a manufacture is weighing its options between the uncertain WEC hypercar regulations and IMSA's successful DPi class, why wouldn't it jump into IMSA? The WEC is a world championship and will take you to China, Japan and Brazil but the other option could be an American program at a lower price.
I think this is IMSA's time to capitalize on the class split and become enticing to undecided manufactures.
IMSA Fans: Come to Terms With Coverage Spread Over Multiple Channels
Like IndyCar, IMSA has a new television home. Like Fox, IMSA is going to have its races split over multiple networks and streaming options.
It is bound to happen when you have a 24-hour race, a 12-hour race and a ten-hour race and it is a crowded block. There is Premier League from August to May, NHL from October to June and then there is NASCAR and IndyCar. There is the Tour de France in July. You got to share the time.
The races are going to be on any one of four options that has "NBC" in the title whether it be NBCSN, NBC, CNBC or the NBC Sports app.
It is not a bad thing that things are split over multiple networks and there has been a way to print out, write down, paint on the wall or carve into stone what race will be broadcasted on what network this season. It isn't that hard to change the channel at the appropriate times.
Winners From While We Were Away
Alexander Sims won the Formula E season opener from Saudi Arabia.
Franck Lagorce and Jean-Baptiste Dubourg split the Andros Trophy races from Andorra.
Coming Up This Weekend
The Supercross season opener from Anaheim.
The Dakar Rally begins on Sunday.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
