Another half-inch forward but we are getting more calendar revisions, some good and some not so good. NASCAR is set through June. IMSA is bringing back the Paul Revere 250 at Daytona and adding a sprint race to Sebring in July. Talk about a sweaty pair of races. Supercross is set for seven races in 22 days in Salt Lake City. The Supercars season will span into 2021. IndyCar will head to St. Petersburg on October 25. The Toronto IndyCar race will not go on as scheduled and it probably will not happen at all. Formula One is nearing an official calendar.
Plenty happened last week and that doesn't even take into consideration Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR race from Darlington, the 50th Cup victory of his career, Fernando Alonso joined the sim racing world, Zandvoort needs to push the start/finish to the far end of the straightaway, as close to turn one as humanly possible, BMW's dominance is over and Conor Daly unveiled his Indianapolis 500 livery. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.
What Could an IndyCar Offseason iRacing Series Look Like?
We are taking a break from iRacing for the most part, especially as series return to racetracks. However, in the wake of this iRacing period, it is fresh to consider how this tool could be used in the future and it best to talk about it now, so it is not forgotten down the line.
IndyCar had a mostly successful six-week adventure with the warts showing up in the final week after a clumsy and partially unorganized qualifying event and poor sportsmanship in the final race, leaving everyone with a sour taste in the mouth. One dismal day hasn't spoiled the entire concept and iRacing allows the series to remain present even when the series commences its five-plus month hibernation.
In Marshall Pruett's post-iRacing series summary James Hinchcliffe said, "If we don't a winter eSports series moving forward, I would be absolutely floored." Hinchcliffe cited IndyCar's problem with a lengthy offseason and proposed iRacing as a solution to give sponsors increased exposure during an otherwise inactive period for the series.
The iRacing platform gives IndyCar teams and drivers an affordable way to extend its season beyond its constrictive six-and-a-half-month calendar. All of a sudden IndyCar could have a presence over all 12 months without having the cost of six to eight additional race weekends, which include travel, hotels, hospitality, operating a race car and more.
The problem is IndyCar has a history of missing what seems to be an obvious promotion. The series was on the front foot when it came to this quarantine series, but this was almost necessary for this down time. Nothing else was going on. IndyCar lost four race weekends. The series had to do something.
Come the offseason, something doesn't have to be done. It is a chance to go radio-silent and for a century that was just the case. IndyCar could hunker down into winter and wait until spring without making a peep. In 2020, especially after the last two months, hunkering down should become a thing of the past.
With the knock-on effect of the pandemic, we face uncertain economic times ahead and with a series that was already going to be a tough sell, persuading sponsors to drop seven-figures on an IndyCar sponsorship could be inconceivable. IndyCar has to find more to sell than 17 races from the middle of March to the middle of September to a sponsor and iRacing could fill in the ignored times of autumn and winter.
There are limits to a winter iRacing series and exposure balances with saturation. Too many events and people will tune out because there is no urgency to watch. If you miss one week, it will be back the next week and you didn't miss much. IndyCar does need some away time. We shouldn't wave the checkered flag on the 2020 season and the following weekend have everyone behind their computers and competing every week until the first race of 2021.
Six weeks was a suitable filler but mostly because there were no other options out there. IndyCar could get away with six consecutive weeks of iRacing events now because there were no NCAA tournament, baseball, soccer, NBA and NHL playoffs to compete with for television time. A 90-minute window was the least NBC Sports could offer for a broadcast.
The offseason hopefully will be different. I hope there will be hockey, basketball and soccer going on and IndyCar struggles getting its iRacing event televised because that tells me things are going in the right direction. Weekends might not be suitable for these events being televised. It might have to become a Monday night filler counter to Monday Night Football or be on a Friday night, the worst night for television.
The 2020 season finale is scheduled for October 25 at St. Petersburg. For this year, I don't think any iRacing series should start until December. Give the drivers a month off, give them Thanksgiving off but set the schedule for winter.
It should not be six consecutive weeks of competition but spread out with two races a month, something similar to IMSA's iRacing calendar, which has hosted races every other week.
When deciding the tracks, stay away from what already exists. IndyCar does not need to run at Indianapolis, Austin, Mid-Ohio, Gateway, Texas, Belle Isle, Road America or Laguna Seca on iRacing. We get it in real life. We do not need to see those races again. This is a time to do what is not possible, whether it is because of science, safety or logistics.
After the fraudulent themes IndyCar laid out for its iRacing schedule, whatever is done in the winter should be decided beforehand. Don't give out false teases of "random" track or "drivers' choice." Choose the damn tracks and be creative. I would be fine if the tracks weren't announced until an hour before the race that way no driver could get a massive advantage through excessive practicing, but the series needs something to sell and it needs something to attract guest drivers.
Here is a rough draft of what could be possible:
December 7 - Bristol
December 14 - Le Mans
January 11 - Bathurst
January 18 - Darlington
February 8 - Daytona
February 22 - Interlagos
You put IndyCar on three ovals it otherwise would not run at and three international circuits that are pure insanity. You get two events in before Christmas, two in-between the Roar Before the 24 and the 24 Hours of Daytona and two in February, the final days of the offseason.
I am not sure all the races could be broadcasted but this could be a chance to mix it up with a few streaming online and a few on television. Obviously, the better sell is television, but streaming does allow for more flexibility in terms of broadcast time and what can be done for the races. The goal would be to get at least one event a month broadcasted.
With scheduling and television complete, one final thing, no field limits. Control the grid size through invitations but don't restrict the grid to 33 cars when you have 40 drivers interested including Kyle Busch. If you can get guests from other series, let them run, the more the merrier.
IndyCar has to be on top of any winter iRacing series. It cannot wait until November to announce something that begins in December or January. Arrangements must be public before the season is over. People need to know when these races are happening, and drivers need time to schedule their lives if they choose to compete. Along with this series, IndyCar should investigate an iRacing series for the iRacing geniuses to run and allow everyday people to participate in the series. This is a chance for IndyCar to be more involved and add assets to its portfolio.
There is a lot that will going on over the next few months. IndyCar is going to have a lot of things floating in the air with the covid-19 pandemic not disappearing anytime soon. Races are going fluid up until they are run. Teams will face hardship. There are a lot of hurdles ahead of the series in real life, but it must continue planning for the future, which includes a larger presence in the iRacing world when the season is over.
IndyCar has to be prepared for the future and current wariness is not an excuse to drop the ball.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Kevin Harvick but did you know...
Jacob Witcher won the Thursday Night Blunder IndyCar vs. GT3 Bathurst race in an IndyCar.
Nick Tandy won IMSA's iRacing event from Road America.
Jan Magnussen and Emanuele Pirro split the Legends Trophy races from Zandvoort. Esteban Gutiérrez and Aiden Millward split the Pro Cup races.
Coming Up This Weekend
NASCAR has a Grand National Series race on Tuesday at Darlington and a Cup race Wednesday at Darlington with the Coca-Cola 600 scheduled for Sunday, Memorial Day weekend.
Thursday Night Blunder has its semifinal race at Belle Isle.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
