Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
It is 2025, and a Brabham (Matt) and an Andretti (Adam) finished 1-2 at Road Atlanta (Trans-Am). Ferrari suffered a devastating blow post-race in Shanghai, a double disqualification. There was another unfulfilled finish in the NASCAR world. There were another two pretty good races in Homestead, however. Supercross came back with a Triple Crown weekend. Álex Palou brought Zak Brown's worst nightmare to life, as Palou passed two McLaren cars and drove off to win by over ten seconds at Thermal Club, which hosted its first IndyCar championship race, a notable occasion for many reasons.
Wandering the Desert
Palm Springs, California is much different than St. Petersburg, Florida.
Trading in the blue bay and breeze for the yellow sands and mountainous backdrop, IndyCar experiences a swift shift in the surroundings. At least it is still warm.
Possible more notable than going from a street circuit with an airport runway for a main straightaway to a country club racetrack is what is missing.
The people.
After starting the season with a festival atmosphere that attracts attendees from all over, some hoping to escape the final weeks of winter to the locals who are happy to have the race back in town, IndyCar experiences a sharp juxtaposition at Thermal Club.
There is nobody there.
We say that about a lot of races. There are obviously some people there, but at St. Petersburg you know people are there. There are the yachts and grandstands in multiple corners. People watch from balconies surrounding the circuit, taking advantage of a fortunate apartment or hotel location. You can see people walking around the grounds as the cars are on track. You rarely see a soul at Thermal Club.
It doesn't help that ticket sales were limited to 5,000. Around a three-mile circuit, there is no way 5,000 people will ever look like a crowd even if they are all crammed into one grandstand on the outside of the circuit. That is 5,000 people for race day. It is far less on Friday and Saturday when there is no other competition on track. There wasn't a Road to Indy Series or SRO America series to fill the bill. Thermal is an IndyCar-only weekend. When IndyCar goes quiet, the circuit goes quiet. There is nothing keeping people around.
For the members who have a home at the circuit, no problem. They can go inside and turn on the television or take a nap. I cannot imagine why anyone would stick around as public spectator.
They are entirely different weekends, but in the second weekend with a new television broadcaster that is trying to sell IndyCar and give people a reason to be excited about it, racing at a place where there is no excitement is not going to convince viewers to continue watching.
It doesn't help when the broadcast goes out for 20 minutes and NASCAR is the emergency filler programming. It does not appear the facility had anything to do with the broadcast issues, but it happened at Thermal Club, a venue that has next to zero supporters in the fanbase. The opposition didn't need any more ammunition against this event.
I wrote last year that there are not many places lining up to host IndyCar. Thermal Club was willing to spend $2 million for the sanctioning fee. IndyCar went to a willing partner, but it is a partner that arguably does not care about the greater good of IndyCar. It is a place that cannot accommodate that many spectators to begin with. It isn't looking to provide a larger gathering. The race exists for the club and is a gift to the members.
The 5,000 tickets on sale are to recoup the loss. Do the math. At a $475.75 for general admission, 5,000 tickets will rake in $2,378,750. If the total allotment is sold, Thermal Club breaks even. It is the only way the club is willing to make money. There was no sponsorship around the circuit. No billboards in the background. No wrap around the tire barriers. The race didn't have a title sponsorship. Those are all ways the circuit could raise revenue and cover the cost, which would allow tickets to be more affordable, but sponsors and billboards are not the aesthetic of a club. No one wants to see faded Firestone signage when they step out onto their patio on a Saturday morning in September. They don't want any reminders an IndyCar race was held there.
Long-term viability of this race comes down to how long the members want to pay for it. If they can sell all the tickets, then the race will pay for itself with non-members money, and Thermal Club will continue to host it. If they can get 5,000 non-members, some would call them "suckers," to pay for their party, they are going to keep holding it, but even if they only sell half or a quarter, are they willing to eat a $1,000,000 loss every year to have something special? Other tracks have a bottom line to meet. They cannot afford lose money on an event year after year. Thermal can make money in a number of other ways, and it constantly has people paying membership fees. It is a group that can stomach a loss.
IndyCar has a decision to make. It isn't going to say no to someone paying a full sanctioning fee to host an event, but is this boosting IndyCar in a notable way? We were told ahead of last year's race Thermal is about attracting big fish. People with multi-million dollar bank accounts who run large companies and can turn into a sponsor, whether that is of a race team or the series itself. That's nice. These teams need someone to foot the increasing budgets to compete in the series, but IndyCar also need to reach more people.
The series needs quality AND quantity. It needs the rich man with money to burn but it also needs the common man who is looking for a new hobby that can turn into a passion. At best, 5,000 people are attending Thermal Club, a race in Southern California three weeks before another race in Southern California, and one that is hailed as one of IndyCar's biggest races in Long Beach.
Are those 5,000 people more valuable than 25,000 people at Pocono or Loudon or Richmond? What about 50,000 people over an entire weekend at Watkins Glen or maybe Virginia International Raceway? One part of the country is barren of IndyCar's presence and yet IndyCar is wondering why its reach is lacking. Southern California already had a race and didn't need another. The excess is waste. The potential for growth is stunted with such an event at a time when the series must look to spread beyond the shell it has bunkered into since the pandemic started five years ago. If IndyCar was in every corner of the country, or at least in the major areas, and it had 20 or 22 races, then perhaps there is a place for Thermal to host this race, but that is not the case.
After pumping up IndyCar in St. Petersburg and creating a scene, IndyCar retreated into isolation. It brought the race to the people and then ran to the middle of nowhere. It went from a party for all to a party where you aren't invited and they aren't going to make it easy for you to get through the door. Such a contrast can only leave people asking, "What is IndyCar and is it for me?" After a second trip to the desert, a weekend where the lack of atmosphere screamed louder than the race cars, hopefully the series is asking itself the same question.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...
Oscar Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton won the sprint race.
Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup race from Homestead, his 30th career victory, the 30th driver to reach that milestone. Justin Allgaier won the Grand National Series race, his second consecutive victory. Kyle Larson also won the Truck race, his fourth career victory in the series.
Elfyn Evans won the Safari Rally Kenya, his second consecutive victory.
Chase Sexton won the Supercross Triple Crown round from Birmingham after winning the first two races and finishing second in the third. Cooper Webb won the final race. Nate Thrasher won the 250cc round after finishes of third, third and second. R.J. Hampshire (race one) and Seth Hammaker (races two and three) split the three races.
Coming Up This Weekend
MotoGP comes to the United States for a round in Austin.
NASCAR will be in Martinsville.
World Superbike has its first race in Europe with a visit to Portimão.
Supercross strolls into Seattle.
