Let's try to touch upon each area because there are a few trouble spots in the aftermath of this weekend.
2. Let's start with the date and scheduled race time.
IndyCar scheduled this race to follow the FIFA World Cup Final, a match that had over 38 million viewers. As a lead-in, IndyCar was never going to have more people already on the channel as the cars lined up to take the green flag. Whether or not 5% or 8% of that audience would have stuck around and thoroughly watched the IndyCar race will be an unanswered question, but it was an attempt to put IndyCar out there.
It was worth the risk of a rain delay or a rained out event. It sucks that it didn't work out because the gamble didn't pay out. It was a $10,000 bet with a chance at $10 million winnings. If it hits, it is genius. It didn't and it isn't the end of the world, but it hurts.
There is a segment of people who think it was a poor decision to schedule this race around the World Cup Final. If there is any event that is going to draw over 30 million people, hell, even over 10 million people, you should probably not counter-program it. You are going to be lost in the shadow of the larger event. IndyCar could have raced at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, but the race would have been on Fox Sports 1, and people would have been upset that the race would have been on cable television.
Damned if you, damned if you don't.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it can also be flawed. The race could have been before the World Cup Final, but Fox's pre-game began at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Unless Nashville was starting at 7:00 a.m. local time, there was no leading into the World Cup Final.
This is at most a quadrennial occurrence. Having one IndyCar race follow a broadcast that drew nearly 40 million viewers isn't happening every week. Not every race is locked into a time slot. This was a case where it was and rightfully so. It just didn't work out.
3. The race was rained out and people were upset. Let's start with the at-track experience.
I wasn't there, but there was enough discontent it could not be ignored. There was dissatisfaction over how information was disseminated, and the protocols for the rain date on Monday. That covered gate openings, garage access, parking, the entire lot.
There are aspects that should be somewhat set in stone. There is a "Plan B." No race doesn't have a secondary start time already set aside should a race need to be moved to Monday. The moment a race is called, all that information should be shared because it is known. If the race is starting at 2:00 p.m. local, that means the gates will open at 11:00 a.m. or noon local. The series knows which vendors will still be around and know what concession options will be available. That information should be out almost immediately.
As for garage access, I have been to a rain-delayed race in Pocono in 2016. I recall the garage being open and available. Every track is different. There are limitations for planning for a rain-delayed event. No track nor series will have the same level of security and resources for a race on a Monday afternoon as it would for its scheduled time. Unless there is strong evidence the crowd is going to be the same size a day later, the series and track are going to employ a smaller workforce for a rained out race. You might not like to hear that but no series is going to have the same number of workers on hold.
You might think that sounds foolish, but IndyCar had not had a rain-delayed race since April 2018. If the series, its tracks and promoters contracted an extra day of security, vendors, all the fixings necessary for a race weekend, they would lose a fortune. Imagine always booking four nights at a hotel but knowing you are going to stay for three. That is a lot of money lost. Unless spectators are willing to pay an extra 20% on their race ticket to accommodate such cost, amenities will be less for a delayed race.
The series needs to keep someone on call, but it cannot keep everyone. That might mean certain amenities are no longer available. That could mean no garage access. Crowd control is pertinent for a race to take place efficiently. Once a race is delayed, the most important thing is getting the race in. Everything else is excessive and unnecessary.
It sucks if you will not have that access, but that isn't the point after a rain delay. The point is the race. That is what needs to get in. That is the point of the weekend, holding a race, not going around the garage area and hawking autographs and photographs.
I understand if you purchased that access and didn't get it. I will counter that if you did go to the track on Sunday and were able to get into the garage area, see the race cars, see drivers and take in that experience before a rained out race, you had garage access. You got that experience. That is a privilege, not a right. If the series needs to take away that privilege after a rain delay to make sure the race can properly be run, it will do that, and it is a small cost.
4. As for the start time, some were upset the race didn't take place earlier than 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday. Some were upset the race didn't place later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday. Once a race is moved to Monday, there is no perfect time. There is just a time, and IndyCar needs to take it.
If the race started at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, very few people would see it. If the race started at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, a few more people would see it, some would still be disadvantaged and miss the race and be upset.
Ten years ago, after IndyCar's Texas race was delayed over two months to complete, I wondered if it was time to reconsider how rainouts were handled and if there should be designated weekends set aside for makeup events. No race on a Monday is going to be nearly as successful as if the race was held on a weekend, even if it was weeks down the road.
Again, that would not work for everyone, but it likely works for a larger number than any Monday. It would still be inconvenient, but it is likely easier for those with tickets to return the following Saturday or Sunday or a Saturday or Sunday three weeks down the road than to try and squeeze in a Monday. It would also be better for television. We don't race at 3:00 p.m. on Monday regularly for a reason. Any Saturday or Sunday would be better. There are hurdles, but would have this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. been the best option? Could it have been Friday night at 7:00 p.m. if it made more sense for television?
IndyCar's schedule length has enough off weekends that a few could be set aside, if necessary. These weekends would not be for every race. No street course is going to be able to keep the barriers up for an extra month. Those events are going to be run on Monday. Road courses should be fine, but they rent out weekends and have other events regularly. It might be impossible for IndyCar to find an available date down the road at some of these road courses. Some of those road courses would likely be best run on a Monday. The Indianapolis 500 will likely have a spot on Monday no matter what.
This really concerns the few oval events on the schedule. There are no IndyCar races scheduled for the next two weekends. There are definitely logistical concerns about going back to a racetrack a week or more after the scheduled date, but the cost is arguably worth it. If Nashville was delayed to this upcoming Saturday or Sunday, could the teams have just left the haulers locked up in the racetrack for the week and saved the teams some money? I don't know. I understand not wanting to move equipment only to return a few days later to set up for one race, but it might be a better alternative for everyone involved.
This would not be unprecedented. Besides the 2016 Texas race, a few CART events were delayed to later weekends in the 1980s, such as the 1982 Atlanta event, the 1985 Michigan race was delayed a week due to tire concerns, and 1986 was famous for the Indianapolis 500 being delayed a week, which moved Milwaukee back a week, and Road America went was delayed two weeks due to weather.
5. Going back to the fan experience. It was hot at Nashville, hot enough that the race had to be shortened. Make sure people have water if it is going to be almost 100ยบ F.
Reports were the track packed up re-filling stations for water bottles.
Roger Penske has the money. Open your wallet and cover whatever that costs.
The track was selling bottles of water for $1. I could be numb to it, but there are venues, from stadiums to airports, selling bottled water for $9. A buck for a bottle is a fine deal. The track didn't create that much of a hurdle. If you are buying tickets to an IndyCar race, you can afford $1 bottled water. Either way, re-filling stations should have remained accessible to the spectators that returned.
6. There was push back when Nashville offered $10 tickets for those who wanted to attend on Monday. Many fans believed they deserved a refund because tickets were selling for $10 when those who purchased tickets weeks or months in advance could have spent $100 or more.
I understand being upset, but I don't know if those $10 tickets were the same deal as those who spent more. If you bought a weekend pass, and it included garage access, and the track was selling those tickets for $10, then I get it. If general admission tickets were knocked down to $10 and there wasn't anything extra, not that many people lost out.
Come Monday, every ticket is a general admission ticket. You sit where you want. There was maybe 6,000 people there on Monday, maybe a quarter of the full grandstand. I need to know more before I can get too upset over this one. I doubt the most premier seats and ticket packages were being sold for $10. It was for those who had Monday free and just wanted to come and see a race. It was strange to see such tickets sold. I cannot recall any tracks or events doing the same for a delayed event.
7. Will IndyCar, Nashville SuperSpeedway and the promoters of the Music City Grand Prix learn from this? Maybe. You would hope so. Ten years ago at Pocono, I didn't notice anything missing from attending on Monday versus Sunday. That is how it should be. It will naturally feel a little more open but it shouldn't feel restricted.
The disappointing thing is over 48 hours after the event took place and we haven't heard anyone from IndyCar step out and acknowledge some of the missteps from this weekend. Whether that be Doug Boles, Mark Miles or even Roger Penske, someone should at least say they hear those who had an unpleasant weekend and say they are going to work on addressing the concerns when it comes to rain-delayed events. I would have felt a lot better if by Wednesday morning someone was to have said they recognize the shortcomings at Nashville and they will discuss what can be done for the future. We haven't even heard that.
IndyCar has a busy end to the season, five consecutive race weekends with a last-minute race held in Washington, D.C. in the middle of all it, but it has the next two weekends off and there is enough time to release a basic statement recognizing what could have been done better.
