Could The United States Host The Race of Champions?

With this year's Race of Champions taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, I keep wondering why the event is not held in the United States? I know it is a virtually meaningless event but it is the last time we get to see any type of racing before the New Year and let's just have fun with the exhibition event.

And I understand some of the common reasons off the top of my head:

• Not enough interest from the American fan base.
• In the height of the NFL season, not a lot of stadiums willing to rent out their buildings.
• Limited where you can hold the event due to cold weather.

But what if? Let's say we could work something out to get the event in the United States. What could be done.

Have the event be a two-night event on the second Friday and Saturday in December.
This way it is not against NFL games and the second Friday and Saturday are dead weekends for college football. The only major college football game was Army-Navy and there were college football playoff games for the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). There is the Heisman Trophy presentation but that is over by 9pm. 

What venues can be used? Once again, they have to be in warm cities or domes. I have thought up a list of possible places.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

December Weather: Average High- 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Average Low- 49 degrees Fahrenheit.

Current Use: USC Trojans Football.

Past Uses: 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympic games, Los Angeles Dodgers (1959-196, including the 1959 World Series and All-Star Game), hosted AMA Motocross, 1982 Speedway World Championship, 2003 and 2010 X Games.

Positives of the Stadium: Once December begins the stadium will not be used until August. It has hosted motorsport events in the past. It is a legendary stadium with great history.

Negatives: If 30,000 people show up, it will look empty as the stadium holds about 92,000. Heck even 50,000 would look empty. 

Lucas Oil Stadium

December Weather: Domed Stadium.

Current Uses: Indianapolis Colts, Big Ten Football Championship game, AMA Supercross.

Past Uses: Super Bowl XLVI, 2010 NCAA Men's Final Four.
Positives: It's in a racing town and could entice a lot fans to show up as well as American racers. In past events in Paris, London and Düsseldorf, the host has had two teams, the USA very well could have two, three or four teams. IndyCar could use the event as a great promotional tool. Maybe include the Dallara IR07 or even the DW12 in the event as rally cars have been used in the past and currently a stock car is used.
Negatives: Floor space is limited and it may be tough to have a good track. The Colts may have to play back-to-back games on the road and they may not be for that in the middle of December.

Cowboys Stadium
December Weather: Domed Stadium.
Current Uses: Dallas Cowboys, Cotton Bowl Classic, Cowboys Classic, AMA Supercross.
Past Uses: 2010 NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl XLV.
Positives: Big, modern stadium.
Negatives: Ticket prices would be through the roof and, as with Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 50,000 people would still make the place look empty. The odds are next to none that the Cowboys would give up their stadium for close to two weeks in December.

SunLife Stadium (Miami)
December Weather: Average High- 77 degrees Fahrenheit, Average Low- 62 degrees Fahrenheit.
Current Uses: Miami Dolphins, Miami Hurricanes, Orange Bowl, 2013 BCS National Championship game.
Past Uses: Florida Marlins (including two World Series), five Super Bowls (most recently Super Bowl XLIV), 2009 World Baseball Classic, 2009 BCS National Championship Game.
Positives: Not many places with better weather in December than Miami.
Negatives: Miami isn't known for drawing great attendance to events. The Orange Bowl has been struggling, the Marlins problems are well known. Plus it would be a rush time period from December to January with Dolphins games and the Orange Bowl.

Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)
December Weather: Average High- 53 degrees Fahrenheit, Average Low- 33 degrees Fahrenheit.
Current Uses: Carolina Panthers, Belk Bowl, ACC Championship Game.
Past Use: 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Positives: As with Indianapolis, it is a racing town. There is no reason why they could get two or three NASCAR drivers to do the event. While the weather is not in the Miami/LA ballpark, it is in the ballpark with past hosts Paris (Average High- 46, Low- 38) and London (Average High- 47, Low- 37).
Negatives: As with Indianapolis, Dallas and Miami, it's an NFL stadium, with a bowl game. December would be a rushed month.

Sam Boyd Stadium
December Weather: Average High- 57 degrees Fahrenheit, Average Low- 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
Current Uses: UNLV Rebels, Las Vegas Bowl, Two AMA Supercross events, US Rugby Sevens Tournament, Monster Jam World Finals.
Past Uses: Las Vegas Quicksilver of the North American Soccer League, Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian Football League, Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL.
Positives: It is Las Vegas. Plenty of people should be interested. Sam Boyd Stadium does a great job drawing for the AMA events and they could have a cool track design that goes out and reenters the stadium. Decent size stadium at about 40,000 seats.
Negatives: A little rushed as the Las Vegas Bowl is normally one of the first bowl games of the year.

If the event is going to be in the United States, it might as well be the largest Race of Champions to date. The event could be split as a USA/Americas vs. The World format.

For the Nations Cup, you could have four American teams with other nations such as Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, France, England, Scotland, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. You could do four groups of four, with an American team in each group. The top two from each group advance to the knockout round. Each round is a best-of-three format.

For the Race of Champions, take the 8 American drivers, 2 Canadian, Brazilian and Mexican drivers and two drivers based in the United States but not from the Americas (Example: Will Power, Scott Dixon, Justin Wilson) and put them on one half of the bracket, and put the remaining 16 drivers on the other half. Head-to-head, one race for each round until the finals which is a best-of-three to decide the Race of Champions champion.

It seems far-fetched but it would be fun to see. Once again, a man can always dream.

2012 Race of Champions, Lotus No More, Potential Reality Show

2012 Race of Champions

The field for the 2012 Race of Champions from Bangkok, Thailand has been set. 

Seven nations are confirmed with one to be decided by a qualifier event. Australia (Jamie Whincup/Mick Doohan), France (Sebastian Ogier/Romain Grosjean), Germany (Sebastian Vettel/Michael Schumacher) and Great Britain (David Coulthard/Andy Priaulx) were already set with two being wrapped up today. IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay will team with the 2012 Production World Rally Champion, Mexican Benito Guerra as Team North America while 2012 Moto GP Champion Jorge Lorenzo and eight time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Tom Kristensen make up an All-Star team. Thailand is the seventh team with their drivers being decided by ROC Thailand, a four driver events with the top two representing the country in the Race of Champions.

The eighth team will be decided by ROC Asia, with either India, Japan or China advancing the the Race of Champions. Formula One drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok represent India. Han Han, a rally driver, author and apparently China's/the World's most popular blogger and Ho-Pin Tung represent China, while Super GT drivers Kazuya Oshima and Takuto Iguchi represent Japan. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay was drawn into Group D for the Race of Champions with Michael Schumacher, Romain Grosjean and the second driver for the ROC Asia winner. 

Group A consists of the defending ROC champion Sebastian Ogier, four-time V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup, Coulthard and Guerra. Group B will have Kristensen, Priaulx, ROC Asia 1 and Thailand 1, while Group C will have the World Champions Vettel and Lorenzo, with five-time 500cc World champion Mick Doohan and the second driver from Thailand. 

For the Nations Cup, Group A will be France, Great Britain, North America and the All-Stars with Group B being Germany, Australia, Thailand and the ROC Asia winner. 

The event takes places December 14-16, with the ROC Thailand and ROC Asia on the 14th, Nations Cup on the 15th and Race of Champions being the 16th. 

Lotus No More

It is official, Lotus is no longer an engine supplier of the Izod IndyCar Series. After a season of turmoil that saw three teams defect by Indianapolis, Lotus continued 2012 with only one car, the HVM of Simona de Silvestro. Chevrolet and Honda will now be the only suppliers of IndyCar and each manufacture must be able to supply 60 percent of the field. With this announcement, it appears teams on the outside looking in, such as Mike Shank Racing and Conquest Racing may be able to receive an engine full-time in 2013.

Potential Reality Show For IndyCar

According to Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star, a pilot for a reality show featuring the wives of IndyCar drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon and Alex Tagliani has been shot. In the article, Ryan Hunter-Reay states he is not for the drama that comes with a reality television show. Hunter-Reay states, "One thing I know about reality TV is, to hang onto the audience, you need drama. Drama at the race track - or at home - is something you don't want. Drama sells, and I don't want drama."

Despite it involving IndyCar, I agree with the champion about the proposed reality show. Nothing against the wives but the show has nothing to do with promoting IndyCar racing. It would just add to the pile of reality shows currently on the air. In my opinion, most reality shows are garbage to begin with. 

Other News

2012 Star Mazda Champion Jack Hawksworth has been signed by Sam Schmidt to race in Indy Lights in 2013. 

After pushing New Jersey back to 2014 and trying to get Turkey on the schedule, Bernie Eccelstone is pursuing a race in Austria at the Red Bull Ring (formerly the A-1 Ring). Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz purchased the circuit a few years ago, renovated and has hosted DTM races the past two season. The last Formula One race in Austria was the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix won by Michael Schumacher. 

Calling Tony Stewart's Bluff

Disclaimer: This is an opinionated piece from an outsider's perspective. A lot easier for me to say this from the outside looking in.

So, Tony Stewart has turned down Roger Penske's Indianapolis 500 offer. There isn't enough time to do it right is the biggest gripe. I count a little less than six months until the race and there are two weeks of practice during the month of May. Testing is going to be suspended for a couple weeks during the Holidays and the teams are limited to how much they can test but let's not act like there is not enough time to do it. There is plenty of time.

IndyCar teams were just testing at Fontana a few days ago. Stewart could have run a shake down there. Not to mention IndyCar teams have gone to Phoenix recently to test during the winter months. Penske could easily have an IndyCar test the day after the March NASCAR race at Phoenix for Stewart. And there have been April tests at the Speedway in the past. I am sure IndyCar could have an early test at the track.

Sure, Stewart has not been in an IndyCar since 2001 and he feels he has been gone too long to be competitive. Last year, Michel Jourdain Jr. came back after eight years out of open-wheel racing and returned to Indianapolis after SIXTEEN YEARS! Jourdain held his own all month, qualified 22nd and finished 19th.

Townsend Bell disproves Stewart's assumption you cannot just show up in May and be competitive every year. He shows up each May and is always a sleeper. He has three top-tens in his last five Indianapolis 500 appearances. He has qualified in the top-ten in two of his last five Indianapolis 500 appearances.

Let's not forget Bertrand Baguette was in position to win Indianapolis as a one-off in 2011, Tomas Scheckter was also competitive as a one-off in 2011.

Bruno Junqueira has shown up in the past and been one of the quickest out of the box at Indianapolis. His only problem is his ride has been too frequently snatched out from underneath him for someone who did not qualify. 

And then Brad Keselowski comes out and says he is interested, BUT (AND THERE IS ALWAYS A BUT) Ford is in the way. Really? Ford? You're going to let them get in your way Keselowski? Don't give me this "If Ford had an IndyCar presence," how about you give Ford an ultimatum. Tell them you are doing Indianapolis and if they don't like the fact that he is driving a Chevrolet at Indianapolis then tell them they should be an engine manufacture in IndyCar.

Honest to God what is Ford going to do if Keselowski runs a Chevrolet at Indianapolis? Leave Penske's NASCAR team? Sure, you do that Ford. It's not like Penske wouldn't be able to get another NASCAR engine supplier, he's only one of the greatest team owners in the history of auto racing. The manufactures would be lining up to supply The Captain.

I wish RACERS would come back. I wish AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti would return. Racing an IndyCar on a Sunday, a sports car the following week and a stock car the week after that. I wish we had RACERS who would go out and RACE. Not letting sponsors get in the way. Does anyone really think Miller Lite would be upset if Keselowski went out and, hypothetically won the Indianapolis 500? That gets there name out even more. More exposure is what the sponsors want.

Once again, this is much easier for me, an outsider, a simple fan to say this than a driver. And if I were in their shoes would I still be saying these things? I hope I would. I hope I'd be racing in all series, running the Double, running sport cars, sprint cars on dirt, you name it but for me it is only fantasy and not reality so I cannot really say.

I guess I am at this point: Don't talk about running Indianapolis unless you're actually going to run Indianapolis. Stop teasing us! No more "ifs" and "buts." Either do it or shut up once and for all.

The 28 is the 1 and Sato v. Daly

Andretti Autosport Unveiling, Hunter-Reay to Drive the #1
Andretti Autosport rolled out their 2013 driver line-ups for the Izod IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Star Mazda. Ryan Hunter-Reay will run the the #1 DHL Chevrolet after winning the 2012 IndyCar Championship. DHL has signed a multiyear agreement with Andretti Autosport. The #1 on Hunter-Reay's car will feature a smaller #28 within the #1, similar to two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner who included his #27 in the #1 after his championship wins. The #28 is symbolic to Hunter-Reay as it represents the 28 million people worldwide battling cancer. Hunter-Reay lost his mother to colon cancer in November 2009.

Marco Andretti will run the #25 RC Cola Chevrolet, a change from the #26 which Andretti has used since entering IndyCar in 2006. Before Andretti, Dan Wheldon raced the #26 to an IndyCar championship and Indianapolis 500 victory in 2005. James Hinchcliffe will return in the #27 GoDaddy Chevrolet.

In Indy Lights Carlos Muñoz returns to the team for a second season, joined by American Zach Veach. Muñoz won two races in 2012 (Edmonton and Fontana) and won pole at Edmonton. He finished 5th in the overall points standings. Veach had two podiums, ten top-tens and finished tenth in the 2012 Star Mazda points standings. Veach's Star Mazda teammate Sage Karam finished third in Star Mazda last year, winning three races, ten podiums and thirteen top-tens but will only be 17 years old.

Shelby Blackstock will be promoted to Star Mazda in 2013 after one season in U.S. F2000. He finished eighth in points with two top-fives and ten top-tens. A second Star Mazda seat is still to be announced. A stated above, Sage Karam raced for Andretti in Star Mazda last year. The teams U.S. F2000 drivers are also to be announced at a later date.

Sato v. Daly
Takuma Sato and Conor Daly appear to be fighting it out for the Foyt Enterprises IndyCar seat in 2013.  Sato and the Texas based team are reportedly close to a deal but nothing has been confirmed. Sato raced lasted year for Honda powered Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing. Daly will test for Foyt on December 13th at Sebring. Larry Foyt talked to Daly at the United States Grand Prix in Austin this past November and said about the test, "depending on how it goes, we may be able to do something with him in the future." Daly won the 2010 Star Mazda Championship and ran five Indy Lights races in 2011, winning at Long Beach but has spent most of the past two season in the GP3 Series and is currently competing in the MRF Challenge in India.

Wade Cunningham, who drove for Foyt at Indianapolis and Fontana last season, is also a potential driver for the team in 2013. The team has already confirmed Chase Austin will attempt to qualify the #41 Honda for the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

Why Isn't IndyCar Racing?

It's December, most of the country has been experiencing unusually warm weather, yet IndyCar has been off for two months, heading on three.

All other series are on a break and if there is one series that needs ratings it's IndyCar. Once again, this is an unseasonable patch of weather some are seeing and it could be snowing in the Northeast and Midwest this time next year. So the likes of Watkins Glen, Road America, Michigan and New Hampshire are out of the question. But other parts of the country rarely worry about snow.

Phoenix is pretty warm this time of the year, Florida is always an option and then there are interesting venues such as NOLA Motorsports Park and Austin which are new tracks looking for major events. We could always go international to South America, Australia or the Middle East but a race in December would most likely be the season finale; an oval and in the United States would be preferred.

Do we push Fontana back two months to December and see what type of crowd the race can get? No NFL team in the LA area there to date, no USC or UCLA game, Lakers or Clippers may have a home game but other than that, not a lot of competition for what proved to be an exciting 500 miler this year. The weather would be much cooler than it was this past September but it would probably be too cold for a night race in December.

As for fans at the track, you have to do all you can to get fans through the gate. Pre or post race concert, carnival atmosphere, whatever it takes.

Why would an event in December make sense? No NASCAR to compete with, sure there is the NFL but this Saturday there is only one college football game on network television, the Army-Navy Game on CBS. Why couldn't IndyCar work with ABC to get a race on a Saturday afternoon in December? IndyCar cannot always follow the status quo. Going there own way maybe best to draw in unlikely viewers.

IndyCar Needs To Make A Splash

Racing is not like other sports where a prospects popularity can peak before they even make it on the field.

Example: In the world of soccer, young stars such as the Brazilian Neymar is only 20 but has been the most covenant player in the world for three years now.

Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck were massive names before even being drafted into the NFL and currently Johnny Manziel is a freshman at Texas A&M but is already a national star and his profile will sky rocket by winning the Heisman Trophy.

Then there is the likes of LeBron James who was a superstar before he even graduated high school.

Racing does not work that way. Kyle Larson is great and is lighting the racing world on fire. But dominating in USAC, NASCAR East Division and being impressive in a few Truck races does not get America to take notice. With racing, your only noticed once your successful on the grandest of stages.

Larson, Bryan Clauson, Conor Daly, Zach Veach, Sage Karam, Spencer Pigot and Matthew Brabham to name a few are all young up-and-coming stars but only die hard race fans care about these drivers. They could all end up in IndyCar in five years but sadly that won't get people watching.

When it comes to racing, the causal American will tune in to see stars. That's why IndyCar and Roger Penske have to get Tony Stewart to do the Indianapolis 500. We can get Bryan Clauson in a one-off entry again but unfortunately his name is only known to the die hards. The average sports fan knows Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and others just by turning on ESPN on accident. IndyCar can sign the next one hundred top American racing prospects but signing them won't get people's attention.

In 2007, David Beckham came to Major League Soccer, a league that was overlooked by almost all Americans. Since then the league has grown by seven teams, built seven soccer-specific stadiums with an eighth on the way, double the average player salary and other big name stars from Europe have come to States. Did Beckham single handily create seven clubs and build seven stadium? No he did not, but his presence got people's attention and the league has been benefiting ever since.

IndyCar needs to make a splash. IndyCar needs a David Beckham like move. Just as NASCAR picked at the American Open-Wheel talent by signing the likes AJ Allmendinger, Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti to name a few, IndyCar has to go out, spend some money and sign a big name from NASCAR. They need to get them to commit for at least five years and show the public what IndyCar racing is all about. Show that these are extremely talented drivers and the racing is just as exciting if not more exciting than NASCAR.

And this isn't something for just Mark Miles or Jeff Belskus to work on. This must be a project from the top to the bottom by those who want to see the series grow. The series, a top team (Penske) and the sponsors have to recruit a top driver and show the driver they are wanted and have support in this venture.

IndyCar wants better ratings and more new fans, they need to make a splash.

Penske Calls Out Stewart, Argentina Interested, Foyt To Lights

As the final month of 2012 begins, a few interesting stories popped up before November ended.

Penske Calls Out Stewart
Last night, at NASCAR's award banquet in Las Vegas, Roger Penske offered Tony Stewart a ride for the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Stewart has done the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 double before in 1999 and 2001. In 2004, Stewart arrived to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on bump day and was looking to get in a car prepared by AJ Foyt to qualify before NASCAR sponsors negated any such attempt.

Stewart has yet to comment on the offer. What has made the double difficult to do over the past decade has been the later start time of the Indianapolis 500. The last race to start at 11am was in 2003 with the start times ranging from noon to 1pm since 2004. The Cup race at Charlotte typically begins at 5:00pm.

Argentina Interested In IndyCar
The Potrero de los Funes street circuit has expressed interested in hosting an IndyCar race. The race track is located nearly 10 miles from the city of San Luis in Central Argentina. The street circuit is 3.83 miles in length and hosted the FIA GT1 World Championship in 2008, 2010 and 2011, while also playing host to the TC 2000 Championship (Argentina Touring Cars) since 2008.

American Open-Wheel Racing does have history of racing in Argentina. In 1971, Al Unser won both heat races held at Aútodromo Ciudad de Rafaela, a 2.873 mile oval. The track is still in use and was used by the TC 2000 Series this past August.

Foyt Going To Lights
In 2014, Foyt Enterprises will field an Indy Lights car for American driver Tim Paul. Paul will compete in U.S. F2000 and F2000 in 2013. The Indy Lights series are working on a new chassis for the 2014. Foyt would join Andretti Autosport and Schmidt-Motorsports as the only teams to field cars in both IndyCar and Indy Lights. Bryan Hetra Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, Panther Racing and Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing have all either fielded Indy Lights entries or had partnerships with Indy Lights teams in the past.