SpinDoctor500blog

ALL EYES ON INDY

2012-01-29T12:26:00.001-08:00

ONE MORE: A final look from the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale -- this 1957 Indy 500 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser convertible pace car replica caught my eye.

The Big Question this week is: How will Indianapolis do?

Indy, of course, has hosted major sporting events for many years, the NCAA basketball tournament up there with the Indianapolis 500 and the early years of the NASCAR Brickyard 400.

But nothing -- NOTHING -- will be like hosting the Super Bowl, which Indy is doing for the first time.

The NFL championship game has become an unofficial national holiday and much more than a sporting event. The Super Bowl is more than a game -- it's a business networking and marketing showcase, a debut for specially produced TV commercials, a celebrity and CEO magnet, and a media spectacle unlike anything else in America. With all due respect to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, none of its events ever has or ever will reach across all these societal and cultural expanses the way the SB does. On-site attendance aside, the Super Bowl blows away the I500 in terms of national importance and sporting and corporate and media magnitude.

I'm wondering how the city will present itself to the rest of the country? As the narrow-minded and provincial "Racing Capital of the World" that helped get IMS and the I500 into so much trouble? Or as a more open-thinking town with a perspective that recognizes there is a world out there beyond the borders of Indiana?

Yes, pay attention to the Xs and Os coverage of the Patriots and Giants. But, for my purposes, I'll be following much more closely how the national media reports on Indy itself. This is especially true given the teams come with the traveling New York and Boston media corps and their East Coast bias and elitism. What will they say about the city? What, if any, coverage will come to the Speedway and the IndyCar series still trying to recover from Dan Wheldon's fatal crash? Will that be brought up and sensationalized? Will the Hulman-George family itself come in for any critical coverage from the national press types in their attempt to explain to the left and right coasts why the Big Game is in -- INDIANAPOLIS! ? -- instead of Miami or New Orleans or another of the media's favorite warm-weather playground locations. (Don't dismiss this possibility: In today's media world, anything is possible.)

(Are the IMS and ICS PR departments ready -- just in case?)

And, of course, what will the weather be like and how will the city handle a big snow storm? I hope the organizers consulted with Roger Penske and borrowed from his storm plan when he chaired Detroit's Super Bowl host committee a few years ago.

For those of us who have spent so much time in Indianapolis over the years, the Big Story this week could well be how the city does, even moreso than the Patriots and Giants.

As someone who was around at the very beginning of Pocono International Raceway, I have to acknowledge the death of Pocono's founder, Dr. Joseph Mattioli. I lived in Philadelphia back when the track hosted its first 500 mile Indy Car race, the Schaffer 500, in 1971, won by Mark Donohue. I went on to cover countless Pocono events for the Philadelphia Daily News and was also there for the first USAC stock car race, the debut of NASCAR, Formula 5000 and IMSA on the infield road course and the ill-fated World Series of Auto Racing on the three-quarter mile oval for USAC midgets and sprints. I spent a ton of time around Doc Mattioli in those days, when the facility always seemed to be on the brink of financial collapse and various political controversies, and was on the opposite side when I worked for CART and Doc Joe filed a lawsuit against CART. Of all the ups-and-downs and good times and disagreements I had with him -- and there are many stories I could tell -- this much can be said for sure: There would be no Pocono Raceway without the Doc. My best thoughts are with his wife of over 60 years, Rose, and their family.

FAST LINES: Congratulations to my friend Al Pearce, the longtime NASCAR writer, named to the 2012 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum class . . . The World of Outlaws has its third different PR coordinator in three years, with Shawn Miller the new guy at the races . . . Never doubt how much horsepower NASCAR can bring to any situation. Its attorney for the on-going Jeremy Mayfield drug suspension lawsuit is David Boies, who represented Al Gore in front of the Supreme Court in the disputed 2000 presidential election . . . Benny Phillips, who died last week and covered NASCAR for something like three decades for media outlets including the High Point Enterprise, Stock Car Racing magazine and MotorWeek Illustrated, was a very nice man in my professional dealings with him. When, as a PR rep, I was able to assist him with some information or arrangements (such as at the first Brickyard 400 in 1994), he always gave me the impression he appreciated the help -- and that's rare in today's media centers. God Bless.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

'24' MEMORIES

2012-01-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

SHOW STOPPER: It was only a show car, but Courtney Force's new Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car was the centerpiece of the impressive Traxxas display at last week's Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale. Courtney wasn't there and overall racer participation seemed down, perhaps due to scheduling conflicts with NHRA testing and NASCAR's Hall of Fame induction ceremony and fan festival. Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Mario Andretti and Brad Keselowski were visitors.

This weekend is the 50th anniversary running of what is now known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Whether the R24 or the 12 Hours of Sebring is America's most important sports car race can be debated, but I can't help but have special feelings for Daytona, because in a 24-month span I experienced both extreme ends of the endurance event's emotional roller-coaster.

In 1989, I worked the event with the Andrettis, in what was an emotional farewell for many of us. My friend Al Holbert, the Le Mans and Daytona winner, had been killed in a private airplane crash the previous September. Many of Al's guys gathered one more time to run a pair of Porsche 962s. Ours fell out in the evening, while the other car, which had John Andretti as one of its drivers, went on to win.

In 1990, I was a part of the Castrol Jaguar XJR-12 two-car team. We were running 1-2 after just two hours and stayed that way through the end. Davy Jones, Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace were the winners, with Martin Brundle, Price Cobb and John Nielsen the runners-up.

It was a fantastic experience to get to go to Daytona's victory lane. I remember that, from the time I got up to when I got back to bed, I was up for 39 straight hours (excepting short naps on a lounge chair outside the team motorhome.) I have a nice plaque from the team on my office wall thanking me for my contribution to this achievement.

Team owner, the late Tom Walkinshaw, enjoyed it immensely when, on the elevator ride up to the media box, I told the drivers that the most important part of their job was done, but there was still more work to do: Please take a deep breath and reach for whatever remaining energy they had, to interact well with the media. They did, with Jones the man in the media spotlight.

The next year, Mario, Michael and Jeff Andretti were back in a Porsche. After an electrical problem dropped our Porsche well behind after just one hour, some hard-driving by Michael throughout the night meant we took the overall lead at sunrise. Alas, there were mechanical woes, which dropped us from contention. With Mario behind the wheel, the engine blew right in front of our pits -- with just 15 minutes to go!

That's the Rolex 24. I'll be watching -- and feeling -- for all the competitors this weekend.

They say everything is bigger in Texas. Apparently, including ticket pricing at Circuit of the Americas. Just announced is the Formula One track's plans for sale of 15-year personal seat licenses ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per seat, "depending on proximity to the start/finish line and amenities." Reminder: a PSL just gives you the right to spend more money to actually buy a ticket. Call me skeptical about a plan for a project that has been troubled for months. I assume management did its research, but if this is successful in this economy, I'll gladly offer to buy Bernie Ecclestone a 10-gallon hat.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

AND SO IT (2012) BEGINS

2012-01-15T10:19:00.001-08:00

JIM CHAPMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MOTORSPORTS PUBLIC RELATIONS: Bill York (left) accepts from Paul Page at January 7 AARWBA All-America Team ceremony in Indianapolis. (Photo courtesy of Dan R. Boyd.)

The season officially starts for me this week at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction, a short drive from my home in Scottsdale.

Yes, I know, Barrett-Jackson is all about the cars. For most, that is. For me -- while I enjoy looking at the machines as much as anyone -- it's about the people. I've found you never know who you'll see at this festive automotive carnival. Last year, for example, I was walking toward the main auction area when who comes over from my left but NASCAR President Mike Helton. Another day, outside behind the stage, who comes walking by but NHRA Top Fuel great Joe Amato. Rick Hendrick, Melanie Troxel, Rusty Wallace, Linda Vaughn, Jim McGee and Ray Evernham were other racers I encountered in my "laps" around the auction site.

I look forward to seeing whoever I'll see this week. And, yes, the cars.

The metrics most-often quoted to judge the "success" of Barrett-Jackson are: How much is spent on the vehicles up for auction? And, what's the total attendance? I have a different measure: How many people are actually spending at the countless vender booths, where you can find everything from vintage gas pumps to auto art to neon signs to outdoor furniture to jewelry to financial advice. We know the "one percenters" are doing well enough to bid-up for the cars. Are the "99 percenters" doing OK enough to buy the other stuff?

I wasn't able to attend the AARWBA ceremony in Indianapolis earlier this month to present the 2011 Jim Chapman Award for Excellence in Motorsports Public Relations to Bill York. Paul Page did the honors in my absence, and read the following letter from me:

Good evening, everyone.

Jim Chapman was, above all else, a true gentlemen. So I’m sure Jim would agree with me that 2 things we don’t say often enough these days are: “Thank You” and “I’m sorry.”

Let me begin, therefore, by saying “Thank You” to Dusty Brandel and AARWBA for allowing the 2011 Jim Chapman Award to be presented at tonight’s ceremony. And “I’m sorry” that another obligation makes it impossible for me to be with you. Even more than his many professional accomplishments, Jim valued his family above all else, so I am somewhat comforted by the knowledge that it’s a family matter that requires my absence.

Not only because I am chairman of the Jim Chapman Award selection committee -- but more importantly -- because Jim was my closest friend and had a profound influence on my life and career, it’s emotionally difficult for me not to be there for the presentation. Especially since this award, for Excellence in Motorsports Public Relations, has been earned by a wonderful friend of mine and someone who has worked for decades in the spirit and example of Mr. Chapman.

Thanks to Paul Page -- a valued member of the selection committee and one of Jim’s countless friends -- for reading this and making the official presentation.

Those of you who were blessed to know Jim need no explanation why this is important. To those of you who didn’t know Jim, you owe it to yourself to “Google” his name. To learn about Jim is to make yourself a better professional -- and a better person.

I will leave it to Paul to recount Jim’s numerous achievements. It is very appropriate, though, to remember that Jim was not only Babe Ruth’s PR representative, he was the Babe’s friend and confidant. Jim remains every bit the legend in the PR business -- and not just in motorsports PR -- that the Babe is in American sports.

The Chapman Award dates back to 1991 and Jim took great pride in it. Since 2004, any PR person in any type of motorsports has been eligible. The recipient is chosen by a national committee of journalists, almost all of whom knew Jim, so they best understand the high standards required of a Chapman Award winner. I thank the committee members for their thoughtful consideration -- they all agree, it’s an honor to participate in a process that honors Jim’s legacy as well as someone who works to the highest standards of professionalism as established by Mr. Chapman.

Jim was “old school” in the best tradition. He deeply believed in the value -- and joy -- of 1-on-1 relationship building. He knew having a good professional relationship with individual journalists was important in good times -- and essential in bad times. Jim worked before the age of electronic communications such as E-mail and Twitter, but even today, I know he would agree that pressing “send” is no substitute for the sound of a person’s voice, a handshake, a face-to-face conversation. In other words, the “human touch.” Jim was a true master at making everyone feel important and welcome. That is greatly missing in today’s so-called “modern” PR -- and everyone suffers as a result -- especially the client or employer.

Tonight’s recipient is the exception. For decades, he has been a true ambassador for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a friend to journalists around the world. I will always be grateful to him, because, even when our jobs had us representing opposite sides in racing’s political battles, he always extended a hand of friendship.

Jim Chapman played a significant role in the history of the Indy 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was friends with Tony Hulman, Mari Hulman George, Tony George and the rest of the Hulman-George family. I’m glad current IMS President and CEO Jeff Belskus also got to know Jim at the annual PPG dinner Jim hosted for IMS department executives. So the family knows what a great honor it is for a member of the IMS Corporate family to receive an award named for Jim Chapman.

To the man about to be honored as 2011 winner of the Jim Chapman Award for Excellence in Motorsports PR, I must say something more than “Congratulations.” I say that the true honor is not in the award Paul is about to present you. The true honor is having your name forever associated with that of the Great James P. Chapman.

Thank you and God Bless.

I'm a member of the nominating/voting committee for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, located in Knoxville, Iowa. Congratulations to the following members of the 2012 Hall of Fame class: Johnny Anderson, Thad Dosher, Sam Hoffman, Chuck Hulse, Colby Scroggin, Bobby Ward, Harry Hosterman, Henry Meyer, Ron Shaver, Earl Padgett, Gary Sokola and W.H. (Bill) Vandewater. The induction ceremony will be June 2.

NHRA got a welcome and much-needed boost when DieHard took the inside back cover of Sports Illustrated to herald Matt Hagan's championship. But here are a few missing words I wish would have found their way into the copy: "Drag racing," "Funny Car," "8,000 horsepower," "nitro" and even "Full Throttle." All but "nitro" were in last week's USA Today full-page ad heralding the arrival of Courtney Force.

Here's a link to my January "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. It's about how the presidential election can impact the drag racing economy:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19900-drags-dollars-a-sense-a-wait-and-see-season

I'm afraid, during the holidays, too many important people in the drag racing industry missed Jon Asher's superb column on CompetitionPlus.com about what must happen to ensure the sport's survival. It's one of the best columns anybody wrote about anything all year. Here's the link. Please don't just read it. Please THINK about it:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19880-up-front-facing-up-to-a-very-tough-future

[ more next Monday . . . ]

2011 IN REVIEW

2011-12-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

END OF AN ERA/SIGN OF THE TIME$: The closing of Newman/Haas Racing's IndyCar series operation reflected the third consecutive year of the sport's most difficult sponsorship environment. The team, co-founded by the late Paul Newman and Carl A. Haas, won eight titles. That's me, at left, with Haas, Nigel Mansell and Newman after victory at Nazareth Speedway clinched the 1993 PPG Cup. Note the powerful lineup of corporate backers on our championship banner. Will those days ever come again?

Every meaningful story of the racing year had a strong Business of Racing component. So that's how I'll conclude this blog for 2011.

I say this with respect: Even Dan Wheldon's fatal accident had profound BoR ramifications. The image of the series as a good corporate advertising and marketing place certainly being one. Randy Bernard's decision-making and leadership was another ("Untenable," Oct. 26.) And the future of the series' historical foundation on ovals.

That was probably the most important racing biz story of the year: The IndyCar financial failures at Milwaukee, New Hampshire and Kentucky were so obvious and embarrassing that even the media "experts" who had been promoting Bernard to do these deals had to admit it might not be the way to go. How this might further erode the fan base, already complaining about too many road/street courses, will play out in 2012.

The opening three weekends of the NASCAR season gave Sprint Cup a strong launch: Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Daytona 500 pole, fresh-faced good-kid Trevor Bayne's improbable and popular D500 win, and Jeff Gordon ending a long winless streak with a Phoenix victory certainly created momentum. Add in five first-time winners (including Regan Smith at Darlington), flashes of more-competitiveness from Junior, revamped points system, Tony Stewart's Chase charge and a Homestead finale for the ages -- a tie! -- ended a successful season for NASCAR. The TV numbers were up, including in key demos. NASCAR's overall PR operation was retooled -- results to be determined. Sprint renewed its Cup deal through 2016.

On the other side, the Nationwide and Truck series clearly struggled, especially with team sponsorships. Kevin and DeLana Harvick decided to pack-in their team -- a blow to the dreams of making it Big of grass-roots racers everywhere. Roush Fenway perhaps took the biggest hit, with the redirection of the UPS and Crown Royal sponsorships. As I write, Matt Kenseth has no backing for 2012, and the exact plans for Bayne and Nationwide titlist Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are unclear.

Tracks like Dover, Michigan, California and Atlanta had a major inventory of unsold seats. Phoenix announced two grandstand sellouts for Cup. Nashville went away but, apparently, Gateway is coming back. Circuit of the Americas turned out to be a Texas-sized soap opera. Baltimore attracted a lot of people but lost a ton of money.

M&M's pulled off the power move of the year by pulling its ID off Kyle Busch's car for the last two Cup races. Controversial Kyle managed to keep his job with Joe Gibbs -- brother Kurt didn't with Roger Penske.

Red Bull shut its team doors. Roush and Richard Childress will go down a Cup car in the new year.

In drag racing, Kenny Bernstein's retirement from team ownership was not only a huge story, it was a somewhat perplexing one. He left two years of his lucrative Copart.com sponsorship on the table at a time when most everyone else is scratching for scraps. Kenny sent me a letter afterwards and wrote, "It's time to sit back, relax, and enjoy life!"

Ashley Force Hood -- as popular in drag racing as Sarah Palin at a Tea Party rally -- sat out the season in favor of motherhood and looks to do the same in '12. Track ticket sellers felt her absence. After two consecutive Top Fuel championships, the mysterious Al-Anabi Super Team went into the holidays looking a mess -- Del Worsham "retired" and Larry Dixon was "released."

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted a successful 100th anniversary 500 -- complete with unbelievable finish -- but to what effect remains to be seen. Nationwide and Grand-Am debut on Brickyard (now Crown Royal) weekend next year. The series tried to spice-up the show with double-wide restarts and the Texas doubleheader with a draw for starting spots in race two. Las Vegas, well . . .

Grand-Am gained a little media notice by placing a bounty on dominant Scott Pruett-Memo Rojas. No matter, they won another championship. The 50th anniversary Rolex 24 comes in January, with important new bodystyles (Corvette!) that a lot of people are counting on to generate more interest from the sports car fan crowd -- such as it is.

ALMS continued to push its "green" platform but -- at least indirectly -- was hurt by the bad Solyndra headlines and various controversies about the viability of such technology. Chevy's Volt is a sales flop, took another smack with recent stories about possible problems with battery fires, and CNBC Wall St. guru Jim Creamer last week called the Volt "a failure." None of that helps ALMS sell what it is trying to sell to the highly fragmented fan base. And then there are the political wranglings over rules with the ACO in France.

The World of Outlaws again provided the most consistent entertainment value and good stories -- Joey Saldana's winning comeback from serious injuries should not be forgotten -- but the lack of a consistent TV package means too many people don't know. No "live" TV for the Knoxville Nationals is simply unacceptable.

The media world got upside-down, too. The fabled print edition of National Speed Sport News folded. Excellent journalists like Dustin Long, on the NASCAR beat, had their jobs eliminated. Too many people got their "news" from anonymous chatroom rumors and Twitter.

My friend Gordon Kirby wrote a few very important sentences the other week and I want to share them here. Reviewing NASCAR's sensational season finale and positive year, GK published:

"Meanwhile the rest of the sport cries out for leadership. It's sad that in the second century of the sport's history amid a new technology boom American auto racing is so rudderless. So many old-time fans have lost their interest in today's racing and shake their heads over the disturbing similarities between our governing classes in Washington and so much of American auto racing."

Amen.

In conclusion, what continued to bother me the most was the overall lowering of standards. It seems almost impossible to have a honest difference of opinion -- what results is anonymous personal attacks on the chatrooms. Media too often no longer seek-out all sides of a story. Too many people -- especially so-called "public relations" people -- don't bother to build one-on-one relationships with the media -- or even talk to them.

At the November NASCAR weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, Ford's on-site rep sat a few feet away from our Arizona Republic work area -- with a direct line-of-sight to see reps from the other three manufacturers over there talking with us -- and never moved from his seat to speak a word. (Sadly, this is all-too typical.) I guess Ford isn't interested in major-market publicity or selling vehicles in Arizona -- that's the impression this kind of PR indifference leaves. In February, Goodyear racing boss Stu Grant told me the tiremaker liked "technology transfer" stories (this in the context of developing a new tire for the repaved/reconfigured Phoenix oval) but whatever racing PR capability he thinks Goodyear has did nothing to follow-up and left an oh-so-bad impression. Made it seem like Goodyear wasn't confident it could produce a good tire for the new PIR. Oh, for the days of Dick Ralston, Phil Holmer, Dave Hendrich, Bill King and Carole Swartz -- Goodyear actually CARED about good media relationships in those days.

What possibly could be more basic than for a "PR" person to talk with media people?

It's too easy to push "send" when what's really needed is a phone call. It's become a very bad, but increasingly accepted, habit in American business to put into an E-mail what properly should be said in person or on the phone.

PR giants like Jim Chapman, Jack Duffy, Bill Dredge and Ralston would be aghast by what passes as "acceptable" these days. No surprise to me committee members selected old-school guy and class act Bill York as winner of the 2011 Jim Chapman Award for Excellence in Motorsports PR.

It's a Crisis of Communications within the industry -- and within our society -- and we all suffer for it. One hundred and 40 characters on Twitter is NOT how to establish and maintain a proper professional relationship. There's a right way and a wrong way of doing things and, these days and in this past year, way-way-way too many people were doing it the wrong way. I think, because it was "easier."

Going forward, I am convinced the consequences of this C of C will be profound. How can any series, any sport, any industry, any society, any culture, any country, be successful when people don't understand how important it is to talk to one another?

The Men of the Year:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2909

Thanks to each one of you who takes time to read what I write here. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year.

[ more in January, or as news developments warrant . . . ]

NASCAR's GOOD YEAR ENDS IN VEGAS

2011-12-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

The mood was upbeat at last week's NASCAR Sprint Cup awards activities in Las Vegas -- as well it should have been.

Tony Stewart was there to take his bows, of course, as series champion. History will record Stewart's accomplishment of taking Gene Haas' doormat team to the title in only three years as one of stock car racing's great accomplishments. A quick Google search will reveal how most of the "experts" called Stewart's decision to leave Joe Gibbs' team a mistake, with one of the ESPN bright lights predicting Stewart would never again make the Chase.

It was obvious to me, and I'm sure everyone else, that Stewart was not going to let anything take away from his personal satisfaction and the joy he shared with his team. It was awkward, though, with outgoing crew chief Darian Grubb sharing the spotlight -- especially after Grubb's emotional speech at Thursday's NMPA Myers Brothers awards luncheon at the Bellagio. He nearly broke down a few times and got a standing ovation afterwards.

A little while later, in a one-on-one interview, I asked Stewart if that had been hard for him to watch. Of course, Tony will forever be regarded as one of America's great true racers, and I know from many of the great drivers I've worked with, separating emotion from the competition is a common quality. "It was an emotional scene," Stewart admitted. Stewart said the tough part is he tries to treat his team members as family but stepping away from the emotion to make the best decision for the overall organization is what he had to do. Remember, Stewart let competition director Bobby Hutchins go last summer, too.

Oh, for the record, I asked Stewart if Homestead was his best win of the year, if his first career World of Outlaws victory was the second. He came out with a big smile and said, "You are right on the money with that."

Las Vegas seems to bring out a happier side of the drivers and Jimmie Johnson said he thought the atmosphere and fun fan activities allowed the drivers to get to know each other a little better on a personal level. That's a good thing. I have to say, though, that there was no doubt to me the two guys who were glad when it all was over with were Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin. The format is for a group media avail with the top 10 drivers after the Thursday luncheon. Friday, after the drivers come off stage in the Wynn ballroom, they are brought to a photo and interview area. Carl and Denny both were gracious but their body language and facial expressions were more revealing than their words. It's quite understandable Edwards would have had enough after losing out on the epic Cup tie-breaker race, while Hamlin's disappointing campaign after being touted as a pre-season title contender was one of the year's more important stories. Friday night, after he finished his last interview, Hamlin turned to a NASCAR PR rep and asked, "Is my season finally over now?" I sympathized and told him I hope he enjoys spending the winter months here in my home area of the Valley of the Sun.

NASCAR itself deserved to join Stewart in taking a bow. The Cup season started with the boffo triple of Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Daytona 500 pole, Trevor Bayne as the stunning and popular winner of the Great American Race, and Jeff Gordon ending a long winless streak the following week at Phoenix. There were five first-time winners, TV ratings were up, there were some upticks in the key demos, a fantasic finale at Homestead, and Friday night's black-tie gala (with Reba McEntire providing the Big Name entertainment) wrapped with official announcement of Sprint extending its Cup series sponsorship until 2016. (In a classy move, NASCAR remembered Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon during the ceremony.)

Yes, given the economy, there are still attendance issues at tracks like Indianapolis, Michigan, Dover and elsewhere (Phoenix had two announced grandstand sell-outs), and teams -- including Roush Fenway -- continue to struggle for sponsorship. (I asked Matt Kenseth if his No. 17 had anything yet; he said no.) NASCAR President Mike Helton said to me, "We still have work to do."

But no fair-minded observer of the American racing scene can do anything but give NASCAR and it's Cup season the credit it deserves for moving in a positive direction in 2011.

What were the top 10 business and political stories of the year in drag racing? Here's my list in my December "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19721-drags-dollars-a-sense-the-business-top-ten

[ I'll wrap-up the year here next week . . . ]

PENSKE WOULDN'T BID for IMS

2011-11-27T10:23:00.001-08:00

Many people have asked me to write about the reaction I received to my "Untenable" posting of Oct. 26. I appreciate it. I've avoided doing so because I believe that blog speaks for itself and, given the sensitive and difficult nature of the subject matter, I have not seen a reason to keep after it.

So, allow me to leave it this way: Without any question, "Untenable" produced more response than anything I've ever written. (For the record, that goes back to the late 1960s.) As expected, some elements of the chatroom crowd personally attacked me, and posted anonymous (of course) FALSE "facts" about my career and supposed IRL vs. CART political leanings. Far more importantly to me, however, were the truly amazing comments and insights provided by some of the most significant players in the Business of Racing industry -- including very well-known participants from within the IndyCar series. Not one of these Big Names -- not one -- said they disagreed with a single word. One described the IC series as being "derailed" and "not sure if it can be put back on its tracks." Another told me, "Even you don't know how bad it is."

Oh -- these thoughts came from people routinely praised by chatroomers.

As I explained back then, I carefully considered every word -- "Untenable" was chosen with great care for literal accuracy -- and I will say here I continue to stand by every word.

Now, here's a follow-up: Straight reporting as done by me Sunday, Nov. 13 before the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Phoenix International Raceway. After Sam Hornish Jr.'s Nationwide series win the day before, I asked Roger Penske to give me some one-on-one interview time the next morning. Following the mandatory pre-race driver/crew chief meeting, Penske invited me into his motorcoach, and we sat down in his private meeting area in the back.

Since I had listed Penske as a possible bidder for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway if the Hulman-George family put it up for sale, I asked Roger point-blank if he would do so. I reminded him that, way back in my Philadelphia newspaper days, Penske had been quoted as saying he'd like to make an offer should such an opportunity present itself. And, of course, Penske once did have a racetrack business as part of his overall enterprises, including Michigan International Speedway, California Speedway and Nazareth Speedway. Here is Penske's answer to my question about IMS:

"No -- we're out of the racetrack business. I've got so much commitment to my own businesses. It's not something that I would be interested in. It's going to take a big number (price) and someone who's in the entertainment business would be better off with that type of an asset."

Anything -- ANYTHING -- Dave Argabright writes is worth reading. I oh-so-miss his "American Scene" column in the now-gone print edition of National Speed Sport News. I've just gotten Dave's latest book, Sprint Car Salvation, which is something different from him. It's based on 1970s USAC sprint car racing from a fictional serial that was in Sprint Car & Midget Magazine about a half-dozen years ago. I plan to get started on this later this week but for more information on the 240-pager ($24.95) go to http://AmericanScenePress.com .

I'll be in Las Vegas for the concluding events of NASCAR's Champions Week, including the NMPA Myers Brothers award luncheon, media activities, and Friday night's Sprint Cup awards banquet. Please come back here next Monday for some news and observations . . .

HUMOR MIGHT BE A USEFUL TOOL for STEWART

2011-11-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The Formula One season ends Sunday in Brazil and I'll be on the year's final The Checkered Flag show with Rick Benjamin on Sirius XM 94/208 shortly after race ends.

The reality of the modern media environment is plenty of people will say it's a bigger story that Jimmie Johnson didn't win his sixth consecutive Sprint Cup than Tony Stewart becoming the new NASCAR champion.

There's some merit, and some unfairness, in that. From a PR perspective and the standpoint of the Cup winning sponsors, I would definitely consider countering it with some interview one-liners and a humorous TV commercial playing off the end of Johnson's reign. Humor -- used correctly -- has become a well established way of deflecting a controversy or making a key point.
Ronald Reagan did it brilliantly: Watch this YouTube clip of the way Reagan took care of the issue of his age during a 1984 debate with Walter Mondale. It's a classic and proves my point exactly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkVUEETinj0

If and when all the Jimmie talk gets underneath the skin of the new NASCAR championship collective, "well," they might try this famous line from Reagan's 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Wi9y5-Vo61w

Let's just say it -- and NASCAR critics, give credit where it is due: The new championship points system worked. And Tony Stewart -- in an A.J. Foyt-esque drive -- and Carl Edwards produced a championship race for the ages. Congratulations.

Kenny Bernstein's retirement from racing must be noted here. I've known Kenny going back to the early 1980s and spent some quality time with him just a few weeks ago when NHRA was here in the Phoenix area. Kenny will forever be remembered as "First to 300 mph" but long-ago earned his reputation as one of racing's great business people. When he's inducted next spring into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala., (I voted for him) that demands to be recognized along with all his winning, six NHRA championships, and, as an owner, Indy 500 pole plus NASCAR and Indy Car series wins.

Kenny knew how to deliver Return on Investment for sponsors. One thing he always did was send a thank you letter to journalists for their coverage -- I've received several. NHRA President Tom Compton said this about Bernstein's career and he's completely correct:

“He paved the way for team sponsorship in NHRA and showed others how to not only win on the track, but how to service team sponsors and develop long-lasting business relationships."

There's more to the story and I'll get into that in my December "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitonPlus.com . For now: Kenny helped make racing, as a sport and as an industry, what it is in America. My congratulations, thanks, and best wishes to Kenny and wife Sheryl.

[ more next week . . . ]

NASCAR at PHOENIX

2011-11-13T20:21:00.001-08:00

VIDEO: JEFF GORDON's LAP of the NEW PIR

2011-11-09T19:40:00.001-08:00

UPDATE: I'll be on NASCAR SiriusXM Friday at about 1 p.m. (ET) to talk about this weekend's Phoenix weekend.

As promised, I've posted on YouTube the video of Jeff Gordon taking me, Mark Armijo and Chris van der Beeck around the new Phoenix International Raceway layout. This happened during the Sprint Cup test at PIR last month. Click this link to watch:
http://youtu.be/IqIzbV6uZm0

Mark and I will be covering PIR for the Arizona Republic all weekend. Please check out the newspaper or read us on http://azcentral.com/ . I'll have notebooks every day plus the Nationwide race story in Sunday's paper and my traditional newsmaker Q&A.

Thursday notebook -- (Jeff Gordon's lap of the new PIR)
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/11/09/20111109nascar-jeff-gordon-pir-track-impressions.html

Thursday -- Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/11/09/20111109nascar-team-chemistry-phoenix-race.html

Wednesday notebook -- (Track preparation; Danica says no reality show) http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/11/08/20111108nascar-pir-track-grooves-repaved.html

I guested Wednesday on my friend Larry Henry's Pit Pass USA show. Here's an audio link and I'm on right at the start:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/Show/1547

Yes, I'm thinking NASCAR, but here's a link to my November "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. It's about the pressure on Courtney Force and others to "move the needle" for NHRA:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19568-drags-dollars-a-sense-will-they-entice-interest

[ more next Monday . . . ]

BILL YORK WINS 2011 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RACING PR

2011-11-07T03:18:00.001-08:00

This news release was issued Monday morning. Congratulations, Bill!

Bill York, whose half-century of work in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway media center earned him the respect and friendship of journalists from around the world, today was announced as winner of the 2011 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations.

The Chapman Award is considered by many in the industry as the highest honor in racing public relations. It is named in memory of Chapman, the legendary PR executive and innovator, who worked with Babe Ruth and was named Indy Car racing’s “most influential man” of the 1980s. Chapman died in 1996 at age 80.

The announcement was made by Michael Knight, chairman of the selection committee, and one of Chapman’s closest friends. The award is determined by vote of media members, most of whom knew Chapman, and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for consideration.

“It is impossible to think of anyone more deserving,” said Knight, the longtime journalist/publicist and award rights-holder. “Bill York is more than one of Jim’s countless friends and admirers. Bill’s professionalism is in the example and spirit of Jim Chapman’s.

“Bill, like Jim before him, believes in the ‘old-school’ approach to working with the media – that it is essential to build one-on-one relationships with journalists. That’s too often missing today, when far too many PR representatives think an E-mail or text message constitutes ‘relationship-building.’ Jim was a true ‘people person’ and knew nothing could replace a handshake, a face-to-face conversation, or the sound of another person’s voice.

“Over many decades, Bill has shown he understands the value of actually talking to people and getting to know them, and that having those professional relationships best serve clients in good times -- and bad.”

York began working in the Indianapolis 500 press room in 1958. As a popular goodwill ambassador with journalists, York filled many roles, including gathering statistics and managing the media center through 2008. He was instrumental in creating the Stark & Wetzel Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award. He served as a Speedway media liaison last May.

York has earned many auto racing honors, including the 2010 Bob Russo Founders Award for lifelong contributions to the sport. He’s also worked in the NBA Indianapolis Pacers and NFL Indianapolis Colts media rooms. The Pacers’ media center is named in his honor.

Chapman (left) started as sports editor or managing editor of several Southern newspapers before joining the New York Times. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. He entered the PR business in 1946, as regional PR director for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.

Soon thereafter, Chapman hired Ruth as consultant to the automaker’s sponsorship of American Legion Junior Baseball. They traveled together for more than two years for personal appearances and became close friends. Chapman was one of only three friends at Ruth’s bedside when he died in August 1948.

In 1950, Chapman left Ford to start his own PR firm. One of his first clients was Avis founder Warren Avis. Chapman devoted much of his time to financial PR, which he once called his “favorite form of PR,” and helped companies get recognition among analysts and even gain admission to the New York and American stock exchanges.

Chapman’s first venture into motorsports was in 1951, when he joined with NASCAR founder Bill France to promote the Motor City 250. The race was part of Detroit’s 250th birthday celebration, a Chapman client. In 1967, Chapman entered Indy Car racing with client Ozzie Olson’s Olsonite sponsorship of Dan Gurney’s team, which later featured Bobby Unser as driver.

“Jim was one of the most innovative and imaginative PR men ever to grace a pit lane,” said Gurney. “Jim practically invented most of what is now considered routine sponsor PR work. He was the first, as far as I know, who thought of putting up a sponsor hospitality tent alongside a racetrack (at the old Riverside International Raceway), filling it with extravagant race car ice-sculptures, beautiful food and beautiful people from the business, sports and movie industries. He started an ‘open house’ tradition in Ozzie’s hotel suite in Indianapolis, where journalists could rub shoulders with John Wayne or (astronaut) Scott Carpenter.”

Chapman also coordinated Olsonite’s sponsorship of the Driver of the Year award, orchestrating an annual luncheon at New York City’s famed ‘21’ Club.

Chapman’s greatest professional acclaim came from 1981-1992, as director of CART series sponsor PPG Industries’ program. Chapman was instrumental in raising PPG’s prize fund from $250,000 to more than $3.75 million at the time of his retirement in February 1993. The all-female PPG Pace Car Driving Team was another Chapman innovation, as were the PPG Editor’s Days, when he brought business and feature writers to the tracks for lunch, pace car rides, and driver interviews.

Indy Car Racing magazine named Chapman the sports’ “most influential” man of the 1980s, saying he turned “a public relations assignment into an art form.” After his retirement, Chapman continued to consult PPG, and agreed to Mario Andretti’s personal request that he serve as honorary chairman of Andretti’s “Arrivederci, Mario” farewell tour in 1994.

“The true honor of this award is not the plaque,” said Knight. “The true honor is having your name forever associated with that of the great James P. Chapman.”

York will officially receive the 2011 Jim Chapman Award January 8, 2012, at the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association’s All-America team dinner in Indianapolis. Broadcaster Paul Page, a longtime Chapman friend and a member of the award selection committee, will make the presentation.

PREVIOUS JIM CHAPMAN AWARD HONOREES:
1991 – Michael Knight
1992 – Tom Blattler
1993-94 – Deke Houlgate and Hank Ives
1995 – Kathi Lauterbach
1996 – Marc Spiegel
1997 – Mike Zizzo
1998 – Tamy Valkosky
1999 -- Carol Wilkins
2000-2003 – (Award not presented)
2004 – Doug Stokes
2005 – Susan Arnold
2006 – Kevin Kennedy
2007 – Dave Densmore and Bob Carlson
2008 – Judy Stropus
2009 – (Award not presented)
2010 -- Jim Hunter

It's NASCAR week in the Valley of the Sun. Below is a link to my Sunday Arizona Republic story on Jeff Gordon. Mark Armijo and I will have coverage all this week, starting Tuesday.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/2011/11/05/20111105nascar-sprint-cup-jeff-gordon-pir.html

This Wednesday (Nov. 9) I'm going to post on YouTube the video of our ride around the new PIR with Jeff Gordon, so check back here then to watch that.

UNTENABLE

2011-10-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

Preamble: Out of respect to the family, friends and fans of Dan Wheldon, I have waited until now to fully comment on his death in IndyCar's Las Vegas season finale. Until now, I politely declined several invitations to speak my mind. Unlike the chatroomers, my name is on this blog, and my experience is there at the left, for everyone to consider and evaluate. Unlike many who have spoken/written earlier, I do not have the bias of the "born-and-raised in Indiana" mindset, which, in this sad case as it too often has, leaves the impression that they think the universe revolves around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is not a time for hometown cheerleading. Unlike many others who have commented, I have no direct or indirect financial interest in the success or promotion of the IndyCar series. Unlike at least some of those who have commented, I have no personal grudge with anyone I write about below. Randy Bernard once was a good guest on my old radio show. On the Thursday before this year's Indianapolis 500, Bernard told me he was going to call me after the 500, because he wanted to "rebuild" his series in the greater Phoenix area, my home. I never heard from him -- but I'm disclosing that information for your consideration. I am proud to say I knew Tony Hulman, he was nice to me and once did me the enormous favor of getting me an interview with A.J. Foyt, just minutes after Foyt had thrown a bunch of reporters out of his garage in Gasoline Alley. Bottom line: What you read below is not swayed by financial or employment conflicts of interest, hometown boosterism, or emotional passion. It is my true professional, experienced, analysis.

Last May, not long before the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500, someone who has had extremely close ties with Indy 500 racing for many decades -- in fact, I'd say this person has in large part devoted his/her life to Indy -- said something to me that I found powerful at the time and even more so now. No, I will not reveal the person's identity, because I am certain to do so would cost him/her a job.

In sharing thoughts on IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard's decisions on several matters, most especially double-wide restarts, this person said to me:

"The problem is Randy has never had to sit down with the family of a driver who has just been killed in a race."

That time came for Bernard the evening of Sunday, Oct. 16, with the family of two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

Wheldon, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, willingly accepted the risks of racing at Las Vegas at speeds around 225 mph. The following, however, are unalterable facts.

It was Randy Bernard who decided IndyCar needed a big end-of-season Showbiz Spectacular, even though it was questionable any positive momentum would last some five months into the start of the 2012 schedule. It was Bernard who decided the site would be Las Vegas, where he had business contacts from his days as head of Pro Bull Riders. It was Bernard who decided to lease Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- an oval Dario Franchitti, the only series champion Bernard has ever known, judged "not suitable" for Indy Cars of the configuration raced Oct. 16. It was Bernard who self-promoted the event. It was Bernard who decided to post a $5 million bonus for any non-IC regular who could win. It was Bernard who wanted Alex Zanardi, who lost his legs in a crash and almost bled-to-death, to drive a high-horsepower open-wheel car for the first time in competition at high speeds since 2001 -- an invitation that legitimately can be described as irresponsible and exploitive. (Thank God wiser heads prevailed.) It was Bernard who decided, when there were no non-IC takers, to make Wheldon eligible. It was Bernard who decided to allow 34 cars to take the green flag -- one more car than in the Indy 500, at roughly the same lap speeds, on a track one mile shorter in length -- thus assuring the pack would be tightly compressed. It was Bernard who decided Wheldon would start last. And, no matter what good intentions were involved, Bernard's five-lap salute with playing of Amazing Grace only added to the Roman Coliseum visual and atmospheric spectacle of the whole, sad, event.

All of this in a season full of safety-related decisions that were a big and legitimate issue within Bernard's series. Examples: Driver concerns about making the Indy 500 the oval debut of the two-wide restart rule. Restarting a race in the rain on the New Hampshire oval. Starting a race with an emergency vehicle on-course at Baltimore. Drawing for starting positions for the second half of the Texas doubleheader.

This is not finger-pointing. This is a listing of the facts. As is this: With only two years of motorsports experience, Bernard was not in a position to properly judge the safety of his decisions. Entertainment-based decisions, yes. Safety, no. That does not mean he's responsible for Wheldon's death -- keep reading -- there are a lot of factors here.

Last week, I spoke with a senior representative of one of IndyCar's most important corporate participants. I asked what the company's response would be if Bernard again asked for increased support for another self-promoted IndyCar showbiz spectacular. I was told the answer would be a polite, but VERY firm, "No."

I ask you: How can Bernard now walk into any corporate office and try to sell sponsorship for his next big showbiz idea? At least, not to anyone who has done a minimum amount of due diligence.
There's no doubt Bernard injected much personal enthusiasm and energy into the series. In fact, I've often thought one mistake he made was trying to do too much himself -- but that, in fairness, was partly a function of the mess he inherited.

Now, however, Randy Bernard's position as CEO of the IndyCar organization is no longer tenable. I think he will be successful in other enterprises, but not IndyCar, and probably, not any type of motorsports.

Also untenable, going forward, is Brian Barnhart's job as the series' competition boss. Barnhart has shown himself to be like a bad baseball umpire: He calls a pitch six inches off the plate a strike for the pitcher of one team, but a ball for the other. Late season, Bernard defended the embattled Barnhart, and said the problem was a poorly written rulebook. That conveniently overlooked the fact that Barnhart himself is the rulebook's main author. Sadly, Barnhart actually came out of the Vegas disaster with a leg to stand on, as he's been opposed to Bernard's spice-up-the-show rules, including two-wide restarts. No matter -- his credibility has eroded, the confidence of the competitors destroyed, his position is no longer tenable.

Also untenable, going forward as it has been in the past, are the so-called public/media relations departments at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the series. If there was any doubt -- and, to experienced PR professionals, there wasn't -- it was erased in the week after Wheldon's death.

I was writing formal crisis communications plans for CART teams and sponsors some quarter-century ago. If IndyCar even had one, it wasn't worth the computer file it was stored on. Failing PR 101, IndyCar followed a submarine commander's "Run Silent, Run Deep" approach at exactly the time a reassuring, comforting voice was needed. There was only a written statement -- that had to be corrected due to a factual error. As I've explained here before, the IMS Corp. PR (I combine here both the track and the series) mentality has focused on the Indiana media cheerleaders, at a loss of good, solid, professional relationships with the national media. As Jim Chapman (and others) knew, having such one-on-one relationships is nice in good times -- but ESSENTIAL in bad times. The IMS Corp. PR Department hasn't bothered to develop such relationships -- and the negative coverage reflected that fact.

Also untenable, going forward, is the position of certain segments of the Indianapolis-region news media. The lack of critical (by which I mean bothering to cover all sides of the issues) reporting and informed analysis of Bernard's moves has been clear all along and even more so in the Vegas aftermath. It was just journalistically sad to see some who cheerleaded Bernard the whole year immediately say after Wheldon's death that racing on 1.5-mile ovals is "too dangerous." That was nothing more than "journalistic" butt-covering. Certainly one of Bernard's achievements has been to co-opt some of his series' media critics and others, including some in the NASCAR media community, who were charmed by his attention and wrote favorably, in part out of a desire to tweak the Powers-That-Be in NASCAR.

But where was the reporting to verify Bernard's statements? The best example of which was Bernard's on-going talk of opening the 2012 season at Phoenix International Raceway. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only one to actually interview Bernard, PIR President Bryan Sperber, and ISC President John Saunders on this subject. There was no chance it was going to happen -- it would be the kind of financial failure experienced at Milwaukee and Loudon. Those who have been compromised with track and series PA and broadcast jobs simply can't be relied on for balanced reporting in their other media outlets -- that has been shown repeatedly.

And, finally: Also untenable, going forward, is the Hulman-George family's ownership of the Speedway and the series.

I find it sad I have to write that. But that is my experienced, professional, analysis. Tony Hulman literally saved the I500 and, thus, the overall series with his purchase of IMS and work to elevate it to an American sporting institution. He was a strong leader. When the AAA withdrew from racing, Mr. Hulman was key in the founding of USAC, to govern a series. This, however, is true: The family's leadership after Tony's death has never reached his level. Tony George was put in charge at a relatively young age. He was smart to bring NASCAR to the Brickyard, gave Formula One an honest try, improved facilities, but bled the family's bank accounts with the ill-conceived and arrogant creation of the IRL (supposedly an all-oval series for the benefit of American drivers.) His sisters finally had enough and pulled off a family coup, which ultimately led to Bernard's hiring.

Randy came in as the sisters' man. How do they now, with credibility, go out and find another leader? No doubt they would have been happy to sell-off the series years ago, but who would want to buy it? Not without its most significant asset -- the Speedway itself. Honestly, it wouldn't make biz sense for the H-Gs to dump the series off to someone else, which would only put them back in the pre-IRL mode of having to deal with an independently owned and managed series (CART).

Yes, I know, Mari George has said (reported to have said) she won't sell the track, that it's for her grandchildren. The names most often mentioned of the next generation to run the place are Jarrod Krisiloff, Tony George Jr. and even Jesika Gunter. None are close to being ready -- remember Tony George was given the authority at age 29. And, even if they turn out to be the greatest businesspeople since retired GE CEO Jack Welch, the Speedway, the series, and the sport cannot wait for them. Their family business is in deep crisis -- there is no luxury of time.

There are simply too many problems to be solved, too many conflicting staff relationships to untangle, too much politics to be sorted out, too little credibility, too little leadership, not the correct "Vision." Whatever IndyCar will be in the future, it will have to be vastly different from what it is today, and those crucial and most difficult decisions can only be made now by new ownership, unburdened with its past choices and relationships. The roots of the problems run too deep to be fixed by those who did the planting in the first place.

Some potential bidders are obvious: International Speedway Corp., Speedway Motorsports Inc., Roger Penske (who I assume would unload the series and sign a very long-term contract of cooperation binding the Speedway to the series), John Menard, and an investment group including Tony George. There are other possibilities: The Walt Disney Co. (ESPN), some form of state of Indiana-private sector partnership, the group that owns Formula One's commercial rights, one of the private equity firms interested in sports/entertainment, maybe even Donald J. Trump.

The merits of those, or other, bidders can be debated later. For now, of this, I am certain:

Tony Hulman showed great leadership in buying the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mari Hulman George now must show leadership of equal greatness, and realize her family's time has passed. And I say that with true respect.

I see no other way. The situation is untenable.

[ more Nov. 7, when I'll announce the recepient of the 2011 Jim Chapman Award for Excellence in Motorsports Public Relations . . . ]

POST-VEGAS

2011-10-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

I don't agree with conservative commentator and former presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan on everything. But I enjoy listening to what he says, and reading what he writes, because Buchanan obviously is a brilliant thinker and communicator. He has a new book out, Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? In brief, Buchanan cites numerous factors for America's decline, including a stunning lowering-of-standards within our society. Conduct that, a few decades ago, would have been widely considered unacceptable is now routine.

I thought of that last week in reading the grotesquely inappropriate chatroom post by a so-called "fan" of Indy Car racing after Dan Wheldon's death. The poster, blissfully anonymous and thus immune from the direct scorn he/she justly deserves, noted a National Public Radio segment about Wheldon's accident. I quote from the post:

"A story about IndyCar would not be on NPR if not for Dan. I'm of the opinion that any publicity is good publicity. I think this is Dan's last gift to a sport he loved. After the Interview I just said, thanks Dan. "

That's sick. Almost enough to make you vomit. This is what your liberal and union-protected American educational system has wrought -- and makes me afraid Buchanan might be right; our nation might not endure because of people like this.

Unlike the chatrooms, this blog carries my name. If this "fan" is man enough to reveal his true identity, my contact info is easily available. If not, I've finally thought of a legitimate purpose for the bouncer the series employs: Investigate and learn the real identity of this "fan" -- then make sure he/she is permanently banned from all your races.

For the record, here's a re-link to what people who actually know anything about publicity know: http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19210-drags-dollars-a-sense-not-all-ink-is-good-ink

The information below was provided by the IndyCar series:

The Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund has been established for the financial security of Wheldon's family. The public can make contributions to the Dan Wheldon Family Trust Fund starting Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the following address:

Fifth Third Private Bank
Attn: Dan Wheldon Family Trust
251 North Illinois St.
Suite 1000
Indianapolis, IN 46204

This also deserves to be reported: Longtime Associated Press photographer Ed Reinke died last week. He had been hospitalized since Oct. 2, when he fell and suffered a head injury while covering the IndyCar race at Kentucky Speedway.

I find it necessary to post this blog before the conclusion of the public memorial service for Wheldon Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis. Out of respect, I will stop on this subject now. That will change in the next few days -- before next Monday -- when enough time will have passed to have shown proper respect, let emotions cool, and add much-needed context.
************************************************************************** This was the blog I had ready to post last week until I learned of Wheldon's death:

I had NHRA on my mind last week, which certainly was not a bad thing.

I was out at Firebird International Raceway to cover the Arizona Nationals. Mark Armijo joined me in the writing for the Arizona Republic. Here are links to some of my stories and I especially point you to my now-traditional Q&A, this one with legends Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney:
Friday notebook (Mike Neff, Matt Hagan, etc.):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/13/20111013nhra-mike-neff-driver-crew-chief.html

Saturday notebook (Tony Schumacher, future of Firebird track, etc.):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/14/20111014nhra-tony-schumacher-firebird-international-raceway.html

Sunday notebook (Force Hood unlikely to race in 2012, NHRA's new drug testing policy):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/15/20111015nhra-ashley-force-hood-unlikely-race-in-2012.html

Sunday Q&A with Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/15/20111015nhra-q&a-don-garlits-shirley-muldowney.html

Monday notebook (Pro Stock, bike winners, etc.):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/16/20111016nhra-rookies-vincent-nobile-hector-arana-jr-arizona-nationals.html

Nitro fumes and the feel of 16,000 horsepower under my feet as Top Fuel and Funny Cars thundered away from the starting line dulled my senses, at least in terms of paying as much attention as usual to other series. Sorry, NASCAR and Bernie. I even had to beg-off my usual post-Formula One segment on SiriusXM but, as Arnold famously said, "I'll be back."

There's one constant for me when it comes to drag racing: I had more fun, interesting and informative conversations last weekend than happens yearly in all other series combined. I've said it before and I'll say it again: NHRA's Full Throttle series is under-covered by the mainstream national media. The so-called and self-thinking "Big Time" columnists who look down on drag racing as too blue-collar for their tastes, and thus have never bothered to talk with the likes of John Force, Kenny Bernstein, Jack Beckman, Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Tony Schumacher, Melanie Troxel, Bob Tasca III, et al do their readers a journalistic disservice.

There's a much more friendly atmosphere -- and, generally, more cooperation from PR reps -- than I find anywhere else. (There are always exceptions, of course, like the PRer who answered my E-mail of a week earlier late Thursday afternoon, and asked if I was coming out to the track. Nothing like knowing who-is-doing-what, media-wise, in the race market!)

Friday afternoon, I sat with John Force in his trackside motorcoach with his daughters Ashley and Courtney as he held his new grandson, Jacob John. Try doing that in NASCAR. The lesson to be learned is NHRA drivers (and publicists) know their sponsors want and NEED the publicity, and they are willing to work for it!

And, it's always nice to break some news as I did with the story on NHRA's upcoming new drug testing policy, which I had in the Republic and a more extension version on CompetitionPlus.com.
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/19352-nhra-to-adjust-drug-testing-procedure

Yes, sure, I'll get back into the Chase and the rest of the F1 season. But the people of the NHRA pits provided a welcome "vacation." Thank you.

Dollar General officially announced its extensive 2012 NASCAR sponsorship, upping its ante to include part-time sponsorship of Joey Logano in Sprint Cup. Of its decision to drop IndyCar, DG CEO Rick Dreiling said: "Being in victory lane at Kentucky with Sarah Fisher Racing was wonderful, but our customer base leans toward NASCAR. Our demographic is middle America. A lot of our customers have cars, they work on their cars, and they can relate to these guys. They have a passion for car racing." What say you, Randy Bernard and Terry Angstadt?

FAST LINES: Special thanks to NHRA's super-hard-working Anthony Vestal for his extra help to me at Firebird . . . Read all the details on CompetitionPlus.com, but the NHRA's handling of Don Schumacher Racing's Top Fuel shield design was a credibility-and-PR fiasco . . . If Jimmie Johnson doesn't win his sixth straight Sprint Cup, remember the infamous Sports Illustrated cover jinx. JJ was on the cover last week. To be honest though, I would have put Al Davis -- a profoundly historic figure in America's most popular sport, the NFL -- on the cover . . . Sign of the times -- Matt Kenseth in victory lane at Charlotte admitting his team has no sponsors for next season . . . ALMS was quick to issue a release explaining a conflict with Le Mans testing meant Grand-Am gets to join IndyCar at Belle Isle next June. Not so fast -- unless Penske gets the deal to run Porsche's upcoming factory prototype program, he's got more to gain by scheduling Grand-Am -- remember, it's owned by the NASCAR holding company . . . I'm definitely not a member of the Grassy Knoll crowd, but seeing Danica Patrick listed as the fastest during Thursday practice for IndyCar's self-promoted Las Vegas race reminded me of the years when Ferrari didn't have a competitive car, but somehow would always be fastest on the opening day of practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

[ more in a few days . . . ]

SILENCE

2011-10-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

There is much that could be said. No doubt, given the realities of social media, others will do at least some of that. Out of respect to the family, friends and fans of Dan Wheldon, I will stay silent this week. Thank you. God Bless.

ANOTHER THRILL RIDE at PIR

2011-10-09T15:06:00.001-07:00

FAST RIDE: Chris van der Beeck (left), Mark Armijo, Jeff Gordon, me after lapping the new PIR.

I promised last week that this week I'd explain why I wasn't trying to be fast when I drove a Richard Petty Driving Experience stock car at Phoenix International Raceway on Sept. 30. As I indicated, I had a reason to want to take-in a wider perspective of the repaved and reconfigured track instead of trying to focus-in on speed.

That was because I knew, before the start of the two-day Sprint Cup test at PIR last Tuesday, Jeff Gordon would be taking us for a ride.

For example, as we went down the back straight for the first time, I asked Jeff to look left and note that SAFER barrier is positioned all the way down the inside wall -- something I had noticed when I drove the Petty car.

As I did when Trevor Bayne took us for a thrill ride before last February's Cup race at PIR, I videotaped the Jeff ride from the backseat of a Camaro using my BlackBerry. Due to space limitations in the Arizona Republic -- including the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League playoffs -- I have to wait until race week of the Nov. 13 Kobalt Tools 500k to write about Jeff's Lap of the New PIR. Sorry, but to protect that story, I'll have to delay posting the video. I do plan to put it on YouTube race week and will let you know here when it's available.

Meanwhile, here are some links to my recent AZR stories:

Thursday -- PIR test (Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch):
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/05/20111005phoenix-international-raceway-oval-stress-chase.html

Friday -- Arizona to host two wild-card races:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/10/06/20111006nascar-nhra-phoenix-races.html

FAST LINES: PIR's communications director, Paul Corliss, will leave right after the Nov. 13 Cup race to join the national basketball retired players' association. He'll be based for a few months in New York, then relocate to Chicago. Paul has been a tremendous help to me in covering the PIR races since 2007 for the Arizona Republic. No replacement yet . . . Isn't it interesting how it only took Speed Channel a couple of weeks to figure-out a format for Ray Evernham to shine but ESPN couldn't do that over several years?

Mark Armijo and I will be covering this weekend's NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway. Please check out our stories in the Arizona Republic or at http://AzCentral.com . I'll have an event preview Tuesday and notebooks Friday-through-Monday. Look for my Q&A with legends Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney on Sunday, Oct. 16.

[ more Blogging the Chase next Monday . . . ]

DRIVING DAY

2011-10-02T16:03:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll be on SiriusXM 94/208 in the early hours Sunday a.m. right after the Grand Prix of Japan with Rick Benjamin on The Checkered Flag post-race show.

It was "Boys, have at it" last Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Sort of.

Arizona Republic Sports Editor Mark Faller, Page 2 columnist Bob Young and Chris van der Beeck, who coordinates the racing coverage, and I were out at PIR to drive Richard Petty Driving Experience stock cars on the newly repaved and reconfigured oval. Bob really got with the driving program and here's a link to his Sunday column.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/heatindex/articles/2011/10/01/20111001phoenix-international-raceway-new-surface.html

We all had our pictures taken with a famous No. 43 in victory lane before getting out on the track. I'll skip the details here, but will say the Petty Experience crew was extremely professional and helpful, and I'd certainly recommend you give it a go if the opportunity ever is there. I drove a No. 9 Dodge Charger for eight laps.

I asked to go last because my objective was different from the typical student -- for reasons I'll explain here next week. I've had the chance to drive a Corvette at the Bob Bondurant school and even a Formula Ford on the Pocono road course (in the wet!). I've never had any thoughts of being a driver, especially after my misadventure in a media snowmobile race many years ago. I got to bumping on some ruts, ran into the guy ahead of me, and flipped. I landed on my shoulder and had my arm in a sling for one week!

Instead of having to narrow-focus on my line and driving and speed, I wanted to broaden my perspective to observe and experience the PIR changes. Especially the slight banking, increased radius, and especially the dogleg. That's now a real turn -- no more short-cutting. Again, I had a good reason for wanting to take this approach and if you read me here next week, you'll understand. Meanwhile, I wasn't fast and will admit I missed getting into third gear on my first try, but I didn't crash or spin or hit the wall and got my "graduation" certificate.

One other thing I came away with was this was a great example of relationship-building and can only be a positive for PIR coverage down the road. Others should take note.

You don't have to be a drag racing fan to maybe find my October "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com interesting/useful. No, not all publicity is good publicity. Here's the link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19210-drags-dollars-a-sense-not-all-ink-is-good-ink

FAST LINES: Katie Kenseth's injuries last week while practicing for a charity race just reinforces what I've said for some time -- these sorts of events are a bad idea. I notice those old-timer events have abruptly stopped in the aftermath of Larry Pearson's injuries at Bristol the other year . . . Sorry, NASCAR's new Integrated Marketing Communications department, but this was just too much: The 2012 schedule was released month-by-month, at five-minute intervals, on Twitter. News is news, not a game . . . This is how PR people lose credibility: The post-Kentucky news release from HVM Racing didn't mention that Simona de Silvestro spun in the pits and hit a member of E.J. Viso's crew. What? Did this PR-she think no one noticed? . . . NASCAR's two-day Cup test at PIR is Tuesday and Wednesday. Mark Armijo will have a story in the Republic Wednesday, and I'll be in the paper Thursday and Friday and also will have an NHRA-at-Firebird story next Sunday. Please check us out at http://azcentral.com/ .

[ more Blogging the Chase next week . . . ]

LESSON FROM THE BUSINESS WORLD

2011-09-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

As I've often pointed out, anyone truly interested in the Business of Racing must pay attention to general business news. An instructive example of that emerged last week.

Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, used a blog to post an extraordinary apology to his customers. To briefly recap the situation, Netflix announced some weeks ago that it would split its movies-by-DVD and movies-via-streaming video into two separate companies. Some customers were going to be hit with big price increases. Well, the market -- meaning the customers --spoke, pushing back, and Netflix had to pull reverse.

In part, Hastings wrote, it was a failure to communicate:

"In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success. We have done very well for a long time by steadily improving our service, without doing much CEO communication. Inside Netflix I say, 'Actions speak louder than words,' and we should just keep improving our service. But now I see that given the huge changes we have been recently making, I should have personally given a full justification to our members of why we are separating DVD and streaming, and charging for both. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do."

"I want to acknowledge and thank our many members that stuck with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.
(We) will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions."

This wasn't exactly a repeat of the 1985 "New Coke" fiasco. But there's a useful lesson here for motorsports' executives.

Hastings' quote that he "slid into arrogance based upon past success" smacks of what has gone on at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for decades. And directly led to the steep decline of a great American sporting institution and its open-wheel series. NASCAR started to steer into this ditch a few years ago, attempting to expand the fan base, with unappealing Car of Tomorrow rear wings and vanilla driver code-of-conduct policies that turned-off traditionalists. Of course, my latest favorite example comes from Formula One, and the scheduling of next year's U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Tex., on the same day NASCAR's Chase ends in Homestead, Fla. To whatever extent Bernie Ecclestone and the F1 Powers-That-Be consider the American public and media their "customers," this is an act of arrogance and stupidity.

Unknowingly, Netflix did the racing industry a service with this reminder. At least, it did for those who bother to pay attention and think about it.

Is Jimmie Johnson's historic run of five consecutive Sprint Cups in danger of ending? You bet. He's 10th after two Chase events, 29 points behind no-wins-in-the-regular-season-but-2-for-2 in the Chase Tony Stewart. Johnson's won six times at Dover, second only to Richard Petty's and Bobby Allison's seven, so this Sunday has all the looks of a "must" for Johnson. As for his Hendrick teammate, Jeff Gordon, this has been a legit "comeback" season but like the Brickyard, Bristol, Richmond and some others, New Hampshire sure seemed like one that got away.

When Tony Stewart said this in New Hampshire's victory lane -- "We got rid of some dead weight earlier this week. So, it made it a lot easier. It’s been a big weight lifted off our shoulders. Just sometimes you have to make adjustments in your life and we did that and it has definitely helped this weekend, for sure" -- why didn't ESPN's Vince Welch ask him to explain? It was an obvious follow-up question and the need to do that is taught in Journalism 101. TV viewers everywhere were left confused and frustrated. Print reporters did ask and Tony refused to answer -- bogus, since he's the one who first brought it up.

FAST LINES: As written here last week, retired Chicago Tribune sportswriter/columnist Bob Markus' new book, I'll Play These, is a MUST read if you love great writing and storytelling from what many consider the Golden Age of sports (including auto racing). In addition to the information I listed, you can also order the book directly from Bob at bobmarkus34@gmail.com . I recommend you do just that . . . The infield road course at Michigan International Speedway is being repaved for the first time -- ever. While the official word is this is for industry testing, I can't help but wonder if a Grand-Am event will find its way onto the MIS calendar. It's going to happen at Kansas Speedway, also owned by ICS. (Yes, I know, it's part of the casino project). Remember, NASCAR's holding company also owns the G-A series . . . Great move by Speed to add Ray Evernham as an analyst. He should have been in the booth right from the start when ESPN regained the NASCAR rights . . . IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said in Sunday's Indianapolis Star that "It's the hatred that I don't like" regarding criticism of the series. I agree. But this is a problem since one of Bernard's top advisors, Robin Miller, has been saying for years that "hate is good" . . . Congratulations to Kenny Bernstein and John Force, who along with Richard Childress, have been elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega. I'm a Hall voter. All three were on my list of 20 nominees and final ballot of five.

[ more Blogging the Chase next week . . . ]

MEDIA CHASE IS CHASE FOR MONEY

2011-09-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: I'll guest on Sirius XM's post-Singapore Grand Prix show Sunday, at about 10 p.m. EDT. Channels are 94/208. This is The Checkered Flag show, hosted by Rick Benjamin.

The Media Chase was on last week. NASCAR, as I suggested a year ago, didn't take all 12 drivers to New York City (Jeff Gordon got that assignment -- smart move) but scattered them around the country for the benefit of all Chase tracks. Brad Keselowski was in Phoenix pre-Chicagoland. Here's a link to my Brad story in the Arizona Republic:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/09/15/20110915nascar-brad-keselowski-injury-return-sprint-cup-contender.html

I think this was a more effective utilization of the Chase drivers. NASCAR has had a useful uptick in its TV numbers this season and it's a MUST that continue through the quasi-playoffs -- despite the rain delay at Chicagoland. Some very smart money people fear the country is close to a double-dip recession and, true or not, the warning signals in the NASCAR economy are obvious. The Truck series, which has become a Toyota-Chevrolet circuit, is not healthy and the deeply troubling decision by Kevin and DeLana Harvick to discontinue their championship team is a blow to the series and Chevy. Of course, champion Todd Bodine's Tundra got parked earlier this year due to lack of sponsorship.

Take a look at the number of unsponsored cars in Nationwide. All Business of Racing eyes are on Roush Fenway and the future of Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Nationwide -- both have driven blank cars for much of this year -- while in Cup, Carl Edwards' program isn't fully funded and no corporate deal has been confirmed for David Ragan or Matt Kenseth.

Meanwhile, important sponsors Bank of America and Pepsico had management shakeups and/or big layoffs last week.

Very worrisome . . .

So the bottom is: In dispatching 12 drivers around the country, NASCAR was doing more than Chasing the Media. It was Chasing Money.

For decades, Bob Markus was a sportswriter and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, covering major events around the world. Luckily for many of us, Bob liked auto racing. If you weren't a regular reader in Bob's time, I have good news. He has just published a book, I'll Play These, which not only reprints many of his great writings but also provides additional behind-the-scenes details and context.

From the PR side, I always enjoyed working with Bob -- a true pro, nice guy and class act. In 1988, when I did PR for the Porsche factory CART team, I invited Bob to join our crew at the Indy 500. For three weeks, Bob was in the pits and the garage, taking on various tasks, and writing almost daily accounts for the Tribune. Thanks to the cooperation of Al Holbert, Bob had total access. It was a journalistic and PR triumph. Bob has included most of those stories in his book. It was very, very rewarding to read that Bob considers this "the most fun assignment I ever had."

If you like sports -- and love great writing -- get I'll Play These. It's available at http://www.xlibris.com or call 888-795-4274.

Here's a link to my September "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. Some Business of Drag Racing things for you to think about during the Countdown:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/19012-drags-dollars-a-sense-stuff-to-ponder-headed-into-the-countdown

FAST LINES: There's a new addition to Mario Andretti's massive trophy case -- a chunk of the old Phoenix International Raceway start/finish line. I UPSed it to him last week. Mario said he'll display it right next to his 1993 PIR winner's trophy -- his last career victory . . . Read what I wrote last week about the Associated Press and then consider this: The wire service ran ANOTHER nothing-new Danica story last week. Ridiculous . . . Incredible -- Simona De Silvestro's team actually used the Nuclear Clean Air Energy car name in Japan . . . If you saw all the photo coverage Donald Trump received the other day for accepting gold bars instead of cash from a business tenant, then go look at the very last item in my September CP.com column, link above.

[ more Blogging the Chase next week . . . ]

RACING's SHAMEFUL 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

2011-09-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

THANKS, RON: After 40 years with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, photo director Ron McQueeney (right) will retire Sept. 30. His last day in the office was last Friday. Over decades at IMS, Ron was a big help to me, providing guidance when needed and cooperation when needed even more. No, we didn't always agree -- but that was business, nothing personal. Ron says he'll be back helping out at IMS next season. I sure help so.

I talked about this with Rick Benjamin Sunday morning on the post-Italian Grand Prix The Checkered Flag show on Sirius XM 94/208. To me, it's important enough to write about here, too.

The 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the U.S. means there is another 10-year anniversary for racing fans to remember: Alex Zanardi's terrible crash in the Champ Car race in Germany just a few days later. In a heroic triumph of skill by the medical team, and of the human spirit, Zanardi survived and remains an inspirational figure throughout the motorsports world. And, certainly, to me, as someone who worked with him in the CART series for a few years.

What I remember the most -- and what makes me profoundly angry to this day, to this moment as I write this -- is that this was a race that should never have happened.

While the rest of the America-based sports community paused in respect for the dead and the affected, Champ Car raced on. In one of the most pathetic PR statements ever issued, the in-over-his-head CC spokesman of that time told the media the group wished it had known NASCAR had postponed its race before making their own decision. (That's leadership!) Of course, it wasn't just NASCAR that did the right thing. NHRA, IRL, NFL, college football, baseball, right down the line, they stayed on the sidelines that following weekend.

The explanations offered by then-Champ Car leader Joe Heitzler and his minions were and are nothing more than butt-covering excuses. Anyone who knows anything about PR and dealing with public opinion knows that, if you want to maintain your own credibility, never defend the indefensible. Heitzler and Champ Car decided a trival auto race was more important than respecting the raw emotions of its home-country people -- and customers.

Many people think Tony George's decision to create the IRL was the worst decision in modern motorsports history. No, it was the SECOND worst. The grotesque decision by Champ Car to race in the aftermath of Sept. 11 was, by far, the worst decision in modern motorsports history. At the moment the green flag waved, the Champ Car organization lost all moral legitimacy and no longer deserved the respect or support of American racing fans. As reported in this space a few weeks ago, Heitzler had the nerve to speak recently about ethics in sports.

I know this: If Bill France Sr. or Junior, or Tony Hulman, had been in charge, they would have known to place the feelings of the Germans second, and the Americans, first.

If I had been a manager in charge of sponsorship of a team at that time, I would have urged the race to be canceled. If that didn't happen, I would have asked my team owner to withdraw. If that didn't happen, I would have ordered all corporate ID to be removed from cars and uniforms. Then, I would have ended all involvement with the series ASAP. History does show that, a few months later, Heitzler was booted from his job and the series' co-founder, Roger Penske, shifted his team out of Champ Car and to the IRL. (For many reasons.)

Alex Zanardi --yes, he knew the risks -- was critically injured in a race that never should have happened. My anger flared anew this year when another executive in another series -- Randy Bernard of IndyCar -- publicly said he wanted Zanardi to race in the $5 million Las Vegas challenge. His advisors/cheerleaders in the media applauded. As I wrote here during the summer, that was exploitive, seeking some cheap thrills, quick headlines, and a few dollars in ticket sales. Thank God common decency and common sense prevailed elsewhere, and Zanardi won't race.

The 10-year anniversary of the worst decision in modern racing history was followed by another horrid one. Both times, Zanardi was, in a sense, the victim of executive insensitivity. (To put it as politely as possible.) On this occasion, all involved should be very, very, ashamed.

For the three decades he worked as Associated Press' motorsports writer, Mike Harris would make sure the local AP writer covering an event Mike wasn't attending was up-to-speed and would offer some story ideas. Apparently, no one is paying attention at AP these days, because the wire service for the last few years has been spitting out the same-old non-news Danica Patrick features every week or every other week. It happened again last week pre-Richmond. This is more than about staff reductions. How long would it take to check, via search engine, what's been on the wire recently and if there is any real "news" in what is being offered? Mark this kind of inattention to detail as one (of many) reasons why survey after survey shows the public does not trust or respect the media the way it once did.

I guested on Larry Henry's Pit Pass USA show last week. We spent about 20 minutes talking the Business of Racing, mainly NASCAR and IndyCar. I'll admit, I jammed-in too many points in each answer. But if you are interested in a very candid assessment of the B of R, please give this a listen -- it starts at about 2:50.
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/56209/pit-pass-usa-with-larry-henry

[ Blogging the Chase begins next Monday . . . ]

A NON-STORY

2011-09-05T15:06:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll guest on Sirius XM's post-Italian Grand Prix show Sunday, at about 10 p.m. EDT. Channels are 94/208.

As I've said and written many times, you can't be a good fan without knowing something about the business and politics of racing. Politics and business came together in an interesting way last week with the announcement that President Obama would host a Chase-related event at the White House -- but five of the 10 invited NASCAR drivers wouldn't be there.

One would think -- wish and hope -- that "journalists" would understand that words mean things. That' not how the coverage played out, with words like "rejected" and "refused" used by some controversy-thirsty writers as if it meant the same as "not able to." That, in turn, got picked up by some conservative media outlets. As far as I can see, this was completely bogus.

NASCAR’s first news release stated that Kurt Busch was among those who would not attend, but Busch said at Atlanta Motor Speedway he had been able to change his schedule and would be present. Carl Edwards serves on the presidential Council for Fitness Sports and Nutrition, so absolutely no reason to imply any snub, even though he won't be there. Kevin Harvick flat-out told the media "none of your business" as to why he won't attend, but made general references to scheduling conflicts. Ditto Tony Stewart. Greg Biffle thoughtfully explained a long-standing sponsor obligation that was built around him.

Now, I don't think there's a lot of Obama support in the NASCAR garage area, especially policy differences regarding business. This manufactured controversy came at the same time the federal jobs report revealed no new net jobs were created in August. And, with consumer confidence way down, that comes at an especially bad time for the NASCAR industry -- the Chase ticket-selling season is on and plenty of teams are trying to finalize 2012 sponsorship. Just as the NFL season kicks off.

But should that be cast as a presidential snub? No. Yes, there was a time in our country when a chance to meet the president -- regardless of party -- would trump everything. The reality is that's not the way it is these days. One reason is that some of these driver had their schedules set months ago. And, depending on Atlanta-area weather, the whole non-issue could be meaningless, anyway.

This was bad journalism, involving use of some inaccurate words, and I'll stand on that analysis unless I see video of Harvick and Stewart at a Tea Party rally at the same time the other drivers are at the White House. I find it especially unfortunate coming at the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.

Here's a link to my Arizona Republic story last week on NASCAR tire testing at Phoenix:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/08/30/20110830nascar-phoenix-international-raceway-test-advantage.html

FAST LINES: Yes, IndyCar needs to replace Brian Barnhart. Some of the prospective replacements floated by the "experts," however, are inane ideas. A few of those guys would make the Chris Kniefel era in Champ Car look good. If you want a smart/competent choice, here he is: Gil de Ferran . . . A recent story on PRdaily.com was headlined, "Writing: The No. 1 skill for PR pros." Amen! Way too little of that these days. All releases I receive that talk about how "thrilled" a team is to sign a new sponsor, or how "excited" a driver is to be racing that weekend (both completely non-news) result in an instant press of the "delete" key by me . . . The "Danica is mailing it in" posts got postponed by her sixth place in Baltimore . . . TV coverage of the U.S. Nationals was dumbed-down by the dumb decision to add Just Horrible Jamie Howe to the "talent" lineup. Otherwise, a great presentation of drag racing's biggest event.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

DANICA's DAY

2011-08-28T16:51:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll be live on SiriusXM 90 Wednesday at about 2:30 p.m. EDT to talk about the NASCAR tire testing at Phoenix International Raceway.

I covered last Thursday morning's Danica Patrick-to-NASCAR news conference for the Arizona Republic. Here's a link to that story, which was lengthy by local standards, and ran on sports Page One.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/08/25/20110825danica-patrick-nascar-announcement-scottsdale.html

GoDaddy's offices are about a 15-minute drive from my Scottsdale home. The event, postponed one day and moved from the downtown baseball field, wasn't the best organized I've ever attended. The formal announcement was very scripted and I would say nothing new was learned. There wasn't anything special or overly welcoming or friendly or relationship-building about it. I had an individual interview with Danica afterwards in a corporate conference room. I knew it was an extremely busy time for her, partly due to the postponement, as she had to travel to California for IndyCar obligations later that day.

Still, I was somewhat struck by the impression that she didn't seem as happy as one might have expected on such a big occasion. In fact, that was the second question I asked her: "Is this a happy day for you?" She appeared a little surprised by that and answered: "Yeah, sure, of course it's a happy day." OK -- I'm just saying she didn't look it.

Since she had earlier said there was no news on returning to the Indy 500 next May, I asked if there had been any conversations with Indianapolis Motor Speedway management about scheduling considerations that might make that a bit easier for her. DP said no but reminded me: "Anything can happen."

As the TV people like to say, stay tuned.

I have some more from Danica that I'm saving for future use in the Republic. A few minutes after I was done talking to Patrick, I discussed it all with Rick Benjamin and Chocolate Myers on SiriusXM. There really wasn't any "news" but my overall impression was really more a reminder of what I've observed for years: Danica is very guarded and doesn't go off-script very often. In that sense, she and her media manipulator sponsor are a good match. Sometimes, that reflects poorly on many segments of the celebrity-crazed/journalistically-challenged media world.

FAST LINES: Mark Armijo and I will be covering tire testing at Phoenix International Raceway this Monday and Tuesday. See our stories in the Republic or AzCentral.com . . . Despite what you might have read elsewhere, no paddock in major motorsports is more fan friendly than NHRA's. The Big Go -- the U.S. Nationals -- is this weekend, with plenty of interesting on-track and trackside things to see and do and hours of TV coverage. As I say every year, even if you are not a drag racing fan, you really should check this out . . . Remember Joe Heitzler, who as CART's president made the worst decision in modern motorsports history (even topping Tony George's IRL) and ran a race post-Sept. 11, 2001 weekend when the rest of the American sports industry respectfully paused? Given that disgraceful bit of professional history, take a look at his truly amazing comments on ethics:
http://annenberg.usc.edu/News%20and%20Events/News/101111AnnenbergSports.aspx

[ more after Labor Day . . . ]

NOVEMBER? NO WAY, BERNIE

2011-08-21T15:14:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I will be covering Thursday morning's Danica Patrick news conference for a Friday story in the Arizona Republic (or AzCentral.com). I'll be on live on NASCAR SiriusXM 90 after the Danica newser, sometime between 1-3 p.m. EDT. And I'll be on SiriusXM 208's post-Belgian Grand Prix show Sunday, about 10 a.m. EDT

It's this clear-cut: If the U.S. Grand Prix is officially scheduled for Nov. 18, 2012, it will officially prove the Formula One industry isn't serious about making its series a success in America.

Nov. 18? That would be a bigger joke than anything David Letterman lets out.

But that's the latest word regarding a date at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex.

Notice to all interested parties: Nov. 18 almost certainly will be the date of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase finale in Homestead, Fla. It requires about two functioning brain cells to know the national media attention will be focused on NASCAR. If F1 doesn't realize that, it's forever proof of the often-cited "arrogance" of Bernie Ecclestone & Co.

There are two possible issues at play here:

1. The track developers need more time to finish construction to even a minimal GP-caliber level, never mind the announced "master plan" that includes all sorts of upscale facilities. IF that's the case, the organizers should request a delay until 2013. While that would be a big hit from a PR standpoint -- following in F1's U.S. fiascos in Phoenix and Dallas, Indy's 2005 tire debacle and rigged finish (Michael Schumacher letting off the throttle in the closing yards to allow teammate Rubens Barrichello to win in 2002), and the embarrassing abort of the so-called American team last year -- well, as the old (but true) saying goes, you only get one chance to make a good impression. If CotA can't do that in 2012, it would be far better to wait.

2. It's just the latest example of Ecclestone and F1 taking the money at the expense of what's right for the host track. Let's just be polite and say Austin was a "surprising" site for a new F1-style track. But the CotA leaders have made their case and I've come to understand the merits of the location. From Day 1, though, that meant accepting the realities of Texas' weather -- HOT in June -- the expected date to create logistically logical back-to-back events with Montreal. That was the trade-off and everyone should have agreed to the up-and-down sides from the first negotiating session. It should have been baked into the contract cake.

Assuming the November date is Ecclestone's command not CotA's true wish, here's a perfectly legitimate question: For all of the billions of dollars that make up the F1 economy, are we to believe there aren't enough for some basic market research? Does Ecclestone and his bunch have any concept at all that football is almost the state religion of Texas? It starts with unbelievably popular high school games Friday night, Big Time college action on Saturday, and the almighty NFL on Sunday, including teams based in Dallas and Houston.

Only those truly arrogant -- or haven't bothered to do a modest amount of homework -- would think it smart to attempt to launch a first-time event featuring athletes very, very, very few Americas have ever heard of -- against football in Texas.

And then, again, there is NASCAR's Cup championship concluding contest that same day.

I've reached a point where I am sick of the talking points that routinely come from F1's movers-and-shakers about how important it is to them to build their sport in the massive American market. IF that's TRUE, gentlemen, PROVE IT!

As a former official in two series (CART and IROC), I have first-hand knowledge of how difficult scheduling can be. F1's calendar is the toughest to piece together, because of the worldwide travel, and differing local needs/conflicts in each country. But the time has come, once and for all, for Ecclestone and the team owners and sponsors to decide what's MOST IMPORTANT to them. IF that is the United States, then DO WHAT MUST BE DONE! In terms of scheduling, that means clearing out a date in late April or early May. That would take care of the temperature problem and create a link to all the other events (Indianapolis, Charlotte, etc.) that make May America's Race Month.

(Second on their list, as I've said before, is to bring back the old rule that allowed teams to run a third car, usually for a "guest" driver from the host circuit's country. Find a non-NASCAR weekend and you'd have a much better chance of landing a Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch.)

But Nov. 18? That's crap. While this is difficult to calculate, I would estimate that date would cut the national media coverage for Austin by 50 percent. If Bernie and Boys are happy to have a regional event, well, good for them. If they really want what they say they want -- an event of national American importance -- then don't go down this road. That would really be stupid.

And/or arrogant.

And definitely prove, for all time, that the Business of Formula One power brokers aren't serious about making Grand Prix racing a serious sport in the United States of America.

FAST LINES: Congratulations to my friend Jon Asher, who was surprised to learn he was the Grand Marshall at the recent Auto-Plus Night Under Fire drag races at Ohio's Summit Motorsports Park. Congrats also to the Bader family for doing this. Jon's contributions to the straight-line sport, as a writer, columnist, photographer and various other roles makes the honor well deserved . . . Congratulations also to Jayski.com, named one of Time magazine's top websites. The story said Jayski "remains the delightfully fannish creation of one obsessive NASCAR enthusiast, Jay Adamczyk. It squeezes the world of America's favorite form of racing into one site, filling it to capacity with news bites, rumors, links and other vital information" . . . Congratulations to Daytona International Speedway for winning the Golden Image Award from the Florida Public Relations Association for its 2010 Daytona repave PR program . . . Another week, another newspaper cut: Jeff Wolf is no longer with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The appeals panel Brian Barnhart selected to decide who finished 1-2-3 at New Hampshire is a perfect example of the screwed-up thinking that has gotten IndyCar into such terrible trouble. First, Barnhart chose two former/current executives from that eternal example of officiating excellence -- USAC. Now, ladies and gentlemen, let's take an educated guess: Sanctioning body execs aren't going to rule against the decision of a sanctioning body. The third panelist is the promoter of the disputed New Hamp race. I've known Jerry Gappens for many years and like him, but this is a flat-out PR no-brainer: A promoter can NEVER be in a position where he helps determine the outcome of any race at his track. It's that simple. To fall back on Bill France Jr.'s long-standing philosophy, is a promoter really going to vote in favor of letting his paying customers leave the property without seeing/knowing who won? Here's my wild guess: NO! Plus, Jerry gave interviews after the controverial finish that signaled he was OK with what Barnhart did. Suggestion for Randy Bernard: Never mind falsely building up hopes for races that have zero chance of happening, and instead of wasting that time and energy, use it to clean up the huge mess in your office.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

ACT of G O D BAD TIMING for B of R

2011-08-14T15:11:00.001-07:00

This man-made act of G O D -- Global Obama Depression -- couldn't come at a worse time for the Business of Racing.

Other than Carl Edwards -- and, eventually, probably Danica -- I don't know anyone involved in the industry who is smiling these days. With very good reason.

The stock market plunge, debt crisis, America's credit rating downgrade and international financial troubles have happened at a crucial period in the motorsports biz year. Think about it:

Teams are trying to finalize their sponsors for 2012. Roush Fenway and Richard Childress are among the leading Sprint Cup series players with significant budget gaps they are trying to fill with firm sponsor contracts. The list in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck tours is too long to start here, but keep in mind Todd Bodine's Truck champion Germain team has been parked for weeks now.

NASCAR's Chase is about to begin. Lots of tickets to sell -- with increased competition for the already squeezed-like-lemons entertainment dollar coming from college and pro football and baseball's playoffs and World Series.

Ditto NHRA's Countdown. Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and bike championships to be determined -- in front of how many empty grandstand seats? Too often, these tickets are priced way too expensively.

IndyCar team owners have been trying to calculate for months how they are going to pay for new chassis, lease new engines, and pay more for tires next season. The already weak sponsorship market in this series just became an even tougher sell. Notice the different bodywork kits are a "no go" for next season -- a clear-cut money issue. I can tell you in Gasoline Alley at Indianapolis in the days leading up to last May's Indy 500, the top topic was -- other than double-wide restarts -- where the money was going to come from for the new toys. Expect fewer cars on the grid in '12.

Grand-Am has new bodywork coming in Daytona Prototype. Will old stuff have to be grandfathered-in for the Jan. 28-29 50th anniversary Rolex 24?

Courtney Force is to make her Funny Car debut late in the Countdown to prep for a full campaign in '12. Does Father John have the budget locked-in yet?

The American Le Mans Series DESPERATELY needs headliner P1 prototype class entries. Who has cash to campaign those cars in a series that bet-the-house on interest in "Green" racing?

Nashville, Gateway and Memphis are out-of-biz tracks. More to come? Yes, it's likely.

There is supposed to be a Formula One race next year at under-construction Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Tex. A very capital-intensive project and event.

I can't help but wonder how much the net worth of racing's top team owners has declined in the last two weeks.

G O D could wind up to be a far-bigger, much-more-important and far-reaching story than who wins the Chase.

Media Headline Duh! of the Week: "Danica Patrick's exodus to NASCAR would likely hurt IndyCar"

I both laughed and shook my head at all the chatroom agony over the announcement that ABC will continue to televise the Indy 500 through 2018 and, in that same period, will be the IndyCar series' only broadcast ("over-the-air") TV outlet. Once again, the chatroomers got all stirred-up by RUMORS and GOSSIP and SPECULATION -- never any troublesome FACTS -- that NBC was in line to bump the much criticized network of "Always Bad Coverage." Seems no one ever stopped to think that some of those spreading this talk were in line to benefit professionally and financially from such a change. It gets to a point where one wonders when the Kool-Aid drinkers will put two and two together and figure out the difference between PUNDITRY and REPORTING. The Indy-to-NBC non-story takes its place in line behind IndyCars-to-Phoenix, Jimmie Johnson driving at Indy, several Big NASCAR Names in the Las Vegas challenge, and plenty of other examples of bogus, space-filling, airtime-consuming non-journalism wishful-thinking and cheerleading. Serious and legitimate question for and about fans: When will they ever learn?

Something different -- What's RIGHT about racing:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2900

[ more next Monday . . . ]

LIGHT-WEIGHTS

2011-08-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a true test of your knowledge: Who are the following and what do they have in common?

Esteban Guerrieri, Josef Newgarden, Jorge Goncalvez, Gustavo Yacaman, Victor Carbone, David Ostella, Stefan Wilson, Anders Krohn, Victor Garcia, Duarte Ferreira.

Did you guess right? Winner gets a phone call from Randy Bernard to tell you IndyCar will be racing in Phoenix. Runner-up gets a call from Andrew Craig to tell you about CART's Hawaiian SuperPrix.

You give up? Don't worry -- very understandable.

Those are drivers in IndyCar's 2011 Firestone Indy Lights. Lots of household names and ticket sellers there! No disrespect intended to those guys -- all real racers are appreciated here -- but as a group they symbolize the problems that have plagued this tour since Tony George decided he needed a development/support series.

For as long as my motorsports memory has been active -- which is about five decades -- the need for sound driver development programs has been in the conversation. For a variety of reasons -- economics, rules, horsepower, mix of host tracks, quality of management and officiating -- some have been better than others. By "better" I mean "successful."

What the Indy Racing League (now IndyCar) has given us, by factual record, has been the worst. I'd go so far as to call it a flop, as defined by producing drivers who have gone on to win in higher leagues, and certainly as compared with other series.

Here are the champions and their subsequent histories: 2002 -- A.J. Foyt IV (out of racing). 2003 -- Mark Taylor (bombed out of brief stint with Panther). 2004 -- Thiago Medeiros (touted as a potential superstar, crashed in practice at California Speedway, finished 31st in one Indy 500 start, and eventually disappeared from the scene). 2005 -- Wade Cunningham (kicking around trying to make something happen). 2006 -- Jay Howard -- (ditto). 2007 -- Alex Lloyd (part-time IC competitor). 2008 -- Raphael Matos (trying to keep a full-time IC ride). 2009 -- JR Hildebrand (you know his story). 2010 -- J.K. Vernay (TBD).

A pretty thin record book, there.

The Bosch Super Vee series, which was contested from 1971-1990, really didn't have the engine horsepower needed to provide a full training ground for Indy. But taking a look at the list of some of its champions showed it served a most useful purpose:

Bertil Roos (highly respected racing school operator); Elliott Forbes-Robinson (sports car winner); Bob Lazier (CART rookie of the year); Geoff Brabham (IMSA champion, longtime CART driver, IROC race winner); Al Unser Jr. (double I500 winner); Michael Andretti (CART champion); Arie Luyendyk (two I500 wins); Didier Theys (sports car winner).

The most legendary of the training tours was, of course, Formula Atlantic. It had a great run from 1974-2009. No explanation is needed when listing some of its graduates: Michael Andretti, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Gilles and Jacques Villeneuve, Tom Gloy, Johnny O'Connor, Richie Hearn, Patrick Carpentier, Alex Barron, Buddy Rice, Jon Fogarty, AJ Allmendinger, Simon Pagenaud and Matos.

CART's minor league, first known as the American Racing Series, was started by Pat Patrick and went from 1986-2001. Competitiors who went on to bigger and better things included: Theys, Jon Beekhuis, Mike Groff, Paul Tracy, Bryan Herta, Robbie Buhl, Greg Moore, Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia, Cristiano da Matta, Scott Dixon and Townsend Bell.

Point made. Something for Bernard to ponder before his next news conference about the "Road to Indy."

FAST LINES: For the record, first place prize money when Jeff Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 was $613,000. Paul Menard's listed earnings for this year's running totaled $373,575. Yes, in the interest of fairness, PPG added $200,000 to the winner's check in the early years, and NASCAR has reduced purses 10 percent to give track operators relief in this economy. Still . . . Thanks to Mike Kerchner, http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/ keeps going, giving all of us a chance to read some of our NSSN favorites. I take a look a couple of times a week . . . Want max media coverage for a "major new category sponsorship" announcement? Don't do it at Friday, 6 p.m., at Mid-Ohio, as ALMS did . . . Formula One is on its traditional summer hiatus but I'll return to the post-race The Checkered Flag show with host Rick Benjamin in Sirius XM 94/208 after the Aug. 28 Grand Prix of Belgium at Spa.

Is the drag racing industry doing all it can to maximize the fan experience? Read about it in my August "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/18533-drags-dollars-a-sense-is-it-time-for-a-fan-experience-upgrade

[ more next Monday . . . ]

INDY: WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR!

2011-07-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

What 'til next year!

That's the perception that seemed to trickle-out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week regarding the Brickyard 400.

There was a time when IMS officials would have been deeply concerned about such a perception. Of course, that was when Speedway "publicists" actually thought it was important to have on-going and strong working relationships with the national media. Today? Well, I'll put it this way: I doubt anyone there today even knows both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times thought it important enough to send writers to the Speedway's old off-season media party.

Outside of the fantasy bubble that exists in Indianapolis, supported by media cheerleaders, the BY400 had as much pre-race energy as a decade-old AAA battery and as much excitement as a scoreless soccer match.

What was upcoming? The Four Hundred or the Snore Hundred?

It only took 23 laps of boring Kasey Kahne up-front, no lead changes, "action" for ESPN to cut away to interview U.S. World Cup soccer goalie Hope Solo in the pit studio -- under the green flag!

The hometown Indianapolis Colts completely blew-away their IMS neighbors Saturday by signing Peyton Manning to a $90 million, five-year contract. Which was the bigger local story? No contest!

How far the Brickyard has dropped from the incredible 1994 debut (I was there) could be measured by this: Budweiser, Army, DuPont and Valvoline were among sponsors who didn't have primary ID on cars. That would have been unthinkable not that long ago. And it should make the Kool-Aid drinkers nuts that longtime Indy 500 entrant/sponsor John Menard took his money to NASCAR and watched his son win the Brickyard. That's a Business of Racing message of another sort.

Come 2012, there will be a name change due to title sponsorship from Crown Royal. The entire event format changes to a so-called "super" weekend with the debut of the Rolex sports car series Friday on the road course and the Nationwide series Saturday. NASCAR pinched that longtime date from nearby Lucas Raceway Park, which meant the short track's companion Truck race will disappear, too.

Congratulations to Paul Menard and team for good driving, good fuel mileage, and the right pit call. And to Jeff Gordon for an incredible charge in the closing laps.

At Indy, however, it's: Wait 'til next year! Questions: Is it too late? And will IMS be handing out Chicago Cubs' caps?

In my fifth anniversary blog a few weeks ago, I explained how the poison of the IRL-CART split and the technology allowing "brave" chatroomers to make anonymous personal attacks has led to the near-destruction of honest, legitimate, fact-based debate.

Liberal writer/commentator Juan Williams has authored a new book -- Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate. I hope to read it soon. You might remember the national outrage last year when ultra-liberal (and paid for by your taxes) National Public Radio fired Williams. In support of his book, Williams wrote an op-ed last week for USA Today. His opening words are worth reprinting here as a follow-up to what I wrote:

"These are the terms of debate in America: Speak your mind and you face being stigmatized, scorned and, in my case, fired."

Perfectly true. Extremely alarming. But definitely true. How sad.

On NASCAR: It was inevitable staff changes would come when the entire concept, organizational structure and philosophy of "PR" changed. But I was sorry to learn that Denise Maloof has departed NASCAR. She was excellent to work with and very helpful. In my experience, she also knew how to say "thank you" for coverage. That doesn't happen very often these days.

Spelling out the formula for F-O-R-M-U-L-A O-N-E success in Austin, Tex., next year:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2899

[ more next Monday . . . ]

BIZ BRIEFS

2011-07-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll be on The Checkered Flag right after Sunday's Hungary Grand Prix on SiriusXM Channel 208. The race will air live on Sirius. Rick Benjamin is host and I should be on around 10 a.m. EDT.

Some Business of Racing items for your consideration, delayed by other recent pressing news:

* You won't read this in the Indianapolis media, but a real, true, key reason California Speedway sought to bring IndyCars back in 2012 was its naming rights deal with Auto Club. When that 2008 sponsorship, reported by the B of R experts at ESPN.com (so be cautious here) at the time to be for 10 years/$50 million, the track had two NASCAR Sprint Cup dates. Now down to one Cup weekend, the value of the AC sponsorship isn't what it was. So adding another racing weekend was essential to protect the revenue from AC, not so much a huge endorsement of IC. If the track still had two Cup dates, do you think IC would be back? Not likely . . .

* A track news release, however, does tell us "Tickets to highly anticipated event to go on sale to the public Sept. 12, 2011." (Bold emphasis mine.) Will more grandstand seats be occupied or empty? Gentlemen, start your hype engines.

* Proving my point above about the value of track naming deals, good for Forrest Lucas for telling it like it is and calling out the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its meaningless by-rote PR statement after NASCAR transferred Lucas Raceway Park's Nationwide event to IMS for 2012. Here's what Lucas told Susan Wade for a CompetitionPlus.com story:

Lucas shrugged off comments by IMS president Jeff Belskus that referred to "our friends at Lucas Oil" and pledged support for the neighbor racetrack. Belskus said, "Our friends at Lucas Oil are important to us, and we've supported them for a long time. We're going to continue to support them and try to continue to find ways to work with them."

Responded Lucas, "He didn't say anything one way or another. He didn't admit to anything, any wrongdoing. He avoided everything -- just said some pretty words and that was it.

"There's nothing he can do to support us. He has his agenda, and we have our agenda. He doesn't have anything to do with NHRA one way or another. He doesn't have anything to do with the track one way or another. The only thing we had in common was these two races," Lucas said. "I see no common connection of any kind where he can support us at all in any way, not that he ever did."

No surprise to anyone who knows anything about the B of R, but Lucas said he plans to renegotiate his naming rights deal with Raceway Park's owner, NHRA. (That's what Cal Speedway likely faced with the Auto Club.) Here's the link to the full story:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/18295-lucas-to-nhra-we-need-to-talk-

* IMS' Nationwide/Grand-Am announcement came on the same day Raceway Park had previously scheduled a media event. That triggered this terse E to media from track senior communications manager Scott R. Smith:

"Due to a conflict outside of our control, the 11 a. m. Kroger SpeedFest event press conference scheduled at Lucas Oil Raceway for July 6th has been cancelled. Sorry for any confusion."

No matter the difficult circumstances, nothing like some good faith communications coordination among PR "pros" . . .

* Virginia International Raceway issued one of the most bizarre media alerts I've ever seen -- two sentences to cancel a major pro racing weekend. Here it is, in full:

"No AMA Pro Racing event will take place at VIR in 2011.

"If circumstances are conducive in 2012, VIR looks forward to renewing its relationship with AMA Pro Racing."

No details, no explanation. No surprise, this set off a media back-and-forth with AMA Pro, forcing VIR to follow-up with more substance. Not the way to handle a bad situation from a media, public, sponsor, manufacturer or competitor relations standpoint.

* Congratulations to my friend, Dennis Bickmeier, new president of Richmond International Raceway. Dennis did a great job as media director at Cal Speedway -- glad to see a PR guy make it big!

* At last, ESPN got something right about its under-considered/over-produced NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage, moving Allen Bestwick into the booth play-by-play role, replacing the miscast Marty Reid. Production management should have known (or bothered to learn) to do this right from the start of its new NASCAR contract. Bestwick in the booth was obvious to countless fans but beyond the immediate comprehension of Those Who Live on a Different Planet in Bristol, Conn. Bestwick's credibility with the audience will help compensate for other shortcomings, of which there are several, starting with the adds-nothing-to-the-viewers-knowledge Brad Daugherty.

* My B of R political antenna tells me it's just a matter of time before military sponsorships end. The Pentagon budget is going to take a hit in the next few years, no matter how federal budget negotiations are resolved, and political wrangling will make motorsports sponsorships a fairly easy target. This is a matter of when, not if.

* It's obvious Travis Pastrana has a lot to learn about NASCAR. For example, if he wants his car to get through inspection, he should stop talking about driving in the Las Vegas IndyCar finale.

* Finally, a lot has been written and said in the last week about Steve Williams, let go as Tiger Woods' caddie. Everyone is free to make his/her call on Stevie and how important he was in Woods' success. Let me recount my personal experience with Williams. In April 2008, I sent him an E-mail, requesting an interview about his interest in racing. He called me -- from Augusta National early Masters' week -- and could not have been more cooperative. If you'd like to go back and read what came from that bit of enterprise reporting, here are two links:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2008/04/10/20080410tigerdriver.html

http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2456

If you missed my conversation about the Business of Drag Racing with Joe Castello on last Tuesday's WFO Radio, use this link and click on the show archives. I talk about my two most recent "Drags, Dollars & Sense" columns on CompetitionPlus.com. My part of the conversation begins about 41:30 and runs about 25 minutes):
http://archives.wforadio.com/archive/20110719-joecastello-tues.mp3

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THE TRAFFICGATE SCANDAL

2011-07-17T14:33:00.001-07:00

UPDATE 1: I'll be on The Checkered Flag right after Sunday's German Grand Prix on SiriusXM Channel 208. This is one of those weeks when the race will be live on Sirius but delayed on TV. Rick Benjamin is host and I should be on around 10 a.m. EDT.

UPDATE 2: I was Joe Castello's guest Tuesday night on WFO Radio to talk the Business of Drag Racing and my two most recent "Drags, Dollars & Sense" columns on CompetitionPlus.com. (See link at bottom.) Why do all drag strips have to look alike? You can listen (my part of the conversation begins about 41:30 and runs about 25 minutes) by clicking on the show archives at http://archives.wforadio.com/archive/20110719-joecastello-tues.mp3

Many times, I have written and said in public forums -- most recently, at this year's pre-Indy 500 AARWBA breakfast -- that "thank you" are the two most under-utilized words in America's conversations.

Rating a very close second, however, are "I'm sorry."

Or, as an alternative, "I apologize."

For years I have believed that senior members of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. family ownership and executive management should have issued a public apology for all the damage caused to the U.S. open-wheel racing industry and fan base by the $2 billion blunder that was the creation of the Indy Racing League. I'll quickly add I've also expressed the opinion that CART/Champ Car leaders also owed all an apology. (The chatroomers probably will ignore that last sentence.)

In the case of Kentucky Speedway, Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Bruton Smith, though, words aren't enough for the disgrace and fiasco of The Trafficgate Scandal. I will say I was personally disgusted with use of the pathetic "regret" in the track's initial comment to what happened at the inaugural Sprint Cup race. Forget inconvenience to the paying customers. Given the endangerment to public safety, that sentiment was like a party host trying to pass off weak tea as bourbon.

Let me comment on the words first. Then, let's talk about something no one else has -- action.

It doesn't matter that Kentucky GM Mark Simendinger later amended his comments, even admitting the track "blew it." What is most telling here is the all-important first instinct was to lowball the magnitude of the problem.

And since we are talking about the meaning -- and real-life consequences -- of words, shame on Smith -- and yes, those who laughed -- when he joked about people getting "home by Tuesday" in a pre-race yap session with the media. I've had it with all the "World According to Bruton" stories that come with the built-in excuse that Bruton is "good copy." No more. Until The Trafficgate Scandal is completely and fully explained, compensated for, and resolved, the ONLY questions at any and all future Smith press avails should be about Kentucky. Nothing else. Start with this one: Since there had been some traffic and parking problems at the track in previous years, when you added 40,000 more seats for the Cup race, doesn't common sense say you knew there was insufficient highway and parking capacity to handle that many people and vehicles?

In other words, in the matter of The Trafficgate Scandal: What did Bruton Smith know and when did he know it?

It was good that Allen Bestwick asked Simendinger journalistically-sound questions on NASCAR Now the following Monday. But it wasn't good this came with only 11 minutes left in the show. At a time in the Business of Racing when the fan experience ranks second only to safety in terms of importance, and the economy and competition from other entertainment options makes fan loyalty that much more fragile, this was NEWS No. 1 and should have been treated that way at the top of the hour, not buried near the end.

From an industry standpoint, reaction proved to me that things have changed and in pursuit of every available dollar, members of the "promoters' club" are no longer willing to give others any benefit of any doubt.

IMS -- which no doubt hated that Kentucky got a Cup date because that just gave the public another option past the Brickyard 400 -- quickly offered disaffected Kentucky fans a deal. But the most vocal and pro-active was the missive issued by Roger Curtis, president, Michigan International Speedway. Of course, let's understand there's a bit of ISC-SMI politics at play here, but Curtis let out a salvo that struck at The Trafficgate Scandal like a Cruise missle. Curtis' complete comments are widely available elsewhere, so here, I'll pull out the most damning words:

What happened at Kentucky "potentially, put all of us back several steps – maybe even years." The response "became an exercise in blame and unpreparedness – and race fans, corporate partners, media and drivers were caught in the middle. As a track promoter I am saddened and embarrassed about what happened."

"It is bad enough the racetrack went into the weekend knowing traffic was going to be worse than they had previously had with other series. But to think Bruton Smith made light of it with the media, and then pointed the finger at the State of Kentucky when posed with traffic questions is unfathomable."

"It appears the mentality at some other racetracks today is to see how much money they can make off a fan. Their line of thinking is to ban coolers, have fire sales on last-minute tickets, build, build, build without thinking, thinking, thinking, and blame others for their mistakes."

Speaking of Kentucky's make-good ticket offer, my best reading of the track's statement is that it applies to customers "unable to attend." What about the thousands of others who couldn't get to their seats in time? Friday, at New Hampshire, Smith arrogantly said he doesn't want to give refunds to any of these poor souls. That's the key word here: REFUND.

Smith is showing he doesn't have a tin ear, PR-wise. It's more like a concrete ear.

Now, let's talk about action.

NASCAR has made famous the description "actions detrimental to stock car racing" in assessing fines and penalties to teams and competitors. If The Trafficgate Scandal doesn't fit every possible definition and interpretation of "ADTSCR" then I don't know what does.

The FIA has, several times in the past, fined Grand Prix organizers for far less serious problems. NASCAR should follow that example. I would suggest calculating the average cost of all the additional seats built for the Cup race and fine SMI that amount. (Example: If 40,000 more seats were added, and the average cost was $40, that would be $1.6 million.) I'd be OK donating that among the NASCAR Foundation, the Red Cross, and other NASCAR-associated causes.

I realize that impacts SMI's public shareholders. I'd tell them to take out their anger on management.

In the matter of the Cup race at Kentucky Speedway, Speedway Motorsports and The Trafficgate Scandal, here's the bottom line: Greed was not good. Just as it wasn't when thousands of seats were added to the new Dallas Cowboys' stadium for the Super Bowl but weren't approved by the fire marshall.

What happened at Kentucky wasn't acceptable. Whatever price Smith, the track and SMI pay, they deserve. And, finally, any/all consideration of Smith for any Hall of Fame should be put on a very firm "hold."

Here's a link to my new July "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. Why can't drag racing have its own Yankee Stadium or Wrigley Field?:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/18275-drags-dollars-a-sense-drag-strips-need-distinction

[ more next Monday . . . ]

5th ANNIVERSARY BLOG

2011-07-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is the fifth anniversary of this blog. Back on July 10, 2006, in the first writing titled "The Great Adventure," I explained how I hoped this would be a journey of learning for all of us.

Now, almost 325 postings later, I take satisfaction in what I've learned from this effort. And, in what others have told me they've learned from reading my words.

The late Paul Newman -- I had the pleasure of working for him at Newman/Haas Racing -- gave me a tremendous bit of advice when he told me, "Know your audience." As I've said before, but it's worth repeating on this occasion, this blog is written from a Business of Racing perspective. It's written for those in the industry and is read primarily by sponsor/team/track/sanction PR and marketing representatives, corporate people, track presidents, TV types, journalists and sanctioning body executives. Of course, fans interested in learning about the B of R -- and, as I have said many times, these days, it's impossible to be an in-the-know fan (or journalist) without knowing something about the B of R -- are welcome. But the primary audience is for those within the motorsports industry and so I write to that audience. This is not a "fan" site and the difference is very important.

If you need an example how they are different, here's an obvious one: My name is on every blog. My decades of experience are outlined next to every blog and every reader is welcome to determine for themselves my qualifications. That's in polar-opposite contrast to the chatrooms, where "brave" posters with unknown B of R credentials are free to engage in personal attacks, protected behind their on-screen anonymity.

My friend Paul Page addressed this issue very directly in response to a question I asked for my May "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com:

“I used to (read Internet comments.) A lot of us used to. When the Internet, when (the late) Mike Hollander had his Racing Information Systems and all that, I think a lot of us paid attention because it was people that we knew, out of the racing community, but then it became a fashion to get on there and flame everything and then people started making stuff up. Gary Gerould and I called it, the ‘Jon Beekhuis Rule’ because he kept reading all that stuff. He was a new guy in broadcasting (CART) and he’d come in totally depressed. Finally, his wife said, ‘You may not read any of those anymore.’ If we’d catch him reading them we’d say, ‘What happened to the Beekhuis Rule?’

"If I get a letter, that’s serious. I pay attention to a letter. A phone call, a fan coming up to me at the track, it gives me several things. It takes anonymity away from them. They are probably being very sincere. It gives us a chance to have a conversation and point out why we do something someway. I had an event last year, not an NHRA event, and it was horrible. None of the scoring worked and, as the announcer I know, because people told me, I got creamed for the event. None of the things they were creaming me for were things that I did. The scoring didn’t work – I don’t put those numbers on the screen. The producer makes the decision on where the show is going to go. Many times those things that you are accused of actually come from somewhere else. A really good example in drag racing is I’m not the guy that puts a show on that’s supposed to be on at 11 at night on at 1:30 in the morning. That’s not in my best interest. But it happens. I tell the fans when I get that question, ‘Write the company. Give them a letter. Don’t do an E-mail. In today’s world, E-mails don’t have a lot of impact.’"

Another friend, Paul Tracy, recently told me of his journey into social media. In brief, he started posting as a way of outreaching to the fan base, in part because he was led to believe that group wanted his "inside" perspective -- and because of PT's well-earned reputation for non-politically correct talk. But as soon as he wrote something some didn't like, they responded with personal attacks. Paul quickly decided to say "see ya" -- at least for a bit -- and I don't blame him.

Having worked on both sides of the CART/IRL split, it's not unusual for me to be asked to reflect on that sad history. A few years ago I calculated it, in financial terms, to have been a $2 billion blunder. (Someone who knows more about the botton-line B of R than me told me I underestimated that by maybe $1B.) Even more costly and gut-wrenching, however, is this: It separated fans into two distinct, "Us vs. Them" sides (with a tiny sliver of people in the middle), that flamed passion into sometimes outright hate. This needs to be said because that ugly attitude didn't exist before the split. Period.

Reasonable -- fact-based -- debate became near-impossible and if you weren't gulping the Kool-Aid poured-out by either side, then you were the "enemy." Somewhere along that path, personal attacks -- not facts -- became the ammo. I've seen it. I've felt it. The passion of the fans is one of the things that makes racing great -- and keeps many of us in business -- but it's simply not acceptable for that passion to cross the line into personal attacks.

All too often, it became impossible to have an HONEST difference of opinion. All that mattered to too many was throwing the most toxic waste in the dump. And that was a tragic turn of events and, quite possibly, the worst thing and most lasting effect of the split. Happily, the advance of technology has brought with it experts in such things as filters and keyword searches capable of directly depositing such PA Es into spam/auto delete. Which, actually, is too polite a way to handle such garbage, in my Constitutionally-protected opinion.

How silly/sad/stupid has it gotten? When Tony Stewart said he wasn't interested in driving at the Indy 500 or going for the $5 million Las Vegas challenge, chatroomers attacked him as being something less than real racer. When I asked Jimmie Johnson in January about trying Indy, and he explained his wife's wishes that he didn't, he was blasted as being something less than a man and I was criticized for reporting what he said -- supposedly because I was/am "pro-CART" -- a know-nothing comment from someone who couldn't be bothered to check the FACTS.

As we say here in Arizona, some people don't know if they're on foot or horseback.

Paul Page referred to Mike Hollander, who was another great friend of mine and founder of RIS and the pioneer of Internet motorsports journalism. Mike died of cancer a few years ago. About four months before his death, we were talking about the Internet communications revolution and the horribly wrong turn it had taken in terms of bomb-throwing. Since Mike was my personal guru on all-things-computers, I asked him what would happen if anonymous posting could be eliminated and personal attacks banned.

"Those sites wouldn't exist any more," he replied.

Meanwhile, five years later, we try to keep 'em honest in the media (especially in Indianapolis) and in PR (especially in Indianapolis) and bring some attention to important Business of Racing news and trends and issues. That's who we are and what we do. For those who -- like me -- believe we can and should never stop gathering true facts, learning the lessons of history, and insisting on high standards of professionalism throughout the industry, "The Great Adventure" will continue next week.

Thank you.

A PAUSE BEFORE 5

2011-07-03T10:47:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll be on The Checkered Flag right after Sunday's British Grand Prix on SiriusXM Channel 208. This is one of those weeks when the race will be live on Sirius but delayed on TV. Dave Ross will be hosting this week for Rick Benjamin.

Believe it or not, sometimes there are times when other matters take priority over writing about the motorsports industry. This has been such a week for me. I do offer, for your consideration, a new "It 11" list above. Meanwhile, please return next week for a special post on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of this blog. Thank you.

FEELING HONORED

2011-06-26T15:44:00.001-07:00

Some moments in life are humbling. No, I'm not talking about personal attacks from "fearless" anonymous chatroomers who pretend to know the facts -- but don't.

I offer this information For the Record:

Last week I won two medals in the 20th annual International Automotive Media Awards. This was for work published in 2010. This blog won the gold medal for commentary. Cited specifically was my Sept. 6 posting, "How to Fix the IRL on Versus." Not that anyone at IndyCar or the network or its production house will admit it, but an honest read of that blog compared with changes on the Versus' shows this year will reveal some influence.

I also earned a silver medal in the interview category for my November "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. It was 10 Q&As with NHRA TV analyst Mike Dunn.

These two medals bring my career total of awards/honors for public relations, journalism, team accomplishments and lifelong contributions to auto racing to 51.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make such an unimaginable number a reality.

Here are links to the IAMA list and the two IAMA medalist articles:
http://iamc-isvp.org/pdfs/2010_iamc_awards_winners.pdf

http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-fix-irl-on-versus.html

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/15982-drags-dollars-a-sense-mike-dunn-is-the-best

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THE RIGHT WAY

2011-06-19T18:20:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll be on The Checkered Flag with host Rick Benjamin right after this Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix on SiriusXM Channel 208. Radio race coverage (as opposed to TV) is live with Rick's post-race show right after the finish.

Regular readers know how often I talk about the importance and benefits of one-on-one relationship building accomplished through old-fashioned human contact, not E-mail. Here's a real-life case study proving my point. It's from Roush Fenway Racing's marketing/sales department but should be taken to heart by team/sponsor/track/sanction publicists everywhere. This articles proves that, in the age of Facebook, Twitter and E-mail, there is NO substitute for the human touch -- talking face-to-face (or, at least, on the phone), eye-contact, a handshake, hearing a person's voice:
http://adage.com/article/small-agency-diary/i-discovered-nascar-marketing-channel/228119/

Now, let's travel to the extreme opposite end of the professional spectrum. Last Thursday, I received the following E-mail, from which I quote directly (I added the bold emphasis to the first line):

To whom it May Concern,

My name is Jared Moore. I work with Big Fuel Communications in NYC, the agency of record for GM and Chevrolet. As I’m sure you know, the Corvette Racing Team proved successful with the GTE PRO victory in the 2011 24-hour Le Mans. Chevrolet just released three fine tuned and race ready videos . . . It would be amazing to set up a feature or perhaps editorial content with your site as well . . . I look forward to hearing from you!

Let's understand this: This guy (and his agency) -- no doubt charging GM and Chevy a substancial fee -- is too lazy to even find out the name of the person being asked for coverage, but he wants a reply. Such unprofessionalism makes me think LESS of GM and Chevy, that they would find this sort of "PR" acceptable and worth money that, remember, has been made possible by a U.S. taxpayer bailout. The PR bar of professionalism has again been lowered and dumbed-down.

Last week on PR Daily, in a story titled "5 Reasons a Reporter Will Delete Your Press Release," one reason was, and I quote:"Fail to personalize it. If you don’t want a reporter to read your press release, by all means just send the text of the release as the body of the email. At the very least, PR pros should acknowledge that they know the reporter’s name and his or her work, and that they sent the press release because they had read the journalist’s stuff and know what he or she covers."

FAST LINES: This is the way sharp PRers used to do it -- Less than 10 minutes after Darrell Waltrip was announced as a member of the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame last Tuesday, Michael Waltrip Racing PR director Drew Brown issued a statement from Michael . . . Good job by AP writer Chris Jenkins at Milwaukee to ask Danica the Business of Racing question that needed to be asked. She's staying with IMG after superagent Mark Steinberg left the management firm. Steinberg is best known as a golf agent but has worked with Patrick. Tiger Woods is remaining with Steinberg, Annika Sorenstam is undecided, and Danica is sticking with IMG as her NASCAR vs. IndyCar future is being negotiated. Important information . . . I don't like it that some Hall voters announce their votes in advance. That's disrespectful to the much-hyped group meeting where voters discuss the nominees. NASCAR should issue new guidelines to voters "suggesting" they avoid this practice . . . Inside the numbers -- While Cale Yarborough (85 percent), Waltrip (82) and Dale Inman (78) were clear winners, Richie Evans (50) and Glen Wood (44) were less so. That's certainly a lower standard than required by sport's most important Hall of Fame, baseball's (where the minimum is 75 percent), which is not to say Evans and Wood aren't deserving. NASCAR's 55 total voters (which includes a combined fan Internet vote) is roughly 500 fewer than that of the Baseball Writers Association of America . . . Too many announcers incorrectly used the word "inducted" when reporting on the Hall vote when "elected" was correct. Most were the same who seem to think "postpone" and "cancel" mean the same thing . . . As I forecast on Rick Benjamin's The Checkered Flag show on SiriusXM the previous Sunday, the NASCAR Hall vote significantly overshadowed the Tony Stewart-Lewis Hamilton ride swap, which happened the same day . . . A Grand-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? I first wrote about that possibility in this very space on Feb. 6, 2007.

As the only media person who actually talked to the three main players in the Phoenix-IndyCar fiasco -- PIR President Bryan Sperber, ISC COO John Saunders, IC CEO Randy Bernard -- I've been on journalistically-sound ground all along in reporting to you that there would not be a 2012 IC event at PIR. I've explained the reasons before and anyone who knows anything about the business realities of the situation, including but not limited to: A steep decline in home values in the Phoenix area; future construction plans at the track; the fact that Bernard says he wants an early season race when PIR already has to sell tickets for two NASCAR weekends (mid-November and late February/early March) in the short time frame of about three months; and the years of outright neglect of the Arizona market by the IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway PR departments that has left the series and its drivers virtually invisible and thus largely unknown and unsellable; understands such a race would have a very high probability of being a significant financial loser for PIR and ISC. Scottsdale has been my home since 1994 and I can accurately report that the current local economy cannot support three PIR events in the space of three or four months. If IndyCar doubts that, it should do what it should have done in Milwaukee -- commission a survey to determine the level of public interest. That would be a sound business decision. Now -- while still wondering why the Indianapolis media just accepted what Bernard said and didn't call Sperber or Saunders months ago -- two journalistically-sound questions remain: 1) Will the radio show where Bernard launched his personal attack on Sperber -- and on which at least one of the hosts immediately took Bernard's side instead of what journalism demanded, which was to say, "We need to hear from Sperber on this" before rendering his judgment, invite Sperber onto the show to give his side of the story? 2) Since the bottom-line of this dispute appears to be if Bernard attempted to contact Sperber, can or will anyone produce actual evidence, such as phone records, call logs, or copies of the letter(s) or E-mail(s)?

[ more next Monday . . . ]

PROBLEMS of PUBLICITY

2011-06-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

There's a chapter in Mario Andretti's 1970 book, What's It Like Out There?, titled: "Problems of Publicity."

Mario discovered that decades ago and JR Hildebrand and Dario Franchitti found out for themselves last week at publicity-obsessed Texas Motor Speedway.

Hildebrand injured his left knee in a pre-practice obstacle-course type of event. According to the reports I read, it was lightly covered -- not worth the risk -- and no doubt only the fact that the near-Indy 500 winner got hurt generated attention. Noteable to me was the decision by Hildebrand's Panther team to provide minimal detail -- a stark contrast to the way Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing acted when Hamlin injured his knee in a basketball game before the 2010 Cup season.

Franchitti, meanwhile, won the first of the twin IndyCar events at Texas. (I was CART's communications director the last time there were twins, in 1981, at Atlanta.) But Franchitti lost -- and maybe lost the series title -- because of the desperation decision for a random draw for starting order for the second show. Sometimes, this question must be asked: What's more important? A publicity stunt or the integrity of the sporting competition? I guess we know how Randy (We'll race at Phoenix even though I've never spoken to the track president) Bernard and Eddie Gossage would answer. Will Power, Franchitti's main championship rival, drew third and won. Franchitti drew 28th and did his best to finish seventh. Not exactly a "fair" fight based on performance results.

Elsewhere, on the stunt front, the Le Mans organizers extended an invitation for a DeltaWing car to run in next year's 24 hours. (See below.) Of course, that was before two near-fatal accidents and other incidents that exposed the dangers of multi-class races with cars of vastly different speed capabilities, with at least some amateur (paying) out-of-their-league drivers that the pros must deal with.

I hope Tuesday's Tony Stewart-Lewis Hamilton seat-switching exercise goes without drama.

It's a law of nature: A vacumn will always be filled. That's essentially was happened last week when the Le Mans organizers announced an invitation had been extended for a version of the DeltaWing car to compete unclassified in next year's 24-hour classic. Given all the attention and favorable media commentary on the DeltaWing, it was only a matter of time the creation rejected by IndyCar and Brian Barnhart would be embraced elsewhere. The project is sure to get plenty of nice coverage from a smitted media and the fact that American racing hero Dan Gurney's All American Racers is providing the manufacturing capability is a further guarantee. Right now, all of this basically exists on paper, but the desperate-for-attention American Le Mans Series no doubt will enjoy a little rub-off benefit. But, it's legitimate to ask: Might the ACO (the Le Mans organizers) reconsider and radically change eligibility based on speed differences after last week's huge accidents?

Just when I think the modern media can't get any more ridiculous, something happens that proves me wrong. Last Friday, it was the release of over 20,000 E-mails from Sarah Palin's time as governor of Alaska. Media organizations that don't spend meaningful time or budget to cover stories of international and nationwide importance -- heard much about the crisis in Japan lately? -- dispatched crews to Juneau in a celebrity-crazed and agenda-driven search for "news." CNN sent its "special investigations" crew. (!) How stupid did it get? There was the scene of a TV sound man pointing his pole microphone at a push cart carrying six 50-pound boxes of printouts, trying to get sound from the wheels! It's difficult to believe it will ever get any more embarrassing than that, but sadly, I'm sure it will.

Here's a link to my June "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. What would some of NHRA's top players do if they controlled drag racing for one day?:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/17885-drags-dollars-a-sense-king-for-a-day

It should always be in the driver's hands:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2896

[ more next Monday . . . ]

I OBSERVE

2011-06-05T13:58:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: I'll be on The Checkered Flag with host Rick Benjamin right after this Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix on SiriusXM Channel 208. Race coverage from Montreal begins at 1 p.m. EDT with Rick's post-race show right after the finish.

Some recent observations:

* Indy 500 drivers might as well have taken the green flag with their middle fingers extended to race control. For all the talk of returning to the traditional tightly bunched 11-rows-of-3 start, and for all the hype from Randy Bernard, no matter what was said in meetings, the drivers did what they thought was in their best interests from the standpoint of safety and were again spread out from Speedway to Terre Haute. Who's the Boss?

* Was Indy "The Most Important Race in History"? Absolutely not. Was it memorable? Absolutely.

* For those who got all excited about a report last week of a possible Roger Penske-Rick Hendrick Indy 500 partnership -- as if this was something new -- go look at my January 30 blog. I asked Hendrick about that very thing, potentially with Jimmie Johnson in a Penske car. His quote as published by me then: "Roger and I have talked about it. He's a good friend. I'm not going to say it's out of the question, but it's not something I want to do right now." Some of us actually remember that Penske wore a Hendrick Motorsports cap in victory lane after Ryan Newman's 2008 Daytona 500 win.

* As I hinted at in one of my Indy blogs last week, Versus' weekly IndyCar show is history. It came and went as fast as Bruno Junqueira's time as an A.J. Foyt driver. Even in the age of DVRs, it couldn't generate an audience. Yes, it had a truly terrible time slot, but make no mistake that this is an embarrassment and a psychological blow to the Kool-Aid drinkers. The only thing surprising to me is that so many people seem surprised.

* When I told Bernard that an IndyCar event in Phoenix "would not be financially successful," his facial expression was that of surprise. When he asked why, one of the things I told him was that 23 of his usual 26 drivers COMBINED wouldn't sell one ticket in my home market. His expression then changed to something just short of shocked. Let me repeat for the benefit of the chatroomers and cheerleaders: There will NOT be an IC race at PIR next year.

* Good that Indy's final national TV rating was up from last year's all-time low. Now, let's be realistic: Given all the hype about the centennial running, shouldn't the ratings and attendance have been up? Even more? The question now is: Will these positives carry over into the rest of this season, or even Indy 2012? Just what ACTION PLAN does the track/series have in place to make it so? Let me also note my trained eye didn't observe an increase in on-site coverage. Where were the national columnists? I don't know, but not at the Speedway. While a couple of new mediaites were there, and an old-timer or two returned after long absences, this was offset by the loss of the Boston Globe and San Diego Union-Tribune.

* Another recent racing embarrassment from the PTI intellectually-lazy (anything other than basketball) pseudo-intellectual co-hosts: Misstating the length of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s winless streak and talking about JR Hildebrand being on "bald" tires. Then, there was the example of the post-Chicagoland SportsCenter co-hosts who mocked two drivers for running out of gas because the cars have "telemetry." How disappointing that ESPN management doesn't get it that this sort of thing undercuts these guys' credibility on EVERY subject.

* Allow me to repeat one of my favorite things: You can't be a good racing fan without knowing something about the Business of Racing. The same applies to the news media. At Indy, I couldn't help but shake my head, as media center conversations showed no such understanding. When I pointed out to one veteran reporter that thin sponsorship levels would make it very difficult for quite a few team owners to afford new cars next year, I was told that the Hulman-George family would buy them! I'm not sure how it could be much clearer that the H-G family's riches are not what they once were. Hint: That's a big reason Tony George was ousted. I also noted one national writer praised Versus' weekly IC show the very day it was canned. I know it takes time to do homework, but that homework needs to be done, if the job of journalism to to be done. If you don't know about the B of R, learn, or at least ask someone who does

* Since none of them have been around long enough to know any better, I'm not interested in having anyone from the IMS Corp. PR office tell me I'm wrong: The budget-cutting was apparent to me on a number of fronts. Including the appearance of the grounds. Let's just say it was obvious to me the maintenance program isn't what it was. Sad. Plus, no printed media guide. What a mistake.

* Further proof when I say the IMS Corp. employs and enables one of the five worst PR operations in all of professional sports: The numbers one and three on the Speedway staff, and number two on the ICS staff, didn't make the media center rounds to say hello or thanks or offer help. You either know this basic sort of thing or you don't. IMSC does not.

* This, by the way, carries over to series backer Izod, which apparently thinks it got a God-given right to good relationships with the media when it signed the sponsorship contract. Several obvious, very basic, media relations things are not done by Izod. I500 media day was poorly planned: It was only AFTER individual interviews with drivers were well underway that designated MC Jack Arute tried to get everyone to shut up for on-stage remarks from ICS CEO Randy Bernard, IMS President Jeff Belskus and an Izod exec plus show a video. Arute repeatedly insulted the media with remarks such as it was like "trying to herd cats" to get them to stop interviewing and that reporters didn't know how to follow orders. Let's state the obvious: Any formal program HAD to happen BEFORE the driver interviews got underway. What an amateur hour act this was! Did Bernard and Belskus notice?

* As I told CART President Andrew Craig, all the way back in 1994, individual team/sponsor PR people are "the front-line soldiers in the sport's never-ending battle to attain media coverage." It's about time for Bernard to remind his team owners of that fact and for the series to impose some NFL-like standards. I would not need too many fingers to count the number of "publicists" who knew enough or bothered themselves enough to make the daily rounds of the Indy media center. You might be surprised to learn two of the worst offenders were Team Penske and Andretti Autosport. One of Mr. Penske's frequent talking points is the importance of "one-on-one relationships" in business. The PR function of his empire is no different. If you don't go around and introduce yourself to new people or say hello to infrequent media visitors, just HOW do you establish said "one-on-one relationships"? It's the exact opposite of the Penske business mantra. I asked something of a P R PR boss almost six months ago, and have yet to get the courtesy of any follow-up. Penske often mentions he doesn't advertise much, but gains through media coverage of his race teams. I'd say it's obvious such coverage is important to more than his sponsors; it has great value for his auto dealerships, truck rental outlets, etc. Meanwhile, for the last three years, AA people have topped the list of those who would like to see those who operate at the opposite end of Jim Chapman's standards "honored."

* I'll say it again: Good one-on-one relationships are not built by pressing "send." There is no substitute for the human voice, a look in the eye, a handshake. When will they ever learn?

[ more next Monday . . . ]

INDY 500 SUNDAY

2011-05-29T10:47:00.001-07:00

As I've been telling you about, here are links to the 100th Indy 500 package Mark Armijo and I wrote for Sunday's Arizona Republic. If you have any interest in Arizona racing or Indy 500 winners, please take a few minutes to give this a read. Mark and I put a lot of work into it. Thanks.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/05/28/20110528indianapolis-500-arizona-drivers.html

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/05/28/20110528patience-helped-tom-sneva-pick-off-both-unsers-victory-1983.html

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/05/28/20110528arie-luyendyks-average-speed-still-fastest-indy-500-history.html

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/05/28/20110528eddie-cheever-had-rally-indy-500-win-1998.html

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/05/28/20110528buddy-rice-had-wait-out-rain-indy-500-2004.html

The stunt jump was anti-climatic. The historic cars paraded to applause. The celebrities were introduced. The Secretary of Homeland Security, who as governor of Arizona wouldn't secure the AZ-Mexico border, stopped by briefly to profile. The IMS Corp., Izod, and most team and sponsor PR people, didn't do PR. (For the record, I told Randy Bernard to his face last Thursday what I've written here: That the IMS Corp. employs and enables one of the five worst PR departments in all of professional sports.) The local media cheerleaders gushed. As noted here yesterday, the much-debated double-wide restart rule was quietly changed less than 24 hours before the start, a bone tossed to the drivers and yet another example that Randy ("The Fans Want It!") Bernard is trying to be all things to all people.

(Let's call that what it is: Mission Impossible.)

Jim Nabors sang (although the PA system missed the first little bit.) The media center Internet connection kept dropping like Will Power on three wheels. There were more people in the stands than anytime since the split, at least as far as I could observe.

And then they waved the green flag for the centennial Indianapolis 500.

And the drivers showed who was in charge. They essentially said "bleep you" to the series' officials and spread out for the start, despite all the talk about going back to the old, traditional, three-wide, 11-rows lined up at the starting line. Ditto on the first try at a double-wide restart. I'm tempted not to blame them. But Bernard, Brian Barnhart, etc. should take that for what is was: A shot across their bow, in the name of what they considered safety. What was Brian going to do? Black flag the whole field?

What would Formula One stewards have done? Or, NASCAR race control?

[ more next week . . . ]

INDY 500 SATURDAY

2011-05-28T12:29:00.001-07:00

FOUNDERS AWARD: I had the honor of announcing and presenting the 2011 Bob Russo Founders Award to my old friend Bill Marvel Saturday morning at the annual AARWBA breakfast in Indianapolis. Later, Bill (left) and I posed with the large permanent plaque in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway media center. I'm very honored to have been the inaugural recepient of the Founders Award in 2005, given for "profound interest, tireless efforts and undying dedication to auto racing as exemplified by Russo." Other names on the plaque include Wally Parks, Chris Economaki, Bob Jenkins, Shav Glick and Bill York.

I'll be on Rick Benjamin's The Checkered Flag show on Sirius XM Satellite radio Sunday morning right after the network's live broadcast of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is all about history. What history will be written in Sunday's centennial running of the I500?

Yes, I'm one of those concerned about the first oval-track try at double-wide restarts. Especially in what apparently will be Crash City Conditions -- hot, sunny, humid -- a slick track with tire marbles on the high line. As I wrote yesterday, I haven't talked to one driver here in the last few days who isn't at least a little worried.

Looking toward the future, other issues are on the horizon, clear to see. Namely, the cost of new cars and parts and engines in a sponsor-challenged environment. I have talked off-the-record with a half-dozen current or interested team owners who say, right now, they don't think they'll have the money to buy the new equipment. Will IMS negotiate a very favorable loan package from an Indiana bank? Float some sort of bond issue to raise the $? I don't know, but stay tuned. Meanwhile, on the all-important TV front, some down-arrow news for hard core fans is coming soon, and it will be symbolic of the bigger picture problems. And, after last week's announcer talk of not being able to imagine an I500 without Danica, well, Gentlmen, start your imaginations. Good luck to her if she tries it as a one-off next season -- trying to figure out new chassis setups in a matter of days. Remember, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, among others, say it can't be done. At least, not if you want to be truly competitive for the win.

By the way, despite what you may have heard/read elsewhere, it was just whispered into my ear the restart zone isn't going to be as previously announced. Supposedly, this is a compromise on driver safety.

But those are frets for tomorrow and next year. Today I've seen one of the best things I've observed at IMS in quite a few years. In the a.m., there was an autograph session with former winners. This afternoon, there was one with past drivers. These things are significant logistical challenges but as far as I could tell, things went well. I hesitate to try to list the many people I haven't seen for years, who came back for the 100th anniversary Greatest Spectacle, but I was glad to visit with the likes of Roberto Guerrero, Pancho Carter, Bob Lazier, Phil Krueger, Tom Bagley, Robby McGehee, Max Papis, Scott Pruett, lots of others. When I was the CART communications director in the early 1980s, I could call on guys like Krueger, Lazier, Bagley, etc. at the last minute with a PR request and they'd be happy to help. Plus, of course, Rick Mears and Johnny Rutherford. I always appreciated that.

You could tell these autograph sessions were a good idea. Why? Because the drivers and the fans were smiling and having a good time.

That's the way it should be at Indy.

I received three awards in the annual AARWBA journalism contest, results announced Saturday: Third place in the newspaper news writing category; third place for this blog in the web log category; and second place in the online column category.

One more reminder: Please check out the 1,800-plus word story Mark Armijo and I wrote on the history of Arizona racers in the Indy 500 in Sunday's Arizona Republic or at http://www.azcentral.com/

[ one more from Indy Sunday . . . ]

INDY 500 FRIDAY

2011-05-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Thursday night I attended the Indianapolis 500 Oldtimers dinner where my friend Jim McGee was inducted into the Indy Hall of Fame along with Jackie Stewart. Jim and I worked together at Newman/Haas Racing when Nigel Mansell won the 1993 PPG Cup. Jim praised his mentor, Clint Brawner, and expressed thanks not only for his four I500 wins and nine championships, but also for a truly amazing stat: Over 40 drivers were in Jim's cars, and in his career, none were seriously injured. Given the era in which he started, that's an incredible blessing. Congratulations to Jim.

Dan Gurney accepted for Stewart, busy in Monaco. In what might have been the most historic happening of the centennial I500, Robin Miller attended to sit with Gurney. For the first time in the four decades I've known Robin, he was wearing a sport coat and TIE. It was an old Gurney Eagle tie. I'm glad there were witnesses or I would not have believed my eyes.

Jim Nabors was honored with a lifetime Oldtimers membership. Jim told how he started singing "Back Home Again in Indiana." Jim was on-site to watch the 1972 race as a fan when he was introduced to Tony Hulman race morning. Tony asked Jim to come out of the stands to sing what Nabors thought was going to be the National Anthem. When he was told it was "Back Home," he wrote the words on the palm of his hand. Jim swears this is a true story.

Having lived on both sides of the competitor/media fence, I can tell you for a fact that what you hear said during formal news conferences isn't always what is said behind closed garage doors. It's a bit of both here in terms of how drivers feel about the double-wide restart rule, being used for the first time on an IndyCar series oval Sunday. Thursday afternoon, I was talking with a group of drivers in the motorcoach lot. A couple of them were well-established big time race winners and another has been one of most pleasant surprises coming out of qualifying. I won't name names or provide direct quotes, because this was an off-the-record conversation among friends. I can accurately report to you, though, that the level of concern about double-file restarts is VERY high. One of the biggest names in the field pointed out this would be like the NFL trying out a major new competition rule in the Super Bowl. I said that while baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is often criticized, I know he wouldn't toss out a big new rule for the World Series. Whatever happens, just know people who will be on the track are worried.

If you're really into Indy coverage, please take a look at my stories on CompetitionPlus.com. Did you know Roger Penske started as a drag racer? And Kenny Bernstein's emotional memories of being on the pole as a team owner are quite something. You can find the links at earlier posts.

A reminder of the 1,800-plus word history of Arizona racers at Indy piece that will be in Sunday's Arizona Republic. It is, by far, the longest auto racing story in the paper in many years. Mark Armijo and I put in a lot of effort on this. If you're not in Arizona to buy the paper, please look for this at http://azcentral.com/ .

[ more from Indy Saturday and Sunday . . . ]

INDY 500 THURSDAY

2011-05-26T13:20:00.001-07:00

A reminder I'll keep blogging from the centennial Indianapolis 500 Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Well, that was an exciting way to begin my 35th Indianapolis 500 and the run-up to the 100th anniversary Greatest Spectacle.

I arrived late Wednesday to an Indiana-wide tornado watch that had the local TV affiliates going to continuous weather coverage instead of network programming from about 5 p.m. until after midnight. Fortunately, other than some heavy rain, downtown Indy itself was OK. But rain carried over to mess-up Thursday planned Indy Lights on-track running.

Meanwhile, on the PR front, back in 2005 IMS started taking all 33 qualified drivers to New York City Monday of race week. As I told the powers-that-be back all the way back then that first year, this was a waste of time for most of the drivers, as only a handful of them actually did any meaningful interviews. Given the significant inventory of unsold seats, I told them the smarter course of action was to take a few big names to NYC, then scatter others to Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis and the surrounding areas where people might actually buy tickets and make it a one-day trip. In fact, in 2005, I didn't make the trip (even though I had a reserved seat on the charter plane), instead spending the day lining up local radio interviews for Tuesday and Wednesday -- MUCH more effective for the purposes of my driver, team and sponsors.

That's what I said and wrote -- you can look it up.

Well, finally, they listened.

Danica (surprise!), Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves did go to the Big Apple. But the group was dispatched to 13 different cities to promote the centennial -- including several of those I listed in 2005. Plus, some major race markets like Boston, Miami, Las Vegas and Dallas.

Let the record show that, for all the nonsense talk about IndyCar wanting to open its 2012 season in Phoenix, they didn't sent any drivers to the Valley of the Sun. That should tell you more than a little something.

Thursday was media day -- a poorly orchestrated one at that. The No. 1 topic was if this will be Danica's last I500. Enough said.

It's a little-known fact: Roger Penske, Indy's 15-time winning car owner, started off as a drag racer. Read about it, and what Roger has to say about the current motorsports economy and sponsorships, in my CompetitionPlus.com exclusive:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/17735-penske-was-once-a-drag-racer

Indy's top 10 legends:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2895

Rolex series champion Scott Pruett's PruettVineyard.com is presenting a magnum of limited edition Napa Cabernet Sauvignon to each Indy 500 team owner with race centennial logo on the label. http://pruettvineyard.com/ .

FAST LINES: It's gotten to the point where I'd rather the PTI pseudo-intellectuals just didn't talk about racing. Last Tuesday, Cranky Tony Kornheiser said Tony Kanaan was an Indy 500 winner. And this error wasn't corrected by the fact checker, probably because he was too busy practicing tossing paper balls at a camera . . . Something to watch for Sunday: For the last two years, ABC's announcers have completely botched the all-important Indy winner's circle interview. Will they go for the hat trick?

[ more from Indy Friday . . . ]

ANALYZING THE INDY HYPE VS. REALITY

2011-05-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Please note I'll be blogging from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Let's forget the hype -- which is easy to do since it's coming from one of the five worst PR departments in all of professional sports -- and ponder the question directly:

What will have to happen for Sunday's 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 to truly be the "Most Important Race in History?"

Another victory for Roger Penske? Paul Tracy winning and claiming justice for 2002? Vitor Meira or Bruno Junqueira giving A.J. Foyt the chance to again drink the milk? Graham Rahal or Marco Andretti following in the first-place footsteps of their family icons?

A record-tying fourth for Helio Castroneves? An Ed Carpenter upset that not only would put pregnant car owner Sarah Fisher in victory lane, but his step-father, Tony George, back in the spotlight? A darkhorse triumph by someone like Charlie Kimball? A "finally" for Tony Kanaan?

No.

There is only one thing that would fit the bill and it's the obvious one:

A Danica win.

Will that happen?

Despite the speed struggles throughout Michael Andretti's team, her chances might be better than you think. She qualified 26th for her seventh go in IndyCar's version of the Big Go and has five top-10 finishes, including third in 2009. That history says Danica has a certain touch for the Brickyard, but it's the prospect of the 500 becoming a Junkyard that boosts her chances that much more.

Now, understand this. This will be my 35th I500 in six different decades (below, marking 33 races two years ago), I well remember and loved those classic 11 rows of three starts, and hated Brian Barnhart's single-file strung-out-to-Terre Haute instructions of recent years. Supposedly, BB has been told to go back to the old ways on Sunday. I'm all for it.

But it's more likely Jimmie Johnson will be a relief driver Sunday than it is you'll find more than a couple of racers who like Randy Bernard's new NASCAR-style double-file restarts. Just as there was a time when a rookie driver had to prove himself at tough ovals like Phoenix or Trenton before he could even get a Speedway test, I think it's incredible the IndyCar powers-that-be will experiment with this rule on an oval for the very first time at the Biggest (Most Important) Race of the Year (in History).

I'm no Carnac, but I predict carnage.

"I've heard comments these are supposed to be the best drivers in the world and all this kind of stuff, they can start two-by-two," defending winner Dario Franchitti said a few days ago. "Well, you can put the best driver in the world on marbles here, and I don't care who they are, they're going to hit the fence. That's the problem: The marbles (bits of tire rubber that collect near the outside wall) are the issue and the narrow groove here at Indianapolis."

Despite what the drivers say, Bernard says the fans have spoken, so the rule will stand. But I think anything is possible. If there are crashes-after-crashes on the double-wide restarts, will he tell Barnhart to change back to single-file in mid-race? Can you imagine how crazy, wild -- and dangerous -- double-wide will be if one is needed in the last 10 laps?

IF she can avoid all of that -- which will require some luck on running order so she can keep restarting on the botton line -- Danica could win a 500 that has five finishers.

The hypers would no doubt say, "See, we told you so, it WAS the Most Important Race in History."

Others, more objective, would call it an embarrassment.

As Newt Gingrich recently discovered, TV sound bites have a way of coming back to haunt you. IndyCar announcers who kept saying last weekend that "You can't imagine an Indy 500 without Danica Patrick" might well be bitten by those words come next year when she's in NASCAR.

A reminder to please get this Sunday's Arizona Republic, or go to http://www.azcentral.com/ to see the 1,800-plus word story on the history of Arizona racers in the Indy 500 that I co-wrote/reported with Mark Armijo. I learned a few things in working this project, and I think you will, too.

Here's a link to the story I did last week for CompetitionPlus.com on Kenny Bernstein remembering 1992, when Roberto Guerrero put his car on the pole. http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/17655-bernstein-revels-in-indy-500-memory

Please go to CompetitionPlus.com later this week for another drag racing-theme story I did. One of the Indy 500's most successful competitors has his roots in drag racing -- a little known fact.

Reminder: I will blog from Indy starting Thursday.

MY INDY HISTORY

2011-05-15T14:39:00.001-07:00

In two weeks, God willing, I'll be attending my 35th Indianapolis 500. I've been there to see the Greatest Spectacle in six different decades, first as a fan, then as a journalist, then as a sanctioning body official, then as a team/sponsor/driver publicist, and now again as a journo. I explain that so you'll better appreciate why the 100th anniversary running is of more than casual interest to me, personally.

I've told these two stories before, but they are worth repeating now, because they well illustrated my own history with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its people.

Back in 1975, I was on-site covering for the Philadelphia Daily News. A.J. Foyt was on the pole and in quest of a record-breaking fourth victory. In those days there were no organized press conferences (I was one, along with the late AARWBA President Dave Overpeck, who got those going in the early 1980s), so the practice was for reporters to stand outside a driver's garage, and hope to get a few minutes. Getting an interview with Foyt was a must for any writer seriously trying to do the job.

I was one of about eight who gathered in front of Foyt's garage late morning Wednesday of race week. The doors were open and A.J. knew we were out there. Finally, after about a half-hour, he waved us in. This was one of those years when Gasoline Alley rumor had it that Foyt was cheating on horsepower. Those of us with some experience figured we'd ask him about that, but not until after we had gotten enough quotes to write a proper story. Unfortunately, just a couple of minutes into our session, some guy -- I think he was a Chicago columnist -- blurted out a question on cheating. Sure enough, A.J. blew up and told us all to "get the hell out of here."

A few evenings before the previous year's Daytona 500, somehow I had been seated next to IMS owner Tony Hulman at a corporate dinner. It was a very pleasant experience. And that connection was about to pay off big time for me.

Our media group exited Foyt's garage and scattered in different directions. As I went around the corner toward the main Gasoline Alley entrance, who happened to be coming toward me but Mr. Hulman. He smiled and we shook hands and he said, "Welcome back to Indianapolis." Mr. Hulman asked me how I was and I told him what just had happened. "Come with me," he said, and we walked back toward Foyt's car. When we got in front of the garage, Mr. H said to me, "Wait here a minute." He went inside and I watched as he had a few words with A.J. Just that quickly Tony came back out and said, "Go on in!" and I looked up to see Foyt waving me in. Thanks to Mr. Hulman, I got an exclusive.

Fast forward to September 2001. I was at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course representing Valvoline, title sponsor of the SCCA national championships, the Valvoline Runoffs. One of the Friday events included Kyle Krisiloff, grandson of Mari Hulman. Mari was there to watch along with daughter Josie, Kyle's mom. Happily for the Hulman-George family, Kyle won, and became an SCCA national champion.

One of my responsibilities was to represent Valvoline in victory lane. As Kyle was going through the trophy presentation ceremonies, I noticed Mari and Josie outside the winner's circle entrance. An SCCA official, who obviously was pro-Champ Car, denied them entry. That happy family moment was not the appropriate time for racing politics, so I went over and re-introduced myself to Mari and Josie and brought them in, much to the unhappiness of the SCCA woman. It so happened Josie's camera wasn't working, so I had my photographer put in a new roll of film (no digital yet) and take a full series of Kyle and Mari and Josie with his national championship awards. When they had everything they wanted, I had the photog take the film out and I gave it to Josie.

At that moment, I felt like I had repaid Mr. Hulman's kind gesture of almost a quarter-century earlier.

The sad thing is, today, there is no one in an executive or staff position at IMS who would ever even think of helping the way Tony Hulman did. It was the result of having established an old-fashioned one-on-one relationship. Too bad that's a Speedway "tradition" that didn't endure while another -- arrogance -- did.

Which is why I'll now tell a story I've never before revealed.

On a practice day in 1989, I double-parked my Porsche in front of the Newman/Haas motorcoach for less than five minutes, so two guys could help me unload and carry inside a large and heavy wooden crate. For the record, no people or vehicles were blocked or impeded by my action. Just as we were about to put the box down at the back of the motorcoach area, I heard someone call out my name. I was surprised by the loud and harsh tone. I turned around to see an arrogant and out-of-control-with-power IMS vice president standing next to my car and yelling, "Come over here!" Understand, this Speedway VP had known me for years. I walked over, outside the canopy, where it was just the two of us, and was berated and cursed at and physically threatened if I didn't immediately move my car. I drove off without a word. (I'll wait to reveal this person's name in another forum.) To this day, I regret that I didn't file a police report, which would have been justified given the threatening words and gestures made at me. If I could go back and do it over again, that's exactly what I would have done. And then papered the media center with copies of the police report.

So, two weeks before the 100th anniversary Indy 500, that's what I'm remembering. I am certain Tony Hulman would have wished otherwise.

Here's two weeks advance notice of something I hope you'll read: Mark Armijo and I have teamed-up to write a long history of Arizona racers in the Indy 500 that is scheduled to run in the Arizona Republic on the day of the 100th anniversary event, Sunday, May 29. At over 1,800 words, it will be the longest racing story of any kind in the paper since at least 2005. There will be a main story recounting some key people and moments, including 1958 winner Jimmy Bryan, and then four sidebars with the four living AZ winners -- Arie Luyendyk, Tom Sneva, Eddie Cheever and Buddy Rice -- remembering their big days. I believe even knowledgable fans will learn something they didn't know. If you aren't in Arizona to buy the paper, look for this at http://www.azcentral.com/ .

And here's a linkto my May "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com. It's 10 Q&As with Paul Page:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/17612-drags-dollars-a-sense-getting-to-know-paul-page

And here's another heads-up: There's more than one way to report on the 100th anniversary Indy 500. I'll have two stories on CompetitionPlus.com in the next two weeks from a drag racing perspective. Later this week look for my story on Kenny Bernstein remembering Roberto Guerrero qualifying his car on the pole in 1992. I think you might be surprised, as I was, at Bernstein's comments. Then, next week, look for my story on one of the most successful people ever at Indy whose racing roots were planted on the quarter-mile. It's a little known fact.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

AN AMERICAN MOMENT

2011-05-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

America needed a psychological boost. It got one with the daring military raid that killed Public Enemy No. 1, Osama bin Laden.

For years, liberal journalists and pundits have been telling us to be understanding of the "Arab Street." Sunday night, May 1, the American Street spoke loud and clear.

For all of the positives bid Laden's death brought in terms of disruption of international terrorist operations, the most important benefit was psychological. The American people felt good. It raised our confidence in ourselves and our nation's capabilities and our worldwide prestige. It made us believe again, at least briefly, in the effectiveness of government. It renewed our admiration for the heroic men and women of the Armed Services. It was a blow to the confidence of our enemies.

The operation itself, as well as planning and decision-making process, was nothing short of audacious. To be perfectly honest about it, I didn't think President Obama had that in him. It was a terrible, credibility-bending mistake, for conversative radio show hosts and print commentators to offer tepid praise and then criticize around the edges. Let's be honest about something else: If Ronald Reagan had followed exactly the same course, these very same talkers/writers would exhaust all available oxygen and ink in congratulating him.

Congratulations and thank you to all who played any role in this breathtaking mission.

Attention, Indianapolis media cheerleaders and chatroomers: Despite the "hopes" and "wishes" of Randy Bernard and Terry Angstadt, it is highly, extremely unlikely -- put the chances at near zero -- that the IndyCar series will be at Phoenix International Raceway next season. Unlike others who just take Bernard's "hope" and run with that as if fact, I did some actual reporting -- we used to call that "journalism" -- last week. I directly spoke with two people who would know if such a race were on the horizon -- their names are John Saunders, International Speedway Corp. president, and Bryan Sperber, PIR president. I don't see the need to recount every detail here, because those who have read this blog or what I've written for the Arizona Republic already know them, but anyone paying attention to what is happening (and planned) at PIR from a construction standpoint, anyone who knows anything about the Valley economy (especially as it pertains to home values) and anyone who has two-cents worth of knowledge (or experience) in the Business of Racing or the way ISC runs its biz would know better. Unless IndyCar is prepared to lease the track and promote a race itself, or offer extremely favorable terms on sanction fees, there is not going to be a PIR date. Why IndyCar continues to pump this, and allow others to keep hope alive on this subject, is unfathomable to me from a PR standpoint. Maybe it soothes teams and sponsors that would like to be in the Phoenix market, but it's not reality. Why build-up false hopes for whatever tiny fragment of an IndyCar fan base that remains in the Valley? Credibility counts. Of course, I can see a self-fulfilling tale here of how IndyCar tried, putting by implication a bogus blame on ISC and PIR.

FAST LINES: Let's start with the obvious -- TV is a VISUAL medium. The picture sends the message. I've written before about the inattention of PR people who allow their drivers to be interviewed in front of a competing sponsor's ID, or with a portable toilet in the background. The IMS Productions/Versus version of this came on the debut of the weekly IndyCar show -- NASCAR cars testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the background. That's the way to build your sport and your brand! I'd call it an unbelievable oversight, but I know better, anything dumb is possible with this group. They just proved it -- AGAIN . . . I see the IRS is still chasing after Helio Castroneves. If Helio didn't want to pay any taxes, he should have put all his money in General Electric . . . I watched ESPN's PTI Monday fully expecting the co-hosts' first discussion topic would be the loud and passionate reaction of fans at baseball games (shown on the network) as word spread of Osama bid Laden's death. Silly me. Nothing is more important to those guys than the NBA playoffs -- not even a great national moment . . . Nice try at "spin" on Donald Trump skipping the Indy 500 pace car driver gig because he might run for president. The inconvenient fact, of course, is actual announced prez candidates have been profiling at races for many years. And, for the record, I suggested A.J. Foyt as the pace car driver in this blog on March 6 . . . While it's trendy to knock traditional media outlets, the breaking news on bin Laden was a triumph of reporting for most of the major legacy media organizations and proved there's a need for them to continue in the age of Twitter "journalism" . . . The Long Beach Press-Telegram will outsource its sports, features and photo departments to the (non-union) Daily Breeze. Well-known columnist Doug Krikorian is among those impacted as, no doubt, will be the depth of future coverage of the Grand Prix . . . Wonderful and appropriate that the media center at Darlington was renamed in honor of Jim Hunter . . . A reminder I'm a semi-regular guest on Sirius XM Channel 94's The Checkered Flag show, which is live after every Formula One race. My friend Rick Benjamin hosts with Circuit of the Americas and F1-at-Austin, Tex. Chairman Tavo Hellmund as co-host. I've been on after every GP this season.

Here's 33 things to watch for in May:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2894

[ more next Monday . . . ]

FIELD TRIP

2011-05-01T15:37:00.001-07:00

HARD HAT AREA: (From left) Paul Corliss, Mark Armijo, me, Chris van der Beeck with PIR's front straight and grandstands in the background.

UPDATE, FRIDAY, MAY 6: I'll again be a guest on Rick Benjamin's The Checkered Flag show following the Turkish Grand Prix this Sunday (May 8) on Sirius XM Channel 94. Race coverage starts on Sirius XM at 8 a.m. EDT with the post-race show immediately afterwards. I'll probably be on somewhere between 10-10:30 a.m. EDT.

Some of the more useful days I've spent at racetracks have been when race cars were no where in sight. Such was the case last week when the Arizona Republic's Mark Armijo, Chris van der Beeck and I surveyed the on-going construction at Phoenix International Raceway with PIR communications director Paul Corliss as our guide.

With the front straight and pits devoid of asphalt, Mark and I had the same idea: Bring on the World of Outlaws!

We could feel the effect of the variable banking (10-11 degrees) in our legs as we walked turns 1-2. Although they won't be utilized right away, new walk-through tunnels are now under those corners.

Most interesting to me: The reconfiguration of the track's signature dogleg. There will be no more shortcuts -- it will have bite and be a real challenge.

The $10 million project is on schedule. A wide-open Sprint Cup test is planned for October before a four-day Kobalt Tools 500k (Thursday an added practice day) Nov. 10-13. The economic gods and ISC Board willing, this is just phase one of a multi-year construction, accomplished between the two NASCAR weekends. Spectators, competitors, sponsors and media will benefit and the work will bring PIR to modern standards in time for its 50th anniversary in 2014.

Finally -- and this is for the benefit of the Indianapolis media cheerleaders and chatroomers -- if Motegi, Japan is canceled for all the obvious reasons, PIR will NOT be the replacement venue. The only on-track activity in September will be a Goodyear tire test.

Before we left to meet PIR President Bryan Sperber, our group climbed the hills behind the track for a better big-picture view. The desert winds were blowing. That's PIR below me, with the turn 1-2 grandstands and suites to the left.

/strong> FAST LINES: Sad word from Stan Clinton that longtime and award-winning racing photographer Dan Bianchi died recently . . . Another standard of acceptability falls as TV networks hired lip readers to tell us what William and Kate said to each other at the Royal Wedding . . . Media hypocrisy would be laughable if it weren't such a huge problem. Those very same "journalists" who claimed no interest in President Obama's birth certificate want Donald Trump's tax returns and proof of paternity for Sarah Palin's baby . . . Most laughable of the liberal media lot was ultra-ego Chris Matthews criticizing Trump by saying, "Where do you go to get an ego like that?" Try looking in the mirror, Chris. This MSNBC headcase fancies himself one of Washington's smartest people, I take it in part, because his resume includes fetching coffee for Tip O'Neill and Jimmy Carter . . . ESPN PTI sub co-host Dan Le Batard last week spoke the most offensive line to average American sports fans since Kenny Wallace told rpm2night viewers to "chill out" days after Sept. 11, 2011. In commenting on Los Angeles Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt saying baseball Commissioner Bud Selig taking control of the management-challenged franchise was "un-American," Le Batard said McCourt was wrong because "America was built on seized property." Another example of an ego-drunk media elite being out of touch with the audience . . . Around this time last year, I noted how Tom Jackson had been completely marginalized on the ESPN NFL draft coverage. He sat on the set, a silent hulk, as other announcers talked around him. I observed that Jackson was not included in last week's draft shows . . . If you want a great example of how embarrassingly frivolous so much of TV has become, check out Win McMurry's cotton-candy act on Golf Channel's 19th Hole. Especially the walk onto the set, sit down, and silently cross legs bit at the end. It's a weekly personal humiliation . . . Another embarrassment: Robin Miller answered a reader comment about Versus' Lindy Thackston on Speed.com last week by writing, "Lindy is learning racing on the fly . . ." I thought IndyCar was a top-level, major-league sport deserving of in-the-know and highly experienced announcers. Guess I was wrong. Note to Randy Bernard: Katie Couric is available (see below).

It's not that we should read too much into Katie Couric choosing People.com to confirm her departure as anchor of the CBS Evening News. We should read EVERYTHING into it. In the early weeks of this blog, in 2006, Couric's impending occupation of sainted Walter Cronkite's anchor chair was a case study in hype. In part, here's what I wrote on Aug. 22, 2006:

"The Katie Countdown is underway: The only thing that surprises me is CBS doesn't have a digital clock at the bottom of the screen, so we instantly know the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until Katie Couric's Sept. 5 debut as the network's news anchor. This is the PR Case Study of the Year. Couric hired her own image-makers (non-NASCAR drivers, please note this willingness to invest in your own career) to work in consultation with CBS' publicists, and they have undertaken an extensive and sophisticated campaign, to 'reposition' Katie from morning show perkiness to nightly news seriousness. The run-up has included carefully controlled one-on-one interviews, group sessions, photo shoots, focus groups, and a Hillary-esque 'listening tour' so Katie could hear from average Americans (no press allowed). Plus, heavy promotion on CBS Sports programming (wink). The New York Times reported the on-air promos would cost an outside advertiser more than $10 million. Those in charge of the orchestration have liberally borrowed tactics from Hollywood and Washington spin doctors. According to the Washington Post, CBS News President Sean McManus sees a media 'feeding frenzy' over Couric's new role and is surprised by 'this unbelievable thirst for information' about her life. No, it's NOT a surprise. As I have often said: We live in a celebrity-driven, People magazine, photo-op, sound-bite society."

Couric's failure -- and it WAS just that, a failure -- is a rare and somewhat heartening triumph of substance over celebrity. The unprecedented hype for Couric's debut led to boffo opening-night ratings, which then steadily dived to record lows over her five-year tenure. Couric's substance never matched her celebrity. Couric was very hands-on on the initial attempt to redesign the news format -- she gave stories of major significance a sentence or two and then instructed the audience to go to CBSNews.com to get the all-important details. Time was wasted on outside commentators, a gimmick quickly dropped. Eventually, the program was recast in a more traditional form, but Couric's credibility was shot. CBS wasted $15 million per year on her and was slow to hold those responsible accountable. Yes, there were executive producer changes, but it was only recently that McManus was removed from his position as head of the news division. (He's still in sports.)

It's no surprise Couric would use People as her announcement outlet. Remember, a true low-point of her CBS time was revealing that Michael Jackson wanted to date her. The public, as reflected by the ratings, rejected the Celebrity Anchor concept. ABC realized that and totally low-profiled Diane Sawyer's move to its anchor spot.

Couric's spin on her future (expected to be a syndicated daytime talk show) is she wants a format "that will allow me to engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling." Right.

Remember, even Oprah's numbers were going down before her show's farewell tour. Jane Pauley, on Today before Couric, was more fondly regarded by the American public but her own daytime talker bombed and ended after one season. Say goodnight, Katie . . .

Meanwhile, Couric's CBS failure is an object lesson on the limits and perils of hype. A comprehensive review and think session on this case study would be well worth the time investment by all contemporary publicists. I doubt that will happen, though, given how busy so many of them seem to be in not picking up the phone to build solid one-on-one relationships with journalists and not even bothering to visit media centers.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

AN IDEA FOR AUSTIN

2011-04-24T14:40:00.001-07:00

The World Economic Forum is an annual week-long gathering of business and political leaders, cultural and entertainment figures, and media elites, in Davos, Switzerland. An impressive percentage of the global corporate and money players participate. It generates worldwide press coverage and it's CNBC's version of Super Bowl week.

There are speeches, seminars and panel discussions plus lots of networking and countless cocktail parties, receptions and dinners. "Posh" is an appropriate word to describe the after-hours activities.

Since before the financial collapse in fall 2008, I've thought of what a motorsports version of the WEF would be like. Yes, I know, there have been some attempts at business summits. Champ Car tried to justify its existence with a few such sessions, hoping to hang onto sponsorships by promoting business-to-business relationships. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway took a shot with its version and there have been biz meetings in New York City and Charlotte. Formula One has done it in Monaco. But none has been organized along the lines of the WEC and certainly not remotely close to the same scale.

So it caught my attention the other week when, during the news conference for the new track in Austin, Tex., it was said the planned 2012 Formula One race will create "the largest gathering of corporate leaders in the United States." Match that with F1's global sponsorships and the importance of the American market, and it seems to me Austin might be the right venue for a legitimate World Racing Economic Forum. While it's probably not realistic to think every bit of construction will be in place right away, it has been announced that the facility will include meeting rooms, a conference center and a banquet hall.

I put this idea to Tavo Hellmund, managing partner and chairman of the U.S. Grand Prix, when we both guested in Rick Benjamin's Sirius XM Satellite Radio show after the Chinese Grand Prix. Hellmund surprised me by saying two of his partners in the Austin project have gone to Davos.

"We had to make this (Austin facility) about being a destination," he said. "I know that sounds like a clever line for a television ad . . . not just a racetrack. We know the events will do well but it's pretty hard to justify spending anywhere from $250-400 million on something if you're not going to be using it 300 days a year. That's what we're trying to achieve."

The Austin group obviously has a lot on its to-do list. But I hope, at least down the road, they'll consider formally organizing something strongly along the lines of a WEF. It could be a historic, landmark -- and profitable -- venture for the entire industry.

I've explained before that while I used to be a avid viewer, I rarely watch ESPN's SportsCenter any more, because I'm so turned-off by the gimmicks and nonsense of what is supposed to be the network's flagship "news" show. Last Wednesday afternoon, I heard that Major League Baseball had taken over the National League's most historically important franchise, the Los Angeles Dodgers, due to management concerns. By any standard, this was a HUGE story, so I went to the 6 p.m. (EDT) SC for find out the details. Instead, the first segment was devoted to a gimmick "top 5" thinly veiled to promote the network's programming favorites. The actual news report on the Dodgers didn't happen until 17 minutes into the show, even though ESPN's own announcer and reporter called MLB's move "shocking" and "stunning." This is a perfect example of how journalistic standards have fallen. I can't fully explain how upset it made me. I truly hope ESPN's new Ombudsman collective will deal with this monumental lapse of judgment.

CompetitionPlus.com (where I write a monthly column) now has a video element. Watch the first one, with drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney. There's also a new audio component and I'll be involved in that in the near future:
http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/17298-video-feature-drag-racings-first-lady-of-nitro-shirley-muldowney

[ more next Monday . . . ]

BIG TALK IN TEXAS

2011-04-17T16:04:00.001-07:00

They say everything's bigger in Texas. Well, for sure, there was a lot of big talk during last Tuesday's news conference to announce more details of the facility being built in Austin for a 2012 Formula One event. The place is now officially named "Circuit of the Americas" and a 10-year contract for a MotoGP event, starting in 2013, was also revealed.

I watched most (the streaming video cut out a few times) of the conference. The scale of the site -- said to be 1,000 acres with the 3.4-mile road course taking 350 acres -- the cost -- pegged at $250 million by one speaker and $400 million by another -- employees -- 1,300 at the peak -- and usage -- said to be planned for 365 days-a-year for racing, concerts, business meeting, educational purposes, etc. -- certainly are Texas-sized.

We're told there will be meeting rooms, a conference center, banquet hall, trauma center, centerpiece tower and a park that will generate business year-round. The projection is 120,000 race-day spectators with 300,000 over a weekend. It was said the F1 round will create "the largest gathering of corporate leaders in the United States." And, over 10-15 years, "$3-4 billion" added to the local economy.

We shall see. The project was widely "greeted" with skepticism throughout the motorsports industry when first revealed. It sure seemed to take a lot of political maneuvering to get going with the construction, which now is said to be "on schedule."

I've been around long enough to have covered the U.S. GP at Watkins Glen for many years and was on the CART staff when negotiations shifted Long Beach from F1 to the PPG Cup series. Since then, of course, we've seen Phoenix and Dallas and Indianapolis come-and-go and countless rumors about Central Park in New York City. Take Phil Hill and Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti off the list and American drivers haven't been world-wide headliners. And, most recently, was the massive embarrassment of the still-born so-called U.S. F1 team. It's still worth saying "shame on you" to those involved in that one.

From a PR standpoint, the Austin news event had moments of disorganization -- "Where are the jackets? Where are the jackets?" -- with speakers unnecessarily bouncing back-and-forth to create a cluttered presentation. And, in recalling how Speed Channel cheerleaded for that bogus U.S. F1 effort, it was troubling to observe history possibly repeating itself.

Speed F1 caller Bob Varsha was brought in as MC and it was, well, perhaps unfortunate that Varsha compared the "buzz" around Austin to Adelaide, Australia -- which, as we know, no longer hosts the Grand Prix tour. It was perhaps even more unfortunate, given the many reports that Melbourne will leave the schedule due to high costs, that Varsha said, "The Aussies were great friends." Note past-tense "were." As in likely not successful enough from a business standpoint to continue.

All in all, it all sounded great. I always cheer for Big Thinkers. From the standpoint of America's credibility in the international motorsports world, however, Austin had best not be all hat and no cattle.

FAST LINES: I again guested for most of a half-hour Sunday a.m. on Rick Benjamin's Sirius XM Satellite Radio show after the Chinese Grand Prix. As a follow-up to what I wrote about being on with Rick the previous week after the Malaysian GP, this show Rick is doing is new and will be live post-race after this season's Formula One events. Rick has asked me to be a semi-regular guest. I also was interviewed by the Austin American-Statesman last year about the proposed new U.S. Grand Prix site . . . STP's aggressive return to big-time racing sponsorship, announced last week, is welcome news to many old-time fans and participants. Can't help but notice, however, the involvements will be in NASCAR, drag racing and World of Outlaws. I'm one of those who will forever associate the brand with the Indy 500 -- Andy Granatelli, the Novi, turbine, and wins by Mario Andretti and Gordon Johncock. No Indy sponsorship included this time, though . . . I see one of the Indianapolis media cheerleaders has again speculated on the possibility of an IndyCar race at Phoenix International Raceway. Too bad it was just lazy guessing with no real first-hand reporting involved. I've covered this pie-in-the-sky subject point-blank several times both in this blog and in the Arizona Republic but, you see, I was doing actual journalism . . . Excellent news -- Tony Veneziano, who did a very good job as the World of Outlaws publicist, will join JR Thompson Co. May 2 to work on motorsports and non-racing projects . . . It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, but good for ESPN management to more clearly define its policy on announcers as product endorsers. Now it's time for Speed to step up to the ethics plate -- start by hiring an Ombudsman and ending the OK for announcers to sell sponsorship on their network-logo clothing . . . Any so-called "publicist" who allows his/her driver to do TV interviews with his/her uniform pulled down -- losing valuable visibility for sponsors -- is not doing his/her job. Period. End of story. Shame on the team owners and sponsor managers who aren't paying attention.

Two items from Tony Stewart's pre-Talladega news conference, as provided by Chevy's excellent NASCAR PR duo:

IS THIS TYPE OF RACING MORE MENTALLY DRAINING THAT SOME OTHERS? “It is still more mentally draining to deal with you guys (the media) than it is to drive the cars here.”

WHAT DID YOU TELL THE JOURNALISM STUDENTS AT ALABAMA THIS WEEK? “I gave them the list of the hit-list media and I’m sure they will be interviewing you guys soon. (Smile.) Not that you guys didn’t know that already.”

[ more next Monday . . . ]

HOW RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING PAYS WITH A FAVOR

2011-04-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a case study for PR people who think relationship-building with national media consists of sending an E-mail: Sunday morning, I guested on Rick Benjamin's Sirius XM radio show right after the Malaysian Grand Prix. (Yes, I'm one of those who usually stays up to watch Formula One, even in the middle of the night.) My live conversation with Benjamin was at 3 a.m. PDT. I did it not only because Rick is a long-time friend, but because he and his producer cared enough to pick up the phone and ask. One-on-one relationship building is how PRers can get media to work with them. It's a voice, a handshake, a look in the eye -- the human touch. An occasional, lazy, E-mail is NOT relationship building.

It was a VERY exciting final round, but money once again triumphed over journalism in last week's ESPN and CBS coverage of The Masters golf tournament. It's not that seldom is heard a discouraging word -- like IndyCar on Versus (now we're told restart/crash, restart/crash, restart/crash action is "good" for the series) -- but NEVER is uttered anything not gushy and wonderful and politically correct -- "spectators" are "patrons" and the "rough" is the "second cut" -- it's broadcast as a near-religious experience. Yes, I had the pleasure of being invited to attend The Masters final round quite a few years ago by a golf (and racing) sponsor, and it's a beautiful place and a classic sports event. The Augusta National Golf Club knows how it wants the world to see it and keeps TV on a short rope via one-year contracts. The Augusta National media committee has intimidated most of the written golf media into compliance as well, because, otherwise, they might not get accepted for credentials the next year or might not be in the lottery that chooses journalists to play the course. I bet the management of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway must shake its collective head because I know from long-time first-hand experience the same level of arrogance ("The Most Important Race in History") exists over at 16th and Georgetown. IMS does, of course, enjoy local media cheerleading, but has poor (or no) relationships with a lot of the national media. (Why? See above for one reason.)

Why was longtime NASCAR West Coast operative Ken Clapp added to the NHRA Board of Directors? Read about it in my April "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com: http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/17180-drags-dollars-a-sense-the-nhra-did-the-right-thing-with-newest-board-members

[ more next Monday . . . ]

GOOD SHOW, NHRA

2011-04-03T16:06:00.001-07:00

A REMINDER OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS: Tony Pedregon's STP graphics and multi-logo crew shirts, which recalled Andy Granatelli's Indy 500 teams of the mid-to-late 1960s.

It's usually a pleasant experience when I attend an NHRA event and so it was last weekend when the Full Throttle series ran at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Proving again that drag racing's organizational format -- and mindset -- provides fantastic access to drivers for both media and fans, I did one-on-one interviews with John Force, Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, Ron Capps, Robert Hight, Kenny Bernstein, Mike Edwards, Jimmy Prock, Larry Dixon, Bob Tasca III and Antron Brown in two days. Unheard of for that to happen in any other major series.

Once again, I found drag racing unpredictable nature to be endlessly fascinating. There were legitimate upsets, like in Funny Car round one with Jeff Arend taking out Hagan and then Johnny Gray beating Mike Neff. And then there were just great races, topped by Tony Pedregon besting Force on a second-round holeshot for a 1/1,000th of a second victory. WOW!

As someone in the media center said after round two: "This race is a perfect question mark."

And, as I pointed out, NHRA caught a break when Kevin Harvick got around Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the last laps at Martinsville. Otherwise, they might as well have called-off the rest of the Vegas rounds, because it wouldn't have existed from a national media standpoint!

Brown led Brandon Bernstein all the way in the Top Fuel finals. Hight won for the second time this season in Funny Car, over Johnny Gray. Edwards beat Vincent Nobile in the Pro Stock. Very respectable crowd on a very pleasant day, weather-wise. Oil-down delays were at a minimum with the finals concluding just past 4 p.m. Good show as NHRA continues its 60th anniversary season.

Tasca, by the way, has been invited to attend this month's launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour by commander Mark Kelly. The two met at NHRA's Houston race last year. Kelly is the husband of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, still recovering from gunshot wounds while at a public event in Tucson last January. The 14-day mission is scheduled to be the last one for Endeavour. "I told Mark, I hope I get the chance to win the Wally (trophy) for you because if I do, I'm going to dedicate it to you and your family," Tasca said. "Maybe we can get Wally in space."

FAST LINES: ESPN2 reached 100 million homes as of April 1, the network says . . . Holly Cain is now a FoxSports.com contributor . . . For all the talk of all the empty seats at Bristol the other week, one of the most shocking sights I've seen in sports in recent times was how many were unoccupied for the New York Yankees' season opener last Thursday. Yes, the weather was terrible, but it was Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Wow -- very troubling about what this might say about the greater sports industry business . . . Heads-up on how inflation in commodity prices could affect racing sponsors. Hershey's, which has been in NASCAR, announced an almost 10 percent across-the-board price hike last week. Cotton prices are soaring, which could impact Izod. Walmart's U.S. CEO said last week inflation is "going to be serious" . . . How silly (and annoying) so many of these on-screen graphics have become. After the president's speech last week, CNN put up the following -- "Exclusive: Pres. Obama Defends Libya Action". Exclusive? News? Here's another one for you, CNN -- Exclusive: Pres. Lincoln Still Dead.

The American Media, March 29, 2011: Phoenix radio station KFYI uses an anonymous blogger to provide "expert" commentary on the Fiesta Bowl scandal. [ more next Monday . . . ]

TASK FORCE: CALIFORNIA

2011-03-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

Decades ago, it was said that what was good for General Motors was good for America.

Let me update that to say what's good for racing in California is good for the motorsports industry everywhere.

Which means it's time to form Task Force: California. Sunday's downsized Auto Club 400 was the only chance for fans in the southern part of the Golden State to see Sprint Cup this year as what originally was known as California Speedway lost a prized date to Kansas. Less didn't mean a lot more, however, in terms of ticket sales.

Long Beach remains America's greatest street course event and benefits from what others have rightly called being "spring break for adults," but the ticket-buyers don't come out the way they once did. (Yes, put much of the blame on the split.) Pomona sure has had its share of empty grandstand seats. Laguna Seca, well, people like me remember the hillside completely occupied for CART. Sears Point is now Infineon Raceway but the crowds are not infinite.

I'm a California native, and understand the problems associated with plunging property values, high taxes, and the overall down economy. But I'm sensing there's more to the situation than financial concerns, because we are talking about, after all, the spiritual home of hot rodding and the classic place for cruising in convertibles, specially sports cars. The sport's California history includes names like Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Wally Parks, Don Prudhomme, J.C. Agajanian, Shav Glick, Ascot Park, Riverside International Raceway and oh-so-many more.

It's in the best interests of the motorsports industry to dig-down and understand what is going on. Any series that considers itself "major" should care -- and I am sure all those sponsors, manufacturers and automakers do -- considering the massive market size, diverse demographics and media opportunities.

I suggest the industry come together, as it did (under NASCAR's leadership, directed by Les Richter) during energy "crisis" situations of decades past, and come up with answers -- and an action plan. NASCAR, NHRA, IndyCar, ALMS, Grand-Am, AMA, World of Outlaws, USAC, SCCA, IMSA, everyone needs to contribute to this cause. NHRA, of course, is based there and both NASCAR and IndyCar have West Coast offices.

Some members of Task Force: California are obvious -- the heads of the tracks and sanctions located within the state. I think Long Beach founder Chris Pook is still out there, somewhere, and longtime NASCAR operative (and new NHRA director) Ken Clapp would be great resources. So would veteran publicists Owen Kearns and Doug Stokes. But I'd avoid the "Indiana only" mentality that has been a huge mistake by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar series managements and bring in experts (and good workers) from outside Calif. There's very valuable and experienced talent out there in the rest of the country who could be excellent contributors to this process.

Something's going in California that I don't think we really have a grasp on. Interest seems down and some of the passion within what we've always considered a "car crazy" state has cooled. It's in the interest of racers from Sea-to-Shining-Sea to find out why and get on with doing what must be done to change course.

To all industry leaders, I say, let's get on with it. Task Force: California, here we come.

At least for those of us of a certain vintage, there is no more shocking symbol of the "changing times" than the end of National Speed Sport News. For almost 77 years, from the first issue (published as National Auto Racing News) on Aug. 16, 1934, until the last newspaper on March 23, 2011, it was influential, sometimes irritating, always important. Chris Economaki -- who sold copies of that first paper at Ho-Ho-Kus Speedway in northern New Jersey -- became a powerful presence in every corner of the sport in virtually every corner of the world. But Economaki is now 90, and his byline went away from the legendary "Editor's Notebook" column at the start of the year.

I've witnessed several newspaper closings, as far back as the early 1980s in Philadelphia. When I was at the Philadelphia Daily News, we had four competing dailies, but not long after I left to become CART's first communications director, the Evening Bulletin and then the tabloid Journal went away. NASCAR Scene folded last year. The checkered flag for NSSN, though, strikes home in a different way because I've been a continuous subscriber for 40 years. I can't remember racing without this source of news, opinion and rumor. As a PR person, sometimes what was written was, well, "stressful," but then again Chris always understood the sales value of a little controversy. As a reader, it was always entertaining. For a very long time, the classified ads were among the most fascinating reads -- Carl Edwards advertised himself there. That turned out to be a good "buy" on his part.

That's what I'll miss the most, that weekly adventure of holding Speed Sport in my hands, wondering what might be on the next page.

The news business is not what it once was, of course, and the newer and more immediate sources of instant information won out over print and paper once every seven days. (NSSN.com will continue to be updated.) Economaki's well-traveled Royal typewriter is in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and NSSN's place in the history of the sport it chronicled is secure. To Corinne Economaki, Mike Kerchner, loyal staff past and present, and ace writers like Dave Argabright, I offer a most sincere Thank You.

Below is a link to my Sept. 6, 2010 blog, titled, "How to Fix the IRL on Versus." The entire theme of that posting was that IndyCar's cable TV outlet needed -- and this is the word I used more than once -- STORYTELLERS. Well, exactly that word was used in the series' official news announcement last week about the production and talent changes. I also suggested a pre-race The McLaughlin Group panel to draw-in viewers. Along those lines, it was revealed that Robin Miller will join the Versus pre-race show. Not that anyone involved had the common courtesy to acknowledge where these ideas came from or, God forbid, to say "Thank You." (Ditto when it was pointed out here that the Indianapolis Star's "expert" blog continued to use "IRL" in its headline long after the series officially abandoned that name. It was changed soon thereafter.) The rest of you, please just remember where you read this first:

http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-fix-irl-on-versus.html

FAST LINES: I've known Mike Wells, the new Versus director, for many years and he's a good upgrade in that position. New booth analyst Wally Dallenbach Jr.? Oh, you mean the "veteran" of THREE CART races in 1990 and 0-for-244 "star" in NASCAR's three national series? NASCARite pit reporter Marty Snider has given the impression for years that he thinks he's as important as the people he interviews -- just what ICS does not need. When Dallenbach and Snider were a part of a few ALMS/Champ Car telecasts on NBC in seasons past, well, viewers who were really paying attention could tell those were "mail it in" performances . . . Good news -- my friend Larry Henry is now the ALMS series PA announcer . . . ABC's St. Pete promos described IndyCar as featuring "the world's fastest drivers" even though NHRA's TV home is sister network ESPN2. Why NHRA puts up with this, I'll never understand . . . Laugh line -- Darrell Waltrip said fans at California were standing up at the start and looking to the TV booth in anticipation of his "Boogity" line, then a few minutes later, said some crew chiefs need to "check their egos" . . . I'll be in Las Vegas this weekend for the NHRA Nationals. A lot of people in that series have "Thank You" in their vocabulary.

The American Media, March 22, 2011: While ABC's Diane Sawyer went to Washington, D.C. for the first interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after military operations in Libya, CBS' Katie Couric was laughing it up with David Letterman.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

ANOTHER UNLEARNED HISTORY LESSON

2011-03-20T15:31:00.001-07:00

PIR REPAVE: Here's your first look at the repaving work underway at Phoenix International Raceway, the first since 1990. The November Kobalt Tools 500 will be the real "wild card" in the NASCAR Chase this season.

In 1987, when then-CART Chairman John Frasco and Marlboro cooked (or smoked) up the idea of the Marlboro Challenge All-Star race, and announced it at the Long Beach Grand Prix, PPG racing director Jim Chapman quietly-but-effectively issued a statement expressing the view of the series' landmark title sponsor: In brief, that while PPG supported increased prize money for drivers and teams, there should be no prize that out-headlined PPG's, and no special event that might detract from the news value and prestige of the PPG Cup championship-deciding final race of the season.

I agreed with Mr. Chapman then, and I agree now, as it pertains to the $5 million IndyCar bonus at Las Vegas for a non-IC regular who would win. I realize the current series sponsor says it supports the Vegas gimmick, but what is fundamentally more important to the core foundation of the series than its season-long championship -- and champion? If IndyCar believes that it's necessary for something to draw more attention than that -- and the Indianapolis 500 -- then the series is in an even more desperate condition than I thought. Among the several unintended consequences I can see is the devaluing of the title for the championship winning team sponsor.

As I have said and written many times in recent years, IndyCar's (and IMS') most valuable asset is its history. And, yet, the majority of those responsible haven't lived that history and don't know the lessons of that history. In the case of the Challenge, history teaches that it came to be moved off of championship weekend, and after several very forgetable runnings, passed into a richly deserved oblivion.

P.S. -- It's a very, very, VERY bad idea to invite Alex Zanardi to compete at Vegas. The reasons are clear: For a man who lost both his legs and endured great trauma and hasn't competed on a high-speed oval in a decade, the consequences of even a smallish accident should be obvious. This is the sort of thing that gives IndyCar the stench of desperation. And, despite Zanardi's incredible and inspirational example and spirit -- I'll just say it flat-out -- To me, the invitation is exploitive. (For those not aware, I say this from the standpoint of someone who worked with Alex when he was in CART, have a championship ring courtesy of him, and the helmet he wore when he made "The Pass" at Laguna Seca is displayed in my office -- a gift from Zanardi.)

It's disturbing to me, personally, that Randy Bernard again took some bad advice whispered into his ear. It's great to have advisors (official or unofficial) who are passionate about IndyCar racing. That does not mean they understand common-sense medical/safety issues, know who would be the kind of pro-active/outreaching PR representative the series oh-so needs, or what cities will be financially-successful race markets. Bernard's been in the job long enough to start expanding his pool of suggestion-makers -- some who actually combine passion with a proper business perspective.

Paul Tracy, Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon are among the IndyCar names needing sponsorship. Well, if the amount companies waste on all-hat-but-no-cattle agencies was redirected, they'd have enough for 10 years. The other day I received the following and the first graph is copied here exactly as received (except bold and italics added by me):

"Hello Brian - This is Calvin from Big Fuel in NYC. We're producing a web video series on behalf of the Chevrolet Cruze called the 'Cruze-arati'. We just filmed two videos, and we want the Spin Doctor 500 blog to be our premier partner to help us debut two videos."

Thanks for that offer, Wilbur, but I'll pass . . .

FAST LINES: Here's a test of the value of an IndyCar team sponsorship, at least in terms of goodwill -- Simona De Silvestro's sponsor is Nuclear Clean Energy . . . Just wondering: Have any of those chatroomers who called for a boycott of Firestone posted apologies since the tiremaker is back in IndyCar through 2013? . . . PR people who send images without captions shouldn't bother to waste the time or effort. Amazing that even needs to be said, but one series does it all the time . . . Insulting and ridiculous: That's the best way to describe it when a TV network wants us to hang around all day to watch our favorites race, but then doesn't show them taking the checkered flag . . . Ponder this: The way the people of Japan have acted in the face of terrible disaster vs. the way the people of New Orleans did after Hurricane Katrina.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth. It will be the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500. Reagan visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a practice day before becoming president, escorted by Tony Hulman. (One might have thought that, given the timing, this historic photo would be on the IMS site, but I don't see it.) Reagan greeted several Indy winners and CART champions in the Oval Office. A video tribute to Reagan was shown before the Super Bowl. And before the Daytona 500 (see link below). And before the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. And will be before Sunday's event at California's Auto Club Speedway. I talked with two Reagan Foundation officials at PIR and was told several Major League Baseball teams will show a version of the video before games this season. Why not at Indy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCJa2mjLPmQ

[ more next Monday . . . ]

SPEEDWAY CHARITY

2011-03-13T14:43:00.001-07:00

One of the popular talking points among those yearning for a Return to Glory by the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar series is what a huge boost both will get from this May's 100th anniversary running of the first "Greatest Spectacle."

Don't hold your breath.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. has had plenty of time to gear-up, from a marketing and publicity standpoint, for the 500's 100th. After all, IMS announced it would celebrate the "Centennial Era" from 2009-2011. Even with the management and staff changes and internal Hulman-George family problems, anyone with a reasonable knowledge about the Business of Racing might well have reasonably assumed firm plans -- and budgets -- had been locked-in and would be speeding along.

Looks more like a crawl to me.

I think it's fair to say even those who gulp the IMS/ICS Kool-Aid would think the Indy Centennial would be partnered by at least as many corporations as the 50th Daytona 500 was three years ago. And, one would be wrong.

Where are the tie-ins with national name-brand products? Consumer sweepstakes? Contests? Ad campaigns? Point-of-purchase displays? Packaging? Discounts? Giveaways? Coupons? Promotions? PR push? Media blitz?

The other week, an IMSer asked me to write something about 1993's Nigel "Mansell Mania" from my insider perspective, having lived that experience as the Newman/Haas Racing PR director. The "offer" came with this notation: There was no budget to pay me.

Now, there are legitimate charities that I am happy to contribute to, from a work and financial standpoint. As the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. is not on my list of charities, I declined.

I know the bean-counter mentality has fully enveloped the Speedway, but I can assure you of this: Budget cuts have never SOLD a single ticket. Not one.

If you're in the neighborhood and in a giving mood, you might want to consider stopping by the 16th and Georgetown offices. Maybe a marketing or publicity person will be standing outside, wearing red, next to a kettle ID'd with a wheel-and-wings logo, ringing a bell.

Here's a link to my March "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/16934-drags-dollars-a-sense-toyota-missed-the-boat

FAST LINES: Brian France wisely helped fill the news void of an "off" week by spending 30 minutes on a national media teleconference to tout the strong start to the NASCAR season . . . How important was it for IndyCar and its team owners to keep Bridgestone/Firestone's tire technology and marketing activation? Important enough for them to pay a lot more in fees to B/F. The power within the IndyCar industry rests with manufacturers/suppliers, not the series or team owners . . . It's long, long past due for anyone/everyone associated in any way with Toyota to stop blaming others for the problems of its own doing. Try this message instead: "We're Sorry." If I ran T, I'd call on the carpet everyone with anything to do with PR -- corporate, consumer, product and, yes, racing. It's the worst PR collective I've seen in over 40 years in the industry. And, believe me, it really takes some doing to top that Marlboro bunch . . . It's still a mystery to me, after covering the recent NASCAR events at Phoenix International Raceway: How is it possible for any so-called "PR" person to be there on-site, collecting a paycheck, and not make the rounds in the deadline media room, even if just to say "hello" and ask if any help was needed? Not even a half-dozen did so at PIR, in my experience. Shame on the team owners and sponsor managers who don't bother to understand how poorly they are represented . . . PR 101: The vast majority of media people do not want news releases that have to be downloaded. Capacity limitations at any number of tracks makes that a slow and inconvenient process. Just send the basic info as a plain E-mail . . . It was embarrassing to AMA Pro Racing that Speed's announcers felt it necessary to keep saying they were still waiting/still had no word about the status of a Daytona 200 restart after tire problems forced a long red flag. And it was wrong for Speed Center updates not to respect its viewers by giving the news of the race's results. Nobody likes to be jacked-around, and in the age of instant news, that's what Center did with this credibility-bending decision . . . How can you tell when an announcer really has nothing new to say and is just speaking to avoid dead air? "It will be interesting to see . . . " . . . A classic example of cable TV news' need to show pictures -- any pictures -- last Friday morning on CNBC as the Japan story was unfolding -- Dark video of what appeared to be debris floating in the water and this commentary, "We don't know what this is, but this is live video . . . " . . . What's the big deal about Charlie Sheen? Remember Keith Olbermann?

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THRILL RIDE WITH TREVOR BAYNE

2011-03-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

THANKS, TREVOR: Mark Armijo (left), Bayne, Chris van der Beeck, me. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

It's about 9:30 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 27, and I'm standing on pit road at Phoenix International Raceway talking to Trevor Bayne.

Just one week earlier, he won the Daytona 500 in the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Motorcraft Ford. One week later, less than four hours before the Subway Fresh Fit 500k, he has just taken The Phantom of the Opera (movie version) star Emmy Rossum (at PIR to sing the National Anthem -- and she did it well) for a ride around the one-mile oval. I had arranged for Arizona Republic columnist Paola Boivin to ride in the backseat.

Now, mission accomplished, Emmy is having her picture taken. Paola has gone off to write. Trevor's standing next to the Ford brought out for this purpose and we're reviewing the remarkable happenings of the last week. I tell him about my PR background and some somewhat similar adventures I've shared with drivers I've worked with, like the Andrettis, Nigel Mansell and Alex Zanardi. He's interested in hearing these tales from Big Time Auto Racing. I tell Trevor I don't think anyone could have handled it all better, especially any 20-year-old instant celebrity. He thanks me.

NASCAR print communications manager Denise Maloof is nearby, there to coordinate the media goings-on. She mentions there are about 10 minutes left before control of the track is lost for PR purposes. Trevor says to me, "Come on. Hop in. Let's go!"

I ask Denise and Trevor to please "hold" for a minute. I run up the stairs to the media center and yell to fellow Republic writer Mark Armijo, and our coordinating editor, Chris van der Beeck, "Come on! Come on!" They follow me as we rush down the stairs and back to the pits.

"Hop in, guys!," Bayne says with a smile. "Let's go!"

Having covered all the major so-called "stick-and-ball" sports, I am completely impressed that he's not only willing, but seemingly happy, to do this hours before he has to race. I know it wouldn't happen elsewhere, including by an active Indianapolis 500 winner.

Take the ride with us, as recorded by me on my BlackBerry (3:15) :

FAST LINES: I, of course, was fully engaged in the NASCAR-at-PIR events but friends passed on some positive comments about the NHRA's 60th anniversary opener at Pomona. As with us at PIR, NHRA was working around bad weather issues, but got in the race. I'll see the Full Throttle series first-hand the first weekend of April at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway . . . Last week was the official end for the AOL Fanhouse site, now folded into the Sporting News operation. Some talented people, including Holly Cain -- one of the country's best racing writers -- are looking for new opportunities . . . Embarrassing: The Indy reporter who, in noting Sam Schmidt had bought-into an IndyCar team, wrote that the wheelchair-bound Schmidt "walked into yet another good deal in his life" . . . I'd invite Regis Philbin to wave the green flag for the Indy 500 to ride the wave of public affection for the Notre Dame grad as he leaves his talk show later this year. Pace car driver? Well, IMS management will find a proper role at the 100th anniversary running for the first four-time winner, A.J. Foyt, won't they? . . . I get the gimmick factor of offering $5 mil to a non-regular who would win (bank it: it won't happen) the Las Vegas finale, but IndyCar crossed a bridge-too-far with this one: The starting lineup for the second half of the Texas doubleheader will be determined by blind draw. I guess Randy Bernard didn't want to copy Bernie Ecclestone's suggestion that Formula One tracks artifically be made wet during parts of races. This stuff is getting out-of-hand and makes NASCAR's infamous "debris" cautions look rule-book legitimate . . . Firestone going is a bigger loss for IndyCar than Chevrolet returning . . . Since Marty Reid doesn't understand the difference, would some responsible ESPN producer please wake up and tell Reid Brad Keselowski is not the "defending" Nationwide champion? Keselowski can't "defend" because he's not eligible for series points. Words mean things. Meanwhile, Jamie Little -- as usual trying to figure out which end is up -- said Robert Hight is Courtney Force's "husband." Reid did correct that one . . . Good luck to Michael Hargrave, who has opened his own Charlotte-area company, "Developing and executing winning brand strategies and business relationships." I worked with Mike when he managed Budweiser's sponsorship of Paul Tracy and I was the Newman/Haas PR director . . . If you haven't as yet, please try to grab a copy of last week's National Speed Sport News. I had six stories in the paper.

It's amazing what you learn when you ask the right questions, not just the superficial stuff we as fans get from too many of the TV microphone holders. Here are three things I learned at PIR because I gave some thought to what I wanted to ask:

1. Emmy Rossum has never seen the stage version of The Phantom of the Opera. She said there was little time between when she got the movie role as Christine and the start of production. No, at first, she didn't tell that to Andrew Lloyd Webber. And, in thinking about it, she made a very good point: Original stage actress Sarah Brightman became such a worldwide sensation playing that part, Rossum didn't want her own performance influenced by what Sarah had done. Makes sense to me . . .

2. Roger Penske doesn't expect to run a fourth car for anybody -- including Sam Hornish Jr. -- for the $5 million challenge to end the IndyCar season. I went to the Sunday morning drivers' meeting at PIR and asked him. Specifically, when I asked Roger if he'd run an extra car if one or more of his three full-time drivers had a shot at the championship that day, he said: "No. It's a conflict of interest." Indianapolis-area media cheerleaders, please take note . . .

3. Chevrolet is returning as an engine supplier to IndyCar next year, but won't play a direct role in Danica Patrick's new contract. NASCAR or IndyCar, it's up to her, according to Mark Kent, director of GM Racing. I know this because I asked him. "The driver agreements are strictly with the team," he said. "We don't get involved in that . . . It's really up to Danica to figure out what her career path is. I think it's going to be very difficult to try to do both, and I think she's seen that -- getting into one car and out of the other -- it's difficult. You need to focus on a specific series and hone your skills." Reporters who pretend that they understand the Business of Racing, please take note . . .

[ more next Monday . . . ]

DO I HAVE STORIES FOR YOU

2011-02-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

GOOD FOR THE BUSINESS OF NASCAR: No. 24 atop the scoreboard.

PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE MONDAY, MARCH 7, TO READ ABOUT AND SEE MY THRILL RIDE WITH TREVOR BAYNE AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY.

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Since I wrote 18 stories last week on NASCAR at Phoenix International Raceway -- 13 for the Arizona Republic and five for National Speed Sport News -- I'm going to invite you to check out those writings.

Below are links to what was in the Republic, found at http://azcentral.com/ .

* Tuesday: Review of NASCAR off-season changes --http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/21/20110221get-up-speed-nascars-many-changes.html

* Wednesday notebook: Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and more --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/22/20110222nascar-joey-logano-adjusting-sprint-cup-series.html

* Thursday: Dale Earnhardt Jr. --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/23/20110223rick-hendrick-tries-help-dale-earnhardt-jr-end-woes.html

* Thursday notebook: Travis Pastrana and more --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/23/20110223travis-pastrana-set-2nd-stock-car-start.html

* Friday notebook: PIR sells out grandstands and more --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/24/20110224phoenix-international-raceway-grandstand-seats-sold-out.html

* Friday: Drivers remember an old friend --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/24/20110224phoenix-international-raceway-prepares-repaving.html

* Saturday notebook: Danica, Trevor Bayne and more --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/25/20110225nascar-pir-danica-patrick-nationwide.html

* Saturday: Kyle Busch wins Truck race --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/25/20110225nascar-pir-kyle-busch-wins-trucks.html

* Sunday: Kyle Busch wins Nationwide race --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/26/20110226nascar-pir-kyle-busch-nationwide-win.html

* Sunday: Kyle Busch Q&A --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/26/20110226qa-nascar-driver-kyle-busch.html

* Monday: Accidents eliminate top drivers --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/27/20110227nascar-pir-accidents-sprint-cup.html

* Monday notebook: Why Busch left Hendrick, Danica, and more --
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/27/20110227nascar-pir-kyle-busch-sweep-ends-sprint-cup.html

Please go to http://nationalspeedsportnews.com/ for my Speed Sport stuff, including a column on the state of racing in Arizona. Or check out this week's paper. By the way, this is my 40th consecutive year as a NSSN subscriber.

Thank you!

PIT STOPS: Trevor Bayne's Daytona 500 victory played well with America's obsessions with youth, surprise and an upset result. The ABC and NBC nightly newscasts had features the following night . . . Over at PTI, the co-hosts -- SURPRISE! -- thought the NBA's gimmick dunk contest and exhibition All-Star game were a higher priority than a legitimate sports event. When they got to Daytona, intellectually lazy Tony Kornheiser twice called it "Sprint Car." Shame on NASCAR "partner" ESPN. The show's title really should be: Pardon The Interruption IF We Talk About Anything Other Than Basketball . . . It's one of the oldest ethical considerations in sports journalism: No Cheering in the Press Box. Too bad it wasn't honored when the checkered flag waved at Daytona . . . We'll see: ESPN will have The Poynter Institute serve as its Ombudsman function for the next 18 months. One place for P to start would be the disastrous Daytona Nationwide race presentation. Still waiting on Speed to understand it needs an O. Apparently the added "journalism" to its new Speed Center is for host Adam Alexander to pace around the studio -- with his hand hanging out of his pocket . . . Man, does ESPN have problems when it comes to racing. On ESPN Radio Sunday morning, host John Kincade asked a caller, "Who do you think will win the Indy 500 TODAY?"

[ more next Monday . . . ]

WHAT JOHNSON SHOULD HAVE DONE ON 'PTI'

2011-02-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

Jimmie Johnson passed on an opportunity for a huge win last week, even before the Daytona 500.

Wednesday, the five-time Sprint Cup champion appeared on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption show. That was after co-host Tony Kornheiser had recklessly tossed-out the gossip that Dale Earnhardt Jr. had won the D500 pole because his car wasn't legal.

First, let's be clear: Kornheiser is no longer a reporter. He is no longer a journalist. He trades off his past in those roles, but they no longer apply. Kornheiser said on-air several years ago that he doesn't like to interview athletes; he prefers talking to reporters. THAT IS NOT REPORTING! And it bit Kornheiser in the can big-time in this case, because his "source" for this rumor-mongering was a Washington Post writer. Sub co-host and out-of-control egomanic Dan LeBatard actually praised Kornheiser for having done some "reporting" on Junior. Which proves how little LeBatard actually knows about journalism.

No, I've never worked for the Post or the New York Times, but I know this: IF Kornheiser had talked to Junior, or Rick Hendrick, or Steve Letarte, or a NASCAR official, THAT WOULD have been REPORTING.

He didn't. And it wasn't.

Credibility is supposed to mean everything in the news business, but, apparently ESPN management doesn't apply that standard to PTI. What out-of-touch-with-their-audience media elites like Kornheiser don't accept, because their egos blind them, is the impression left with NASCAR fans is this: If Kornheiser knows so little about racing and is too lazy to learn but that doesn't stop him from mouthing-off, why should we think he knows about anything else he talks about? INFORMED opinion is perfectly acceptable. Gossip, rumors and speculation are not.

I put Kornheiser right there with the likes of Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace. They speak loudly, but say little.

Anyway, back to my point about Johnson.

A very legitimate argument can be made that Johnson should have either said "no" to the PTI interview, or, immediately have taken on the intellectually-empty Kornheiser. If these options weren't discussed with Johnson, they should have been. If sponsor Lowe's objected, fine. If Hendrick thought it wasn't a good idea, OK. If Johnson decided, "That's not me," his choice.

But think about it.

The rap against Johnson is he's too vanilla. What if, in defense of his team and his teammate -- and let's remember that this season Earnhardt's No. 88 is in the same building as Johnson's 48 -- Johnson had come right out of the box at the start of the interview and taken on Mr. No Nothing? Challenged him directly, not rudely, but aggressively.

Junior Nation would have been thrilled. It says here that, overnight, Johnson's fan base would have grown significantly. By stepping out of character, this one time -- and I say again it would have been completely justifiable in defense of his team and his teammate -- Johnson's image and popularity would have turned faster than his Chevy into turn three at Daytona.

Humor can be an effective way to deflect controversy. That's what Cranky Korny attempted to do. Johnson went along with it. I wish he hadn't. It was the perfect circumstance to show some anger; a different side of his personality. It would have been a huge win for Jimmie and for the NASCAR industry, trying as it is to sell tickets and regain TV viewership. Mark it down as Opportunity Lost.

I'm not one to moan about Johnson's historic championship run. I believe in celebrating excellence, not complaining about it. But I wish this was one "pass" Johnson hadn't made.

FAST LINES: ESPN, which oh-so-desperately needed to start the season with a quality production, ended the Daytona Nationwide race on three flats. Marty Reid called the wrong winner -- a mortal sin in his line of work. And, no Marty, Brad Keselowski is not the "defending" Nationwide champion. A new NASCAR rule doesn't allow him to "defend." The network lost the audio in victory lane -- we didn't heard a word of Tony Stewart's "live" interview. And Jamie Little talked to crashed-out Keselowski BEFORE he went to the infield medical center for a mandatory exam. It is ALWAYS MORE IMPORTANT for a driver -- even one who seems OK -- to be seen by the doctors before being heard from by TV. NASCAR officials should enforce that policy -- no exceptions . . . Proving again the power of the NFL, next year's Daytona 500 has been moved back one week, to Feb. 26. The track and NASCAR are anticipating an 18-game NFL regular season and a mid-February Super Bowl . . . The black Budweiser car doesn't look good. Red is right . . . Rookie mistake: A Terrible Towel and sunglasses cost Trevor Bayne's sponsors Big Time TV exposure in Daytona's victory lane . . . From the standpoint of family, good that Tony George has returned to the Hulman & Co. board. From a business standpoint, it's more of the same thinking -- All four new directors are Indiana people. It's a big, wide world out there beyond Indiana and all the Hulman ventures would benefit from a wider perspective. When will they ever learn? . . . The "creative" concept of those singing NAPA commercials has long outlived its shelf life . . . Last week I noted the prospectus for the Williams Formula One team's public offering listed many "risks." Here's an example torn from today's headlines: Political unrest in Bahrain, which is supposed to host a major pre-season test, as well as the series opener . . . Interesting news on the credential front: NASCAR, in addition to allowing drivers' children into the garage area, has relaxed the dress code to OK shorts, open-toed shoes, sleeveless blouses and skirts/dresses. NHRA, marking its 60th anniversary, is offering a free 2011 hard card to past national event winning drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Stock Truck and Top Eliminator.

Mark Armijo and I will have full coverage of NASCAR in Phoenix all this week in the Arizona Republic. Below is a link to my Sunday season scene-setter. Thursday, I'll have a story on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports. Sunday, my now-traditional Newsmaker Q&A will be with Kyle Busch. If you can't get the Republic, read us at http://azcentral.com/ .

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/19/20110219nascar-sprint-cup-jimmie-johnson-daytona-500.html

Please note I'll also be covering the PIR events for National Speed Sport News. I'll do the Cup, Nationwide and Truck race reports, a weekend notebook, and column. See next week's NSSN and also check out http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/ .

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THE STARE THAT TOLD THE STORY

2011-02-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

THE INTIMIDATOR AND THE LION: Dale and Nigel, Michigan, 1993. (Photo by Dan R. Boyd.)

This is one of those years full of historic anniversaries. It's the 50th year since John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president. Ronald Reagan was sworn-in 30 years ago. Alan Shepard became America's first man in space a half-century past. It will be 10 years since Alex Zanardi lost his legs in that terrible Champ Car crash. And, of course, this Sept. 11 will be 10 years after the terrorist attacks.

This week is all about the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

I've shared my personal memories of Earnhardt several times over the years in a number of forums. I had the chance to interact directly with Dale when I was PR director for the IROC series and, then, when working with Nigel Mansell as Nigel and Dale had a mutual admiration society going. The above image captures the first time they met, in July 1993 at Michigan International Speedway, as Dale was getting ready for IROC practice. This photo, autographed by both, hangs on my office wall. The multiple interactions between the two I had the chance to witness were fascinating and the source of wonderful memories.

This is sometimes forgotten by long-time fans -- and unknown by newer ones -- but Earnhardt's first nickname was "Ironhead." As Dale's talents progressed and his win totals grew and his Cup championships added-up and his reputation blossomed, though, he became "The Intimator." That's how he'll forever be remembered.

Here's an example of that mindset that I can share, as told to me by Zanardi, right after the 1997 IROC at Daytona.

Zanardi drew the pole position and Earnhardt pulled the outside front-row spot. In those two days before the race, several people from the NASCAR arena told Alex to hold his ground. I remember taking Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser to the infield studio for ESPN2's old rpm2night show and Jimmy Spencer came over and said, "Are you those Indy Car guys? Don't take any bleep from Earnhardt!" Except, he didn't say "bleep."

As the cars went down the back straightaway on the pace lap and drivers did what they typically do -- weave back-and-forth to warm up the tires -- Zanardi told me he reached up to adjust his rear-view mirror. In the midst of that motion, Alex said he looked to his right and saw this:

Earnhardt -- remember, he worn an open-face helmet -- had his head turned left. He was looking right at Zanardi. And Dale gave Alex "The Intimidator" stare all the way down to turn three.

That's a true story -- and the stuff of legend.

I broke the story last Wednesday of the repaving and reconstruction details at Phoenix International Raceway. The story dominated sports Page 1 of the Arizona Republic. Here's a link:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/02/08/20110208phoenix-international-raceway-set-makeover.html

No, despite what one of the Indianapolis media cheerleading members wrote, I do not at all expect there to be an IndyCar race at PIR in 2012. (Or a return of the Copper World Classic, unless there's a significant improvement in the Arizona economy. There's still going to be plenty of infrastructure improvement work to be done.) A phone call to PIR President Bryan Sperber is all it would take for any "journalist" to accurately report to his readers. As far as I'm concerned, it is a great disservice to remaining open-wheel fans here in the Valley to keep pumping them up about a possible race, when there is no realistic prospect of that happening anytime soon. The end result is fans are disappointed -- again. PIR is not to blame because it's not the one floating this balloon. Those who have done that have been IndyCar officials and the Indianapolis media cheerleaders. STOP!

The Williams Formula One team will have a public stock floatation later this year (not registered under the U.S. Securities Act and so not generally available to be offered or sold here). I scanned through the lengthy prospectus (didn't have time for an in-depth reading) and, under the category of "risk" associated with this offering, this jumped out at me:

"With the Bribery Act 2010 expected to come into force in the United Kingdom in 2011, sponsors may decide to restrict or curtail altogether the level of hospitality at Grands Prix that they offer to third parties. This in turn may reduce some of the benefits of sponsoring a Formula One Team and may lead to existing sponsors not renewing their existing sponsor partnership contracts at the end of their term, and may make it more difficult for Williams to attract new sponsors in the future."

Good luck to Brett Jewkes, who will become NASCAR's first Chief Communications Officer on April 13. He's well qualified. Here's one of those little details I can't help but remember: While at Taylor, it was Jewkes who, along with the agency's Brand Counsel Group, who did a comprehensive strategic review for NASCAR of its and industry communications practices early last year. Kind of reminds me of how Dick Cheney came to be chosen by George W. Bush as his vice president -- Cheney led Bush's VP candidate search.

Here's a link to my February "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column in CompetitionPlus.com. It's part two of my series on activation:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/16687-drags-dollars-a-sense-nhra-misses-its-activation

I'm honored to have called Tom Carnegie a friend. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway's legendary chief PA announcer died Friday at age 91. Tom's distinctive voice was heard at 61 Indy 500s, from 1946-2006. (I hope IMS management will be wise enough to include some of Tom's classic calls as part of this May's 100th anniversary race.) Among the fascinating facts about Tom's career produced by historian Donald Davidson: The single-lap track record when Tom debuted in '46 was Ralph Hepburn’s 134.449 mph. Fifty years later, Arie Luyendyk recorded a 237.498 mph lap. Tom announced both. In my many dealings with Tom over many years, the one thing that stands out to me the most: Anytime Tom said he'd like to talk to a driver, I never heard one of them say "no" or ask if it could be done later. Any and every driver I know of would immediately come to Tom and his microphone. Many considered it an honor and, for all, it was a sign of respect. God Bless, Tom, and thank you.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

A DISTRACTION, NOT A REALITY

2011-02-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth. Reagan will always be remembered for his eternal optimism and skill as "The Great Communicator." As I have noted numerous times -- whatever one's political views -- there is much positive to learn from Reagan's life and the way he led as president.

Last week also marked the 40th anniversary of Apollo 14. That was the third lunar landing and commanded by Alan Shepard, who in 1961, became the first American in space. I was fortunate to grow up in the age of the Great Space Race and have had the thrill of being included in a VIP group tour of the NASA headquarters in Houston, even getting into the Shuttle simulator and the now-closed flight control room where all the big decisions were made during the Apollo missions. My middle name is Alan. You can figure out why.

The enduring examples of Reagan and Shepard are inspirational: Anything is possible in America, even in the face of great challenge. Remember, Reagan survived an assassination attempt in the early months of his presidency. Shepard was grounded for years by an inner-ear problem, but determined to walk on the moon, he had it corrected by an experimental and risky surgery.

I mention this because, even though Grand-Am put on an interesting Rolex 24 the other week, for the majority of people the racing season gets serious this weekend as NASCAR gets going at Daytona. That is welcome. I must admit, however, this year I see it differently. This year, I see it not really in terms of competition or entertainment, but as a distraction to what is happening in the country and around the world.

Given the respect I have for American heroes like Reagan and Shepard, it's difficult to admit this, but I will: I'm not optimistic.

Please don't be misled by lazy journalists who pick-off the low-hanging fruit news item that the percentage of unemployed went down in last week's government report. If they actually bothered to look deeper so they might understand, the news would have been this was the result of an increasing number of people who are no longer actively seeking work and, thus, not counted in the labor pool.

What I came to realize the other week at the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction here in Scottsdale is there are two economies: For those people who can afford to play in that arena, times are good and getting better. That's reflected in Wall Street bonuses and the rising stock market. They, however, are a tiny fraction of America. Now, two economies isn't new, but this time around it carries with it incredibly serious consequences.

A decade of war and a jobless economic "recovery" is leading to a deeper sense of frustration, outrage and anger in the country. No, don't point fingers at the Tea Party, because its members won't be the ones at the spearhead of what I believe probably will come. It's naive to think some form of what is happening in Egypt and elsewhere can't happen here. Remember, it was only weeks ago in "civilized" England that Prince Charles and his wife were caught in a riot where protesters were shouting, "Off with their heads!"

England, Greece, France, Egypt, Tunisia -- violence in the streets is spreading. With each passing day, it's becoming a less shocking sight, and with standards of what is proper being dumbed-down across-the-board, at some point, the perception will be that it's more acceptable. When that tipping point is reached, all bets are off.

I question if we, as a country and as a people, have the political will and individual strength of character to do what those of the Reagan and Shepard generations did. Mobilize to defeat the enemies to our way of life? Sorry, the "me" generation is too busy with the latest video game and, in general, just doing what it wants. They think wearing a ribbon somehow proves they "care" more than the people who actually go out and DO something about the great issues of the day. Go to the moon in 10 years? We haven't built new oil refineries or nuclear power generation plants for decades because the "not in my backyard" mindset blocks what is good for the nation. Personal and educational standards have plunged because of parents who don't act as responsible parents once did, and by sub-par teachers protected by unions and bureauracy. To me, the flash point is likely to be health care: What a spin-doctorish joke that President Obama's signature piece of legislation is known as the "Affordable Health Care Act." Affordable? Health insurance premiums are rocketing higher and faster than the Saturn V that got Apollo astronauts off the launch pad. An insurance industry representative, with a good reputation, told me that people in good health are getting hit with increases of at least 20 percent; those with claims pay 30-40 percent more. Personally, I'm convinced the insurance companies are stockpiling cash after passage of Obama Care. (And they won't refund it even if the Supreme Court strikes down the law.) What do you think will happen when maybe 100 million hard-working, decent, self-respecting, patriotic people can't afford a basic insurance plan?

NASCAR, unfortunately, saw a commercial and political-correctness opportunity to jump on the ethanol scam -- promoting use of American-grown corn -- just as food inflation has hit the family wallet. I'm sure you've paid more at the supermarket recently. The one happy spot in the economy has been low inflation -- that's ending -- with up oil prices and food costs.

The media elites are in line for plenty of blame, too. Let's see if I've got this straight: Bill O'Reilly had to take-off THREE days from his Fox News Channel show last week to "clear my head" in preparation for a pre-Super Bowl interview with the president? Oh, and we have to "Factor" in that grueling long trip from New York City to Washington, D.C. I'm sure his core audience, just trying to keep things together at home, really understand and sympathize with Bill's need to rest. Carrying around that kind of ego must be exhausting. Laura Ingraham grabbed the opportunity of O'Reilly's rest period to plug "Valentine's Day inscriptions" for anyone buying her Obama fiction book.

Sports media isn't exempt, either. As commented on here, the PTI co-hosts really showed how out-of-touch they were with their audience by taking last summer off. CBS' Jim Nance, trying to keep an audience for last weekend's Phoenix Open, repeatedly speculated on Saturday that the PGA tournament -- delayed by cold weather conditions -- might end on Sunday. This, despite the fact that the Open chairman had already announced a Monday finish. That was the worst bit of sports disinformation since Darrell Waltrip claimed fans weren't leaving Daytona International Speedway in the wake of last February's pothole fiasco.

To me, one of the most wonderful things about racing has always been the passion of the fans. But when I see chatroomers launch into personal attacks on Jimmie Johnson -- calling him a "chicken" because he respects his wife's don't-drive-the-Indy 500 wishes and honors a legally-binding contract with his NASCAR team -- well, that's another reason for pessimism of what our society has come to. Be disappointed, sure, fair enough. Go off on a personal attack without the facts, no, not worthy.

So, sorry, especially given the examples of the likes of Ronald Reagan and Alan Shepard, but I'm not optimistic.

Let the racing begin. For me, it will be a short-term distraction, not something that will change the reality of the world in which we live -- or the difficult rendezvous with destiny which surely lies just ahead.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

HENDRICK TALKED INDY WITH PENSKE, BUT . . .

2011-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

One of journalism's great traditions -- at least when I was starting out in the business -- was the classic "follow-up" story . . . Providing the reader with additional and updated information on a subject of interest.

My first 2011 blog, posted January 13, included direct quotes from five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson about his desire to race in the Indianapolis 500. (Nice the Indianapolis Star last Friday finally got around to using some JJ quotes about this from last week's media tour.) There was an obvious follow-up to that, and that was to talk with Rick Hendrick, owner of Jimmie's No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. I saw Mr. H at the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction. As circumstances would have it, his time was limited, as he was on his way to the bidder's area. So arrangements were made for a telephone conversation. That happened last Wednesday.

Here's the complete transcript of Hendrick's answers to my questions if he'd give Johnson permission to give it a go in the I500, keeping in mind Johnson said he couldn't race a Honda-powered car, but Chevy is returning to Indy in 2012:

"His wife (Chandra) and I both feel the same way. We don't want to take a chance on Jimmie getting hurt in an open-wheel car when he's got what's going on here (NASCAR). I know it's one of those things he'd love to do, but I'm more concerned with his safety, just having him drive a car where, as competitive as he is, that he hasn't had any experience in. It's hard to get the test time in. You never say never, but right now, I'm going to be wanting him to concentrate on what we're doing here and not take a chance on getting hurt."

What if Chevy expressed a desire for Johnson to race Indy? Would Hendrick consider a partnership with an existing IndyCar team -- perhaps with Roger Penske?

"Roger and I have talked about it. He's a good friend. I'm not going to say it's out of the question, but it's not something I want to do right now."

FAST LINES: This is my 20th year as a member of the Indianapolis 500 Oldtimers (membership card number 1,000). So, recently, I automatically received my special gold cap plus a very nice 20-year Cross pen. Thank you to Oldtimers Executive Secretary Jack Martin . . . Not that the above means anything to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway PR department, which didn't even think that I might be interested in interviewing IMS President Jeff Belskus when he was at Barrett-Jackson. This is the kind of "oversight" that happens when PR is improperly cast as a marketing function, a fundamental misunderstanding of how to effectively work with the media. The ability to use an adding -- or should I say a subtracting -- machine doesn't mean someone knows how to sell. I have no sympathy for IMS in terms of its unsold tickets and declining TV numbers and overall media coverage. You get what you deserve and the IMS Corp. is richly deserving of all the negative consequences of all its self-inflicted wounds of the last 17 years . . . I've expressed my concern on the state of journalism many times in this blog, but let me tell you, real journalists don't need any condescending lectures from Larry McReynolds. Let's remember that it was McReynolds who one year used his TV position to keep current on garage area technical developments, then spent the non-Fox half of the season taking that knowledge to Kyle Petty's team -- hugely inappropriate. Also, supposedly "objective" TV announcers have no business MCing team publicity events. Shame on those who provided McReynolds' the forum . . . Congratulations to Ashley Force Hood and husband Dan, expecting their first child. Now, let's tell it like it is: Ashley's on-track absence this season is bad news for NHRA in terms of ticket sales, media coverage and TV ratings. And I'm not saying she should place business considerations ahead of personal fulfillment, just stating a fact . . . The new World of Outlaws PR coordinator, Kyle Luetters, has huge shoes to fill following the excellent Tony Veneziano . . . Congratulations to Kevin Kennedy, the 25th recipient of the Spirit of Ford Award, and the 2006 Jim Chapman Award winner for excellence in motorsports PR. Plus: Dodge PR rep Denny Darnell (Ken Patterson Helping Others Award) and Ford's Dan Zacharias (Joe Littlejohn Award) on being honored at the National Motorsports Press Association convention. The late Jim Hunter, earlier recognized with the 2010 Jim Chapman Award, was remembered with the NMPA Speedway Spirit Award . . . Another follow-up -- the Phoenix Business Journal reports sales at the 40th Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale reached $70 million with total attendance of 230,000 . . . Chutzpah: Chris Matthews -- the most over-inflated media ego in Washington -- has taken to calling a congresswoman "Balloon Head." Civility, indeed. I suggest that the new Comcast management bursts the balloon it just inherited.

When I became CART's first communications director in November 1980, a priority during that off-season was to simplify the points system, one carried over from USAC. The numbers ran into the thousands and, in certain circumstances, even fractional points were awarded. The system Kirk Russell and I created was easy to understand and follow: 20 points for the winner, 16 for second place, down to one point for 12th. The Board wanted about half of the drivers in a typical non-500 mile field to get points. Plus, we added one bonus point for the pole winner, and one for the driver who led the most laps. I'm glad NASCAR has finally embraced the concept of easy-to-understand. It's impossible not to notice, though, that with all available bonus points, the winner can earn a maximum of 48 points per race. Yes, that's right, 48.

As I've written before, legendary TV production executive Don Ohlmeyer was a great choice as ESPN's Ombudsman. Ohlmeyer wrote his last column in that capacity last week. It's too long for me to generalize about, but I did take a measure of satisfaction that Don got into some topics that I've highlighted here: The need for better storytelling, news reporting, transparency and being more responsive to the audience. The link is below and it's worth your time to read -- and think -- about what Don wrote. I don't know who ESPN's new "O" will be, but I'm hoping for something more than the rubber-stamp of an Eastern media or academic elite. And, this is a good time to say again that Speed really should have an Ombudsman. Why? Cutting away from Brian France's news conference Q&A in favor of pundits would be a valid place to start.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=ohlmeyer_don&id=6063051

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THE BIG SHOW

2011-01-24T08:18:00.001-08:00

MY FAVORITE: Mainly for nostalgic reasons, my "best" pick at Barrett-Jackson was the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Indianapolis 500 pace car model, because that was the year I attended my first I500. In the background is the version of the 2011 pace car.

Last week I wrote that the Big Events of 2011 will truly be Big in helping us evaluate the health of the Business of Racing. The first on my list was the 40th anniversary Barrett-Jackson collector car auction here in Scottsdale. I saw my friend Joe Amato, the NHRA Top Fuel legend, out at B-J Friday (he was a buyer) and Joe wasn't kidding when he said the event "is a happening."

Calling Barrett-Jackson a car show is like calling the Super Bowl a football game. Oh, yes, it's so much more. (The program book was a massive 338 pages.) It is quite something to walk the long vendor areas where everything from clothing, jewelry, furniture, photos, paintings and even financial planning services can be had. In the three days I was out there, I saw the big crowds at many of these booths, although it was impossible to determine if sales were up or down. The weather was Arizona Chamber of Commerce perfect.

I asked Amato about the state of the collector car business and he described sales as "about flat" from last year. Whatever the $$$ numbers, it was impossible not to be impressed with the crowds, and the enthusiasm.

I thought Ford and Bridgestone had the best display areas. The cars, of course, are the stars of the show, but in cruising around and seeing all there was to see, I was reminded again that the auto industry and motorsports are a PEOPLE business. Among those I saw and talked with were Mike Helton, Rick Hendrick, Rusty Wallace, Linda Vaughn and Jim McGee. On Wednesday, Lyn St. James hosted a panel discussion, headlined by Melanie Troxel. In perhaps a signal that the racing economy is getting slightly better, Melanie (now single and relocated to Atlanta) told me her team is committed to the full NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car schedule, even though the In-N-Out Burger sponsorship is limited to their markets. Melanie's team is switching to Toyota bodywork even though the automaker hasn't yet stepped-up with technical help -- which, along with marketing support, it should do.

The theme of the panel discussion was taking advantage of opportunities. And that reminded me of the two other Big Events I referenced last week -- the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.

By all accounts I've read, the Big Daytona test last week was successful, and helped generate some useful buzz for NASCAR and the Feb. 20 race. Opportunity seized. On the other hand, last Thursday, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway unveiled its Camaro pace car at Barrett-Jackson. I would have been interested in that, but no phone call from the newly-recast IMS PR department to make sure I was aware of the event. Opportunity lost. Either the bean-counting going on in Indy is such they can't afford to make a phone call, or the "publicists" don't know how to get publicity. To me, this is yet another flashing red-light signal that the Speedway is racing toward the 100th anniversary running of the I500 in reverse gear.

Last Thursday was one of those very interesting days that people in the journalism business can experience. Early afternoon, and unexpectedly, I was provided with a copy of a lengthy letter sent by a Washington, D.C., law firm to the IRS. The letter, sent on behalf of an unnamed client, requested an IRS review of NHRA's status under the tax code. I was the first in the media to call NHRA for comment. Because of schedule conflicts, I couldn't write the full story, but CompetitionPlus.com editor Bobby Bennett did interview the lawyer, and mobilized Jon Asher and Stan Creekmore to contribute to this potentially huge story. Here's the link:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/16540-letter-to-irs-questions-nhra-tax-status

FAST LINES: If his new pairing with crew chief Alan Gustafson doesn't produce wins, maybe Jeff Gordon should audition to replace the retiring Regis Philbin. Live with Kelly and Jeff ? . . . Jeanne Zelasko. From Fox NASCAR and baseball coverage to Judge Joe Brown . . . For the first time in my 40 years as a National Speed Sport News subscriber, Chris Economaki's name isn't on the editor's notebook. Last week's column began with this: "With Ye Ed’s 90th birthday in the rearview mirror and an aching knee limiting travel, we are going to hand over more of the space in this column to our younger and more active contributors. We will continue to contribute news and insight to the Speed Sport Notebook, but our many capable in-the-field representatives will do the heavy lifting" . . . Maybe, just maybe, there is hope that Comcast will clean up the MSNBC mess, even though the spinners say new majority owner-to-be Comcast didn't make the call to remove Keith Obermann. I'm not buying that. But with Olbermann's protector, NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker, out the door perhaps this was inevitable. However it happened, it's good news for journalism. Zucker's place in J's Hall of Shame is guaranteed, as he imposed his personal left-wing politics and the desire to get government contracts for GE, to replace journalism's time-honored standards. Olbermann's reckless and irresponsible rants did more to contribute to the inflamed tone in America's political discourse than anyone else -- he didn't allow a contrary voice on his show. Say what you will about Fox News, and I've expressed my criticisms here, those hosts do have guests with opposing views, even if sometimes they are props to boost the host's ego. One thing that troubled me the most in the Olbermann exit reporting was that Bob Costas has been a great cheerleader of O, and that will now always make me view Costas' own reporting in a very different light.

The sheriff of Arizona's Pima County broke every rule in the crisis communications book in his news conference hours after the shootings in Tucson. This guy's ego was clearly out of control in front of the national TV cameras, but he either ignored good advice from his public affairs officer, who didn't get good advice. There are ONLY THREE POINTS to address at a news conference in such a situation. THREE. I wonder how many racing team, sponsor, track and sanctioning body PR directors can name those THREE things? Not more than a handful, I bet.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

THE BIG EVENTS WILL BE BIG IN 2011

2011-01-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

It's always a compliment when someone asks for your opinion. Starting back in early December, when I was in Las Vegas for the NASCAR Sprint Cup awards, I've gotten what I guess is the typical question: What do you expect in 2011?

As regular readers well know, I'm not much into predictions. But I feel confident in writing here that I believe The Big Events will be especially BIG this year -- in what they will tell us about the health and success and future of their respective arenas.

I'll be attending the 40th anniversary Barrett-Jackson auction this week here in Scottsdale. Is the economy REALLY better? At least for those wealthy enough to play the collector car game? Barrett-Jackson will give us an indication if those who have money to spend are actually willing to spend it.

Next month is the Daytona 500 and, boy, does NASCAR ever need for it to be a sensational race. My theory is last year's embarrassing pothole red flags put the brakes on whatever pre-season public-interest momentum had been generated by the "have at it" officiating philosophy and other moves. I don't think NASCAR ever got it going after that -- and the TV ratings reflected that belief. I ran this theory by NASCAR President Mike Helton last November and he didn't disagree, but added the competition the sport faced from the Winter Olympics and other events.
History tells us Daytona's necessary repave won't make for a good race. Everyone involved had better hope for an exception to that rule. The Sprint Cup industry needs a lot of excitement out of Daytona, plenty of interesting news, and a great 500 miles that will create water-cooler talk and buzz into the season's new second race, at Phoenix, and onward. Maybe Dale Jr. and new crew chief Steve Letarte will help with that.

It's very troubling to even ponder what the year will be like, from a business perspective, if Daytona is another dud.

Then, in May, is the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500. If NASCAR needs Daytona to be boffo, well, the IndyCar series needs a moon shot. I can't truthfully say I'm predicting that, as the same old tired car-engine formula is used one more time, before the announced arrival of new engines and bodywork kits in 2012.

Given that reality, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its sanctioning body sister company need to go out and MAKE the 100th a news and social and historical happening that will bring out the national media, wake-up sponsors, and fill the grandstands and infield. They won't lick that huge challenge with a postage stamp, as nice as that is to have.

There have been a lot of staff changes in the last year. I, as a non-member of the Indiana media cheerleading society, am not too impressed. As Chris Economaki once said on my radio show, the Speedway needs a drum-beater.

Just WHO is that? Maybe somebody's pinky finger is tapping the bottom of a paper cup, but that isn't drum-beating.

Who, if ANYONE, is actually pro-actively outreaching to the national media community? Only five months out, WHERE are the national marketing promotions, sweepstakes, advertising tie-ins and everything else that so obviously should be going on?

Placing 33 historic cars on the front straightaway was a nice-enough photo-op, featured on some websites, but it's a mystery to me why that wouldn't have been turned into a spectator happening that maybe could have been connected to a ticket sales promotion.

I know there's a lot of bean-counting going on at IMS these days. I agree a good bit of that was necessary and overdue. I noticed the effects of those cutbacks last May -- among other things, the grounds weren't as well maintained as usual. But it says here bean-counting is not going to drive sales or make the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500 what Tony Hulman would have wished it to be. And I say that as someone who actually knew Mr. Hulman . . . how many of the current paycheck collectors can say that or actually lived what the Indy 500 once was but hasn't been since 1995?

The entire sport and industry of IndyCar racing is desperate for Indy to once again be Indy. If the existing Powers-That-Be can't or won't or don't know how to do that for the 100th anniversary running, well, forget it then, because they'll never figure it out.

Yes, the Big Events of 2011 will indeed be BIG in telling us about the health of the industry.

FAST LINES: If you missed what I wrote about Jimmie Johnson last Thursday, scroll down and see that posting . . . AOL's surprise announcement that a reorganization will, among other things, result in sports coverage being subcontracted (to The Sporting News) apparently means Holly Cain -- one of racing's best journalists -- will be out-of-a-job come March. Holly wrote for the Seattle and Tampa newspapers before the AOL assignment. As far as I'm concerned, Holly had the "scoop" of 2010 with her exclusive interview with the ousted Tony George . . . Congratulations to Ray Evernham on his new consulting deal with Rick Hendrick, but NASCAR TV fans are the losers. Ray should have been in the booth from Day One of the current ESPN package . . . Sad to report 2008 Jim Chapman Award recipient Judy Stropus is no longer doing PR for Don Schumacher Racing . . . Congratulations to my friend Larry Henry, honored as Track Announcer of the Year by the Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club . . . Sympathy to the family of Dick Trajnowski, who spent more than 30 years covering sports for the Jackson Citizen Patriot, including everything that moved at Michigan International Speedway, who died last week . . . Congratulations to the 13 inductees to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame: Jimmy Boyd, Bob Burman, Wally Campbell, Danny Lasoski, Joe Sostilio, Gary Wright, Bruce Bromme Jr., Andy Granatelli, Leonard Kerbs, W.W. Bowen, Gene Marderness, Della Rice and Emmett Shelley. I'm a member of the HoF nominating and voting panel. They will be honored Saturday, June 4, in Knoxville, Iowa . . . Racing PR is better now that S. Jarrod England is no longer a part of it . . . Please be sure to check out my new feature, The 'It' 11, at the top of this blog. You'll find a new list every week.

Here's a link to my January "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on CompetitionPlus.com, the first of two parts on sponsor activation:
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/16462-drags-dollars-a-sense-the-importance-of-activation

I'll be interested to see how sponsors and fans react to ALMS' move away from mostly live start-to-finish productions on Speed to mostly ESPN3's digital platform, with edited and delayed presentations on ABC and ESPN2. Not a second of live traditional TV from Sebring, for example, with 90 minutes of highlights on ABC the next day. More value or less for the bill-payers? I don't think anyone honestly knows the answer to that yet. The fact that the series felt it necessary to send out a talking-points E-mail on a Friday night was an indication damage control was needed. (I've had to do that myself.) A warning signal that flashed to me upon reading the transcript of ALMS' media teleconference on this subject was the references to possible opportunities on SportsCenter, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine, etc. I think someone at ALMS should ask NHRA or even IndyCar about that! When only drivers named Force or Danica get that attention, well, I wouldn't be expecting a big feature on Simon Pagenaud! Meanwhile, the new production entity had best use announcers who actually understand what ALMS "racing" is: A place for alternative fuels and, in some cases, power sources; a series that views itself as techy and trendy. That's how the story must be told (for better or worse) and the old Speed crew didn't have the business/marketing experience know-how to tell the story with that mindset. I wish Dorsey Schroeder would be back, but not Jamie Howe, the Brienne Pedigo of sports car racing.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

BREAKING NEWS: NO JIMMIE JOHNSON IN INDY 500

2011-01-13T12:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome and thank you for returning for my sixth calendar year of blogging. My first "official" post for 2011 will be next Monday -- a big-picture look at the year ahead -- but here is some breaking news that can't wait:

Forget all that happy talk about Jimmie Johnson driving in May's 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500. He says "no." I sat with the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion for over 20 minutes late Wednesday afternoon in a Casino Arizona club lounge -- he was in Scottsdale to help bang-the-drums for Phoenix International Raceway's new Feb. 27 Subway Fresh Fit 500 date.

The link to my Arizona Republic story is at the bottom here, but I didn't have room for this nugget. During our conversation, Johnson said he originally thought Indy Cars would be his career path. I took advantage of him opening that door to ask if he'll drive in the I500. All of Johnson's quotes that follow are word-for-word, as transcribed by me from my recorder.

"I don’t have anything working, so I’d say no for this year."

I then asked Johnson if Chevrolet's return to the series could present an opportunity in 2011.

"It could. It’s been a hurdle in the past. I just don’t know if it’s the smartest . . . my wife and I have discussed it for a long time. She knows how bad I want to do it. We, together, thought if I could run that race before we had kids, it makes sense. Those days are long gone.

"If a legitimate opportunity comes along, the first place I start is with my wife, make sure she’s comfortable with it. From there, I still have quite a few hurdles: Mr. (Rick) Hendrick, Chad (Knaus), Lowe’s. I enjoy making it public knowledge that I am interested, so, if one day I do go to Rick or Lowe’s, they’ve heard of it before.

"I just don’t know. I have (talked to Hendrick about it) in years past when Chevy wasn’t a part of it. He’d say, ‘Look, contracts exist, you can’t drive a Honda-powered vehicle.’ So it’s eliminated the opportunity. Since GM has announced it’s coming back, I have not spoken with him about it."

What does he think about Indy rulemakers going to a NASCAR-like double-file restart rule? Unlike NASCAR, however, supposedly lapped cars won't be positioned behind the front-runners.

"I think we’ve proven it in our sport, lapped cars should . . . you need to let the guys racing for the win and those positions have their space. I’ve never been in an Indy Car. I’m not comfortable watching them side-by-side on TV (laughter). I can only imagine what it would be inside the car."

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2011/01/12/20110112nascar-jimmie-johnson-legendary.html

[ more next Monday . . . ]

CLOSING THOUGHTS on 2010

2010-12-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

I was right. I was wrong.

On July 24, 2007, I wrote here about ESPN's return to Big Time NASCAR Cup race coverage after an absence of more than six years. Here's a link to that posting, titled "ESPN's Turn."
http://spindoctor500blog.blogspot.com/2007/07/espns-turn.html

I expressed my enthusiasm, but signaled my concerns, based on what I'd seen on what-was-then the Busch series telecasts earlier that season. I admitted a bit of pro-ESPN mindset, based on my own minor role in the network's racing history. I recalled that ESPN's first stint at bringing NASCAR to the nation was a key in building stock car's popularity. I said that the original team of Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett, Dr. Jerry Punch, John Kernan and Bill Weber had the chemistry the 2007 crew lacked. I was glad Punch's loyalty was rewarded. I worried that Allen Bestwick was miscast as a pit reporter. I said Shannon Spake was a solid news reporter. I flashed a warning about NASCAR Now and NASCAR Countdown. I admitted I didn't understand Brad Daugherty's role. I figured Brent Musburger would be harmless and that Suzy Kolber would be fine. I was confident management wouldn't be afraid to make changes as needed.

I was right. I was wrong.

Forget Dale Junior. The biggest disappointment of NASCAR 2010 has been ESPN's continued inability to deliver to racing fans the kind of solid product it has to baseball, NFL and NHRA followers.

The situation is stupefying. Think of the thousands of great decisions that various ESPN managements have had to make over the years to create the juggernaut the network has become. But, quite simply, it hasn't gotten NASCAR right.

My theory is there are two reasons why. First, anyone who has had any dealings with ESPN knows the Powers-That-Be in Bristol, Conn., breathe the rarified-but-arrogant air of uber-success. No less than a dozen ESPN field reporters/producers have told me over the years of their frustrations and the common theme has been "the people in Bristol exist in a different world." And, I've experienced that personally. A few years ago a senior production person lectured me, on a phone call, about how to provide news information for possible use on race cablecasts. When I reviewed the rather lengthy list of exclusive, breaking stories I had delivered on a silver platter to ESPN announcers over the years, so they had the news first, I was told I should not do that. (!) That I should pass on such information only to this person, who would then be the sole decider of what (if anything) to do with such news. (!) Imagine if Ben Bradlee had imposed that rule on Woodward and Bernstein!

Emergency trips to Charlotte, as network biggies did in October, aren't the answer to the near-25 percent collapse of Chase ratings. The answer is for executives to unplug from the Planet Bristol mentality and get in touch with NASCAR Nation.

The second part of my theory has to do with research. ESPN is a research-centric organization, analyzing and re-analyzing, reminding me of Dan Gurney continuing to tinker with his car on the grid until it was time to get in and start the engine. For example, the NHRA producer has told me repeatedly the network has research data proving that there is an viewership-uptick when John Force or Ashley Force Hood are on. (Last week, ESPN released research concluding "cable cutting" -- people canceling cable because they can access programming via the Internet -- is a "very minor" phenomenon.) Well, I don't believe that sort of numbers crunching and audience autopsy can accurately figure out what works and doesn't work with NASCAR fans, who are special in all of sports for their high-octane passion, loyalty and opinions.

I don't need those kind of reports to know the IndyCar-background announcers haven't connected with the stock car crowd. I don't need research to realize there have been too many times when the effort to understand the story and report it hasn't been made. Just because someone works with ESPN doesn't mean he or she is an "expert" and doesn't have to do basic homework. I don't need studies to grasp that fans are more interested in following their individual favorite drivers than gizmos like the failed "Draft Tracker." I don't need anyone to conclude for me that the most profound story of the last few years -- the Business of Racing -- has been superficially covered by reporters with only Twiggy-thin knowledge of what goes on in the Board room.

With the unfortunate ouster of Neil Goldberg, ESPN has to have a new person in charge, and with that needs to come a new, more open-minded, production philosophy. That top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top review also has to include every last NASCAR-related position, from the truck to the booth to the pits to the studio to the roster and utilization of .com contributors. And isn't it about time a large chunk of the network's hosts, who only mention NASCAR when there's a flip or a fight, are "advised" to end the elist attitude and start talking about the LEGITIMATE stories that come out of EVERY race?

Change -- make that Dramatic Change -- is required.

More of the same from ESPN in 2011 isn't acceptable. In fact, that and another winless season from Junior, would be Very Bad News for NASCAR.

My other takeaway from 2010 was the on-going saga of lack of pro-active outreach to media by so-called PR people and the lack of supervision from team owners and sponsor managers.

Especially at a time when maximum Return On Investment to sponsors is a must, for people who are supposed to be publicists to just "hang out" should be considered unacceptable. There are media to meet, story ideas to be sold, relationships to be established.

I join many who appreciate the money and marketing Izod injected into the IndyCar series . . . but it was a mistake to use "Fastest Drivers/Fastest Race in the World" as a promotional and advertising tagline. All that did was bleep-off drag racing fans everywhere -- and that's exactly what I heard from fans of the straight-line sport. Despite Randy Bernard's efforts, that series still is in no position to alienate any potential customers.

If its sponsorship is truly to work over the long-term, Izod will have to find it's own Jim Chapman. The late, great Mr. C would have known public opinion well enough to have NEVER allowed that tagline to see the light of day.

It's the time of year to think Green, the topic of my December "Drags, Dollars & Sense" column on Competition Plus.com:
http://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/editorials/16248-drags-dollars-a-sense-drag-racing-could-use-more-green

Man of the Year in 2010? Here's one view:
http://valvoline.com/racing/behind-closed-garage-doors/2887

[ God willing, I'll be back in mid-January 2011. Thanks for your interest . . . ]

NASCAR's GREEN POLITICAL SHOT

2010-12-05T09:12:00.001-08:00

Color NASCAR’s second Sprint Cup awards activities in Las Vegas green.

But, for a few moments last Thursday, I was trying so hard to keep from laughing that I was close to blue.

At the annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Award luncheon, this time staged in the massive Bellagio (you need a golf cart to get around), Chairman Brian France laid out in the strongest terms yet the stock car sanction’s eco-friendly green program. It already had been announced that all three national series will run on E15, but what France announced – and carefully positioned – was the “American” side to the story. NASCAR’s new partnership is with American Ethanol, led by advocacy group Growth Energy. Get used to this tagline: “American grown. American made. Powering NASCAR.”

I jotted down some of France’s phrasings, such as NASCAR’s fuel will be grown on “American soil,” and that this is appropriate for a “family owned American series.” The parade of speakers included a trade rep and a corn farmer and we were told that American farmers grow twice as much grain per acre than in China or Brazil. Retired NATO Supreme Commander, Gen. Wesley Clark, now working for the ethanol industry, told the ballroom crowd that corn ethanol “creates jobs and strengthens national security.”

What had me amused, other legitimate considerations aside, this clearly was at least an indirect shot at the IndyCar Series. NASCAR has many ways to play the racing political game, and in the aftermath of the unhappy IndyCar-International Speedway Corp. split – no IC races at any ISC tracks in 2011 – this was an example of who still has the muscle in the U.S. motorsports industry.

Remember, when IC went to ethanol a few years ago, it was using corn E in association with a U.S. trade group. When said trade organization went belly-up, IC had to go to Brazil for its E fix. Now NASCAR has staked its claim to the red, white and blue benefits of green.

And that’s no coincidence. It’s a political shot across the bow of the IndyCar series. Oh, NASCAR is even copying IC’s E-logo green flag.

FAST LINES: Roger Penske unveiled Helio Castroneves’ Pennzoil yellow-and-red Indy 500 car at his Wynn Ferrari dealership Thursday night. I was surprised to learn the primary deal is for Indy only, at least as of now . . . I asked Penske if the racing economy is improving and he basically said no, it’s about the same, meaning it’s a huge struggle to find the $$$ to race on . . . The best joke going around at the Penske function, set amidst the wildly expensive cars, was: “Pick out whichever one you like and put it on George Gillett’s tab” . . . Looks to me as if IndyCar’s return is Vegas is in place save for a splashy announcement of a big sponsor for what apparently will be a street-course/oval doubleheader. Randy Bernard was on hand at the Penske announcement . . . Jimmie Johnson beat Jeff Gordon to the “Drive for 5” and I’m guessing the tagline for his try for another title will be “Six Pack” . . . The announcement that Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s late VP-corporate communications, won the Myers Brothers Award for contributions to stock car racing drew a standing ovation . . . I’ll end with this from Chad Knaus: “It’s about teamwork. It’s always been about teamwork. Teamwork is at the root of all success.”

[ next week I'll share some year-end thoughts . . . ]

THE BIG SHUFFLE

2010-11-28T09:59:00.001-08:00

It certainly was no surprise Rick Hendrick assigned Dale Earnhardt Jr. a new crew chief last week but the scale of the changes within Hendrick Motorsports provides even more insight into Hendrick's fantastic success.

The Boss decided his teams had become too complacent after a 1-2-3 (Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon) Sprint Cup finish in 2009. Johnson, at least by his standards with Chad Knaus, struggled to a historic fifth consecutive championship. But Martin and Gordon joined Junior in the winless column.

Thus, The Big Shuffle.

Gordon, with only one win in the last three seasons, gets Alan Gustafson from Martin's No. 5 crew. Martin now will work with Lance McGrew, who had been with Junior's No. 88. And Dale has been assigned Steve Letarte, pegged by Hendrick for this perhaps thankless job, at least in part because of his people skills. I take that to mean the ability to get inside Junior's head.

But I think the most insightful thing we learned about the Hendrick Method was he kept Knaus and Letarte together in the same building. What had become somewhat legendary as the "24-48" shop -- where the Gordon and Johnson cars were built and prepped by what Knaus described as inter-changeable crews -- now will be the "48-88" shop. I have to believe Knaus wanted to keep that internal chemistry intact. Gordon's No. 24 now moves into the building with Martin's No. 5.

Who knows? Maybe some of the No. 48's magic will rub off on the No. 88. On the other hand, if Johnson has a bad season in '11, well, you can bet the pundits will start pointing even more fingers at Junior.

I'll be at the NASCAR Sprint Cup awards in Las Vegas this weekend and will share my reporting and observations here next week.

Last week I listed my top 12 drivers of 2010. Here's my friend Mark Armijo's top five as written for RacinToday.com:
http://www.racintoday.com/archives/23177

[ more next Monday . . . ]

MY FINAL TOP 12 of '10

2010-11-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

For what anyone wants to think it's worth, here's my final 2010 driver top-12 rankings:

1. Larry Dixon
2. (tie) Kyle Busch and Sebastian Vettel
3. John Force
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Dario Franchitti
6. Scott Pruett
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Jason Meyers
10. Steve Kinser
11. Will Power
12. Tony Schumacher

There's been a lot of news in recent weeks. What's gotten my attention is HOW that news has been announced.

Let's start with the IndyCar series' huge, breakthrough story of Chevrolet's return. That was made official on Friday of the Chase semifinal weekend in Phoenix, which meant a lot of key journalists were automatically not going to be able to pay attention. Why write-off so many important market areas represented by these media outlets? Because, I'm told, that was the day and time convenient for the executives involved.

Here's what I told an egomanic Texaco VP two decades ago: News conferences need to be scheduled at appropriate times in the news cycle, and for the convenience of reporters. Not for the convenience of the suits. Those who "get" that get the biggest and best coverage.

IndyCar has had a troubling history on this front. Let us recall that Randy Bernard was introduced as the series' new CEO on the same day the hometown Indianapolis Colts were doing Super Bowl media day. Even going back to 1996, the IRL's first season, the announcement that Nissan would be an engine supplier was made Daytona 500 week. I well remember being in the deadline media room at Daytona when several journos had to interrupt their otherwise busy schedules to (at least briefly) listen in on a conference call. "Don't they know what week this is?" one of the Biggest of the Media Big Foots complained to me.

As for my recent experience covering the NASCAR weekend at Phoenix for Arizona's largest newspaper, well, it was pretty much more of the same. I would not need more than the fingers on one hand to count the number of team/sponsor "publicists" who outreached in advance, just to check in, see if they could be of help. That number would be about the same to total those who actually bothered to come to the PIR deadline media room to say hello. For those not familiar with PIR, it takes about one minute to get to the media center from the garage area. Shame on the team owners/sponsor managers who pay so little attention to how they are being represented that this is tolerated.

The Dumbest of the Weekend Award goes to Coyne PR, the agency apparently repping Diet Mountain Dew for a Dale Earnhardt Jr. contest promotion at the Phoenix Coyotes' hockey game. On Thursday afternoon, I received an E from the Coyne rep, informing me he had a "phone interview opportunity" with Junior Friday night.

Think about that -- which is what this so-called "PR" person should have done. I was just a few hundred yards away from Junior all day Friday. Why would I want to do a telephone interview with him that night? Oh, I was a little busy covering the Truck race that evening.

What a stupid "pitch." About 10 seconds of thinking/research should have turned on any existing mental light bulb of just how stupid it was. You'd be shocked at the large fees clients pay to agencies -- for this?

I'll close with this: Given the ESPN Chase ratings collapse, and the wide-ranging bad reviews for the production and announcing, one might have thought some involved would think it a good idea to do a little relationship-building, question-answering, damage-control with writers. Of course, not one of the TVers who fall into the above category, bothered to make the effort.

FAST LINES: As forecast in my exclusive Arizona Republic story about future changes at Phoenix International Raceway, the ISC Board did vote to approve the budget to repave. That will happen after next February's NASCAR weekend . . . Ray Evernham says he no longer has any contractual obligations to George Gillett, so I'll be surprised if he doesn't have some non-crew chief role with Hendrick Motorsports, at least in part, trying to get into Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s head and turn around the No. 88 team . . . I've been asked a few times about who I think will be NASCAR's newly minted chief communications officer. I don't know the "who," but I'm betting it will be someone with a VP-corporate communications background. I just hope the person comes from a consumer products company rather than some B2B enterprise . . . If I were that person, here's the first sentence I would say in my first meeting with team/sponsor PR reps: "The current system for pre-race -- ticket-selling time -- driver availability to the media is broken, and we're going to fix it" . . . I hated to hear this: A recent caller to the Rush Limbaugh radio show compared the NFL's recent actions against helmet-to-helmet hits to NASCAR and said people want to see the "Roman Colosseum" and "blood sport." I repeat, a CALLER said this, not Limbaugh . . . Before the fact-less chatroomers get too zoomed-up, let me report that Tony Stewart was emphatic at Phoenix: No, he's not going to drive a Chevy in the Indy 500. No, he's not going to field a car for someone else. I was there. I heard him say it. He could not have been any clearer . . . I'm not sure anyone else has done it, but Peter De Lorenzo deserves a "congratulations" for breaking the Chevy-to-Indy story . . . It was fun to see sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson having fun at PIR with his 30-year hobby, photography. A guest of Getty Images, I watched Johnson on the photo stand in victory lane. He even stood patiently in the media food line before the Cup race! Johnson said he had recently been in Iraq, taking photos at Camp Victory. He noted NASCAR doesn't have a No. 51 (his jersey number) and said he might have to do something about that. Only when asked about baseball did Johnson not want to talk . . . When I interviewed Mike Helton for my Arizona Republic Newsmaker Q&A, I began by noting it was the 10-year anniversary of his appointment as NASCAR's president, and ended by saying next February will be 10 years since Dale Earnhardt's death. That reminded me to write this -- I expect Junior will have yet another new crew chief, and if somehow he wins the Daytona 500 on this sad decade-later anniversary, well, the Grassy Knoll conspiracy types will be out in such force they could invade a small country . . . Ponder this: In a disappointing season for Ford, Carl Edwards won the last two Cup races, two of the last three Nationwide events, and Roush Fenway drivers ended-up fourth, fifth and sixth in the Chase standings.

[ more next Monday . . . ]

JIM HUNTER HONORED WITH 2010 JIM CHAPMAN AWARD FOR PR EXCELLENCE

2010-11-14T07:55:00.001-08:00

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED SUNDAY, NOV. 14, 10 A.M. MST

Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s vice president of corporate communications who died Oct. 30, today was announced as winner of the 2010 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations.

The Chapman Award is considered by many in the industry as the highest honor in racing public relations. It is named in memory of Chapman, the legendary PR executive and innovator, who worked with Babe Ruth and was named Indy Car racing’s “most influential man” of the 1980s. Chapman died in 1996 at age 80.

The announcement was made before today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway by Michael Knight, chairman of the selection committee, and one of Chapman’s closest friends. The award is determined by vote of media members, most of whom knew Chapman, and is authorized by the Chapman family. PR representatives from all forms of motorsports are eligible for consideration.

Knight said the committee selected Hunter for the honor a few weeks before his death.

“We had hoped to make this presentation in December, as part of NASCAR’s Champion’s Week celebration in Las Vegas,” said Knight, the longtime journalist/publicist.

“In several important ways, Jim Hunter’s career mirrored that of Jim Chapman’s. Most importantly, both deeply believed in the ‘old-school’ approach to working with the media – that it was essential to build one-on-one relationships with journalists. That’s too often missing today, but both Jims understood the value of actually talking to people and getting to know them, and that having those professional relationships best served their clients.”

Hunter’s career as a journalist and PR professional spanned portions of six decades. He was the Columbia Record sports editor, writer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and author of several books. He began in PR in the 1960s with Dodge’s racing programs before stints as PR director at both Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. He joined NASCAR as vice president of administration in 1983. In 1993, Hunter was named president of Darlington Raceway and corporate VP of International Speedway Corp. He returned to NASCAR as VP of corporate communications in 2001. He died of cancer at age 71.

Chapman started as sports editor or managing editor of several Southern newspapers before joining the New York Times. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. He entered the PR business in 1946, as regional PR director for Ford Motor Co. in Detroit.

Soon thereafter, Chapman hired Ruth as consultant to the automaker’s sponsorship of American Legion Junior Baseball. They traveled together for more than two years for personal appearances and became close friends. Chapman was one of only three friends at Ruth’s bedside when he died in August 1948.

In 1950, Chapman left Ford to start his own PR firm. One of his first clients was Avis founder Warren Avis. Chapman devoted much of his time to financial PR, which he once called his “favorite form of PR,” and helped companies get recognition among analysts and even gain admission to the New York and American stock exchanges.

Chapman’s first venture into motorsports was in 1951, when he joined with NASCAR founder Bill France to promote the Motor City 250. The race was part of Detroit’s 250th birthday celebration, a Chapman client. In 1967, Chapman entered Indy Car racing with client Ozzie Olson’s Olsonite sponsorship of Dan Gurney’s team, which later featured Bobby Unser as driver.
“Jim was one of the most innovative and imaginative PR men ever to grace a pit lane,” said Gurney. “Jim practically invented most of what is now considered routine sponsor PR work. He was the first, as far as I know, who thought of putting up a sponsor hospitality tent alongside a racetrack (at the old Riverside Raceway), filling it with extravagant race car ice-sculptures, beautiful food and beautiful people from the business, sports and movie industries. He started an ‘open house’ tradition in Ozzie’s hotel suite in Indianapolis, where journalists could rub shoulders with John Wayne or (astronaut) Scott Carpenter.”

Chapman also coordinated Olsonite’s sponsorship of the Driver of the Year award, orchestrating an annual luncheon at New York City’s famed ‘21’ Club.

Chapman’s greatest professional acclaim came from 1981-1992, as director of CART series sponsor PPG Industries’ program. Chapman was instrumental in raising PPG’s prize fund from $250,000 to more than $3.75 million at the time of his retirement in February 1993. The all-female PPG Pace Car Driving Team was another Chapman innovation, as were the PPG Editor’s Days, when he brought business and feature writers to the tracks for lunch, pace car rides, and driver interviews.

Indy Car Racing magazine named Chapman the sports’s “most influential” man of the 1980s, saying he turned “a public relations assignment into an art form.” After his retirement, Chapman continued to consult PPG, and agreed to Mario Andretti’s personal request that he serve as honorary chairman of Andretti’s “Arrivederci, Mario” farewell tour in 1994.

“The true honor of the award is not the plaque,” said Knight. “The true honor is having your name forever associated with that of the great James P. Chapman.”

PREVIOUS JIM CHAPMAN AWARD HONOREES:

1991 – Michael Knight
1992 – Tom Blattler
1993-94 – Deke Houlgate and Hank Ives
1995 – Kathi Lauterbach
1996 – Marc Spiegel
1997 – Mike Zizzo
1998 – Tamy Valkosky
1999-2003 – (Award not presented)
2004 – Doug Stokes
2005 – Susan Arnold
2006 – Kevin Kennedy
2007 – Dave Densmore and Bob Carlson
2008 – Judy Stropus
2009 – (Award not presented)

In a terrible, terrible decision by World Racing Group, World of Outlaws PR director Tony Veneziano was let go after the Outlaws' season. Tony's assistance to the media -- me included -- was always rapid and reliable. I would recommend him to anyone.

Here are links to some of my Arizona Republic stories from the past week, on NASCAR at PIR:

* Wednesday notebook -- Keselowski gets Penske to open up
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/09/20101109motor-sports-nascar-roger-penske.html

* Thursday notebook -- Change, conflict, controversy good for PIR business
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/10/20101110auto-racing-nascar-pir-notebook.html

* Thursday feature -- Danica's first Valley race in five years
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/10/20101110auto-racing-nascar-danica-patrick.html

* Friday notebook -- Economy doesn't keep Bodine down
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/11/20101111nascar-todd-bodine-aims-truck-series-championship.html

* Friday -- 5 Q&As with NASCAR fan Sen. Jon Kyl
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/11/20101111nascar-five-questions-senate-minority-whip-jon-kyl.html

* Saturday notebook -- Chevy to Indy could give Danica more options

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/12/20101112danica-patrick-chevrolet-indycar-nascar.html

* Saturday -- Bowyer wins Truck race; Bodine takes title
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/12/20101112clint-bowyer-trucks-series-phoenix.html

* Sunday notebook -- PIR likely to undergo dramatic change

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/13/20101113pir-undergo-dramtic-renovation.html

* Sunday Newsmaker Q&A -- NASCAR President Mike Helton

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/13/20101113nascar-president-mike-helton.html

* Sunday -- Carl Edwards wins Nationwide series race

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/speed/articles/2010/11/13/20101113carl-edwards-phoenix-nascar-nationwide-win.html

The American Media, Nov. 11, 2010: On Veterans Day, the New York Stock Exchange paused for a moment of silence and the playing of taps before the opening bell. Fox News showed it live. CNBC thought it was a good time to show commercials.

[ more next Monday . . . ]