5th ANNIVERSARY BLOG

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 . . . ]