Re: Do CHUMPS share responsibility?

"Iain Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> > Most of the dollars spent on the IndyCar Series are justified by the
> > exposure gained at the 500.
>
> Fine for now except that the 500's ratings are falling year on year.....if
> that trend continues then the equation will stop being positive at some
> point - so in order for things to continue to work TG needs to at least
> stabilise the thing  or better still reverse the trend. Given that he's
just
> ploughing ahead & not changing anything my guess would be that the trend
> will continue.
>
> I think its also true that in this day & age the attention span that
people
> have is much more limited than it used to be. Information is easy to come
by
> & there is a far larger range of leisure activities competing for people's
> $$. Racing needs to be on the front page regularly & to do that it has to
be
> a product that large numbers of  people want. i.e. the 500 needs a good
> solid series that maintains interest in OW Racing year round. Without that
> its in danger of becoming an annual "curiosity". At the same time it is
> becoming harder and harder for privateers to compete because of the
advance
> of technology and rise in costs.
>
> If the sponsors pull plugs on supporting the rest of the series then I
can't
> see how anyone but the biggest/richest teams could mount an Indy effort.
The
> teams need the rest of the series to justify their efforts and expenditure
> in buying equipment and employing people. They need sponsors to make that
> happen. SPonsors only come with serious bucks for TV coverage - which
means
> the series must be televised - but the TV audiences don't justify the TV
> people paying much for that.....etc etc and so the vicious circle
starts...
>
> > In addition, the old adage, 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday' still
applies
> > and the thousands and thousands of folks that see the full page advert
> > in Monday's USA Today touting Honda's latest victory probably don't give
a
> > rat's arse where Fontana is located.
>
> I read something about this not long ago - and I wish I could remember
> where......the gist of it was that this applies a lot more with Nascar and
> Craftsman Truck than it does with Open Wheel. To be fair its not hard to
see
> why - whether Honda or Toyota wins at Indy would seem unlikely to
influence
> whether someone buys a Civic or a Camry - just as it will make no
difference
> to me whether BMW Williams or McLaren Mercedes comes out on top in F1 next
> year in terms of what road car I might buy next - and I wouldn't buy a
Jag,
> Renault, Honda  or Toyota even if they did win!
>
> Although Nascar cars are nothing like production cars underneath the skin
> they have a much bigger impact (I think) because they at least resemble
road
> cars.
>
> > All I can say is that I'm enjoying the current state of motor racing and
> I'm
> > looking forward to heading to Florida for the Rolex 24 and the IndyCar
> > race at Homestead to kick off another great season.
>
> Good for you (seriously!). The question however is whether in three years
> you will be heading to Florida to see one event or two....
>
> > Thanks for keeping it short.
>
> Welcome ;-)
>
> I.
>
So, are you trying to say that there may not be a 24 race at Daytona in 3
years?