IndyCar Owners Weigh In On New Marketing Plan, Team Payouts, End Of Indy Double Points
Thermal, California. Last week's "catch-up days" and the return of the annual "spring practice" open test (which began at Thermal Club) also boosted NTT IndyCar Series paddock marketing.
In addition to returning to the track for the first time since last season's finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, it's time to learn about IndyCar's promotional plans for the 2023 season.
These include the ambitious plans pursued by IndyCar owner Roger Penske and his senior management at Penske Entertainment.
The most notable of these is 100 Days to Indie, a documentary airing on The CW this spring on VICE Media. IndyCar hopes to attract a younger audience and generate new interest, just as the Netflix F1 documentary Drive to Survive did.
"I love it," IndyCar team owner Michael Shank told NBC Sports. "We got a message from the president of the CW and the vice president of programming and entertainment. I love that the president of the CW is an Indiana fan who loves the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar. I think we have a special vehicle with that attitude.
"If we give it the right content, we'll have an interesting show that people will want to watch and stick with. I don't know if we'll be as successful as Netflix with Drive to Survive, but we have a few favorites. . the characters, they have time to develop like they did in Drive to Survive, that's the main thing."
"What's the key to making it work?" They explained to us. This is a business and care must be taken. We need to create immersive television and dramatize it.
There are other marketing initiatives in IndyCar's plans. Announcements have been made to team owners, crew chiefs and IndyCar drivers, but the full marketing plan has yet to be announced.
Penske spoke about these plans in an exclusive interview at Thermal Club on February 3.
"On February 2, we discussed our marketing plans for 2023," Penske told NBC Sports. "We're going to spend several million dollars on our Tune In campaign to generate more interest." 100 Days is important for indies to attract new fans. All these marketing and PR campaigns are to make the series more interesting and more reliable for customers who expect us to grow more.
"We are excited to get started. In 2023, everything looks very, very positive for us.
"Events are important because we need new fans, new sports fans, because it attracts sponsors and other issues related to the sports economy. It is very, very important."
The "Tune-In" campaign will air on NBC and in local markets. These will be the drivers promoting each weekend's race.
"This is the most comprehensive marketing and PR program we've put together this year as we travel to St. Petersburg to open the season on March 5," Penske said. "We will increase spending by over 60% and $17 million will go to our marketing efforts. Most of that amount is already being used."
Team owners help invest a portion of this increased marketing budget. The amount each Leadership Circle member receives will increase from $60,000 to $100,000 per vehicle.
IndyCar will not disclose the exact amount of this fee as it is a private agreement between the show and the team owners.
According to team owner Bobby Rahal, the drivers' club fees vary from year to year. He told NBC Sports he's happy to support the project because it's a smart investment that could pay off with more features down the road.
"I understand that we are all partners in this," Rahal said. “If he continues to raise the IndyCar arrow higher and higher, the comeback will come. I'm not worried at all.
"It is an investment and it should be seen as such. Almost everyone understands this.
"If this arrow falls, it's money well spent." If he develops the sport, the whole sport will benefit.
Team owner Dale Coyne works one of the easiest franchise jobs, but he's also a fan of aggressive marketing campaigns.
IndyCar is one of the most competitive brands in motorsport and has an interesting story to tell. In many ways, this is one of the best-kept secrets in sports.
Penske and IndyCar intend to use the awareness campaign.
"The money goes to a good cause," Coyne told NBC Sports. "We have to increase the number of our TV programs. We have racing there. We have NASCAR and this country has more Formula 1 than ever.
"This is a competition. We need to come together and join the game.
"We have to get after that. The press and social media are talking about 'driving to survive' which is so important to F1, why don't they try to do something? I think it's important."
Beginning in the 1980s, CART and then IndyCar saw NASCAR as their main competitor in the United States. But with Formula 1's "struggle for survival" era starting in 2019 (and accelerated into 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic), IndyCar has more competition than ever.
"Formula 1 surprised us all," said Coyne. "I used to say that you have to be a government to be involved in Formula 1, but now you can be a promoter.
"You can sell enough tickets and make enough records, look what Las Vegas and Miami have done. License fees are crazy money, but when you sell all your tickets and apartments, you can pay the penalty. Now it makes sense to pay organize a Formula 1 race."
"When we can bring IndyCar to that place, it works for all of us."
Team co-owner Shank is a strong supporter of expanding marketing, but admits he wants to be funded without a leadership circle. The team said it had no plans to take a pay cut before the announcement.
"I'm not happy to have to pay the price for this deal, but I fully support what Roger and Greg Penske are trying to do here," Shank told NBC Sports. "I can't wait to see how things go. I'm a little ripped but it just takes a little effort and that's what we got.
"I'm ready to see what happens now. Jim Meyer and I are fully involved in this matter. We have millions of dollars worth of equipment. We want him to pay. We have to pay.
"Hopefully from a business point of view we can make up for it in some way, I didn't plan it and I didn't hear it until it happened.
Penske announced that Indianapolis Motor Speedway received an additional $30 million for major repairs.
Penske purchased the iconic property along with IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500 from the George Hallman family on November 4, 2019. This ended a 74-year reign of the Indiana family, which began when Tony Hullman purchased IMS from Eddie Rickenbacker in November 1945.
Another big decision announced to Thermal Club owners and team managers was the elimination of dual points for the 107th Indianapolis 500.
The two-stop concept was first revived when IndyCar added 400-mile races at Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, California) to create a "Triple Crown" format. The IndyCar Championship was rescheduled to include the Indianapolis 500 and the season finale at Sears Point, California to increase interest.
The last double points were eventually dropped, but remained for the Indy 500.
The biggest field of the season at the biggest race of the year, this one at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has created an opportunity for a big points gap.
The top-performing riders won, but the team's poor finish at Indy could have derailed their championship hopes.
The result was twice, but also twice the penalty.
"What's amazing is nobody who's won the Indianapolis 500 has ever won a championship with two points," Coyne said. “Indy wins at Indy.
"Everybody here would rather win the Indianapolis 500 than win the championship."
Bobby Rahal won the Indy 500 as a driver in 1986 and twice as a team owner with Buddy Rice in 2004 and Takuma Sato in 2020.
"I'm on that list," Rahal told NBC Sports. “You don't need gimmicks to make the Indianapolis 500 special. The Indy 500 is special in its own right.
“They lost some points in 1982 because of the length of the race. He was just a gimmick and without him the competition is worth more. You need glasses, but regardless of the distance, the glasses should be normal. This was the case from 1983 until 2013 when they added double points.
The two-time IndyCar champion was openly critical of the power of Team Penske's dual points wheels at the Indianapolis 500. He felt the risk outweighed the reward.
"People don't care about doing better and not losing too many points," Powers, the 2018 Indy 500 winner, told NBC Sports. “If you didn't finish well, there would be a double penalty. This is a huge event that no one should rule out because it is a double point and they are in fifth place.
- I think it is a good decision.
Power struggled in last year's Indianapolis 500, finishing 15th, but his top contenders for the NTT IndyCar Series championship also struggled at Indy.
The only driver to score two points was Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who led the championship for most of the season. He managed to stay in contention for the title until the end of the season.
Power won his second NTT IndyCar Series championship last season.
"If you have a DNF, it's the biggest field we've had all year, with a lot of riders not in the championship, so you can get points," Power said. "The double points were a way to compensate when less money was put in, but it was never a good idea."
Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500.
IndyCar owners weigh new marketing plan, team payouts and double Indy points - The post first appeared on NBCSports.com.
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