Was this actually the very best North America’s premier open-wheel championship might do? And at what price?
When the $1 Million Problem was revealed by IndyCar roughly six months in the past in a made-for-TV spectacle at a membership monitor exterior of Palm Springs, California, it got here with disagreeable realities: the necessity to fill an prolonged void of 5 weeks within the schedule between St. Petersburg and Lengthy Seashore following the lack of Texas Motor Speedway, and alienating a portion of the fan base with restricted attendance and ticket costs of $2,000 (later lowered to $500).
The weekend was actually one thing, showcasing the nice, dangerous, and ugly of the collection in its present kind.
IndyCar’s exhibition race was a product of the collection’ month-long hole between rounds
Photograph by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
The Good
Earlier than getting all doom and gloom, it is very important acknowledge the positives that got here out of the occasion.
The most effective element of the weekend – and one thing that appeared beneficial among the many drivers – was the qualifying format. The sphere was break up into two teams with eight-minute classes and 40 seconds of push-to-pass, and one set of tyres that had an amazing quantity of degradation across the 17-turn, 3.067-mile circuit, placing the stress on the motive force to maximise every little thing in a single no-holds-barred flying lap.
Such was the reward of this idea, that some drivers expressed they might be open to the format being carried out in championship rounds to alter up from knockout qualifying.
The most effective concepts that this author heard all weekend got here courtesy of a media colleague, Steve Wittich of Trackside On-line, who urged {that a} one-shot type solo run with push-to-pass in qualifying might work at choose venues, corresponding to avenue programs. Then, drivers with the highest six instances advance straight right into a Quick Six shootout to struggle for pole.
Livestreaming 9 hours of testing at Thermal was a good suggestion. Hardcore followers can’t get sufficient of it in the course of the Month of Might with the Indianapolis 500. If IndyCar needs to make different races really feel essential sufficient to matter, doing extra to construct a presence round occasions is totally paramount.
Past that, the concept to pair drivers and groups with membership members for the weekend was an incredible thought. Frankly, it’s one thing that needs to be supplied greater than to the highest one p.c and is one thing to have a look at for increasing curiosity and attain.
Hell, make it by means of a contest or one thing alongside these traces. Clearly, being in on engineering debriefs throughout a championship finale is out of the query, however how about each workforce having a meet-and-greet with a fan or two after which having them on the timing stand or within the field throughout qualifying or the race with a headset? Even having a rotation of a brand new fan every apply day of the Indy 500 would pay dividends.
You may set up an actual basis with folks being launched to the game and construct lifelong followers in consequence. And who is aware of, perhaps by some happenstance it helps development issues to a younger viewers, one thing the game additionally wants transferring ahead.
The Thermal format wasn’t identified till every week earlier than the occasion
Photograph by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images
The Unhealthy
The truth that the format wasn’t revealed till every week previous to the occasion makes it look like nobody knew what to do. Add to that the seemingly countless variety of off-the-cuff adjustments taking place in the course of the weekend, and it was clear the dearth of expertise anybody inside IndyCar had with a novel format with warmth races and a break up closing.
Contemplating the adjustments have been taking place in actual time in the course of the occasion and seeing that passing was extremely tough, why not add some kind of subject inversion wheel? Think about the joy that will have been added if Alex Palou needed to – and will – struggle by means of the sector from fifth within the closing 10 laps and make a late cost on the leaders as an alternative of strolling off with an uncontested and anticlimactic victory.
Whereas this was finally an NBC name, who has heard of constructing an ‘all-star’ race at 9:30am native time?
Clearly, making an occasion on the West Coast an evening race isn’t doable given the vast majority of IndyCar followers that make up the tv viewers are positioned within the Midwest, however it didn’t even really feel like this was given a correct likelihood to get off the bottom.
The rushed timeline to get every little thing in and get out merely made it really feel prefer it didn’t matter, so it was not an excessive amount of of a shock when Sports activities Enterprise Journal’s Adam Stern shared that the race had a lowly 816,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock.
Additionally, I don’t wish to hear that $500 for a weekend ticket was an incredible deal for the weekend at Thermal due to the countless tacos and ice cream that have been made accessible through meals vehicles, booze and entry to the paddock. The tickets have been set at a restricted quantity and when factoring in journey to a dearer space, the journey would simply be touching $1,500 (at the very least) to attend. This occasion isn’t for everybody, and racing needs to be accessible for all. Interval.
The winner of the $1m occasion acquired… $500k
Photograph by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
The Ugly
The winner of the $1 Million Problem acquired $500,000, however the place many groups discovered it difficult was in case you completed exterior the highest 5. For many who completed sixth or worse, together with not even making the ultimate, they acquired a payout of $23,000 every from an general purse of $1.756 million.
Merely put, the low-end payout wasn’t even sufficient to cowl the journey price for the groups, with outlays that prolonged from transporting gear throughout the nation to placing personnel up in lodges.
A number of groups informed Autosport there wasn’t a want to compete within the occasion and they’d quite have opted out however have been required to take part.
Now, add that loss with a few different info, corresponding to leaving the weekend with a broken race automotive. Who’s going to cowl that invoice?
Those self same groups additionally shared that getting their automotive fitted to the hybrid change coming midseason – which they hadn’t even had the possibility to the touch till right now – has price someplace within the ballpark of $400,000 per chassis.
For sure, it has been abysmally costly to be a workforce proprietor in IndyCar solely three months into 2024.
Whereas The Thermal Membership is perhaps a very good testing playground, any future non-points exhibitions needs to be targeted elsewhere.
Damaging a automotive in a non-points occasion with little prize cash on supply was a reason for frustration for some
Photograph by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images
The difficult half, as all the time, and as Staff Penske’s Scott McLaughlin identified when Autosport requested concerning the thought of rotating the non-points race, comes right down to the help.
“All of it comes right down to the help that we get from the membership and different tracks,” he stated.
“Thermal have simply put their backs behind IndyCar for this and created an superior occasion, the chance for all groups to return out right here and earn cash, which is an absolute bonus, but additionally to placed on a present, have a take a look at day for 2 days. It is simply finally as much as different those that wish to be part of it.”
The one suggestion I’ve is for IndyCar to have a look at Nashville Superspeedway.
Till a doable return to the downtown avenue circuit can occur (and that’s three years off on the earliest), why not use the 1.33-mile concrete oval because the ‘All-Star Spectacle’ with an under-the-lights Saturday night time shootout that may float to any midseason void reverse of the NASCAR race held there and in addition the opening day of the NFL season. Nearer racing is assured, too.
And the funding is clearly there with Huge Machine Label Group Chairman and Founder Scott Borchetta keen to maintain IndyCar in Nashville.
Extra importantly, although, it could be an occasion that each one followers have a capability to attend.
The IndyCar Collection mustn’t entertain something near an occasion that felt remoted and behind closed doorways. That already occurred in 2020; don’t imitate it.
Non-championship IndyCar races must be rethought if they’re to occur once more
Photograph by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images