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Join Shaun and Doug as they cover all of this week’s great motorsport news. We cover Rally Sweden and finally hash out the MINI situation. We also address INDYCAR’s Stat of the Series speech. There is plenty of Mazda Road to Indy as well! Thanks for the download and we hope you enjoy the show!!!
Another good show gentlemen! I finally got time to listen to it.
RE: IndyCar 36
I really like the concept, and totally agree that it needs to focus on the drivers OTHER THAN Power, Franchiti, and Andretti. A great “humanist” story always works well. I was really impressed with last years’ Indy 500 story on Charlie Kimball. Here’s a kid that loved racing and found out that he had accute Diabetes. Diabetes can be managed, but this is in a sport where you lose water by the pound in each event, which wreaks havoc on your blood sugar. Yet he perserveres using technology to monitor his blood sugar constantly with a special device while racing…and then has a separate high fructose solution he can drink through his helmet when necessary. I found that story quite compelling and my wife, who is not interested in motorsports but does work in the medical industry, found it also interesting enough that she asks how well he is doing when I’m watching an Indycar race on the TV. I think that right there shows the draw for these background stories. I’m sure the other young drivers have also overcome major obsticals to reach this level in motorsport, and these stories if done correctly, can really help in bringing the shadow drivers into the light.
RE: Venue attendence. What do tickets even cost these days? It was expensive enough when I saw a couple of events back in the ’90s at PIR ($100+ a ticket for race day). Although maybe cost isn’t the issue anymore if they can’t even give tickets away for people to attend. That’s really sad, as typically people show up for any event that’s free…unless traveling to those events is costly or cumbersome.
To be honest, travel costs is what prohibited Tab and I from going to Vegas. Even with free tickets, it was going to cost about a grand for airfare, lodging, and food. Ticket prices really aren’t bad, especially compared to other entertainment options. A Race Day ticket in a good seat typically runs in the neighborhood of $60-70, and weekend passes can often be had for about $100. You can usually get in cheaper if you’re willing to sacrifice optimal seating and get a GA ticket for $30-40.
I would bet that explains why street courses like Toronto and Long Beach have better attendance. Denser populations in closer proximity to the event.