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June 08, 2007
IRL going after NASCAR fans?
By Mike Harper
The Indy Racing League took no action against Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick for a post race confrontation between the two at Milwaukee last Sunday.
After getting into each other on the track, Patrick approached Wheldon after the event and had some choice words for him. "She's probably feeling the pressure of not winning races when her teammates are," Wheldon said. "She's just feisty. ... She's messing with the wrong person if she wants to get feisty."
This week I receive an email from Texas Motor Speedway with the headline, "Danica vs. Wheldon" the "Rumble at the Speedway" with an associated quote from Danica that said, "If he thinks I'm not going to remember that, HE'S CRAZY!"
The amazing thing - the email from TMS came two days after the incident. This tells me the IRL and our good friends at TMS had their marketing machines up and going hours after the war of words took place between the two racing stars. And, thanks to Patrick and Wheldon the IRL and track promoters have been given an early Christmas gift.
In my opinion, one problem facing NASCAR these days is the lack of driver rivalries. You’ve heard me say this before, but anytime there’s a conflict between two NASCAR drivers, NASCAR will jump in and squash it with penalties and fines. Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle or Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth are perfect examples of post race confrontations from the past where a shove resulted in penalties. Ultimately these potential rivalries weren’t allowed to grow.
It really doesn’t take much brainpower to know that racing fans love a good rivalry. Hard racing, finger pointing and intimidation can fuel the excitement of a fan base, which normally results in tickets sales and increased popularity for the drivers and a racing series. What happened between Patrick and Wheldon after Sunday’s race was gravy. A shove, some good quotes and now a marketing strategy could be just the attention needed to grow the series and compete with NASCAR.
For those who don’t know me, I’m not an IRL fan. I respect the drivers and enjoy watching a few laps here and there, but to spend time watching an entire event isn’t something I’ve done. I would imagine there’s many people out there who feel the same way I do.
But in reality, I’m a stock car fan with an open mind to other forms of racing. And, to be perfectly honest with you, if a rivalry pops up in any racing series where two drivers are passionate enough to argue about a race – then count me in as a fan. This is where I believe the IRL or TMS got it right with the Patrick – Wheldon tiff.
Along with ARCA, I still believe NASCAR is the most exciting racing out there. But in everything that NASCAR is doing right, unfortunately they’re lacking in the rivalry department. (Where’s the Busch vs. Stewart signs?)
IRL knows this and I think as they test this "Rumble at the Speedway" marketing strategy, they could gain some NASCAR fans who are looking for a racing series that allows their drivers to slightly police themselves and promotes rivalries versus the method changing personalities through penalties and fines.
June 8, 2007 | Permalink
Comments
Amen to that. They all can't be friends all the time. A good old fist fight now and then is not "Detrimental to stock car racing". Besides, with all the crew members around, no one is going to get beat down.
Posted by: jeff | Jun 8, 2007 11:04:24 PM
Let 'em duke it out in person if they want. Like Jeff said, no one is going to get seriously injured and we'll love it!
Better fists than 3400 lb cars on pit road....
Posted by: JWSmoke | Jun 9, 2007 1:16:35 AM
Mike,
Great rivalries begin with great driving on the track. It sometimes carries over into the pits (sans cars, hopefully). But, Danica's lack of success driving and having a PMS moment is hardly a rivalry.
Another problem for creating rivalries, in todays NASCAR, is that there's just too many good teams. In days past one or two drivers were the cream of the crop. Dueling at the front, trading paint and wins...You gotcha a Cup of Instant Rivaly there. Today we get Johnson and Gordon fighting for the most wins. Being teammates they won't trade paint and their wives won't let them fight. It's like watching Ali and Smokin' Joe Frazier on "Dancing with the Stars," as partners. Now, if at some point in the season they get scrapping a bit, it could develop into something.
But, no. I don't see cat fights at Milwaukee as luring anyone from NASCAR. And, I don't see a need for NASCAR to have a three round smoker on pit road.
Posted by: Keith | Jun 9, 2007 6:45:47 AM
For the all Danicamania, I'm even more amazed by offhanded dismissals of Patrick such as Keith's. The girl may not be the next Rick Mears, but there's very little doubt among reasonable observers that she can drive an Indy Car quite well. She has a good gimmick going, sure, but she also has some substance to go along with it.
Eddie Gossage would never miss an opportunity to hype something such as the Dan-versus-Danica tiff. Doesn't matter to Eddie which series the drivers may be racing in, nor the attitude of the sanctioning body toward it. That stuff doesn't particularly move me, but I believe it does appeal to a pretty large segment of the population.
"Trying to steal NASCAR fans"? Well, only in a general sense, I believe -- in that Gossage is trying to stir interest in a personal conflict, in hopes that a few thousand more people will ante up for tickets. Whether those ticket buyers are going to spend their money on an IRL ticket instead of a NASCAR race ticket or in addition to it, I have no idea.
As far as the IRL's handling of the situation, it seems pretty much in keeping with Brian Barnhart's subtle management style. What Patrick and Wheldon did was not over the top. If it had gotten to that level, the IRL would have done something about it.
For the record, I think NASCAR's administration is much too heavy-handed, and not just in restraint of displays of conflict-driven emotion. NASCAR gives itself its own worst black eyes with the weekly laundry list of "criminal" activities and fines/suspensions meted out.
If the IRL gains ground on NASCAR (which, I believe, it surely may be doing), it will not be because of gimmick exploitation so much as the result of of a good product and finesse in managing it.
Posted by: David Green | Jun 9, 2007 8:57:45 AM
If getting in another's driver's face for an incident on the track is PMS, a helluva lot of NASCAR drivers got PMS real bad. Pit crews and drivers at the local demo derby here have needed cops to break up disagreements in the pits where guys use wrenches and tire irons. Boy have those guys got PMS!!!?
Being female a gimmick? Only because she probably had to work 10 times harder to get where she's at than a guy in the same situation.
My favorite series is NHRA. The racing is real. Teams, sponsors and cars are the focus of coverage, not a person's race or gender. I was at the race where J.R. got his first rookie win. Loved what Shirley Muldowney said about the IRL and Danica a few years ago. Hahahaha.
Wouldn't it be awesome if John Force brought Danica over to wheel Medlen's funny car next year? Okay, that'll never happen, but it's fun to think about. She (or Ashley), Melanie, Erica and Angel could take all the top division wins. Someday IRL and Nascar will catch up to them. Maybe.
Fast cars and real people are what makes good racing (and watching). Unfortunately, I gotta agree with Tony's WWF remarks about Nascar. I don't know if it's the sponsors or the Nascar governing body itself, but all the rock-star hype is making it seem about as real as a three-dollar bill.
Posted by: wyldwing | Jun 9, 2007 11:59:44 AM
Wyldwing, I didn't mean the "gimmick" comment disrespectfully. Earnhardt had a "gimmick," too, in the way he exploited the "One Tough Customer" marketing mantra and "The Intimidator" nickname. Jeff Gordon had a "gimmick" of sorts in his boyish, good-guy image. The Andretti surname is a "gimmick" for Marco.
It's silly to deny that Danica has things going on that no other racecar driver has. Carl Edwards' former girlfriend Amanda Beard, the Olympic swimmer, was featured in a Playboy centerfold recently and was asked by a Sports Illustrated writer to name other women athletes who should pose for the men's magazine. Beard named Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova and -- Danica Patrick.
That doesn't mean I'm going along with the recommendation -- for Danica, or any other woman -- because there's an obvious debate about that.
Nevertheless, the point ought to be well taken. Danica Patrick has a number of opportunities that other drivers don't and never will have. Racing's closest thing to her in this regard is Earnhardt Jr.
Posted by: David Green | Jun 10, 2007 12:06:10 PM
I'm going to the Indy race in Richmond (June 30) because Marlboro sent me free tix/pit pass.
Is IRL going to steal me from NASCAR? No way.
That would be like Rosie O'Donnell stealing Jessica Alba's boyfriend. Or Donald Trump's wife. Or whatever.
They've got really fast cars (pretty cool to watch at a short track like RIR) and really loud engines.
But the racing isn't that tight. No rubbing. Get too close and you get slapped in the garage by some chick.
Posted by: CCR | Jun 11, 2007 3:23:19 PM
Pushing driver rivalries is not what will get the IRL back on track. What is needed is getting competitive depth back to their fields - they need A.J. Foyt's team, Panther Racing, Rahal Racing, etc. to get back to the front and battle Penske, Ganassi, and Andretti-Green on a frequent basis and be able to beat them. They also need the kind of nonstop sidedraft combat for the win they used to have almost every time they raced on an intermediate superspeedway. The 500 itself had some great racing but they need more of it. I wasn't able to see this recent Texas race so I'm operating at a big of a disadvantage here, but from what happened the past two seasons it seems IRL took away a lot of the draft for these tracks and the racing has suffered as a result. They need that back.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 14, 2007 1:40:37 PM
CCR, too bad you apparantly never saw IRL races at Texas in 2000, 2001, and 2002, or IRL at Kentucky in 2000, 2002, and 2004; or IRL at Chicago 2002-4. The racing in those events was very close - the lead was a huge sidedraft fight for a huge percentage of their distances and they showed rubbing ISN'T necessary for terrific racing.
As for Danifraud Patrick, that she finished third at Texas is due more to that race's wrecks than to her own limited ability.
Posted by: Mike Daly | Jun 14, 2007 1:43:07 PM
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