Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

Events and Attractions

Drivers Upset With Random Starting Draw Between Dual IndyCar Races

The utilization of a blind draw to set the field for the second race of the Izod IndyCar Series Firestone Twin 275s held Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway is "perhaps the most impactful of a series of new IndyCar initiatives aimed at putting the importance of entertainment ahead of the purity of competition," according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. Driver Dario Franchitti was "awarded the 28th starting position as the last selector in a blind draw to arrange the field for the second race" after winning the first contest. Will Power won the second race after getting the "third starting position in the second race." Franchitti said, "Drawing the grid out of a hat is a joke. ... We had a massive handicap. There's enough variables. We don't need to be throwing dice to be deciding grid positions." Franchitti had "lobbied last weekend to invert the first race's finish," and he said, "They have to balance the sport and entertainment aspect. Trust me, it would have been entertaining if we all started at the back." Ryan notes Franchitti's team Owner Chip Ganassi was "livid between races, dismissively labeling the promotion as 'a stunt.'" But IndyCar President of Competition & Racing Operations Brian Barnhart said the blind draw was to "add spice." Ryan notes the concept "does dovetail with CEO Randy Bernard's philosophy of aggressively shaking up IndyCar" (USA TODAY, 6/13). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin writes IndyCar "remains a distant cousin to NASCAR with low TV ratings, a relatively small fan base and a general lack of energy outside its own paddock," and Saturday's event "was a chance to catch the eyes of others" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 6/13).

DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS: In Ft. Worth, Anthony Andro writes the "format for the Firestone Twin 275s sounded good in theory." The doubleheader "created buzz for a series that is starving to make headlines for any reason." But the "execution was awful," as a "spin of a Firestone tire determined not only the starting order for the second race, but also the fate for some of the series' best drivers." Power "increased his lead over second-place Dario Franchitti to 21 points" after winning the second race, and he said that he "felt like the race was over even before it started because of the starting order." TMS President Eddie Gossage said that there are "flaws in every format, and that if they would have inverted the field based on the finishing order of the first race, some drivers would have sandbagged." Gossage also said that "no drivers were complaining before the event." But Andro notes Franchitti was a "vocal critic of it early in the week, and drivers weren't happy with it leading up to the race" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 6/13). ESPN.com's Terry Blount wrote the Twin 125s were a "hit with the fans, but fairness didn't play into it." Blount: "Most of the drivers wanted an inverted field for Race 2 so all the best finishers from Race 1 would start together at the back. ... The random draw probably won't happen again" (ESPN.com, 6/12). In Milwaukee, Dave Kallmann wrote the "selection between races was better than down time." Several drivers "did their best to play along with the carnival atmosphere and ham it up, and anything that helps connect them with fans is [good]." But he added the "criticism about the randomness of that starting grid" was valid (JSONLINE.com, 6/12).

TIRED OF THE ROAD: IndyCar driver Danica Patrick said the circuit's '11 schedule, which features 10 road courses and seven ovals, is "disappointing." Patrick: "For some odd reason, we're much more skewed towards road course races. I don't pretend to know [the] reason, I know there's business reasons and decisions. I feel like I hear about road course ideas ... but I don't hear a lot about oval races necessarily" (AP, 6/12).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2011/06/13/Events-and-Attractions/Twin-275s.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2011/06/13/Events-and-Attractions/Twin-275s.aspx

CLOSE