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Events and Attractions

IndyCar takes milestone’s momentum to sponsors

The100th running of the Indianapolis 500 produced a rarity at massive Indianapolis Motor Speedway: a sellout.
Photo by: PHIL ELLSWORTH / ESPN IMAGES

Leaning against a concrete wall next to the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Mark Miles delivered the news with a smile.

IndyCar, for whom he is chief executive, had announced weeks ago that this year’s 100th running of the Indy 500 would feature something not seen in decades: a sellout that was projected to total 350,000 people. But on the day before the race, as VIPs crammed themselves into two-seat Indy cars in front of Miles for trips around the track, IMS had run out of virtually every last item available ticket-wise, right down to parking, Miles said.

After heading into the 100th running with the goal of selling out the 250,000 fixed grandstand seats, IndyCar and IMS smashed those expectations and followed it up with what was seen as a mostly flawless race weekend, outside of some perhaps unavoidable traffic headaches and an ending to an exciting race Sunday that wasn’t as conducive to mainstream highlight reels as it could have been.

“Generally, I thought the event went really, really well — especially from a public-facing standpoint,” Doug Boles, president of IMS, said last Wednesday, three days after the event. “I think the fans that we had here were generally pleased with the overall operation of the event.”

TELEVISION FUTURE: ABC/ESPN, which splits IndyCar’s media rights with NBC Sports Group, has two more Indy 500s before its deal expires after 2018. Past that, Dan Ochs, ESPN’s director of content strategy and acquisition, declined to comment on whether the network is ready to say if it wants to renew. These days, ESPN has a tiny motorsports presence after dropping NASCAR and the NHRA in recent years.

“It’s early. We’ve got today and then two more races after this,” Ochs said before the race. “We’re always talking to the league and any of our partners about the future, but nothing specific [to note now]. We’re focused on today and quite frankly the next two championships beyond.”

Ochs did say that IndyCar and the 500 remain an attractive property for the network. ABC has broadcast every Indy 500 since 1965, first as part of “Wide World of Sports,” then as same-day tape-delay in the 1970s and early ’80s, and since 1986 with live flag-to-flag coverage.

“This is a crown jewel in all of racing — this race transcends IndyCar, quite frankly,” he said. “It remains an important part of ABC’s fabric. … Indy 500 is the biggest race of the year. … We like our position here with the 500 but also the IndyCar Series as a whole.”

ABC/ESPN put in a massive effort around the race, preparing for more than a year, bringing a staff of 200 to Indy and televising “SportsCenter” live from the race. The network drew praise for features like its pre-race interview with the 500’s three four-time winners — A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser — and a largely incident-free telecast from a production and talent perspective.

Despite the ramped-up levels of promotion, the race’s TV metrics dropped, averaging a 3.8 Nielsen rating, down 7 percent from last year’s 4.1, and 5.8 million viewers, down 9 percent from 6.4 million viewers last year.

BRANDS LINING UP: IndyCar has commitments from several companies to become official series sponsors next year, and others are tracking in the same direction, underscoring the momentum gained from the 100th running of the 500.

While not ready to divulge names or categories, Rod Davis, chief revenue officer of Hulman & Co., which owns IndyCar and IMS, said four companies have already made verbal commitments to become serieswide sponsors starting in 2017, and four to five others are nearing that stage. Depending on the assets, official IndyCar sponsorships range from $250,000 to the low seven figures annually, sources said.

IndyCar, which has 24 official sponsors, doesn’t have a target number of official partners it would like to have, Davis said, and is taking opportunities as they arise. Davis previously had said the series was looking for partners in the insurance, banking and quick-service restaurant categories, among others

After the 500, Davis was on a plane to New York alongside race winner Alexander Rossi to entertain current and prospective sponsors who wanted to take part in Rossi’s media tour, which included a dinner celebration that many of the prospective sponsors attended. Yet more prospective sponsors were slated to be entertained at last weekend’s Dual in Detroit doubleheader.

“I feel like there’s some great momentum for the sport and series that we’re able to have conversations and share our story,” Davis said. “Ideally, our story will fit the needs and intersect with some of the brands we’re talking to.”

The IMS pagoda was the site of Verizon’s live virtual 4K reality offering.
Photo by: JOE FARAONI / ESPN IMAGES

VIRTUAL VERIZON: Verizon made history on race day by being the first company to use live virtual 4K reality around a sports event.

Verizon, the IndyCar Series’ title sponsor, was pushing its smart-car solution, Hum, at its spot on the midway, and hosted a select number of fans on the 10th floor of IMS’s pagoda at the start/finish line. There the telecom carrier offered the virtual reality experience, which included three angles: the grandstands, Gasoline Alley and pit road.

Verizon works with Momentum on lead sponsorship strategy, Weber Shandwick for PR, Just Marketing International for motorsports specifics and RGA for social and digital.

Other standout activations at the 500 included the Mattel brand Hot Wheels’ two-story, looping metal racetrack. Fans could climb to the top and release cars to see whose was fastest. The brand also had a special 100th running car that was given out with every race program, and a replica Borg-Warner Trophy in the media center that garnered social media interaction from media and drivers.

At a time when IndyCar still has its official insurance category open, Geico was at the 500, activating around the race for the first time. Honda also had a sizable presence after striking a deal with Chevrolet to activate at the race, given Chevy is the exclusive vehicle of the track. Honda did have its midway presence placed in a less ideal spot than Chevy, which was front and center in the midway zone.

SPIN AND WIN AGAIN: Danny Sullivan liked the image he saw on a hat Saturday at IMS, so he bought 30 of them.

The 1985 Indy 500 winner produced one of the most memorable moments in motorsports history when he spun 360 degrees while racing for the lead that year, a move later dubbed the “Spin and Win.” At one of IMS’s 71 merchandise spots around the facility, Sullivan found a red New Era hat with a picture of the moment under the brim and white stitching on the side that read “Danny Sullivan - Spin and Win - May 26th, 1985.”

The “Spin and Win” hat was one of the more than 300 items created specifically for the 100th running, leading merchandise sales to pass last year’s total by Friday’s Carb Day.

IndyCar and IMS merchandise is managed by Legends. Doug Aydelott, Legends’ regional director of merchandise, said that merch sales were shaping up to be on a Super Bowl level and that the average transaction was “off the charts.” Sources previously had said that in a typical year, IMS’s merchandise sales are in the mid-seven figures to low eight figures. Legends and IMS had found particular success at temporary “pods” set up in the middle of Indianapolis International Airport, where sales quadrupled year over year, Aydelott said.

IMS will now release some special 100th running gear that it held back intentionally to keep interest going after the race, according to Nicole Garside, IMS senior director of consumer products. Some products will be held back as late as this year’s holiday season, Garside added.

NASCAR IN THE HOUSE: Among those on hand at the 500 were a handful of NASCAR executives, even beyond those from Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, the two IndyCar teams that also compete in NASCAR. At the top of the list was NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, who later flew to Charlotte to attend that night’s Coca-Cola 600. Also on hand from NASCAR — and pulling “The Double” — were Steve Phelps, executive vice president and chief marketing officer; Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president and chief racing development officer; and Jill Gregory, senior vice president of marketing and industry services. Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark also attended.

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