The Verizon IndyCar Series MavTV 500 could have been the series' "last stand at Auto Club Speedway," because Saturday's "great show was witnessed by an embarrassingly small crowd, maybe 10,000 and change in the 68,000-seat grandstand and a little more than a handful of RVs in the infield campground," according to Jim Alexander of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Track President Dave Allen "was afraid of that going in" due to this being a new date to hold the race. Allen: "We need to be fair to the fans. A June date in the Inland Empire with the heat, we knew it was going to be a challenge. But we didn’t have a whole lot of choices. ... It needs to be either September, October or later in the year, after Labor Day. If it’s another summer date, it’s not going to work, to be frank.” Alexander noted when IndyCar returned to Auto Club in '12 for the first time in seven years, a mid-September race was the season finale "and drew 30,000." The next year, the season finale at Fontana "was scheduled for Oct.19 and drew around 20,000." Last year, they "raced at night on the traditionally sweltering Labor Day weekend and around 18,000 were in the grandstand." Allen: "We’ve had four different race dates the last four years, and we’ve also had four different start times. So there’s no consistency there, and you need consistency" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/28). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin reported the crowd "suffered significantly, with estimates as low as 10,000." Cavin: "Tony Kanaan guessed 5,000. Whatever it was, it was embarrassingly low. But don't blame the paying customers; blame IndyCar. If the series is to return next year, this race needs to be back in the fall" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 6/28).
EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES: Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said that the "miniscule crowd that attended the race on Saturday was certainly impacted by a change in date from its more traditional early- or late-season slot and a mid-day start time in the heat of the day, but it was also another symptom in a general oval malaise." Miles: "There seems to be some sort of inverse correlation between ovals and crowds, and I don’t know how to explain that, but we have to deal with the reality of it. Obviously, here, date is an issue. But when you try to do a calendar you only have so much flexibility and so many choices and whether we can find a spot to keep this one in a place where they think they can be successful or not, we’ll have to work out in the next few weeks." Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Brant James notes IndyCar is "discussing parameters including market saturation and finances with Road America for a possible return to the road course in rural Wisconsin." Citing oval racing as "integral to a series that exists because of the Indianapolis 500, Miles said IndyCar has taken steps to help it flourish such as being 'flexible' with sanctioning fees and offering a modest 'co-op fund' to help promoters market." Miles added that the series is "already discussing conditions for a possible return" to the one-mile oval at Phoenix Int'l Raceway, but the ISC track "has scheduling hurdles" (USA TODAY, 6/29).
SETTING THE PACE: The AP's John Marshall noted there is a "fine line between creating fast, entertaining racing and keeping drivers and riders safe," and many drivers in Saturday's race "believe IndyCar officials crossed the line by putting too much downforce on the cars, adding speed and risk at the 2-mile oval." Kanaan said, "I don't have an answer. How can we make it so we keep drivers happy and fans happy? I wish over the course of this year we can come up with a compromise for both of us, but right now I really don't know what to tell you." Marshall noted IndyCar drivers have "lamented the pack-style racing on the circuit's big ovals" since the death of Dan Wheldon in the '11 season-finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Saturday's racing "was intense and entertaining as drivers swapped places all over the track, with an IndyCar-record 80 lead changes and cars going up to five wide." However, it left some drivers "jittery and shaking their heads when it was over, particularly after Ryan Briscoe's car went airborne in a spectacular crash that caused the race to finish under caution" (AP, 6/28). Driver Will Power, who crashed during the race, asked, "What are we doing? That was a Vegas situation." He added, "As exciting as it is, it's insane. That's crazy racing -- crazy, crazy racing." However, fellow driver Ed Carpenter "didn't care for such talk, taking to Twitter to support action-packed racing." Carpenter: "I love close (IndyCar) racing. Hate to see drivers bad-mouthing a series. If you want to race, race. If not, retire" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 6/28). Power said, "Someone is going to die. This is the Las Vegas situation all over again, but 500 miles" (USATODAY.com, 6/27). Kanaan said, "I understand what the fans want, and if we, if you say we’re going to have 100,000 people here and this is what we’re going to do, I agree with you that we need to put it out there. To have 5,000 people out there and do this, it’s stupid" (Inland Valley DAILY BULLETIN, 6/29).
