Penske buys IndyCar, IMS and maybe even Indianapolis itself

[Bubbler]

I didn't know Jay Penske owned Variety and Rolling Stone. Wonder how much interest he'll have in the racing business.

Jay briefly ran his own IndyCar team and I (think) has a stake in a Formula E team. Roger has other sons who have been exclusively in the corporate world.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

I didn't know Jay Penske owned Variety and Rolling Stone. Wonder how much interest he'll have in the racing business.

Jay Penske owns Dragon Racing, which was in IndyCar for 8 seasons before jumping over to Formula E.

 

[playthrough]

This has so many wide-ranging repercussions in all of motorsports.

A few monumental things to ponder:
- Does this open IndyCar up to the ISC circuits that have tried to squeeze them/keep them out? Does this also increase the likelihood of NASCAR/IndyCar doubleheader weekends? NBC would love to have it during their NASCAR broadcast window.
- Does this make it more likely either the World 600 date or the Indy 500 date is moved so that drivers can realistically attempt to do both?
- Does this mean the possibility of a universal motorsports calendar, at least in America, could exist? Motorsports popularity has fallen way off from its late 90s/early 2000s peak. It would do ALL of the series a world of good to try not to step on each others' toes.
- What will Penske's connections mean for series title sponsorship? Another engine manufacturer for IndyCar?
- Will Penske lock in the season-long teams in IndyCar into the 500? He advocated for that last spring.
- How can Penske make the Brickyard viable again? He said he wants to maintain it at IMS, despite the fact that it has become an afterthought to the fans in Indiana.

These are just a few. This is one of the biggest developments in motorsports in ages.

I don't think Penske moves the Indy 500 date/time, there's too much tied up in the fan experience and why mess with that? However, I think the locked-in spots are a real possibility. Traditionalists will howl but IndyCar teams are still on shaky financial ground and protecting them for the biggest race does make sense. Qualifying weekends are snoozefests that make very little money.

Nascar will race on the IMS road course, I think it's close to happening even without Penske but with him it's definitely done. That's the easiest thing in the short term to bring back interest. Long-term, it might be night racing.

I think IndyCar/Nascar doubleheaders at other tracks, if not IMS, will happen too. It's time to throw everything on the table.

 

[Bubbler]

I don't think Penske moves the Indy 500 date/time, there's too much tied up in the fan experience and why mess with that? However, I think the locked-in spots are a real possibility. Traditionalists will howl but IndyCar teams are still on shaky financial ground and protecting them for the biggest race does make sense. Qualifying weekends are snoozefests that make very little money.

Nascar will race on the IMS road course, I think it's close to happening even without Penske but with him it's definitely done. That's the easiest thing in the short term to bring back interest. Long-term, it might be night racing.

I think IndyCar/Nascar doubleheaders at other tracks, if not IMS, will happen too. It's time to throw everything on the table.

Penske might have the clout to move the Coca-Cola 600 (Is it still called that? I don't even know) date to Saturday. Especially, if he can generate some corporate backing to create a Win The Double Weekend. If NBC had NASCAR during May? I guarantee something like this would happen. With Fox broadcasting NASCAR in May, that complicates matters for sure.

And I agree that the 500 date would be unlikely to be moved, but remember, it hasn't been on Sundays forever. I believe that only became a thing in 1974.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

I can’t imagine Penske leaving Detroit but Indy isn’t far away

 

[Huggy]

Hopefully this will mean a better TV deal in Canada than a last-minute thing put together for this season that landed it on some channel nobody gets.

 

[garrow]

I can’t imagine Penske leaving Detroit but Indy isn’t far away

If you're ever in Scottsdale, check out his free racing museum--across from the Whole Foods.

 

[nickp]

After the Hulman family sold Clabber Girl we had to know this was coming Ownership was aging with no heir apparent to take the reins The Hulmans saved the Speedway and nursed it to a great life of its own

 

[bigpern23]

Penske might have the clout to move the Coca-Cola 600 (Is it still called that? I don't even know) date to Saturday. Especially, if he can generate some corporate backing to create a Win The Double Weekend. If NBC had NASCAR during May? I guarantee something like this would happen. With Fox broadcasting NASCAR in May, that complicates matters for sure.

And I agree that the 500 date would be unlikely to be moved, but remember, it hasn't been on Sundays forever. I believe that only became a thing in 1974.

That only became a thing nearly half a century ago?

 

[HanSenSE]

That only became a thing nearly half a century ago?

Around the time Memorial Day became a Monday holiday.

 

[Bubbler]

That only became a thing nearly half a century ago?

The point is Ray Harroun didn't take the checkered flag on the last Sunday in May in 1911. It isn't some sacrosanct thing. Yes, it's been on Sunday for quite a while, but IMS has moved it before for their own convenience.

 

[playthrough]

The point is Ray Harroun didn't take the checkered flag on the last Sunday in May in 1911. It isn't some sacrosanct thing. Yes, it's been on Sunday for quite a while, but IMS has moved it before for their own convenience.

True, but I can't see it moving again because the entire weekend has been set in stone for a while -- Friday is Carb Day with the last 500 practice and a classic rock concert, Saturday is the 500 Festival parade downtown and a country music concert at the Speedway (Luke Bryan next year), then Sunday race. A pretty good revenue formula especially with what Carb Day has turned into.

 

[TigerVols]

True, but I can't see it moving again because the entire weekend has been set in stone for a while -- Friday is Carb Day with the last 500 practice and a classic rock concert, Saturday is the 500 Festival parade downtown and a country music concert at the Speedway (Luke Bryan next year), then Sunday race. A pretty good revenue formula especially with what Carb Day has turned into.

New Year's Day bowls were a pretty set-in-stone revenue formula for 75 years, but then...

 

[playthrough]

New Year's Day bowls were a pretty set-in-stone revenue formula for 75 years, but then...

Motorsports can only dream of pulling in the TV numbers that lesser bowl games get. Of course a lot of the interest in those is tied to gambling, which is another area that motorsports needs to catch up to quickly. Next May there will be more than a quarter-million fans at the Indy 500, all capable of betting on their phones. Penske needs to use his clout to get DraftKings and others to recognize IndyCar as a viable betting sport. Put me down for $100 on Marco Andretti not winning.

 

[Bubbler]

Put me down for $100 on Marco Andretti not winning.

“Congrats, sir, here’s your $100.01 in winnings.” :)

 

[playthrough]

“Congrats, sir, here’s your $100.01 in winnings.” :)

I'll parlay it with Pippa not winning and get $100.03.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

True, but I can't see it moving again because the entire weekend has been set in stone for a while -- Friday is Carb Day with the last 500 practice and a classic rock concert, Saturday is the 500 Festival parade downtown and a country music concert at the Speedway (Luke Bryan next year), then Sunday race. A pretty good revenue formula especially with what Carb Day has turned into.

First you said “country music,” then you said “Luke Bryan.” So which is it? Can’t be both.

 

[playthrough]

In unrelated but very cool news, IMS today announced an autonomous vehicle competition coming in October 2021. Universities will be developing software for Indy Lights cars to race on the oval, and the top prize will be $1 million.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

In unrelated but very cool news, IMS today announced an autonomous vehicle competition coming in October 2021. Universities will be developing software for Indy Lights cars to race on the oval, and the top prize will be $1 million.

Sponsored by CyberDyne Systems?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Well, then 2: Racing Boogaloo