I'll be honest, Dario Franchitti was my "most hated" IndyCar driver. I thought he was a dirty driver who whined too often, and I always rooted for him to finish last. But that being said, I still read the news of his retirement yesterday with a tear in my eye.
After his scary crash in Houston, many of us speculated that this would be the end of Dario's legendary career. At 40 years old, we wondered how much longer he could put himself through the physical demands and risks of open-wheel racing. So the announcement was not completely unexpected, but still surprising and disappointing. It's never easy when an athlete of any sport leaves on terms that were not their own. Injuries have cut short many a promising career. In this case, Dario has already had a promising career, and we were looking forward to the final chapter of it. Unfortunately we'll never get to see how that story might have unfolded.
Dario's IndyCar legacy is cemented. He is a four-time series champion, which ranks only second behind AJ Foyt on the all-time list. More significantly, he is a three-time Indy 500 winner, who you know is most disappointed that he won't get a chance at a fourth win. In fact, his final IndyCar victory will stand as the 2012 Indy 500, with his face etched on both sides of his buddy Dan Wheldon on the Borg-Warner Trophy. He was the face of Target Chip Ganassi Racing, who now faces the unenviable task of replacing a legend. Dario surely deserves a place in the IndyCar Hall of Fame.
Make no mistake about it, Dario will be missed, even by me, the fan who cheered against him. He gave the sport a much-needed rivalry. His tussles with Will Power will long be remembered as one of the great motorsports rivalries of our time, even more so because the two hailed from the top two IndyCar teams, Penske and Ganassi. Dario is also a good-looking, charismatic personality that attracted a lot of fans. He is one of the few true IndyCar celebrities, whose fame was elevated due to his marriage to a Hollywood actress. When news of his retirement makes the national news as it did, you know he's not just another race car driver. I'm sure Dario will continue to be involved in IndyCar but it will be strange not seeing him in a race car next year.
In the end, Dario made a decision we should all respect and admire. As the NFL has shown us lately, concussions are not something to take lightly. I'm sure he was heartbroken when doctors told him he should not race again, and it could not have been an easy decision to walk away from the car. But it's the right decision. Dario is taking control of his health, which is something we must all do. It's never easy to leave something you truly love, but sometimes we must act with our heads, not our hearts. It's a shame that Dario's excellent career was cut short by a horrific accident, yet that accident could have been so much worse. Today we are looking back and celebrating a brilliant racing career, not a life lost. Dario has much more to give to the world of racing.
Thank you for the memories, Dario. Even though I rooted against you, I respect your achievements and I will miss seeing you in the DW12 next year. On to the next chapter...
Friday, November 15, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
The IndyCar vs. NASCAR Fan Experience
I attended the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend, to go with the three IndyCar races I attended this year. I wanted to go partly for research purposes: to learn why more people would choose to attend a stock car race than an IndyCar race. Unfortunately I left with more questions than answers.
Let's start with some obvious differences that I observed. The most glaring difference was the insane amount of people in attendance. The hefty crowds meant increased lines at merchandise trailers, headset rental stations, and concessions stands. They also meant you spent hours in traffic before and after the race. I'm not big on crowds, so I don't find this particularly appealing. Rough estimates put the attendance number at 125,000 people, which is much less than the place holds, but still an impressive number. Especially considering the Cowboys had a home game on the same day at roughly the same time. The June IndyCar race had less than half that number, and I wanted to ask everyone, "Where were you in June? Why weren't you here?" I can only speculate at the answers I would receive. Some would undoubtedly cite the weather, and it's true, this was the first race all year where I did not sweat my butt off, which was a huge perk. But is that enough of a reason to keep 75,000 fans from coming to another race at TMS? I just don't get it.
There were other differences of course, such as the sounds and smells. NASCARs are much louder and have a more pungent smell than IndyCars, and maybe some people like that. There were also a lot more cars on the track. I have to say, at a 1.5-mile track like TMS, I prefer a smaller field of cars. A smaller field is less confusing for fans and usually leads to more and better competition. I've never really understood the 43-car field in NASCAR, especially when some of those cars only run a few laps before retiring.
I saw a lot more trailers devoted to driver merchandise than I saw at any IndyCar race this year. I mean, that was all I saw on the midway. With few exceptions, each driver had his/her own trailer and people were lined up like crazy to purchase items in support of their favorite driver and their sponsor. What IndyCar does better, I think, is they have more than just merchandise. The IndyCar Fan Village features games, car displays, and entertainment, which is a good way to appeal to non-race fans and kids. But do those things bring in the money like these trailers do? And why do fans buy all this merchandise? I have heard, and I believe, that IndyCar drivers are much more accessible than NASCAR drivers. Maybe they're not as famous but they do appreciate and acknowledge the fans.
For all the differences that fans might perceive between the two racing series, I think the fan experience at the race is really quite the same. People still tailgate in the parking lot, or camp onsite. At TMS and some other tracks, you can still bring in a small cooler with your beverage of choice and your own food. Or you can pay outrageous prices at the concession stands. The pre-race ceremony is the same. There are fireworks after the race. It's entertainment.
The biggest complaints that I read after the NASCAR race (and there were a lot of them) were that a) it was boring, with a lack of "racing," and b) the same guy won again. In fact, the guy sitting next to me had his eyes closed for much of the race. I'm not sure if he was sleeping, resting his eyes, or just listening to his headset, but why would you go to a race and not pay attention to the race? Fans, hello! If you want to see real racing with tons of passing, three-wide (or more) action, and parity in that you never know who's going to win each week, then come watch IndyCar! They have figured these things out! I think these fans would love IndyCar if they would just give it a chance.
After witnessing both an IndyCar and a NASCAR race at Texas this year, I did come to the conclusion that Texas is a track that encourages dominant performances. Helio dominated the IndyCar race in June. All three NASCAR races this weekend featured runaway victories. Evidently if a team figures out the setup at Texas, it will excel. Perhaps, as some accused this year, some teams cheat and get away with it. Perhaps TMS is just not an exciting track. But the track has produced some exciting races in the past, in both IndyCar and NASCAR. It's just one of those things that makes you go hmmm....
Let's start with some obvious differences that I observed. The most glaring difference was the insane amount of people in attendance. The hefty crowds meant increased lines at merchandise trailers, headset rental stations, and concessions stands. They also meant you spent hours in traffic before and after the race. I'm not big on crowds, so I don't find this particularly appealing. Rough estimates put the attendance number at 125,000 people, which is much less than the place holds, but still an impressive number. Especially considering the Cowboys had a home game on the same day at roughly the same time. The June IndyCar race had less than half that number, and I wanted to ask everyone, "Where were you in June? Why weren't you here?" I can only speculate at the answers I would receive. Some would undoubtedly cite the weather, and it's true, this was the first race all year where I did not sweat my butt off, which was a huge perk. But is that enough of a reason to keep 75,000 fans from coming to another race at TMS? I just don't get it.
There were other differences of course, such as the sounds and smells. NASCARs are much louder and have a more pungent smell than IndyCars, and maybe some people like that. There were also a lot more cars on the track. I have to say, at a 1.5-mile track like TMS, I prefer a smaller field of cars. A smaller field is less confusing for fans and usually leads to more and better competition. I've never really understood the 43-car field in NASCAR, especially when some of those cars only run a few laps before retiring.
I saw a lot more trailers devoted to driver merchandise than I saw at any IndyCar race this year. I mean, that was all I saw on the midway. With few exceptions, each driver had his/her own trailer and people were lined up like crazy to purchase items in support of their favorite driver and their sponsor. What IndyCar does better, I think, is they have more than just merchandise. The IndyCar Fan Village features games, car displays, and entertainment, which is a good way to appeal to non-race fans and kids. But do those things bring in the money like these trailers do? And why do fans buy all this merchandise? I have heard, and I believe, that IndyCar drivers are much more accessible than NASCAR drivers. Maybe they're not as famous but they do appreciate and acknowledge the fans.
For all the differences that fans might perceive between the two racing series, I think the fan experience at the race is really quite the same. People still tailgate in the parking lot, or camp onsite. At TMS and some other tracks, you can still bring in a small cooler with your beverage of choice and your own food. Or you can pay outrageous prices at the concession stands. The pre-race ceremony is the same. There are fireworks after the race. It's entertainment.
The biggest complaints that I read after the NASCAR race (and there were a lot of them) were that a) it was boring, with a lack of "racing," and b) the same guy won again. In fact, the guy sitting next to me had his eyes closed for much of the race. I'm not sure if he was sleeping, resting his eyes, or just listening to his headset, but why would you go to a race and not pay attention to the race? Fans, hello! If you want to see real racing with tons of passing, three-wide (or more) action, and parity in that you never know who's going to win each week, then come watch IndyCar! They have figured these things out! I think these fans would love IndyCar if they would just give it a chance.
After witnessing both an IndyCar and a NASCAR race at Texas this year, I did come to the conclusion that Texas is a track that encourages dominant performances. Helio dominated the IndyCar race in June. All three NASCAR races this weekend featured runaway victories. Evidently if a team figures out the setup at Texas, it will excel. Perhaps, as some accused this year, some teams cheat and get away with it. Perhaps TMS is just not an exciting track. But the track has produced some exciting races in the past, in both IndyCar and NASCAR. It's just one of those things that makes you go hmmm....
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