My (short) talk with Mike Conway

I just talked to Mike Conway at a PR stop he was doing for Perry Ellis:

BP in Louisville: Hello Mike, you've raced Formula Renault, British Formula 3, GP2 and now the Indycar Series. What are the biggest differences in how the Indycar series differentiates itself to you as a driver from the others.

Mike Conway: The Indycar series events seem to be a bigger show, with the military flyovers and things.. and it seems that the crowds are really pumped up. Also it is so much easier for the fans to get close and meet drivers in the Indycar Series. In Europe you need special passes and it isn't as accessible.

BP in Louisville: What do you think of the aero package changes and the "power to pass" changes for Kentucky and the rest of the season? Do you think they will have a signifigant impact?

Mike Conway: (on power to pass) I don't think it's going to be that huge of a deal, although it could help out if you were running a conservitive fuel strategy and just using it... when you need it. The way it's set up on the lowest fuel mapping setting you will get 5 extra horsepower and 20 extra on the highest fuel setting. You can use it 20 times for 12 seconds. We'll see what happens...

BP in Louisville: Thanks for talking to me Mike, I'd better move so others can talk to you. Good luck in the race.

Mike Conway: Thank you.

Later Mike was interviewed by a local radio sports show host and he told that when he was a boy he really wanted to race motorcycles, but his mother said it was too dangerous and "it's four wheels or nothing" so he started in go-karts.

He was also asked who his racing idols were and he responded: Schumacher and Senna

Mike then moved outside where they had a 2005 Dreyer and Reinbold car (with a stick shifter) done up in a Perry Ellis paint scheme where he took pictures with fans and signed autographs. Overall he seemed to be a nice guy, whatever your opinion of him on track.

BP in Louisville

IRL impact of House bill H.R. 1256

There's a side of this nobody is talking about. I've been reading on other blogs for a few weeks about how bill HR 1256 (Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act) would impact Team Penske given that they are sponsored by Marlboro without on car advertisement. It looks as if the bill is a done deal.

Go check it out for yourselves: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1256/text

If I read this correctly, Marlboro will no longer be able to give away the free IRL race tickets they have been giving away for years as a facet of their Team Penske advertising. Years back, before the IRL gained a little more popularity, here at the KY race free Marlboro ticket people filled ALOT of seats and there were still quite a few empty seats. It would have been an absolute embarrassment of empty seats at this race without them filling these seats 5-6 years ago. You can always tell who got in free because they hand these "free ticket folks" a red Penske hat before entry and you can see whole sections of them. I didn't see it as much at St. Pete, Detroit or Indy for example, except for a Marlboro paddock area I saw last year at St. Pete. Obviously my point is that the lesser attended races will have far more empty seats next season and these tracks would be very likely to disappear from the IRL schedule. I'd love to hear from others about the possible IRL impact of this bill about to become a law.

Indycar videogame licensing issues

I realize this isn't everyone's cup of tea and it's not really IRL news. There appears to be a new Indycar game in development (that might actually see release) that's been pushed back a few times. You will be able to drive classic Indycars around IMS and other historic tracks (looks good). Indianapolis 500 evolution is supposed to be released for the Xbox 360 at the end of September (according to amazon):

http://www.amazon.com/Indianapolis-500-Evolution-Xbox-360/dp/B000SH3XHC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1246643342&sr=8-1

And here is the software developers page:

http://www.braininajar.co.uk/

I asked one of the people at the IRL why we hadn't had an ACTUAL IRL video game since Indycar 2005 and I was told: "The company Codemasters owns the video game rights until 2010 to any game containing the IRL, or current drivers, tracks etc.. We can get away with releasing games like Indianapolis 500 legends for the Wii released under license of Indianapolis Motor Speedway because it contains no current drivers, etc.".

So a few months ago I sent an email to codemasters and basically stated to them that the IRL fans want a video game (which I believe is also a great marketing tool) and if they have NO INTENT on making one until their contract expires in 2010 turn the rights back over to the IRL. Codemasters responded to me:

"Thank you for submitting your recent request to Codemasters Customer Services concerning IndyCar Series. Unfortunately we are unable to discuss licensing agreements due to legal reasons. Sorry."

I'm starting to believe that something fishy might be going on here, maybe someone... is paying someone just to sit on the intellectual property rights, any thoughts?

Fuel knobs in the IRL, good or bad?

Earlier today I posted a response over at the great mynameisIRL.com blog defending fuel knobs in the IRL.

My original responses:

Although somewhat lackluster, the current IRL (overtaking) is still far more entertaining than when (in 2003) I went to a race (KY) only to see Sam Hornish Jr. LAP THE ENTIRE FIELD! Keep in mind this is when Chevrolet, Toyota & Honda were supplying engines and Dallara & Panoz were supplying Chassis. Everyone griped and complained that it wasn't entertaining (like now).

Years later (after single engine mfg./tires) the IRL got rid of the fuel knobs (like you guys want) AND THEY CAME BACK! I think what you guys might REALLY want to mix up the competition instead is a new chassis for 2010 given that the teams just have had this one for so long that they found every bit of speed in them. Then every team would have to "figure out" the new formula, although to it's credit it has been a very good chassis for driver safety. I don't know how feasible this is with the current IRL money issues, but it might give you racing you find more entertaining.

I believe it adds a depth to the strategy, and that a skillful driver can run a disciplined race and use it effectively for a strategic edge.

BP in Louisville (me)

Just to get everyone else up to speed, there has been a bit of chatter online lately that the IRL should do away with the fuel setting knobs on the steering wheels of the cars. These knobs make it possible to run "fuel strategies" and allows a driver to conserve fuel when possible. This is how Danica Patrick won in Japan last year. You will often hear the television commentators refer to it as one of their "tools" along with the weightjacker, ETC..

Well, what do you think? The poll is to the right---------->