Uphill struggle

By anyone's standards, choosing to include or not to include the Champ Car finale at Long Beach, it is fair to say that the first season of a unified IndyCar Series has reached its midway point.

I entered the year with a veiled optimism about the deal, skeptical that something with Tony George's leadership couldn't advance past the lengths of his own ego given his fracturing of the sport in 1996 had led it down its tortuous demise the last dozen years.

There are some definite signs of improvement, but there remains a substantial climb as IndyCar repairs its open wounds.

As has been mentioned here previously, crowds were on the up at Indy and Milwaukee, sold out in Iowa, and looked better at Richmond. Much of the latter, though, was due to the track only opening its front stretch grandstands and packing all the fans into that space. It looks odd and surreal when half the track is a sea of aluminum.

It appears there are former entities that are looking forward to returning to the ranks. Last week, a closed-door meeting of manufacturers included roughly nine engine providers and six builders, who all expressed their proposals and first steps towards the new formula that will debut in 2011. At least one or two need to join the series to provide a level of competition.

Secondly, the Speedway Motorsports Inc. duo of Bruton Smith and Eddie Gossage (Texas promoter), have made it abundantly clear they would like their other two circuits included in a future IndyCar schedule. Las Vegas and New Hampshire, those tracks, each produced a handful of entertaining races in the early to mid-90s, but it was apparent once the split hit the fans left and pitiful crowds were the staple of post-96 events there.

The risk IndyCar takes in potentially returning to those circuits is a repeat performance. Without fans, a race can't turn or a profit or possibly break even. Champ Car tried twice to resuscitate a Vegas race, both at the Speedway and a downtown street course, but could barely muster the same number of fans as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck race.

With the economy as it is in its current tailspinning state, IndyCar's future schedule must only include the most viable, long-term economic markets and races. Saying it is easier than doing, obviously, but most of the series is centered around Indianapolis and the Hulman/George family. Propping a series up on their own dime only works so well for so long, just ask Kevin Kalkhoven and Jerry Forsythe.

The beginning of the year had much excitement and a wealth of new sponsors, Coke and DirecTV taking on major partnership roles with the league. Since, several teams have lost sponsorship and have had to resort to the nuisance of pay-drivers. The smaller teams, those who emigrated from the sinking SS Champ Car, are far from financial freedom and once TGeorge stops the TEAM program if he so chooses, they are done. I hate to say it but just like in any other sport, over time, only the strong survive.

Has anyone brought up that the potential American savior of the series, Graham Rahal, has been running a blank, unsponsored car for the whole season? Hole in the Wall Camps is the ailing Paul Newman's personal sponsorship, as is McDonald's which has increased its signage but still isn't on for any other reason than providing the Newman's Own product.

That Roth Racing, who finally restored Jay Howard to a seat while Marty, sadly, still drives, has two blank cars this year? That Conquest Racing jettisoned a talented driver for a Brazilian personal friend of Tony Kanaan? That the exciting E.J. Viso is running on the other Venezuelan oil tab of PDVSA?

Again, driver and sponsor stability will be key to keeping the series afloat, and keeping the names recognizable enough to where they can build fan followings and more TV ratings. Ultimately that is the measure.

And say nothing of the trickle-down effect the "mergification" has had on all the junior series. The Atlantic, Star Mazda, Formula BMW and SPEED World Challenge ranks were all aligned with certain Champ Car events but once those were canceled, so too were all the junior events, leaving series principals scrambling for last-minute deals of races. Tireless efforts by the outstanding leader of Atlantic, Vicki O'Connor, secured a 2008 season at 11 races and just now sanctioning by IMSA. And they don't even have a TV deal in place yet.

Drivers are left with their own summer vacations, unfathomably long breaks that would in any other arena leave the competitors out of commission. Atlantic raced at Long Beach in April, a month later in Monterey, and another month later just last weekend at Mont-Tremblant. Star Mazda is in a two-month break at the moment.

Returning to IndyCar though, and the most unsung heroes of the whole season are all the crew members. These guys have worked hours on end with little to no appreciation by the general public, save for their drivers giving them a brief shout during interviews. Over half the field was torn up in last week's Richmond debacle, 15 cars incurring damage in one way or another on a track more or less unsuitable for 26 cars at 160-170 mph speeds.

It's easy to say kumbayah and sip the wines of success and victory with the one series. And there have been some good signs.

But easily, this line from Milwaukee's local FOX sports reporter sums up how far IndyCar has to go, which was uttered earlier on tonight's newscast. "Today, Dario Franchitti is switching from open-wheel to NASCAR, having just signed with Chip Ganassi a day after his Andretti Green contract expired."

Um, one catch. Franchitti, last year's IndyCar and 500 champion, was in the news today. But that was because Ganassi is shutting the doors on Franchitti's failing No. 40 Cup program. Having only once finished better than 32nd, and without primary title sponsorship all year, he wasn't in with a sniff at the top-35 in points and is now the second ex-open wheeler (Jacques Villeneuve) to get the shaft from NASCAR this year.

No-one else will have caught the sports guy's blunder and frankly won't care. They couldn't tell a Dario Franchitti from a Mario Battali.

Oh, well. Next week, IndyCar hits the road course of Watkins Glen with F1 in Britain, where Hamiltonia will run rampant, and NASCAR goes restrictor-plate racing in Daytona. Until then, cheers.